Modern Day Miracles

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy: Mark 1:40-45

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[h] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.^[i] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

In today’s world with wars, famines, disease, some people doubt that God is invested in this earth anymore and they ask: “Where are the miracles of God?” Beloved, I bring you good news today in the fact that miracles do occur and that God is truly at work in this world He created.

Yes, miracles are occurring that you and I may not be able to see, because God is working these miracles through His people: “The Body of Christ!” If we look back on the miracles of Christ, we see that he didn't want to be known for his miracles. When we see Christ healing the man from leprosy, we see Jesus asking him not to tell anyone.

Beloved, Christ did not want to be known as a magician or a circus performer. Jesus wanted to be known as God’s Son who would come as the suffering servant who was sent to die for our sins. Christ came to re-establish our relationship with his Father, and he wanted us to be a faithful people through our love of God and one another.

Yes, miracles happen every day, but God wants us to base our faith on our relationships with Him, rather than the miracles that He is conducting in this world. If you want to see a miracle occur today, my prayer is that you be the hands and feet of Christ, and feed, cloth, and nurture those that are truly in need. Help those that don’t know Christ, to come into relationship with him.

Let us place our faith relationships ever stronger and more powerful in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, focused on the healing miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ instead of focusing on other healing s and miracles.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Letting Go and Moving On

Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Many of us have had times in our lives in which we have sustained a loss, whether it is the loss of a relationship, the loss of a job, or maybe even just feeling lost. As we gather here this morning, I bring you good news in the fact that no matter what you have lost, that God is working on a new thing for your life.

Recently I read an article about moving on and letting go and it stated that the hardest part about moving on is in our moving out of the way. When we move out of the way of our loss, we can prepare ourselves for the happiness that God will bring to us.

Beloved, moving on from a painful experience is very difficult, and this morning’s verse from Isaiah informs us that God does not want us to constantly look back. God wants us to move on into the things that He is doing for us.

Friends, get ready to move out of the wilderness, rivers and desert, because God has a plan for all of our lives and we only need get out of the way to see His blessings appear.

My prayer for you today is that you know that God loves you so very much and has made plans and provisions for life. May you find the strength to let go and let God continue on with the plans that He has made for you.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Voting for Jesus

Exodus 18:17-21 ESV

Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

By this time in any election year we have had our fill of political commercials and advertisements about upcoming elections and political candidates. In the book of Exodus we are given God’s guide to choosing our elected officials. We are told that we should select elected officials that are beyond reproach, those that have a relationship with God and understand His expectations for their office.

My prayer for us this day is not so much for us, but rather those that run for political office. My prayer is that they know that they not only represent us, they represent God as the caretakers of what He has created.  

May we pray for our candidates to make good sound decisions and truly represent those that sent them? Additionally, let us be careful to make sure that we place Jesus Christ before any political party or candidate, and at the end of the day make sure that Jesus is always our prime candidate as Lord and Savior.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Attitude is Everything!

Colossians 3:23 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men

There is a story of a cowboy who was driving down the country road in his pickup truck, his faithful dog in the back and his horse towed in the trailer being pulled behind. The cowboy failed to negotiate a curve and had a terrible accident.

Sometime later a state police officer came upon the scene.  An animal lover, he saw the horse first. Realizing the serious nature of the injuries to the horse, he drew his service revolver and put the animal out of its misery.

He walked around the accident scene and observed that the dog was critically injured as well, so he ended the dogs suffering as well.

Finally he located the injured cowboy hiding in the bushes. The police officer asked the cowboy if he was okay. The cowboy took one look at the officers smoking revolver in the officer’s hand and quickly replied, “Never felt better!”

Beloved, attitude is everything in regards to our labors in this world. We often hear that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), which means he wants our labors voluntarily and never under compulsion.

Have you ever been asked to do something for your church or community, and you do it out of anything but joy? Beloved, my prayer for you this day is in the understanding that laboring for God should only be done in an attitude of joy and never reluctance.

When we are called by God we must know that He knows our skill sets and knows that we are worthy of the task that He has asked us to complete. Go out in service this day and know that God has selected well in choosing you, and that the labor is never for us, but rather for the Kingdom of God.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Peach Pie Verses Apple Pie = Pie

Galatians 3:26 ESV  

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Recently I have gone to some functions that have served peach pie for dessert; in fact most of the functions I go to serve some sort of peach dish for dessert.  Needless to say I am not a fan of peaches, in fact I often feel that I am an apple pie person living in a peach pie world.

Maybe this is how we can describe how God’s people get along with one another? Have you ever encountered people that rub you the wrong way, in fact they are the peach pie to your apple pie lifestyle. There is nothing we can do about these peach pie people, but accept them in the understanding that we are different, but we both like pie.

The same can be said for Christ’s people that worship differently in regards to how they worship. Maybe they baptize infants our wait for them to get older and decide about baptism; maybe their communion tables are open or closed.

Beloved, even though we may worship differently we are still united in the fact that we worship the same God. Even though we may worship differently, we still worship the same Jesus Christ that paid for our sins upon the cross and defeated the empty tomb.

Beloved, my prayer for us today is that as the Body of Christ, we look to building up our similarities instead of focusing on our differences. May we embrace our key unity in the words of John 3:16: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Go forward today enjoying peach pie and I will go forward enjoying apple pie and we will both celebrate the fact that we both love pie. 

This is the day that the Lord has made.

The Fruits of Our Labor

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV 

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of 

the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

As I sat in my home on Labor Day I thought about those that that don't always have Labor Day off, and today's scripture from 1 Corinthians came to mind. As we have a day to celebrate labor, we must remember that true labor never really takes a day off. Many of us know people that work jobs that have to work on holidays and weekends, because the labors of their chosen profession never stop.

But unstoppable labor is more then celebrating those that have to work on holidays. Unstoppable labor is when we do for others instead of ourselves, when it is done in the name of the Lord.

Could you imagine if the fire department refused to come to us when our home was on fire because it was their day off, or the police department refused to come when needed? Beloved, God does not take a day off and we as is people serving a suffering world do not take a day off from Christianity.

My prayer for you this day is that we all understand that laboring for God is an unending job, that pays eternal dividends.  

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Enduring Love and Enduring Relationship

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Recently I have watched a few news programs in which they spoke about how long marriages endure. In these news pieces the couples stated that friendship was the key to their long lasting relationships. The one thing missing from these programs was love, it was never mentioned.

Personally, the word endure makes me think of something that you have to put up with. The Webster’s dictionary defines enduring as:

·        To continue to exist in the same state or condition

·        To experience (pain or suffering) for a long time

·        To deal with or accept (something unpleasant)

Beloved, long lasting marriages take work, and yes, painful situations do occur in marriages. In marriage ceremonies the 1 Corinthians 13 passage is often used, because it describes what love is and what love isn’t. Yes, friendship is an essential key to long marriages, but that it only half of the long-term relationship equation.

The other half of the marriage relationship is based on loved in the relationship. For love to be present in lasting relationships; we must first have a relationship with God, the Creator of love. When we are in a loving relationship with God, we learn how to love God, ourselves and our spouses.

The 1 Corinthians passage tells us that love endures all things, not friendship. My friends, if we have love in our marriage relationships, then friendship will always be present.

My prayer for you today is that your marriage be in relationship with God, and each other. In this way the definition of endure will be:

To continue on in the condition of love

To experience love for a long time

To deal with our accept all things in love

May you endure in the love of God and one another in your marriages today my friends

This is the day that the Lord has made.