Mark 5:30

At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my robes?”

When a woman with an issue of blood for 12 years had spent all her money on doctors who could not help her, she was without hope of living a normal life within her community. As an “unclean” woman, she would have to separate herself from family and friends and announce herself as “unclean” while in public. Having heard about Jesus and His healing power gave her new hope, but with a large crowd around Him, how could she ever get His attention to meet her need? If she approached the crowd yelling, “Unclean!” she would surely be shunned and made to leave.

The woman had enough faith to know her healing was possible, but to connect with Jesus required effort. If she could just touch the hem of His garment, which was what we may know as a prayer shawl, she knew she could be healed. She believed His prayers had enough power to heal her. She was desperate enough to fight the crowd. After all, He was her only hope. She had to try.

Once she reached Him and was able to touch Him, she knew she was healed, but she was not the only one who knew. Jesus felt the power leave from Him, and He turned around to look for her. Her faith had commanded power from Him. Jesus wanted to see who had such great faith because He lived among a people who had little faith.

Our faith has the ability to command power from Jesus. He sits today at the right hand of the Father, where He intercedes for us. We can still trust the prayers He prays for us. When a miracle is our only hope, we must stretch with our faith to connect with Jesus.

Connecting with Jesus to meet our own needs may require effort to fight the crowd, as well. Work and family demands, entertainment, sports, politics, fear, intimidation, doubt are all things that can captivate our attention and crowd our lives while Jesus is right there waiting for us to connect with Him. When our need is so great that these things become secondary to us, we are able to start pressing through the crowd to reach Jesus. He must become our priority, and reaching Him must be our goal above all else.

There is hope for your need today in Jesus. What crowd is blocking you? Dare to fight it and connect with Jesus. Your faith can command the miracle you need.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 65:23

They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, along with their descendants.

Every parent worries over their children. When a child strays from the LORD and from a Christian upbringing, it can be extremely painful for the Christian parent to watch or endure. While parents should certainly pray for their children to return to the LORD, they cannot have faith for their children. Each person must have his/her own faith relationship with God for that faith to be authentic.

Having prayed for several years for a prodigal, I’ve come to see that a straying or rebellious child may be the first sign that God is working to make that faith authentic. In questioning one’s own belief system a person comes to know what he/she truly believes. The search that ensues will verify truth and expose lies over time. Our God is eternal and does not change. His word is truth and does not lie. What is eternal will stand, and what is temporary will fade.

This verse is a promise for parents or loved ones who have a prodigal. Your labor as a parent is not in vain. God has declared your labor a success. Your children are not destined for disaster. Because of your own faith in Jesus Christ, you and your descendants are a people blessed by the LORD. Trust Him to honor your faith, create new faith in your child, and to bless you!

Take some time today to pray for any prodigals you may have in your own family or among close friends. Ask God to meet them where they are and to reveal Himself to them in a way that encourages real faith. Decree this verse over them. God has destined them as a part of His kingdom and not for disaster. He is still bringing prodigals home and working miracles every day!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 42:13

The LORD advances like a warrior; He stirs up His zeal like a soldier. He shouts, He roars aloud, He prevails over His enemies.

While our favorite impression of God may be that of a loving Father, we need not forget that

He is also a mighty warrior – a champion for His people. His compassion for His people should never be misunderstood as weakness. On the contrary, it stirs His zeal for their protection.

The enemies of God’s people are also His enemies, and they will not ultimately prevail. In fact, He promises us that no weapon formed against us will prosper, and He has the last word on the matter.

In the story of Elijah the prophet we see that God spoke to him in a still small voice while a storm and an earthquake raged around him. God was not in the noise but in the whisper that gently spoke just to him. God does not speak to His enemies in the same manner. This verse tells us He shouts and He roars. He releases His strength and His rage as He advances in battle against them.

We have enemies today that seek to silence our voices, challenge our biblical beliefs, change the definition of morality, restrict our freedom, sexualize our children, oppress us economically, and take away God-given rights. While they may seem powerful in their endeavors, they are no match for God Almighty! He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church, and we can expect Him to act upon our cries to Him. He has also promised that when the enemy comes in like a flood, He will raise up a standard against him. In other words, He will go to battle against the enemy. I sense a spiritual war arising where God will advance like a warrior, and He won’t be quiet about it, either! He always prevails over His enemies!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 141:8-10

But my eyes look to You, Lord GOD. I seek refuge in You; do not let me die. Protect me from the trap they have set for me, and from the snares of evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass safely by.

In times of trouble we are wise to seek God as a refuge. He is certainly an ever present help in times of trouble, and He expects us to call upon Him. By doing so, we acknowledge His strength and our weakness, thereby, surrendering our pride to Him.

God has a way of making evildoers fall into their own traps. In the book of Esther we find the wicked Haman, who influenced the king to designate a day when the people of Persia could kill the Jews. Haman then proceeded to build a gallows upon which to hang Mordecai, Esther’s uncle. The evil plot foiled, however, when Esther appealed to the king for her own life and the life of her people. Haman was then hung upon the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.

Never underestimate your humble appeals to God! He can make the enemy fall into his own trap he built for you, and cause you to pass safely through your situation unharmed. God is for you and not against you! He has promised that no weapon formed against you will proper. Claim these promises in prayer today as you make God your refuge, and watch how He deals with the enemy on your behalf. He will trip the trap set for you!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 147:14

He endows your territory with prosperity; He satisfies you with the finest wheat.

We must remember that God is our source of prosperity. Regardless of where we are economically, it is the LORD who prospers His people. Therefore, in a time of economic downturn, it is important we turn to Him. He has the power to override and derail any assignment of the enemy to diminish us in any way.

Joseph prospered while in slavery. In fact, Potiphar trusted him with his whole household because he saw the blessing of God upon him. Later after Potiphar threw him into prison when his wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her, Joseph found God’s favor in prison. God can and will prosper His people during adverse circumstances.

God’s plan for us, however, is never to leave us in adversity. God had a greater plan for Joseph as second in command to Pharaoh. He simply used Joseph’s adversity to lead him to a place of authority. He will also use our adversity to position us for His purpose. He intends to satisfy us with the finest of wheat, meaning that His plans for us are good.

Turn to God and not to the government during adverse times. He has the power to prosper you and lead you to a place of purpose, where His kingdom will be advanced. His plans for you are still good. He is still God. You can still trust Him.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 74:12

God my king is from ancient times, performing saving acts on the earth.

In these days in which we live we must remember two important facts from this verse:

1. God is still king.
2. God still performs saving acts on the earth.

Notice how the psalmist refers to God as his king. Is He your king? When we submit a matter to God our king, we are submitting it to the one supreme authority who really can meet our need. He’s been in the business of answering prayer and intervening with saving acts upon the earth for a very long time, and I see no evidence He has stopped. True submission of the matter, however, requires we let go of the outcome and trust His authority to answer. He who has the authority also has the responsibility. Our submission makes God responsible for the outcome, and our trust is revealed in the wait.

Spend some time today in reverence to God your king. Acknowledge His majesty, and recall His faithfulness. Your primary purpose is to worship Him, and you will find fulfillment when you exercise your worship. His love for you has never changed, and He will perform saving acts on the earth for His people. That’s just who He is!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 53:4-5

Will evildoers never understand? They consume My people as they consume bread; they do not call on God. Then they will be filled with terror – terror like no other – because God will scatter the bones of those who besiege you. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Those who consume God’s people are called evildoers in this passage. God does not take likely those who despitefully use His people for their own gain or personal agendas. When His people cry out to Him under such oppression, He intervenes on their behalf, causing terror like no other upon the oppressors.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we battle not against flesh and blood but against powers, principalities, and rulers of the air. When we feel consumed or oppressed, it is often a spiritual battle. Our greatest weapons in spiritual warfare are prayer and praise. Cry out to God, and remind Him of His promise to fill the evildoers with terror like no other and to scatter them. Claim your victory in the name of Jesus. God has already rejected evil spirits and has cast them out of heaven. Pray that your situation may be on earth as it is in heaven, where no demonic forces exist.

Remember, too, that the enemy will try to convince you that your oppressed state is judgment from God because He has rejected you for some reason. The devil is a liar! God has not rejected you; He has rejected the devil and his angels. Resist such lies, and he will have to flee from you. Dare to ask God to prosper and restore you. God will put the enemy to shame and give you victory in the name of Jesus, who has already paid the price for your sin. Your enemy is no match for the God who claims you as His own!

Haggai 2:19

Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have no yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.

When Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians, he freed the captives and allowed them to return to their homelands. This included Jews who returned to Jerusalem, who built an altar on the temple site and resumed their worship through sacrificial offerings to the LORD. Instead of building a temple for proper worship, however, they began to create a new life for themselves by building nice homes while the temple site lay in ruins. God had freed them so they could establish true worship again, but they made their own houses a priority over His.

God spoke through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah that he had prevented them from prospering in their homeland because they had neglected His house. Zerubbabel rallied the people, and they set out to rebuild the temple of the LORD. From the moment they decided to honor God, He promised to bless them.

Our worship must be a priority. God speaks to us and guides us through our worship. As Jesus instructed His disciples, when we seek Him first, all these things  – homes, food, clothing, daily necessities – will be added to us. When we determine to put God first and seek Him, He will bless us. He is with us in our endeavors to serve and honor Him.

We live in a time of great economic uncertainty where the cost of living is increasing daily and no relief in sight. Savings accounts and nest eggs are rapidly diminishing, and many are battling a decision of whether to eat or keep warm this winter. We are definitely not living in a season of God’s blessing economically, so we must seek Him first to find answers. While we may be tempted to make ourselves a priority, now is the time to make worship a priority. Just as God was trying to get the attention of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity by preventing them from prospering, He is now calling us to true worship. Now, more than ever, is the time to get serious about building the house of God and making His house greater than our own. When we turn and begin to build His house, He will bless us going forward.

The government is not our answer. God is. When we make our worship a priority, He will begin to bless us in the midst of economic downturn. Let’s determine to build God’s house today. He also promised that the glory of the later house would be greater than the first. I’m ready to see the later glory arise, and I hope you are, too.

Have a blessed day!

Daniel 10:11a

He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God…”

The context in which this verse was written is so very important because it compares with many of our circumstances today. Daniel had received a vision and was seeking God for understanding of the vision. He had prayed and fasted for an answer but had received nothing. Had God abandoned him? Was he on his own to figure things out? Was God angry with him, or did He just not care to answer?

Often when we don’t receive immediate answers to prayers that seemingly need immediate answers, we ask such questions of ourselves. The enemy will even try to convince you that God doesn’t care or that He is displeased or disappointed with you and you should be able to figure things out on your own. God had an answer for Daniel, and He has one for you, as well.

Daniel’s answer came through the form of the Angel Gabriel, who is one of the Archangels. This could only mean that the answer was very important, and God assured the delivery through a messenger who was highly qualified and equipped to bring it. Gabriel had encountered fierce spiritual warfare and was delayed by the Prince of Persia, who did not want the answer delivered to Daniel. Daniel’s diligence in prayer and fasting had brought the help of Michael the Archangel to help Gabriel in the fight so he could make his way to Daniel. The prayers were not denied but only delayed.

God cares deeply about our prayers, and when the answer is extremely important to the advancement of the kingdom of God, those answers may encounter spiritual warfare. Don’t give up on God. Delay does not mean denial. Gabriel’s first words to Daniel are a comfort to us – “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God…” You, dear sister, are a woman treasured by God, and He has an answer for you. He has not forgotten you. Be diligent in prayer and fasting, and look with expectation for His answer to you.

Let us remember, too, the words of James 5:16:

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The urgent request of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

You matter. Your prayers matter. You are treasured by God.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 9:9-10

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek you, LORD.

We live in a day of economic woes, the threat of nuclear war, invasion at our southern border, and rampant crime in our cities. While we may feel overwhelmed and helpless, we are not without hope. We must remember that God has not abandoned us. He is our refuge during these scary and uncertain times.

When things go wrong, we often turn to the government for help. We look for some new law or some federal aid to help rectify the problem. Governmental policies, however, have created our current stress. While we should be aware of political agendas and vote according to our conscience and biblical convictions, the government is not our answer because it cannot be trusted to do what only God can do.

God promised He would never abandon us, and we can count on Him to abide by His word. He is there for us if we will only seek Him and intercede for this nation. Turn off the news and tune into God’s word today. Seek Him like never before, and wait to hear from Him. He is still in control and can turn the tide in an instant, but He responds to faith. Make Him your refuge, and praise Him for the blessings you already have. Prayer and praise are two of the mightiest weapons in spiritual warfare. When we use them, we exercise our faith that God is greater than our enemy. Expect Him to counter.

Have a blessed day!