Devotion

Devotion

This topic has been on my mind for several days now and I decided that it was time to put it down in pen so as not to loose my thoughts in my old age. As I sit here writing, my thoughts are of six special people in my life. My daughter Joelle, her husband Phillip and their son Logan (the light of my life), and a dear friend of this family, Laura, her husband Shawn, and their newborn daughter, Baby Addison.

In the book of Luke 18:35-42, one of my favorite biblical miracles is recounted by Luke. When a blind beggar in Jericho heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he yelled, "Jesus, have mercy on me." People around him tried to make him be quiet, but he cried out even louder.

Jesus stopped.... (And) asked him. "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord, I want to see," he replied.

Jesus said to him, "receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Luke goes on to say that the man immediately received his sight, followed Jesus, and praised God; the people observing the miracle also praised God.

As I have studied this miracle there are five things that have become clear to me.

*The man in need was specific in asking. He wanted to see and was persistent in crying out for mercy.

*Jesus told him to "receive" his sight. The miracle was immediate.

*Jesus commended his faith. The blind beggar did not let others stop him from reaching the Miracle-Worker. He believed that

If he could get to Jesus, he would be healed.

*When he was healed, he followed Jesus.

*His healing caused all the people who witnessed it to praise God. This crowd had first discouraged the blind man from reaching Jesus. Now that he was healed, the focus was not on the beggar but on God, from whom the miracle came.

As we seek out and act on our faith in the Miracle-Worker, we too are to be specific in our requests, persistent in our prayers, and receptive to God's Word. We must not allow others to discourage us; and when our miracle comes, we must give God the credit.

The Bible is full of God's miraculous action on behalf of His people--Daniel rescued from the lions' den; Joseph plucked from prison to become prime minister of Egypt; the Israelites, led by Moses, rescued from Pharaoh's cruel dictatorship through the miraculous opening of the Red Sea. All these were praying men!

Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and fed the multitudes. After three years of teaching His disciples, he embraced the cross. No miracle is more significant than Christ's resurrection.

And God is still working astounding miracles.

My mind goes back to October 1998 as I stood by my daughter Joelle in Guntersville Hospital as they wheeled her two-day-old son into an ambulance bound for Huntsville Hospital Intensive Care. As I stayed behind with my daughter, I remember lying on the bed holding her and praying to my God above for a miracle, believing and expecting to receive a miracle. Now, today, eighteen months later, God's Miracle is healthy, and keeping us all on our toes, so to speak. Praise God! Today (Monday) I received an e-mail, with a picture attached of Baby Addison, a miracle from God. Three weeks ago human Doctors told Laura and Shawn in no uncertain terms that their baby would not live more than two hours. God's people came together, believed and expected a miracle and that's exactly what God gave us. Another Miracle! Baby Addison is home and doing great! Praise God!

I wander how many times in our life that we limit God, by not having faith, believing and expecting. The dictionary defines miracle as "an event that cannot be explained by the known laws of nature and is therefore attributed to divine intervention." The bigger our concept of God, the more we see Him as the God of miracles. Miracles reveal the nature of God. Thus, there are no big miracles and little miracles. All miracles are big--for they reflect the nature of our big God.

How do we get a miracle? Miracles come by faith in God's existing power, not by a formula or a ritual we perform. Jesus said that if you have faith even a small as a mustard seed, you can tell your mountain (obstacle, hindrance, problem) to move, and nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20). A mustard seed is mighty tiny. To pray for miracles, you don't have to wait until you have big-big faith. Start with what you have now.