“One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.” 2 Kings 4:42-44 MSG One prevailing theme in Elisha’s life is abundance. As I read through the story of his ministry,…
Can you think of a step of faith you need to take today? Sometimes, we must trust God even when we don’t clearly see the plan. You may feel like you’re walking a tightrope and afraid to look down. You hope it’s there, but you can’t see it. You feel around with arms outstretched in the dark, believing He will keep you from falling. He is looking for our obedience even when we don’t understand. Against all odds, He will provide a miracle. In I Kings 17:8-15 (NKJV), God gives direction to Elijah, the prophet: 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in…
“He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.” Psalms 18:11 NLT How often do we believe the lie God has left us to suffer in our circumstances? That the quiet and loneliness certainly must be a sign that God is absent and unaware of our troubles. We often struggle with frustrated thoughts and emotions at what we have to endure in this life, at least I do. In my own self-pity it can be so easy to crumble under the pressure, and cry out “Where are you God, and why have You left me?” But what if I intentionally sought Him out in the storm? What if His arrival won’t appear as though I thought it would? I do not know everything, nor do I know what is truly best for me. I do understand that His ways are higher than mine, so why do I assume to fathom how He will show up, and work it all out? Psalms 18 is telling an intense story of distress and how God responded. It literally says He covered Himself in darkness and veiled His approach with dark rain clouds. When we see a storm brewing, we automatically…
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 ESV The word “world” in the above scripture means “period of time, age.” The age that we live in is riddled with those who are struggling to win the war in their minds. Our thoughts hold us captive, and freedom seems to elude us. We are warned to not conform (to become similar, to comply, to agree) to this world, and then we…
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 I am a fan of Southern Gospel Music. One of my favourite songs is My Name Is Lazarus, written by Rodney Griffin and recorded by Greater Vision. It is based on the story found in the second chapter of Mark. Four men brought their crippled friend to Jesus to be healed and could not get into the house where he was because of the crowd. In desperation, they climbed on the roof, removed the tile, and let the man down to where Jesus was. We are not given the names or any details about these four men, but the songwriter used his imagination as to their identities. He suggests that the first three were men who had been healed by Jesus, a blind man, one with a withered hand, and a leper. Even though they had their needs met by Jesus, they were skeptical that this friend they had brought could be healed. But then the fourth man spoke and revealed who He was – Lazarus who had been raised from the dead. The closing verse shows us that nothing is…
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 God told Jeremiah to send a letter to the people who had been taken to Babylon, instructing them as to how they should conduct their lives while they were there. He told them to build houses and plant gardens to provide for their needs. They were to marry and have children so that their numbers would increase. They were to pray for the country and that peace would prevail. He reminded them that their captivity would last for seventy years, and when that was fulfilled, the Lord had promised that they would return to their own country. God’s thoughts toward them were of peace and not of evil, and they could trust that He would keep His word to them. If they would search for God with all their heart, they would find Him. Although these…