If you have seen the movie Karate Kid, you may remember the scenes in the movie, where Mr. Miyagi, the older Japanese man who promised to teach Karate to Daniel, the boy and main character of the movie, in order to defend himself from other boys who were bullying him. Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach Daniel, but makes Daniel agree he will do whatever Mr. Miyagi asks, without question. Daniel agrees, and the first thing Daniel is told to do is wash and wax Mr. Miyagi’s cars, with a specific motion, he is told “wax on, wax off.” After that, Daniel is told to sand Mr. Miyagi’s deck, again precisely as Mr. Miyagi describes. Finally, Daniel is told to paint Mr. Miyagi’s fence and house, also in precisely the way described. After several days of these chores, Daniel is frustrated and confused by what he has been doing, which appears to have nothing to do with Karate. He complains to Mr. Miyagi, who in a dramatic scene of attacking blows, ties all the chores into defensive Karate movements, and the reasons for all the hard work and frustration becomes clear to Daniel.

In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. When Peter resists, thinking this was disrespectful and wrong, Jesus tells him in John 13:7, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Many things in our lives are like this, we are following what we think is the right path, doing the right things, and difficult circumstances occur that we cannot understand. At those times, we should remember these words of Jesus, “…later you will understand.” We should stay on course, doing the right thing, with our faith firmly in Jesus’ protection and guidance.

Dear Lord, so often we cannot understand what you are teaching us through our experiences. We can know, however, that you are in control, and we will understand some day. Help us remember this and stay in faith doing your will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

General statements are statements like, “everyone knows that,” or “nobody goes there anymore,” sayings that leave no room for exceptions. There is an expression that goes, “All general statements are false, including this one.”

There are very few things that we can say have no exceptions, which is why I think it is significant when the Bible makes some general statements.

In Matthew 12:15, Matthew writes about Jesus, “…with many following him. He healed all the sick among them.”

And in Matthew 14 after the story of the miracle of feeding the 5000, in verses 35 and 36, Matthew writes, “And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.”

The key word in both of these descriptions is “all.” Jesus didn’t heal some of those that were sick, he healed “all”, and it wasn’t just some of those that touched his cloak that were healed, in was “all.”

One general statement that we can count on is that God is all powerful. Put our trust in Him.

Dear Lord, like those you healed in the Bible stories, give us the faith to put our trust in you to work in our lives and answer our prayers, Your way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

In Matthew 9:13, Jesus says to his disciples, “Go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Jews of the Old Testament had many rules about what was required in case they sinned. There were specific sacrifices required for different types of sins. The result of this was that people could feel like they were “all right” if they made the required sacrifice, and thereby deserving of God’s favor.

I think what Jesus was trying to convey was that you cannot make yourself “all right.” It is the person who knows that he or she is a sinner, and cannot free him or herself for whom Jesus is looking. When we understand that we are lost without a Savior, we are ready for his mercy, and only by God’s mercy can we be made “all-right,” or “righteous.”

Dear Lord, we are so thankful for the one key difference between Christianity and other religions, which is, You save us; We cannot save ourselves. Help us come to you humbly with this awareness, but also with the confidence of our Salvation by your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you ever wonder why some Christians experience challenges in one part their lives, and others experience different types of challenges. Is it just random or is God involved in how these things are happening?

Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet was telling the people God’s view of their situation in Isaiah 28:26-29, saying, “He [a farmer] knows just what to do, for God has made him see and understand. He doesn’t thresh all grains the same. A sledge is never used on dill, but it is beaten with a stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin, but it is beaten softly with a flail. Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher and gives the farmer wisdom.”

In this passage, Isaiah is explaining to the people that God is like the farmer, and people are like the seed. God knows what experience he needs to put someone through to most effectively develop them. So when we are going through experiences we should ask ourselves what is God doing and how is he using this experience to make me a better Christian.

Dear Lord thank you for caring for each one of us, enough to work on us and help us improve. May we graciously accept the challenges you put before us as exercises to make us stronger and better Christians. in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

“All In”

It is an expression used in gambling, when a player is so confident in his or her position, that he or she puts everything at risk. Win and the payoff is the maximum possible, lose and be wiped out.

Jesus says in Luke 14:26, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else: your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes even your own life; otherwise you cannot be my disciple.” NLT

In modern terms, Jesus says we must be “all in” if we want to follow him.

The first commandment God gave us through Moses in Exodus 20:3, “You must have no other gods but me.”

We must put all our hope, trust, confidence, and reverence in God. When we do He says in verse 6, “I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commandments.”

Dear Lord, how difficult it seems, but what peace it brings to be “all in” with you. Help us do so. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.