He exists! June 4, 2008
Posted by bmcculley in bible.Tags: diligence, faith, teaching
4 comments
This past Sunday, I got to teach the adult class at church. The pastor knew he was going to be away and asked me to prepare something – anything I liked – to share. I’m a procrastinator, so even though it was on my mind all week, Saturday came and I didn’t have any firm plans yet. I read three Psalms and ran some ideas by Katie, but nothing really struck me (even though I had a fist-pumping “Yes!” moment reading Psalm 82 and cross-referencing it with the end of John 10 in my head). I went to bed Saturday planning to get up at 7:00, decide on something and write out my notes.
While I slept, I received the phrase “He rewards those who diligently seek Him”. As I tossed in the heat, the words tossed in my mind. I was so sleepy, I wasn’t even sure they were scripture. “Even if they are”, I thought, “I don’t know the reference and my bible doesn’t have a concordance to look it up.” Still, the theme remained, and after what seemed like a few hours, I had an epiphany. “He exists!” It’s the verse from the 2007 IJM Global Prayer Gathering.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
– Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
My Journaling Bible, English Standard Version, lacking the concordance, was also lacking the modifier diligently, but I checked Katie’s NKJV and it had it. I had attended the prior two Sundays, hearing the pastor teach on many different kinds of faith with supporting scripture. Weak faith: Matthew 8:23. Strong faith: Romans 4:19-21. Temporary faith: Luke 8:6-7, 13-14. Persevering faith: Hebrews 10:35-36. And now, as I slept, God gave me part of a verse from the “faith chapter” of the Bible.
I woke excited at 7:00. I took a shower – a good place to gather one’s thoughts. I called Katie at 7:30 and asked her to bring a prop. I sat down at my desk and pulled events and things I had heard from my discordant week into a coherent lesson. I added some additional scripture. I questioned whether I had the required 20-25 minutes of material. I added an opening prayer with time for requests.
Here’s the gist of what I said. Sorry for the length. I went for 45 minutes. :-)
