DID YOU KNOW, HE STILL MOVES THE STONE?

In 1999 I read a book by Max Lucado called, “He Still Moves Stones.”  This book helped me understand the freedom of living in Christ and I recommend that you read it too.  The following is a composition I wrote after reading the book.  Let it be, if you will, a glimpse of just what Max Lucado wrote about.  Read this article and then go pick up a copy of his book, “He Still Moves Stones.”

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had made ready and they found the stone rolled back from the tomb.  But when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And while they were perplexed and wondering what to do about his, behold, two men in dazzling raiment suddenly stood beside them.  And as the women were frightened and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them:  Why do you look for the living among those who are dead?  He is not here, but has risen.” –Luke 24:1-6a (AMP)

They found the stone rolled back.  Why was it moved?  Did Jesus need it moved to get out of the tomb?  No.  Later He appeared in their midst, with all the doors being shut (John 20:19) so He did not need the stone moved to get out.  Why was the stone moved?  It was moved for the women and the disciples.  It was moved so they could enter and see that indeed, death could not hold Him!

Did you know that He still moves the stone today?

An old man who professed to be an atheist used to berate his neighbor for believing that “God stuff”.  As he lay in a hospital bed gravely ill his neighbor visited and prayed for him.  He was well in hours.  The old man realized that the “God stuff” was real.  Jesus moved the stone of unbelief.

A woman went to church every week, gave ten percent of her income, sang in the choir, and helped at all the functions.  When she was at home it was a different matter.  Heaviness weighed down her heart.  She spent hours sitting and staring at the television, not really seeing what was on it.  Nothing mattered since her husband died.  One morning she woke up with the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” resounding in her mind.  It rang again and again in her heart all day long.  She finally fell to her knees and reached out with her heart to her Heavenly Father.  Jesus moved the stone of self pity.

A young man spent the day in the mountains hiking.  He always felt closer to Jesus there.  There were no interruptions for his beeper or cell phone to disturb his thoughts.  He used to be so on fire for God when he was a senior in High School.  As he asked God what happened he was filled with such an awareness of God’s Presence he sat in speechless awe and knew that what had suffered was his regular times with Him.  He asked Jesus to forgive him.  Jesus moved the stone of busyness.

Do you have a stone that needs to be moved today?  Do you need to see that death cannot hold back Jesus in your life?  Look to the Mover of the stone.  He is ready to move it today.

WATCHING THE BIRDS

(After my mother went home to be with the Lord my sister and I helped Dad sort through her belongings.  One thing I am blessed to now have is a number of her notes from reading the Bible and a few of the teachings she shared with the ladies of her church.  When I read this one this week I just had to share it with you – enjoy!)

“Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.  The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth.  At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month.  In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.  So it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.  Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and from until the waters had dried up from the earth.  He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground.  But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth.  So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself.  And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark.  Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.  So he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.” –Genesis 8:1-12

Noah must have been watching the birds for quite a while for when he turned the raven out he knew the raven wouldn’t be returning.  There was plenty of food floating around in the water, for ravens are scavengers that feed on the dead.  The raven was going to the feast of a lifetime so there was no need for him to return to the ark.

The next thing Noah did was to turn a dove out.  The dove returned that evening without finding any place to rest, as all was still covered in water.  Noah waited seven days and he again turned the dove out.  She returned carrying a fresh olive leaf.  Noah again waited seven days and set her out.  This time she did not return so Noah knew that the waters of judgment were gone.

The Bible teaches that the believer has two natures.  An old nature and a new nature:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  You and I, as believers, have these two natures currently struggling with each other.

In this scripture (Genesis 8) the raven represents the old nature.  His food is death.  As the old nature loves the things of the world and feasts upon them, it only brings us death and failure.  You too have the old nature, however, that is no excuse; you ought not to be living in the old nature.

The dove went out into the same judged world, but she didn’t find rest nor satisfaction so she returned back to the salvation found in the ark.  The dove’s struggle represents the believer in the world.  We WILL struggle, but when God says something is wrong, it is definitely wrong for us.  We should trust and believe Him.  The believer is told, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).

We are all living in a judged world today.  We are in the world but not of it.  We are to use it but not abuse it.  We are not to fall in love with it.  We are privileged to partake in winning the lost be getting out the Word of God.  Our Lord told us to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Let’s take care of our job down here and spread the word of God!

The dove recognized what kind of world she was in and she found no rest.  She found rest only in the ark of salvation.  Noah’s ark represents Christ as that resting place.  In Him alone do we have salvation.

Let me ask you these very personal questions:  What kind of bird are you?  Are you a raven or a dove?  If you are a child of God, you have both natures, but which one are you living in today?  Do you love the things of the world or do you love the things of God?

-By Pearle Smith

SEEING WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED

“Then on the same day we find two of them going off to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. As they went they were deep in conversation about everything that had happened. While they were absorbed in their serious talk and discussion, Jesus himself approached and walked along with them, but something prevented them from recognizing him.”  –Luke 24:13-16 (PHILLIPS)

We can be blinded to spiritual things when we become headstrong thinking that our way is the only way.  We can also be blinded through grief over the loss of someone close to us.  The disciples walking on the road to Emmaus experienced both of these kinds of blindness.  They did not recognize Jesus as they encountered them on the road.  He asked them what they were discussing and they shared about this man they knew named Jesus, how they thought he was the Messiah who would come a deliver them out of the hands of their oppressors but that he had died.  These two men were disciples of Jesus, having followed and spent time with Him, but they had predetermined that He would deliver them from their natural enemy, the Romans.  They were also in grief over their loss of Jesus even though some other disciples and women had claimed to see Him alive after his death, they did not believe these accounts.

Headstrong means someone is determined, willful, and stubborn.  These disciples were headstrong in their belief that the Messiah would deliver them from their oppressors.  They took the writings of their prophets and predetermined who Messiah would be in view of their current physical situation.  This determination blinded them to the truth of just Who Messiah was.

Grief can be as blindly debilitating as being headstrong.  In grief our feelings can consume us to the point that we do not see or care about anything going on around us.  Not only were these two disciples headstrong but they had lost someone close to them.  As they walked along the road they kept discussing all the incidents that happened leading up to this loss.  This was the state they were in when Jesus caught up to and walked with them on the road to Emmaus.  They did not recognize Him.

These same things can blind us to the truth happening in our lives.  In my concern and daily care of my Mother while she struggled to recover from two surgeries I did not take care of myself.  I was not getting enough protein in my diet and a good portion of my hair fell out.  I often became dehydrated from not drinking enough water.  I was feeling tired and listless.  I struggled to read my Bible every morning, even falling asleep during the midst of reading quite often.  I became frustrated with having to go visit her every day for hours at a time and then condemned myself for feeling that way.  All this blinded me to the truth; my time with my Mom on this earth was coming to a close.  Fortunately a friend really got after me for not taking care of myself and it was like a wake-up call.  I spent a day with the Lord and He renewed my strength.  I made a plan to get enough protein and water every day no matter where I had to be.  Doing these things helped me feel better in that the last few weeks before my Mom’s passing on to be with the Lord I was able to spend good quality time with her and with Dad.  My eyes were opened to the truth the afternoon she told me that she had known for over three months that she would be going home to be with the Lord soon.  We talked about the Lord that day a lot and for the next few days and then she passed.  My grief had blinded me, but spending time with the Lord opened my eyes and allowed me wonderful fellowship with Mom.

“Then it happened! While he was sitting at table with them he took the loaf, gave thanks, broke it and passed it to them. Their eyes opened wide and they knew him! But he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Weren’t our hearts glowing while he was with us on the road, and when he made the scriptures so plain to us?’”  -Luke 24:30-32 (PHILLIPS)

“Back and forth they talked. ‘Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?’”  - Luke 24:32 (MSG)

The thing is, brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to have our eyes opened so that our headstrong attitudes, our grief, and any other impairment can no longer blind us to the Truth.  We need to encounter Jesus on a regular basis so that our eyes can remain open, for truly we cannot see with our eyes shut.  Once they are opened we need to share what we have learned just as these two disciples did.

“They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them, saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter]!’  They began describing in detail what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.”  - Luke 24:33-35 (AMP)