Six words we should stop saying

"Christ Feeding the Multitude" by Gustave Doré

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 5-6; Psalm 105

 TO CHEW ON: “‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?’” John 6;9

Philip added to his answer about how much food they had, his opinion of their supply: “What are they among so many?” This is not an unfamiliar sentiment to us when we compare what we have with the need. So it’s reassuring to remind ourselves that Jesus’ feeding of the crowd here is not the only time in the Bible God came to the aid of the desperately needy.

• The psalmist claims God’s help for mental need: “The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low and the HE saved me” - Psalm 116:6.

• Jesus healed a recalcitrant medical condition where a woman, after 12 years of hemorrhaging, had exhausted medical help - Mark 5:25-29.

• Those in storms received God’s help. Jesus came to the disciples when He saw them “straining at rowing for the wind was against them” - Mark 6:48. And a whole boatload was saved through the prayers of Paul - Acts 27:14-42.

• Jesus came to the aid of a desperate father by casting out a spirit that had oppressed his son since birth - Mark 9:17-29.

• An angel came to the aid of Peter shackled in prison - Acts 12:5-10.

Let these stories remind us that God is never limited by our lack. So whatever our need and however puny the resources at hand, let’s forever stop the faith-destroying words “What are they among so many?” from crossing our lips.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that You are never limited by my meager resources. Help me to look to You, not myself and what’s around me, when I’m in need. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 105

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The glory of miracles

Jesus turns water into  wine - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1-2; Psalm 103

TO CHEW ON: "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him." John 2:11

The glory Jesus showed the people around Him was not always what we think of as glory, i.e. a bright, white, shining visual phenomenon. Rather it was the glory of signs, wonders, miracles and healing. And when we examine the Bible's telling of some of these events, we see that Jesus' glory shown in these ways accomplished different things in different people.

The glory of miracles, signs and wonders:

• Caused people to believe in Jesus.

• The disciples believed after the miracle in today's reading- John 2:11.

• When Jesus was going to meet Mary and Martha after Lazarus' death, He said, to His disciples, that He was glad it had come to this "that you may believe?" Onlookers as well as disciples believed on Him after He brought Lazarus back to life - John 11:15, 45,48.

• Caused people to ponder His identity and come to various conclusions about Him.

• Nicodemus concluded He was a "...teacher come from God" - John 3:2.

• The nobleman and His household believed Jesus was as good as His word - John 4:50,53.

• The scribes, Pharisees, and Jewish leaders saw a threat to their power in His miracles and teachings and pronounced Jesus and his works demonic - John 10:20,21.

• After Jesus fed the multitude, His disciples and those who had eaten believed He was the fulfillment of prophecy - John 6:14.

• Convicted and challenged His disciples.

• The great abundance of fish the disciples caught after following Jesus' instructions caused Peter to be aware of His sin - Luke 5:8.

• John the Baptist's faith was stretched when Jesus continued performing miracles while he, John, was stuck in prison (Matthew 11:2-6). It was an imprisonment that eventually led to his death. Like him we may sometimes have our faith stretched in this way when, no matter how great our need and how hard we pray, God doesn't perform a miracle for us. I take this as a lesson that these glory works are for God's purposes, not ours; we can't manipulate them. 

• Jesus' feeding of the multitude was proof that Jesus could care for the disciples' physical needs - Mark 8:16-21.

• Miracles performed in Jesus' name continued on in the church past His death and resurrection, causing the disciples to get into all kinds of trouble - Acts 2:22; 4:30; 8:5,6.

• Are a means of drawing people to Jesus for salvation - Hebrews 2:2-4.

The Greek word "glory" used John 2:11 is doxa  "The NT doxa becomes splendour, radiance and majesty centred in Jesus. Here doxa is the majestic absolute perfection residing in Christ and evidenced by the miracles He performed" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1446.

This is the same glory (doxa) Jesus prayed would carry on in us, His disciples:
"And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one" - John 17:22 (emphasis added).

May His glory touch us and flow through us in signs, wonders, and miracles!


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming to Earth to show us God's glory through miracles. Thank You for still performing miracles today. Help me to believe even when you don't answer My prayer with a miracle. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 103

The Bible Project VIDEO: John - Part 1 of 2 (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Moved to mercy

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 13-14; Psalm 87

TO CHEW ON: "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14

Our reading today starts out with Jesus trying to get away from the crowds: "When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat…" The "it" is news that his friend and relative John (the Baptist) has just been killed (decapitated no less!) by Herod, instigated by Herod's concubine Herodias.

We can understand Jesus' need to be alone at such a time. But when He gets to land, a crowd is there to meet Him. However, instead of being annoyed at this (how I would have felt if my expectations of a quiet afternoon had been dashed like that) He is "moved with compassion."

["Moved with compassion" is splanchnizomai is from the word splanchna - bowels. The Hebrews regarded splanchna as the place where tender mercies and feelings of affection, compassion, sympathy, and pity originated - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1317.]

Out of this compassion Jesus spends the afternoon healing the sick and, when it gets late, multiplying the five loaves and two fish to feed everyone before He sends them home.

Jesus performed other miracles as a result of splanchnizomai.

• He fed another large crowd after a three-day healing and teaching 'conference' (Matthew 15:32).

• He restored the sight of two blind men who sat beside the road calling out, even as the people around told them to shut up (Matthew 20:34).

• He healed a leper (Mark 1:41).

• He raised a widow's son back to life (Luke 7:13).

• He gave this compassion to two parable characters: the Good Samaritan (Luke 19:33) and the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20).

I need more of this compassion in my life. Instead of seeing people as threats, or irritants, or losers, or rivals, or… I would like to see under and beyond behavior to the need of which it's a symptom—a need that's best filled by Jesus and what He offers.

What about you?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please give me a softer heart, that is moved by the things that move You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 87

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.



 

Civil servant with an excellent spirit

Daniel praying (Daniel 6:10)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 4-6; Psalm 56

TO CHEW ON: "'I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end.'" Daniel 6:26


Daniel in the lion's den—what a gripping story. It has all the elements of a good read: a noble hero, jealous villains, a naive king, and an insurmountable problem. But it is so much more than just entertainment.

Three things stand out for me in this incident.
1. The description of Daniel having an "excellent spirit" (Daniel 6:3).  That tells me he had a reputation for good things—good work, making wise decisions, perhaps a pleasing manner.

2. Daniel's unshakeable, even stubborn devotion to God (Daniel 6:10). When it came down to choosing between faith in God or his life, he chose God with not even a flicker of hesitation.

3. The incident resulted in praise and glory going to God, not Daniel, shown by Darius's prayer at the end of the chapter (Daniel 6:25-27).

We can draw three lessons for our own lives:
1. We can make it our goal to have an "excellent spirit." What would that look like? Perhaps a heart of service, a cheerful attitude, a considerate manner, a reputation for fairness... Leslyn Musch in her Truth-In-Action Through Daniel article, calls it "godliness" ("Try to reflect godliness in all you do" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1140). That would imply the that the attributes we see in God would make up an excellent spirit in us.

2. We can stay loyal to God no matter what the consequences. In our time that may or may not be reason for civil disobedience, as it was for Daniel.

3. The goal of all this is the only worth one: that glory goes to God, not us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to cooperate with You in developing an excellent spirit within me. May it be the goal of my life to bring glory to You, no matter what the cost. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 56

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Glory?

Image: Microsoft

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 58-60; Psalm 119:153-176

TO CHEW ON: "... And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you... and His glory will be seen upon you" - Isaiah 60:1,2

What is this glory Isaiah talks about?

glory: chabod (kah-vohd) means weightiness, that which is substantial or heavy, glory, honor, splendor, power, wealth, authority, magnificence, fame, dignity, riches and excellence. ("Word Wealth" from New Spirit Filled Life Bible)

When I think of God’s glory, I imagine the scene at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. The heavy cloud of God's  glorious presence made it impossible for the priests to stay and do their jobs. How incredible that must have been!

Che Ahn in When Heaven Comes Down – Experiencing God’s Glory in Your Life makes an interesting distinction between the glory of God that is the essence of His person (His eternal glory), and the glory of God which we perceive (His manifest glory).

“…The eternal glory of God is like the sun itself, far too fiery and brilliant for us to encounter directly or even to look at. But the sun’s light manifests itself to us in a variety of ways. It illuminates darkness, revealing the objects around us. It gives us spectacular light displays in beautiful sunrises and brilliant sunsets. It warms us and even tans our skin. Everywhere the sun goes, the sun’s light goes. But the sun’s light is not the sun itself. Rather, the light we experience from the sun is a manifestation of the sun.

“This distinction is helpful in understanding God’s glory. His eternal glory is like the sun: it is His very essence, beyond our comprehension or ability to encounter. Yet His manifest glory is like the sun’s light: a reflection of Him we can encounter in ways we are able to perceive, whether through physical healing, a peaceful presence in our spirit or an angelic visitation.” p. 26

Ahn settles on this definition: “God’s glory is His manifest presence by which He reveals His character of goodness and displays His power through signs and wonders.” p. 28

By this definition you can know God's glory in your life  any time you recognize His goodness - to you or through you. It could be the thought of where to look for your keys moments after you’ve prayed for help in finding them. It could be an unexpected cheque when you need money. It could be the reminder to pray for a friend. It could also mean coming away from a deadly accident unscathed, or seeing an angel or praying for someone and witnessing a miraculous healing. In Isaiah 60 God’s glory is shown when children return home, when there is joy, wealth, God’s house is glorified.

Has God’s glory come to your life? Look for signs of it today.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to evidences of Your glory in my life today. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:153-176


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dull hearts

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 5-8; Psalm 110

TO CHEW ON: “And He said, ‘Go and tell these people;
“Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”’” Isaiah 6:9


Isaiah’s encounter with God brings an overwhelming sense of his own sinfulness. But after the angel purifies his lips with a live altar coal, he responds to God’s call for help with “Here am I! Send me.”

It is then he gets the bad news. The people God is sending him to have dulled understanding. They will see but not see. Hear but not hear. Their hearts are blunted toward God and will be unreceptive to Isaiah.

A footnote in my Bible says:

“The same message that softens a receptive heart also hardens an unreceptive heart. So in sending forth the message to a people known to be unreceptive, their condition is worsened” - Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p.881.

In our society, which prides itself on skepticism toward claims of absolute truth, an unreceptive attitude toward the Gospel is common. Is there a chance some of that attitude has seeped into us and begun to calcify our own hearts?

The Bible speaks eloquently of the by-products of a dull, unbelieving heart.

1. Theological confusion and dithering - 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 3:7.

2. Moral confusion - Romans 1:28-32

3. Marriage breakdown - Matthew 19:8.

4. We become blind to the fact that sin’s attractiveness is a lie - Hebrews 3:13

5. Miracles don’t happen - Matthew 13:58

6. We become vulnerable to calamity - Proverbs 28:14

7. We become vulnerable to premature death - Proverbs 29:1

8. There are repercussions on how we spend eternity - Romans 2:5

I don't know about you - but I don't like these!

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me a sensitive, believing heart. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 110

MORE: Keith Green sings his prayer for a softened heart in “My Eyes Are Dry.”





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What satisfies our hunger?

Gathering Manna - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 7-9; Psalm 55

TO CHEW ON: "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Deuteronomy 8:3

There's much to see in this verse that connects one of our most basic needs—the need to eat—to our life with God.

"So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger…"

A quick re-read of Israel's travels through the wilderness reminds us of how often they were humbled by hunger. Humbled by hunger is also our stance when we fast (as in fast and pray). We may feel invincible but a day or two without food shows us how vulnerable and dependent we are on regular refueling.

"…and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know…"

Israel, during her manna years, came to know and depend on God in ways unlike anything their forefathers experienced. Are we open to God doing new things in, for, and through us? Are we receptive to whatever God has for us in the area of ministry, influence, service, provision, protection?

"…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."

What connections did manna have with God's words? God gave the Israelites explicit instructions for collecting and using it.

• They were to gather manna once a day before the day got hot and it melted (Exodus 16:4, 21).

• They were to gather enough for each person, no more (Exodus 16:16).

• They were not to save it to eat as leftovers the next day. Some of them tried, only to find it grew maggots and became smelly (Exodus 16:19-20).

• However, on the day before Sabbath, they were collect double the amount and save half for eating the next day (Exodus 16:5).

• On the morning of the Sabbath there was no manna to collect (Exodus 16:26-27).

Whether they ate or not depended on their obedience to God's words. In fact, one of the purposes of manna was to test their obedience (Exodus 16:4). It's significant that Jesus quoted words from this verse to overcome the devil's temptation to satisfy His hunger for food in a Satan-inspired way (Matthew 4:1-4).

We might ask, are we satisfying our deep hungers by trying to live by bread alone—focused on getting our needs met on the natural plane? Let's not forget that God is present in every aspect of life. Real satiation comes from obeying Him and seeking to live in God-acknowledging, God-honoring ways.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this object lesson of physical hunger that shows me the extent of my need for You and the importance of obedience. Help me to live "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 55

The Bible Project VIDEO: YHWH: LORD  (SHEMA word study series)

New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Help for the Frustrated Leader

Moses helped by Aaron and Hur - Exodus 17:12

Illustration from Treasures of the Bible



TODAY’S SPECIAL: Numbers 11-13; Psalm 43

TO CHEW ON: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Has the LORD’s arm been shortened?’” Numbers 11:23

Here we see Moses so discouraged and frustrated with the complaints and grumbling of the people, he wants to die.

His cry out to God was not ignored. Here is a short list of how God came to his aid and the aid of other frustrated and discouraged leaders in the Bible.

1. He gave Moses helpers, putting His Spirit—the Holy Spirit that was on Moses—onto 70 leaders of the people so they could help him - Numbers 11:24,25.

2. Before David became king and was on-the-run from Saul, on one occasion his camp was raided by Amalekite bandits. All their stuff and wives were taken. David’s response to his own outrage and the anger of his men: He “strengthened himself in God” - 1 Samuel 30:6.

3. For Solomon, his request for wisdom and God’s reply happened in a dream. The next day he went about his work as usual, perhaps not knowing if anything had changed. However, it was soon evident, by the wisdom with which he judged the people, that God had indeed answered his prayer - 1 Kings 3:28.

4. Elijah, after fleeing for more than a day from Queen Jezebel, fell asleep, awoke to an angel-prepared meal, slept some more, ate again, and carried on “in the strength of that food” for 40 days and nights - 1 Kings 19:5-8.

5. In our reading additionally, God’s way of solving the meat problem was, in effect, to do a miracle. When God promised meat and Moses objected: “Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered to provide enough for them…?”  God replied: “‘Has God’s arm been shortened?’” - Numbers 11:23. (“‘Has the Lord’s hand [His ability and power] become short [thwarted and inadequate]?’” - Numbers 11:23 AMP.) In other words, When was I ever limited by anything, to keep My promises?

These are still some of the ways God uses to bring us out of discouragement and provide help (some He does for us; some we do ourselves).


We defeat discouragement by:

• Accepting help.

• Changing our focus from the situation to God.

• Going about our tasks with faith, confident that God has answered our prayer.

• Attending to our physical needs for rest and food.

• Trusting that God can, and sometimes does, respond with miracles.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to use the means available to me to dispel discouragement. You and Your plans are never thwarted! Help me to believe this at a life level through up and down times. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 43

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Poured-out life

Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 8:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "… that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.' " Matthew 8:17

Jesus is busy and popular. We see him, at the beginning of today's reading (having just come down from a mountain teaching session followed by a huge crowd), talking with and then healing a man with leprosy. He walks to Capernaum and on entering the city gets waylaid by a Gentile centurion. At Peter's house one of his hostesses is sick so Jesus heals her. Then in the evening Peter's property becomes an impromptu healing and deliverance clinic for the town.

Now I realize that the Matthew narrative makes it sound like these things happened one after the other in close succession. There may well have been more time between the incidents than it seems. But even if these events occurred over days to a week, Jesus had a full schedule, which He carried out with not a whiff of a bad attitude.

There is no eye-shift of impatience when the man with leprosy stops Him. Rather, " ' I am willing (to heal). Be cleansed.' "

There is not a watch-glance of schedule-keeping when the centurion stops him. Rather, there is close listening, honest admiration of the man's faith, a mini-lecture to take advantage of the teachable moment, and the promise of an answered prayer.

At Peter's house, after a full day, He  heals before supper and then ministers healing and release from demonic bondage till long after dark.

No wonder Matthew recognizes Him as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. It doesn't happen through His looking on but because of His intimate involvement with and service of humanity—of us.

I watch Jesus here and get convicted as I imagine what my reactions to the things He encountered would have been:
- I would have been irritated by all those interruptions.
- I would have been overwhelmed by all the needs.
- I would have been self-protective, insisting, for example, that we take a break after supper instead of getting back to work.

Later in the New Testament, we see the disciples living with the same bold, people- and ministry-centred focus that they had seen in Jesus. Where did they get this spirit? From being with Jesus (Acts 4:19)

Maybe if I, if all of us, hung around Jesus more, allowed His Spirit to take over ours, we too would be known for the assured yet compassionate, identifying-with-human-needs, poured-out life that characterized Him.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I am full of awe at the way You handled life and its demands. I need the ability to see beyond my list of urgencies to what's eternally important, and the courage to pour my life into those things. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Let your reasoning lead to faith

Religious leaders - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 21:18-32

TO CHEW ON: "And they reasoned among themselves saying, 'If we  say, "From heaven," He will say to us "Why then did you not believe him?" But if we say, "From men," we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.' " Matthew 21:25,26


These chief priests, scribes and elders had the mindset of the conniving politician down pat. Their reasoning showed that they were more concerned with the impression they were making on observers than about searching their own hearts.

Jesus' claims often pulled out of His hearers such a reasoning response. That's what happens when what you see doesn't line up with what you have always thought possible. For example, after He said to the paralytic (whose friends lowered him to Jesus through a roof), "Your sins are forgiven," the scribes "reasoned" in their hearts that He had made a blasphemous statement (Mark 2:6-12).

When He talked about being the bread of life, the Jews "quarreled" with His claim (John 6:52).

Though such back-and-forth conversations in a reasoning, what-might-appear-to-us-as-argumentative style was the manner of Jewish teachers, Jesus never left the discussion on the theoretical plane. He inevitably pushed for a decision and a commitment.

In our reading today, Jesus refused to answer the leaders' insincere question about His authority to do miracles (Matthew 21:23-27). What was the point? It would just have produced more 'reasoning.'

In the story about the paralytic, from Mark, after forgiving the paralytic's sins, Jesus healed him physically, challenging the onlookers' assumptions that He was an ordinary man.

In the John account, after hearing the objections to His claims of being the bread of life, Jesus challenged the Jews to eat His flesh and drink His blood (a metaphorical allusion to the Last Supper and His death) - John 6:53-58.

Another time, when Jesus heard the wise answer of a scribe to His question, "Which is the greatest commandment?" He concluded, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God"  Mark 12:34) (the implication being, 'Why don't you just take that next step and enter it?').

Paul does a good job of summing up the tension between reasoning and going farther.

"Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" - 1 Corinthians 1:20,21 (emphasis added).

It's fine for us to discuss and reason. But at the end of the day we need to take that step of admitting who He really is and, in the perfect reasonableness of believing faith, surrender to Him the lordship of our lives.

PRAYER: Dear God, there is in our age more than ever the tendency to reason away Your claims. Help me to go beyond playing with words and ideas, and to commit myself to You in action-changing belief. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Protection

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 14:19-15:5

TO CHEW ON: “… and the pillar of cloud went before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one and it gave light by night to the other so that the one did not come near the other all that night.” Exodus 14:19,20

When there was absolutely no human escape from the fast-approaching Egyptian army, God showed His hand. The cloud that had gone before the Israelites to guide them now parked itself between them and the Egyptians. In this way God bought hours and hours of time for the great multitude to cross the dried sea bed - Exodus 14:21,22.

There are other times in the Bible when God interposed Himself between His people and trouble. Some means He used:

• Paralysing fear

Back in Genesis at the beginning of the nation, God put fear in the people that had dealings with the sons of Jacob so that they didn’t get hassled - Genesis 35:5.

Again when Israel was poised on the brink of Canaan, spies who hid in Rahab’s house heard from her how terrified the peple living on the west of the Jordan River were of the Israelites - Joshua 2:11.

• A heavenly army

Elisha prayed for his servant to see a heavenly guard protecting them from the Syrian army - 2 Kings 6:17.

• Blindness

During the same incident above, God struck the Syrian soldiers with blindness so they were at Elisha’s mercy - 2 Kings 6:18.

• Protection

God protected the returning exiles during their long trek from Babylon to Israel - Ezra 8:31. Perhaps you’ve prayed for a “hedge of protection.” Are you aware that when you ask that you are using an expression coined by Satan (Job 1:10)?

• Closed lion mouths

When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, God’s angel closed their mouths - Daniel 6:22.

We get the picture, don’t we? God overcame the most daunting foes in whatever way suited the situation. And the result was two-fold: God’s people were spared and God was worshiped and lifted up: Exodus 15:1-5; Joshua 2:11b, Ezra 8:35; Daniel 6:26,27.

Let’s similarly keep trusting God for His care and protection. When we get it, let’s not attribute it to luck or coincidence but give Him glory.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I’m sure I don’t realize the extent to which You protect me daily. Thank You! Help me to be ever mindful of Your protecting and keeping hand in my circumstances, and to give You the credit. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Super-natural

"Mount Sinai" - Artist unnamed

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 113:1-114:8

TO CHEW ON: “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob
Who turned the rock into a pool of water
The flint into a fountain of waters.” Psalm 114: 7-8

The psalmist has packed years of history into this 16-line poem. It speaks of the time Israel left Egypt and slavery. In the desert, God lived with them – hovering close in a cloud and overshadowing the tabernacle with His glory.

Nature complied with God’s plans. The Read Sea parted to let them cross (Exodus 14:16). After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Jordan River likewise divided up so they could walk to the other side (Joshua 3:17).

The mountains and hills skipping like rams and lambs probably refers to the rolling and shaking of Mount Sinai when God met with Moses there (Exodus 19:18). The “rock into a pool of water" and “flint into a fountain of water” refer to God supplying their drinking water from rock – at least twice (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11).

Don’t you just love the psalmist’s saucy questioning of these inanimate natural objects: “What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan that you turned back? O mountains that you skipped like rams? O little hills like lambs?” It’s a type of rhetorical question – to which the answer would have been, “We couldn’t help it. What would you do but comply (tremble) in the presence of God?”

We know, however, that at the time these things were happening the Israelites were anything but confident that God knew what He was doing. It was only in retrospect that His modus operandi became evident.

Does God still intervene in miraculous ways on our behalf? I believe so. I can just see us in heaven, with the benefit of perfect hindsight and insight, thanking and praising God for the stayed storms, the just-missed auto accidents, the at-the-time annoying delays which kept us from being in the wrong place at the right time.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that even inanimate nature is under Your control. Help me to have confidence in You as the God of everything.

MORE: In “The Laws of Physics as God” John Piper makes a defense for a God who is behind the laws of nature, and above them.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Sometimes seeing is not believing

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 12:38-50

TO CHEW ON: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’
But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’” Matthew 12:38,39

I have often thought it would have been wonderful to live in the time of the Israelites to experience the exodus miracles, or the time of Jesus and see all the wonders He did firsthand. Then, I tell myself, I would have no trouble believing—in God, His existence, His power, His goodness, His ability to keep me.

The scribes and Pharisees were witnesses too. They had seen many of Jesus’ signs. Yet they still resisted believing in Him. It’s like they had a set mold in their mind of how things must be, of how Messiah would look and what He would do. Jesus didn’t fit into that mold and as a result, all their rationalizing abilities were spent on explaining how He could not be who He claimed to be (including the claim that He was doing miracles by the power of Satan - Matthew 12:24).

All the grumbling and mistrust of the Israelites (despite what they’d seen and experienced), as well as this passage remind us—faith didn’t necessarily follow sight.

I would submit we moderns aren’t so different. If, for example, we have ruled out the possibility of a creator, then any evidence of intelligent creation is tossed out, to be replaced by theories that are far more fanciful and far-fetched than any creation story, and demand a lot more faith. (You could call it ABC faith—Anything But Creation faith.)

The sign Jesus left the Scribes and Pharisees with (His resurrection - Matthew 12:40), was, not surprisingly, also rationalized away by them (Matthew 28:11-14).

The question we might ask ourselves on reading this passage is, "How is faith conceived and kept strong with or without signs?"

Based on the stubborn disbelief of these religious leaders, it’s my conviction that faith in God and Jesus is first a decision to open our minds to His existence and all that that implies (as described in the Bible). When we do that, so much of history and modern life falls into place.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to see and live life through the lens of Your existence, death, and resurrection, that is, through faith. Amen.
 
MORE:
 
"Sometimes the very presence of God is barred by our presuppositions and our intense and constant desire for triumph." - Ravi Zacharias (Source: Brainy Quotes)


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The supernatural good-news life

Paul and the Viper*

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 16:9-20

TO CHEW ON: " ' And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents, and if they will drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.' " Mark 16:17-18

What an incredible list of predictions Jesus makes here, of signs that will follow those who spread the gospel:

1. They will have power over the demonic realm (Mark 16:17).
Luke recounts an almost humorous incident showing the unique power that Jesus' followers have in this area. When some Jewish exorcists use the name of Jesus without the power of true faith in Him, the demon responds: "Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you?" Then the possessed man beats up the exorcists - Acts 19:13-16.


2, They will have new powers of communication: " ' … speak with new tongues' " (Mark 16:17).
I understand this promise to involve more than only the glossolalia of the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). It is that for sure, i.e. the power to communicate in languages not learned. But I believe it is also the tongue used in private prayer and self-edification (1 Corinthians 14:2,4, 14-16). And, I would submit, we could also make a case for the new tongue including the tongue of boldness, so evident in the early Christians (Acts 4:31).

3. They will have remarkable protection (Mark 16:18).
The experience of Paul in the Island of Malta brings Jesus' words to life about protection from snakes (Acts 28:3-6). And to the protection stories from Acts we could add the testimony of Christians experiencing unusual protection through the centuries. In this department, I love the saying attributed to Henry Martyn: "I am immortal until God's work for me to do is done. The Lord reigns" (from Inspirational Quotes).

4. They will have unusual power to heal (Mark 16:18).
This comes true for the Apostles in Acts as we see them perform numerous healings, sometimes even raising people from the dead (Acts 3:7-11; 5:12-16; 9:3-9, 32-35, 39-42; Acts 14:8-18; 16:18; 20:8-12; 28:8-9).

The question I ask myself is, do these signs still follow the spread of the gospel today? Are these things our experience? Some have developed a hermeneutic which says the signs and wonders seen in Acts were only for that time. However the words we read today are attributed to Jesus. The evangelical church doesn't take His command to " ' preach the gospel to every creature' " as only for the apostolic time. So why do we often wave off the signs that confirm the gospel as meant exclusively for an earlier age?


PRAYER: Dear Lord, please confirm Your reality, power and word with signs and wonders again. Amen.

MORE: Modern prayer for spiritual awakening

Bible teacher Beth Moore has written an impassioned "Intercessory Prayer for Awakening." Read it HERE.

The Feast of St. Mark Evangelist.

Today the church celebrates the Feast of Mark the Evangelist, the author of the Gospel of Mark and today's Bible reading.

This Collect begins the day's liturgy:

 Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

* Illustration of "Paul and the Viper"
Illustration from Volume 10 of The Bible and its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, edited by Charles F. Horne and Julius A. Bewer, published by Francis R. Niglutsch, New York, in 1910. Many of the original paintings were in color, but were published in this book in black and white.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When God takes over at your church

 "The Multitude in the Temple" by James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 21:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant." Matthew 21:14-15

For one glorious afternoon in the first century God took back the Jerusalem temple. Can you see the scene in its chaotic wonderfulness?

The wreckage of the temple market is strewn all around—tables tipped over, chairs with their legs in the air, freed doves underfoot pecking away at spilled grain.

Meanwhile a stream of unfortunates begins trickling in. There's a blind man stick-jabbing, hand-feeling his way. And here comes another hop-hobbling on crutches and another stoop-shouldered, shuffling between his helpful sons. "We've heard Jesus is here. Can you take us to Jesus?"

The children that ran with the palm-branch-waving crowd have followed Him into the temple too. With the energy and exuberance of kids everywhere they cut through they line that is forming to dance circles around Jesus as they resume the chant: "Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David!"

People get fixed, healed, straightened, loosed, and the excitement grows. This is not a King who only rides through the streets fulfilling a parable-prophecy, but Someone who has power to actually change things—heal sicknesses, correct conditions where they matter, where people live!

The scribes and pharisees miss it completely. Matthew underlines the irony of the scene: He was doing "wonderful things" but they were "indignant."

Jesus was so comfortable with the less-than-perfect, the poor, the desperate, the accused, the lame, the blind, the ones with issues. Almost all His miracles are performed on such. When He went to parties it was with the outcasts. When He told stories about banquets, it was this class of people that got the invite that took, because they came.

Far be it from you and me, perhaps somewhat set in our faith ways, to be the chief priests and scribes kind of cold-water-throwers when these types begin coming to our meeting places. When the addicts get freed and happy, when the tattooed former motorcycle gang member leads his leather-clad buddies right into "our" pew, when God, using His unconventional-to-us ways takes over at our church — will we respond with indignation or become part of God's palm-waving, Hosanna-singing program?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to recognize Your working, welcome and join it, it rather than feeling threatened because it doesn't fit with old custom and tradition. Amen.

MORE: "Ride On King Jesus" - Steve Bell

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A daily choice

Sapphire - Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 24:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.” Exodus 24:9,10

Yesterday we saw that God’s Kingdom is not only talk but also action. It comes in power—signs, wonders, and miracles - 1 Corinthians 4:20.

In Exodus 24 we have an example of one such supernatural phenomenon. Moses, Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, and the 70 elders Moses had appointed to help him, went up Mount Sinai for a leadership retreat.

What happened there no doubt blew their minds. They saw God in a setting so beautiful it practically defied describing, though Moses tried: “And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity” - Exodus 24:10. That day they ate and drank together with their heavenly Host. In recounting this, Moses seemed incredulous that they had survived - Exodus 24:11.

We would think that such an experience would change these men forever—that they would be staunchly loyal to Yahweh and would never give Moses another moment of trouble. But that’s not what happened.

At the institution of Tabernacle worship, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were careless about God’s instructions, “offered profane fire,” and died as a result - Leviticus 10:1,2.

The elders were swayed, along with the rest of the congregation, by the discouraging report of the ten spies who insisted they could never take Canaan (Numbers 13:27-14:30). They may well have been among the 250 leaders who joined Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s rebellion and met their demise then - Numbers 16:1,2,35.

All that to say, the sight of God’s gory, the witnessing of signs and wonders is not a guarantee either that people will stay loyal to God.

Contrast their falling away with Joshua, one of the faith-filled spies who became Israel’s leader after Moses died. He stayed the course. At the end of his life, he left Israel with a challenge that we today can still rise to: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” - Joshua 24:15 (emphasis added).

Though he spoke to them on a particular day of decision, “this day” is always our day of decision. May we choose God each day of our lives!

PRAYER: Dear Father, help my faith in You to stay strong whether I “see” You or whether I don’t. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The argument of power

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

TO CHEW ON: “For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

Does it seem to you that some folks are impervious to the gospel? No argument, no matter how logical or compelling, convinces them of the existence of God and His evaluation of and remedy for mankind.

If I’m understanding Paul correctly here, he is saying there is a way to conquer even such refusal to believe. It’s not with words, though, but with the power of God.

The Bible speaks often about the power of God. The references below are a few places. They give us an idea of the areas and ways God’s power has shown up in the past and may again.

1. Israel’s Chronicles historian told how historical figures, here David and a “man of God,” understood the rise and fall of nations to be due to God’s help or withdrawal of help - 1 Chronicles 29:12; 2 Chronicles 25:8.

2. The Spirit of the Lord gave the prophets the courage and power to rebuke sin - Micah 3:8.

3. Jesus’ life was characterized by the power of the Spirit - Luke 3:22; 4:14,15. The gospels are full of accounts of His teachings and miracles that repeatedly overcame unbelief.

4. On the day of Pentecost the Spirit descended on the disciples with physical sounds, sights, and manifestations - Acts 2:2-4.

5. That spiritual power was on display in the lives of the disciples, in their witnessing power, favour, miracles, and eventually, opposition - Acts 4:33; 6:7-15.

6. Paul prayed in his letter to the Ephesians that the power of God’s Spirit would strengthen his readers in the inner person - Ephesians 3:16.

7. Paul encouraged Timothy to use his spiritual gift to conquer fear and live in power, love, and a sound mind - 2 Timothy 1:17.

Does God still show up today in supernatural power, miracles, signs, and wonders? I believe He does. One example is in the dreams and visions of Jesus that many Muslims who come to faith tell about.

I am praying for the kingdom to come in supernatural power to some folks I know, who remain unmoved by words.  

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, may Your power flow in and through us as a means to convince a skeptical world of the kingdom of God and win them into it. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unpredictable healing

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 17:11-19

TO CHEW ON: "So when He saw then, He said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And so it was that as they went they were healed." Luke 17:14

If people who followed Jesus' ministry would have tried to predict His mode of healing, they would have been stymied at every turn. He healed in many ways. Here are some from the Gospel of Matthew:

• Jesus healed a leper and several pairs of blind men by touch - Matthew 8:2-3; 9:29-30; 20:34.

• He healed the centurion's son at a distance - Matthew 8:13.

• Sometimes He commanded action on the part of the sick person. He told the paralytic to rise, and the man with the withered hand to stretch it out - Matthew 9:6; 12:13.

• Some people were healed when they touched Jesus' clothes - Matthew 9:22; 14:36.

• Jesus rebuked a demon who had inflicted a little boy with seizures and "…it came out of him and the child was cured that very hour" - Matthew 17:18.

• In our reading today, the lepers were healed "as they went."

Do you pray for the sick to be healed? In the church I attend, the pastor often invites people who have physical illnesses to ask for prayer. I have been among the prayed for and among those who prayed.

There is always a desire to see instantaneous, miraculous, complete, on-the-spot healing. Sometimes that happens. But often not. Here we see that even those who came to Jesus when He was on earth were kept surprised by how He chose to heal them.

We still live in that era of necessary faith as we seek to live out Jesus' mandate: "'Go into all the world and preach the gospel …. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; ... they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover'" - Mark 16:15-18.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, when I am sick, I pray for healing. So do I pray that my ill family members, friends and acquaintances will be healed. May healing balm continue to flow to Your people through Your people. Please give us all faith to believe for the physical healing You have power to give, however You would give it. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

What does it mean to "press in"?

John: "Behold the Lamb of God."  by A. Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 16:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "'The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.'" Luke 16:16

From time to time I've heard preachers admonish us to "press in" to God, the things of God etc. I've wondered what exactly they meant and thought it was a preacher-invented expression. But no—it comes from Jesus! He uses it here to talk about the advancement of the kingdom of God: "'Since that time (the time of John) the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.'"

[The expression "pressing into it' is a transliteration of biazo. It means to use, force, to apply force, to inflict violence on. The word biazo is used one other place in the NT, in Matthew 11:12: "'From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.'"]

Other translations render the NKJV'S Luke 16:16 "…pressing into it" as "…forcing his way into it" (NAS), "… everyone tries forcefully to get into it" (AMP), "… eager multitudes are pressing in" (TLB), "… everyone is forcing their way into it" (NIV).

How does one press in to advance the kingdom of God? A sidebar article by Jack Hayford in my Bible is helpful. Below I quote and paraphrase his thoughts:

"Jesus declares the advance of the kingdom of God is the result of two things: preaching and pressing in."

Those who hear the preaching must respond or they will grow passive. That kingdom is advanced by words of truth and acts of love, but: "… apart from 1] an impassioned pursuit of prayer, 2] confrontation with the demonic, 3] expectation of the miraculous, and 4] a burning heart for evangelism, the kingdom of God makes little penetration in the world."

We must not go overboard in politicizing the kingdom and trying to advance it forcefully through "Earth-level rule" methods as they did during the Crusades. Rather: "Pressing in is accomplished first in prayer warfare, coupled with a will to surrender one's life and self interests, in order to gain God's kingdom goals" - Jack Hayford, "Pressing In," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1420.

It sounds a lot like sold-out discipleship to me

PRAYER: Dear Father, please create within me the desire, will, and energy to press in to You and the bringing about of Your kingdom. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sometimes God's ways get everyone talking

Zacharias and Elizabeth praying - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 1:57-80

TO CHEW ON: "Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these things were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea." Luke 1:65

Little Annabel Bean started having stomach troubles when she was just four. Her parents' quest for a diagnosis finally led to "pseudo obstruction motility disorder," an incurable condition where the stomach muscles don't work properly.

One afternoon when she was nine, weary of the house and bed, she—a tomboy like her older sister whenever she had the energy—joined her sister on the high branch of an old tree. The branch started to creak and then move and the girls scrambled for the safest way down. In that scramble, Anna fell headfirst into a grotto-like hole in the tree's trunk near where they had been sitting.

It turned out the hole wasn't the entrance to a shallow wooden cave but the mouth of the trunk that was hollow to the ground. Anna fell 30 feet that day. She should have been killed.

But instead, she had a heavenly vision. "I sat in Jesus' lap," she told her parents later. When rescuers finally lowered a rope sling to rescue her, she told how an angel provided light so she could find and grab onto it. And that day was the beginning of her healing. Her story caused quite a buzz.*

Another story that got everyone talking was the birth of John the Baptist. His birth to elderly parents, his father Zacharias's inability to speak throughout Elizabeth's entire pregnancy, then his parents' choice of name for him—John instead of Zacharias II, defying all convention—provoked "fear" (phobos - dread, fear, reverence) in all who lived nearby.

Though we may never have experienced God working in our lives in such dramatic ways as did John the Baptist's parents or Anna Bean, He is at work in our lives too. Let's stay alert to His activity. When we do sense His presence in things like little "coincidences" to the miracles we may experience, hear, or read about, let's not rationalize away His working: Anna was just lucky to fall the right way. Her vision was the product of an overactive imagination. The fact she never needed another pain pill after this was just coincidence….

No.

Rather, let's view God activity in our lives and the lives of those around us with the fear, dread, and reverence of Zacharias and Elizabeth's Judean neighbours. Let's let such examples strengthen our faith and reassure us that God is alive and active in our world.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that in my time, though filled with technological savvy where the tendency is to look for a natural explanation for everything, there are evidences that You still break through in miracles. Help me to believe, "The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear" (Isaiah 59:1). Amen.

MORE: Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. The day's liturgy begins with this collect:

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

* Annabel's mother has told her story in the book Miracles from Heaven. A movie based on the story (Miracles From Heaven) was released in March, 2016.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.