LUKE’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL OF JESUS: A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional.

Nothing is Impossible with God.

Luke 1: 37 (MsgB)

[37] “Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”

Wow! What a wonderful promise!

Now, that’s one I want to remember, don’t you?

So many times, we Christians like to take specific one-liners from the Bible, (like this one!) cut them out, and then paste them onto refrigerator magnets, just so we can better lay hold of that specific promise for our lives.

Sound familiar?

Verse 37 of Luke 1 is one such verse.

How powerful this one sentence is. When Gabriel spoke these few simple words, he certainly said a mouthful! It’s almost like he summed up the entirety of the Bible in seven little words!

Yet, biblical scholars and long-time practitioners of God’s Word remind us novice Christians that we must be careful not to cut and paste God’s Word, attempting to apply one little verse to our personal situations, while ignoring the larger context in which that scripture was originally used.

Over the years, I’ve been around folks who love to quote today’s scripture in the context of a “name it-claim it” theology.

Talk about your ‘cut and paste’ operation!

The logic goes like this:

“Since God’s Word says, ‘Nothing is impossible for God,’ Marty, you just need to claim that scripture and start believing that the Lord wants you to be filthy rich!”

“Hallelujah, brother, I claim that in Jesus name!”

Well, that all sounds nice, but again, I have to be careful to not apply this wonderful verse in non-scriptural ways. Actually, when put into the truest context of Luke’s passage, Gabriel is referencing that “nothing is impossible with God,” WHEN (in context) God is about to fulfill His mighty plans, not mine!

In other words, when applying this scripture to my life, I must remember that God is not my personal vending machine, accomplishing impossible miracles on behalf of my personalized self-centered dreams.

No. Just the contrary is true.

In truth, God is looking for men, women and children who are willing to adjust their own lives, re-aligning our little self-centered worlds for the unique Kingdom purposes of God. Not insisting on our dreams, but deferring to His! It’s in this context, as Gabriel states clearly to Mary, and indirectly to us, that as we move our lives into position with the larger will of God’s Kingdom, nothing is impossible for God as He performs His mighty will, in and through our lives.

Now, that promise, when taken in true context, makes a whole bunch more sense. Don’t you think?

My prayer: Thank You Lord, for Your amazing promises that are found in the Bible. Here is one, Lord, I want to claim. Yet, help me as I do so, to claim this promise in the full context in which it was originally given. As Mary aligned her life to Your will, truly nothing was impossible for You. May I find myself aligning to Your will, as Mary did, so that Your promises become applicable to my life as well. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: So what re-alignment of my life needs to happen in order for this beautiful promise of God to be made active in my life? How have I been misusing a promise like this one, bending it to fit my self-centered and self-consumed life? As I re-adjust my life to fit more perfectly within the larger will of God, what impossible works can now become possible because of God’s promise?

So what is God speaking to you today? Are you practicing the Kingdom presence of God?

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