Acts: Signs and Wonders

Larry Dossey, M.D. wrote a book entitled Be Careful What You Pray For: You Just Might Get It. I’ve not read the book and this is not an endorsement, I just think the title is really cool. The apostles could have contributed to his book. Grab your Bible and read Acts 5:12-18. This section describes the healing and miraculous ministry of Jesus’ disciples. But to get the full context of this passage, you have to go back to chapter 4.

After the Sanhedrin disciplined Peter and John for preaching and healing in the name of Jesus, the church joined together in prayer. Not for protection but for boldness to speak Jesus’ words and that God would “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your Holy servant Jesus” (4:30). And God answered their prayers.

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people” (v. 12). Just as they had asked. And just as the Lord Jesus had done. The gospel of John calls Jesus’ miracles “signs” that pointed to His divine nature as the Son of God. The miracles the apostles performed were signs that confirmed their message about Jesus. Healing miracles abounded wherever the apostles went. People lined the streets with their sick folks in hopes of healing just from Peter’s shadow passing over them. Luke never confirmed that any “shadow healings” took place, but it does show the respect and wonder with which they were regarded. All around the Judean territory word spread and the sick and demon-possessed were brought before them. Luke said “. . . and all of them were healed” (v. 16). Imagine how the world would react today to that kind of ministry.

But it wasn’t only the people who took notice of these miracles – the religious leaders become aware of what was taking place too. And they weren’t impressed. They were jealous (v. 17). And enraged. The apostles disregarded their orders and continued to declare the name of Jesus. Worst of all, their popularity was growing. They were arrested and thrown into the public jail.

The apostles prayed for boldness and miraculous power. God granted their prayer. Great and wondrous things happened. So did awful things. So, were these “unintended consequences” of their prayer? There’s no such thing in God’s kingdom.

Stay tuned. God’s not done with them. Or you, Beloved.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Did you know that the original Scriptures didn’t have chapter and verse numbers? When your pastor tells you to turn to a Bible book, chapter, and verse you can thank Stephen Langton (1150-1228), the Archbishop of Canterbury and French scholar, Robert Estienne (1503-59) for making it easier to find your way around. Langton divided the biblical books into chapters and Estienne added to the earlier work of Italian Dominican scholar Santi Pagnini (1470–1541) who started the numbering of the verses. The first English Bible to use chapters and verses as we have them today was the Geneva Bible in 1560.

But the original authors didn’t write with the intent of dividing up the Scriptures and sometimes we lose the continuity and context of their message. Take the Gospel of Mark, for example. Four accounts of Jesus’ miraculous works are divided into different chapters. They are often taught in separate sound bites but the events worked together to prove one theme.

Mark tells of Jesus calming a storm on a lake. As “a furious squall came up,” Jesus stood in the boat and “rebuked the wind and waves, [saying], “Quiet! Be still!” (vs. 37, 39). Of course, the wind and waves obeyed the One who called them into being. He displayed His power and authority over nature and creation (4:35-41).

After crossing the lake, Jesus was approached by a man with a legion of evil spirits, meaning between 3,000-6,000 demonic forces lived in him. The man was in constant torment. Jesus cast out the evil spirits (in the first mention of deviled ham). He proved his power and authority over the demons of hell (5:1-20).

Mark then recorded Jesus healing a woman who had suffered for twelve years of physical misery and social heartache. He commended her faith and displayed his power and authority over disease and human suffering of every kind (5:21-34). Finally, Jesus was brought into a home where a little girl lay dead. He walked into her room with His power and authority over death and brought the girl back to life (5:21-34).

Remarkably, Jesus returned to his hometown where “He could not do any miracles” because of the people’s lack of faith (6:1-6). In the one who proved His divine power over nature, demons, disease, and death. From creation to the impending return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible is one story with one theme: the glory of God. It is the Greatest Story ever told. What better proof could there be?

I AM the Bread of Life

The Lord impressed on my heart today to study the “I AM” statements of Jesus in the gospel of John, and you’re coming along with me. For the next several weeks we’ll have “I AM Fridays.”

In chapter 6, Jesus had just performed miracles: healing the sick and feeding five thousand people from five loaves and two fish. (I’ve cut out at least a thousand construction paper loaves and fishes for kids’ Bible story time.) He was doing His best to withdraw from the crowds, even walking across a stormy lake, but they followed Him, demanding more – more miracles and more bread. The people insisted that Moses “gave them bread from heaven to eat” (Jn 6:31; Ex 16:4), speaking of the manna. But Jesus corrected them; Moses didn’t provide the bread, God did and now God was giving them something better than bread for a day. He said, “The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (v. 33). All the people heard was “bread for life” and they ran with it. “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread” (v. 34). (Reminds me of the woman at the well from chapter 4). What they missed was that the bread from God was not a loaf, but a person.

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry . . .” (v. 35). He reiterated it by saying, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (v. 41). And if they missed it He said it again, “I am the bread of life” (v. 48). Not the manna. Him. The bread the Israelites ate couldn’t keep them alive for more than a few days. Then He made a statement that shocked the people: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (v. 51). Eat His flesh? Feed on Him? What in the world? And that’s the point. What Jesus offers is not of this world – it is from heaven.

Life, not bread, is the point of this passage. Jesus said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give you” (v. 27). Beloved do you want to eat for a day or for eternity? Feast on the Bread of Life and you’ll be satisfied forever.

Will You Take Him at His Word?

The man, a royal official of the Roman government, approached Jesus and begged for the life of his son. The boy was all but dead, but the father had heard of the miracle-working teacher and took a risk. Every parent (and grandparent) understands; my child is worth it. Jesus’ response seems harsh at first glance: “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe” (John 4:48). But the father would not be deterred; “Sir, come down before my child dies” (v. 49). But Jesus still would not go. How could He ignore this father’s desperate plea? While He stayed where He was, he did not deny the request.

“Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your son will live.’” Now if I were the father in this scene, I probably would have grabbed Jesus by the arm and dragged Him to my house and the bedside of my child. “No, Jesus – You HAVE to come. You have to be here. You have to touch him. You have to do your magic over him.” But John reports that “The man took Jesus at His word and departed” (v. 50).  What kind of incredible faith is that? The kind that sees miracles.

As he made his way home, his servants met him. The fever was gone, the boy was healed. “What time did he get better?” the father asked. “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour” (v. 52). At the very moment when Jesus said to him “You son will live.” Is it any wonder that “he and all his household believed.” (v. 53)?

Our culture refuses to believe. They say there is no proof that God is real and that Jesus is His Son. I think that is the Church’s fault. It would appear that we don’t believe either. We have an entire book filled with the promises of God. But we live like spiritual paupers and helpless, hopeless orphans. We have His command to go into all the world as His representatives and declare His gospel. We have His promise to be with us, to empower us, and to fill us with His Spirit. But we’re not going. We’re not declaring. And we’re missing all the wonderful things He wants to do.

No wonder the world doesn’t believe. His own people do not take Him at His Word. Can you imagine what the Lord might do with believers who actually believe? What say you, Beloved? Are you going to take Him at His word?

Do It Again, Lord

God, I need a miracle.

I need You to part the sea again (Ex. 14:21).

I need You to bring water from a rock again (Ex. 17:5-7).

I need You to bring down the walls again (Jos. 6:20).

I need You to make the sun stand still again (Jos. 10:13).

I need You to take down the giant again (1 Sam. 48-49).

I need You to keep the oil flowing again (2 Ki. 4:1-7).

I need You to make the ax head float again (2 Ki. 6:1-7).

I need You to move the shadow back again (2 Ki. 20:10).

I need You to stand in the fire again (Dan. 3:25).

I need You to shut the mouths of lions again (Dan. 6:22).

I need You to calm the storm again (Matt. 8:23-27).

I need You to heal and raise the dead again (Mk. 5:21-43).

I need You to feed the multitudes again (Matt. 14:13-21; 15: 29-39).

I need You to walk on the water again (Matt. 14:22-33).

I need You to take out the demon again (Mk 1:21-26).

I need You to open blind eyes again (Matt 20:29-34).

I need You to turn water into wine again (Jn 2:1-11).

I need You to turn little into much again (Jn. 6:5-13).

I need You to make the lame not just walk, but jump again (Acts 3:1-10).

I need You to set the prisoner free again (Acts 12: 1-17).

I’m not asking for much Lord. Just a miracle. You did it before. I need you to do it again.

God of the Impossible

“This is impossible. It’s hopeless – this will never change.”

Those are the words that have been running through my mind lately over a very difficult situation. I keep putting it in God’s hands, but something happened recently that weighs heavy on my heart – and my mind. And that’s where the problem lies. In my mind. All those defeating thoughts bubble up in my head like water boiling on the fire. When these thoughts start, I can feel my anxiety rise. And the enemy loves it. He pours more gas on the flames until I am in a pit of anxiety and despair.

But the Spirit brought a Word to mind: “Whatever is true . . . think about such things” (see Philippians 4:8). Then He whispered to me, “What is true here?” I realized what He was up to. He was trying to turn my thoughts away from the burden I feel and toward the burden-bearer.  He was soaking the dry ground of my mind with the Living Water of His Word.

What is true is that “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). The Spirit took me on a mental Bible study, calling to mind the many times God worked out the impossible. Like giving a 90+-year-old couple a baby (Abraham and Sarah). Or parting the waters to let two million people cross over on dry land (The Hebrew nation crossing the Red Sea). Or bringing down a massive stone wall with shouts of praise (Joshua and the battle of Jerico). Or causing the sun to stand still in the sky to give His warriors victory (Josua and the battle at Gibeon). How about a shepherd boy bringing down a giant with a slingshot (David and Goliath)?  Can a virgin give birth? She can if God is behind it (Mary’s immaculate conception).  Think about demons being driven out, paralyzed men walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and the mute speaking. Or mothers being given back their dead children, sick people made well, thousands fed from a little boy’s lunch, and water turned into wine.  

Then He asked me, “Now Child, is your situation more impossible than these?” No, it isn’t. And neither is yours Beloved. I don’t know what burdens your heart today, but I know that you and I have a God who specializes in overcoming the impossible. And that’s the truth.

Praying for My Prodigal

I found a word today in the Old Testament story of Elijah vs. the priests of Baal that spoke such comfort to me. If you are so inclined, read 1 Kings 18:16-40. The people thought they could worship both pagan gods and the God of heaven and earth. Elijah called Israel to return to exclusive worship of God. When the Lord God is in the house – or the heart – there is no room for another god. Elijah said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (v. 21).

Elijah proposed a showdown between good and evil – between the Lord God and Baal the pagan god of the people. Each would be given a bull to be sacrificed by fire, but the fire had to be produced by the deity. The priests of Baal prepared their bull and called on Baal from morning till evening. They danced and shouted and slashed themselves in hopes of rousing their god to action. “But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention” (v. 29). Because there was no one there.

Then Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord, dug a trench around it, prepared the bull for sacrifice, and commanded the people to drench the bull and the wood until both were saturated and water filled the trench. Then Elijah called on the Lord, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant . . . [and] that You O Lord, are God” (v. 36-37). And of course, God answered in a mighty way burning up the bull and the wood and drying up the water in the trench. There was no question anymore as to who was the one true God.

Here’s what jumped out at me. When Elijah called on the Lord he prayed that God would “turn their hearts back again” (v. 37). And He did. And that is the prayer of this Mama’s heart. I have a wandering prodigal. I know many of you do as well. The thing is he was raised in a godly home and in church and he even goes to church with his family on Sunday, but he is drawn to things that are not of God Monday – Saturday. I have prayed and pleaded with God for many years with many tears. But now, this is my simple prayer: “Lord, turn his heart back to You.” And I believe He will. Heavy-hearted Moms and Dads, Grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and friends; keep praying. Keep believing. Keep hoping. God is still in the business of turning hearts around. Watch for miracles up ahead.

Say It Again, God

“When God repeats something, He’s making a point and we need to pay attention.” My seminary professor’s words stuck with me as I sat before my Bible the next morning reading the day’s Scripture. I had been working through the Psalms for several months and was sitting in Psalm 136. You need to read this for yourself, so go grab your Bible (or look the verses up here) and read through this chapter. I’ll wait for you. What did you notice? Every verse ends with the refrain: “His love endures forever.” Twenty-six times. Do you think God is trying to make a point? Do you think you and I need to pay attention?

If there is one persistent theme in all of the Bible it is the love of God. God’s love often comes in different ways and the Psalmist points many of them out to us – His great wonders (v 4), His creation (vs. 5-9), salvation (v. 10-12), miracles (vs. 13-15), guidance (v. 16), protection (vs. 17-20), goodness (vs.  1, 21-22), faithfulness (v. 23), redemption (v. 24), and provision (v. 25).  God’s people in every generation could add to that list. God’s love is extraordinary and indescribable, through writers of books and songs and scripture (and blogs) have attempted to put it into human words. And they’ve all fallen short. There is a great old hymn, “The Love of God,” written in 1917 by Frederick. Lehman and Claudia Mays, that I think comes as close as anyone ever could. The third stanza is my favorite:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.[1]

This psalm is full of beauty and majesty and wonder. But the point God was making over and over and over  – the thing that He wants you to grasp with all your heart, Beloved, is that He loves you and His love will endure forever. And that is something to repeatedly thank God for (vs. 1-3,26).

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[1] The Love of God  (1917) by Frederick M. Lehman, 1917, har. by Claudia L. Mays, 1917, v. 3 by Anonymous/Unknown, copyright status is Public Domain.

At the Feet of Jesus

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair” (John 12:3).

I often think about the feet of Jesus. Those ten tiny toes kicked against the swaddling clothes as He lay in a manger. Those feet carried Him into the lives of sick children, broken, sinful women, and demon-possessed men. People fell before the feet of Jesus to plead for healing for themselves or someone they loved. And every time Jesus responded with compassion, He never walked away from those who needed him. His feet took Him to teach on the side of a mountain and the lakeshore. They carried Him up to Golgotha where Roman soldiers nailed them to a cruel, wooden cross. His nail-scarred hands and feet were the proof of His resurrected body before His disciples.

All His glory was bound up in that human body with human feet that carried Him to souls in need of mercy, freedom, grace, and life. He walked into my life with those beautiful feet bringing good news, peace, and salvation to this weary sinful woman.

There is one more place in Scripture where we see the feet of Jesus. Zechariah 14:4 says “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west.” When Jesus Christ returns to earth in all His glory, His feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives – the place where He surrendered His will to the will of the Father (Luke 22:39-42) – and His glory will be so great that the mountain will split in two. Those beautiful feet will stand atop the mountain, and those scars that spoke of the humble servant of God will now shout of the mighty King of kings. “The Lord will be king over the whole earth” (Zechariah 14:9).

The feet of Jesus bring us healing, wholeness, freedom, and life. The feet of Jesus bear the marks of His great love for you and me. His feet that once bore nails will one day bear power – earth-shaking, mountain-breaking power. And at His feet, all of humanity will fall in worship and proclaim that He is Lord.

Beloved, have you invited Him to walk into your life?

Bible Study

You’ve heard me say this before, and I’ll say it to my dying day – one of the most important Bible study lessons I’ve learned is to not take any Scripture out of its greater context. That is crucial to understanding the text and making the right application.  When we isolate a verse or passage we can make it say pretty much anything we want. I’ll give you just one example.

Two points are always taught from the miracle story in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus met ten lepers who cried out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (13) And He did. He told them to “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” which the Law demanded. The first point is that the lepers didn’t wait around until they saw their flesh restored but immediately did what Jesus said, and “As they went, they were cleansed” (14). The lesson is drawn that obedience proceeds blessings. The second, and you’re probably familiar with this one, is that only one of the ten healed men returned to thank Jesus – and this brings the lesson of gratitude.

But the point of this miracle story is not just a reminder to be obedient to God’s commands nor to be grateful for what God has done for you, although these are both important lessons and life habits that we should adopt. They are secondary to the miracle-working power of Jesus which added evidence to His claim to be the Son of God. That is Luke’s point throughout his entire gospel – the greater context. Luke stated his purpose for writing in 1:1-4. He wanted to assure “Theophilus” of “the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Now we don’t know who Theophilus was, but we know what he was taught. The heart of the gospel is in John 3:16: “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.” Everything in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, points to Jesus, the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. Without that firmly fixed in our minds, Bible study misses the point.

Beloved, I am passionate for you to get into the Word and get to know God’s heart for you – it begins and [never] ends with Jesus.