"Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness..." ~ II Corinthians 12:8-9 REFERENCE: II Corinthians 12:7-10 Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Grace of God. We often only see Grace as unmerited favor. Still, it is God's help made available to man to fulfill God's work or bear difficult situations without losing enthusiasm or quitting. Despite the 'thorn' that troubled Paul, he did mighty exploits through the sufficient grace of Christ...
"Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" ~ Mark 10:48 REFERENCE Mark 10:46-52 It is easy to become discouraged while pursuing the things you consider important. Pressure is mounting across the world, and some things that were once easy are more complicated today. Times like these push believers to draw strength from the place of prayer. Knowing the power and possibility therein, Satan will attempt to shut you up, but don't keep quiet. Keep on. Bartimaeus was born blind and lived his whole life blind....
“He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, and they inherited the labor of the nations.” ~ Psalm 105:43&44 REFERENCE: Psalm 105:37-45 Israel’s deliverance after 430 years of slavery in Egypt was a great miracle. Imagine being enslaved people for that long; you lose your sense of identity, your self-worth, and the power to dream, and you are reduced to a property, owning no property. However, history says God brought them out with silver and gold and gave them lands. He moved them from captivity to prosperity....
“But Naaman was angry and went away and said, Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and heal the leper.” ~ II Kings 5:11 REFERENCE: II Kings 5:1-15. The pressure in our world today is overbearing; we hear of earthquakes, bomb blasts, financial hardships, and extreme lack. Just today alone, I have watched two videos of people lamenting the present predicament, angry with God, hopeless, and ready to draw the curtains. Well, I will say, “You have...
“And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” ~ Job 1:12 REFERENCE: JOB 1:8-22 Satan is the author of evil; he ruined Job’s estate and killed his children. He wreaked havoc in his life using natural means like wind and fire (lightning). Satan also used human instruments, the Sabeans and Chaldeans, to attack Job’s servants at different times and made off with his livestock. Job’s mistake in all these is that he did...
“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” – Romans 4:20 REFERENCE: Romans 4:16-21 The old song says, “You’ll never get Abraham’s blessing with the Thomas kind of faith. Your mountain will just stand there in the same old place. If you have to see it first, hear it, or touch it, or taste. You’ll never get Abraham’s blessing with the Thomas kind of faith.” Thomas doubted Jesus’ promise to rise from the dead. On the contrary, Abraham did not waver at God’s word. When Abraham was old and...
“To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” ~ Job 6:14 REFERENCE: Job 6:11-15 Nobody wishes to go through afflictions. These include emotional pain, lack, and ill health. Take a look at your network, and you will discover that someone is afflicted by troubles. They may be going through a divorce, job loss, bereavement, physical pain, miscarriage of a pregnancy, or a crucial marital crisis. What God expects is that you show kindness to the afflicted. Sadly, when people are afflicted, the people around them become ‘expert...
“Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” – II Kings 1:2 REFERENCE: II Kings 1:1-4 A man’s house is his castle; you would think he is safe in his house, but no, evil can befall him at home. Ahaziah succeeded his evil father, king Ahab, and continued in his wicked ways, fortified by his mother, Jezebel. Justice knocked him down through the lattice of his upper room. When...
“So, when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” …And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.” ~ Exodus 16:15 REFERENCE: Exodus 16:4-15 When Israel saw the manna, they said, “What is it?” They unwittingly despised the provision God made available to them. It was bread from heaven – angelic food; yet, they said, "What is it?" They were saying, “What is the big deal about this?”, “What is so special about this?” or “What does this mean?” As humans, we are often...
“And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?” ~ Luke 18:7 REFERENCE: Luke 18:1-8 This woman had a peculiar experience with this judge. By his admission, he had no fear of God nor regard for any man. He was a mean judge who was an authority over himself. He was determined to deny this woman justice, but she wore him out (the Greek suggests that she gave him a black eye) by her continual coming and forced him to attend to her matter. Jesus said, if this...