Flint... and the Spark of Life!

Today was one of those mornings where Piper seemed suddenly in tune to the Word of God that we have been speaking over her for three plus years.  As I was confessing the Word at her bedside where she quietly lay with her eyes closed and her head snuggled comfortably on her pillow, I came to Matthew 14:36 and personalized the verse from the King James Version in agreement with the Lord stating that “As many as have touched the Lord Jesus, as You said Piper has, are made perfectly whole and complete, as You said Piper is.”

When I neared the end of the verse Piper suddenly woke up, arched her left eyebrow, smiled and nodded her head in agreement!  That expression caused me to pause and I laughed and declared to her: “You agree with that… don’t you?”  To which she again smiled and vigorously nodded her head…. Then she closed her eyes and went quiet again.

Have you ever witnessed what happens when you strike two pieces of flint (a type of quartz – ie; extremely hard rock) together?  A spark is created.  I believe that is a good explanation for what happened to my wife today… not that she’s a hard rock… but one who all her life has been sensitive and in veracious faith toward the Word of the living God.  All it took this morning was for me to strike that faith with the Rock of our salvation and she sparked to life!

That experience seemed to go real well with the scripture I had been studying before I got her up for the day.  Ephesians 2:21 tells us “In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord.” (God’s Word ©)  Our unified faith in the spoken Word sparked life into my wife and I this morning and rekindled our faith in her whole and complete healing… for in a sense… we touched the Lord Jesus and received a portion of what Matthew 14:36 declares!  She sparked with a flash of life as a result of our faith in the power of Hs Word and His name.

I think that this is one of the experiences we can and should expect when we Christians come together in Him and unite in our expectancy for His miraculous works in our daily lives… don’t you? 

I was once asked what I thought were the reasons for our long and successful marriage.  In response I rattled off some things like love, team work, unselfishness and then after a moment of thought declared the main key was our united purpose to serve the Lord.  It seems like Piper and I were focused on seeking out and then doing whatever the Lord wanted us to do from the very first days of our relationship… even though at the time I had almost ZERO idea of how to do that… I just sensed that it was the right thing to do! (and am thankful for Piper’s patience… and training!)

During the current phase in our lives I have also learned firsthand what it means to have and not have Christians in unity of faith with us.  Those who have come along side of us have been a source of constant encouragement and unbelievable strength to both Piper and I… while those who haven’t have caused hours of frustration, intermixed with mental and emotional distress.

Over the last six years we have grown much closer with those who have joined in with us where we are in our walk of faith.  With the others, the distance between has continued to grow to the point that much of our past relationship is turning into but a foggy memory to me.

The book of Ephesians enforces the truth of how He is to be the source of our faith, our life and our joyful and successful unity with others.  We may not always agree with other’s methods or decisions, but we don’t have a lot of excuses to not stand together with other believers in Him… in His love and in His faithfulness to us in times of need… wouldn’t you agree?  He is the one that keeps us together, keeps us strong, and gives us the ability to see sparks of life like I witnessed with Piper this morning!

Have a great week!  Keep striking together the Rock of His Word in your life… and keep asking yourself.. “In What or in Whom am I expecting to stay in unity with today?”