God and the Imposssible

          While at Indiana University, I went with my roommate to stay for the weekend. It was during the Winter and I recall going to my room to prepare for bed.  The bed was piled high with blankets and quilts which seemed too much for me.  However, about 5:00 AM the next day I understood why they were there.  It seemed to be as cold inside of the house as it was outside.  I didn't want to move from the bed.  The old coal furnace had gone out and there was no heat until the fire was built again in the furnace.    Things sure are different now.  I can set my thermostat for 72 degrees and the temperature will not change except for a couple of degrees up or down.  The temperature is pretty much constant all night long.  This would have been impossible in the 1950's.  There are a lot of things hat were impossible in the 1950's especially anything that would require a computer or some other modern technology.  Satellites can be stationed around the earth allowing us to see things at the same time such as a coronation or the Olympic games.  We may have thought this to be impossible, but it is all common today.  Mark 10:26-27 says, "And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?   And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible."  

       The question from disciples was a question that all of us can ask and the answer that Jesus gave is certainly the basis for our faith.  It would have seemed that salvation was impossible according to man's thinking but Jesus reminded them that with God all things are possible.  Notice however that it is not with man that all things are possible.  So, we need to know how God will save people.  We need to answer the question, "Does God have a specific "Plan of Salvation?  God's Word, the Bible, sums it up with the word "Believe." The word “believe' occurs almost 80 times just in the Gospel of John which is why it is often referred to as the Gospel of Belief.  It occurs in John 3:16; Acts 16:31; John 3:36 and hundreds of other verses in the New Testament. It was the one requirement for the Philippian Jailer. Paul told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved and his house.  So, with God, there is the possibility of salvation to them which "believe."  We might go on further and ask, "believe in what?"  The answer lies in the work of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  It was His substitutionary death for us.  The important thing for us to remember is that salvation is possible with God but it must be on His terms and not your own.  Sad to say, many have tried to come up with their own plan of salvation as they have not accepted God's plan.  So, praise God today that with Him salvation is possible.  John 14:1-6 reminds us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no man can come to the Father except by Him.