The Uplifting Power of God
Stories
Contents
“The Uplifting Power of God” by Keith Wagner
“The Grace of God” by Keith Wagner
The Uplifting Power of God
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 66:1-9
The steadfast love of God is a love “that keeps our feet from stumbling.” When I was a teen, our family was ice skating during the winter months at my uncle’s pond. My mother slipped on the ice and broke her ankle. I remember my mother, sitting on the sofa with her leg in a cast. It was then we learned to do laundry and cook for ourselves. But somehow my father and three brothers and I managed to eat and continue our lives. It was the first time in her life she enjoyed a short break from the job of raising a family.
My mother may have slipped but I believe that the psalmist meant something different. Life has its falls and setbacks. As the psalmist went on to say, “Come and see what all God has done.” But in spite of all we have endured, God has delivered us. God has led us to a “spacious place.” For the first time as a mother, my mother experienced that spacious place.
Besides giving us “spacious place” God also has “turned the waters into dry land so that people passed through the sea on foot.” Just as God had parted the water of the Red Sea, God will enable them to walk on dry land in the future. The psalmist was reminding his listeners what God had done for them in the past. They needed to be reminded of that experience to give them hope for the future.
Rufus Jones tells the story about The Great Hellgate Bridge that was being built over the East River in New York. Just when one of the central piers of the bridge was to go down to its bedrock foundation, the engineers came upon an old derelict ship, lying imbedded in the river mud that was in the way. No tugboat could be found that was able to remove the derelict ship from its ancient bed in the mud. Finally, with a sudden inspiration, one of the workers hit upon an idea. He took a large flat-boat, which had been used to bring stone down the river, and he chained it to the old sunken ship when the tide was low. Then he waited for the great tidal energies to do their work.
Slowly the rising tide, with all the forces of the ocean behind it and the moon above it, came up under the flat-boat, raising it inch by inch. And as it came up, lifted by irresistible power, the derelict ship came up with it, until it was entirely out of the mud. Then the boat, with its subterranean load, was towed out to sea where the old water-logged ship was unchained and allowed to drop forever out of sight and reach. There are greater forces than those tidal waves waiting for us in our daily lives. They have always been there. They are there even now.
We have hope when we live with the assurance that God will come through for us, especially during our times of struggle.
* * *
The Grace of God
by Keith Wagner
2 Kings 5:1-14
Recently, a friend made a comment to me that reminded me how much God has been gracious to me. When I told him about my winter in Florida, walking on the beach, playing golf and enjoying the warmth, he said, “Wow, you are living the dream!”
I am far from wealthy and I have never won the lottery. What I do have is relationships with family and friends who have shared their resources with my wife and I and vice-versa.
One of my hobbies in retirement is model railroading. It has been an absolute joy to see how people enjoy watching model trains travel through scenic towns and countryside. They smoke, light up and make rail sounds just like the real thing.
I have always loved model trains. About eight years ago I visited a shut-in who also had an interest in trains. He had cancer and his prognosis was not good. I continued to visit him on a regular basis. One time our conversation led to model trains and he showed me a box of American Flyer train cars from the 1960’s. He had been collecting them for years. He was too sick to build a layout and enjoy what he had collected. We formed a close bond and when he died a few years later, his wife told me he wanted me to have his collection.
I was overwhelmed. They weren’t new and many of them needed work, which is something I really like to do. That collection grew and my hobby began to expand. Now I am part of a model railroad club and help to prepare a Christmas layout for our city. I have met many new friends; traveled to some interesting places and help others restore trains that have been lying in attics for years. I have been blessed and it was this man’s gift that has changed my life.
This story from 2 Kings is also a story about the grace of God. God intervened in ways beyond our understanding. Naaman discovered that there is a God more powerful than himself and also a God who extends grace to someone outside the faith.
Naaman was growing impatient and he wanted a quick cure for his illness. Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River and he would be healed. But Naaman was in a hurry. He didn’t have time for silly games. He thought that Elisha could heal him with the wave of a hand. But, Elisha saw it differently.
Today, we are no different than Naaman, for we live in an impatient society. We are a fast food, drive through, channel flipping, buy-it-now, easy credit, online buying, self-checkout lane, instant lottery ticket, self-serve, same-day delivery, society. We want what we want and we want it now!
God, however, has a different time schedule. Naaman’s illness was not going to be a quick fix. Elisha could not be bought. All the lobbying efforts in the world were not going to bring Naaman instant gratification. He may have been an important and powerful person, but Elisha was a man of God.
Naaman was promised restoration, but he would have to wait. And, he would also have to be humbled. Washing seven times in the Jordan River would have been very embarrassing for a man of his stature. But, Naaman had to overcome his pride and do what Elisha prescribed.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 7, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Pub
“The Uplifting Power of God” by Keith Wagner
“The Grace of God” by Keith Wagner
The Uplifting Power of God
by Keith Wagner
Psalm 66:1-9
The steadfast love of God is a love “that keeps our feet from stumbling.” When I was a teen, our family was ice skating during the winter months at my uncle’s pond. My mother slipped on the ice and broke her ankle. I remember my mother, sitting on the sofa with her leg in a cast. It was then we learned to do laundry and cook for ourselves. But somehow my father and three brothers and I managed to eat and continue our lives. It was the first time in her life she enjoyed a short break from the job of raising a family.
My mother may have slipped but I believe that the psalmist meant something different. Life has its falls and setbacks. As the psalmist went on to say, “Come and see what all God has done.” But in spite of all we have endured, God has delivered us. God has led us to a “spacious place.” For the first time as a mother, my mother experienced that spacious place.
Besides giving us “spacious place” God also has “turned the waters into dry land so that people passed through the sea on foot.” Just as God had parted the water of the Red Sea, God will enable them to walk on dry land in the future. The psalmist was reminding his listeners what God had done for them in the past. They needed to be reminded of that experience to give them hope for the future.
Rufus Jones tells the story about The Great Hellgate Bridge that was being built over the East River in New York. Just when one of the central piers of the bridge was to go down to its bedrock foundation, the engineers came upon an old derelict ship, lying imbedded in the river mud that was in the way. No tugboat could be found that was able to remove the derelict ship from its ancient bed in the mud. Finally, with a sudden inspiration, one of the workers hit upon an idea. He took a large flat-boat, which had been used to bring stone down the river, and he chained it to the old sunken ship when the tide was low. Then he waited for the great tidal energies to do their work.
Slowly the rising tide, with all the forces of the ocean behind it and the moon above it, came up under the flat-boat, raising it inch by inch. And as it came up, lifted by irresistible power, the derelict ship came up with it, until it was entirely out of the mud. Then the boat, with its subterranean load, was towed out to sea where the old water-logged ship was unchained and allowed to drop forever out of sight and reach. There are greater forces than those tidal waves waiting for us in our daily lives. They have always been there. They are there even now.
We have hope when we live with the assurance that God will come through for us, especially during our times of struggle.
* * *
The Grace of God
by Keith Wagner
2 Kings 5:1-14
Recently, a friend made a comment to me that reminded me how much God has been gracious to me. When I told him about my winter in Florida, walking on the beach, playing golf and enjoying the warmth, he said, “Wow, you are living the dream!”
I am far from wealthy and I have never won the lottery. What I do have is relationships with family and friends who have shared their resources with my wife and I and vice-versa.
One of my hobbies in retirement is model railroading. It has been an absolute joy to see how people enjoy watching model trains travel through scenic towns and countryside. They smoke, light up and make rail sounds just like the real thing.
I have always loved model trains. About eight years ago I visited a shut-in who also had an interest in trains. He had cancer and his prognosis was not good. I continued to visit him on a regular basis. One time our conversation led to model trains and he showed me a box of American Flyer train cars from the 1960’s. He had been collecting them for years. He was too sick to build a layout and enjoy what he had collected. We formed a close bond and when he died a few years later, his wife told me he wanted me to have his collection.
I was overwhelmed. They weren’t new and many of them needed work, which is something I really like to do. That collection grew and my hobby began to expand. Now I am part of a model railroad club and help to prepare a Christmas layout for our city. I have met many new friends; traveled to some interesting places and help others restore trains that have been lying in attics for years. I have been blessed and it was this man’s gift that has changed my life.
This story from 2 Kings is also a story about the grace of God. God intervened in ways beyond our understanding. Naaman discovered that there is a God more powerful than himself and also a God who extends grace to someone outside the faith.
Naaman was growing impatient and he wanted a quick cure for his illness. Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River and he would be healed. But Naaman was in a hurry. He didn’t have time for silly games. He thought that Elisha could heal him with the wave of a hand. But, Elisha saw it differently.
Today, we are no different than Naaman, for we live in an impatient society. We are a fast food, drive through, channel flipping, buy-it-now, easy credit, online buying, self-checkout lane, instant lottery ticket, self-serve, same-day delivery, society. We want what we want and we want it now!
God, however, has a different time schedule. Naaman’s illness was not going to be a quick fix. Elisha could not be bought. All the lobbying efforts in the world were not going to bring Naaman instant gratification. He may have been an important and powerful person, but Elisha was a man of God.
Naaman was promised restoration, but he would have to wait. And, he would also have to be humbled. Washing seven times in the Jordan River would have been very embarrassing for a man of his stature. But, Naaman had to overcome his pride and do what Elisha prescribed.
*****************************************
StoryShare, July 7, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Pub
