When Jesus shouted into that grave, He was taking divine authority over death. And this wasn’t the only time He did this. In Luke 7:14 He raised back to life the only son of a widow when He touched the coffin and said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” And when He ordered the dead daughter of Jairus to, “Get up!”… she did. (Luke 8:54) But His disciples were also witnesses to these miracles…and their faith grew with each one. For we find in Acts 9:40, Peter was called to pray for a lovely old woman by the name of Dorcas, a devote Follower, who had died. Under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit within, Peter repeated the same words of Jesus, “Get up!”…and Dorcas came back to life.
Tag: Blog Posts
Matthew 6:21 ” For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus was spending time here teaching His disciples about priorities. He started out, by encouraging them not to be worried because they didn’t possess the “things” that the world viewed as valuable. Jesus instead told them to, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” In other words, when our priorities are in the right place…God first, Family next, the World last… God will bless and take care of us.
Matthew 6:7 ” And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions and blabbering on like pagans, for they think they’ll be heard because of their many words.”
Are your prayers more of a formula of repetitious words from memory…often without paying attention to what you’re actually saying? Have they become just a fixed routine of the same prayers repeated over and over again? Congratulations, you have the gift of religious gab! But this isn’t how the Lord wants you to communicate with Him. It isn’t the quantity or intensity of your prayers that He desires. Rather, it’s the heart-felt, getting real before the Lord, quality He wants.
Luke 14:26 ” If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be My disciple.”
The Greek word here for “hate” doesn’t mean we must despise our family in order to follow Jesus. What it just means is that we love them less than we love God. It’s called being set apart. So to this, we are to separate ourselves “morally” from the world view and others that don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. In Isaiah 52:11, God tells us to, “Come out from them (the world) and be separate.” To be set apart for Christ means that we have our priorities correct…God is first, our family is second, the world is third. For when you make God the most significant person in you life, you are less likely to allow compromise to creep in. And when God is your everything, you are much better equipped to love those around you more effectively.
Judges 17:6 ” In those days Israel had no King; everyone did as he saw fit.”
This verse is repeated several times in Judges…the Jews had no ruler, instead everyone did what they thought was right, just, and pleasing to them. But we know the definition of “doing as one sees fit” can mean a hundred things to a hundred people. So what we see here was a form of anarchy…a absence of governmental rule and authority in the country. And what we also see was growing confusion and disorder among God’s people.
Isaiah 32:8 ” But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.”
When we allow the wise counsel of the Holy Spirit to direct and guide our decisions…our decisions will be excellent ones. When we listen to that still small voice rather than blurting out the first thing that comes to mind…our words will be timely and principled. When our plans align with God’s plans for us…we can stand firm with integrity and strength, knowing we are right where God wants us…in the center of His Will.
II Kings 23:4 ” The King ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the Temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley…”
King Josiah had ordered repair of the Temple…and during the work they came upon a lost book of the Law, (Deuteronomy). When read, the King ordered its requirements observed and then took active steps to clean up the mess in the Temple. In this Scripture, he ordered the priests and doorkeepers to round up all the foreign idols that had somehow wormed their way into the Temple. For the Godly and ungodly had been co-existing for so long… it was now considered acceptable. When false teaching infiltrates the Church it always does it in a subtle, indirect, and devious way…suggesting it’s just fine to accept.
Acts 17:25 ” And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
If you’re still inhaling and exhaling oxygen…God’s not done with you! If you still have a physical earthly existence…you’re not too far gone for God to work a miracle in your life! For as long as we have breath, we have hope…and as long as we have hope, we can put our faith in God who can work the impossible.
I Samuel 23:16 ” And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.”
Over a lifetime, you’ll probably be able to count those special Christian friends on just one hand. But there’ll be one person, one very unique friendship that will stick out in your mind. A bond between the two of you that defies time, miles, and blood…a brother or sister in the Lord, that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, will be there for you, no matter what. Jonathan and David had that type of relationship…a connection that David called, “wonderful, a love more wonderful than that of women.” (II Samuel 1:25-26) If you haven’t reached out to this special person in a while, I urge you to do it today…if nothing more than to just thank them for their friendship, and celebrate the love you have for each other in Christ.
Mark 5:41 ” Little girl, I say to you, get up!”
The Greek word for “get up” has several definitions…all that could apply to young ladies around the world today. Wake up girl, and realize the potentially dangerous position you have placed yourself in all for the sake of popularity. Get up girl, and walk away from the relationships that are wrong…that fill you with fear and shame, or make you feel powerless. Rise up girl, and refuse to believe the lie that you’ll never amount to anything…that it was your fault…that there’s no way out…that you’re not needed or loved. Be mindful, that no one but Jesus will ever love you as much as He does. No one but Jesus will save your soul and give you eternal life. No one but Jesus will always be there for you, no matter what.
Wake up girl, and take a hard look at where you’re at…are you truly happy with your situation, or do you need to make a change? Jesus is waiting.
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