Friday
7-31-15 (Home Modesto, California)
Scripture
reading: Isaiah 63-64 Ps 107 John 2
S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer SOAP for
the soul.
S.
John 2:11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first
display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
John
2:23-25 Because of the miraculous signs
he did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many people were convinced
that he was indeed the Messiah. But Jesus didn't trust them, because he
knew what people were really like. No one needed to tell him about human
nature. NLT
O. The word was out. Over
there in Cana, Jesus had turned water into wine. Now everybody in
Jerusalem was raving about a miracle working Jesus. He was tough,
too. He cleared the market-place out of the temple area. He was
Superman, Batman and Spiderman all wrapped in one. He had defied the top
authorities of the temple grounds. He was the talk of the town, the hero
of the poor and downtrodden. Hurray for Jesus! But Jesus was not
impressed by the fickle crowd.
A. If I had been standing in a
crowd of excited people that day… all talking about the miracle worker, would I
have believed in Him? I confess, I have a skeptical streak in me that
seeks proof before commitment. I would not have been satisfied to
hear rumors. I would have dashed over to the other side of town to
witness Jesus’ miracles for myself. I would have interviewed jumping
paralytics and talked with deaf-mutes… then maybe I would have come on
board. I should have been named “Thomas.”
In
Argentina, when people were lining up alongside Evangelist Carlos Annacondia’s
platform to testify of instant miracles received that night… I was right there
interviewing these happy people before they went up. Several were
testifying to have new fillings in their teeth. I had just examined the
mouth of a little ragged boy who was with his mother. He had two shining
fillings in his molars. “Are you sure you haven’t been to a dentist?” “Of
course not!” They both almost laughed at me. Kids that age living in the
poverty class, could never have considered filling a tooth. His mother
calmly told me that her daughter got 4 fillings the previous night. And
there were several such cases, most of them adults. “Okay, Ralph Hiatt,
alias ‘Thomas’, you can go back and rejoice with the crowd of onlookers now.”
P.
Thank You, Lord,
for putting up with me. But I do have legitimate questions, You
know. For instance, why not just create a new tooth? What’s with
the fillings? Did I hear you say, “To show other people? So all their
neighbors will come hear the gospel?” Well, it sure worked, God!
Look at this crowd of tens of thousands standing for 4 hours with no
chairs!” I just hope they are not fickle. What’s that You are
saying? “Quit being so negative!” Lord, I bet You sometimes
wonder why You ever chose me for Your missionary. Amen.
Ralph
