In order to be able to tell about how I have been blessed, I first need to go back to my “pre-saved” days. Up until just over 30 years ago, I was rocking along as if I had total control, and eternity just didn’t enter my mind. As with just about everyone, I had issues off and on, but calling out to Jesus didn’t seem like a real necessity. I always believed that He is real, but didn’t think a personal relationship was necessary or even possible. (any emphasis mine)

There were several people around at that time who I found out later were my “Prayer Warriors.” While home alone one day, I had a mental image come into my mind that was very disturbing. It was a sign that said, “Welcome to Hell,” and it wasn’t talking about Hell, Michigan. For the first time in my life, I truly started talking to the Lord, and told Him I knew I was a sinner (Romans 3:23). Over a period of about an hour, I asked Him to forgive me and let me become a part of Jesus’ flock. I had been reading the Bible off and on for a short while, but after this I started reading every day. My “Prayer Warriors” had done their job very well.

Anyone who has never read God’s word from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 for themselves, but have just taken other people’s word about what’s there, is in for a big surprise. I found out that a whole bunch of “stuff” that I was told was there – wasn’t. Also, things that were conveniently left out as not being there – were.

Since that time, I have read the Bible cover to cover numerous times, and have used several different translations. My personal preferences are the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New English Translation (NET). These are the easiest for me to read and understand, and they follow the original texts. Also, I made it a habit to read at least one chapter a day until it became a lifestyle. If I miss even one day reading the Lord’s love letter to me, I get a very uncomfortable feeling.

Talking to the Father (prayer) has become a permanent lifestyle as well. Used to be, I thought I had to follow a certain format, and say impressive words like I had heard in church over the years. My Jesus paid a very high price for me to have this privilege of just talking to the Father, for which I am very thankful. Not all my prayers are out loud because I know the Holy Spirit within me passes them on, even when I don’t really know what needs to be said (Romans 8:26-27). Sometimes it may only be a word or two, but I know He’s there and listening.

There have been several requests I have made from the time I called out for Jesus to be my Savior, and they continue today. One, I ask just before reading His word, that my mind be opened for more understanding as to what I need from the passages for that day. I still find new meanings from scripture that I have read several times in the past. There is no way I will ever know everything that is in the Bible. When I start to read, it’s like hitting the “refresh” key on a computer.

Also, I ask that He give me that capacity to love Him more and more each day. Some people say they can’t love something or someone that is unseen; however, I have an image of my Father through all of His creation around us. Just to see a tree, and to know that the Creator made the very first one just by His word. There were no “seedlings” in the beginning, yet He made regeneration possible in every plant, animal, sea life, and especially humans. I believe His word about how long this earth has been here, and it isn’t millions of years. We are not something that has been generated through evolution.

Also, I totally believe the Bible’s prophecies about what the end of this age will be like, and I believe we are at the very doorway of going Home. Any day now, true believers will hear that shofar/trumpet and the shout from the archangel; and we will rise up to meet our Jesus in the air (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).

To have the faith and belief in a Savior, that most of the world disavows, takes a true relationship with Him that only those who have received and accepted His precious gift will understand. He will force no one to accept Him, but neither will He turn anyone away who calls on Him (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9-13).

Satan and his demons (fallen angels) are working overtime as he knows his time here is drawing short. He knows all of our human desires, and plays on our weaknesses. Those who believe they can outsmart him are totally mismatched and play right into his trap. Another regular prayer request, besides asking for forgiveness, is to help me stay strong when the temptations arise. I do slip and sin, but the Father has provided forgiveness when asked (1 John 1:8-10).

A song written by Bill Gaither in 1963 has come to have special meaning for me. I have been fortunate enough to have attended concerts when it was just the Gaither Trio back in the 1960’s. I have also been able to attend some of the more modern concerts with many inspirational talented performers that appear on the Gaither Gospel show. Every time I hear “He Touched Me,” I am left with a very warm feeling. Especially over the past 30 years. It’s a very simple praise song with two verses and a refrain, but the meaning goes ever so deep.

1.) Shackled by a heavy burden, ‘neath a load of guilt and shame. Then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same.

Ref.) He touched me; O, He touched me; and O the joy that floods my soul. Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.

2.) Since I met this blessed Savior, since He cleansed and made me whole, I will never cease to praise Him! I’ll shout it while eternity rolls! (Ref)

The deeper my relationship with the Savior grows, the greater the value of the words of this song have become. When I spoke of my “Prayer Warriors,” I firmly believe the Father, through them, gave me one more chance to repent (2 Peter 3:9), and had the Holy Spirit provide the “nudge” needed to get my attention. As I said, He won’t force Himself on anyone, but there’s nothing that says He won’t try to properly influence us.

Not only did I get more and more into the word, but the “Touch” of my Savior led me to become an ordained minister. This was a dream my late mother had for me that I never thought would happen. Though I am not presently pastoring a church, posting these messages has resulted in my proclamation that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings in places I could never go. It’s not for accolades for me, but all praise and glory goes to Him. He gives me the words; I pass them on.

As two lines of the song say, “Then the hand of Jesus Touched me, and now I am no longer the same.” Therefore, in His honor, “I will never cease to praise Him! I’ll shout it while eternity rolls.”

Time is getting short for those who have not called on Him to be their Savior. Once the rapture takes place, it will still be possible for people to be saved, but most likely at a terrible cost. Those raptured will not go through the wrath as God promised in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:9.

“He Touched Me,” and He’s waiting to touch you as well. You will have all eternity to thank Him. It will be the most valuable decision you will ever make.

John 14:6, “Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

No matter what any false prophet says, this verse is absolute. Call out today!

Shalom

huebshman46@gmail.com

An Exposition

Luke 7:11-17: Jesus’ Authority over Death

“And it came about soon afterwards that He went to a city named Nain, and His disciples were going along with Him accompanied by a large multitude. Now as He approached the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother and she was a widow, and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.

“And when the LORD saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And He came up and touched the coffin, and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

“And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited His people!’ And this report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district” (Luke 7:11-17, NASB).

Reading about the story of Jesus should never be a chore or duty that needs to be completed each day and checked off before one retires for the evening. The Scriptures were never meant to be read or recited as if one were reading a dull treatise on the mechanics of a device or a detailed report on an event or individual.

I have heard the Scriptures recited from behind pulpits in a dull and emotionless manner as if the work of God were somehow an afterthought that needed to be written down and filed away for future examination. I’ve listened to preachers and professors who saw the drama of redemption as an academic discipline that somehow was not part of the real world and was part of a culture that was less advanced than our idea of sophistication and progress. To some, the life of Jesus is a myth and legend and is not to be taken as a literal event. That is certainly not the sense in which Luke presents his account of the Savior’s mission.

Luke was both a physician and a historian who lived in the real world. He was exposed to the progressive and scientific thoughts and discoveries of both his time and that of the past. Civilizations such as ancient Greece where philosophy, the arts, music, mathematics, early mechanics, the birth of political thought and practice, and the development of what would be medicines and surgical procedures were a part of his heritage. Greek ideas were adopted by the Romans and preserved in the academies of the great cities, most notably Athens where it all originated during its Golden Age (450 -332 B.C., est.).

Luke has never struck me as someone who was easily swayed by the tales of the Greek gods and their mischievous ways with the mortals or among themselves on Mount Olympus. It would seem he had his thoughts fixed on what was occurring at the moment and figuring out how everything worked in the world around him. The ethereal, the mystic, and the heroic legends were probably not a major concern for him.

Luke was what we would refer to as an intellectual, and there is nothing wrong with that label. God gave us a mind to develop rational, logical concepts of thought and introspection. We need to learn to think critically about issues that affect us and those around us. This is a trait that I seem to find lacking in most Christians today which borders on naivety and gullibility. Many believers fail to examine and discern well-known personalities whose interpretations of Scripture and of the Lord Jesus Christ border on the bizarre, outlandish, and often blasphemous. It seems that the efforts of the Bereans (Acts 17:11) who examined Paul’s teachings do not seem to be important or followed as an example today.

We are to look at the Bible for ourselves as to whether what we are receiving from our pastors and elders is true and valid. In reading the Scriptures, we not only get a portrait of the Sovereign Lord of Creation and the Author of our Salvation, but also the stories of people who lived real lives without halos or holy symbols around them like the artists of medieval and renaissance times tended to portray them.

Luke wrote about authentic situations that our Lord Jesus encountered and resolved. To say that the Scriptures we possess are a collection of legends is proof that in leveling that charge, you have not taken the time to read and study them, or do not want to face the probability that in reading them, you will have to change your ways and bow to God. The Scriptures are not changed or eliminated because of unbelief and skepticism, but they will be the evidence held against you when you stand before the LORD to give an accounting of your life. Now swallow your pride and keep reading.

The story we will look at takes place the day after the miraculous healing of the Roman centurion’s beloved servant.

In His travels around the region of Galilee and beyond, Jesus arrives at a town called Nain, followed not only by His disciples, but a large crowd as well. Nain itself was located a day’s journey from Capernaum and near a small mountain referred to as Little Hermon, southeast of Nazareth. At this time in the ministry of Jesus, only a few who followed Him did so out of the possibility that He might just be God’s Messiah as proclaimed by John the Baptist and the prophets who lived centuries before. Others were following Him out of curiosity and the desire to see the miraculous and unusual. Within three years, He would have only a handful of true followers. Much of the nation by that time would reject Him, and in doing so, will set themselves up for Divine judgment years later.

At the city gate, Jesus comes across a funeral procession. A young man had died and was being carried out in what would be considered a type of casket by the men of the town, headed to the burial caves or ground where family members had been laid to rest.

Think of the grief the mother is facing right now. She has lost not just the child she had borne and reared, and who had been her provider, but sometime before that she had to bid her husband goodbye as his body was put into the ground. She is all alone, and now there is no one to care for her. It is assumed that her neighbors would be able to render some assistance, but for all practical purposes, she is now having to a life of little income, certain poverty and the misery to follow.

This is where Jesus shows up and witnesses the sorrowful procession. His heart and being is filled with compassion for this dear soul. He can empathize with her, for He had witnessed the death of His foster father Joseph some years before and took it upon Himself to provide not just for His mother Mary, but also His younger siblings as a carpenter. It is reasonable to assume that His brothers had learned various trades and continued to support Mary after Jesus left to begin teaching and preaching around Galilee and the surrounding areas.

Our Lord Jesus did not live His life on earth as someone distant or aloof, or above the heartache and hardship of those around Him. He is God in the flesh, but He is also the perfect Man, who expressed emotions and feelings. He endured more hardship and suffering than we could ever comprehend and shed more tears for His fallen creation than Scripture records (Luke 22:44; John 21:25; Heb. 2:10, 4:15, 5:8, 1 Pet. 3:18).

Scripture proclaims that Jesus is the conqueror of death (Isaiah 25:8; Acts 2:27; John 5:28-29, 10:17-18; 1 Cor. 15:4, 25-26; Rom.1:4, Rev.1:18). Here in this town, the people will witness His power and ability to do so. He gently tells this grieving widow not to weep, for He was to show her that God was with her in her troubles (Ps. 18:17, 34:4, 56:13; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 2:15), and to show that He was the One who brings resurrection to the physical and spiritually dead (John 11:25; Romans 5:8). With a word of command, the young man immediately sits up in the casket and begins to speak.

Scripture is silent on the young man’s journey into the afterlife, as it is with the resurrection of Lazarus, and even when Paul was left for dead outside of Lystra and was received into the third heaven, he was not allowed to present what he saw (2 Cor.12:3-6).

This is a strong rebuke to those who have claimed in recent years to have seen “a vision of heaven” and written books about their alleged tours of glory. We are not to rely or believe these claims as proof of the authenticity of heaven or hell’s existence. Why should I rely on alleged experiences and stories by fallen men, when it is God Himself who presents the true picture of what awaits the redeemed as well as the reprobate after death? (Mark 9:42-48; Luke 16:19-31, 23:43; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 4, 5, 19-22). What He has revealed in Scripture is all we need to know and expect.

The crowd who witnesses this miracle and its inevitable outcome of joy, wonder, praise to God, and happiness over the reunion of a mother and her son was also a sign that He was still among His people and that He has all of the affairs of men and nature under His sovereign control and direction.

Luke would visit these towns and talk to those who were there and to get affirmation that what Jesus said and did gave irrefutable proof as to the claim of His divinity and power (Acts 1:1-3). As Luke wrote these events down, he clearly showed in his account a sense of wonder and excitement that strengthened his own faith over the years and that he had been called by the LORD to give this account for the benefit of those who would believe in the coming years and beyond. What he had carefully researched and recorded became holy, inerrant, infallible Scripture straight from the mind and foreknowledge of our great God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Rev. 1:1; John 1:1-4, 17:17).

He is wonderful, Jesus our LORD. Amen.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.donaldwhitchard.com