Miracle Worker

On June 7, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 13: 58

And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
We think of Jesus as all powerful as well we should. The three years of his ministry were full of miracles, amazing miracles. And his miracles were not spotty as in one here and one there. He would go into a town and heal everyone that was brought to him. That’s big! But here in Matthew 13 he had gone home and he was not greeted as the great prophet. For some reason we think that people we know cannot be mightily used of God. Only those from other towns can be prophets of God. Well, Jesus encountered this phenomenon when he went home. Although the people there recognized the wisdom with which he taught, they still became offended at him just because they knew who he was. Because of their attitude, he could perform no miracles there. You see, we have a part to play in the performance of miracles. Jesus cannot create miracles that we cannot believe for. Time and time again Jesus told people that their faith had made them well. We have to work on our believers, which is the machinery of our hearts, so that when we need a miracle, we are already full of belief. After all, all things are possible to those believe.

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Quail Quandary

On October 5, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Numbers 11: 23

And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.”

Okay, so who knows the end of the story? We all do, don’t we? God’s word carried the day and Moses witnessed miracle upon miracle. I wonder, though, how Moses felt or what he thought when God posed that question to him. Honestly, it makes me a little uncomfortable.

What preceded God’s question was Moses’ doubt. The Lord seems to be calling Moses on his lack of belief. I find myself feeling guilty as I read this because I feel that doubt in my own soul. How many issues have I faced, prayed over and still carried doubt in my heart?

The people of Israel were on their protracted journey to the Promised Land. They complained about the lack of water and God gave them water gushing forth from rocks. They complained about not having bread so He gave them manna from heaven daily. Then, not satisfied with the manna, they complained about not having meat. So, God promised to give them meat enough for a whole month. Moses questioned God about how He was going to feed 600,000 people with meat enough for a month. Today’s verse was God’s response.

The story is fulfilled when God sent enough quail to the Israelites that there was literally quail on all sides of the camp three feet deep. It took the Israelites two days to gather it all.

That is the way I want us all to live with God. I want us to experience His bounty. More importantly, I am sure that God wants us to live in His abundance and in the constant expectation of the miraculous. If we can learn to believe in God’s ability and willingness even against overwhelming odds, we can see these kinds of outlandish miracles in our lives too.

The thing you must know about this story, though, is that Moses shifted out of doubt into belief. When he left God’s presence he went to the people and proclaimed God’s promise. There is our key. We must believe if we are to receive. Practice today believing the Word of God. The Bible is loaded with personal messages to you. Let God fill you up as He did Moses and receive your bounty.

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Impossible!

On September 29, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 48: 21

They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts. He made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock and the water gushed forth.

Perhaps the least common element in a desert is water. It is also what the Israelites needed most. To find water in the desert is a most uncommon miracle but to have it literally gushing out of rocks is the most extraordinary occurrence possible. For me, what is most striking about this miracle is that water is that God made the least likely thing happen. 

I don’t believe there are small miracles and large miracles to God. In fact, to Him, I doubt they are miracles at all. Making what appears, to us, impossible happen is just what He does. I think this passage can really speak into our lives because of its impossibility. If God can make the most unlikely thing in the desert happen then He can certainly take care of all of our “normal” miracles. 

In any organization there are individuals who specialize in certain tasks. God’s area of specialty is in doing the impossible. I think He would say to us, “Hey, if it is possible then you don’t need me, just go ahead and do it. When you encounter an impossibility, call me. That is my specialty!”

So my question for you is, what impossible thing do you need done? Just route it to the impossibility department and get ready to receive your miracle. There is one caveat though, you are going to have to invest in that department’s Christmas plan. Leave your deposit of belief, faith or trust and the impossibility department will get right on it. Nothing, it turns out, is really impossible when you send some belief with your request to the right manager. 

Have a miracle today! Expect a miracle!

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Feeding the Multitude

On September 19, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Kings 4: 42 – 44       NIV

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Does this story sound familiar to you? Sure it does. In Matthew 14: 13 and 15: 32 we read the accounts of two separate times when Jesus fed great multitudes of people with meager supplies. Does it surprise you that Jesus was not the first one to perform this miracle? This shows us three things: 1) there are parallels between the Old Testament and the New Testament, 2) Jesus operated in the earth as others had before him, and 3) that what Jesus said in John 14: 12 is possible.

First, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13: 8). Jesus has not changed since the beginning of time; nor has his father or the Holy Spirit. They are unchangeable. Therefore, the power, the love and the miracles that we see from Old Testament times are just as viable today as they were thousands of years ago. Further, we should not be surprised to see parallels between the two parts of the Bible when we understand the unchangeable nature of God.

Secondly, it is important for us to realize that when Jesus walked the earth he did so as a human being. Philippians 2: 7 tells us that Jesus did not come in his godly power and authority but rather that he “stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being” (Amplified Version). The Living Bible says he “laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.” This is a very important concept for us to grasp. Many times we hear people say, “Oh, well, Jesus was God afterall” in defense of why miracles are not happening in our modern culture. But that is an inaccurate portrayal. Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and walked the earth as a human being with all the attendant frailties. He just walked with God in a way that most of us do not. Jesus’ earthly ministry proves that we can also walk and talk with God as he did because he was a man and had to interact with the world like any other human being. His deity did not explain his close union with God nor did it account for the miracles that he performed. Today’s passage is proof of that. Jesus’ feeding of the multitudes was not from his own divine power. Instead he relied on the God of Elisha to perform the exact same work that Elisha did. 

Lastly, why is this so important? When we comprehend that Jesus had to live and work like any other person it removes the complacency and doubt from our minds and hearts. If Jesus did all that he did without relying on his divinity and instead operated in his humanity then it means that we can see the same miracles today; not only see, mind you, but perform. It makes Jesus statement in John 14: 12 palatable; “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” The uncomfortable part of this is that it also removes our excuses. Jesus performed miracles by relying on the father’s power. We have the same father and His power has not diminished a jot. Not only that but Jesus has now returned to his divinity and we have him in addition to the father. And are you ready for strike three. Jesus also poured out the Holy Spirit on mankind on the Day of Pentecost. So, we have all of the power and all of the help we could ever need. We have only to wrap our minds, and hearts, around the truth and then we too can bless people with miracles of every kind.

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Extraordinary Success

On July 28, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Daniel 6: 1 – 3

It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they should be in charge of the whole kingdom and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

The Israelites have been carried off into captivity once again, this time at the hands of the Babylonians. When they were first taken into captivity the then king, Nebuchadnezzar, ordered that some of the youths of Israel should be groomed for service to the king and David was among those selected. Now Darius is king. Darius is organizing his command structure. One hundred and twenty satraps were appointed over the kingdom. We can think of them as governors or provincial rulers. These one hundred and twenty governors were accountable to three commissioners and the three commissioners reported directly to King Darius. David’s appointment to a commissioner position is remarkable in itself but even among the commissioners he stood out. The scripture records his great success as due to the remarkable spirit he possessed. We know who this remarkable spirit is. He is the Holy Spirit of God and we too can avail ourselves of his divine assistance. You see, Daniel was an outstanding man but his extraordinary talent was not innate. It was born of his close walk with the Spirit. To my way of thinking this in no way diminishes the greatness of Daniel. In fact, it elevates him in my mind because Daniel learned how to walk according to the Spirit which is a phenomenal accomplishment in any age but amazingly and incredibly so before the coming of Messiah. 

This is the same Daniel that was thrown into a pit of lions and survived. He is the same Daniel who had three good friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah whom we know better by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel hung out with guys who walked through a fiery furnace without getting even the smell of smoke on their clothes while the people that threw them into the furnace were burned up. What gave these young men their incredible power? They possessed an extraordinary spirit. 

Okay, I am willing to accept that explanation. How about you? We know that with God, truly, all things are possible. I can fathom the Holy Spirit being the secret to this awesome power at work in the lives of these young men. Here is the problem though. You and I have this same Holy Spirit. In fact, we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. Only after Jesus came and left was the Holy Spirit sent. It was only through Jesus’ victory that the age of the Holy Spirit was ushered in. The promised outpouring of the Spirit occurred well after these young men walked the earth. Now, because of what Jesus did, the Holy Spirit accepts our invitation and comes to live inside us. That never happened before. So, that means that we have greater access to the Holy Spirit than did Daniel and his friends. Since they did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them as we can today, what made these captives who had few resources more powerful than most of us today?

 I believe the answer can be found in the tenth verse of chapter six where, referring to Daniel, it reads, “and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God.” Daniel spent a lot of time seeking God and giving thanks and I presume his friends were like minded. I do not preach a doctrine of works, far from it, but I cannot deny that there is something that happens within us when we spend time with the Father. I am not saying that God will reward you with miracles if you will spend sufficient time in prayer. All of God’s gifts are free. We didn’t have to do anything to earn the greatest gift so we do not have to earn the others. None the less, prayer causes a change. We build up ourselves and our spirits when we spend time in prayer and in the presence of God.

We talked recently about sowing to the Spirit. It is basic logic to conclude that if we want to reap from the Spirit we must first sow to the Spirit. Said differently, if we wish to reap spiritual benefits we must sow spiritual seeds. To me that is as simple as saying, if you want tomatoes, plant tomato seeds. Don’t expect tomatoes if you put cucumber seeds in the ground. Look at what you want, at what you need and then sow that type of seed. But let us take our thoughts one step further. There is nothing in this earth or universe that did not begin in the spiritual realm. Even the tomato began in the mind of God who then communicated His thought to Jesus and the Holy Spirit and commissioned them to bring His vision into being. They then created the tomato in the realm of the Spirit and manifested it into the physical. That is how everything comes into being. Therefore, we, who have a pipeline to God, can go right to the source of creation and have all our needs met. When we spend time with our Holy Father, He shows us how to create the answers we need. He teaches us how to walk hand in hand with the Holy Spirit so that miracles become everyday occurrences. This is God’s plan for us. He promised the outpouring of the Holy Spirit thousands of years ago looking forward to this day when He could teach us how to live and walk as He does. It is His Garden of Eden plan, the way that Adam and Eve were supposed to walk and work. This is the life of abundance that Jesus was tasked with bringing into the earth. It is here now and we can walk in it even more powerfully than Daniel and his friends. It is all at your fingertips. It is in your next breadth. There is nothing you cannot have, nothing you cannot do. Just spend time with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and let them lead you.

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Reborn, Renewed, Alive in Christ

On June 18, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 20: 30 -31

Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

John and the other writers of the gospels related some of the miracles of Jesus but John makes a point here to tell us that the miracles we read about in the gospels are by no means an exhaustive list of the many miracles Jesus performed. So, this question presents itself, “How many miracles does it take for one to believe?” We, who receive this daily devotional, are all believers in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God so somewhere along the line we must have seen enough evidence. Then John says that in our believing we should have life in the name of Jesus. What did he mean by that? He wasn’t talking to a bunch of physically dead people so he wasn’t talking about physical life. He was, however, speaking to spiritually dead people, people like us before we were saved. So this evidence of Jesus as the Messiah was supposed to infuse life into those who would believe, spiritual life.

When is salvation then? Will we be saved in the great by and by? We all talk about when we were saved (past tense) i.e. “I was saved in 1974,” “I was saved out at sea when a shipmate prayed for me,” etc. We have already been saved and given access to this life about which John writes. Salvation is not for tomorrow. We didn’t buy a ticket to salvation. We already have it today. You are living your eternal life in Christ right now. Your eternal life began the moment you received Jesus as Lord. So what is John really trying to get at in this passage? Do you think this is a simple message of salvation to the uninitiated or is there more here?  

One of the things that I think John is trying to get us to accept is that Jesus is a miracle worker. The believers of John’s time came to Jesus through his miracles. In other words, they saw and heard about the miracles that Jesus performed and through them they accepted that He is the King, Messiah and Lord. They first believed the miracles then they equated that miracle working power with his divine lordship. An interesting dynamic exists in our times. We believe that Jesus is Lord and through that confession of faith we try to believe that He is also a miracle worker. Many, however, are unconvinced of his power. They believe that He is the Christ but they do not believe in his ability to exercise miracle producing power today. Some do not even believe that the chronicles of Jesus’ miracles is a true account. They think the gospels are a fairy tale.

The third problem in our thought process is that some of us do not fully understand or appreciate that Jesus is alive. We have left him on the cross or in the grave but He is a resurrected Lord. He is alive and well. Without this revelation, by which I mean a clear and certain knowing in one’s heart as well as one’s mind, we cannot receive this life in Christ to which John is attempting to lead us. 

Jesus told us that he came in order to give us life, abundant life in fact (John 10: 10). This is what John is speaking about, the abundant life that is available in Christ Jesus to those who believe. But believe what? First that He is who He says He is, the resurrected Son of God, the promised Messiah, and second that He can do now what he did in the days before his crucifixion.

Miracles are still happening all over the world for those who believe. People are receiving sight from blind eyes just as they did when Jesus walked the earth. There are healings of every sort. Financial miracles abound, relationships are restored. All sorts of miracles are occurring, more than you can name. So I return to my first question, “How many miracles does it take for us to believe?” What is this life in Christ that John speaks of and how can we each live it. What did Jesus mean when he said, “abundant life?”

The life we live in the flesh is the low level of life but there is an abundant life overflowing with all of the blessings of God which is the free gift to whomever shall believe. This is the spiritual life, the renewed life. And with this new life in Christ Jesus every need is met, dreams and goals fulfilled, and a life of peace and joy. There is victory in Jesus, hence victorious living. All things become possible, life becomes easier and we can live a life where we feel fulfilled. Our lives are given purpose and we are satisfied even in the deep longing of our hearts. It is all available to he who believes. This life, this gift of a life in Christ, a life of abundance was the purpose of Jesus’ coming. If we are not living this life then why not? What does the body of Christ need in order to come into the life Jesus meant for us, died to give us?

The apostle John says that the secret is in our believing. We need to have our believers tweaked. Surely, the only way to do that is to renew ourselves in Jesus. We are going to have to seek him again as we did in the beginning. We need a renewal in our prayer life and in the Word. These are the two areas that we often let slide but which I am convinced are necessary for a life in Christ. It is only through communion with the Godhead that we are transformed in our hearts and in our thinking and can receive the revelations necessary for a rich, full existence in the person of Jesus. The hungry will seek and they will be fed. Jesus always fed the hungry. Do not settle for anything less than God’s best for you and He will fill you to overflowing as He has so often promised.

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Following a Decoy

On May 12, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 3: 1 – 2

Nicodemus … said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Beware; lest you be led astray. We are to follow fruit rather than signs. People will come, false prophets, empowered through the enemy by a perversion of God’s spiritual laws and will lead away many. People will follow these false prophets unto death. Jesus warned us of this saying, “False Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24: 24). You see, they will lead away the uninitiated but their higher purpose is to deceive and hence, mislead the elect, the chosen. That is you and me.

Jesus came is signs and wonders and we should do the same. Signs testify of Jesus. We are to lay hands on the sick so that they recover, cast out demons, raise the dead and all the rest. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14: 12). We are actually supposed to see greater works at our hands than even those Jesus performed. I know that sounds like heresy but Jesus is the one who said it so take it up with him. So, I am not arguing against signs and wonders, far from it. I want you to be the point of origin for amazing signs and wonders but I do not want you to follow signs and miracles in order to follow Jesus because there will be counterfeit prophets who will penetrate even our innermost sanctum. We are to follow fruit.

If you would follow a person, follow their advice or their teaching then first look to their life. Are they givers? If they are not, stop right there. You need no other evidence. They are either of the enemy’s camp or they are immature Christians. You cannot follow God, be like God and have God expressing Himself within you without becoming a giver personally. It just cannot happen because God is foremost generous in His giving. Most of us know John 3: 16. What does it say? “For God so loved the world, that He gave ….”  

We want to follow people who are following God. In his first letter to the church at Corinth Paul made one of the boldest statements of the New Testament. He said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 1). Amazing! He was making this point that we follow those whose life is buried in Christ. I am not saying that you are looking for someone who is perfect but I do think we need to emulate people who are emulating Christ and that it is those people from whom we should draw advice and whose teaching we should follow with our eyes ever upon Jesus and that we will know these people by their fruit.

(See also: Matthew 7: 15, Matthew 24: 11, Mark 13: 22 and Luke 6: 26)

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