Posted in Bible Journaling, Leadership, Life Inspiration, Prayer

It’s not that He will, It’s that He can!

There it was. Sandwiched in among those stories of multiple miracles, and it just leapt off the page, capturing my attention. Just a few words, but so much wisdom to be found,

Matthew 9:23-26 KJVS

[23] And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, [24] He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. [25] But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. [26] And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

The Music Makers

That’s what captivated my mind. Why were they playing music in the ruler’s house when they’d just announced that his daughter had died? So, my first thought was, “Oh, well that makes sense. Music brings comfort.” But no, that wasn’t it at all! Upon studying it out, I find that the music makers were there to create atmosphere of mourning. What? I doubt they needed help in that respect. They’d just lost a child! 

As it turns out there were people paid to mourn and create a somber, sad ambiance among the people in the home. The minstrels were thought to have used pipes, such as the pan flute that omits a low, mournful tone. Although I downloaded some not so mournful sounds in my research on iTunes. There was to be no less than two musicians, but the richer, or more prominent the person was, the more they had. 

It reminded me of the story of an old friend, whose wife’s family owned a funeral home. The wife of the funeral home director would run in to any funeral, whether she knew them or not and wail and weep over the deceased to makes sure the family got their money’s worth. Merrill used to laugh and tell that story again and again. I enjoyed it every time! But there was nothing amusing about these mourners, they were serious and they wanted to create a serious mood. They for certain didn’t appreciate Happy Jesus coming in and disrupting their depression with sounds of jubilation. 

As I read the phrase “Give place: for the maid is not dead,” I wanted to lift my hands and choo choo around the room. Jesus turned every funeral He attended into a party.  But what about those music makers? Where do they fit in? The same place they do today…

They’re Misery Makers

I know I’m a cockeyed optimist. I always see the glass half full. I want to be like the woman with the issue of blood whose story was also in the miracle sandwich. She believed in the ridiculous. Just a few verses before, it said that she had had that issue of blood for 12 years. Nobody could fix it. But Jesus fixed it with a second of faith!  I’m believing that for the Coronavirus. It inundates my thoughts day and night. I’m concerned for the souls that don’t know my Lord. But I’ll not be a misery maker. I’m not going to tout that this world is doomed. I’m going to speak a message of positivity until the Lord tells me otherwise. Because if Jesus can heal that issue; if Jesus can raise a child from the dead, He can turn this virus around on a dime. The world would have you believe otherwise. Satan loves to encourage hopelessness. He thrives on it. The minstrels job was literally to incite sadness, and I fully believe that’s what the media believes it’s role now is.

They’ll get out their pan flutes and play songs of melancholy to drag us into the pits of despair. If anyone had a reason to join the in the music it was the ruler who had just lost his child. But he did not! He followed Jesus in faith and watched as mourners became scorners. And then glory to God he watched as his little girl awoke and the fame spread throughout the land. She’s alive!!! 

Those misery makers are alive and well today. I hear them on the news, in the grocery store, over the telephone. It doesn’t have to be a funeral. They’ll use any reason discourage the children of God from having hope! I wont’ do it. I believe!

The Miracle Maker

Will Jesus squelch this virus? I don’t know, I’m not God. But I believe when the woman got down on her knees and pressed through the crowd that day, risking being ostracized, risking her very life, she didn’t think He could heal her, she knew He could. She didn’t know that He would, but she knew that He could. 

That’s how I believe when it concerns this virus. I’m not gong to fall victim to the “gloom, despair, and agony on me” song as the HeeHaw gang used to sing. I’m going to wait for Jesus to say as He did to the woman with the issue of blood, “your faith has made you whole.” As He did the rulers daughter, “Arise!” It’s not time to lie down, it’s time to kneel down. 

We don’t know God’s plan. But for certain, we know God ability! Believe church! And pray in faith believing.

Posted in Bible Journaling, Faith, Fear, Life Inspiration, Uncategorized

The God of Miraculosity!

Miraculosity – Ephesians 3:20 thin  king – the Miraculous Generosity of God.

What causes unbelief in a child of God? It’s a question I ponder often. Why is it that at the times we most need faith, there is a greater presence of doubt and fear? Both were overcome at the grave of Jesus Christ when He victoriously arose the third day, and yet they didn’t die because Satan is still around to keep them alive and well. They won’t have eternal life, but they’ve been here since Satan introduced them in the garden of Eden. But moving past “Devil made me do it” phase of our lives we have to take responsibility for much of this one on our own. This is a problem in our “own country.”

Matthew 13 tells the truth of a hometown visit by Jesus with the saddest departure.

Matthew 13

54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

The Entrance

Much like Jesus arrived in His hometown, he arrives in the heart of a child of God. The Holy Spirit is Amazing! It is astonishing when you begin to know and understand things because He reveals them to you from within. I can remember picking up the word of God following my salvation, and scripture that once seemed to be written in Greek were now as plain as the nose on my face. I read and I understood because the Holy Spirit was revealing it to me. It was then that I could not get enough of the Bible. Every day, every spare moment I had that precious book open because He was speaking to me through every word.

God not only revealed the word to me through the Holy Spirit but He sent men and women of God to sew into my life; many of whom did that through not only the testimony of the word but the testimony of their lives. They shared their own miracles with me and I began to see that the Spirit of God was now as He was then. Able. He was able to all that we ask.

Ephesians 3:20

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Not only all that we ask but above all that we ask. How amazing is that! And yet, we don’t believe. Why? It’s not because we don’t have the power to believe because that power works in us. We see that through His word. I believe that unbelief is often a product of our surroundings.

As a new convert in Jesus Christ I was surrounded by people of testimony. For me that made the difference. I had evidence that God was still the Ephesians 3:20 God. Many of those who testified to me have gone home to be with Jesus and I’m seeing less and less of people who share the testimony of great things in Christ Jesus.

The Exam

Once Jesus arrived in His home town the people began to examine who He was. Isn’t his dad a carpenter? Isn’t his momma Mary? Don’t we know His people? How can He be anyone special? To write those words breaks my heart. The exam still continues today when we examine a situation and fail to believe that God will overcome it or that God won’t do that miracle through us because “Am I not just Shari?” Who am I to think that God would do this…? And it’s right there that we’ve resurrected doubt and fear yet again. We’re examining (questioning) the power of God.

The Exit

And so the exit. The saddest of all scriptures.

58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

They missed out on the miracles of God because they couldn’t get past that He was just a carpenter’s son. Those words pierce my soul because I’ve been just “Shari” most of my life. But fortunately interspersed within those “just Shari” years were moment of miraculosity. Yes… I know that’s not a word. But it should be. Because I’ve seen God do some pretty miraculous things with a girl named Shari. And I’ve missed out on some things because I didn’t believe the God inside the Girl would do it.

The testimonies I cut my teeth on as baby Christian are still fueling my soul today, but God didn’t intend for me to live on somebody else’s blessing. He’s given me my own. Where we are in life is “our hometown.” And before we let Jesus exit, we need to tell the people in our world about the great works God has done. Don’t sit on a testimony. I’ve been guilty so many times! What we’re doing is allowing doubt and fear to win out in our young people. They need to hear about the God of Miraculosity! Go and tell someone about the great things He’s done in your life. Tell them about the little things He’s done, they need to hear it all.