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Isaiah 50:4- “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary…”
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    • Anticipate Your Miracle!

      Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on January 6, 2021

      Luke 4:25-27 – But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” NKJV

      anticipate-your-miracle_.mp3

      It’s really interesting to read the Bible and have something shout out to you. That’s what happened when I read this passage of scripture. I think I totally missed that it was Elijah with the widow and Elisha with Naaman. It happens! But what stood out to me the most was that they were Gentiles and that God orchestrated these encounters.

      In my previous post, we learned about the widow of Zarephath, who Elijah the prophet was sent to during the drought. Today, we will learn about Naaman, the leper, who also “caught” God’s attention! We will find this astonishing miracle in 2 Kings 5.

      Naaman, was a Syrian commander, whom God had used to bring victory to the Syrian army, according to the author of Kings. The Bible states that he was an honorable man and a mighty man of valor. However, he had one little problem; he was a leper.

      In the Old Testament, lepers were considered to be unclean, and as such, could not even be amongst the children of Israel. They had a special place outside the city where they lived until they either were healed or died. The disease had a horrendous affect on the bodies of those it ravished.

      Naaman, went on a raid, maybe against Israel, and captured a young Jewish girl who became a servant to his wife. One day the girl said to her mistress that if Naaman was to meet the prophet in Israel, he would be healed. When Naaman’s wife shared this with him, he went to his king and requested time to go and see the prophet.

      For Naaman, this had to be a dream come true. To be free of the diabolical disease that had the potential to eat away at his flesh causing parts of his body to someday begin to fall off? Imagine his hope and excitement at the chance to be whole! Such was his anticipation at being healed, that he took with him much silver and gold, and changes of clothing. He was going to Israel to be healed!

      Naaman arrived in Israel with a letter from his king, to the king of Israel, that stated the purpose of Naaman’s visit: to be healed of his leprosy. The king of Israel’s response was not a happy dance, but a fear that he was being trapped. When the prophet heard what was happening, he instructed the king to send Naaman to him.

      Yes! The excitement of Naaman and his entourage. I’m sure that there was much conversation and wonderment over how this miracle would happen. Naaman even shared that he thought the prophet would come out to him and do his thing!

      2 Kings 5:11 – “But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ NKJV

      But the prophet didn’t even stick his head out of the door. Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman and told him to go and wash seven times in the Jordan and his flesh would be restored and he would be clean. This is why Naaman was furious. After his long journey and all of his dreams, nothing was happening as he thought. Not only that, he was being told to go and wash in the muddy waters of the Jordan. What Naaman did not know or understand was that the prophet could not come out to him without becoming unclean himself. Elisha wasn’t just being rude!

      Jesus tells us in our text that many men were lepers in Israel. Yet, they were not healed by the prophet. But there was a man in Syria who heard about a prophet who could get him healed; and he was willing to do whatever he had to do, to obtain his miracle. Maybe that is what was missing in Israel, people who still believed!

      After Naaman finished his tirade about the ridiculousness of washing in the Jordan, his servants had a conversation with him. They knew of his desire to be healed. They had probably heard countless stories on the journey of how much he wanted to be free of leprosy and all that it would enable him to do. So they got some backbone and talked with him. (Thank God for the people in our lives who will brave our anger and tell us the truth)! They told Naaman that if the prophet had told him to do some mighty act, he would have done it, so why not go and wash?

      The path to a miracle doesn’t always make sense! It’s not always going to make us feel strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Sometimes it might make us feel ridiculous, maybe even humble us. Such was the case with Naaman! But he quickly got over himself and walked into the water!

      He washed as Elisha instructed him and he was made whole! Yes! It happened as the prophet said! He was clean! The young maiden had told him the truth! But he almost missed it. He almost allowed his pride and his offended spirit to cause him to miss out on his life changing miracle. How grateful he must have felt towards his servants for speaking to him! How grateful he must have felt for being able to listen to them!

      God had seen Naaman. Jesus implies this in our text! He saw his heart, and heard his cry to be healed. He saw that even though Naaman was a Syrian warrior, he was honorable. Maybe Naaman even treated his Jewish captives with respect. Whatever the case, God saw Him and God offered him an opportunity to be made whole. But obtaining the miracle was totally up to Naaman.

      Naaman’s response to his miracle when he returned to the prophet’s door:

      2 Kings 5:15 -And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel…” NKJV

      He finally gets his audience with the prophet, because now he is clean!

      Naaman exercised great faith in his preparation for the journey. We see this in the fact that he didn’t sneak over to Israel, he requested to go and was upfront about why he wanted to go. He prepared to give a substantial gift for his healing, it meant that much. He went with the expectation to receive. And although he almost missed the most important part, he even yielded and obeyed the words of the prophet. By his works, he demonstrated his faith in what he heard in Syria and then in Israel.

      There was just something about these two Gentile individuals, who had no known relationship or access to God. Something was happening in their hearts or around them that caused them to be open to the true and living God. That something got His attention and caused Him to get His prophets involved in a miracle.

      What about us? What are doing to show that we are expecting God to move in a miraculous way in our lives? Are we anticipating His divine intervention or are we rationalizing why it could never happen? Are we willing to do whatever it takes, or are we just sitting around hoping one will fall from heaven into our laps? This is a new year. Last year we saw things we could not have imagined happen in the natural world. I think this is a great year to see things we could have never imagine from God.

      1 Corinthians 2:9 – “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” NKJV

      Go ahead! Anticipate your miracle! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in God’s Blessings, Heroes of Faith, Hope in God, Jesus, miracle | 0 Comments | Tagged anticipation, Faith, God, hope, intervention, Jesus, king, miracle, miraculous, Naaman the leper, supernatural, widow of Zarephath
    • Are You Drawing God?

      Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on January 4, 2021

      Luke 4:25-27 – But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” NKJV

      are-you-drawing-god_.mp3

      Welcome to 2021! I’m so thankful to see the new year, and I am looking forward to all that God has for us as His people.

      I was reading in the fourth chapter of Luke when I read our text for today. I was actually considering another portion of this chapter when these verses resonated with me.

      Jesus had just finished reading from what we call Isaiah 61. He then announce that this scripture had been fulfilled in Him that day. As usual, there were many who were opposed to Him and His words. Then He made the comment that a prophet is without honor in His hometown.

      After He made this comment, He said something very interesting that I would like to focus on today. Jesus told the listeners that when Elijah was the prophet of God and there was a famine in the land, God sent Elijah to a widow to be taken care of. He went on to say that even though there were many widows in Israel, God chose a widow in Zarephath. This was an insult to the Jews in that this widow was a Gentile. Let’s review her encounter with Elijah!

      God sent Elijah away from Israel to hide out from Ahab because Elijah told Ahab that there would be a drought in the land of Israel for three years, according to his word. Not a drop of rain, not even dew. Since the Israelites livelihood was based on agriculture, this lack of rain would create monumental problems in their society. Not only would there be a drought, but this would cause a famine that would affect this entire region. (1 Kings 17)

      When Elijah arrived in Zarephath he saw a widow gathering sticks and asked her for a cup of water. As she was going to get the water, he also asked for a morsel of bread. The woman replied that she didn’t have bread, and she only had a little flour and a little oil to prepare one last meal for her and her son. Then they would eat it and die. Things were really tight for her. By the time Elijah had arrived in Zarephath the drought was taking a toll on the land. Every one was feeling it. As a widow, with no one to support her, she was really struggling to find enough to keep her and he son fed. And since we know that she felt she was preparing her last meal, she had run out of options.

      Traditionally, we use this as an offering scripture. We talk about this widow as one who sacrificed for the prophet and therefore she was blessed. And this could be applicable to her story. But Jesus gives us another perspective on this woman.

      Jesus said that Elijah was sent to this woman. During the famine, there were a lot of widows who were struggling, but this woman in Zarephath was the woman that got God’s attention, causing Him to send the prophet on a very long journey to get to her and give her a miracle. Yes, this was about Elijah being sustained during the drought by her, but I believe it was about her as much as it was about him. And giving an offering was not the main point of the event.

      2 Chronicles 16:9 – For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…NKJV

      What caused the God of the universe, the God who was in covenant relationship with the Jews, to bypass the widows of His people, and to send Elijah to Zarephath? God had told Elijah to leave Israel and to go to Zarephath. Before He sent Elijah to Zarephath, He sent Elijah to a brook to be fed by the ravens. He is a Jewish prophet, being fed bread and meat, twice a day, by an unclean animal. God is preparing him to be sustained by the Gentile widow since he probably had little dealings with the Gentiles. After the brook dries up, He sends Elijah to Zarephath. God could have easily protected Elijah and provided for him in Israel, as He did at the brook, but God sent him away. Back to why I think Elijah was sent to this particular woman: God saw something in this widow that drew Him to her.

      Here’s the point that I think Jesus was making. God passed a lot of widows in Israel to get to the one in Zarephath. And if that wasn’t enough, He went to a Gentile. All of the widows had needs in Israel, but only the widow of Zarephath got the attention of the Father, and therefore, the servant of God. Jesus was speaking to a crowd of Jewish individuals who were acting as if He, the son of Joseph, couldn’t really have anything of spiritual value for them. They knew Him, and His entire “earthly” family. Not only that, Joseph, His earthly father, was not a rabbi, but a mere carpenter. And yet, Jesus stood before them and said that He was their Messiah! What? And did He just slam them and their Jewishness by pointing out that God overlooked their widows and provided for a Gentile widow at the command of a Jewish prophet? These were stoning words!

      They took great offense at Him saying this. In the days of Elijah, when he declared a drought for three years, the people of God were in a spiritual drought. They weren’t listening to God, seeking God, or available to God, because their hearts had been turned towards Baal. So when God needed someone to minister to His servant Elijah, He just went to the Gentiles, where there was a woman who (for whatever reason) caught His attention.

      Due to the fact that she was preparing for her and her son to die, it doesn’t look like she had any faith. When she was asked by Elijah to make him something to eat before she made them something to eat, she probably wanted to keep walking. Then Elijah spoke these words:

      1 Kings 17:14 -For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”NKJV

      I don’t know what she had before Elijah spoke these words. I don’t know where she was at in her thinking as she stood there. But when she heard the words of the prophet, Elijah, I believe hope and faith kicked into high gear, propelling her to do as Elijah requested. The Bible states that she went and did as he asked; and it happened as he said. They had flour and oil throughout the remainder of the drought.

      God gave this widow a life changing miracle. He didn’t provide her with food for a day or even a week. He provided her with enough flour and oil to feed the three of them for the remainder of the drought! That’s something to shout about!

      We have seen some turbulent times in 2020, and we may see more in 2021; but they don’t have to be the focal point of our lives. We can decide for ourselves, if we are going to be people who will draw God’s attention and cause Him to move on our behalf, or if we will be the ones He will pass over.

      It doesn’t matter how long you have been a Christian, and it doesn’t matter what your denomination is. It matters only what you believe at the time you are before Him. Yesterday’s faith won’t take care of today’s situations. You need a right now faith to draw God’s attention to you. A faith that says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name”!

      Faith moves the hand of God. It moved His hand in Zarephath when He found no one worthy in Israel, and it will move His hand on our behalf. And another important truth, faith without works is dead! More to come in the next blog. Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in Faith, God, Jesus, miracle, trust in God | 0 Comments | Tagged Faith, hard times, hope, Jesus, miracles, miraculous, protection, provision, stoning, testimony, the Pharisees, widow of Zarephath, witness
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