God's Answer To Superstition

In antiquity, the Jews held physicians in low esteem as a rule, despite the Hippocratic oath because they resorted to the superstitious nature of man.  Superstition is a form of unbelief and is an attempt to attribute the work of God to something mechanical like fate or happenstance.  God is the God of Providence, fully in control of the situation at hand bringing all to His glory (cf. Rom. 11:36; Eph. 1:11).

Usually, when people were desperate they went to the physicians for some cure, if they could afford it, and it was expensive because sometimes they used herbs and spices that were rare to come by. Lepers were considered ceremonially unclean according to Rabbinic Law, but Jesus was willing to become Mr. Unclean personified for our sake to identify with our disease of sin and heal us, as well as forgive us--giving us power over it, so we aren't its slave anymore.

Jesus didn't want to be primarily known as just a divine healer or worker of miracles, but as the Savior, the Christ! Myrrh, for instance, was like the snake oil of antiquity, or the cure-all and panacea, pedaled for almost any ailment and this is one superstition that the charlatans were known for--but Jesus was for real and worthy of our faith, for He bore our illness and with His stripes, we are healed (cf. Is. 53).   

There are Christians today who don't pray, except as last resort, and even pagans will pray in superstition or for "good luck."  But luck, chance, and fortune have no place in the Christian faith.  God is in control of all, even the throw of the die (cf. Prov. 16:33).  What's so hypocritical, is that even when unbelievers pray and their prayers are answered, they find some reason to chalk it up to luck or chance and not give God the glory for answering the prayer.  We blame God for all tragedies and give ourselves all the credit for our fortune (cf. Prov. 19:3).

The woman with the hemorrhage was also "unclean" and when she "touched" Jesus, He became ceremonially unclean, but Jesus wasn't concerned with Himself, but with her frame of mind, faith and salvation and in Mark 5:21ff had become broke because of the expense of paying the physicians to heal her, but no avail.  As a last resort, she must have heard of Jesus' healing powers and sought Him out and "touched" Him in faith thinking that would heal her.  Jesus made it clear to her after the fact that it wasn't superstition that healed her, but her faith in Him.  He is the healer.

If superstition was the answer, anyone who touched Jesus would be healed, even without faith.  It is said that athletes are the most superstitious of people and even their fans can be, thinking that wearing team logos brings their favorite team good fortune or "luck." They don't want to "jinx" their team--Go, Twins! Knock on wood (saying this tongue-in-cheek)!  To have the Christian worldview, we ought to say that we are blessed and not lucky!

But Ecclesiastes says that luck and chance happen to all, it's part of our reality, how we interpret things, not how God sees them.  We ought to get over the notion that God deliberately takes sides in a game though or that winning is everything, and it's not a matter of skill and sportsmanship--blessings are showered on all, for God is good to everyone! (cf. Psalm 145:9).

This aforementioned woman's healing shows us that we all need to confess our faith to make it confirmed and not to be ashamed of our Lord and that He is part of us and lives in us. We must not keep our faith or healing privatized!   She reached out in faith the best she knew and this is all God asks:  take that leap of faith toward Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, don't just be glad He heals others--make the healing yours!  We are all unclean before salvation and need to come to Jesus for our healing and reinstatement.

The woman found out that she didn't "interrupt" Jesus but He mattered to her (we all do!)--He is never too busy for us (a good lesson on priorities for us all!).  There are no distractions to Jesus' agenda and in God's economy, we all matter the same, since God doesn't show favoritism or partiality--He's no respecter of persons (cf. Rom. 2:11; Acts 10:34).  Jesus always has time for us and is never in a hurry (neither late nor early but always on His timetable) so much that He would feel an interruption like the disciples thought. They were the ones who needed their priorities altered, realigned, and readjusted to God's timetable and agenda: Guess who needs an attitude check!

We all need to come to Jesus in faith to be made clean and healed of our sin, realizing we matter to God as individuals and expect a miracle in faith, in effect making contact with Jesus and touching Him or connecting to Him.  Jesus is never too busy!  He is ready to give us His undivided attention!  People are too ready to superstitiously attribute their salvation to"walking the aisle" or "raising their hand" or "coming to the altar," but we must realize that it's faith in Christ saves, not faith in faith, faith doesn't save, Christ saves!

In conclusion, when you have a strong faith you're less likely to "knock on wood" or worry about "black cats," or anything superstitious like the "full moon" or "Friday the thirteenth!"   Salvation is a form of freedom from the tyranny of ourselves to have our full faith in God.      Soli Deo Gloria!

The Shrine Of Almighty Chance

People who play the lotto or gamble compulsively don't realize that God micromanages the cosmos and superintends every creature and event under the sun as His divine sovereignty dictates; i.e., there is no such thing as chance, but a mathematical probability and it's blind, whereas God sees all--it is not an entity and it's corollary, luck, is dumb (whereas God is omniscient), and fortune is a way to avoid the word blessing!   I realize some people's retirement plan is to win the lottery, but this is vain and contrary to the Word, where we should be wise in stewardship and plan ahead while trusting in God, not our money to save and provide for us!

Is your security in your portfolio or in Providence?  God is in control, for what kind of God wouldn't be:  There is not one maverick molecule in the universe!  Fate, by the way, is impersonal and even blind, whereas God is personal and involved with care in our lives. There's no such entity as good fortune, but God is good to all and blesses them either directly or by association.  Do you ever say to yourself, "Let's not meet by accident [referring to a collision]!"  Or even, "Fancy meeting you here!" We make mistakes and have accidents as humans, but God overrules and puts meaning in them--there's even meaning in suffering, which is God's megaphone to speak to us.  God's cosmos is not random, but intricately designed and under control.  It has been said that the entire universe is like one vast mathematical equation form God's mind.

God even works through diabolical events (cf. Acts 2:23, 4:28) such as the crucifixion to bring about blessings out of curses, and Joseph met his brothers and told them that, though they meant it for evil, God meant it for good! There are no flukes of nature or accidents of history--we must realize God's wisdom in allowing or causing them to happen.  Wycliffe said, "All things come to pass of necessity." "The steps of a man are established by the LORD" (cf. Psa. 37:23).  God's answer to happenstance is Providence and this is meant to be comforting and assuring that God reigns and rules overall.  "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will"  (Eph. 1:11, NIV).

Nothing happens by chance or coincidence: There is no fortuitous event, but everything under the sun has purpose and meaning in God's eyes, even if we don't fathom it (cf. Prov. 16:4; Prov. 16:33; Eph. 1:11).  Purpose is a naughty word for the modern man who believes in random chance and even denies there is purpose in life itself.  But it behooves us to realize the reasoning behind God's blessings and His providence in our lives--don't shrug off something as getting lucky or fate smiling on you, but give the glory to God who has blessed you and sees and knows all possibilities and can coordinate and orchestrate our lives with utmost care, having written them down before we were born (cf. Psalm 139:16).  

NB:  the providence of God.    "LORD, I know that people's lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps"  (Jer. 10:23, NIV). "A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand their own way?"  (Prov. 20:24, NIV).

We really shouldn't accommodate the secularists by using these words in our vocabulary, but boldly witness and testify of the providence and blessings of God on our behalf, who watches over us to provide us all our needs.  Ben Franklin observed and gave the testimony:  "I have lived a long time, and the longer I live, the more I'm convinced that God governs in the affairs of men."

Note:  God is the sole primary cause of the cosmos, who either directs or permits all events:  Nothing just happens according to the law of causality (cause and effect); and if God caused it, it must have purpose, because He's a God of purpose and design, known as teleology.  We are secondary causes and agents of God being used for His ultimate will. 

The conclusion of the matter is this:  "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33, NIV).  This implies there are meaning and purpose in everything to God (cf. Prov. 16:4), but we are not capable of discerning or deciphering it all the time--just take it by faith that God is with you.   Soli Deo Gloria!