Impossible...

...is what we say holiness is for man to attain.  I was listening to KWVE on the way home from school.  Jesus tells a man to stretch out his withered hand, when the man is obviously not going to be able to do so, but because the man does stretch out his hand, he is healed.  Likewise, when Jesus heals a blind man, he tells the man, "do you see anything?" and once the man looks intently, he is able to see.  

Imagine if Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand, and the man says "No!  My hand has always been shriveled, and if you can heal me, I want you to do it while I keep my hand hidden here in my cloak.  Or if the blind man said "Of course not!  I'm blind you fool!" wouldn't they have never received the blessings Jesus had chosen to give them?  We say it's impossible to trust God with all our hearts.  We say it's impossible for man to live a holy life wholly for God [score 1 for homonyms].  But we need to make the effort to live that life.  When we do, God gives us the power to live the life he wants.  

...But we know this don't we.  But why do we still feel like it's impossible to live the kind of life that God wants.  Maybe it's because it requires a trust in God that is impossible for man to have in the first place.  Thank goodness salvation is not dependent on what we do, but on what God has already done for us, because each one of us would fail miserably.  But Jesus died for us, and in doing so, gave us the power to believe in him, to believe in his strength that breathes through us as we struggle to live a holy life.  And we CAN live a life pleasing to God, because he gives us the power to do so.  

So, are you going to try?  Will you seek God's help?  Are you going to stretch out your hand?  Will you try your hardest to see when your eyes are blinded?

Speaking of blinded...

Creation is in pain.  All of life is groaning because of the sin that saturates the world of man.  Though it is true that God has given all creation for Man to fill and subdue, man currently has creation in chains.  The majestic palms serve only to complement the artificial structures humans have created.  Earth is paved over with cement and asphalt.  Even the skies are veiled with thick toxic vapors that shut out the splendor of the heavens.  All of creation proclaims the glory of God, but we silence them with our pride and ambition.  Creation cries out, "LORD LORD LORD," but instead we silence them and assert, "MAN MAN MAN."  No wonder people think there is no God, because they have become gods in their own eyes.  Blinded by their own success, they cannot see the truth.  

Pray for faith.  Pray for truth.  Pray.