Tag: miracle

February 4 2023 – Mark 8 – Tenderhearted

Jesus had just fed five thousand people in Mark 7 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The disciples were there. They saw and participated in the miracle. In Mark 8 they see Jesus take 7 loaves of bread and feed four thousand people. The disciples saw this miracle and participated in it too. However, when they were in the boat heading to the other side of the lake, the disciples were concerned about not having enough bread.

Jesus overheard them discussing this and makes a statement that gives us some important insights. And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” Mark8:17–21NASB1995

Hardheartedness keeps us from recognizing who God is, and understanding what God is doing. The disciples saw what Jesus did. They heard what he said, but they did not yet see or understand who they were following.

The remedy for this is to ask God to give us a tender heart, eyes to see and ears to hear. That means that God has to move us past our pride so that our hearts are not hard. It also involves remembering what God has been doing in our lives and in the life of our church. Jesus reminded the disciples of the miracles they had just seen. Remembering what God has done in and through us helps us to see God’s leading and direction through the miracles we have seen and witnessed.

Having a tender heart and remembering what God has done in us and through us helps us see the spiritual reality and not be stuck in the temporal. When we have trouble recognizing Jesus and the spiritual, we need to humble ourselves and ask for eyes to see and ears to hear.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for the miracles that show me who you are and what you are calling me to be. When the temporal world that I experience through my five senses, encroaches upon the spiritual, help me to have eyes to see and ears to hear what you are doing in me and around me. Amen.

Find past devotions at https://beingachildofgod.com/

February 2 2023 – Mark 6 – Impossible Situations

There are many times in life we run into what seem like impossible situations. By that I mean, they are situations or problems that we can see no possible solution for. We have all been in them perhaps multiple times during our lives. They may be interpersonal problems with other people. They may be problems with a group of people. They may be financial problems. They may be health issues. There are a thousand other possible suggestions.

When we come to these impossible situations, we work through them in our strength and intellect. We are resourceful. We have been given the gift of intelligence. However, impossible situations are beyond our resources and intellect and after we have exhausted every possible solution we can think of, we have a moment of dismay. We may wonder why God let us get into this situation. Is God mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Is God there? Does God love me?

I believe God allows impossible situations because he wants us to grow in our faith and recognize his great love for us. Nothing is impossible for God. He knows what the solution for our impossible situations are before we even ask for help. His solutions are beyond what we would have expected or imagined. When God solves our impossible situations we grow in faith in him and in love for him.

In Mark 6, the disciples are in an impossible situation. It is getting late and there is a crowd of five thousand men plus women and children. The disciples recognize the need for these people to eat and they are out in the country with no place to get food. They say to Jesus, send them away so they can get food. Jesus put the disciples in an impossible situation. But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” Mark6:37NASB1995. A denarius was a day’s wage. In today’s money, if that was someone working for McDonald’s at $13 an hour, that would have been $20,800 for a meal to feed this crowd.

Then Jesus ask them to go see what they had there. They come back with two fish and five loaves of bread. So Jesus has the crowd sit on the grass. He blessed the food and began to break it and give it to the disciples to distribute. He kept breaking it and they kept distributing it until everyone was satisfied. It was like a free all day fish and bread buffet. They all kept eating until they were full. Afterwards they picked up twelve baskets full of leftovers.

Jesus knew what he was going to do. However, he let the disciples wrestle with the impossible situation to grow their faith. In working through it with the Lord they experienced his power and glory and grew in their love for him.

Next time you find yourself in an impossible situation, remember nothing is impossible for God. He knows the solution to your problem. He loves you and wants to use it to grow your faith and love for him. Instead of letting the devil tempt you to doubt God or his love for you, ask Jesus, “how are you going to solve this?”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your great love for me! Thank you for impossible situations that help me to grow in faith and love. Help me to realize when I am wallowing in self pity instead of seeking you and your solution for my impossible situation. Amen.

January 31 2023 – Mark 4 – Kingdom Growth

If you have ever tried to grow a garden, you realize there is a mystery to it. It is possible to do everything right, as far as you know, and still not produce much of a crop. It is also possible to put the seed in the ground and not do much more than that and have a bountiful harvest. We partner with God when we plant and garden. You can’t go wrong in asking God to bless your efforts.

In Mark 4, Jesus is explaining the Kingdom of God to his disciples. And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark4:26–29NASB1995

In this parable, Jesus teaches us an important truth. It is God that gives growth to the Kingdom. We certainly have a part in it. We are called to be in faithful relationship with our Heavenly Father. That means as an expression of our love for the Father, we join him in what he leads us to do. However, we must remember that Kingdom growth comes as a result of God’s mysterious and miraculous power at work in us and through us. God calls us to step out in faith and join him where he leads. We step out in faith in some tangible way. God blesses that miraculously with spiritual growth in our lives and in the life of our church family.

We must be careful not to ever think that it is our work alone, our efforts alone, that bring the growth. We must never think our efforts are the bigger part of what is happening in the Kingdom of God. Our faith, our efforts, are tiny mustard seeds that when sown, God gives phenomenal growth. Reading the Bible apart from God is confusing. Loving your neighbor apart from God is tedious and can become a way to satisfy a prideful desire for recognition. Apart from God, sharing the Gospel can become a way to satisfy a prideful desire for recognition for a church or denomination… “look at all the people we got saved.”

As an expression of our love for the Heavenly Father, we go and do what we are called to step out in faith to do. We are filled with wonder and awe when we see the Kingdom growth that God mysteriously and miraculously produces in our own lives and in our churches. By joining our Heavenly Father in what he is doing in and through us, we come to love him more and more.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to your love through your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for the mysterious and miraculous Holy Spirit at work in my life. Help me to step out in faith to experience more of your love and power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

December 17, 2022 – John 9 – Intentionally Blind

Exodus 28, John 9, Galatians 5

I have been trying to adjust to wearing soft contact lenses for about a month. I have worn Rigid Gas Permeable lenses since I was 16 years old. I am also dealing with Presbyopia, a condition that comes with age that makes it difficult to focus on things close up. At times, when I can’t focus on things I used to be able too, I feel almost blind. I could alleviate the Presbyopia by wearing readers or progressive lenses. But doing so would be admitting I am old and sometimes I am too proud for that.

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Take a few minutes and imagine what it would have been like to not have that as a sense… to never know the color red or the beauty of a flower or butterfly. Also, you would have people trying to describe things they see and you would have absolutely no point of reference to what they are describing. Then your eyes are opened. What most people have had a lifetime to experience and take for granted, is now flooding your brain for the first time. Colors, shades, and perception of depth must have been overwhelming, not to mention seeing things you have only imagined by touch, sound, and smell.

The man Jesus gave sight to was experiencing this euphoria, but it was short lived. Not long after the miracle the Pharisees heard about it and began an investigation. They questioned the man, twice. They questioned his parents. They heard all of the details and confirmed that yes, this was an actual miracle. A man who had been born blind could now see after Jesus made some mud with his spit and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. However, they refused to believe.

In describing this event to his readers, John presents two types of blindness… physical blindness and spiritual blindness. The man’s parents and the Pharisees were spiritually blind. They both encountered this new spiritual reality possible in Jesus but both refused to see. They were intentionally, spiritually blind.

The parents were intentionally, spiritually blind because of fear. They didn’t want to be kicked out of the temple. The Pharisees were intentionally, spiritually blind because of pride. Jesus did not come through the proper channels. He did not follow their rules. He had performed this miracle on the Sabbath, for heaven’s sake! Therefore, even though the parents and the Pharisees had undeniably encountered this miracle and new reality in Jesus, they refused to see. They remained intentionally, spiritually blind.

At the close of John, chapter 9, we read: Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” John9:39–41NIV

What spiritual reality in Jesus Christ could you intentionally be turning a blind eye to because of fear or pride?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, open my eyes so that I may see the new spiritual reality that you open all around me. Cast out the fear and pride that cause me to want to turn a blind eye to what you are doing in the world today. Amen.

December 10, 2022 – John 2 – The Best Till Now

Exodus 21, John 3, 2 Corinthians 11

*Usually the devotion goes along with one of the linked scriptures. I was confused and went back to John 2 for today’s devotion. I will be back on track tomorrow.

Scholars believe the Gospel of John was written later than the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John arranges his presentation of the signs and teachings of Jesus in a different order. Scholars also believe John’s Gospel is much more theologically developed. It should be read carefully, taking time to see the clues in the text showing he is talking about something larger than the event in the life of Jesus he is presenting.

In John chapter 2, he records the first miracle, or sign that Jesus does publicly. It happens at a wedding at Cana. Jesus and his disciples are there. His mother is there. The people hosting the wedding party run out of wine. If you haven’t seen the series The Chosen, you may want to check it out. They do a great job showing the embarrassment and shame the hosts would have experienced when everyone realized they were out of wine.

Mary, Jesus’ mother, asks him to do something about it. That is interesting to think about. She must have seen some of the signs and wonders he could have done being the Son of God. Otherwise, why bother Jesus with this detail. His response seems to indicate that he could do something about it, but was hesitant to do so because of timing. Mary takes no notice of what seems to be a curt response. Instead she tells the servants to do what ever he says.

Jesus has them fill six stone jars with water to the brim. Then they took some to the master of the banquet. After he tasted some, he was surprised to find how good it was. It is common knowledge that ones ability to discern how good or bad an alcoholic beverage taste diminishes with the number of drinks one has. Therefore, the master of the banquet says,  “…Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” John2:10NIV

It was an incredible miracle! The party hosts went from being shamefully disgraced because they had no wine, to having 120 gallons or more of the best wine. I don’t know how long the party was going to last or how many guests they had, but just visualize 120 gallons of the best wine. What an abundant blessing!

John has given us clues that something deeper is going on with this presentation of the sign Jesus did. The statement, “My hour has not yet come,” and the description of the water pots, “six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,” tells us that something deeper is going on here.

On one level John is presenting the actual event, but on a deeper level he is comparing the Old Covenant with it ceremonial washings and sacrificial system to the new thing Jesus is doing now. The old wine was running out but the new wine was better and abundant! God had saved the best till now!

It reminds me of another time Jesus was talking about wine. “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew9:17NIV  A similar thing is going on here… talking about one thing with a deeper spiritual meaning behind it.

Thank God for the signs and wonders that Jesus performed, showing he was and is the Son of God! Thank God for the reality that we live in, where God saved the best till now!

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for the signs and wonders you did to prove you were God’s son. Thank you for your abiding Spirit in my life abundantly proving to me on a daily basis that you love me and you are with me. Amen.