Daily Truth: “And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God” Luke 9:43
It is amazing how much we rely on electrical power and how much we don’t realize it until we don’t have power. My family had that lesson brought home to us this week. Sunday afternoon, around 12:30 the lights surged on and off twice and then the power was gone. We kept hoping it would be back soon, but as the day wore on we realized that we might be sleeping near the fireplace in the living room – all seven of us. So, we started preparing for what appeared to be the inevitable – a night without power. My hubs tried to get the generator to work so that we could at least have heat in the house. No luck. The kids gathered sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals – all the necessities for a warm night. Pj’s were donned and candles were gathered. The kitchen became a command station of candles, lighters, batteries, flashlights, and games. About seven rounds of dominoes was played by candlelight and a rousing game of hide-and-seek in the dark was enjoyed by the kids. The funny thing was every time one of the kids went into a room inevitably we heard, “I can’t turn the lights on”. I don’t know how many times we heard during the first two hours, “Can we watch a movie or play the Wii?” Finally, they settled and realized we had to make do without all of the things that required power. We survived. Thirty hours later the power did come on.
I will admit we did succumb to the cold and went to a friends house to thaw out and spend the night. When your house gets down to 41 degrees and you have four layers of clothes on, two sets of gloves, hand warmers, and you can see your breath in the house – it’s time to find a warmer accommodations. But a lesson was learned. It was amazing to the kids how much we depend on power. The irony is that about a week earlier my oldest made the comment that we could get by without electrical power and that we don’t depend on it that much. She has since changed her mind. A thought occurred to me. We have an unlimited source of power as Christians – our all powerful God. Yet, how often do we tap into that source of power. In Luke 9:37-45, a father comes to Jesus with a demon possessed child and cries that even the disciples couldn’t cast out the demon. The irony, Jesus had just given the disciples the power to cast out demons (Luke 9:1). Jesus turns to them and calls them “faithless”. In other words, the disciples had power given to them by Jesus and yet didn’t tap into it. Jesus then turns and cast out the demon, heals the boy, and restores him to his father. ” And they (all that saw the miracle) were all amazed at the mighty power of God” (Luke 9:41). These same people would later be responsible for Jesus death. Lest we fault the disciples, how many times do we – I – neglect to seek Jesus power. If Jesus has the power over demons, doesn’t He have the power to take care of our needs.
Idea for the week: What to do with all those Christmas cards?
We gather all the Christmas cards and pictures that we receive and put them in a basket. Each night we take the card in the front of the basket, pray for that family, and stick their card in the back of the basket. This continues all year. It is fun to pray for these families throughout the year.
Have a powerful week, Rebekah 