Category Archives: Bible Stories

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 3, 2014

Posted under

Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Miracles

Miracles

Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour. [Matthew 8:13 (NLT)]

The centurion had to go to Jesus before his servant was healed, the leper had to kneel before Jesus before being made clean, the paralytic was brought to Jesus before he could walk, the bleeding woman had to reach out and touch His cloak before being healed, and the blind men had to call out to Him before regaining their sight. What did all of these people have in common? They believed in Jesus and their belief led them to go to Him. If they had believed and not gone to Jesus or if they had gone to Jesus and not believed, a miracle wouldn’t have occurred. They did the work before Jesus performed the miracle. Of course, not every illness will be miraculously healed nor every problem miraculously solved, but there can never be a miracle in our lives if we don’t go to the Lord and believe!

Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” [Matthew 9:29 (NLT)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 30, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Obedience

Who’s the Boss?

Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, instructed the Hebrew midwives … to kill all Hebrew boys as soon as they were born, but to let the girls live. But the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king—they let the boys live too. … And God blessed the midwives because they were God-fearing women. … And because the midwives revered God, he gave them children of their own. [Exodus 1:15-17,20-21 (TLB)]

Do we, like the midwives, ever have to make difficult decisions? Do we ever have to choose between what we’ve been told to do and what we know God wants us to do? Lord, guide us when we have to decide who the real boss of our lives is and let us never forget that it is you. While the joy that comes from doing the right thing is reward enough, thank you for the reassurance our lives will be blessed when we honor you.

And so the Lord has paid me with his blessings, for I have done what is right, and I am pure of heart. This he knows, for he watches my every step. [Psalm 18:24 (TLB)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 25, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Prayer

It’s Time to Get Moving

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” [Exodus 14:13-16 (NIV)]

Yes, God will deliver us but He expects us to do our part. We can’t stand still and expect him to do the work! God parted the Red Sea, but Moses had to raise his staff and the Israelites had to do the walking. God provided the manna to feed them, but they had to gather it. Jesus provided the healing, but the bleeding woman had to push through the crowd to touch his cloak. Noah’s family wouldn’t have been saved if he hadn’t built the ark nor would the Jews have been saved if Esther hadn’t risked speaking to the king.

Sometimes, when God answers our prayers, we fail to recognize His solution because it involves some effort on our part. If all we ever did was pray and wait, not much would happen; we’d miss a lot of God’s gifts. God may provide the miracles but we need to do the work!

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. [Thomas Alva Edison]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 13, 2013

Posted under

Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Miracles, Trusting God

Expect a Miracle (Part 2) – He has No Limits

“A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.) Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted. When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets. [John 6:9-13 (GW)]

Although the disciples’ resources were limited, they forgot that God has no limitations. In Jesus’ hands, the boy’s meager offering would be more than enough to feed the crowd.

Lord Jesus, don’t let our inadequacies and shortcomings constrain our vision of what we can do together. Don’t let us limit your work by deciding what is and isn’t possible. No matter how meager our resources may be, if we offer them to you, you can make them more than enough. You can multiply anything we give to you!

 For nothing is impossible with God. [Luke 1:37 (GW)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 12, 2013

Posted under

Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, God's Promises, Miracles, Trusting God

Expect a Miracle (Part 1)

2013-11-12Toward the end of the day, the twelve apostles came to him. They said to him, “Send the crowd to the closest villages and farms so that they can find some food and a place to stay. No one lives around here.” Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish. Unless we go to buy food for all these people, that’s all we have.” [Luke 9:12-13 (GW)

Over 5000 people had followed Jesus and evening was approaching. The disciples saw the massive crowd and they knew they had a predicament. How could they possibly feed all of those hungry people? Although all four gospels report this story, none mention any of the disciples saying something like, “Jesus, we’ve got a problem; we need to pray!” or “Do you think we could find a way to feed this crowd? Could a miracle be possible?” No! Knowing they didn’t have enough money to purchase that much food, they simply suggested sending the crowd away. Jesus and his disciples had been healing the sick and lame. Jesus had freed people from demons, calmed a storm and even brought a young girl back to life. The disciples probably knew about the wine making miracle at Cana. Did it not occur to them that yet another miracle could occur?

Lord Jesus, forgive me when I don’t bring you my problems and trust you with a solution.

Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.” [Mark 9:23 (GW)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 6, 2013

Posted under

Bible Stories, God's Promises, Trusting God

Do His Work (Haggai – part 2)

But now don’t be discouraged, any of you. Do the work, for I am with you. When you came out of Egypt, I promised that I would always be with you. I am still with you, so do not be afraid. [Haggai 2:4-5 (GNT)]

Within twenty-three days of Haggai’s first message regarding the rebuilding of the Temple, the people of Jerusalem began construction. But, they were discouraged; this new building was inferior to the previous great temple built by Solomon. God reassured them, telling them simply to do the work. He doesn’t expect perfection; just our best effort. If we do God’s work, He will be with us. With God’s assurance that He was always with them, they knew that what would really bring glory to the temple wasn’t its structure; it was the presence of God in it.

Father, I want to do my best for you. Thank you for the reassurance that my best is good enough for you, even if it isn’t great. Thank you for reminding me that it is your presence in my work that gives it true value.