Tag Miracles

Sometimes Life is Hard on Purpose

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Joshua, Moses’ hand-picked successor, was very aware of the consequences of failing to trust God.  After being delivered from Egypt, Israel was led to Canaan – their promised land – and God had Moses “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel.”[1]  The purpose of the spy mission was not to decide whether or not to move into the land.  God promised to give it to them.  However, when the 12 spies returned, 10 of them said “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”[2]  Only Joshua and Caleb said they should take the land anyway, because God’s promise and strength was enough for them.  Because the people rebelled, trusting 10 disloyal spies rather than Him, God said Israel must wander the wilderness for years and only Joshua and Caleb would live long enough to enter the land.

After taking 40 years to make what could have been an 11-day journey[3] to the Jordan River where Israel would enter the land, God knew, and Joshua knew, that divided loyalties could doom everyone to another 40-year wilderness adventure.

Arriving at the flooded Jordan River, some people may have doubted whether Joshua could get them across.  Joshua had just become their leader, and perhaps the failure of Moses, who recently died, meant the failure of their dreams of the promised land.  After all, they saw the Red Sea part for Moses.  Could Joshua get them over this river?

Then in Joshua 3:15 we find this note: “(now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest)”.  Why is this phrase important?  Israel arrived at the Jordan at the most difficult time to cross.  The river would be as deep and as wide as ever, and likely the current would be stronger as well.  A sensible person would avoid crossing at this time, but God chose the most “difficult” time to perform this miracle to show that nothing is difficult for Him.  This phrase is there because entering the promised land should glorify God and God alone.

By coming to the Jordan specifically when it “overflows all its banks” God wanted to remind His people that only He can and will deliver them.  The Red Sea wasn’t parted because of Moses; it was parted because of God.  God could deliver Israel without Moses, but Moses couldn’t deliver Israel without God.  It was never about Moses.  Likewise, Joshua wasn’t going to get them to their land; God was.  The flooding gave the people no reason to credit Joshua for their success.

As instructed, this is how they crossed the flooded river: “as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho.  Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.” – Joshua 3:15-17

Joshua was very clear about giving God credit, and it’s a lesson for Christians in all times and places.  When God raises up leaders, He also reminds us that they are but men and tools in His hand.  They are also profoundly fallible.  10 out of 12 human leaders being wrong left Israel wandering for 40 years.  Only God leads anyone to salvation and only when they trust Him alone for it.  He often works through fallen human leaders, raising them up to lead His people, not because He prefers sinful leaders over virtuous ones, but because there is no other kind of person and because He is jealous for His own glory.

Is there a flooded river God wants you to cross?  When we attempt things that only make sense because God told us to do them, we may be more likely to do or witness something that glorifies God and God alone, because only He could do it.

Are there rivers you have crossed in the past?  Like God told Joshua after this crossing to lay memorial stones so they would never forget (see Joshua 4), make sure to keep a record of God’s power and faithfulness in your life.

Sometimes life is hard on purpose.
Sometimes the river is flooded because God wants to show you something awesome.

Therefore, “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9b

[1] Numbers 13:1
[2] Numbers 13:31
[3] Deuteronomy 1:2

The Gospel is About a Who, not a How

Todd R 1 Comment

In chapter 9 of John’s gospel he records a story of Jesus healing a man who was born blind.  In John’s story, Jesus made some mud out of saliva and dirt, then put the mud on the man’s eyes.  Then Jesus tells the man to go wash off the mud in a pool.  When the man does this, his blindness is gone!

Because this man was born blind and had begged in the temple area for years, the miracle was hard to deny as a claim that Jesus was the Messiah, but many of the people put their focus on the wrong question: the how of the miracle.  Four times in the chapter someone asks how the man’s eyes were healed, as if the method of the healing was the important part.  Some of “The neighbors and those who had seen him before” asked “how were your eyes opened?” [1]  Then some Pharisees asked the man how he was healed.  In both cases, the man formerly blind explained what Jesus had done.

Then, because Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath and because practicing medicine on the Sabbath was against traditional Jewish regulations, the Pharisees asked, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?”[2]  The Pharisees kept looking for an explanation.  A scientific or natural explanation.  Perhaps this wasn’t the same man who was born blind.  So they found his parents, “and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’”[3]

The better question is who healed the man born blind, but the Pharisees didn’t want to deal with that question.  They had already made up their minds that Jesus wasn’t from God.  So, they focused on the how, on the method.  People still do this today, as Warren Wiersbe wrote: “We want to understand the mechanics of a miracle instead of simply trusting the Savior, who alone can perform the miracle.”[4]

Modern people want scientific explanations because they think nothing exists outside of scientific understanding and when something doesn’t fit that worldview it is denied or explained away.  We want to fit miracles within our pre-existing understanding of the world.  And when we can’t, we resist any way we can.  In the case of the Pharisees and Jesus, “they cast him out.”[5]  Anything to avoid the real question: who is this person who can do things that don’t fit into our narrow view of the universe?  Comparing John’s gospel to modern events, we see this is nothing new.

However, if Jesus is who He said He was – God the Son – no miracle should be unbelievable because God has absolute control over His own creation.  If Jesus is God, He exists outside of our universe and so obviously can’t be explained by using scientific laws that describe this universe.  But we continue to resist.  When people want to avoid dealing with their God, they still stick to the “how” question to avoid the more important question of “who.”

If you’re struggling to understand the miraculous stories of the Bible, make sure you’re asking the right (“who”) questions.  If you’re talking to an unbeliever having the same struggles, make sure they’re asking the right questions, because: If Jesus is who God is, every how is possible, including the greatest miracle: the salvation of anyone who would believe in Him.  And, Jesus can heal anyone who is blind to this reality.

[1] John 9:8-10
[2] John 9:16
[3] John 9:19
[4] Wiersbe, Warren.  Be Alive (John 1-12) (1986).  P. 143
[5] John 9:34

Does Your Church Have an Unclean Spirit?

Todd R 2 Comments

Jesus and the apostles spent a lot of their time preaching and ministering to Jews in synagogues.  Some of us might think of the synagogue as similar to a modern church, just a place where believers meet, but in the Bible’s synagogues it’s amazing the type of people you’d find among the “believers.”  Mark 1:23-24 gives us such an example:

“And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.””

Here, Mark points out that there are unclean spirits even in the synagogue, perhaps in hiding.  There are probably unclean spirits even in our churches!  Like in our times, Jewish people who did not go to synagogue probably rationalized that by saying the synagogue isn’t perfect, but terribly flawed.  Why associate with those people?  Mark’s gospel was targeted at Gentile readers, who were probably more likely to criticize those in the synagogue than the Jews.  But, Mark then tells us in verses 25 and 26:

“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.”

Who knows how many unclean spirits there were in the synagogue, how long they had been there, and how powerless the Jewish leaders were to do anything about them!  But, if Mark’s Gentile audience knew the synagogue wasn’t perfect, Jesus was saying He has authority and power to make it perfect in ways nobody else could.  Jesus wasn’t trying to draw people to the synagogue, but to Himself!

Photo by Cullan Smith on Unsplash

Coming back to the idea that our churches in some ways are the modern equivalent of synagogues, the world knows there are a lot of bad people going to church, from hypocrites pretending to follow Christ, to people who are just obviously bad.  Jesus, however, knows perfectly who His people are and who are not, but regardless He isn’t trying to draw people to an imperfect church, but to His perfect self!

Every group of people has a mix of good and bad, and possibly even people with “an unclean spirit.”

Therefore, no institution can accurately reflect who Christ is, not even the visible global church, which is made up of a mix of people that can’t be neatly divided into “good” and “bad.”  Everyone there is a sinner in need of forgiveness and salvation.  But Jesus, who cast out the “unclean spirit” in Mark’s gospel, can also cast out all the evil in His people’s hearts to build the one institution that will last forever in eternity.

Jesus, “the Holy One of God,” has come to build a church full of holy people, and He will not fail.  From within and without synagogues and churches with unclean spirits, God will find His people.

Getting Close to Jesus

Todd R 2 Comments

When Jesus walked the earth, He was both fully God and fully man, a mystery we may never fully understand.  It didn’t take long for such a person to get a lot of attention, especially once He began healing people and performing miracles.  John recorded in his gospel that after Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, the crowd “were about to come and take him by force to make him king”[1]  In this instance, Jesus withdrew from the crowds, but people continued to follow Him, sometimes from town to town.  However, this was not usually for the right reasons.  Many wanted to benefit from His power, but they didn’t want to call Him their own personal Lord.  They wanted to make Him king, but only so they could get what they wanted out of it.

Even today, many are like those who crowded around Jesus in ancient times, wanting to be identified with His power, but not wanting Him to have power over them.  But by God’s grace, there is always a remnant of people who truly believe in and are faithful to Him.  There’s a great example of the contrast between these groups in Mark chapter 5.  In verse 25 we learn that “a great crowd followed’ Jesus, and in verse 26 Mark brings the focus to one person: “there was a woman.”

Jesus was (and is) always interested in the needs of individuals.  As God, His attention span is unlimited.  He can see the whole and He can see the parts, but He gave special attention to specific parts to demonstrate His love.  In this case, the individual woman “had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.”  At this point, she knew there was nowhere else to go, so she fought her way through the crowds in order to get close to Jesus and “touched his garment.”  She was immediately healed of her “flow of blood.”

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Next, Mark tells us, “And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”  And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”  With many people “pressing around,” obviously many were touching Him, but did His power only go out to some?  So, Jesus’ closest followers were surprised that, among the crowds of people, Jesus would distinguish one person from the others.

Then, “the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.  And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.””  Out of the whole crowd, Jesus could tell whose faith was genuine and whose wasn’t, who believed in who He really was, and who just wanted the benefits of being around Him.  His saving power only goes out to those with true faith.

This idea is important even today.  The Life Application Study Bible notes: “What a difference between the crowds who are curious about Jesus and the few who reach out and touch him! Today, many people are vaguely familiar with Jesus, but nothing in their lives is changed or bettered by this passing acquaintance.”  Yes, what a difference!  Especially in eternity.

It makes me ask myself, who am I in this story?  Am I the selfish crowds trying to hang out with Jesus for my own benefit, or am I the woman who puts her faith in Jesus because she knows her problems can be solved by no one else?  Am I concerned only with my earthly, physical problems, or do I come to Jesus knowing I have a spiritual disease only He can cure?  Only if my faith is like the woman’s and not like the crowds will Jesus say: “go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Do you ask yourself these same questions?  There are always those who “follow” Jesus but don’t truly believe in Him.  If so, do we just hang out with the crowds of religious people who only superficially trust Him, or do we reach out for Jesus Himself!  The thing we should do is fight our way through them and get close enough to touch Jesus Himself!  If we do, Jesus will find us in the crowd and satisfy our deepest need.

Don’t let the crowds discourage you or keep you from Jesus – find a way to get close to Him today!

[1] John 6:15

It’s Never Too Late

Todd R 2 Comments

The New Testament book of Acts is also sometimes referred to as “Acts of the Apostles” because of the book’s focus on the apostles and God’s work through them.  The book has story after story of them preaching, but also healing and performing miracles.

For example, Acts 3 has a story of a man healed by the power of Jesus through Peter and John.  They were walking to the temple for prayer, and came across a lame man begging for alms.  But instead of giving the man money, Peter says to him, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  Then, “immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”[1]

This is already an impressive miracle, but Luke (author of Acts) adds some additional details to show us that God had sovereignly arranged this miracle for maximum effect.  First, Acts 3:2 tells us this man had been “lame from birth” and verse 10 says all the people recognized him, so there could be no denying it was the same man.  Later on, Luke adds another detail to the story, in Acts 4:22. “For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.”  If this were a hoax, one might imagine someone putting it on for a short period of time, but not for forty years!  And not from birth!  In addition, someone lame for any period of time should take months or years to gain strength enough to walk and leap, but this man was immediately healed!  This was undeniably a miracle.

However, I think the mention of the man’s age carries a couple of other lessons as well.

First, like the healed man, many people live for forty years or longer before coming to really know Christ, but Jesus found him.  Therefore, it’s never too late for someone to come to Christ.  Also, for those who already know Christ, it’s never too late to find purpose in Him.  God may reveal His purposes late in someone’s life.  Sometimes being a late bloomer only means that was God’s timing.  Many can discover gifts and ministries late in their life, meaning either their biological or Christian life.

Lastly, this miracle on a forty-year-old shows us that even great suffering can result in glory to God.  We don’t know why this man had to suffer with disability for so long, but we do know that the name of Jesus was glorified in the presence of many because he was healed.  We may never understand why there is so much suffering in this world, but God assures us with this miracle that it is inevitable that He will be glorified.  Suffering can have a purpose.

So, if you’re suffering in some way, or even struggling to overcome some specific sin, it’s never beyond Jesus’ ability to heal you.  If you’re frustrated with a lack of purpose or struggling to fit in, it’s never too late to find meaning in a walk with Christ.  If this has been going on for a long time – even forty years or longer – it’s never too late to hope in Jesus.  He will heal all our physical, emotional, and spiritual problems in His timing and in the way that will most glorify Him.  He guarantees it.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” – Romans 8:29

Soli Deo Gloria

[1] Acts 3:1-10