What To Do On Your Way To A Miracle

     The prophet Elisha used to pass by a certain village where there lived a woman and her husband.  As often as he passed by, he would stop there and eat food.  The woman said to her husband that they should build a small room, and put in a bed, a table and a chair, and a lampstand for the man of God.  So one day when Elisha came, he turned in there and stayed in the room prepared for him.  Elisha wanted to do something for the kindness that this woman had shown to him, so he asked what he could do for her.  But she was content with what she had.  Gehazi, Elisha's servant said, "Actually she has no son, and her husband is old."  Upon hearing this, Elisha told the woman, "About this time next year you shall embrace a son."  At the appointed time given by the prophet, the woman gave birth to a son.
     A few years later, the son was out with his father in the field, and complained about his head.  The father had him brought to his mother, and he sat on her lap until noon and then died.  Can you imagine what the mother felt when her son died.  But the mother did something very unusual.  She laid the boy on the bed prepared for the man of God, and closed the door, and went to see her husband.  She asked for a donkey and a young man to go see the man of God.  Upon asking her why she wanted to go, she answered, "It is well."
     As they approached the place where the man of God was, he sent out his servant Gehazi to inquire what was wrong.  He asked her, "Is it well with you?  Is it well with your husband?  Is it well with the child?"  And she answered, "It is well." 
     When she finally arrived where Elisha was, she held onto his feet, and Elisha realized she was in deep distress.  He soon realized there was something wrong with the child, and ordered Gehazi to go on ahead and lay his staff on the child.  Gehazi went ahead and did this, and returned with bad news saying, "The child has not awakened."  This was another setback for the woman.  Elisha finally arrived at the house, and stretched himself out on the child, and the child became warm.  Then again he stretched himself on the child, and the child revived, and was given to his mother. 
     The woman knew there was a miracle for her, if she could get to the man of God.  Her faith said, "It is well", while she was in deep distress.  She trusted God while she was on her way to a miracle.  This is one of the toughest places to be in the Christian life.  You know God can do anything, and you believe that nothing is impossible, yet you have not yet experienced your miracle.  The attitude of the heart needs to be like this Shunammite woman, who refused to be denied her miracle.  Even after the setbacks that she faced, she was unwavering in her faith in God.  She would not talk about her need except to the one who could do something about it.  She was persistant and wouldn't give up in the face of adversity.  She knew God had the answer.  She showed us what to do on the way to a miracle. 

Integrity

     David revealed both the blessing he experienced, as well as the suffering he went through.  In Ps. 41 the demonic realm was attacking him.  His enemies said, "When will he die, and his name perish?"  The enemy's desire is to kill, steal, and destroy.  David says that if the enemy comes to see him, he speaks lies, and then goes out and tells it.  They whisper against him and devise ways to hurt him.  "An evil disease" they say, "clings to him, and now that he lies down, he will rise up no more."  And above all this, David's own familiar friend in whom he trusted, who are bread together, lifted up his heel against David.  This was most likely Ahithophel, who betrayed David and went to help Saul.  There are times of attack in the Christian life, where we experience what Peter talked about in 1 Peter 5:8, "...your adversary the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  David's answer in Ps. 41:12 is this, "As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever."  Because of the integrity of David's heart, the enemy was not able to get ahold of David.  Integrity upheld and saved David's life.
     The word integrity comes from the word integer, which means a whole number.  To have integrity means to be in a state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.  It is adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character, honesty.  It is a heart that stays devoted to God through times of pressure that try to force you to do something out of character.  In Ps. 25:21 David said, "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on You."  Integrity will preserve you and keep you.  King Abimelech took Sarah when Abraham journeyed to the south.  The Lord appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and told him, "Indeed you are a dead man..."  But Abimelech thought Sarah was Abraham's sister, and said, "In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this."  And the Lord said, "Yes I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart.  For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."  Though Abimelech did the wrong thing, he was preserved because of the integrity of his heart. 
     "Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity..."  Ps. 26:1.  David was kept and protected by God because he walked in integrity of heart.  Vs. 8, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells."  This was David's first love, even during times of temptation and pressure to conform to what the people around him were doing.  He desired for the Lord to examine him, and try his mind and his heart.  Ps. 26:11, "But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me." 
     Satan is out to destroy your integrity.  Job had gone through trials that destroyed everything he had, and finally even his health, as he sat scraping his boils with a piece of potsherd.  His wife had long passed the point of holding onto integrity of heart.  Her words to Job were, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity?  Curse God and die."  Job 2:9.  The battle was over Job's integrity, and whether he would hold onto God through the loss of everything.  We have heard of the patience of Job, but have you heard of the patience of Job's wife?  Her advice was to curse God and die.  Integrity will preserve you even through the harshest of trials.  Hold onto your integrity!

The Gates of Hell

My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Israel.  One of the places I was looking forward to seeing was Caesarea Philippi.  We drove up the 35 miles or so from the Sea of Galilee to the place that is today called Banias.  There we saw a large rock face with a cave in it.  Our tour guide told us this cave was known as the gate of hell.  Previously it had a stream running out of it.  Why did Jesus walk up to this place with His disciples?  We read in Matt 16:13-18, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples saying, 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?'  So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'  He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'  Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.'"  The name Peter was petros in Greek, meaning a little stone.  The word rock was petra in Greek, meaning a huge boulder.  Jesus was standing in front of this huge rock face, with the gate of hell in the background, and here He revealed Himself as the Christ, the Son of God.  On this rock of revelation Jesus will build His church.  Peter, as a stone, will be a part of this building, just as every believer is a living stone, being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. 2:5.  This church, this huge rock, will never be overcome by the gates of hell.  The kingdom of darkness will never be victorious over, or prevail against the church.  He gave us the keys of the kingdom of heaven with the power to bind and to loose.  He holds the keys of hell and of death, and is alive forevermore, Rev. 1:18.  You are victorious over all the power of hell through the revelation of who Jesus is.  In Him, and through Him, we overcome every power of darkness.  The church will be victorious until Jesus comes!

You Owe Me

"You owe me."  How often have you had the feeling toward someone that they owe you something?  Maybe you loaned them some money, and they have avoided paying you back.  The feeling of "You owe me" usually leads to anger.  We have an unmet expectation, and we are dealing with anger about the situation.  Jesus told the story of a man in Matt. 18 who owed a debt of about $10,000,000.  Unable to pay, he cried out to his master saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all."  The master was moved with compassion, and forgave the debt.  However, that servant went out and found a man who owed him a small debt of about $20.  He took him by the throat and required the debt to be paid.  The man cried out and said, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all."  But he would not forgive, nor have patience with the man.  His heart cry was, "You owe me", which produced great anger and impatience.  It may not be only money that makes us feel that someone owes us.  We may feel that someone owes us an apology, or an explanation.  We may feel hurt by someone's words, or actions, and feel they should make it right with us.  Eph. 4:26 says, "Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath."  Anger is an emotion that we will all experience, however Paul says to deal with it quickly in a way that is not sinful.  We may never receive the apology, or the money may never be paid back.  Perhaps the person who owes us has passed away, or is indifferent to the situation.  What do we do with our anger?  How do we deal with the unmet expectations?  Malice will be the reoccurring attitude where there is unresolved anger.  Malice is ill will, spite, and a desire to inflict injury, harm or suffering on another.  1 Pet. 2:1 says, "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking."  We must find God's grace to forgive, lest a root of bitterness rises up and causes trouble.  We must realize that an unpayable debt was forgiven in our lives, and therefore we can turn to our neighbour and forgive the small debts that occur in this life.  Col. 3:8 says, "But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."  This is only possible as we let God fill our hearts with His mercy and love.  Then from a heart of mercy we can extend forgiveness to those who owe us.

Let Us Keep The Feast

"Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."  1 Cor. 5:8.  There were 7 feasts that Israel was to celebrate each year.  The first feast was Passover, the celebration of their deliverance from death in Egypt.  Because they applied the blood of the lamb to their doorposts, death passed over them.  The Passover pointed to the coming of Christ as 1 Cor. 5:7 says, "...For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us."  Following the Passover, they were to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 7 days.  For 7 days they were to have no leaven in their bread.  They would eat only flat unleavened bread.  Jesus also spoke of leaven when He warned His disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  He said the leaven of the Pharisees was hypocrisy.  A hypocrite was one who acted in a play, and pretended to be someone else.  The Pharisees acted as though they were holy and without fault, but Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and knew the true motives of their heart.  Jesus also spoke of the leaven of Herod in Mark 8:15.  Herod bowed to peer pressure when he ordered the execution of John the Baptist.  He did not act out of sincerity of heart, but was swayed by the opinions of others.  He did what was wrong in order to gain the approval of others.  Paul tells us we should keep the feast, but not with the old leaven.  He doesn't want us to literally remove the yeast from our homes, but he wants us to remove the leaven from our hearts.  The leaven of malice and wickedness needs to be cleaned out of our hearts.  Malice is ill will and spite, the desire to inflict injury and harm on another.  It is mentioned in Eph. 4:31 along with bitterness, wrath, anger, quarreling, and evil speaking.  From the word malice we get the word malignant.  Something that is malignant has the ability to bring harm and damage, and malice will bring damage into our lives.  Paul says to clean out the old leaven, and don't leave any of it, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.  Even a little bitterness and resentment can poison our life and keep us from bearing the fruit God desires for us.  "Therefore let us keep the feast....with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."  

Ravens and Doves

     "Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.  He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground.  But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth.  So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself."  Gen. 8:7-9. 
     The dove has been a symbol of the Holy Spirit since the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.  When Jesus was baptized, He saw the Spirit of God descending upon Him like a dove, and a voice spoke out of heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Matt. 3:16,17.  The dove is a symbol of rest, purity, innocence, fellowship and peace.  The dove with an olive branch in its beak has long been a symbol of peace.  The dove seeks a quiet place to rest, and is easily alarmed by sudden movements.  The diet of a dove is seeds, which he can store up in his crop.  Doves mate for a lifetime, and the mourning dove is known for its mournful cooing, when a mate is missing or has died.  Jesus said we were to be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves, Matt. 10:16.  Isa. 38:14 says, "...I mourned like a dove..."  The Holy Spirit also seeks a place to rest.  Jesus said, "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever."  John 14:16.  The Spirit of God wants to find a dwelling place in our hearts.  He wants to be our partner for life, and promised He would abide with us forever.  The Spirit brings purity into our lives, and seeks fellowship with us.  He brings the peace of God into our hearts, and guides us into His truth and peace.  Noah's dove was seeking a resting place.  Let our hearts be the resting place for the Spirit of God to dwell.  Let us feed on the seeds of God's Word.
     But what about the raven?  Ravens are common here at our home.  They are meat eating scavengers who will eat your garbage and anything else they can find.  They have often been seen flying away with groceries left in the back of trucks in the grocery store parking lot.  They are very smart birds that scavenge dead animals, or whatever they can find.  They are a symbol of our flesh nature.  Noah's raven kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up.  The flesh is never settled and never satisfied, but keeps going to and fro in search of something more.  The flesh appetite can never be satisfied for long, as it keeps lusting for more and more, and cares little about where it gets its meat.  It's nature is self seeking, and self centered, and always lusting.
     We have been called to walk in freedom from our flesh.  "For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."  Gal. 5:13. 
     Make this your prayer today:  "God, dwell in me by Your Holy Spirit, and give me freedom to walk above the lusts of the flesh."     

7 Steps To Fulfil Your Calling

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, now knowing where he was going."  Heb. 11:8.
There are 7 parts to this verse that show us how to fulfil the calling on our lives.
1.  By faith -  We must watch over our faith so that it continues to grow.  Jesus spoke of those who had great faith, little faith, and no faith.  The parable of the sower and the seed shows how faith grows from a seed to bearing fruit.  The seed must overcome many challenges in order to bear fruit.  We face satanic attack, afflictions and persecutions, worries of life, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things entering in.  We must continually feed our faith with the Word so it can grow and overcome the challenges. We will need to live by faith to fulfil our call.
2.  Abraham obeyed - It is not enough to have faith, and to know the Word, we must put it into action.  We must have corresponding actions with our faith.  When we look into the mirror of God's Word, we need to adjust our lives according to the mirror.  Faith without works is dead.  Faith requires us to act out in obedience what God has said in our hearts. 
3.  When he was called - God called Abraham for a specific purpose, and God calls each of us for a specific purpose.  Jesus called the disciples, and they left their nets and their old life to follow Him.  The Spirit of God is now calling people to follow.  The Spirit and the bride say "Come".  There is a calling on every one of our lives.  We must acknowledge that call, and give attention to that call.
4.  To go out - Our calling will require us to go out - out of our comfort zone, out of the familiar and known.  Jesus said that we must lose our lives in order to find new life.  We must go out from our old lives and leave them behind in order to move into the new things God has for us.
5.  To the place - God has a new place for you to live - a new way of living, a new attitude, a new love, a new way of thinking.  Rom. 12:2 says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.  To renew is to renovate.  Renovating means out with the old, and in with the new.  To be renewed we must let go of the past, and be filled with all the new things God wants to pour into our lives.
6.  Which he would receive as an inheritance - To this day we benefit from the inheritance that Abraham received.  When we move out into our calling, we will move into our inheritance that God has already planned for us.  This inheritance will bring great benefit to our lives and those around us.
7.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going - God will not show us everything about where we are going, but He will show us enough for today.  His Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.  As we are obedient in what He wants us to do today, He will show us the way into the future.  The Amplified Version says, "he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go."  Don't trouble your mind about the future.  Rest in knowing that God will show you the next step.

You can fulfil your calling!