Tag: Jacqui Stoner

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NOT ALL ABOUT ME

In 5th grade, during recess, I, a non-athlete, was playing Keep-Away against the boys. Proudly, I grabbed the ball, and in my moment of triumph, I promptly turned around and ran square into the steel volleyball pole. I lost the point, consciousness, and ended up with two black eyes from the impact. When I grabbed the ball, I thought it was all about me, but the next minute I lay in the dirt, totally humiliated.

peter’s shining moment

Mark 8:27-9:1: Disciple Peter thought he won the game. At the beginning of this passage, Jesus asks the Disciples who they think He is. Peter answers Him, “You are the Christ.” Yay Peter! He finally got it right! Honor student! Peter thought he got the win.

total humiliation

Jesus then warns the disciples He would “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Despite Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, Peter refused to associate the prophecies with the Messiah. Jesus responded by rebuking Peter and saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”  Peter thought he knew more than God, but he faced total humiliation.

PETER’S ASSUMPTIONS

Till that rebuke from Jesus, Peter assumed his Messiah would come, conquer the Romans, give all the Disciples thrones, and bring the final touchdown. Jesus popped that balloon by saying, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

DEFINITION OF DENY

“Denying self”? Ray Stedman observes: “The word ‘deny’ means to disavow any connection with something, to state that you are not connected in any way with whatever is in view. It is the word used to describe Peter’s denial of Jesus as he stood in the courtyard of the high priest” (Mark 14:66-72). Peter prioritized self-preservation by denying any association with Christ. Do I prioritize self and disconnect myself from Christ?

LORDSHIP?

If Jesus is my Lord, I cannot consider myself the master of my own life. Peter was initially appalled at the concept of Lordship. Who wants to go on a one-way trip to the cross? But that is the exact route Jesus chose for Himself. In Luke 22:42-43, Jesus was sweating bullets but decided to give up all rights to Himself.

DENYING SELF CAN BE TOUGH

Sometimes, denying self is tougher than other times. Ever been first in the checkout line when someone cuts ahead? If you glare at the offender and tell them what a turkey they are, you are glorifying self instead of Christ. Or what if Church Board member Jerry gets into a screaming match in the parking lot with Elder Mark over the expense of the new church sound system? Are they denying their pride and anger? Maybe volunteer Sarah signs up for the church nursery to help an entire month, but then decides that she really doesn’t want to get up that early on Sunday mornings. At the last minute, Sarah cancels four Sundays in a row. Does Sarah trust God enough to deny herself?

TOOLS FOR LEARNING SELF-DENIAL

Denying self is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We don’t learn this by willpower, as if our will can conquer it on its own. By handing the reins over to the Holy Spirit, we can be empowered to learn to deny self. Dying to self is an absolute surrender to God. Don’t be like Peter and me. We both faced total humiliation when we didn’t learn to surrender.

Click to read an excellent piece on surrender.

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OUR ROUGH TRIP HOME

We were caught in last weekend’s Nor’easter that roared up the seaboard. The storm didn’t take us by surprise, but the floodwaters did. We were supposed to stay in Wildwood Crest, NJ, through Sunday, but we could see the tides growing stronger and the water rising. We prayed before leaving the hotel. Bill and I had no idea how rough the trip home would be.

CLOSED BRIDGES

Three primary drawbridges connect the Wildwoods to the mainland of Cape May County. We pulled out of the hotel, knowing emergency services planned to close down the bridges at 2 PM. Leaving at 10:30 AM, we drove through flooded streets toward the closest bridge. Quickly, we discovered that all the side streets leading to that bridge were closed and underwater. Change of plans. We proceeded very slowly on the central street toward the bridge north of Wildwood. The water grew deeper and deeper.

ONLY ONE DRIVER

One more complication. At this point, I was the only driver. Before we knew we would be leaving that day, Bill took his prescription for his back pain. He is not permitted to drive with that med in his system. Hence, Bill was out of commission.

HIGH STANDING WATER ALL AROUND

At the wheel, all I could envision were those videos of cars unexpectedly floating away in a pool of high standing water. How high does it have to get? For several blocks we followed a vehicle with New York plates. We figured if anyone knew the way out, they would. We knew we were in trouble when even he turned around.

AN ANGEL AT WAWA

What to do? We prayed. In the pouring rain, we found a WaWa open and inundated by customers. In the coffee line, I kept asking, “How can we find a bridge that is still open?” God sent his angel. A dear man replied, “Go over to Pacific Avenue, follow it straight for miles, and it will take you to the Cape May bridge, where you can catch the Coastal Highway.”

COUNTERINTUITIVE DIRECTIONS

It seemed counterintuitive. He was telling me to travel south (further into the storm) to find a bridge that might not be open. Without any other options (my GPS was of no help), we made a right out of the parking lot and followed Pacific Ave. for the next several miles. I began to doubt the man’s directions as I saw many cars approaching us and very few heading the same direction we were.

a bridge in sight

Eventually we drove by the marshland where we saw debris from earlier waters covering the road, but the waters were receding. We didn’t have to drive through flooding as in Wildwood. Then there was the bridge!!!! We crossed and made it to the Coastal Highway and eventually home.

presence of god

God was there with us during our entire trip. He knew about the floodwaters in Wildwood. God sent an angel to stand at the WaWa coffee bar. Even when my GPS kept angrily telling me to turn around, God kept us on the right path. My husband kept praying and encouraging me when all I could envision was our car floating away. We had no idea how rough the trip home would be, but God knew and He cared.

god’s gift

As Paul reminds Timothy, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (II Timothy 1:7). God is the Giver of good gifts regardless of the tide!

Click to read more about the Spirit of Power and Endurance.

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MY BLURRED VISION

Due to my vision impairment, I often can’t see objects right in front of me. It is embarrassing to stumble and fall. The Disciples also tripped a lot, but usually over Jesus’ teachings. Sometimes they asked Jesus what He meant, but if their blurred spiritual vision didn’t welcome it, they ignored or rejected what was right in front of them. Peter envisioned a King who would grant Peter’s wishes, not a crucifixion. He tripped over God’s plan and had the nerve to rebuke Jesus. Can you hear the exasperation in Jesus’s voice when He asked the Disciples, “Don’t you understand yet?” (Mark 8:21) The Word was amongst them, but their spiritual vision was blurred, at best. They tripped all over the place.

SPIT IN THE EYE

To an extent, the Disciples believed Jesus; after all, they kept accompanying Him even when times were tough. In Mark 8:22-26, at Bethsaida, they witnessed the spitting incident. The blind man’s friends brought him to Jesus for a unique encounter. Jesus took the man by the hand, guided him out of the village, where Jesus did the unthinkable. He spit in the man’s eyes. I’ve had friends pray for my deteriorating vision, but no one has offered to spit in my eyes.

NO LONGER BLIND, BUT STILL NOT CLEAR

A fog still obscured the blind man’s physical vision. The small group witnessing this were the Disciples, the same group whose spiritual vision was blurred, at best. Some call this a parable/miracle; a miracle which also illustrates a biblical truth. In step two of the miracle, the formerly blind man’s vision was fuzzy. Just as fuzzy as the Disciples’ spiritual vision.

BLURRY NOT GOOD ENOUGH


The Disciples often saw only what they wanted to see. They rarely let Jesus be their spiritual lens. Jesus refused to stop there. Remember the blind man? The man first admitted he was blind and then confessed (after the spit) that his sight wasn’t clear. He didn’t say, “You know what, blurry is good enough.”  Jesus was not satisfied with semi-healed, blurred vision. The same applied to the Disciples’ blurred spiritual vision.

TIME FOR CONFESSION

As a believer, how often do I honestly confess before both God and men that my spiritual vision is fuzzy? I desperately need my eyes opened by the Holy Spirit, but I don’t admit my need. I may show up and do all kinds of religious activities, but lack honesty in asking for a consuming thirst to know God. My prayers dry up, and my vision remains blurred. Is this your current condition?

SYMPTOMS OF LACK OF CLARITY

“Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.” That’s what Jesus wanted for the man and for us: complete clarity in vision. The Disciples, along with us, suffered “Spiritual Dry Eye Syndrome”. Symptoms are: a dry prayer life, spiritual apathy, lack of meditation in the Word, confusion regarding God’s Word, and lack of concern for others and those who don’t know Christ. It can be healed. God wants to purify and renew our spiritual vision. Don’t settle for less. Run to Him!

For further encouragement, click to read Calvary Hanford’s thoughts on this passage.

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LAND OF DOUBT

I’m preparing to lead two different classes. Under pressure, I have a recurring nightmare and wake up in a sweat. In the dream, my classroom is not stocked, the students are wildly out of control, and I have forgotten to bring any of my teaching materials. Even though God has repeatedly supplied over the years in countless high-pressure situations, I still experience an undercurrent of doubt whenever I face a new project. In my recurring nightmare in the Land of Doubt, I forget Who God is.

SPIRITUAL AMNESIA

In Mark 8:1-21, the Disciples also experienced spiritual amnesia. The clock is ticking, and the crucifixion is less than a year away. Jesus leads the 12 into the territory of their enemies: the Gentiles. The Gentile mother’s daughter is healed, and Jesus provides a miracle meal for over 4,000 Gentiles. The leftovers from feeding of the 5,000 were 12 small baskets, but the leftovers from the 4,000 are 7 large hampers. Jesus is preparing the Disciples for the Great Commission: to go outside of Judea and to the ends of the earth. Their faith must stretch, but the 12 often dwell in the shadow of the Land of Doubt.

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FAITH

Mark’s record reveals different levels of faith. The Gentile woman shines. The Disciples’ faith appears jumbled, often responding in confusion. At the bottom of the pile are the Pharisees. They track Jesus down, choose to ignore all His past miracles, and demand an astral miracle. Remember the story of Pharaoh? God kept piling up the plagues and the miracles, and Pharaoh’s heart grew harder. The Pharisees’ hearts are rock hard. John MacArthur writes, “When confronted by the light, they ran deeper into the shrouded gloom of their self-righteous traditions.” Most of the Pharisees lived in total darkness, well beyond the land of doubt.

MUDDLED FAITH

Have you ever experienced confusion in your faith? Do you think that clarity relies on you and your own abilities rather than the God Who hung the stars in place? In the boat, the disciples sat with the One Who had just fed 4,000 Gentile men. However, “they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.” They are next to the One Who supplied manna for forty years to the Israelites, but their faith is muddled because of the state of their bellies. The last thing they had to worry about was food, yet doubt came to play.

Can you hear Jesus sigh? “He directed nine rapid questions to them. The first five reproved them for their obtuseness. The last four rebuked them for worrying about the supply of their needs as long as He was with them. Had He not fed 4,000 with 7 loaves, leaving 7 hampers full over? Yes, He had. Then why did they not understand that He was abundantly able to supply the needs of a handful of disciples in a boat? Didn’t they realize that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe was in the boat with them?” (Believer’s Bible Commentaryby William MacDonald).

WHO IS IN THE BOAT?

Thank God, the Sustainer of the universe is in the boat with me as I commence to teach my new classes. I work to prepare, but the ultimate conditions and results are all in His hands. Continually, I ask God to remind me Who He is and all the paths He has led me through.

Do you remember Who God is when you face your worst nightmare? Remember, He is in the boat with you. God never turns down the prayer of one who honestly prays, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

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DEALING WITH DOUBT

You’re driving down the highway, and you come to a stop sign. You stop. You look both ways before proceeding. No one is coming to the left. You look to the right, and you see another car in the distance approaching at a very fast pace. So, you hesitate, remembering the lady who pulled out a few weeks ago when she thought the oncoming car wasn’t going that fast. She misjudged the other driver’s speed, and it didn’t end well. Well, you begin to doubt yourself about your decisions on the road. When is the right time to pull out? Am I a safe driver? We all deal with doubt; it’s just that some decisions are more serious than others!

FACING FIRST DOUBTS

People will accept the fact that you may doubt your driving ability, but when it comes to questioning the truths of Christianity, that is a whole other story. This is especially a problem for young people who head off to college. For the first time, they face professors and other students who question them about Jesus and what He said and practiced. Then come the questions regarding why so many people suffer in this world if God is all-powerful and loving.

FACING DOUBT IS UNIVERSAL

Doubts do not end with college students trying to find their way. Questions continue with those of us who are older and more mature. Even the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, had his moment of doubt when he said: “The thought crossed my mind -which I abhorred but could not conquer- that there was no God, no Christ, no heaven, no hell, that all my prayers were but a farce, and that I might as well have whistled to the winds or spoken to the howling waves.” Spurgeon struggled with deep depression and illness most of his life.

CONFRONTING DOUBT HONESTLY

There are different kinds of doubt. Each must be confronted and dealt with in order for a believer to have a strong faith. A promise is linked with allowing one’s faith to grow. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to the mountain, ‘ Go, throw yourself into the sea and it will be done’” (Matthew 21:21). Isn’t that a wonderful reason to honestly confront doubt and allow your faith to grow?

DIFFERENT ANGLES OF DOUBT

Strong faith is produced by strong devotion to the word of God. Doubt comes at us from many different angles. It can come from unanswered questions that linger in our minds. Sometimes it arrives from immoral behavior that people engage in. Times of suffering can bring doubt to the forefront where it lingers.

DOUBT AND THE HOSPITAL ROOM

I personally experienced doubts while spending an extended time in the hospital. My doubts bubbled to the surface, and I began to question the power of God. Why wasn’t He helping me? Why wasn’t He demonstrating His ability to remedy the problem? Was everything I believed about the character of God a lie? Doubt threw my soul into turmoil.

GOD LOVES HONESTY

What was the remedy? I began to pray and remind myself of the wonderful Truth I studied and preached for most of my life. The Holy Spirit reminded me Who God is and that He is Sovereign, regardless of the circumstances and the conflicting diagnoses from the doctors. My faith was weak and I prayed, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). God loves honesty.

HELP FOR DOUBT

What do you do with doubt? As complicated as the answer to that question is, let me just say……Stay in the Word! Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes. The more you fill your life with biblical truths, the weaker the strongholds of doubt will grow. Be honest with God and talk to Him directly about your doubt. He is faithful and will answer.

In the meantime, look both ways before pulling out in traffic!

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DON’T PUT DEPENDENCE IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR

Read: Mark 7:24-37

“Sharon” is a new mother. At the end of our conversation, I asked how I could pray for her. Thus began her list: “I try to pray and don’t pray enough. I try to read my Bible and can’t concentrate enough. When it comes to service, I don’t serve God enough. I try to attend every church service, but don’t try hard enough.” And the inventory went on and on. I asked, “Sharon, do you realize how many times you have used the word ‘try’ and mentioned your set of rules? The Pharisees were experts regarding bad behaviors and rule-breaking. What about God’s forgiveness and grace (especially with a new baby in the house)?” All Sharon could see was that she broke the rules and didn’t have the strength to obey. In her rearview mirror was God’s grace and forgiveness. In her desire to obey, she forgot that dependence on God is essential.

HOW FAR DO GOD’S GRACE AND FORGIVENESS EXTEND?

How far do God’s grace and forgiveness extend? Jesus made travel plans to the geographical area chock-full of Gentiles considered beyond the grace of God. Jewish tradition taught that a faithful Jew would have nothing to do with Gentiles and would never enter a Gentile’s house. In Mark 7, Jesus walks to the Gentile region of Tyre. A multitude chock-full of Gentiles tracks Him down. Among the crowd is a lone woman desperately concerned for her demon-possessed daughter, and willing to lay everything down at Jesus’ feet. How far will God’s grace and forgiveness extend?

PRIDE ABANDONED

The woman abandons her pride. She lives in a culture steeped in idolatry, but somehow she has heard about Jesus. There is no reason why He should ever hear her plea. She has nothing to offer Him. However, she does not relent in begging Jesus for help. To our Western ears, you wonder where this story is going. Jesus reminds the woman that the children (the Jewish people) get priority over the dogs (Gentiles like her). At that time, His duty was to the people of Israel, not to the Gentiles (Matthew 15:24). Taking His attention from Israel, in violation of His mission, would be like a father taking food from his children to throw it to their dogs (Matthew 15:26). But in the original language, Jesus did not use the word for mongrels. Jesus softened it into “little dogs” (house pets, rather than wild street dogs). This foretells the expansion to the Gentiles being grafted into the Kingdom of God.

FAITH COUPLED WITH HUMILITY

The woman responds with great faith. She accepts her low place before Jesus and doesn’t argue about the reference to dogs. She asks Jesus to deal with her on her own low level: “Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Her humble, faith-filled submission to Jesus brings the victory: healing for her daughter. Nothing appealed to Christ more than faith coupled with humility. Remember, in the previous chapter, Jesus dealt with the religious leaders blinded by pride. They didn’t think they needed God’s grace. Their faith and strength were in themselves, their rules, and their family connections, rather than submission and dependence on God.

FAITH IS NOTHING MORE THAN DEPENDENCE

“Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly” (Matthew 15:28). Megan Fate Marshman writes, “When you boil it down to its essence, faith is nothing more than dependence. It is acknowledging that God is God and we are not, and that we need Him for absolutely everything. It is relying on God for what we are tempted to rely on ourselves for.”

DEPENDENCE FOR MORE THAN JUST SALVATION

To all of us Sharons, God is more than enough to depend on minute by minute, regardless of what stage of life we are in. Depend on the Holy Spirit for every breath, not just salvation.   

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TRUSTING IN THE LITTLE THINGS

I have glaucoma, which puts pressure on my optic nerve. As a result, seeing in unlit places is a trial, even on my best days. Small things can be challenging. When I look into my dark closet, I often must find my garments by touch rather than sight. Looking for small items is even more of a trial. Often, I talk with God about the things I cannot see because I feel blind as a bat. I choose to trust His eyes.

I wear a toe separator daily, a small piece of plastic that is vital to me. It keeps my big toe from smashing my other toes. Without the separator, walking is highly uncomfortable. This morning I lost my toe separator. Alas, Bill, my other set of eyes, wasn’t home. He is good at finding the small things I lose in dark places. After searching futilely, I prayed and left my problem in God’s hands. God saw what was lost.

THE MIRACLE OF THE TOE SEPARATOR

God cares even about the little things. Within the hour, I pulled a load of wash out of the dryer. Reaching in the back of the dryer, I pulled on something that was definitely not clothing. I opened my hand, and there was the toe separator. Last place on earth I would have ever looked, but God knew where it was. When I am blind, God sees.

GOD CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS

God cares about the little things and the big things of life. Even a toe separator matters to Him. I leave my eye condition to God as it ebbs and flows. He cares about every detail of life.

ACTIVELY TRUSTING IN EVERYTHING

Do you actively trust God with both the great and small things of your life? Choosing to know God better and discovering He is trustworthy is a choice worth pursuing. He cares about all of you, even if it is just a lost toe separator.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121)

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WHAT KIND OF GOD DO YOU BELIEVE?

Read: Mark 7:1-23 (NLT) (ESV)

Mama sat through church (she never missed a service). On the way home, she complained about the preacher’s sermon, the family with the noisy kids, and the choir director’s lack of skill. Over Sunday dinner, Mama bowed and prayed. Daughter Sally had watched Mama that entire morning. As they passed the food, little Sally piped up, asking, “Mama, did God hear you when we left church, and you were angry about the sermon, the family, and the choir?” Mama’s face turned a little red as she said, “Yes, Sally, God heard me.” “Well, Mama, did God hear you when you prayed for the food right now?” Mama said, “Well, yes, Sally, He…He…He heard me.” Sally asked, “Mama, what does God think?” What kind of God did Mama believe?

What kind of God did the Pharisees believe? The Pharisees strictly followed the Talmud (also called the Oral Torah). They thought it offended God more to teach anything contrary to their oral traditions than to contradict Scripture itself. In horror, they saw Jesus’ disciples eating with hands not first ceremonially cleaned. The Pharisees proudly had a hand-washing prayer: “Blessed be Thou, O Lord, King of the universe, who sanctified us by the laws and commanded us to wash the hands.”

DID GOD REALLY CARE HOW THEY WASHED THEIR HANDS?

Did God sanctify them because they followed the Talmud? Was God more concerned with washing hands while Israel died spiritually? The Pharisees believed in a transactional God. The premise being: I follow our rules, and God will bless me.” Sadly, the Pharisees couldn’t personally obey the 600+ laws they lay on the people. Jesus commented on the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. They “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” (Matthew 23:4). The Pharisees didn’t know the holy God they were to love more than life itself.

WORSHIP THAT’S A FARCE

Their attitude highly offended Jesus. It’s ironic that Pilate ceremonially washed his hands before he handed Jesus over to be crucified. Jesus quoted Isaiah, “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

NICE OUTSIDE BUT ROTTEN INSIDE

Outward appearance was everything to the Pharisees. Jesus summed up their inner heart condition: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Tragically, the Pharisees thought their sins were hidden from God.

Is your heart like Mama’s? Like the Pharisees? Are you a religious person, one who looks nice and healthy on the outside, but your inner world is quite different? How about a test? How did your heart respond this past week, if and when you saw the thousands who lost their lives in the flooding in Nepal and Tibet? Did you get on your knees and pray for a nation where believers are few and far between? Did you care? Mama wouldn’t. The Pharisees wouldn’t.  Neither of them believed in the God Who can change one from the inside out. What kind of God do you trust in?

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power of the king

I remember being at summer camp. I decided to go swimming, not realizing you were supposed to know HOW to swim before you got into the water. To this day, it is still a struggle for me to even float on water. How in the world did Jesus walk on water? That shocked a lot of people. People who heard about it and the disciples who saw it firsthand! Everyone was impressed. But why did Jesus decide to go walking on water, especially during a storm? To show them the power of the King.

THEY FORGOT HIS POWER

Jesus wanted to give them relief from the wind: “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them” (Mark 6:45-52). Jesus decided to walk out and tell the wind to “knock it off”. And of course, the wind listened to Him. The Disciples were amazed, but should they have been? Just a few pages back in Mark 4:41, Jesus calmed the wind. Guess the reaction of the disciples: “Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” How quickly they forgot the power of the King!

BLIND TO HIS POWER

This wasn’t the only reason for Jesus’ surprise performance. Recently, He demonstrated His power: He calmed the wind and the waves, fed at least 5000 people on a hillside without a Wawa in sight, and walked on water with such ease as if He were the Great Wallenda.  Did the Disciples get the message? Apparently not, as we read in Mark 6:52: “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened”. The power of God is revealed through Jesus Christ and in ways unheard of! But what about our day? Do we still see the power of the King alive, active and working?

MEANING OF POWER OF THE KING

So, what do we mean by “the power of the King”? Do we mean authority? How much authority does King Jesus have over our lives? Does the King’s power cover everyone within the Kingdom? Does His power mean He can feed thousands with a few fish and some bread, or He can strut across the lake without a boat in sight? It does. Even though these activities are within His power, there is so much more! Acts 1:8 promises: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in all Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus told the disciples that they would do even greater things than what He did! (Imagine that!)

MIRACLE OF A PRODIGAL

I watched an Elder-Led prayer meeting at a Florida church the other night. At the end of the evening, an Elder by the name of Dan Buckles shared his personal story. Dan discovered he had a son he was unaware of for 20-some years. After some time, he had the opportunity to meet Kristian, his son. Dan tried to build a relationship with him. However, Kristian’s health gravely deteriorated. Dan flew to the hospital to share the Gospel with his son. That night, Kristian rejected the message of salvation. Dan would not be deterred, so he went back the next day and presented the gospel to him one more time. Father Dan told his son he didn’t have much time to spend with him in this life and wanted to spend eternity with him. Kristian responded and gave his life to Christ! During the last hour of his life on this earth, Dan had the privilege of baptizing Kristian in the hospital room, and Kristian lived as a new creation in Christ. That is the power of the King!

WE CAN LIVE WITH HIS POWER

You and I can do great things through Christ if we solely allow God the Holy Spirit to be our strength. We can live with the power of the King!

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MY ANXIOUS LIFE

Ever since Bill’s illness made landfall in November 2026, I’ve battled a lot of anxiety. Right now, he has stayed out of the hospital since the end of May; however, nothing is guaranteed. Every day, my dear husband has a ritual. He records his weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood oxygen. All are indicators of whether his meds are still assisting his kidneys and heart to work together. It’s an extremely delicate balance. There is a lot to get anxious about.

TRIGGERS FOR ANXIETY

Every morning I get up and look at the numbers Bill has already recorded. Bad numbers usually trigger my anxiety. A wall of fear rises when his numbers go up. Instantly, I go through a checklist of everything he has eaten in the past day. Too much salt? Too little exercise? Forgot to take his meds? Am I panicking, or should I take him back to the ER?

BEST THINGS TO DO

Not a healthy initial response. I say I believe God, but I mentally go everywhere else first. Not good! Very slowly I am learning that when the tides of fear and anxiety flood my mind, the best thing I can do is:

  • Slow down
  • Examine the influx of emotions
  • Figure out what exactly I’m afraid of
  • Seriously think through what my response says about Who God is in my life.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Do I trust that I can be broken and honest before Him?

Is He really my Father, the one who has patience with my waywardness?

Does He totally care regarding all our messy details?

BRINGING MY WILL TO HIS

What do my prayers say about my honest beliefs about God and His character? I love the Puritan prayer: “Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to Yours, and that without this it is folly to pray” (Valley of Vision). I’ve prayed many prayers full of folly. This is not what God wants.

CANNOT ACCOMPLISH IT ON MY OWN

My new approach may seem counterintuitive, but I am slowly learning it is healthier. I cannot accomplish a trusting relationship by trying to be better, do better, or live better. Christ’s work on the cross solely saved me, and only Christ can keep me. My job is to keep bringing everything to Him and letting Him work on my stubborn, anxious heart.

ABBA FATHER!

For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God. And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory” (Romans 8:14-17)

WHAT TO DO FIRST

He has it covered, even when I don’t know how to pray. My job is to bring it to Him FIRST! Let God carry it all, even my anxiety.

Great reading: “Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing” by Megan Fate Marshman

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