One of the true pleasures of the past couple of months has been the Saturday morning book study. Even during really busy weeks, I look forward to our Saturday morning gathering. We pray at the beginning and at the end of our time, and spend about an hour in between those prayers talking about a challenging book that we're reading.
Beforehand, I'm never quite sure about what we'll talk about each Saturday. But each week the conversation is rich, personal, and powerful. And often it's quite emotional too. Generally, we're talking about followers of Jesus who are trying to be faithful - and then we try to figure out how we might be the same.
Our focus this week was on God's activity in the most unlikely setting imaginable. Someone in our group pointed out that the activity of God that we were reading about in the book sounded exactly like the activity of God in Bible days. And that's a great way to describe it. Essentially, God still does today what God has always done.
And that shouldn't really be a surprise to us.
This week's book study conversation was even more personal than that, however.
It's one thing to tell the stories about God's activity in other places or times. It's another thing altogether to realize that the very same God is at work in my life right now. It's great to celebrate what God has done in the past - but, even more, I need to realize that he can work in those same ways in my situations and struggles.
I know it sounds simple, but I walked away from our book study encouraged and strengthened and more hopeful. What I was reciting in my mind was something like this: Why, if God can do that, then God can do this! If God can create hope in that situation, then surely he can bring hope into my life too! If God can work in a place as unlikely as that place, surely he can work in my life too!
It was not a new realization. In fact, I've made that same claim a thousand times before in my life. I have preached and taught that truth. I know that truth.
But I was reminded of it all over again today.
If God can do that, then surely God can do this!
Maybe that's why we have Scripture - and the stories of God's activity throughout the world . . . just so we can be reminded of what God has done in the past.
And when we are reminded of what God has done in the past, we are suddenly aware of what God might be able to do today.
At least for this week, that's my motto: if God can do that . . .
It's one thing to tell the stories about God's activity in other places or times. It's another thing altogether to realize that the very same God is at work in my life right now. It's great to celebrate what God has done in the past - but, even more, I need to realize that he can work in those same ways in my situations and struggles.
I know it sounds simple, but I walked away from our book study encouraged and strengthened and more hopeful. What I was reciting in my mind was something like this: Why, if God can do that, then God can do this! If God can create hope in that situation, then surely he can bring hope into my life too! If God can work in a place as unlikely as that place, surely he can work in my life too!
It was not a new realization. In fact, I've made that same claim a thousand times before in my life. I have preached and taught that truth. I know that truth.
But I was reminded of it all over again today.
If God can do that, then surely God can do this!
Maybe that's why we have Scripture - and the stories of God's activity throughout the world . . . just so we can be reminded of what God has done in the past.
And when we are reminded of what God has done in the past, we are suddenly aware of what God might be able to do today.
At least for this week, that's my motto: if God can do that . . .