Today’s Reading: Genesis 9; Genesis 10; Genesis 11; Luke 4
Scripture: Luke 4:36-37
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37 And the news about him spread...
Observation: Wow! A religious leader who can actually make something happen in the spiritual realm! Now this is a real oddity. In Jesus' day, people had become used to spiritual and religious babblers -- spiritual teachers and religious leaders who had no real power. They could talk your brain numb, but they could produce no substantive result.
Application: I think people today are just the same: Low expectations of today's spiritual leaders. That's because the condition of the "religious community" is about the same. I certainly believe it is true of the Christian community. We can talk, but I don't know too many people who are actually taking on Satan. Precious few are casting out demons, or raising the dead, or the like.
So Jesus came along and had real power and actually did real miracles. And people were astonished. But Jesus is the same today. And if we are empowered by the same Spirit that compelled Jesus and if we are led by the same Father that led Jesus, than we should be able to see achieve of the same kind of attention-getting spiritual works today.
Why don't we? Probably because we don't pray enough. Jesus constantly was in prayer contact with His Father, and He spent long, significant times in earnest prayer. In contrast, most of us shoot up bullet point prayers to God and if we were to "travail" for even an hour, we would feel as if we had accomplished something amazing.
Well I do want to accomplish something amazing. But do I want it enough to pay the price to make it happen, as Jesus did? Are you? Time will tell.
Prayer: Father, help me to develop whatever I need to develop to be willing, ready, and able to pay the price to gain the spiritual power to see miracles. Lord, it is so easy to talk about spiritual power. But, Father, the world needs those who would walk in the footsteps of Jesus and actually make it happen. May I be one of those.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
3 comments:
I know I've been guilty of this pretty much my whole life--totally unexpectant of actually seeing the power of the Spirit manifested in church. About a year ago I read "Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit" by Jack Deere and was challenged to begin praying for such manifestation. Still, I find myself struggling to even have a consistent prayer life, much less contending for the miraculous. My prayer is for that to change!
I'm always struck by the same thoughts and challenges when I read this passage and others like it. I say I want to see these things manifested but I haven't been faithful to travail in prayer for them. God has been gracious in allowing me to see and experience miracles, but they don't happen with regularity for me or anyone I know. And the world so needs the miraculous deliverances that only Jesus can bring!
Amen Stacy!
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