Do you want to be made well?

John 5:6 (ESV)

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”

Jesus asked this man "Do you want to be healed?" Of course he did! Wouldn't you? Why did Jesus ask a question like this when its answer was so clearly obvious? It seems the Lord wanted to hear him verbalize his need.

In the biography of George Mueller, a strong man of God who established orphanages throughout England in the 1800's and raised the kids up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, this amazing Saint relied upon God for every single need that he faced without making any financial appeals. He laid before the Lord every aspect of these orphanages. He prayed for the locations, the buildings, the furniture to fill them, the workers to run them, and everything else he could think of. When the first orphanage was ready, Mueller realized one major thing was lacking -- orphans!! He forgot to ask the Lord to provide the orphans!

Sometimes the obvious things just smack us in the face, don't they, we just forgot to ask!

The Lord is asking us today, "Do you want to be made well?" Whether it be physical healing, spiritual, emotional or financial healing, nothing is too great or too small for our Lord! Perhaps we've just forgotten to ask Him!

Dear Lord, we pray for healing today. Thank You for always being there for us.  Help us not forget to ask You for the healing that we need. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Godly ambition

Jeremiah 45:5  (ESV)

And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

J. Oswald Sanders, a Godly man and former director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship, once wrote about a position he desired. As he contemplated lobbying for the position, at one point, while walking through the city of Auckland, New Zealand, a verse of Scripture came to his mind, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!"

Sanders later said, "The words came just as though it was God speaking. There were crowds all around me, and no one else heard the voice, but I heard it all right!" He went on to say, "I believe that was a real turning point in my service to the Lord." As a result, he never sought the position, but later it was opened for him, in God's timing.

The world's standards of greatness -- money, success, power and fame -- mean nothing to God. If we truly aspire to greatness, we will learn from Jesus' example. He didn't exemplify His greatness by conquest or by riches or worldly success – but rather by humility, gentleness and servant hood.

If we truly want to be great in God's kingdom, we will decide to transform worldly "ambition" into "Godly ambition". We will not seek honor, but humility. We won't desire power to rule, but to become the greatest servant. Beyond everything, we will long to be great in His love…and through His love, influence and transform the world around us. These are "ambitions" worthy of our Lord and Savior, who, because of His great love and humility, was exalted above every other name, and also promised that He will humble the exalted...and, exalt the humble.

Dear Lord, today we pray that we would not have a worldly ambition but instead have a Godly ambition. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Keep digging

Isaiah 58:11 (ESV)

And the Lord will guide you continually

    and satisfy your desire in scorched places

    and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

    like a spring of water,

    whose waters do not fail.

Bill Bright tells an amazing story in his book, "How You Can Be Filled with the Holy Spirit".

During the Great Depression, poverty swept across America like a whirling tornado, ripping up dreams and scattering hopes to the wind. One such poverty twister hit a small part of Texas where a man named Yates ran a sheep ranch. Struggling even to keep food on the table, Yates and his wife did all they could to survive. Finally, they had to accept a government subsidy or lose their home and land to the creditors.

One day, in the midst of this bleakness, a geologic crew from a large oil company came knocking. With Yates' permission, they wanted to drill a wildcat well on his property, promising him a large portion of the profits if they struck oil. "What could I lose?" thought Yates, and he signed the papers.

The oil crew immediately set up the machinery and began drilling. Five hundred feet down, they came up dry. Eight hundred feet, dry. One thousand feet they sunk the shaft, and still no oil. Finally, at a little over eleven hundred feet, they tapped into one of the richest oil reserves in Texas. The hole sprayed its black wealth high into the air, and soon the well was pumping eighty thousand barrels of oil a day. Overnight, Yates and his family became millionaires. His property, once called Yate's Field, became known as Yate's Pool. And soon hundreds of oil wells dotted the land where once only sheep grazed.

Hmm. What if they had stopped at a thousand feet?? I believe that there is a well of blessing within us that is just waiting to be found. And the victory will only come when we dig for it. We need to to press in when the circumstances look their bleakest! We need to believe that the blessing is there for the taking and not stop when we get discouraged and don't see the fruit of our labor! We need to expect great things and rich oil in the Spirit! Because this is what the Lord has for each one of us!

Our breakthrough is just under our feet! Be encouraged! Keep digging! God has so much more for each of us.

Dear Lord, help us not get discouraged but to keep trying so we can meet the potential that You have for each of us. I the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Don’t expect “no obstacles

John 16:33  (ESV)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

In this world we will face all kinds of obstacles, trials and tribulations and we should be wary of any doctrines or teachings that say we shouldn’t have to face these things. Why? Because the Lord said we will have tribulations. So the encouragement He is giving is simply this: You’re going to face trials, but GOD is greater than any problem you will face in this world!

As problems present themselves, we should face them in the power of God and overcome them with Him -– because every problem is an opportunity to exhibit the love and power of God in our lives. And it’s often through these situations that the world gets our true testimony as believers in Him!

So, lift up your head, and don’t expect “no obstacles" in this life. Continue looking up, and be filled with His joy, because the Lord has already overcome this world and our problems, and we will experience that when we simply give them over to Him!

Dear Lord, we praise You that we can face the tribulations along the way because You already conquered them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Step out in faith

Matthew 14:28-31 (ESV)

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water – he literally stepped out of the boat! Imagine that! But was Peter going overboard? No, I don't believe so -- he was literally taking a step of faith with his eyes fixed on the Lord!

Often, when we step out in faith – it may appear that we are going overboard, but are we really? Honestly, the question is -- "Can you really go overboard in your faith toward God?" I don't think so! When our passion is no longer on the Lord, then that's when we're going overboard.

When you love the Lord God with "all your heart, mind and soul"-- it's okay to step out and go all out for God -- because in God, the only way to go overboard is to not go overboard enough!

Dear Lord, help us to step out with You. Help us to love You with all mind and soul. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Wrong number

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

You know how sometimes we get a phone call from someone who didn’t intend to dial us? And what do we usually say? Sorry, you have the wrong number.

Well, here’s a bit of food for thought. What if it’s not the wrong number they just dialed? What if they actually dialed the right number, only they didn’t know it??

God is everywhere and He is in everything. Nothing happens that He didn’t know from the beginning of time. We need to be ready to jump on an opportunity to share His goodness even though in the natural it might seem a little strange -- forget natural! We need to be to share God’s love.

We need to learn to expect the supernatural with the Lord. He doesn’t always work in the way we think He should. Let’s open our minds and our hearts to what He is doing.

Dear Lord, help us to be always ready to share Your love even if it’s a wrong number. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

The real treasure lies

2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

When the apostle Paul compared our lives to clay pots, he focused not on the earthen vessels, but rather the contents of those vessels. Jars of clay deteriorate over time, become chipped, cracked, and eventually broken. However, the real value of those ancient pots was not in the clay containers themselves, but in what they contained.

We human beings tend to focus on the frailties and imperfections of our decaying "vessels", looking, characteristically, on the outward form rather than the substance within. But the inward reality is what matters to God, and ultimately, to us as well, since that reality is His living Presence within us; a treasure of wisdom, power and love with inestimable value.

The Lord's evaluation of us is not by outward appearance, which is corruptible and deteriorates with time. His indwelling Spirit, His Living Word, and the dynamic intimate relationship into which He invites us--- are where the real treasure lies!

Dear Lord, thank You that You look on the inward and not the outward. Help us to keep out livers pure in all that we do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.