Category Archives: Character of God

Evidence in Scripture, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Miracles

Jesus Heals the Mute, Crippled, Lame, and Blind!

Matthew 15 is filled with inspiring record of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus talks about inner purity, the importance of following God’s law instead of man’s tradition, and responds in compassion to the request of the gentile woman to cast out a demon. What follows next in Matthew 15:29-31 is nothing short of amazing.

29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.

It is all too easy to read quickly over these few lines of scripture. But if we intentionally pause and dwell on this scripture we see another amazing record where Jesus performed His miracles in front of large crowds. It was certainly no slight of hand or trick, but the power of God Himself. Those who could not talk could now talk… the lame, the blind, the crippled… all healed in front of large crowds that had known these people and known that they were truly suffering with these conditions before Jesus healed them.

There will always be those like the Pharisees, who make up wild reasons to rationalize Jesus was not God. They look at the evidence and then choose to make up explanations to avoid the natural and obvious conclusion that Jesus is God. Some major world religion is based on logic such as this… rejecting the accurate record of the Bible and creating new records that just make up a new story about Jesus to say He is only a prophet and that He did not die for us and come back from the dead… despite irrefutable evidence of the public and brutal execution and the empty tomb and the many witnesses who saw Him for 40 days after He rose from the dead.

Jesus was clearly recognizable by the crowds and they saw in mass the miracles He performed during His earthly ministry. As His followers, we can know that He is God… just like He said. He does not ask us to just take His word for it, but rather came down to live among us and leave us much evidence.

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Character of God, Faith / Trusting God, Humility, Merciful, Miracles

Your Faith Is Great. Your Request Is Granted.

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Jesus is moved by the faith of a gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 as she pleads for His mercy to cast out a demon from her daughter. Although it was not part of His direct mission or task, He was moved by her humility and faith in repeatedly asking for His help.

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile[e] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Jesus repeatedly shows compassion by recognizing the needs of others and responding to them, even when it means changing His plans. He recognized the gentile woman’s great faith and then healed her daughter.

We can see in this scripture that we can not just claim healing in Jesus’ name and be healed as if we were at a vending machine demanding what we want.  The woman asked for His intervention to heal her daughter and He granted that request.

Each of us should consider…

Do we look upon God’s people around us with compassion? are we willing to stop what we are doing to help someone in Jesus’ name or are we too busy with our own tasks?

When we have illness or injury or if we suspect demon possession (yes, it is real though many dismiss it), do we look to God for help? Do we humbly come before Him asking in faith or do we demand it as if from a vending machine? Do we ask once and then move on not believing He will answer or do we seek Him persistently, believing He will hear our request? God’s answer is not always “yes” to our requests, but we can always come before Him humbly and seek His help with our needs and desires.

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Character of God, Compassion, Righteousness / Serving God

Jesus Provides For the Needs of the Crowd

Matthew 14: 13:21 continues after John the Baptist has been executed by Herod. We see Jesus wanted to be alone, but when the crowds followed, He had compassion on them. Then we are witness to an amazing miracle.

13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

18 “Bring them here,” he said. 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

During His earthly ministry, Jesus routinely put the needs of others above His own. Compassion moved Him to action to help others. His disciples were also concerned about the people and wanted to make sure they could find food to eat. However, Jesus had something else in mind. He started by taking what little they did have, looking up toward heaven, and blessing it. He choose to give honor to God when it looked like there was not enough.

What we witness next is amazing and we should be careful never to take it for granted or to try to explain it away. More than 5000 people were fed and they had more left over than when they began. Talk about a miracle with lots of witnesses.

Praise God for showing compassion and providing for His people! Praise God for showing us His glory through the earthly ministry of Jesus and the many miracles He demonstrated.

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Can God Use Me?, Character of God, False Prophets / Teachers, Hearing from God, Humility, Miracles, Prayer, Pride, Suffering / Adversity

Relying on God’s Power In Our Weakness

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is telling the people of Corinth about a vision God gave him. He is trying to make a point that although he had much he could brag about, he will not. Indeed Paul had much to brag about given his passionate and selfless submission and service to Jesus Christ and the divine revelation he received.

Paul then shares in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 about a specific issue from which he suffers that God has chosen not to heal, despite several requests by Paul. We know that Paul is not a “complainer”. His ministry documents much suffering and he endured it all with minimal or no complaints, to the glory of Jesus Christ. The issue must have been significant for Paul to mention it, though we are not told about the details.

… So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul is revealing a great way to view our own weaknesses. Accepting our weakness and looking to Christ for strength is powerful. In our weakness, His power works best. This does not mean we should not strive to change our behaviors and grow to be more like Jesus… of course we should! But God knows we are weak and can use that to His glory if we are fully submitted to Him. Then we know all was accomplished because of Him and not because of ourselves.

This scripture is also a powerful reminder that those who preach that it is a matter of our personal faith alone that can deliver us from all illness or challenges are teaching false doctrine. Even Paul, who had tremendous faith, still experienced a “thorn” which he could not get rid of. “Name it and claim it” teaching is false. We are to come humbly before God with our needs and submit to His will, even if His answer is “no”.

All of us have to work to overcome our sin nature. All of us are subject to injury and illness. All of us have limitations in our abilities. It is fine to seek healing and help from God to overcome these challenges, but if the answer is “no”… then give glory to God and let His power work through your weakness.

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Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Hearing from God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Share the Good News

Jesus Was Not Honored In His Hometown or Amongst His Family

Matthew 13:53-58 reveals to us how Jesus was rejected in Nazareth despite people observing that He had great wisdom and power to do miracles. The scoffed at Him and dismissed Him… some were deeply offended by Him.

53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. 54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph,[f] Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

It is common for us to tend to dismiss those we know as having special wisdom or relationship with God and instead look to strangers. Similarly human nature sometimes leads us to trust those that are like us and reject those that are different from us based on appearance or language or home country. We should always challenge ourselves to test what a person teaches against scripture itself, not against our biases or opinions of where they were from or what they look like or whether or not we know them.

There is also much encouragement for those who follow God’s instruction to share the gospel with others. Do not be discouraged by those who come against you or dismiss your efforts telling you “Who are you to teach people?” Look and see that Jesus received the same treatment. He did not let it discourage Him. Study the word, as Jesus did, to learn greater depth and understanding. Continue to proclaim God’s word boldly and share the gospel with others.

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Consequences of Sin, False Prophets / Teachers, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables, Wickedness / Evil

Parable of the Fishing Net

Jesus continues to teach about the Kingdom of Heaven through  parables in Matthew 13:47-52 using a comparison to a fishing net.

47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, 50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”

“Yes,” they said, “we do.”

52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”

It is important to recognize once again that not all of us will go into heaven to spend eternity with God. We must choose the offer of grace through Jesus which also leads to repenting from our sin and changing our behavior and thoughts. We can not just keep sinning and ignoring God or outright rejecting Him and then expect Him to accept us into heaven.

We must not claim to be His followers and wear the label Christian, but then not submit to His leadership and follow Him. God calls us to change our behaviors to be righteous, not to change the interpretation of scripture or laws of man to accept our sins.

The good news is that we do not have to be perfect! We can put our faith and hope in Jesus Christ and genuinely repent of our sins (yes, imperfectly) and seek to follow Him wholeheartedly. We can proclaim His message loudly and try to bring others with us to Jesus.

One final observation… Jesus calls out the teachers of religious law that become disciples of Kingdom of Heaven… these are two separate things. Many who are or just seem knowledgeable as religious leaders are not disciples in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even Satan knows the word of God very well. The difference is a matter of the heart and the desire to serve God or serve themselves.

Praise God for those teachers and church leaders who are disciples of Jesus! They are messengers bringing joy to the world.  Please look for opportunities to thank and encourage those who teach God’s whole word according to the Bible. Many will reject them for it, but the encouragement is great when receiving it genuinely from their flock.

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Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Obeying God, Parables, Righteousness / Serving God

The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like A Mustard Seed

Jesus continues teaching in parables in Matthew 13:31-35.

31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Jesus is not providing a lesson on plants, so do not get distracted by the fact that there are smaller seeds and larger plants. He is using memorable word pictures to help people understand and remember His message. This parable applies to the church, those who submit to and follow Jesus. From something small and seemingly unimportant… a few disciples… comes forth a body of believers that is large and significant and impacts many in a positive way.

Jesus continues with a separate, similar parable to continue driving the point home.

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Once again the parable of the yeast reminds us that something small and seemingly insignificant, a small body of followers of Jesus, can affect the whole loaf… or known world.

Both of these parables convey the rapid growth of the church from seemingly irrelevant to wonderfully significant. They may also be thought of in terms of our individual faith and service to God. When we each as individuals accept Jesus and begin on our journey toward living for the kingdom of God, we start with but a little part of us reflecting Jesus but given time and effort we can grow our faith to guide our entire l lives.

34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:

“I will speak to you in parables.
    I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.[c]”

Jesus speaks in parables to reveal truth about the kingdom of God for those who will hear it and accept it. Others will dismiss it as stories and miss the point.

Ask yourself… “Am I allowing God’s instruction to affect all aspects of my life? Why not? What area(s) am I holding back and not submitting to God?”

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Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables, Satan, Share the Good News, Suffering / Adversity

Sharing God’s Word – Parable of Farmer Planting Seeds

Jesus prepares us for sharing God’s word through the parable of the farmer planting seeds in Matthew 13:1-23. Jesus Himself even provides the explanation at the end to describe what the parable means.

13 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.
    They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,

‘When you hear what I say,
    you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
    you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
    and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
    so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
    and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
    and let me heal them.’[b]

16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

I find great encouragement in this parable. I am reminded that my role is to be the farmer planting seeds and I have the opportunity in some cases to help the plant grow by watering or fertilizing with more discussion about the gospel and prayer or sharing personal testimony. I am not responsible for the plant to grow… I can not accept Jesus on someone else’s behalf.

I should not expect that every encounter where I share the good news of Jesus Christ will result in transformed lives, but I keep on planting seeds for those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.”

Praise God for giving us His written word! Praise God for coming to walk among us as man in the person of Jesus Christ and showing us how to live for God and how to relate to Him! Praise God for dying for our sins! Let us help as many as we can to come to know Him.

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Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Salvation, Share the Good News

Salvation In Jesus Through Grace Alone

We gain important insight into salvation in Romans 10:1-15.

10 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.[b] As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.

5 For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.[c] 6 But faith’s way of getting right with God says, “Don’t say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (to bring Christ down to earth). 7 And don’t say, ‘Who will go down to the place of the dead?’ (to bring Christ back to life again).” 8 In fact, it says,

“The message is very close at hand;
    it is on your lips and in your heart.”[d]

And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[e] 12 Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[g]

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”[h]

A few key comments that strike me from this passage:

  • As followers of Jesus, we want God’s people to be saved. We want them to do more than claim the label Christian, but to understand God’s word and change their lives and hearts to seek Jesus wholeheartedly.
  • Often even people with zeal for God end up on the wrong path, seeking to do things their way instead of God’s way. This is true of the Jewish people who rejected Jesus when this scripture was written and is true today of people who accept their sin or the sins of others and ignore the Bible because they do not want to change or cannot see the need to change.
  • None of us can meet God’s holy standard for salvation by ourselves, our sin comes between us and God.
  • God loved us enough to make a way to reconcile and forgive that sin through grace alone. We are to openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. 
  • We are all called to be messengers of the good news of the gospel, the news of forgiveness and grace through Jesus Christ with the world.  

We must ask ourselves… Do we really believe? Are we sharing the good news? Are we proclaiming Jesus Christ as our lord and savior? Does our life… our behaviors and thoughts … reflect our submission to Jesus and His teaching? Are we in fact living differently from the world of non-Christians and people who claim the label of Christian but live the lifestyle of the world?

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Demons, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Wickedness / Evil

Show Us A Miraculous Sign

Many call upon Jesus to show them a miraculous sign before they are willing to wholeheartedly follow Him. They often do not realize that He has already shown us a miraculous sign… and they dismissed it and are asking for another.

Matthew 12:38-45 continues after Jesus has just healed a man who could not see or speak and was demon possessed. So obvious was the miracle that even those who wanted to reject Jesus could not deny it happened, but rather had to make up a wild accusation that Jesus was prince of demons to explain it. Jesus spends time confronting them and explaining why this makes no sense. So what happens next… after this miraculous sign, which some refused to acknowledge… they demand a miraculous sign. Yes, really.

38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. 42 The queen of Sheba[e] will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

43 “When an evil[f] spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Are you still waiting for a miraculous sign to follow Jesus as were the teachers and Pharisees in Jesus’ time of earthly ministry?

He has already given us countless signs and miracles, many of which were carefully preserved in scripture. In particular, Jesus points to his death and resurrection as the primary sign He will provide. As we see later in scripture, and in the world around us today, even after He dies and comes back to life in a very public way… there are many who refuse to accept Him as God and follow Him.

What more powerful sign can He give? Is He to personally die and come back to life before each of us across every generation? Jesus calls them an evil and adulterous generation (e.g. reference to worshipping other idols instead of God) that rejects the signs He has given and demands signs.

Don’t sit around waiting for another miraculous sign. Make the decision today to accept Jesus wholeheartedly, proclaim His word loudly, and change your life to be more like his and less like the world. We must truly live differently from the world and those who just claim the label of “Christian” if we are to lead others to Jesus Christ… to be a lamp on a lampstand for all to see.

For those who are already committed to living their lives for Christ… be encouraged. We serve a wonderful God who has given us many signs to encourage us and provide evidence for who He is and how He wants us to live. Praise God for the signs He has given!

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