Day 32 - Help my Unbelief - More of Jesus Devotional

Help my unbelief!

Rachel Hanson

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

This plea to Jesus to increase faith is one of my favorite verses, one that is quick to come to my mind and heart in times of need. It is such an honest, vulnerable confession and prayer.

The man has come to Jesus asking for healing for his mute son. He already asked the disciples for help, but they were unable to perform the healing. The man begins his request to Jesus by saying, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us,” to which Jesus replies, “If you can believe, all things are possible” (Mark 9:22-23). Jesus makes it clear that He can complete the healing, can and will perform miracles–when we believe. We just need a little faith, and all things become possible. When our small faith begets miracles, our faith grows and we believe in the possibility of more and bigger miracles. And when we believe, those become possible, and our faith grows. And the cycle continues.

At the end of the story, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why did it work for You, but not for us?” Jesus answers, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (9:29). Prayer and fasting are two of the best known spiritual disciplines. Bill Donohue, on Bible.org, gives a great overview of the spiritual disciplines and refers to the works of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. Donohue explains that the disciplines are “modeled in the life of Christ” and “organized into two categories: the disciplines of abstinence (or ‘letting go’) and the disciplines of activity.” Here, Jesus mentions the need for both. Engaging in these disciplines helps us to know Jesus better and gives us more power in His name. A disciplined life should have some of both - responsible abstinence and a commitment to spiritual activity.

Questions:

When is a time when your small or unbelief became increased or full belief?

Common spiritual disciplines include prayer, Bible reading, fasting, worship, service, giving, quiet time with God, and simplicity. What discipline is Jesus calling you to in order to draw you closer to Him?

Day 31 - Healing in the Midst of Chaos - More of Jesus Devotional

Healing in the midst of chaos.

Micah Abeloe

Luke 22:47-53

And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

Luke 22:50-51.

This miracle is kind of tucked away in scripture. It’s only found in the Gospel according to Luke and it’s only two verses long. This miracle spoke a great deal to me about how steadfast and constant Jesus is no matter what the situation or circumstance is.

Jesus is at his most vulnerable state of being since the forty- day fast at the beginning of His ministry. Jesus has been up for most of the day and night. He just came under the most excruciating event of His life in the garden as He prepares to take on all the sin of the world and was so grieved and sorrowed from it, that He sweat blood from every pore in His body! Judas, a friend and one of the twelve disciples, has just betrayed Him. Jesus has been through a lot at this point of the day and would understandably be physically and emotional drained.

As the guards come to seize Him, one of His disciples cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. The situation is very emotional and intense. Jesus, being the Healer that He is, touches the man and his ear is completely restored. Jesus acts true to His nature and character, keeps the peace, and controls the situation. Everyone there must have been astonished at what had just happened right before their eyes!

No matter the situation in all of scripture, Jesus stays true to His pure character and nature. You can see the love that He has for the priest’s servant and what this miracle must have done for his faith! I want to have this sort of situational awareness and mercy for people no matter what the situation is and, to also keep true to where my faith and hope are found: in God the Father.

Questions:

- What situations in your life do you need this sort of peace and love?

- What are some of the “triggers” in your life that maybe cause you to act irrationally? How can you plan to make sure you don’t allow those “triggers” to rule over you?

- Who in your life could you show this sort of compassion to? 

Day 30 - Your faith has healed you - More of Jesus Devotional

“Your faith has healed you”

Tim Munyan Luke 18:35-43

In this story, a blind beggar realized that Jesus was near and continually cried out to him for mercy and wouldn’t take no for an answer. His desire for healing overcame his shame, rebuke and embarrassment. Jesus took notice of his faith! “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Lord, I want to see” was his reply. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight, your faith has healed you.”

The story of Blind Bartimaeus is an example of how faith combined with humility and tenacity gets the Lord’s attention and invites miracles.

On a trip to England early in my ministry, we were holding a healing conference and for several days people would gather from everywhere in the region to come learn about and experience the gift of healing.

One day, in preparation for the evening service the Lord highlighted this scripture about the blind beggar. As I meditated on the scripture the Lord began to speak to me about praying specifically for faith and boldness. That evening after worship, the presence of God was so thick you could almost see it.

A group of ladies approached me asking if I would pray for the friend they had brought for healing. As I approached their friend “Jilly” I could see that she was partially blind and I asked the obvious, “What is it you want Jesus to do for you?” She said that she had a degenerative eye disease that allowed her to only see peripherally and could no longer distinguish colors. I was led by the Spirit to ask if she believed God could heal her. As she said yes, I gathered her friends to join in prayer and I specifically asked for the gift of faith and boldness to be given to each of us as we prayed for her healing.

The power of God fell upon her and after each successive prayer she began to see more and more clearly. At one point she turned to each of us and began to tell us what color clothes we had on, something she wasn’t able to do for quite some time. Someone even had a multi-colored knit hat and she was going around telling everyone what colors were in it.

Finally, I turned to her and said, “You need some rest,” and knowing she had come a long way I asked her friends if they had a blanket for her for the ride home. “Jilly” turned to me and said, “I’ll get some rest, but only after I tell them what color their blanket is!”

Nothing is impossible when our faith is in God! 

Questions:

1. What was the importance of Jesus asking the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

2. Why must shame or embarrassment be overcome for healing to sometimes take place?

3. How much of a part did the man’s faith play in his healing? 

Day 29 - Challenge the Status Quo - More of Jesus Devotional

Challenge the Status Quo

Tad Coit

Matthew 12:9-14 is one of my favorite healings in the

Bible. It is one of my favorites, not so much for the healing itself as it is for the fact that it is an ultimatum. Yes, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand but He does even more. He make a statement, a statement to the Pharisees that their rules don’t apply. Jesus can heal on the Sabbath and any day that He so pleases. In verses 11 and 12 He says, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

This healing comes right after Jesus and His disciples have eaten some grain they just plucked from a field, another thing that isn’t supposed to take place on the Sabbath. But Jesus is not about to back down for anything on this day. He is intent on showing that the man-made rules don’t apply, that healing and practicality supersede the traditions of the day. He is showing, once and for all, the ultimate authority that He has on this earth.

Today, we are still faced with obstacles of when we are to display the practice of our faith. But instead of the religious zealots intent on sanctioning what we can or cannot do, we are challenged by an increasingly agnostic society that would prefer we only display our religious power in the confines of a building. We are presented with a similar challenge to Jesus. Do we keep quiet and constrain our faith within the rules that someone else decides upon or do we be like Jesus and challenge the mores of those who have no morals?

Jesus show us the way by healing when He was led to, not waiting until He had permission. Jesus demonstrated His authority but promises that we also possess this authority. Like Jesus, we do not have to wait for someone else’s permission other than the permission of the Holy Spirt Himself.

Verses: Matthew 28:18, Mark 3:15

Questions:

1. Why did Christ have the authority to heal when He did?

2. Where are some places in your life that you can be more confident in displaying God love and power? 

Day 28 - Miracles - More of Jesus Devotional

Miracles

Craig Droskin

John 20:29 - “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus’ resurrection is one of many miracles in the Bible, but it is certainly the single most important miracle for us to remember and to believe as followers of Christ. But sometimes believing second-hand accounts of miracles can be difficult. Even the disciple Thomas didn’t believe Christ had come back to life after being told so by other trusted disciples.

Maybe you’re comfortable believing some of the bible, but the more outrageous miracles like Jonah being swallowed by a giant fish made you skeptical like it made me. I can believe a lot of things, but Jonah getting swallowed and surviving after three days and three nights? That’s a tough one. But, isn’t this exactly the magnitude of miracle we might ask God for to help confirm our faith?

What if we were told of a miracle that happened today that was so amazing it could only be an act of God? What if He did something otherwise impossible, on the same scale as Jonah surviving in the belly of a fish? We might say; “That couldn’t have been real, it couldn’t have really happened, or maybe it was a trick or illusion.”

On the flip side, if God gave us a smaller miracle that was easier to swallow we might say, “It was just a coincidence.” In Mathew 16:4 Jesus tells the crowd, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” I believe this illustrates how Jesus knew big miracles were too extraordinary for most to embrace, and small miracles were too easy to explain away. If our faith isn’t strengthened by the amazing miracles that already happened, what magnitude of miracle could really make us believe?

In the end, the Bible’s miracles have already been told. We can choose to believe or choose not to believe. I used to be a doubting Thomas, but my life as a Christian has been a series of extraordinary miracles compared to my life before I accepted Jesus. So on this day I proclaim, I believe in Jesus Christ, and believe He is amazing and powerful as demonstrated by His work in my life, and by the Bible miracles that I also do believe really happened...

The Red Sea was parted, Jonah was swallowed by a whale, Jesus fed five thousand people with a few fish and a few loaves of bread, He turned water to wine, He raised Lazarus from the dead, and Jesus himself died and rose from the dead. Our God is an awesome God.

Questions:

Do you, like Thomas, have trouble believing some of the Bible’s miracles?

Could Thomas be a gift to doubters? Is he an imperfect, saved person we can all relate to? 

Day 27 - Jesus is Healer - More of Jesus Devotional

Jesus is Healer

Sandra Dubois

When Jesus came into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.

He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served Him.

When evening came, they brought to Him many possessed with demons.

He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

“He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.” Matthew8:14-17(WEB)

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew16:15(WEB)

Again he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, ‘You dry bones, hear the LORD’s word. The Lord GOD says to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live. I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

Ezekiel 37:4-6(WEB)

I’ve been sick for much of my life, especially for the last 14 years.

Yet, though I believe with all my heart that God didn’t give me the illness, He used it to rebuild my soul. Jesus has done much healing in me—some instant, but most gradual, and my health level has improved much, though I’m still not “there” yet. I would never, ever want to go through what I have again, but neither would I want to be the person I was before. My life was stripped down to the bones, but Jesus told my dry bones to “LIVE!” And I agreed with Him: “Old crappy bones, you get happy!” So they did.

I know that He is the LORD; that He is my Lord.

Who do I say that Jesus is? I say that He is my Healer, the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Questions:

1) How have you seen healing in your life?

2) What good changes have happened in your life when Jesus met you in your pain?

3) How can you use your past or current pain to help someone else in their faith walk? 

Day 26 - Taking it to the Mat - More of Jesus Devotional

Taking it to the Mat

By Tina Pinson

When Jesus saw him, and knew how long he’d been ill, He asked him, “Would you like to get well?” John 5:6 (TLB)

My father was in the Air Force. Once we lived in Izmir, Turkey. An awesome culture-shock. We were able to travel to the 7 Churches written of in Revelations. Izmir is modern day Smyrna.

One day a man sat outside the Chapel gate on a little flatbed cart covered with a mat. He’d lost a leg and the remaining leg was swollen and a strange grayish color. He came every Sunday, held out his hand and gathered money. But his leg grew worse. The church talked to him about Christ and tried to help with medicines. But he turned down the offer to have his leg taken care of. Why? He’d lose his livelihood.

He didn’t accept the gift, his leg got worse, and he died.

The man at the Bethesdan pool laid there each day for 38 yrs. We don’t know his ailment, but he couldn’t get to the stirred water fast enough. No one helped carry him, and he’d been pushed aside and stepped over, but he came every day expecting a miracle. And Jesus comes to the pool and tells him, “Stand up, take up your mat and walk.” And the man laid there and... No, he accepted the miracle and got up. After 38 years, wouldn’t you?

The religious leaders were upset. They saw the man at the pool. They could’ve carried him to the water. How sad would it have been if the man who hoped for a miracle, didn’t accept the gift from the Lord, because he didn’t want to leave his situation. Or the religious leaders guilted him because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. But they hadn’t carried there when it wasn’t the Sabbath for 38 years.

All these people met Jesus. They had a mat to carry away. Even the beggar at the chapel gate was given opportunity because Christ touched the church and they touched him. He didn’t take the gift because it changed his finances. The religious leaders didn’t take his gift because they didn’t like Christ’s method or Him. And they didn’t know Him. They didn’t like Him healing people. No matter what He did, they would have complained.

But the other man took up his mat, took the gift, and walked away in the freedom Christ offered him.

Questions:

The mats we lie one aren’t always for physical reasons, e.g., wrestling/prayer mat (spiritual/mental warfare/prayer), welcome mat, (grace/mercy), bed mat, (rest/wait on Lord) bath mat, (cleansing) and even a laundry mat (confession/salvation) What have you been praying for? Is there a mat you need to pick up and carry away? Or lay down?

Scripture doesn’t tell us if the man at the pool ever despaired, or his age, just that he had an ailment for 38 years and went to the pool to be healed. Though he was stepped over for years, he hoped, one day, he would make it to the water, and then he came face to face with Jesus. Have you ever come face to face with Jesus? How did your life change? Why does the Lord make us wait sometimes?

Considering the religious leaders of the day, how often do you think they saw the man at the pool? Why do you think they didn’t carry him to stirred waters of the pool during the 38 years?

Matthew 9: 1-8, tells us about a paralytic whose friends lowered him through the roof on his mat, so he could be healed. Have you ever been asked to help someone, (to carry their mat)? Ask the Lord for insight about opportunities to be his hands?

Food for thought. John 5: 1-17 

Day 25 - Ordinary Sinners - More of Jesus Devotional

Ordinary Sinners

Zema Chambers

“. . .how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” The religious leaders’ comments were captured by John (John 9:16b) as they described Jesus. Such is the comment of those with a doctrine and not an experience. Jesus was neither ordinary nor was he a sinner. But, what about you and me?

Sometimes we tell ourselves these very words. I’m just an ordinary sinner. How could the miraculous happen with me? While the religious leaders in that time felt they had the inside track with God, we know they didn’t. In fact, there were some religious people that were called “whitewashed graves”.

The religious people had all the rules. The ordinary sinners just had mud to cover their eyes and listen to Jesus. Ordinary sinners have a trust born from a desire to be whole. They are willing to brave the cutting comments of the skeptics because they don’t just talk about God, they experience Him.

The blind man in John 9, had an experience. He was an ordinary sinner. He was doubted and bullied by the religious leaders. He was teased and questioned about his experience. They even went to his parents to get a little more dirt on him to discredit his credibility to testify to the power of the miraculous. However, he trusted that Jesus was NOT an ordinary sinner. He trusted that Jesus was a healer. The more he was badgered, the more his ire rose until finally he declared “if this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” The religious leaders were so infuriated and backed into a corner that they could only throw out an insult to the man and lean back on their own religiousness - “Are you trying to teach us?’ (Can you hear them sputtering?)

We might be ordinary sinners or even blind in areas of our life, but it is time to let the miraculous happen. Let’s unabashedly proclaim “I believe in the God of Miracles”!

Questions:

Where are your blindnesses?

Who are the “whitewashed grave” people who try to put you in a religious mold keeping you from the miraculous?

How have you experienced the miraculous works of Jesus? 

Day 24 - Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount - More of Jesus Devotional

Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount

Craig Droskin

Matthew 7:24-25 – “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

In this passage Jesus is saying that the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 through 7) is, and should be, a foundation for our life, just like rock is a strong foundation on which one should build a house. Below is a list of only some of the foundational principles included in the sermon:

*Being a “peacemaker”

*Being the “light of the world” or shining the light of God’s love for all to see.

*Preserving God’s law

*Anger can bring judgment

*Adultery begins with your thoughts

*Marriage is sacred and binding

*”Love your enemies”

*”Do not worry” because God is in charge

Jesus commanded us to use these three chapters as the rock or foundation for living. But if we forget this sermon or live at times without these principles, our lives could be resting on a compromised or failing foundation.

In Matthew 7:26 Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Uh-oh. If the Sermon on the Mount is supposed to be the foundation of my life, I don’t know it well enough and I don’t read it often enough.

Questions:

How can you make sure to keep the Sermon on the Mount principles as your life foundation?

Which part of the Sermon on the Mount has spoken the most to you recently?

Idea: I’m going to put a monthly repeating appointment on my phone calendar reminding me to read Matthew 5 through 7. I don’t want one more month of my life without the Rock as my foundation. 

Day 23 - “You are the light of the world,” so “let your light shine.” - More of Jesus Devotional

“You are the light of the world,” so “let

your light shine.”

Tim Munyan 

Matthew 5:14-16

Here in this portion of the “Sermon on the mount” and elsewhere in the New Testament , the followers of Jesus are called to be lights to the world. Jesus also spoke of Himself as the light of the world (John 9:5). What relationship do the two of these have? Simply put, Jesus is the source of light and we as followers are to be the reflection of that light (His glory) here on earth. We are commanded to continue to shine His light until He returns. Our call as Christians is to be the reflection of Jesus wherever we are - in word, in deed, in love and in power. We are to shine for Him, and just as the moon reflects the glory of the sun, we are to shine His glory and not allow that light to be hidden.

Recently, there have been a number of Lunar eclipses that have made the headlines. Facebook posts have been filled with prophetic meanings and signs about the end times. But what if we take a more practical look at this phenomenon and also see a spiritual meaning we can apply to ourselves.

As we know, an eclipse happens when the earth comes between the moon and the sun, therefore the moon is unable to reflect the suns light. The very thing that needs the light is the same thing that blocks it. So the moon can either reflect light or darkness completely or partially depending on how much of the earth is in the way.

The illustration I want to make is this. What happens to the light we are to reflect when we let too much of the world into our lives? Maybe it is lust or greed, or the desire for earthly treasures, selfishness, or even busyness. All these and more can begin to slip between us and our reflection of the Lord and block the light we are to shine to the world around us. It just takes a little sin, a little disobedience to begin to cover our reflection. If we are to let our light shine, then we must remove those things in our lives that hinder us from being a light to the world. How? Through repentance, and by choosing to walk in obedience to God’s word, and also through worship and saying “no” to earthly temptations.

As we begin to push the things of earth aside, more of the light of His glory will shine from us and as the old hymn says:

“and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace.” 

(Turn your eyes upon Jesus, by Helen Howard Lemmel)

So let your light shine!

Questions:

1. How can you let your light shine before other people today?

2. What is the source of the light we are supposed to shine? Are you plugged into that source?

3. What are some of the things in your life that have blocked the light of the Lord from shining brightly through you? How can you remove them? 

Day 22 - Build! - More of Jesus Devotional

Build!

Sandra Dubois

“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27(WEB)

Unless the LORD builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1a (WEB)

My husband and I have remodeled houses, and we talk a lot about our plans. Talking about it is the easy, fun part. It’s exciting to have a vision, then to see it carried out. Oh, yeah. That’s the hard (often really hard!) part. We actually have to do the work. We have to make a plan, and figure out how to do it. This has worked much, much, MUCH better when we seek God in everything! Jesus seems to bless and multiply all that we do, when it’s His idea. Yet, the building itself takes planning, sacrifice, time, and lots and lots of hard work.

We rebuilt our old (1890 old) house that needed everything done. It’s a long story, but it went from being really awful to really good. The awful was when God wasn’t let into the plans enough. The really good was God blessing what He was doing through us. But it was work. We had to build. One time, my husband fell off a ladder, and got hurt. It was stressful. But Jesus was rebuilding our lives as well as our physical house. No matter what the future of our physical house is, our lives are secure, because they’re built on Jesus, our Rock forever. He has built our house, so our labor with Him is not in vain.

Questions:

1) What is Jesus asking you to build?

2) Do you feel secure in your place with Jesus?If not, how do you think you will?