Mar 06

Sarah Gave Birth to Isaac

Biblical Women Comments Off

Genesis 21:1-6

 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

The Almighty God is a promise-keeper! If He has promised us something, even though it doesn’t come to pass right away, it sure will come to pass in God’s time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” No man can find out the awesome work God does from the beginning to the end. Look at Genesis 21:1, it starts out saying “And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken”.

Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God spoke to Abraham. The set time is mentioned in Genesis 17:21 where it says, “But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” When Abraham and Sarah had their son they both were well stricken in age. They had no hope in having a child at this age, yet God kept His promise and the promise came through at God’s appointed time. Abraham called his son Isaac just as God said (Genesis 17:19). Abraham kept the covenant between God and himself by circumcising his son Isaac when he was eight days old.

God truly made Sarah to laugh and rejoice just as Mary rejoiced in God her savior (Luke 1:46-47). See how beautifully Lord God blessed Abraham and Sarah in His time! Do you trust the Lord for everything and in everything? His promises to His children are all in the Word of God. If God said He will do it, He will! Put your whole-hearted trust in Him and do not entertain an iota of doubt. If it seems like an aeon has passed by and yet you are waiting on Him to see His promise fulfilled, just rejoice in Him, He will come through!

Next: Jehovah-jireh

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Nov 24

Jairus’ Daughter Raised from the Dead

Women that Received Physical and Spiritual Healing Comments Off

Luke 8:50-56

But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead is recorded twice in the Bible in Mark 5:23-24, 35-43 and Luke 8:41-42, 49-56. This incident is intertwined with the healing of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years. We see in Luke 8:41-42 that Jairus a ruler of the synagogue approached Jesus and fell at His feet. Jairus was not an ordinary man but a ruler of the synagogue and he falling at the feet of the Lord Jesus shows his humility. He besought Lord Jesus to come into his house for his only daughter who was twelve years old was on the verge of death. Here we see a man so desperate and desiring to seek the Lord’s favor falling at the feet of the Lord. Sure enough the Master started out to go to Jairus’ house. Jesus hears our humble requests and understands our desperate state and does respond to our pleas. But as He started out the multitude thronged Him and here is where we see that the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years was healed for she had faith in the Lord. What is interesting is Jairus’ daughter lived happily for twelve years and now was on the deathbed and the woman with the issue of blood suffered for twelve years and desperately desired to be healed. In both cases we see twelve years; in the former twelve years of a happy life and in the latter twelve years of suffering and both sought the Lord earnestly for a miracle after twelve years. While Jesus had a conversation with the woman suffering from the issue of blood to confirm her of her healing, something happened in Jairus’ house.

Luke 8:49 says, “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master”. News arrived from Jairus’ house that his twelve year old daughter was dead. He who besought the Lord for healing of his daughter was informed that his daughter is dead. The men who brought the news also suggested that Jairus need not trouble Lord Jesus. Our petitions are not a trouble to the Master because His power will be manifested in us when in faith we hang on to our petitions which are not asked amiss. Before even Jairus could respond, Jesus responded, “But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.” These words from the Master are simply powerful and they are just what Jairus needed. When Jairus heard the news no mention is made on how he reacted but I can perceive that he was in fear for otherwise the Master would not have said “Fear not: Believe only”. These four words are what we need to rest on when stricken by troubles and struggles that the enemy poses on us. When we believe on the Lord Jesus we shall be made whole. I can imagine the anxiety of a parent when the child was sick and on the deathbed but to keep up the faith even when she is dead is truly difficult. But when it is the Master himself saying that she shall be made whole, there is no reason to fear. We, who are struggling with sickness as I am today, can boldly trust in the words of our Master, “FEAR NOT: BELIEVE ONLY and WE WILL BE MADE WHOLE!”

Luke 8:51 says, “And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.” He entered Jairus’ house with Jairus and his wife and the three of His closest disciples i.e. Peter, James and John. He allowed the ones who would witness a miracle for they trusted Him and the three of His disciples that walked closely with Him. Do you walk so close with the Lord and trust Him so well that He could use you as His closest disciple to perform a mighty miracle? We are all His disciples and followers but are we His closest disciples with whom He can walk over to bring victory over death? The death I am referring to here is the spiritual death that eternally separates us from the love of our Father if we do not trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In other words, do you trust Jesus enough so that He can bring salvation to many souls on this earth and save them from eternal death?

Luke 8:52-53 says, “And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.” One can only imagine the sorrow surrounding a bereaved family. They were weeping and wailing over Jairus’ daughter’s death. But Jesus asked them not to weep for she is not dead, but is sleeping. Their reaction was scornful and suggested that they completely lost hope at this point. They knew and believed she was dead and their scornful laugh reflected that they lacked trust in His words. On the other hand, I Thessalonians 4:13-14 says, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” This clearly states that we are not to be filled with sorrow concerning the death of a beloved like others that have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so also will He bring with Him, those that sleep in Jesus. This should assure us of our reunion with our beloved people. This should be our hope.

The next three verses Luke 8:54-56, speak of the mighty miracle that Jesus performed to demonstrate that He had the power over death. This was demonstrating the resurrection power of Jesus, the power to raise us from the dead when He comes again. He simply called out to Jairus daughter: “Maid, arise”. His word is sufficient to raise us from the dead. And her spirit came back into her, and she arose straightway. Though our mortal body suffers death, our spirit does not. All it takes for Jesus to rise us up again is to command the spirit to unite with the body like He did to Jairus’ daughter. He commanded to give her meat. Her parents were astonished. The parents were not only happy to see their daughter alive but also trusted Jesus and His power to heal and raise the dead. The onlookers who were scornful were probably astonished too. This gave them all an opportunity to witness a miracle so powerful and be ashamed at their distrust. But God’s intention is not that we be ashamed but that of grace. His grace and power are fully to be praised by us for they are simply worthy of our praise and honor. Without His grace and power we are sure to wander and get lost. Trust Him today that He would perform a miracle so powerful and mighty as in the Jairus’ daughter’s life.

 Tomorrow: Jesus Heals Simon Peter’s Mother-in-Law

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Nov 14

The Widow at Zarephath – Part II

Widows in the Bible Comments Off

I Kings 17:7, 22-24

And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

From yesterday’s blog, we see that the widow at Zarephath was blessed by Elijah’s presence with her family during the time of famine. Today we will see what befell her during Elijah’s presence after the famine. The son of this woman fell sick and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him. In other words, her son died due to sickness. He didn’t die due to famine but by sickness. The family was able to get through the famine because the Lord supplied them with enough food to survive. But now, the son died due to some other cause and this is sickness. God brought this sickness for the boy to show the woman His power over death. This is the same power by which the Son of God, Jesus Christ was resurrected from death to life. This demonstrates that when we die the death due to sins, the new resurrected life would be all for God’s glory because Jesus Christ is in us. II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The woman was filled with grief and lost hope after her son’s death. She started retrospecting her own life and wondered if Elijah was there to bring her sins to remembrance and slay her son. “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” In fact, Elijah too was surprised at her son’s death. The Lord God operates in mysterious ways to show how loving and caring He is. He who took care of this woman and her son during the famine, would He let her son die after the famine? Nay, He was going to bring out the wonderful words out of this woman’s mouth; words of praise and words that acknowledge Him as the true God. She was a woman from Zidon and Zidonians had no knowledge of the true God. So God is about to perform a miracle over death because something so mighty can truly convict her and bring her to the knowledge of the true God.

Elijah took the woman’s son from her bosom and carried him to where he abode and laid him on his own bed. Elijah could not see the woman’s grief and now was going to plead His God for her son’s life. Elijah’s words to the Lord were: “O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” He is questioning God if He brought this evil upon the widow with whom he sojourned. God directed Elijah to go and stay with this woman during the famine and she showed him kindness by allowing him to stay in her house all through the famine. Now the death of her son made her wonder if Elijah was with her to slay her son by remembering all her sins.

In the next verse we see that Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD. When Elijah stretched himself on the child three times he breathed over the child the breath of the Lord in Him. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” When God created the first man Adam, He made him out of dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The same breath of God is in you and me. The son who died lacked this breath of God and Elijah breathed over this son the breath of life given to him by God as he stretched over him. Then Elijah cried, “O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” Elijah now lifted up His voice to the only God who has power over death putting all His confidence and trust in Him.

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry and “The soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” I Kings 17:23 says, “And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.” The woman who was wailing and weeping turned to see her son living. Psalmist says in Psalm 30:11, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;” This praise was the woman’s now. The Lord has turned her mourning to dancing and He put off her sackcloths and girded her with gladness. The Lord proved to this woman how magnanimous He is. He took care of this woman and her son during the famine and He now has revived her son from death to life. She can be safe by trusting this God who can walk her through any trial including death. She was able to say to Elijah, “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.” She now can simply trust the words of this man of God for they are TRUE. This is the kind of witness that God expects of us human vessels. He puts us through fire and shapes us and transforms us so our hearts can be lifted up in a wonderful song of praise to Him. Amen!

Tomorrow: Remember Lot’s Wife!

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Nov 03

Innocent Affirmation

Little Servant Girls Comments Off

Acts 12:13-16

“And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.”

In Acts 12, we see how King Herod persecuted James, the brother of John and killed him with a sword. He noticed that this act pleased the Jews and so seized Peter too intending to do the same. The church was fervently praying for Peter. Remember, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much as it says in James 5:16. The night before Peter’s trial, an amazing thing happened. Even though there were sixteen soldiers guarding Peter, and Peter was chained, something miraculous happened. God’s angel came to Peter and his chains fell off and the angel of the Lord walked him out through the prison doors and then through a main gate into the city. Peter came to the realization that he truly was out of the prison and proceeded to Mary (mother of John)’s house.

Peter knocks on the door and a damsel named Rhoda came running to the door and heard Peter’s voice. She recognized his voice and was so excited that she forgot to open the door and instead ran inside the house to give the good news. The people who were fervently praying for an answer did not believe the damsel but said “Thou art mad.” She constantly affirmed that it was Peter. Still they did not believe her but said may be “It is his angel”. Peter continued knocking and they opened the door and saw him just as the damsel mentioned and they were astonished.

Rhoda means “rose”. This damsel was a servant girl in Mary’s house. She had a very little role to play in this house which was frequently visited by early Christians who prayed and gathered for fellowship. She probably joined them in prayers, prepared coffee and tea, and cleaned after them. She must have closely observed the apostles acts and their courage to spread the gospel even when King Herod and the other Jews were persecuting them. In her heart, she must have believed that the Lord God was with them. When James was killed with a sword, she was one of the Christians to suffer the loss. Right now it was Peter’s turn and the next day he was going in for a trial. She joined the Christians who prayed fervently for Peter and apparently they were praying for Peter’s release. In their hearts they were waiting for a miracle but right now Peter was here knocking at their door. Peter must have uttered something and Rhoda heard his voice and recognized immediately. She knew and believed it was Peter. But none gathered in the house believed her. She continued to affirm that it was him.

Rhoda innocently trusted that the Lord has answered their prayer. She just believed that Peter was standing at the door and was too excited to even open the door; instead she began convincing the people inside the house that it was Peter. Hardly did anyone trust these little girl’s words. Many times we don’t pay attention to an innocent voice. Mark 10:14 says “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” We should not forbid the innocent children. In here, I can only imagine how the Christians must have felt after seeing Peter with their own eyes. Yes, the Lord answered their prayers. But were they prepared to receive the Lord’s answer in this simple way? Many times we have a plan how the Lord should answer our prayers like Naaman did. II Kings 5:11 says “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” Naaman was not ready to dip in the river Jordan seven times and be healed of his leprosy. He already had a plan how Elisha should bring healing to him. Lord’s ways are simple, easy and comprehensive!

Do you trust the Lord with a simple and innocent heart? Do you simply believe that the Lord will answer your prayers or do you have a plan how the Lord should answer your prayer? Are you ready to continue with affirmation that the Lord is with you when all around you people do not believe you? A damsel Rhoda was able to say “Yes” to all the questions above. Today it is your turn to say “Yes”. May the Lord help us all to trust Him to answer our prayers His way in His time!

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