Healing Power

Is there a significant worry in your life? Have you tried several different possibilities without any success? Are you thinking there is no one who can help? Are you about to give up? Will you turn to the One who can help?

There are times in our lives when we come up against a significant issue. Some are of our own making. Others appear to come out of nowhere. It is the second version that knocks us off our feet. It is the one that baffles us and may leave us desperate.

Often, those second type of issues are health issues. Some may argue the health issue comes from bad choices when we are young. Yet there are many that are not a result of choices. They are a result of a broken world where disease strikes in unexpected places. It seems to be random. We become a victim. We may go through a variety of treatments. We can become exhausted and ready to stop trying. The options of future treatment become grimmer and grimmer, more tiring with little chance of success. They wear on our psyche, emotional health, and physical health.

In today’s passage, we see a woman who was experiencing just such a health issue. She had spent all her money on doctors with no healing. Due to Jewish law, she was not allowed to be in contact with the general public, which meant she couldn’t even shop for groceries. She wasn’t allowed to go to the temple or synagogue to worship. Her family was not allowed to be in contact with her without becoming ceremonially unclean and having to go through a cleansing process and waiting period. Twelve years of isolation had likely exhausted her to the point giving up. But she heard about a man named Jesus who had miraculous power to heal. Her desperation and a small bit of hope led her to touch His clothes. She was immediately healed.

Jesus offers all of us hope. He offers the hope of healing. The healing we need may be mental or physical or spiritual. Do we have the smallest bit of faith that Jesus can heal us? Jesus stands ready to heal, though he is not a genie in a bottle. Go to Jesus in faith and ask Him for healing.

I pray we all turn to Jesus. I pray we dig deep for that small bit of faith in Him. I pray each one of us will trust Jesus, not only in times of desperation, but every day of our lives. Turn to Jesus. Trust Jesus. Turn you troubles over to Him. Reach out to Jesus.

Mark 5:25-28 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

Faith in Miracles

Do you sometimes wonder if there is anyone who can help? Are you in a place, right this moment, in which you doubt there is a way out? If you were required to give up your past to get help, would you?

Sometimes, the downward spiral we are on appears to be never ending. We may think we have dug a pit and continue to dig ourselves into a deeper hole. Our perspective is nothing but darkness. But then again, we are looking down into the hole rather than up.

It is when we are in our deepest despair that we often don’t see a way to regain our joy. When we find ourselves in a bind that appears to have no way out, we may get to a point of giving up. Rather than give up, we need to look up. God has an answer. He can pull us out.

Can you imagine being the father or mother of the child in today’s passage? A young boy is possessed by a demon who throws him into fire and water in an attempt to kill him. Your child is being tortured for no apparent reason. You can do nothing about it. You are powerless. You grasp at one last hope. You have heard of a rabbi who can cast out demons. You hope it is true. But your hope is razor thin.

We may find ourselves on razor thin hope. One small slip and we tumble into the abyss. The good news is this, Jesus can still work miracles today. What does it cost us? Full commitment to Him. We must be willing to give up our wayward lifestyle. We must be willing to give all we are back to Him. We must put our faith, no matter how little it may be, into His redeeming power.

It may sound simple. It may sound absurd. It may sound like too high of a price to pay. But if we are willing, He will work the miracle. It has happened time and time again. Today’s passage is just one example of what He is able to do.

I pray we all put our faith in Jesus. I pray we are willing to give up our old ways to take on His way. I pray each one of us will fully commit to Him. Trust God. Put your faith in Jesus. Be willing to start anew. Ask Him for the help you need.

Mark 9:21-23 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Ye Of Little Faith

Do you have a tall task ahead of you? Are you procrastinating taking it on? Do you have a feeling of dread when thinking about it? Have you allowed the task to grow in your mind? Have you asked God for His help?

Sooner or later we all face a task we believe will be difficult. We may believe it will be an unpleasant task. The mere thought of it may cause us to shudder with apprehension. We may even ask others if they are willing to help or take it on for us.

As we face difficult or challenging tasks, our minds can make a mountain out of a mole hill. We may get to a point of deciding to take it on, get it over with, so we can move on to something else. Sometimes, that task turns out to not be as bad as we originally thought. We may also find that we learned something new in the process.

We see in today’s passage that Jesus tells His apostles they can move mountains with just a little faith. The qualifier to this is having no doubt. It means trusting God completely. It sounds simple, and it is in one respect. Yet it is hard for us in another.

Why is it hard? We believe we must be able to handle things on our own. We have allowed science to convince us the supernatural no longer exists. We believe only what we can see. Our dependence on God has waned as we have gotten materially richer. If someone talks about a supernatural encounter, we look at them as though they have three eyes in their head.

Trusting God has become, “I trust God, but only as far as I can see Him.” But I can tell you from personal experience that God is active and working in this world. I can tell you He has worked in my life. I can tell you when I’ve cried out for His help with a task I could not do on my own, that He has stepped in.

God wants us to reach out to Him. It is unfortunate that we often won’t reach out until we have nowhere else to turn. It is unfortunate that we must get to a point of frustration and even anger before we reach out. God allows us to get to that point. He won’t step in until we reach out and fully believe He can help.

I pray we all put our faith in God. I pray we turn to God before we get frustrated. I pray each one of us trusts our all-powerful God to help us when we ask for it. Increase your faith. Have no doubt. Trust God. Reach out to God. Ask God for help. Receive God’s blessing.

Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Eliminate Doubt

What kind of doubts do you have? Do your doubts catch you off guard? Do they appear suddenly, out of nowhere? Do your doubts only occur when you are confronted with an unexpected situation?

We all have doubts at different times in our lives. Doubts are a natural part of life. Being skeptical can be a healthy attitude for us to have. It can also be a detriment to our ability to achieve success. It can hold us back and even paralyze us.

You may wonder how doubting can paralyze you. Doubts can grow into fear and fear can become paralyzing. Fear may come all of a sudden, but it can also grow from something much smaller, such as a doubt. We may have doubted we would make the basketball team and it manifested itself into a fear so strong we didn’t perform well, and our doubt turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Doubts can become worries. We fret over our doubts to the point they affect our health and our decisions. We may choose to hibernate in our homes out of fear. We may choose to not go on a date because we don’t feel we are good enough for the other person. We can all point to doubts we have had that kept us from doing something we wanted or someone else was encouraging us to do.

Today’s passage comes from the end of the encounter the apostle Peter had with Jesus walking across the lake. The apostles were instructed to go across in a boat while Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. In the middle of the night, Jesus is walking across the lake when they see Him, thinking perhaps he was a ghost. Peter told Him to call him out on the water if he was not a ghost. Jesus calls Peter out to Him. Peter is fine until the wind kicks up, then he was afraid. All of a sudden, Peter is sinking and cries out to Jesus to save him.

You might view Peter’s reaction to the wind as fear. It is a classic case of doubt turning into fear in a heartbeat. The process starts with Peter initially doubting he could walk on water, which turned to fear, and caused him to lose faith in Jesus.

Doubts spring up and can manifest themselves into fear quickly. It can happen so fast; we cannot identify the process by which it occurred. How do we counter it? Jesus tells us Himself—increase our faith. We need to step out in faith more often and grow in faith. This doesn’t mean we need to attempt to walk across a lake. We do need to take small steps in faith and grow into taking bigger steps.

I pray we all take steps in faith. I pray we rid ourselves of doubts with faith. I pray each one of us will face our doubts and believe Jesus will be with us each step of the way as we conquer them. Trust Jesus. Trust God. Increase your faith. Rid yourself of doubt. 

Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Slay the Giant

Have you ever been opposed by someone who is also opposing God? Did you feel overmatched by their arguments? How did you respond? Did you give up and walk away? Or did you ask God to be with you and give you the response He wanted you to provide?

There are times in our lives when we encounter people who directly oppose God. I don’t mean a friend who politely declines your offer to come to church with you, though they are problematic as well. I’m talking about someone who is downright offensive and doesn’t care.

When we face someone completely offensive and opposing God, our typical first thought is, “I don’t know enough to counter their statements.” In many cases, we may be right. So, what do we do about it? Might I suggest the first thing we do is prepare ourselves now for the encounter before it happens or happens again. Spend time reading God’s Word, attending Bible studies, and attending church. Spend time reading Christian authors, especially those who explain Scripture in a way you understand.

However, if we are caught unaware and feeling unprepared, there is something else we can do. We can spend five seconds in prayer and pray something like this, “God, you know how you want me to respond. Please reveal it to me now.” And trust God!

You see, God has been preparing you for this encounter, whether you realize it or not. You might be very surprised how much of those children’s stories you remember from Sunday School when you were six or eight or ten. Not only that, but you have heard others talk about God, Scripture, and Jesus at various times throughout your life. God can bring those memories right back to the forefront by the time you finish that five second prayer. He can also bring them back one at a time as you continue the encounter and as the perpetrator makes another point.

I can tell you this happens. I have personally experienced it. In fact, I have experienced God giving me the right thoughts when I needed them, even though I don’t remember ever hearing anything related to it before. We must remember, God put His Holy Spirit inside us. There is more power there than we know.

Just as David went against Goliath out of his faith in God, we can go against those who oppose God as well. It is all about our faith, trust, and reliance on God to provide what we need, when we need it. So, go forth and slay the giants put in your path.

I pray we all rely on God to provide what we need when we need it. I pray we take time to prepare ourselves for the unforeseen battle. I pray each one of us commits to spending time reading God’s Word, attending Bible studies, and going to church on Sunday mornings. Trust God. Increase your faith. Rely on God to provide. Ask God to help you prepare.

1 Samuel 17:45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Turn It Over To God

Do you know someone who needs to hear about Jesus? Is there someone you know who you wish would become a follower of His? Have they heard the message about Him? Have you asked God to open their heart to the message of Jesus?

I’m guessing every one of us knows someone, or multiple someone’s, we would like to see become a committed follower of Jesus. We point to the bad decisions they are making. We care for them and want to see them for eternity. But we can’t seem to reach them.

Something we have all likely experienced is this, our kids listen better to someone else than they do us. At least, during their teenage and sometimes early twenties years. I’m not sure if it’s the familiarity with us or them feeling their way through early adulthood, but they are more apt to listen to someone else in church, a teacher at school, friends, or perhaps a co-worker. Isn’t it funny they will listen to a college professor, who is as old or older than us, yet think we are old fashioned?

So, how do we reach those we care about? We might need to think about arranging for them to speak with someone else who will give them the message of Christ. We should pray that God open their hearts and minds to hear His message. Ask God to work in their lives in such a way to make it very clear He wants them to be part of His family. In other words, turn them over to God and simply love them. Not really an easy thing to do.

Here is the amazing thing, God works when we can’t. God knows when we will not be effective messengers. He works in other ways. He knows when we feel helpless. He knows our desires for the other person. He knows they won’t really listen to us. And He also knows who they will listen to and when they will be open to listen. Sometimes, we (they) need to go through some type of difficulty before we are open to hear God’s message.

I pray we all show Jesus to others, more so through our love than our words. I pray we ask God to open hearts and minds. I pray each one of us lay our concerns for loved ones at the feet of God and allow Him to work. Turn to God when you feel helpless. Turn your loved ones over to Him. Ask God to open hearts and minds. Leave room for God to work.

Acts 16:13-15a On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home.

Miraculous Release

Have you ever felt doomed? Have you felt as though you were about to be sentenced to a punishment you didn’t deserve? Are you in a situation like that now? Are you asking God to step in and pull you through it?

There are times when we may be persecuted for our faith. That may come in the form of punishment for failing to conform to this world. When we are standing up for God, we can be sure He will provide for our needs, regardless of the situation.

We see in today’s passage that Peter is wrongfully imprisoned. King Herod intended to punish him for both preaching about Jesus and healing a lame man. The king saw that it pleased the Jewish leadership. Peter is being persecuted solely due to his faith in Jesus. However, an angel is sent to set him free from the jail in which he is being held.

I know, we are largely skeptical that angels are active in today’s world. We no longer believe in the supernatural. We have stopped relying on God to step in on our behalf. Our belief, faith, and trust in God has waned. This despite hearing stories of people who have experienced a supernatural event, whether a vision or miraculous healing the doctors cannot explain.

Others will argue that Peter was specifically chosen by Jesus. He was an apostle. He was one of Jesus’ close compadres. We are not in Peter’s shoes. We are not chosen as he was chosen. Not so fast my friend. Each one of us is chosen. God’s mighty works are not limited today any more than they were limited when Peter needed God’s help.

The most significant difference between Peter and us is our faith. Peter believed wholeheartedly in Jesus. He was willing to give his life, and later did, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the vast majority of us are not committed to Jesus in the same way. We are unwilling to buck the tide of today’s world. We won’t publicly proclaim Jesus’ name or praise God. Oh, we think we are when we tell people we go to church. But going to church is not out in the public. It occurs behind four walls and is relatively isolated.

Folks, if we want to see God do mighty things, we must be fully committed and willing to talk about Him wherever we are. We are not to be rude about it, but we need to show people we belong to Jesus. There should be no question by anyone we meet about our faith. Peter was like this, and he experienced God’s miracles.

I pray we all commit wholeheartedly to Jesus. I pray we are willing to show our faith publicly. I pray each one of us build our faith to be like Peter’s, after all he was human. Commit to Jesus. Be willing to tell others about Him. Build your faith. Trust God at all times. Trust God in all situations.

Acts 12:6-7 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Speak Out

Are you intimidated by public speaking? Does speaking to well educated people make you nervous? Are you more comfortable being part of the crowd rather than standing out? Do you think that’s what God wants from you?

If you have never had to speak publicly, it can be intimidating the first few times. If you must present to a group of people, all with doctorates, you may feel as though you are unqualified. Standing out in the crowd, being the only one speaking out against wrong, can be challenging.

I remember in my younger days having to present to a large group of Marines. Though I was a senior enlisted Marine and had been a Drill Instructor, I was still nervous when having to speak to a hundred or more of them. I found two things to be true. First, knowing my material very well gave me some level of confidence. Second, the more I did it, the easier it got. This coming from someone who is an introvert by nature.

When I think of standing out, I think of those commercials where everything is gray and there is one person dressed in bright red. What they don’t show is everyone looking at the one person. Based on my experience, everyone dressed in gray would be ogling the person in red.

Standing out is what God has called us to. We are to be different from the rest of the world. We are called to stand up against injustice, the marginalized, the weak, those in need, and most all for Jesus. It isn’t always easy. We may face ridicule and persecution. We may even face death.

Paul was preaching and teaching about Jesus in Athens. Likely he was with a small group of people who were curious about his message. Suddenly he was carted off to the Areopagus to speak to the well-known philosophers of Athens. This was a place where well-known philosophers from all over the Greco-Roman world would come to debate. Paul was thrust into the limelight.

I’m sure Paul was a bit apprehensive about speaking to them.  Yet, he relied on God to provide the message He wanted spoken. As you can see in today’s passage, Paul spoke boldly about God and perhaps offended some of the men in the arena. But he proclaimed God to them anyway. We can take comfort, much as Paul did, that God is with us at all times.

I pray we all speak boldly about God. I pray we rely on God to give us the words He desires us to speak. I pray each one of us follow the example of Paul. Be willing to stand out. Speak out to others about God. Proclaim the good news of Jesus. Know that God is always with you.

Acts 17:22-23 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

Betrayal

Have you been betrayed? Was the betrayal by a family member? Was the betrayer a close friend of yours? Were you sold down the river by someone you trusted? Are you willing to trust God to use it for good?

There are times in our lives when we are betrayed. It may be as simple as a sibling telling Mom we ate a cookie before supper. It may be much more egregious. Perhaps someone relayed a secret you told them to the very person you told them not to.

Of course, there are many ways we may be betrayed. Betrayal seems to be a game played by those who live on the wrong side of the law. Yet those of us who are generally law-abiding citizens sometimes play this awful game as well. It is particularly played at betraying secrets, as mentioned above.

Being betrayed comes with many emotions. These may include anger, hate, disgust, shame, guilt, despair, and a desire for retribution. We want to repay evil for evil. Yet, that is not what we are taught to be good Christian principles, is it? In fact, we are specifically told not to do so, rather we are to repay evil with blessing (1 Peter 3:8). That is not easy to do.

However, if we do as we are instructed, and we trust that God works all things to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), we will see God’s blessing on us. In fact, we may even see God’s blessing to be as impactful as it was with Joseph.

You see, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers. They sold him into slavery. He was carted off to Egypt. While there, we see him betrayed again by the wife of his master. He is betrayed, yet again, by two men he is imprisoned with. But Joseph continues to hold onto his faith in God. Ultimately, Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in all of Egypt—second only to Pharoah.

We also see that God uses the betrayal of his brothers to position Joseph to save his family. Since Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dreams, he was put in charge of preparing for the seven years of famine. When his brothers come to buy grain, Joseph is the one who sells it to them. Later, he has his entire family move to Egypt, where the grain is, and they are settled in the most fertile area of the country.

There is no guarantee God will bless any of us in the same way He blessed Joseph. Yet, I doubt any of us would like to go through the multiple betrayals Joseph went through either. However, we can rely on God to work for our good as long as we love Him.

I pray we all love God with all our heart. I pray we trust God to work for our good. I pray each of us repay evil with a blessing, as hard as that may be. Love God. Know He is working on your behalf. Trust God to bless you. Trust God to be just. Repay evil with blessing.

Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Catastrophe Strikes

Have you suffered defeat? Has a group of people ganged up on you and overwhelmed you? Have you lost a job because of unsubstantiated rumors? Have you lost a loved one to a disease? Do you wonder how you can continue to move forward?

We face catastrophic events in our lives. Some are more severe than others. We may face friends and family turning on us. We may experience the sudden death of a spouse, sibling, parent, or child. We may face suddenly being fired from our job.

When we face catastrophic events, it seems our entire world is crumbling around us. Our minds race to find answers. We long to hear good advice. We long for silence to grieve. We aren’t sure what we want, other than the situation to be reversed or resolved.

We may hear things will be okay. We may hear things will turn around. We may hear a loved one would want us to carry on. We may have a close friend come sit beside us without giving any advice. We inherently know the advice is good but have no desire to take the next step.

Sometimes the best thing to do is wait on God. No, we don’t like waiting. We want immediate resolution. But God has a reason for waiting and He moves at the right time in the right way. This is when our trust in God is tested. It is in times like this that we see God move in mighty and unexpected ways.

We see in today’s passage the apostle Paul being stoned and left for dead. We see other disciples gather around him and him get up. Though not stated in the passage, we can reasonably assume God protected Paul from death. God had a purpose for Paul to fulfill. He continued on the mission God laid out for him the next day. I’m sure it was not easy for Paul. He may have struggled walking and experienced bruised muscles that ached the entire time he walked to the next city. Yet, Paul maintained his trust in God.

We, too, must maintain our trust in God. We must build our trust in Him before a catastrophe occurs. Paul had built his trust long before he was stoned. He knew God had a mission for him to accomplish. God has a mission for each one of us, even if we don’t fully understand what it is. It is our faith in God and God acting on our behalf that will get us through the catastrophic circumstance.

I pray we all increase our trust in God. I pray we understand God has a mission for us. I pray each one of us prepares ourselves for the catastrophe by experiencing God. Build your trust in God. Know God has a mission for you. Rely on God in all situations. Experience God.

Acts 14:19-20 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.