MONDAY JULY 7, 2025: CAN YOU RELATE?
My dad used to say, “I hope this rain keeps up…that way it won’t come down!” What if Jesus stayed up and didn’t come down? Why did He come down anyway? There are a good number of reasons, the most important of which was that He came down so that we could go up! He also came so that we might have a better understanding of who God is and be able to relate to God as humans ourselves. What if He came as He is? Moses caught only a peripheral glimpse and had to wear a veil for days because his appearance afterward was freaking people out! (Ex, 34:29-30). Come to think of it, I don’t wear a veil and I have a similar effect on folks! The truth is, if Christ came solely as God, we would probably have a difficult time understanding who He is and applying His plan, in and for our lives. For example…
Jesus grew up with parents and siblings. Can you relate? He experienced heat, cold, hunger, anger, joy, love and peace. Can you relate? Cousins, friends, enemies, birthday parties, births, weddings and funerals. His parents weren’t rich, and He was only a half-brother to His siblings and step son to His father. To the casual witness, He was just an ordinary person, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2). Can you relate? Even so, do you have a hard time believing? This may come as a surprise to you, but…
“For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” (John 7:5). Yet later on, two of the Bible’s books were written by His brother’s James and Jude. At some point, after some doubt and disbelief they were able to relate to who Jesus really was. That’s what happened to me. How about you; are you there yet? Here’s how much Jesus wants to relate to you, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12). He wants to be relation! Can YOU relate? Something to think about…
One dark night, a fire started inside the local chemical plant. In the blink of an eye, it exploded into massive flames. The alarm went out to all the fire departments for miles around. When the firefighters appeared on the scene, the chemical company president rushed to the fireman in charge and said, “All our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved. I will give 50,000 dollars to the fire department that brings them out intact.” But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Then in the distance, a lone siren was heard. It was the nearby rural township volunteer fire brigade, composed mainly of old men over 65. To everyone’s amazement, that little run-down engine roared right past all the newer sleek engines, and without even slowing down it drove straight into the middle of the inferno. Outside, the other firemen watched as the old timers jumped off right in the middle of the fire and fought it back on all sides. Within a short time, they had extinguished the fire and had saved the secret formulas. The grateful chemical company president announced that for such a superhuman feat he was upping the reward to $200,000! The local TV station caught the thank you on film and asked the chief, “What are you going to do with all that money?” “Well,” said Paddy, the 70-year-old fire chief, “the first thing we’re gonna do is fix the brakes on that bloody fire truck!”
Impact Church, 141 E. Main St. in Canton, (across from Kwikfill Mkt). Services are Sun. at 10:30 am. Call 570-673-5912 or visit www.impactministries.life Until next time, look up and smile!