Tag: miracle

Testifying or Bragging?

Barbara Weber

John 12:17-19 WEB

The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it. [18] For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign. [19] The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”

Jesus did a wonderful miracle, he raised Lazarus from the dead. Not only did he raise him, but Jesus did it after Lazarus was buried and dead for four days. The people that were there to grieve for Lazarus saw what Jesus did. And now, they were repeating the story and causing many to look for Jesus. The Lord, through his ministry commonly told people to keep their miracles a secret (Mat 9:29-30). But this sign was too big to keep silent. So, they testified, and many came to Christ.

How do we know when we are testifying and when we are bragging? That is a huge issue in modern society. We live in a time when self-promotion is rampant and often leads to success. Yet the word teaches us not to boast about our accomplishments (1 Sam 2:3). It can even be a boast to tell what God is doing in our lives. When we are right with God, we do not have to prove we are right with God. That comes from ego and self-promotion. We do not have to brag about our blessings. We should brag on God alone. He is our boast.

We can often tell when God has intervened in someone’s life. God will begin to fix what is broken and line up a believer with their destiny. But having healing or destiny is not something to brag about. Having a destiny in Christ should lead to our silence. We may at appropriate times share our calling with others. After all, we still need people even when we are solidly in Christ. But in general, it is not something we should be bragging about. Rather, we should treasure the miracles and share them when led by the Holy Spirit, so they lead others to Christ.

Lord, give me the wisdom to see when I am testifying and leading others to you, and when I am bragging and harming others. Take pride and ego away, Lord, and leave a tender heart prepared to receive from you.  Help me receive the wisdom to keep silent. Lead me by your Holy Spirit and let my only boast be you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.   

Take Away the Stone

Barbara Weber

John 11:39-43 WEB

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” [40] Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” [41] So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. [42] I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” [43] When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

Jesus had high expectations. Martha’s brother had been in the tomb for four days. There was nothing left to hope for in this life, Lazarus was gone. Still, Jesus reproves Martha for her lack of belief. He expected her to believe in a hopeless situation. Not only that, but she was also in pain. With Lazarus dead, Martha had many things to worry about. Regardless, the Lord does not shield Martha from the truth but instead reproves her.

It’s stunning. Martha was arguing with the Lord. She had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah (John 11:27). Martha exulted in the revelation that Jesus was divine. But at the first small test, she fell. Instead of focusing on Jesus, she had her eyes on the situation. This resulted in Martha openly contradicting the Lord. If her mind had been set on belief and trust, Martha would have kept her first awareness of Jesus. But she clearly doubted. And because she doubted, she questioned. Because of doubt she openly demonstrated disbelief.

But Jesus believed. And all those that rolled the stone away believed. In the face of Martha’s instability in her walk with Jesus, he remained stable. He was faithful to Martha, Mary, and all those who trusted him for leadership. Martha slipped in and out of faith but Jesus remained faithful (Rom 3:3-4). Jesus believed to the point of confidence, so he called out boldly, “Lazarus, come out!”

Lord, please help me trust you and believe your Word. When difficulties arise lend me your grace that I may stand stable in my faith. Help me keep my eyes on you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Religion or Love?

Barbara Weber

John 9:12-16 WEB

Then they asked him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.” [13] They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees. [14] It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. [15] Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.” [16] Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.

It was a Sabbath on which Jesus did this miracle. That means it was a Sabbath when the blind man asked to be healed. The beggar who was blind did not care about decorum or rules. He cared about his need to see. So, regardless of the day, the blind man cried out to Jesus and was healed. Not only did the blind man ask for his miracle on the Sabbath, but Jesus also honored his heart’s desire and healed him on the Sabbath.

Before the cross, the old system was still intact. Healing on the sabbath was against the religion of Judaism. As a Bible and Torah believing Jew, Jesus should have been shocked at the bold request. Instead, the blind sinner was healed. Jesus cared more about the blind man than he cared about the rules. He knew the rules and honored them. But when a human need arose, the rules no longer mattered.

The human in the story is what matters most. The blind beggar was a poor and broken man, but God raised him up to eternal glory and honor by including his story in the Bible. He sinned his way to wholeness. Have you ever met a poor beggar? How about a homeless person? Their focus is on their need, not the rules. And God honors them as human beings. God does not withhold his comfort because of this man’s sin. The beggar asked God for help. So, regardless of his lifestyle, God reached out to him and healed him.

Lord, deliver me from a religious spirit so I can love others as you love me. Help me see people as you see them. Help me, love, as you love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Seeing Miracles

Barbara Weber

John 9:8-11 WEB

The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?” [9] Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.” He said, “I am he.” [10] They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?” [11] He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.”

Have you ever seen or experienced a miracle? If you have, one of the things you may have noticed is miracles tend to be obscured. In the above passage, people were already casting doubt on the miracle of healed vision. There were people telling others the man was not blind. Even as we read the Bible today, we can see skepticism in these Bible characters. Miracles are easy to doubt, even when we see them.

Yet, God does perform miracles in our lives. Some are profound, and others are simply sweet. It is a miracle to be healed of blindness but it’s also a miracle to have access to eye care, including the skills and talents to earn money to go to an optometrist. We are so busy waiting for an undeniable God event that we miss the sweetness in the abundance of what God does for us.

The blind man needed sight. He needed to see, so Jesus healed him. But there is a small tension in the story because Jesus sends the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. Why did he do that? Why did he give a command that truly has nothing to do with being healed? Because the enormous miracle of sight was the smaller miracle of God’s care. God was healing more than the man’s physical vision; he was also healing his heart.

Lord, help me to be faithful in recognizing miracles in the world and in my life. Heal me inside and out. Help me see. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Modern-Day Martyr

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John 6:57-58 WEB

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me. [58] This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

The Father knew that to keep the entire nation following Moses, he needed to provide the manna. It is strange to think that due to disobedience, the Israelites received a miracle (Num 14:1-4). When God came in smoke and rested on the Mountain, the Israelites pulled back from God. They wanted Moses. (Ex 20:19) They wanted a set of rules that they could see and touch.

I understand wanting to be secure in God. What’s unfortunate is when God offered the children of Israel the Promised Land, they could not trust him to take them in. When God wanted to meet with the children of Israel they also rejected him. They wanted bread, just not living bread. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are life. More, all life exists by the power of God. When Jesus said he was the True Bread, he understood the nature of life.

We can either eat the food of the world or we can eat the food of heaven. Eating the food of heaven is not so mysterious. Jesus said his flesh and blood were food and drink. (John 6:54) On the cross, Jesus suffered in his flesh and his lifeblood drained away. So it seems that eating and drinking Christ must have something to do with suffering and death.

That sounds terrible, but it’s biblical. In Colossians 1:24 WEB Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly;” It is clear that Paul suffered in his flesh. Also, we know he was eventually martyred. Paul’s suffering and death were literal. Consequently, Paul changed the world. In his obedience to suffer, Paul wrote several of the most influential writings of all time.

Our suffering and death are metaphorical.  We do not get flogged in today’s western world. However, we are challenged. Each challenge that brings suffering is a faith opportunity. When suffering comes, do you wait on God patiently? Or do you fall apart wondering why God is not helping? If you wait patiently, you are eating the flesh of Christ. More, when you make decisions that help others at your expense, you are laying down your life which is drinking the blood of Christ.

Lord Jesus, please teach me to suffer with faith. Change me on the inside so that I am willing to lay my life down for others. Please teach me to eat and drink of you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Love First

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John 6:17-21 WEB

and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. [18] The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing. [19] When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid. [20] But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [21] They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

Jesus is generous-hearted giving grace to the lost and the disobedient. In our passage, the disciples are in a boat and crossing the sea instead of waiting for the Lord. Jesus went to the mountains to pray and was a long time. The disciples, tired of waiting for Jesus, headed across the sea. In their disobedience, they find themselves near destruction as the chaotic sea begins to rise and crash.

As the storm raged something unbelievable happened. The disciples saw an apparition on the water and became terrified. However, in his kindness, Jesus gave comfort to the disciples by telling them who he was. Next, he got into the boat and supernaturally took them to their destination. Jesus did not wag his finger or rebuke the disciples. Instead, he goes to the disciples, gives them comfort, joins them, and then takes them instantly to the shore.

Notice he didn’t comfort them while they toiled to the shore. Nor did he correct them and then leave them to strain against the rising sea. The disciples made some bad choices. But Jesus’ first concern is their wellbeing. In his care for the disciples, Jesus walks on the water. Jesus does the impossible to save and deliver his disciples.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the love you show me every day. Help me to trust you fully and obey your instruction. Help me live by the example you have shown and cause me to love people as you love people. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Natural or Supernatural?

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John 6:5-9 WEB

Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” [6] This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. [7] Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.” [8] One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, [9] “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”

Jesus tests the disciples by asking a difficult question. He asks where to get bread for the great multitude. One of his disciples, Phillip, responded by looking at their lack and questioning Jesus. Phillip’s first thought was money to solve the problem. In contrast, Andrew looked at their resources before questioning Jesus. It is not great that Andrew questioned Jesus, but it is great that he viewed Jesus as the one who could solve the problem.

How often do we have enormous challenges and ask God for little solutions? We ask for natural solutions when what we need is supernatural intervention. Andrew did something different, he looked to Jesus for a solution. Andrew brought what they had instead of focusing on what they did not have.

Andrew’s response was blessed. Jesus took the fish and loaves that Andrew showed him and miraculously served the large crowd.  On the other hand, Phillip’s response was not blessed. Jesus did not tell Phillip how to get money. Instead, he taught the disciples how to rely on God rather than resources when challenged.

Lord Jesus, please help me look to you first when I face challenges in my life. Help me recognize that I need your input in all the decisions I make. And please, give me wisdom to either act or wait according to your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

The Exchange

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John 5:9-11 WEB

Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. [10] So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.” [11] He answered them, “He who made me well, the same said to me, ‘Take up your mat, and walk.’ ”

A man with an infirmity for 38 years was miraculously healed and all the religious leaders could do was criticize. The leaders of Judaism, in their pursuit of obedience to God, had made up hundreds of rules for practical daily living. Now, with God working in their midst they could not see Him. Instead, all they could see was Jesus inciting rule-breaking.

It is probably difficult to overestimate how often we substitute the teachings of man for the teachings of God. Jesus had healed a man and the Jewish leaders did not approve. The rules they created to be zealous for God had become an idol. The rules are an idol because the religious leaders had become more loyal to the rules than to God.

How did the leaders of Judaism fall into idolatry? They forgot the lesson of Moses striking the rock when God told him to speak to it. (Num 20:7-12) They forgot that God does not do everything the same every time. The religious leaders also forgot the lesson of the Israelites at the Mountain of God. They did not want to talk to God, instead, they preferred a book of rules to follow. They rejected knowing God personally. (Exodus 20:19) In the same way, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time had created rules that eliminated the need to trust God directly. They substituted teachings about God for God.

Lord Jesus, please help me recognize idolatry in my life so that I may repent. Lord, please help me care more about our relationship than I care about people’s approval. Please help me, love, without compromise. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Astonishing Belief

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John 2:11-12 WEB

This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. [12] After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

Jesus was approximately 30 years old when He publicly revealed His glory. That implies that He carried His anointing without telling anyone for a period. When He did finally reveal His glory the text scripture says it caused His disciples to believe. However, because His disciples were at the wedding, it appears they already believed. They had reason to believe based on the testimony of John the Baptist. Considering two of John’s disciples, Andrew, and Philip, went to follow Jesus, there is a clear argument that they believed before this miracle. So why does the text scripture say the first miracle caused them to believe? The disciples already believed based on the things they heard Jesus say and the testimony of John the Baptist. However, the miraculous sign gave them greater assurance of that belief. In other words, they believed more. It is unlikely the disciples saw great miracles every day. In modern times there are men and women of God that pray for miracles and see them come to pass. Still, they do not see miracles every time they pray. They persist in their faith and obedience and some of those times God intervenes in astonishing ways. Signs happen for everyone. The key is making a mental note, allowing your belief to deepen, and then during periods when things are normal, choosing to remain in that new level of belief.

Lord Jesus, please help me remain in belief. Answer my prayers Lord for that deepens my belief and delivers me from doubt. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jesus’ Family Problems

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John 2:1-5 WEB

The third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. [2] Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the marriage. [3] When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.” [4] Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.” [5] His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”

This is one of the saddest texts in the New Testament. It’s the day Mary lost her close relationship with Jesus. You hear very little about Mary after this episode. In fact, the next time Mary is recorded as trying to connect with Jesus, He tells her she is not his family. (Mark 3:35)

Frequently, we make Jesus so divine we deny His humanity. But in this text and the text to follow His humanity is on display. His mother upset Him. His mother used her position of honor to provoke Jesus to disobey God’s will. He says in the passage that it is not His time. Still, He performs the miracle and allows His family to save face.

Did He have to repent? Maybe. Probably. One thing you never see in the gospel accounts again is Jesus allowing people to get Him off track. We begin to hear things like, “get behind me Satan.” You begin to hear things like, “my family is those who do God’s will.” The miracle of wine was traumatic for Jesus, or at least disturbing.

Lord Jesus, please help me not let people get me off track. Teach me to obey perfectly. Lord, I long to be counted as family. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.