Tag: miracle

Devotional 195: See and Follow

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Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has [b]made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

In this condensed telling of the story of Bartimaeus, Jesus uses the catalyst of the beggar’s faith to work his healing. He tells the man that his faith has made him well, then gives him an interesting command.

“Go your way.” But something else happens instead.

After receiving his sight, Bartimaeus follows Jesus down the road, but he’s giving thanks to G-d the Father. When we are called, touched, and healed by Jesus, there is nothing better we can do than follow Him, and as He’s always in the Father’s presence, there is nothing better we can do but glorify the Father for sending Him.

When we understand that Jesus came to deliver us physically and spiritually, our initial response is to keep Him in our sight, but as time passes and the healing remains, other things begin to fill thoughts and vision, and we stray from following Him back to the narrow gate.

Jesus tells us though, that when we are called out, touched, and healed, our light is to so shine before men, that they see it and glorify G-d. Luke adds that as Bartimaeus followed Christ, that’s exactly what happened. (Luke 18:42-43)

42 Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

In these tense times, as the prophecies of Christ manifest, increasing in frequency and intensity, we are called on now more than ever to live out the Gospel’s truth, and not our own (my truth, as the popular phrase goes).

Know that there are not many who will throw off their garment and come seeking, but we are not to be concerned with the numbers, only that we speak.

It will be Jesus who chooses who He reveals the Father to, and under which circumstances. The Holy Spirit awaits His command, but we are to plant seeds or reap the newly faithful.

In speaking the Gospel, we obey our Father’s will, and He will reward us openly if we do it in secret. It may well come to that.

Let’s not lose sight of Jesus.

Having received our spiritual sight, there’s no one else we need to walk with, and nothing of higher value than to dwell eternally in the Kingdom of G-d.

Therefore, I pray,

Lord Jesus,

As I go my way, I ask is that You watch over my life, and supplant my will with G-d’s. Don’t let my soul languish among whitened sepulchers.

I want to follow you and glorify God, rejoicing that I will dwell in His house forever with You.

May your words be sealed to my spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

Devotional 133: Who Touched Me?

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Luke 8:40-48

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

This was not a new miracle, (Mark 6:56), but this specific recording is significant because it tells us that when we seek the Lord in faith for our needs, power comes out of Him for provision and resolution.

The woman, whose name we don’t know, was part of another nameless, faceless, pressing throng as Jesus walked through the crowd. He did not see her until after her healing took place. Indeed, with the surge of power that came out of Him, it was such that it compelled Him to stop and ask.

Her fear was such that she merely slipped back into the crowd, seeking renewed anonymity. She did not rejoice, or say anything to anyone. But this was Jesus asking, and she was probably feeling, in some way that she was going to be, and deserved to be, reprimanded for being sneaky, as some would have judged her.

He waited, and watched her trembling as she told Him her story, and its result.

But what He tells her is something unexpected, something kind and merciful, and encouraging: “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Why her, and not others? Were there not other sick people there who bumped into Him?

Likely, but here’s what Jesus tells us, and this is why faith continues to be the key that brings the miracles to us:

Luke 4:23-30

23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

From the very beginning of His ministry, the evil in the hearts of men were stirred to kill Him because they got convicted by the presence of the holiness in their midst, but it wasn’t His time. Their minds were on material wealth, political control, and a smug attitude that because they were the Chosen, their entrance into the afterlife was automatic.

Jesus cautioned them it wasn’t. (Matthew 21:28-32)

It is only through faith, obedience, humility, fear, and patience that we see our blessings manifest. The healed woman had been broke, powerless, without family (that we know of), and was likely suffering the culture’s judgment on her life as having a ‘special’ kind of sin that so cursed her life. Her affliction had been with her for twelve years, and she’d probably given up hope.

She had a choice to make. Go to Jesus, or stay afflicted, and she actively moved through the crowd to get close enough…

Are we going to turn to Jesus as believers, or stay in afflicted, conflicted silence on the sidelines, with a nameless, faceless, pressing mob that came out to see what was going on, but not really being a part of it?

Would Jesus stop to call you from the crowd if You turned to Him today?

Search within, be honest, and then choose. He longs to say to you,

“Be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

Keep us mindful of being fearful, humble, patient, faithful and obedient servants of the Kingdom as we seek the Father’s will through You for our lives, for you’ve said to us that if we’ve seen You, we’ve seen the Father.

Let the light of the Gospel shine at our feet, as the lamps our bodies read it, and the temples of our bodies perform it, in faith believing, in repentance of besetting sins, in renouncing of spiritual strongholds where our enemy contends strongly, and repeatedly, against us. 

Unite us, that we may be stronger together. Bless us, that we may be a blessing to others. Let us spiritually touch You, that power, boldness, peace, and love quicken us to speak of You, unashamed and unafraid, to the mob that seeks to throw us from the cliffs.

As Your people, we ask that You speak to us, that we may know Your voice, and abide in You, under Your protection as we go out wise as serpents, and harmless as doves, and let us enter with rejoicing into our Father’s realm and rest, to be with You forever, free from spiritual and physical afflictions, every tear dried, every question answered, and redeemed in the sight of the Father through Your blood.

Let us be ready, in fear and trembling, as You call us out of the crowd to give the reason why we sought Your presence in our lives by faith, and give an accounting of what we’ve done. May it stand the test of fire in the day of judgment, that it would be good in the Father’s sight. 

Thank You, Lord Jesus.

May it be done to us as You have said. 

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 100: A Man Called Jesus

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John 9:8-12

8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was [a]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”

He said, “I am he.”

10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”

He said, “I do not know.”

For a lot of us who’ve received Christ, outside of the movies a crucifixion is an abstract concept, but every time we’ve seen it portrayed our spirit recoils a bit no matter who the victim is.

It is designed to cause suffering, suffocation, nerve damage, and that’s before death.

The whips were designed to tear flesh from the body, not just scar.

The crucifixion of our Lord was enhanced by beatings with fists, whips, a crown of thorns, and constant striking, spitting, hair pulling, and mocking.

Yet He asked forgiveness for his accusers and executioners, because He knew the nature of the world, and testified to it that its works were evil.

As He’s commissioned us to be His hands and feet as He sits at the Father’s right hand and intercedes for our backsliding, those without Him remain in their fallen nature, being the hands and feet of our Enemy. As we are to go about preaching, they go about mocking. As we come fight against moral decay, they use the faithless and the cowardly to advance.

Christ told us:  14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 

The Apostle Peter experienced this first hand, and had to be restored. So have we, and so do we.

Christ was a miracle working man, yet untainted by the earthly seed of man. He was attached uniquely to the Father. But He also grieved, wept, and marveled, just as we do. I imagine there were times he even laughed. He got thirsty, hungry, and tired.

He climbed mountains to be alone and pray.

To heal Bartimaeus, He spit.

He is not only our Savior, but our Brother. He is not only our King, but our Friend. He is not only the Son of G-d, but our Shepherd. He is not only the Lion of Judah, but our judge. All of the latter terms are earthly offices, and all of the former divine in nature.

Let us not deny His humanity, though His works were of Heaven through the power of faith in the Holy Spirit, and the approval of the Father.

Bartimaeus received his sight, but didn’t know where Jesus went.

Let us thank the Father that today, we don’t have that problem, for Christ again tells us:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

That’s fitting, since He is the finisher of our faith.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

Never let the horror of Your sacrifice be lost on us. You suffered much, in flesh and spirit, for our sake. Those of us who believe and follow must suffer also, to share in the glory.

We don’t understand it all, but one day, we will, and that will be a glorious day for the faithful. 

No hatred, war, bloodshed, evil intent, deceit, greed, lust, or transgression. All things made new, all evil destroyed. The light of the Father Himself will be our sun, and the heavens will ring with holy praise.

Help us to remember our places are prepared, our rewards set aside, our crowns given to throw at Your feet, for the silver and gold is Yours.

As Your prophecies unfold, help us to keep hold of the hem of Your garment, that we might be made whole, spotless before the Father, our unworthy names not blotted from the Book of Life, Your Book of Remembrance of us as You come into Your kingdom.

Help us to know that what we’ve read, seen, and heard in our own walks was appointed to us from before the foundation of the world. Some of us came later rather than sooner, and endured some unneeded hardship, but You applied the goads that got us to declare our faith in You, as we reached the end of ourselves and our own ways, lost in darkness too deep to dispel on our own.

As with Bartimaeus, some of us would declare it a late-life miracle indeed, but we are here, now, and all that’s left behind is no longer important. Our eyes are focused on You, and our lives, the very ones You gave back to us, are Yours to make what You will of them to the Father’s glory.

And for it, we shall be eternally grateful, dwelling with You in the sight of God, reconciled to Him forevermore.

May it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 94: He Marveled

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Mark 6:4-6

4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

To marvel implies a much greater sense than to be ‘surprised.’ Here’s a working definition:  to be filled with wonder or astonishment.  

It is both a verb and a noun, yet when we see it applied to Jesus in the form of a verb, we know then that He was truly in one of two places: one where faith was strong, or one where it was not.

How could the Messiah, who came from the Father to deliver us from evil, be made to marvel at our faithlessness? If He in fact knew what was in a man, and never wavered from His mission, and seen the heart of the people toward Him, why would He be surprised?

Verse 4 tells us He already knew that, but Verse 6 seems like He didn’t.

I suggest it was quiet, more like a silent grief. Who wouldn’t choose salvation of their soul, redemption from the grave, and eternal life? Who would choose separation from an omnipotent and loving Creator? Having lost our earthly fathers, who would choose to not be with their Heavenly Father?

Here was the Promised, at the height of His ministry, in the midst of His own, doing signs and wonders and miracles, turning sinners to G-d and reaching the lost, willing to give of Himself to the point of death to atone for sins He never committed, and yet…

“He marveled at their unbelief.”

We live in a world of beauty. Who would willingly leave Eden? The vistas of our planet, the power of its nature, the temperateness and variety of its climes, and the comforts of life blind us to the Truth that there is something better.

We also live in a world of evil: we use words like ‘exclusive’, and ‘illegal.’ We worship mammon, forgetting the treasure is the King’s. (Haggai 2:8), we enslave and slaughter, and give over to the lusts of our flesh, and that which G-d has allowed us to have dominion over, we have used to replace Him. Science is used as an argument against an infinitely creative G-d, though we have not fathomed the depths of His universe. Even Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is an atheist, titled his series: The Inexplicable Universe. He mocks G-d and Christians, yet the title speaks for itself. (As Pilate said, ‘What I have written, I have written,” not knowing the truth of it).

The unbelieving claim a morality with no compass; it is as selective and subject to imperfection as sectarian faith, and in fact, leads to a belief that one’s own goodness is sufficient, so there is no need to refocus, repent, or return to anything other than their own center. The appeal is in the ritual, the mantra, the chanting, the incense, the doing of things.

Grace requires nothing, and is undeserved, and claims a true and lasting forgiveness that allows us to stand blameless before the Father on the day of judgment.

Who wouldn’t choose that?

And then we have the story of the centurion:

6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

A pagan’s humility and faith in the Son of G-d made Jesus marvel. He found Himself in a place where faith was strong.

Do we really want the Son of G-d to come to us, cleanse us, reveal our hearts, renew our minds, and put right spirits within us?

Then let us humble ourselves, and believe, and give the Prophet honor among us.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

In the times we forget Your promises, let us remember that judgment starts with the children of G-d, and that many who say to You ‘Lord, lord,’ will be denied, and that some who have never uttered Your name will be grafted in, because they have proven to be worthy workers by doing the Father’s will. 

It is those, You tell us, who are Your brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:50)

Your power and love were such that it touched the heart of pagans, and cleaved the heart of Pharisees.

We are but sheep, and sheep are easy to pick off, easy to deceive, easy to kill, and we have an enemy in the fold.

But You are the Good Shepherd, and assure us no one can snatch us from Your hand.

I ask also, Lord, that You keep us from leaping out of Your grasp.

Forgive me for the times when the faith of pagans outstripped my own, where the praises of rocks replaced my own, and I have placed an idol on the altar where the Father’s Word should be.

Let us remember that prophets don’t speak of time, but events, and the events we see now are the events You foretold, and You tell us Your word is truth (John 17:17).

We would be sanctified by it, and live in the year of the Lord’s favor, saved by faith in You from the day of the Lord’s wrath. 

In the days ahead, Lord Jesus, I would have You marvel at my turnaround, and rejoice in my repentance. Anoint me once more, and sing over me, and purify me, that I may be redeemed from the power of the  grave, and live eternally with You.

Only say the word, Lord, and I shall be healed.

I would be a sign, a wonder, and a testimony to the Father’s will, that all who see my light through You will marvel at it, and turn to G-d, giving Him the glory.

Let it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.