Blog Archives
Walking in Authority
Reading: Luke 2-4
Scripture
So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” Luke 4:39-41a (NIV)
Observations
Jesus was not just “empty talk”. He spoke with authority. He spoke with authority as he taught people, compelling some and threatening others. He spoke with authority over sickness and it left people. He spoke with authority to demons and they fled. He told people their sins were forgiven and they were. Because he carried authority, Jesus was able to bring real healing and transformation, both physically and spiritually, to all who came to him in faith.
Application
I long to be able to share the life-changing power of God with others, to see Jesus bring healing and wholeness to people physically and spiritually. Jesus gave his disciples authority to heal the sick and cast out demons, but he also gives authority to me as his ambassador to carry on the work that he started. He says, “All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go…” (Matthew 8:18-19a).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, even as I write I feel the desire to pray for people welling up in me. Lord, let your kingdom come! May it truly be on earth as it is in heaven. Please release your Holy Spirit to heal and restore. I pray for miracles that set people free and provoke great outpourings of joy. Let us not be impotent in our faith but instead walk tall in the authority you have given us.
I pray Lord Jesus for wisdom and opportunity, and for the courage to obey all of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit!
Whoa! Sometimes it feels like God puts his hand right inside my chest and gives my myocardium a squeeze! I've found using SOAP is really effective way to open myself up to God as I read the Bible. If you'd like to know more about this simple technique, you can find out here: What is SOAP?
I Can Trust God, for Everything
Reading: Psalm 103-105
Scripture
He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. Psalm 105:39-42 (NIV)
Observations
When God brought his people Israel out of Egypt and into the inhospitable harshness of the desert, the people had absolutely no idea that they were about to enjoy the faithful hospitality of their God. Rather, many of them feared they were about to die. The environment offered them nothing. There was no way they could provide for themselves – there was no food, no water and no protection from the elements. Unless God miraculously provided for them, they would surely die. But God did provide, and in a way that left no one in any doubt: God was looking after them.
Application
I'm used to the idea of providing for myself. I work to earn money and provide for the needs of my family. I have insurance lest something be stolen or damaged. The government provides services to care for me should I become sick or needy. If I'm hungry, I just go to the pantry. I'm certainly grateful for all those things, but I really don't know what it's like to have nothing, to be absolutely dependant on God for everything as the Israelites were.
Yet everything I have comes from God. He is the source of everything I will ever need. If all I depend upon is taken away from me, he will still be my Provider. It's all because of God's wonderful grace. So what can be my response?
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name. Psalm 105:1
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Prayer
Thank you Father that I can trust you. Please continue to provide everything I need. Thank you that I can trust you with my life, and with my family. Thank you for the opportunity to work and earn an income. Thank you for the good things you provide, and for all your blessings to me. I look to you, Lord. May nothing else have a hold on me except the desire to know you more, and enjoy your grace forever.
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:4-5 (NIV)
See also: Jesus Wants Me to Ask!
Grace is the Antidote to Disgrace
Reading: Luke 1
Scripture
When [Zechariah's] time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.” Luke 1:23-25 (NIV)
Observations
Luke chapter 1 must be one of the most “feel good” chapters in the Bible. I love the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth.“Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.” Through no fault of her own, Elizabeth lived in disgrace among the people because of her barrenness.
Disgrace: Loss of reputation or respect as a result of a dishonourable action; a person or thing regarded as shameful and unacceptable; loss of honour or esteem; ignominy; shame; public contempt.
How much pain must Elizabeth have carried in her heart, along with her husband Zechariah. Yet the two of them continued to serve God and do their best to please him.
And then, inexplicably and against all the odds, Elizabeth learns she has been chosen to bear a son! He will be called John. “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” Elizabeth must have nearly burst with happiness as her “dis-grace” vanished like the morning dew. The “dis-” was gone forever, leaving her to enjoy what God had for her all along – “grace“.
Application
No matter how much “dis-” there has been in my life, whether inflicted by others or the result of my own actions, Jesus has taken it to the Cross. He carried it in his body to the grave and it is gone forever, leaving me to enjoy what God had for me all along – grace.
Grace and disgrace cannot coexist. They are opposites. A person cannot truly experience God's grace – that is, his undeserved favour – and still be weighed down by shame and condemnation. Grace is the antidote to disgrace. The coming of grace is like the rising of the sun, causing disgrace to vanish like the morning dew.
This is my mission as a follower of Jesus – to bring grace. What an exciting and rewarding prospect, to have the Holy Spirit working not just in me but through me to bring the wonderful love and favour of God to all who would receive it.
Prayer
Father, let me be a channel for your grace! May it flow through me like an ever-increasing river. Help me to use my gifts and to take every opportunity you give me to share your grace, and to bring joy where now there is only despair. I am your servant.
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Before eBay or TradeMe, there was God…
Reading: Psalm 63-68
Scripture
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19-20 (NIV)
Observations
This verse is translated differently in the various translations:
Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits… (NKJV)
For each day he carries us in his arms. (NLT)
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up… (ESV)
Praise the Lord, God our Saviour, who helps us every day. (NCV)
Perhaps it is fair to say that God does all these things. He daily loads us with benefits, and daily bears our burdens. Both are the result of what Jesus won for us at the cross.
Application
I need to get with Jesus each day and do some trading. I give him my burdens, and he gives me his benefits. I like the sound of this!
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for this wonderful arrangement, for the divine exchange which took place at the cross so that I need no longer lumber around a heavy burden. What a pleasure to be able to come to you each day and trade in my burdens for blessings. May I come away loaded! Thank you so much for your goodness, fresh to me each day.
Failure is Not the End
Reading: Mark 14-16
Scripture
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ” Mark 16:6-7 (NIV)
Observations
“But go, tell his disciples and Peter…” Peter, who just three days earlier had done what in his mind was unthinkable – he had disowned Jesus, not once but three times, just as Jesus had predicted. How must Peter have felt during those three days, after having so emphatically insisted, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” Mark 14:31 Did he have the courage to even let himself be seen by Jesus as he hung on the cross? I suspect not. He had stepped up to the plate and failed, dismally.
But Jesus knew. He knew Peter's despair and the bitter anguish of his soul, and on the cross Jesus bore in his body not just the failings of Peter, but the failings of us all. Soon, Peter's despair would be replaced by hope, and the angel was there to announce it: “Go, tell his disciples and Peter…” It's OK Peter. You failed and Jesus specifically wants you to know that he still loves you.
In many ways the redemption that Peter subsequently found in Jesus through that failure was the making of the man who would go on to lead the early church and eventually make good on his promise, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
Application
In the kingdom of God, failure is not the end. In many ways, it's like a beginning. It's an opportunity for me to stand before God with empty hands and acknowledge once again that he is my everything. It's an opportunity for my heart to be softened and prepared so that hope can spring up afresh and arrogance make way for graciousness.
Prayer
Lord, you know all too well that I have yet to reach a place of humility like the one Peter found himself in. But I pray that you would continue to perfect holiness in me as I journey with you, and if I meet failure along the way, please help me to grow from the experience, and to pass through it as one who has tasted more deeply the riches of your wonderful kindness and grace.
Sneaking Off With God... 