Are you in the Middle of a Miracle?

 The disciples were disappointed, paralysed with confusion and fear.
 
When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted with jubilation as the Messiah. Everyone expected the Son of David to fulfil the prophecies.

Jesus was to establish a new kingdom in Israel and cast out the Romans.
Instead, Jesus was arrested as a criminal and executed on the cross.

Not only had they lost their champion.
When Jesus was arrested, they had fled like cowards.
They had lost their support and were ashamed that they themselves had failed.

But it was even worse. They were terrified. Would the religious leaders arrest and kill them too?

They were also probably sleepless and exhausted.

How long did the disciples tremble in this fearful despair?

But they did not realise that they were in the midst of a miracle.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Mk 16:9–11 NIV

Are you disappointed? Have others let you down? Have you failed yourself?

Jesus wants to come to you, but sometimes he waits.

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Mk 16:14 NIV

Despite everything, God has good plans for you. He loves you.

I prayed for my parents for years. Finally, they both came to faith on their deathbeds.

Are you stressed with the wait? Please never give up.

The desperate apostles were in the midst of an amazing miracle. Are you too? Why not?

Hope in Troubled Times

 The world is shaking. Everything is uncertain. First Covid, then Ukraine, now war in the Middle East.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. Hag 2:6–7 NIV

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the age of faith, it was the age of scepticism,
a season of light, a season of darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”

Dickens, Charles. Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

The world of yesterday is never coming back. The world of today is a mess.
We wait, but we do not know what to expect.

The future will be different from the past, but we do not know what will come and when it will come. But wait with patience. In the deep darkness, God is not a passive bystander.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to look death in the face. He confronted the power of darkness with open eyes. He was executed by the enemy, that is, hanged by the SS, but he entered God's loving presence at that very moment.

He wrote the following words:

Wonderfully sheltered by good powers
Let us confidently await what may come
God is with us in the evening and in the morning
And certainly every new day. (Translated from German)

But these terrible last years before peace were like labour pains. Two new babies appeared. A new Germany, a civilised democratic country, and a new Israel, the restored homeland of the Jews.

This convulsion will continue. Covid did not come from God. We are experiencing cruel demonic attacks, but God still remains God. God is good and He is controlling this shaking to accomplish His will.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Is 60:1–2 NRSV

I believe that the worst time will be the best time.

But the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14 NRSV

Countless millions will bow before Jesus. The long-awaited reformation will finally come to light.

End Time Chaos and God's Plan

 Everywhere around us, we see intensified conflict. In the USA, we see aggressive white supremacy pitted against raging cancel culture and Black Lives Matter.

In the UK, we see aggressive English nationalism in England and angry Scottish nationalism in Scotland. We see friendships and families broken on political lines.

The immigrant community in Germany is divided between those who want to become patriotic Germans and those who want to conquer Europe in the name of their religion.

In the Middle East, there are some Muslims who hate Christians and Jews and want to destroy Israel.
There are others who want to live in peace and friendship with their neighbours and respect diversity.

In historically Christian countries, we have seen the long smouldering problem of sexual child abuse explode into public scandals. The Roman Catholic Church has been devastated and has lost its firm grip on power in the Irish Republic.

In the last two decades, we have seen a dramatic acceleration and hotting up of all of these conflicts.

Now we are in the middle of a terrible pandemic. Some are terrified of the Covid virus, are eager to be vaccinated, and want to cooperate with government control policies. Others are full of fear and rage against governments and vaccination programs.

The instability around us makes us afraid. People react with panic and anger.

If we read bible prophecies of the last days, it all fits in.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Mt 24:3 NIV84

You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Matthew 24:6 NIV84

The wars since 1900 have been terrible. Jesus warns us not to be alarmed. The violent shaking of everything around us must not lead to panic if we trust God.

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, Hebrews 12:26–28 NIV84

What is the purpose of this shaking? God loves the world. It is like mining for gold. Extracting gold from sand or rocks involves shaking, crushing and often exposure to violent chemical reactions.
God is searching for loving human souls who will come to Him and trust him.

Jesus likened God’s violent love to a woman in labour before childbirth.

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:7–8 NIV84

Does this mean God is inciting people to hate, abuse and kill each other? Of course not.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJV

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. James 1:17–18 NLT

The violent conflict all around us is a sure sign that Jesus is coming again soon. The trouble is accelerating like a woman in labour. Her contractions become stronger and more frequent until the baby is born.

At the same time, as the pain and trouble increases, the baby begins to be pushed out into a new life.

If you are a believer, expect God Himself to dramatically accelerate his intervention as he delivers you from evil and sickness and answers your prayers with wonderful miracles.

God's Answer to Confusion

 Lana Vawser. Do not doubt.
I HEARD THE LORD SAY “DON’T DOUBT WHAT I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU”

"Recently the Lord showed me that there are many in the body of Christ who have been assaulted by a very intense spirit of ‘confusion’ of late.

It has caused many to feel like they have been thrown into a ‘haze’ and clarity that the Lord had given was now suddenly feeling overshadowed by a strong feeling of ‘did God really say that?’"

https://lanavawser.com/2021/04/01/i-heard-the-lord-say-dont-doubt-what-i-have-spoken-to-you/

I have often experienced this confusion and insecurity as a Christian.

I was in a church for a while where disputes had been tearing the church apart for years. A new pastor was at the helm. He was a strong personality and could preach well, but I still felt no peace and freedom in the Spirit.

This congregation used to be strong in spirit, but through human strife, the very good pastor was pushed out. This rebellion was not from God. Little by little, everything went down the drain.

When human strife wrecks a church, demonic spirits are always behind it.

The devil has different strategies to ruin a church. It can be a rebellion against good leadership.

The enemy can also sometimes lead the leaders astray through sin, for example when pastors get involved in pornography addiction or greed for money, or become proud and want to control everything.

What do Christians experience in such churches? Often confusion and insecurity.

If you are in such a church, how can you find God's way for your life again?

Go back to Jesus! Jesus is your pastor, the Good Shepherd.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJV

Where can you find this close connection with your heavenly pastor?

• You can read your favourite passages in the Bible over and over again.

• You can seek the presence of God intensely in your private prayer time.

• You can re-read Christian books which have inspired you.

• You can spend time with good Christian friends, friends who are not in your church.

• You can attend good Christian conferences or other churches.

Maybe you are not in a church, but you feel a deep spiritual need. You need to find God, but you are disappointed with churches and many Christians.

God is still God and He is good.

What does God say in the Bible?

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV84

What did Jesus say?

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Mt 7:7–8 NASB95

WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?

What is God really like? 

We can so easily get confused about this. 

• You look at your life and you match what you see against the high standards of religious virtue. You start to think of God as a fearsome judge and you hide from Him.

• Or you look around and you think, if there is a God, how could he be good, to make a world so full of cruelty and suffering?

• Or you look away from humanity in horror and see the glory and beauty of nature, so you long to be in harmony with the mysterious spiritual essence permeating all that beauty. 

• Love and relationships always disappoint you, so you despair of finding a personal God. Often people let you down and sometimes the church that preaches a personal God is no better, sometimes but not always.

With the limitations of our faulty human nature, there is no way out of this confused mess.

As children we enjoyed the love of our mother and father, or if not we longed to have such a love. We heard stories where people lived happily ever after and we wanted them to be true.

There is no way out and no way home to the dreams of our childhood.

But as I grew older, I found there were at least some people who had found love and peace and a heavenly hope that was not just shallow religion. Of course I was confused and disappointed by much of what I saw in Christian churches but I longed for something better. 

• I didn’t find it in the worship of natural beauty or in yoga or poetry. I didn’t find it in psychology or religion.

I found it in the lives of some people who followed Jesus. 

They were full of love and they accepted me. When I was with them, I felt a warm glow like an aura, a spiritual fragrance in the atmosphere. 
I felt a spiritual presence far warmer and sweeter and more comforting than the spiritual atmosphere around New Age people. There was a comfort that was real and inviting far better than anything I had ever known.

• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 

  • who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.