The Power of “Let”

 

Have you ever noticed how often the word “let” appears in the Bible? Some translations say over a thousand time. Others report almost four thousand! Regardless, that little three-letter word caught my attention this week as though I’d never before seen it. Such a small word, yet defined by so many facets, for example:

 

Let permits or allows. “We let the kids stay up a while.”

 

Let provides an opportunity. “Their donation let us restock the pantry.”

 

Let adjusts what needs adjusting. “I let the hem out in those pants.”

 

Let shares a secret. “We let them in on our plans.”

 

Let expresses. “The new puppy let out a cry.”

 

Let commands. “Let me see that.”

 

Let sets free. “They let loose their laughter.”

 

Let releases. “Let go and let God.”

 

Permission, provision, adjustment, revelation, expression, command, freedom, release – those varied aspects of “Let” are inherent in the Bible verses below. As you read, notice especially how God permitted His creation to create!

 

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light,” Genesis 1:3.

 

“And God said, ‘Let the land produce seed-bearing plants and trees that bear fruit, according to their various kinds.' And it was so,” Genesis 1:11.

 

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth and across the sky’,” Genesis 1:20.

 

“God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so,” Genesis 1:24.

 

“Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image and likeness, so they may have authority over the fish in the sea and birds in the sky, livestock and wild animals, and all creatures that move along the ground’,” Genesis 1:26.

And it was so!

 

In another creation account, we see a young virgin’s response to an angel’s news that God had chosen her to bear His Son.

 

“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed,” Luke 1: 38.

Mary’s “Let it be” and God’s “Let there be” are ways of agreeing or saying, “Amen,” which, in this unique incident, worked together to ensure the birth of Jesus.

The story doesn’t end there though. In the “image and likeness” of God, we, too, have the power to create and let things happen as wardens of the earth. Consider, for example, how the permissive, expressive, revealing, creativity of God continues as Jesus commands in the gospel of Matthew:

 

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so they can see your good acts and glorify your Father in heaven," Matthew 5:16.

 

Amen. 

So be it. 

Let it be in Jesus’ Name.

 

When people in your presence push their politics

 

(Yes, alliteration intended.)

Are you weary of hearing heated debates over politics? If so, try turning disputes into a truce with these Bible tips.

• All Christians have a duty to tell the truth of God’s Word: “There is no authority except from God,” Romans 13.
• All lands are placed under God-given authority (Jeremiah 27:6.) 
• All of the people in the crowd recognized Jesus’ authority as He taught them (Matthew 7:29.)
• All authority to forgive has been given to Jesus (Matthew 9:6.)
• All ill spirits must submit to Jesus’ authority (Luke 4:36.)
• All followers of Jesus have His authority and power to use for good (Luke 9:1.)
• All powerful people and worldly authorities have immeasurably less power and influence than the church Body of Christ. As the Bible explains:

^“God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way,” Ephesians 1:20-23, Common English Bible (CEB.)

Church, we have work to do! Let’s start by stopping arguments among ourselves! Let’s unite in prayer to discern the tasks the Lord has given each of us to do as the Body of Christ and His Ambassadors to the world.

 

©2022, Mary Sayler

 (Above scriptures came from searching Bible Gateway.)

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Beyond Belief

 

“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose,” 1 Corinthians 1:9, Good News Translation.

Despite our diverse cultures, radically opposing beliefs, and personal preferences for how things are to be done, we are all to be One in Christ.

 

First, we believe:

Yes! God DOES mean what He says!

Yes! God the Father gave us Jesus the Son.

Yes, the Lord eradicates our wrongs and resuscitates us to a new life in Christ.

 

Then, we obey:

We find out what God wants.

We read the Bible. We talk to God and listen.

We invite God’s Holy Spirit to guide and empower us.

We use the ministry gifts and other resources we have been given to build up the Body of Christ.

 

Together, we do even more:

In Christ, we worship God and work with God’s Family.

We pray for discernment and wisdom, compassion and mercy.

We invite others into our ever-widening circle of God’s Love.

Together, we encircle the world with the good news of God’s Son.

We extend respect to all peoples, knowing we are all made in the image of God.

We focus on needs and goals we share, rather than our differences.

As God enables us, we make peace in the Name of Jesus.

                                   

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler          

 

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You, The Chosen Race

No race but the human race in God’s eyes, but the Lord has much more in mind! Regardless of our skin color or cultural background, God has ordained us to be one: a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood, the people of God.

This hope – this prayer of the Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus – goes back thousands of years as these verses show:

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth,” Deuteronomy14:2, King James Version (KJV.)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” 1 Peter 2:9, Revised Standard Version (RSV.)

If you’ll click on the highlighted chapters and verses above, those hotlinks will take you to many, many translations of the same passages as shown on the Bible Gateway website, but, throughout the Bible, the same idea appears.

Maybe this time we’ll get it right! Maybe this time we’ll have ears to hear.

Maybe this time we’ll respond – not with excuses or emotions or bad memories or experiences but with our own choice to be chosen.

No longer are we to be “us” versus “them.” As Galatians 3:28 says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” English Standard Version (ESV.)

What a colorfully diverse peoples God’s chosen race is meant to be!

Sometimes those differences may clash, but if we’re all praying for God’s guidance and prepared to let Him work for our good – the good of All of His Chosen Race and Peculiar People – we’ll see God orchestrate even our worse memories into melody and bring harmony from discord.

Praying and following biblical guidelines for good make us more receptive to God’s love and the love of others. As 1 John 4:7 says:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God,” Christian Standard Bible (CSB.)

What power we’ve been given to reveal God’s love to the world!

Born of God! No longer are we born into the DNA of racial tension or elitism over which we had no control, but – by our own choice – we can choose God’s Way over our own.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” Philippians 4:8, New Living Translation (NLT.)

 

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2021

 

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