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The Siege

Posted in Knowing God on March 19, 2020|

The Siege

 

“Some time later, King Ben-hadad of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up to besiege Samaria. So there was a great famine in Samaria, and they continued the siege against it until a donkey’s head sold for 80 silver shekels, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five silver shekels.”

2 Kings 6:24-25 HCSB

Often times when disaster strikes we will look to the scriptures and find familiar passages on the need to repent and cry out to God.  Also, because we know God is in control we will see these events as judgments or God telling us to get our life straight.  However, we can also find comfort in stories like this one to know and understand the nature of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  Not every event is a God’s judgment.  God is also a deliverer, and will deliver us from our trouble.  So let’s review the above passage and learn how to view our current situation.

Background

2 Kings Chapter Six continues with stories about the King of Israel and the prophet Elisha.  The King of Aram has waged war against a Israel.  Elisha warned the King of Israel about the plans of the King of Aram.  This king was so enraged by Elisha he sent men and chariots to where Elisha was staying.  When Elisha’s servant saw the men, he was afraid and told Elisha.  Elisha told him not to fear because there were more of those with Elisha than with the King of Aram.  The servant’s eyes were opened and he saw the army of horses and chariots of Fire surrounding them.  Elisha prayed God would strike the Aram army with blindness and then Elisha led them to the King of Israel.  Elisha told the king of Israel not to kill them but feed them and send them back to their master.  Israel did this and the Aramean raiders did not return.  (2 Kings 6:6-23)

The Siege

As noted in the above verse King Ben-hadad of Aram and his whole military marched up and besieged Samara.  The impact of the siege created a famine in Samara.  A siege is a military tactic when the military surrounds a fortified area.  A siege can lasts months or even years.  The attacker will try and prevent supplies from entering the area so the people will starve or surrender.

In this story the famine was so bad and lasted so long that Samaria ran out of food.  A donkey’s head was selling for 80 silver shekels and pigeon poop was sold for five silver shekels.  People had also resorted to cannibalism.  A woman approaches the king and tells him that she made a deal with another mother to eat their babies.  They had already ate the baby of the woman complaining but the mother of the other baby refused to give her baby up to be eaten.  Just imagine the woman was complaining about eating babies.  How horrible!

Are you currently under siege?  Does it seem in some area of your life you are surrounded by an enemy you don’t know and the blessings of God are hindered?  Currently many nations are under siege with this pandemic.  People are being told to stay home, businesses are shutting down, and people do not know when it will end.  There are also people being infected by the disease and dying.  The situation looks bleak just like in this story.

What is God saying?  God did not bring about the siege against Samaria.  Samaria is surrounded by an enemy.  God already delivered them once. Will He do it again?  God will rescue you from the siege.

 

To be continued…Part 2 The Siege is Over

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Heal Our Land

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Peace, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Unity on November 9, 2018|

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19 NASB

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In my last blog, I discussed that when we see pestilence in the land, we are told what we are to do by God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God asks us to do the following:

HUMBLE OURSELVES

As Christians we should not think so highly of ourselves.  We should not look down on others and think we are better than they are. We must remember the only thing that saved us is Jesus Christ.  Our salvation has nothing to do with any work we did.  We have been adopted as God’s children because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We are able to walk in holiness because of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is a gift.

We should not put all the blame on the wicked.  We must be willing to have our own hearts examined by God to see if there is any wicked way in us, confess our sins, and received God’s forgiveness.  We must be willing to own up to our own sin and stop pointing the finger at others.

PRAY

We don’t pray the way we should.  We don’t pray corporately and we don’t pray for our nation.  We may throw a prayer up every now and then but we are not strategic in our prayers.  I remember years ago there was an event where men went to Washington DC, repented of their sins, prayed and asked God to help them be better fathers, husbands, sons and men of God.  Today when we see tragedy in our land we look to blame someone or something else.  Now we are beginning to accept these events as a way of life.  We are supposed to pray effective prayers and effective prayers involve us opening our hearts and minds to God’s will and purpose and being ready to obey His word. Often time we use “thoughts and prayers” as an excuse not to really seek the face of God in prayer.

SEEK GOD’S FACE

It takes time to seek God’s face.  In order to come before God we have to deal with our own hearts.  This is not an easy thing to do.  It takes humility and prayer.  We can’t seek God’s face with a spirit of pride or entitlement.  If our land is suffering we are seeking Him to help us and we have to be in a posture of humility and trust.  We don’t seek God’s face to just see if we like His plan, but we seek Him so that we will obey Him.  God knows our heart so if we are to truly seek Him then our heart must be right with God.

REPENT (Turn from Our Wicked Ways)

We are told to turn from our wicked ways.  This is the most profound request in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  We are God’s people and He is asking us to turn from our wicked ways.  Notice God did not say to confess our sins.  He is telling us to turn away from wickedness.  This is what repentance entails.  Repentance is not a feeling of that we are sorry for what we did.  Repentance is a willingness to turn away from the thing that separates us from God.  In this case God is asking us to turn away from wickedness and to turn to Him.  We surrender our will and agree to follow His will for our lives.  All Christians have given their life to Christ and called upon His name for salvation.  Not all Christians have surrendered their will for God’s will.  Many of us still want to live in both the world and be accepted into God’s kingdom.  We cannot serve two masters and to serve God may cause us to lose favor with men.  God promised in Isaiah 1:19 that if we are willing and obedient we will have the best of the land.  So we must turn our will toward Holiness and obey God’s word pertaining to our nation.  The ultimate commission we have been given is to love and to share the good news of the gospel.  If we do this we will see things change in our nation.  First we must repent of our own hatred, fear, the lies we tell and believe.

By meeting these conditions God has promised to heal our land.  We do not fight against people but we fight against the principalities of this world.  People are not our enemy, Satan is the enemy.  We must surrender ourselves to God’s hands to see our land healed.  We have to be the ones to cry out to God and repent of our wicked ways.  Then God will be attentive to our prayers made to Him.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NASB

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Influencing God

Posted in Faith, Knowing God on August 2, 2018|

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,” Ephesians 3:20 NASB

 This is a familiar verse to many of us.  Normally we quote the first part of the verse that God will do more than we can think of or ask.  Usually we see this verse as a way of God blessing us in a way that we cannot begin to imagine.  Unfortunately, we have taken this verse out of context.  By only looking at the first part we can think that God will do what He likes, whenever He likes.  Some may even think that they do not have to do anything for God to do more for them.  Let us take a look at the whole verse.

There is a caveat to this verse and that is God will do more than we can ask or think based on the power that work within us.  What is this power?  One of the definitions of power is having the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.  Do we have the power to direct or influence God?  Yes we do.  It is called faith.

Power Image

God is moved by our faith.  He is not moved by our need or desperations.  It is by faith that we please God.  We see it in the miracles of Jesus, those that had faith that Jesus could heal them or deliver them was done according to their faith.

When we look at this verse in Ephesians it makes more sense to understand that God will do more that we can think or ask according to our faith.  It is our faith that moves God.  Also because our God is big, He will do more.  It is like God takes our natural mindset and applies His super to it and we get the supernatural.

We see this in the miracle of the two fish and five loaves of bread.  Jesus took something a young boy had, knowing the Father would bless it and make more than enough to feed 5,000.  Matter of fact, not only were the 5,000 fed but there were 12 baskets left over.  That is the application of Ephesians 3:20.  Jesus and his disciples did not just sit around wondering what they were going to do and how they were going to feed all these people.  Jesus understood the power that was within Him and the nature of God that when Jesus looked to heaven he blessed the food and gave thanks.  Then he kept breaking the bread and dividing the fish for his disciples to pass around and everyone was able to eat and more was leftover than what they started with.

Remember Jesus told us we only needed to have faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains.  Our faith influences God to move on our behalf much greater than we can ever imagine.  So don’t just sit back waiting on God to do great things on your behalf.  Decree, confess, pursue your faith that God will do all that you ask and believe He can do.  The power is within us.

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Justice is Perverted!

Posted in government, Jesus, Knowing God, Love, Prayer, Salvation, The Holy Spirit, Unity on March 27, 2018|

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To turn aside the justice due a man

Before the face of the Most High,

 Or subvert a man in his cause—

The Lord does not approve.  Lamentations 3: 35-36 (NKJV)

4Therefore the law is ignored

And justice is never upheld.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

Therefore justice comes out perverted. Habakkuk 1:4 (NASB)

 

Justice is perverted!  For that reason we are seeing a wave of protests in our country over the last couple of years.  There has been the rise of Black Lives Matter Movement, the Women’s March, #MeToo Movement and the March for Our Lives.  There is a cry for justice.  This cry is being heard by God.

As Christians we often focus on one leader or a nation to gauge the next move of God.  Yet what we are witnessing is God awakening the hearts of the people.  They are crying out for Him whether they realize it or not.  God is justice.   Justice describes the very nature of God.  God’s throne is established on righteousness and justice.

The push back these movements are experiencing are rooted in fear and hate.  Some would argue the protests are rooted in hatred but they are not.  Those who oppose the movements do not realize that what they are opposing are justice and God.  You oppose justice, you oppose God.

In the church we have heard about the next Great Awakening and it is prophesied that we will see the greatest soul harvest in the history of the church.  That is what is happening in these movements.  People are not only asking for justice but they seek compassion, love, understanding and they despise all the hate and unrighteousness that is taking place.  People are getting away with murder and they are literally pleading for their lives, asking to be saved.  It is time we listen.

Will our government listen?  Will they find justice in our society?  Many doubt they will, but I believe that God is setting the stage for Justice to be served.  “Many seek the ruler’s favor, but Justice for man comes from the Lord,” Proverbs 29:26.  People will get their justice and their souls will be saved as well.  It is God’s desire that everyone will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Jesus also said that no one can come to Him unless prompted by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is at work exposing sin, convicting the world of sin and drawing people to God.

There is also unity in these movements.  Even though each group is addressing a different issue in our society, their request is the same.   They are united by their search for justice, equality, peace, safety, love and hope.  God is listening.  Great things will be accomplished through unity.  Is the church paying attention?

We can no longer be silent from the immorality and the injustice we see.  We must turn to God and pray that Justice and righteousness will be established in the earth as in heaven.  We must also see the harvest is ready and the people are crying for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed.

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.  John 4:35

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What Pleases God?

Posted in Faith, Knowing God, The Father, Uncategorized on October 8, 2013|

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

I am sure that every believer wants to please God.  Of course we want to please our Father.  Many of us strive to please God.  We may think doing certain acts makes God happy.  God does love to spend time with us.  He wants us to walk upright before Him.  The thing that brings God pleasure though is our faith in Him.

Many believers are satisfied in their faith for salvation or that God will take care of them.  But I believe God is really pleased when we put our absolute faith in Him.

Abraham had faith in God.  God told him to leave his country and family and go to the place God would show him.  Abraham listened and obeyed God.  That is good faith.  God did not stop there.  He made Abraham a promise, God told Abraham something that was impossible but Abraham believed God.  God promised that Abraham’s descendents would number the sands on the sea shore.  This seemed impossible because Abraham and his wife Sarah were old and beyond child bearing age.  However, Abraham believed God.  That pleased God.

God doesn’t want us to simply have faith for things like our basic needs.  Jesus told us that God would take care of that because He created us; look at how God cares for the birds.  God wants us to have faith for those things which are impossible with man but made possible with God.

God wants us to believe that He will do what He says.  That He is a keeper of His promises.  He wants us to believe that when we come to Him He will give us what we ask for but mostly that we believe that He is who He says He is.

God wants us to believe that He will heal our diseases because He is a Healer.  God wants us to believe that He will bless us because He has promised to bless us when we obey His commands.  God wants us to have faith that we will prosper because God is our provider.

Many believe that sin displeases God.  God hates sin but Jesus paid the price for sin.  Our sin was settled on the cross.  What brings God displeasure is our doubt.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Imagine if Abraham had doubted God’s word and said it would never come to pass.  What kind of relationship would Abraham have had with God?  Even though Abraham obeyed God it was His faith that pleased God and was counted as righteousness.

Whenever we see God in pain in the bible it is because His people refused to believe in Him.  He was in pain when Israel built the golden calf.  He was hurt when Israel cried out for a king like the other nations of the world.  God saw generations of men in Israel die because they doubted God.  Now it pains God when men reject His Son Jesus and refuse to believe in Him.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith pleases God.  He takes great pleasure in our belief that He is and a rewarder of those who seek Him.  So when God says He will take care of all your needs and wants believe Him.  When He says He will heal all your diseases trust in His word.  When God says He loves you don’t doubt it.  Have faith in God.

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No, Not Even One

Posted in Heaven, Jesus, Knowing God, Salvation, Satan, Sin, The Father on May 30, 2012|

“There is none righteous, not even one;

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12

 

I grew up being told that “good” people go to heaven.  You have to hope that your good deeds outweigh the bad.  I was also told that certain sins would guarantee you hell.  There are many that believe this not knowing what their future holds; but hoping that they will see heaven when they die.

Salvation is not about escaping hell and going to heaven.  That was never God’s purpose to begin with.  When Adam sinned and man fell; and our relationship with God was lost.  God is our creator and sin separates us from a relationship with Him.

It wasn’t enough that our sins were restored but our relationship be restored with our Father.  The problem is we do not desire a relationship with God.  It is not in our sinful nature to seek after God or to do good.  The sinful nature is evil and this is the truth we have to come to realize before we can truly understand and embrace the message of the cross.  There is no one who is righteous, no not one.

Salvation is about saving one’s soul that is dead in sin.  A dead soul cannot respond to God.  A person must be “made alive” in Christ to begin to seek and want God.  Jesus didn’t come to just wash our sins away but to restore our relationship and fellowship with the Father our creator.

So salvation deals with more than the question of heaven or hell but it deals with the radical transformation of the human condition and heart.  God knows this.  God knows our hearts; if we are left to our own choices and understanding would never choose Him.  So God designed a plan not to just save us but to make us a “new” creation that would seek after Him for a real relationship and intimacy that God intended to have with man from the very beginning.

If the only reason you believe Jesus is to escape hell then you missed the message and the purpose of the gospel; for even the demons believe and they tremble (James 2:19).

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Which is Easier: Forgiveness or Healing?

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father on November 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

2And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home.  Matthew 9: 2-7

For the past several weeks I have been meditating on the following quote by John G. Lake:

“It does not take a bit more faith to be healed from your sickness than it does to be saved from your sins. The only difference is that in your own consciousness, you knew there was no place to get forgiveness except from God.”

When Jesus was on earth many witnessed Him heal the sick, but many did not understand the authority He had to forgive people of their sins.  So Jesus asked the question “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?  Jesus had the authority and power to do both.  Today as Christians we know because of Jesus that salvation is available to all mankind; we just have to believe.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  That same grace that saves us also heals us.

However, today many Christians do not view healing the way they do salvation.  We know that the only one that can save us is Jesus.  We cannot obtain salvation by another person or any work on our part.  We have faith in God that He will forgive us of our sins and make us righteous in His sight.  When it comes to healing we are not so sure because we view sickness and disease as a part of life.  Some may even believe that sickness and disease is used by God to strengthen our faith or test us.  This is not the case.

Sin, sickness and death do not reside in Heaven.  They are not a part of the nature of God.  Just like God does not use sin to tempt us or to test our faith; He will not use sickness and disease to “teach” us.  God is a life giver; salvation and healing are His nature.

Many who are sick will say God’s grace is sufficient.  They believe that God will see them through their ordeal.  If healing is God’s will, He will heal.  If it is not God’s will to heal, at least there is salvation the ultimate in healing. God’s grace is sufficient to heal us physically just as it is sufficient to save us from sin and death.  Too often we look for other means of healing besides turning to God the way we do for salvation and forgiveness.

Sickness and disease are precursors to death.  They are a part of death not life.  They are Satan’s tools, his curse.  Jesus said that Satan only comes to kill, steal and destroy; Jesus came so that we may have life (John 10:10).  Jesus died and rose again so that we might have life, a life in Him.  A life that is free from sin and sickness.  We have a right to divine healing as we have a right to salvation.

We should look at sickness and disease the way we look at sin.  It is not the will of God because God hates sin.  He hates sickness, disease and death.  We are no longer a part of the curse that resulted from the fall of Adam but we are part of the new life and freedom that is found in Jesus.  Jesus died and set us free from sin, sickness, and death.  Sickness and disease binds us, it prevents us from being free, just like sin.  So it is always God will to heal just as it is always His will to save.

We run to God for forgiveness when we sin.  We know that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins (1 john 1:9).  No one can forgive us like God.  However, when we are sick we pray for healing but we don’t have the same expectancy that we have with forgiveness.  Sometimes we doubt the willingness of God to heal, or we think He wants us to go “through the situation” before we experience divine healing.  We may also think that God wants us to fend for ourselves and find our own means and methods for healing.

I believed this for a long time.  When I was sick in 2009 I had tumors in my lungs and believed that God would see me through my chemotherapy treatment.  I was confident from the doctors’ report that the chemotherapy would work and God would never leave me nor forsake me.  I thought by going through this ordeal my faith would be stronger and I would be a much stronger person for having endured this fight.  To be honest I didn’t have faith for a supernatural healing, I believed God’s plan was for me endure this ordeal.  I read the reports and understood the statistics.  I had an 80% chance of survival and an 80% chance the chemotherapy would cure me. 

The chemotherapy made things worse.  I ended up in the hospital and the doctors couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting better.  They were very concerned that the chemotherapy drugs were actually doing more harm than good.  So they made the decision to stop the treatment and “wait and see” if I would get better.  It was in that moment I knew that only God could heal me 100%, the doctors tried but I needed a miracle and God answered my prayers.  God did not delay. The worse day in the hospital was the same day the doctors brought my report of healing.  My numbers had dropped dramatically and they were so relieved that the worse had not happened.  So they monitored me for another year and a half to ensure the tumors did not return.  Today I still walk in my total healing.

Divine healing is our inheritance.  It is the will of God to always heal.  As John G. Lake says it really doesn’t take more faith to believe in healing than it does for salvation.  We just have to know in our conscious that the only place we can go for divine healing is God.  God is concerned about our physical healing as much as He is concerned about our spiritual healing and renewal.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5: 14-16

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Identity Crisis

Posted in Jesus, Knowing God, Salvation, The Father, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  Romans 8:14-17

As a Christian I constantly struggle with my identity in Christ.  I grew up in a church that taught you had to be good to go to heaven.  I was told by some as a child that I would not amount to anything.  At one time I defined myself by my career.  Currently, I am a wife, mother, and pastor.  However, we are told in the bible we are sons of God; we have been adopted and are fellow heirs with Christ.  This is where, at times, I have confused my identity.

Sometimes I struggle to see myself the way God sees me.  I don’t always act like a child of God’s.  There are times I walk in accordance to my flesh and not by the spirit.  Many times I have walked by sight and not by faith.  In the times I have fallen or made mistakes I often ask myself “who am I?”  It’s very easy to fall into the old patterns of my thinking that I am not good enough or what I do is not good enough.  Honestly, I wish I could always see myself the way God sees me.

There are times I try to impress God with my “good” deeds.  I seek His acceptance instead of receiving His love.  I struggle with my faith when I don’t understand my identity.  Things are much more difficult when I look at my own weaknesses instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus.  When God looks at me He sees His child; not a slave nor a servant.  There are times I act like a slave full of fear and doubt lacking faith in God.

God created us in His image and in His likeness.  Jesus knew and understood His identity; He only did what He saw the Father doing.  Jesus didn’t struggle with sin; sin was not a part of Him because sin was not in the Father.  God hates sin; Jesus hates sin.  Jesus healed because the Father is a life giver.  Jesus raised the dead because death has no place in the Father.  What fellowship does light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)  Jesus saved us so that we would be reconciled with the Father.  So through Jesus we are made righteous and are now considered the children of God.  Even the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 

Each day I have to make a conscious decision to know that I am a child of God’s.  I am no longer to walk according to my flesh or what others say that I am.  I should not hold the opinion of others or of myself above what God says about me – He is perfecting me in the image of Jesus.

So I will no longer live based on my past identity but I will press forward in understanding and knowing my true identity in Jesus.   Do you know your identity?

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Performing Signs and Wonders

Posted in God's Glory, Healing, Knowing God, The Father, The Holy Spirit on May 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

26“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
27“He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders, In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6:26-27

“I believe in miracles with every atom of my being… because I believe in God – but Kathryn Kuhlman has nothing to do with the healing of sick bodies.  I have no healing power. It’s the power of God that does the healing. The only part I have in it is making Jesus real to the hearts of men and women. Any results there might be in this life of mine, is not Kathryn Kuhlman. It’s the Holy Spirit; IT’S WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES THROUGH A YIELDED VESSEL.” – Kathryn Kuhlman.

I found this quote by Kathryn Kuhlman, who was a great faith healer and evangelist in the 1940s through 1970s, and pondered this for quite some time.  Miracles, signs and wonders are to point people to our God.  They are not meant to elevate men or cause others to glorify and worship us.  Miracles are a testimony to the power and glory of God.  We see this in the book of Daniel.

King Darius threw Daniel into the lions’ den because Daniel did not stop praying to God.  King Darius hoped that God would save Daniel because it was the king’s injunction that got Daniel thrown in the lions’ den.  When King Darius saw the next day that Daniel had not been harmed and eaten by the lions’ he was grateful and gave glory to God.  It was God’s provision that caused King Darius to make the above confession about God.  See that is the purpose of miracles, signs and wonders.

Kathryn Kuhlman understood this too.  She knew that healing had nothing to do with her ability or power but that it was all God and she was just a vessel.  Daniel understood this too.  He acted as a vessel for God to cause the kings of Babylon to bow to Him; to confess that God was above all and that His kingdom would endure forever.

As Christians we must be yielded vessels, allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of bringing conviction of sin to the world and the world to Jesus.  The greatest miracle is the death and resurrection of a life – when someone who is dead in their sin is made alive in Jesus.  God said that whenever we preach the gospel signs and wonders would follow as a confirmation of His word.

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No Slaves in Heaven

Posted in Heaven, Knowing God, Money, The Father, The Word on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. Proverbs 22:7

The average person has some type of financial debt that they owe to a bank, financial institution, company, school, hospital, IRS or person(s).  Many of us owe money on our homes, cars, education, etc.  These lenders have the power to repossess our property, foreclose on our homes, or impose massive financial penalties for late payments and our inability to pay.  In essence we are slaves to these lenders. 

For years our family has been trying to pay down our debts.  We have consulted financial advisors, read books on money management, cut expenses, and worked out a budget.  Yet still we live paycheck to paycheck like most people trying to make ends meet.  In this time when gas and food prices are increasing the looming debts that we owe overshadow our finances.  We have spent years paying our mortgage but when we look at our principle loan amount not much of it has been paid, most of the money goes toward the interest.  I do praise God for the provision but honestly the burden of debt has gotten to be too much.  It seems to only bring stress, worry and doubts about the future.  So I did the only thing I could do and I cried out to God.

I told God we have not robbed Him.  We pay our tithes and offerings.  We have listened to man’s wisdom and strategy.  We have done our best to be good stewards with the money God has entrusted us with, but still we are bound to these lenders where most of our money goes toward paying off debts.

Is God willing to cancel our debts?  I pondered this question as I struggled on how to pray.  I know that God has paid our sin debt through the blood of Jesus.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection sin and death no longer have power over us.  What about our financial debts?  Is it our responsibility to get ourselves out of debt since we got ourselves in debt in the first place?  These questions caused me to doubt God’s willingness to get us out of this burdensome situation.  Then I heard God ask “Are there slaves in heaven?”

I thought about it.  There are no slaves in heaven.  Then I remembered Jesus teaching His disciples to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  It is not the will of God that we be slaves on earth.  He does not want us to be enslaved by lenders.  So what do we do?  We pray that God’s will be done, and we surrender to God’s will for our finances.  We trust God for wisdom and direction in getting ourselves out of these situations.  It may require some tough decisions and a lot of discipline.  With God all things are possible.

So if you are in debt and feel enslaved by your lenders then know that is not the will of God.  There are no slaves in heaven.  You do not have to wait until you get to heaven to be free.  For whom the Son sets free is free indeed.  Be encouraged and believe that God can and will free us from any situation we find ourselves in.   We shouldn’t have to work for money, money should work for us.

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