GOD IS STILL ABLE TODAY (1)
God was not only able in days past, but He is still able today. Once Jesus rebuked some Jews who thought they deserved special treatment because Abraham was their ancestor. Jesus said, “And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father ’; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8). God had been able in the Old Testament, and He was still able! An author enjoyed visiting an old violin teacher because of his positive outlook on life. Once when he was visiting, he asked the old teacher, “What’s the good news for today?” The teacher tapped a tuning fork, which gave off a clear note. “That’s the good news,” he said. “That’s the musical note ‘A.’ It was ‘A’ yesterday. It is ‘A’ today. And it will be ‘A’ a thousand years from now.” The goodnews of our lesson is that God was able yesterday, He is able today, and He will be able ten thousand years from now!
The word translated “able” in the New Testament passages we will consider are from various forms of dunamis, the word from which we get “dynamite,” “dynamic,” etc. Some translations have “has power” instead of the phrase “is able,” but the thought is the same. Our God is a God of power! The New Testament tells us of God’s ability to do many things. Let us look at God’s ability to save. God was able to love us in spite of our unloveableness. He was able to send His Son. Now He is able to forgive. This is called grace—and it proclaims God’s ability to save. Paul told the Ephesians elders, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). May God help us to realize how precious this truth is. In and of ourselves, we have no ability to be saved. If God did not have the ability, we would be without hope. However, the Lord “is able to save forever those who draw near to [Him] through [Jesus]” (Hebrews 7:25a)!
God is able to help us meet the challenges of life. After we become Christians, the world is still with us, and at times it becomes hard to live the Christian life. Romans 7 declares the naked truth: No man is able by his own resources to live the Christian life. God be thanked that He is able; He will be with us and strengthen us. Passage after passage in the New Testament declares this great truth: (1) Hebrews 2:18b, speaking of Jesus, declares: “He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” (2) In 2 Timothy 1:12b we read, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” (3) When a man is faithful to God but is still criticized, he has this promise: “The Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). (4) This truth that “God is able” even impacts the subject of stewardship. In light of today’s economic pressures, how can we be the kind of stewards we need to be? The simple answer is that we cannot. By ourselves, we cannot. We do not have the ability; but our God is able. (5) Next, we come to a marvelous passage that staggers the mind: “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20). There is a limit to our abilities; there is no limit to God’s!
Word Affirmation: “ I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." - Psalm 91:2 (Don't just say it, mean it!)
“ There is a limit to our abilities; there is no limit to God’s! "
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