When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”John 21:15 ESV
Do you love Jesus, dear one?
Our opening scripture reveals what Jesus said should be evidence of your love for Him. Lovers of Jesus feed His sheep.
Jesus pressed the point with Peter, repeatedly asking him the same question.
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:17
God never wastes words.
Three times Jesus connected loving Him with caring for His sheep—particularly with feeding them. And when God repeats Himself, He draws our attention to the importance of His message. He wants us to understand this vital truth: We must feed and tend His sheep.
Ezekiel 34 describes what unfed sheep look like.
Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.Verses 2-5
My heart burns as I consider those words, dear one. They reflect what my own eyes see. Those words describe today’s church.
What has happened that the people of God have become so down trodden?
Most feel weak and overtaken by life’s circumstances. Illness and cancers ravage them. Wounds fester unhealed, leaving a legacy of bitterness, pain, and division. Our adversary prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
And he succeeds. Regularly.
And God’s Word says those things result when sheep aren’t properly fed.
So what are we, the sheep, supposed to feed on that makes us strong, healthy, whole, and united?
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”John 10:27
Sheep, dear one, are supposed to hear Jesus’ words. And then follow them.
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”Matthew 4:4
We’ve grabbed hold of a few of them, but most we reject or ignore. Instead of aligning our lives with God’s Word, we allow the world’s voice to dictate our beliefs. We hardly know the God we profess to follow. And we ignore His Spirit’s gentle promptings to return to Him. Instead we trust the desires of our flesh while crying out for God’s blessing.
And we get angry when we don’t receive it.
Jesus doesn’t want your words, beloved. He wants you to feed on His.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.Psalm 1:1-3
Blessing flows when people delight in the Word of God.
It’s time we return, dear one. God calls us to seek it like treasure, and He promises to give us understanding. When we choose to let God cleanse us from sin and align ourselves with His Word, something miraculous happens.
And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 36:35-36
Can you imagine it? People looking upon Christ’s church and recognizing that it has become like the Garden of Eden—beautiful, fruitful, and teeming with life?
God spoke that promise in a prophesy of the new covenant He would make through His Son. Eden awaits the people of God when through the power of the Spirit we return to what Adam rejected: living our lives in agreement with God’s Word.
“I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”Ezekiel 36:36
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And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 1 Samuel 3:19
Most of us are careless with our words.
We let accusations fly without thinking. We put others down and call it humor. We’re often quick to say things we don’t mean.
I wonder what would have happened if Samuel had been careless with his words. After all, scripture makes an astounding statement about Samuel. God was with him, and He made sure none of his words landed without effect.
Beloved, everything Samuel spoke proved true.
Can you even imagine it? Honestly, with my track record the thought scares me a bit. Where would I be if God had worked that promise in my life? Carelessly spoken words would’ve undoubtedly wreaked havoc in the lives of people I love.
But that’s the difference between most of us and Samuel, dear one. His words weren’t careless. Samuel’s words echoed those flowing from the mouth of God Himself, and that brought about some amazing results.
… and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
I wonder, dear one. What would’ve happened if Samuel had chosen not to listen when God spoke? What if Samuel had ignored God’s words, letting them fall unheeded? Surely Samuel would’ve had a very different legacy.
But Samuel didn’t make that choice. In a time when “the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (1 Samuel 3:1), Samuel heard and lived by the word of the Lord. It wasn’t the common thing to do. No one else heard God speak. But when God spoke to him, Samuel took hold of those words, believed them and shared them.
And God moved as Samuel spoke the word of the Lord.
And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 1 Samuel 3:20-21
Don’t miss it, dear one. Samuel’s willingness to hear and share God’s words allowed God to reveal Himself in a place where His presence had been absent.
And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
Perhaps you’re wondering what an Old Testament prophet has to do with you. Some things don’t change, dear one.
Let’s join Jesus and His disciples in the upper room shortly before His arrest. Jesus had just declared Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Then Philip made an unusual request. He asked Him to show them the Father.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” John 14:9-11
After so much time, the disciples still asked Jesus to prove Himself. Just give us this one more thing—show us the Father—and it will be enough for us (verse 8).
Only when we make Jesus prove Himself—when we insist on sight to believe—it will never be enough. Consider what they had already seen! The lame walked and the blind could see. They saw Lazarus raised and every sickness healed. But it still wasn’t enough.
Jesus taught about faith in the unseen that leads to seeing. That’s what Samuel had. He believed God’s words, and His faith in them allowed him to witness what he had believed.
And that’s what Jesus wants to see in our day, beloved. He wants followers who hear His words (John 10:27), believe what He says, and then witness God revealing Himself as we refuse to let His words fall unheeded.
Let’s see what else Jesus told them in John 14.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”John 14:12-14
Jesus stands by His word, beloved. He means what He says, and His word proves true.
And Jesus said in John 14:12 that whoever believes in Him will do the works that He did. That’s a pretty profound statement, don’t you think? Then He follows it up with grand promises of answered prayer.
“If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Apparently God doesn’t want to see our words fall to the ground either. But—just like Samuel—God Himself must be the source.
Let’s open our hearts and learn to live by His words.
https://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/previewimage_doyourwordscarry.jpg20002000Kelley Lattahttps://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/logo.pngKelley Latta2025-01-08 04:00:362025-01-07 15:24:51Do Your Words Carry God’s Power?
Righteousness will go before Him and make His footsteps a way.Psalm 85:13 (ESV)
It’s that time again. January rolls around each year with an invitation to take stock of our lives. And the same question raises a hopeful challenge: What can I do differently this year that will make my life better?
We have great intentions . . . and usually less than great results.
Not this year. Not for me, anyway. This year I have high expectations, because I’m basing my resolutions on believing God, not on my own works. And faith—real, present, active, living faith—ushers us into the grace and power of God.
Through Him [Jesus] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.Romans 5:2
I could stand to witness a little glory, couldn’t you?
We desperately need God to release the river of life. As we join together to pray for His outpouring, I challenge you to consider another important truth revealed in our opening scripture.
Righteousness will go before Him and make His footsteps a way.Psalm 85:13
It reminds me of Hebrews 12:14 (NIV).
Make every effort . . . to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Whether we desire to embrace it or not, righteousness marks the path of glory. If we want to see God pour out on our thirsty land, we’ve got to get on with the business of letting Him sanctify us.
Perhaps you’ll be a little more excited about it when I show you why. You, dear one, carry the power within you that you long to see poured out.
Consider Jesus’ promises to His followers before He ascended into heaven.
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 (ESV)
And what about Acts 1:8?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Look at how Jesus described that power.
“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.John 7:38-39
Do you see it, dear one? The very outpouring we desire from God is already here! It dwells within us waiting to be released. And it promises more than we could even think to ask or imagine of God.
Revel in Ephesians 3:20-21, asking God to penetrate your heart with its truth.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Take it in, beloved.
God is able to do far beyond what you could ask or think. He does it according to the power at work within you.
We’re not waiting for an outpouring from on high, dear one. God has already poured it out through the cross. Now we’re waiting to see the river released from within you and me.
And that’s why righteousness remains so important. The outpouring will come as the people of God embrace their new nature in Christ and become “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 NIV).
Every sin we hold onto or habit we justify acts as a dam blocking the flow of God’s power on this earth. It’s time we awaken to our true calling, dear one.
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.2 Corinthians 5:2
When you and I decide to comply, there’s no telling what God will do. Only one thing is certain. It will be more than we can imagine.
https://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_99647405.jpg6661000Kelley Lattahttps://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/logo.pngKelley Latta2025-01-01 04:00:512025-01-01 10:08:35Releasing the River
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”Isaiah 9:6
I trust by now you’ve had your fill of Thanksgiving leftovers. And now, I’m guessing that ornaments, evergreens, and sparkling lights are quickly replacing any decorative pumpkins and fall leaves. I’m excited to share that my own home has begun its holiday transformation.
December ushers in one of my very favorite seasons. Christmas has filled my heart with wonder for as long as I can remember. When we hung the lights, and holly and evergreens made their way inside our home, the joy that flickered deep within told me that this time of year was special. Christmas simply felt different than the rest of the year.
As a child I looked forward to it with great anticipation. I loved the family gatherings that accompanied Christmas, complete with caroling, special foods, and holiday smells. But nothing inspired quite as much awe as the sight of the gifts spilling out from under the tree.
Lots of extended family gathered in our home for Christmas, and large numbers of people meant a large number of gifts! Packages and ribbons beckoned our exploration, and I joined my brothers to examine the nametags, searching for the owner of each new possession. Joy would ripple through me when I found my name. This one’s for me.
And hope would rise to the surface. Perhaps this is the one I have been waiting for!
Do you remember how it felt to experience Christmas with the heart of a child, dear one? Can you recall the sensation of sugarplums dancing in your belly, a delightful mingling of anticipation and hope?
For many of us, routine has replaced much of the marvel of the holidays. And let’s be honest; the work often overshadows the wonder! Many have even lost the thrill of surprise on Christmas morning, having purchased and wrapped the gifts bearing their name beneath the tree with their own hands.
And Jesus, the One whom we gather to celebrate, is almost forgotten, worked into our festivities with brief mentions and a visit to church on Christmas Eve.
Perhaps we have been missing something.
I’d love for you to entertain this thought with me. What if Christmas still holds something worth anticipating? What if its offer of joy, hope, and wonder extends to more than just children? What if you and I could experience that child-like awe as we unwrap the gifts the Christ-child came to bring?
Consider Jesus’ words to His disciples during His earthly ministry:
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 18:2-3
Do you have a child-like heart, beloved?
Jesus said that unless we approach Him with the heart of a child, we will miss His kingdom. He wasn’t just referring to the eternal kingdom He will establish when He returns. He was also warning us that we can miss the kingdom blessings we’re supposed to experience on this earth until He does.
Jesus came to the earth to draw us to Him in divine relationship and reveal the glory of what’s to come. He came so people like you and me could know Him and experience a foretaste of heaven.
Have you tasted it, dear one? You’re meant to!
What if we tried a new approach this Christmas? What if we choose to see Jesus as the all-surpassing gift scripture claims He is? What if we open our hearts to believe like little children and take a chance on believing God for more?
Let’s invite the wonder of Christmas to return! Gifts bearing your name await your attention under the tree. Jesus invites you to explore them so you can claim them as your own.
This one’s for me.
What gift do you need to open, beloved? Healing. Restoration. Redemption. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Power. Purpose.
And Jesus said to him, “‘… All things are possible for one who believes.”Mark 9:23
‘Tis the season for believing, dear one.
Allow your heart to open with the wonder of an expectant child. Approach Jesus with hope and anticipation.
Beloved, Jesus holds the gifts you’ve been searching for all your life.
https://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/previewimage_haveyouopened.jpg20002000Kelley Lattahttps://kelleylattaministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/logo.pngKelley Latta2024-12-11 04:00:282024-12-10 12:22:34Have You Opened Your Gifts From Jesus?
Life has felt like a bit of a swirl lately. I wonder if you can relate. When things that once felt sure and certain begin to give way, you find yourself in unfamiliar territory. Unsure. Maybe a little unsafe. And it doesn’t feel great.
Well, that’s where I’ve been.
The God who loves me more than I love me decided He wouldn’t let me settle for the good things I had. He insists on giving His best. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But we don’t always receive His best willingly. Sometimes, we fight it. Hard.
And although I didn’t recognize it at the time, that’s what my heart was doing. Fighting, even while I thought I was yielding.
And that, dear one, is why community is so important to God’s plans, to receiving His best for us. The people He lovingly joins us to can help us receive from Him and see the things we’ve been unable to see through our broken or filtered lenses.
So that’s why I’m here. I want to help you recognize your own broken lenses, so that you too can receive His best. After all,
“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.”Luke 11:34
According to Jesus, how we view things directly influences what we experience. If we see it the right way, through the lens of truth (God’s perspective), light will fill us, releasing its kingdom fruit (love, joy, peace, rest…). On the other hand, if we’re looking through a bad lens, darkness fills us. You’re probably very familiar with its fruit.
The list goes on. If you and I want to experience the blessings of the light, we must view things in the light of truth and let Jesus rewrite our false perceptions.
So, this is an invitation to walk with me into some of the truths God has revealed to me, the places He’s shifted my perspective so my vision could align with His. There’s power in the light, dear one. Fellowship. And Freedom.
And best of all, the love we discover as we encounter the true nature of the God who made us.
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And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.Luke 1:38
We all want to witness miracles.
We want God to wow us with wonder like He did so many times in Scripture. And let’s be honest. We really just wish God would show up and prove Himself.
So we cry out for miracles, just like Habakkuk.
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2 NIV
Yes, we want the miracles. We just don’t want what God requires of us to release them.
Faith.
I’m not talking about the theoretical faith we remind one another to carry about like a prized possession. We’ll grab hold of that easily enough.
No, I’m talking about hitting the pavement with it. Living faith that defies difficulty. That stretches and grows us. Faith that believes an unbelievable promise, then holds onto it no matter what.
Do you have that kind of faith, beloved? Do you take God at His Word, no matter how crazy it sounds? Because that’s the only way you and I will ever witness miracles.
We need to trust God’s Word more than we value our comfort.
I wonder if you’ve thought much about Mary’s response to the angel who had just informed her she would give birth to God’s own son. “Let it be to me according to your word.”
Really? Is that how you would’ve responded?
Let’s forget for a moment that we know how it all works out and slip our feet into Mary’s sandals. She was just an ordinary girl, planning a wedding with the man of her dreams.
I wonder how many times she had imagined her wedding day. Would she wear flowers in her hair? Did she help her mother design her dress? I imagine she dreamed of a beautiful gathering with family and friends offering warm smiles and supportive hugs.
Then a messenger appeared with news of a very different dream.
A baby.
Before her wedding day.
In this new dream, her husband wouldn’t father her firstborn child. She would face ridicule and judgment. She might even lose the husband her dreams encircled.
Yet when an angel of the Lord appeared to her declaring that God had chosen her to mother the Son of God Himself, she said,
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Amazing. Mary simply believed God, and that was enough for her. She was an ordinary woman who set her heart toward extraordinary godly purpose. God’s Word became more important than her comfort and ease. More powerful than doubt, ridicule, shame, or loneliness.
She believed God, and trusted that His plan would bring about His very best for her. God still asks the same of us.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Mary’s belief invited God’s seed to create life in her womb. And God would use this ordinary girl as a vessel through whom He would bring about His plan to redeem a lost and broken world.
Do you think she found it worth it, beloved? When she finally looked into the face of the miracle she had carried within her for nine long months, do you think she felt regret?
I don’t. My guess is one emotion consumed her. Love. She gazed into Love’s face and held Him in her arms. I imagine she wept with wonder. And gratitude flooded her heart.
But eventually her miracle would ask more of her. More surrender. More sacrifice.
One day hatred would tear her Son from her. The man He would become would hang before her, bloodied and beaten on a wooden cross.
Her child that kings had worshipped with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh would become the sacrificial Lamb. And Mary would receive her greatest miracle. Eternal life.
Will you trust God to work miracles through your life, beloved? Will you trust even when you don’t understand? Would you believe the blessing overshadows the cost?
Mary believed.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Luke 1:45
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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Sometimes gratitude hurts.
Life isn’t always kind, and when we find ourselves struggling over circumstances we wouldn’t choose, we don’t naturally feel grateful. In fact, we tend to get angry. Even bitter.
Yet our opening scripture suggests that God desires for us to give thanks in all circumstances. Every one. That includes the good and the bad.
This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you, beloved. Gratitude.
Why would gratitude be so important to God? Perhaps the next verse offers some insight.
Do not quench the Spirit. Verse 19
Ingratitude stops the flow of the Spirit, hindering God’s work in our midst. Praise and thanksgiving, on the other hand, release God’s Spirit to move.
You see, thanksgiving carries us into His presence.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! Psalm 100:4
When we choose gratitude—even when we’re hurting or don’t understand our present circumstances—we choose to enter into God’s goodness. That choice—to focus on what is good instead of what’s presently lacking—removes the enemy’s power and invites God in. You see, perspective is everything.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”Matthew 6:22
According to Jesus, how we view something directly relates to what we experience in our body. The light we long for comes from seeing with a healthy perspective. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When we view things through a faulty lens—the lens of negativity—our body takes on the darkness of our wrong perspective. It actually gives the enemy a position of power in our lives—and permission to torment us.
“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”Matthew 6:23
I wonder, dear one, if you wrestle with the pull of the darkness in your own life. Hopelessness, anxiety, and depression are crippling lives in greater measure than we’ve ever seen, particularly within the body of Christ.
Yet we have this promise about our Savior,
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.John 1:4-5
Do you want to live the overcoming promises of God’s Word, beloved? Do you want to dwell in the power of the light? Choose gratitude. Find something to be thankful for, and dwell on that. Let your lips offer a sacrifice of praise, especially during times of sorrow. You will discover that gratitude ushers you into the presence of God.
I’ve watched this happen in the life of my mother-in-law over the last couple of years.
Pain in her body has kept her from doing many of the things she loves to do. She spends most of her days at home. Hurting. But I have watched a sweet peace fall over her, as she’s chosen not to dwell on what she’s lost, but rather all that she has.
She tells me, “I have so much time, time to think of all the blessings God has given me. My beautiful family. His faithfulness to us.”
And I’ve watched a beautiful miracle unfold through her. You see, the presence of God falls on her and flows through her when she speaks. A friend of mine visited her recently wanting to encourage her. Instead, she was profoundly blessed by the encouragement she received! God’s presence flowed to my friend and lifted her own weary heart.
Why? Because my mother-in-law has spent the last years dwelling in the courts of her King. Her gratitude ushered her through His gates, allowing Him to minister to her soul. And that allows Him to show up without her even trying. Her heart is already engaged with His, and He’s right there, ready to give.
As we celebrate this Thanksgiving season, I wonder if we can go a little deeper. Beyond pumpkins and lovely wooden signs declaring thanks, what if we engaged our hearts? Let’s fill our bodies with light as we look at our lives through the lens of gratitude and declare our thanks to the Giver of every good gift.
As you enter His courts with your praise, He may just surprise you.
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How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures from generation to generation.Daniel 4:3
We live in a time of glorious awakening! More and more people have opened their hearts to believe that Christianity is supposed to be much more than doctrines and creeds. Jesus brought heaven to earth, and He wants to teach us to live the promises of His kingdom.
1 Corinthians 4:20 sums it up nicely, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”
If our Christianity remains theories and arguments, we’ve missed the mark, dear one. By a lot.
Our opening Scripture reveals some of what Christ’s kingdom brings. Great signs and mighty wonders! Dominion that never ends. These signs have marked God’s movement through every generation as God brought deliverance to His people, proving His might.
But a problem arises when we set our sights on these great demonstrations of power to prove and assure ourselves that God is in our midst.
Our enemy can also perform them.
Consider Jesus’ warning to His Disciples while preparing them for the last days.
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”Matthew 24:24
Does that surprise you, dear one?
As darkness increases in the last days, people will look to power beyond themselves to survive. They will need to, as hopelessness rises and recognition dawns that this fight is beyond their power to win. And when desperation sends them searching, our enemy stands ready to serve them what they think they need— a counterfeit version to keep them from the real Deliverer who can save them.
Satan will offer the anti-Christ to the world as a suitable savior to draw hearts away from Jesus. He will deceive many because he will not be impotent. He comes with power of his own.
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
Believers will have to know the true, beloved, to be able to recognize the deception.
But one type of power can’t be manipulated or copied. It has only one Source and can’t be replicated…nor would our enemy want it to be. And that’s the power Jesus came to reveal above all.
Love’s power to heal and transform the human soul.
Oh, dear one, this is the wonder that we must elevate and applaud in our days! Love expressing itself through redeemed humanity. With the cross of Christ, God’s work turned inward, releasing the enemy’s hold on our hearts and restoring us to God’s own nature. Manifesting that nature in once broken people reveals the authority God carries.
You see, our enemy can duplicate outward signs and wonders. He’s been doing it from the beginning. Even when Moses confronted Pharoah to deliver God’s people from Egypt, he met God’s signs with a powerful demonic response.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. Exodus 7:10-12a
Pharoah’s sorcerers were able to imitate what God had done. God still had the last word, however, proving His enduring dominion with the rest of verse 12, “But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”
Demonic power remains as real and tangible today. So does God’s authority over it. They do not possess equal power. God still reigns supreme. And the answer to our victory lies at the very core of who God is. Love.
The miracle this world desperately needs to witness and experience is love.
Jesus told us what distinguishes His true disciples from all the rest.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”John 13:35
Love reveals God at work in our midst, dear one. He is love, and real love has no other source. Love helps. It forgives. It keeps no record of wrongs. It never insists on its own way. It’s patient and kind. It believes, hopes, and endures. It cannot fail.
Love freely expressed within the body will usher in Satan’s defeat. This sign alone will pronounce to our enemy that his end is imminent. Transformed hearts uniting in Kingdom love and purpose will devour him, revealing what he truly is in the face of God’s pure, undefiled love.
“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25
I recently shared a little piece of my journey with you. After an amazing encounter with Jesus, I discovered my heart resisted what God showed me about myself. Instead of embracing His beautiful truth, something deep inside kept insisting on a lesser version.
And that’s precisely the result our enemy hopes to achieve, dear one. If he can convince us to continue to live in our brokenness instead of Christ’s provision for us, he can hinder God’s movement through us. Only faith unleashes the power of God’s promises. If you and I want to see God revealed in our midst, we need to know what He says about us.
I’m reminded of a story involving Peter and John in Acts 3. As they headed into the temple at the hour of prayer, a man who had been lame from birth asked them for money. Peter responded with something the man did not expect.
And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:4-5
I wonder how many times the man had lived this very scene. Verse 2 reveals that he was carried and laid daily at the temple gate to ask for alms. I imagine the monotony of the routine left him with little expectation. How many temple visitors passed by pretending not to see him? Still others may have tossed him a coin without ever actually looking at his face.
And yet this day, Peter and John looked right at him, asking him to do the same. “Look at us.” Their response got his attention, stirring the lame man’s heart with hopeful expectation. Surely these two would provide him something.
But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Acts 3:6-7
I can only imagine what the man must have thought in that life-changing moment. He extended his hand to receive coins from a stranger. Instead, the hand he reached toward raised him to his feet. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
Most of us can’t remember our first steps. This man, lame from birth, would never forget his.
And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.Acts 3:8-10
I think we could use a little wonder and amazement, don’t you? Wouldn’t you love to see Jesus revealing Himself powerfully in our midst? I believe that’s something He longs to give.
You see, Hebrews 13:8 declares simply,
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Jesus hasn’t changed, dear one. If our experience has changed since He first birthed His church, that only leaves one explanation. We’ve changed.
Take a look at Peter’s words when he addressed the crowd to reveal the power behind this miraculous healing.
And His name [Jesus]—by faith in His name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.Acts 3:16
Faith in the name of Jesus gave an invalid perfect health. Legs that had never stood before lifted him to his feet. Muscles that should have atrophied from years without use carried him into the temple. And he didn’t just walk. He leapt!
What had been dead came alive, all because of faith. Sounds like the Gospel message to me.
This part of the story intrigues me the most. You see, it wasn’t the faith of the lame man that ushered in his miracle. It was Peter’s faith that produced a work of God on his behalf.
I can’t seem to let go of Peter’s words to the lame beggar.
“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Peter knew what he had.
He knew exactly who he was and what was available to him in Jesus. And he knew he was free to give it. He didn’t define himself by his mistakes or limit his possibilities by his past. He believed what Jesus said about him, and his belief poured out blessing on a man who had no faith.
I wonder, dear one. Have we limited God’s power on earth because we refuse to see ourselves as the people God says we are? Is Jesus simply waiting for us to embrace what He says we carry?
Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit our opening scripture.
“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mark 4:25
Jesus repeats those words five times in the four gospels. [See Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, and Luke 19:26] I think He may be trying to get our attention.
At first glance Jesus’ words appear confusing. How can God take something from someone with nothing?
Take a look at His words again.
“From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
What if Jesus’ words reveal that this man’s problem isn’t really that he didn’t have, but rather that he didn’t acknowledge and use what he had? The consequences are clear. If we don’t use it, we lose it.
You and I need to know what we have, dear one.
Let’s stop allowing unbelief to quench the Spirit of God. It’s not our place to tell God how He should move. He manifests His Spirit through each of us as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11). But if He’s going to release His work through you, He will require something of you.
A little faith.
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He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.1 Peter 2:24
I wept today.
In case you’re picturing gentle tears of joy or wistful tender memories, it wasn’t. Quite the opposite. Wrenching sobs erupted from someplace deep.
You know the kind. Unguarded vulnerability releasing decades of pain that sent the dog hiding under the desk.
I’m not even certain what triggered it, exactly, except that Jesus has invited me to explore the crimson-stained gifts His cross unleashed for us. And for more than a year, He has repeatedly drawn my gaze back to this promise sprinkled over us through His shed blood.
By His wounds you have been healed.
I hope you noticed the tense encasing that promise. You have been healed. It isn’t something you’re striving toward, dear one. It’s already happened. You received perfect healing as a gift of grace poured out through the blood of your Savior.
That truth prompts me to ask the question: Am I living as one who has been healed? Do I live out the reality of that promise? Because I don’t feel like it a lot of the time. I seem to vacillate between moments of glorious celebration over God’s faithfulness and ravaging self-doubt.
And I’m tired. Aren’t you?
I’m tired of settling for a theoretical version of the Gospel. Jesus came as a flesh and blood man. He felt real pain and endured real suffering. He shed actual blood. And that blood redeems what the enemy has stolen. It unleashed divine power, not doctrinal theory.
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.1 Corinthians 4:20
I think it’s time we learned to live in that power, don’t you? I’d like to invite you to open your heart and step into this truth with me.
Christ’s blood makes impossible things possible.
Are you living out impossible promises, dear one? You should be, and so should I.
What if the pain surrounding us in these dark days offers an invitation to raise our expectations and believe God for the more we’ve settled for living without? What if He’s simply waiting for us to exercise the faith that ushers in His impossible promises?
Let’s take a moment to contemplate what God sent Jesus to the earth to do.
God anointed Jesus of Nazarethwith the Holy Spirit and withpower. He went about doing good and healing allwho were oppressed by the devil,for God was with Him. Acts 10:38
Do you see it, dear one? The good that Jesus came to accomplish—what God anointed Him to do—was heal all who were oppressed by the devil. If you’re a human being, you fall under that promise. But don’t miss what enabled Jesus to fulfill His calling. For God was with Him. That detail also allows us full access to God’s promises.
Isaiah 61:1 describes Jesus’ job description with a few more details.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Today we celebrate the good news of the Gospel: Jesus came to set captives free! But I need you to notice what precedes experiencing that freedom in this verse. Healing. Jesus must bind up our broken hearts, enabling us to leave our captivity and live free from oppression.
Consider this thought with me, based on my own experiences. How can a woman celebrate God’s work with overwhelming joy and clarity, yet find herself ravaged by doubt and fear in the very same day? How can a person surrounded by loving community find herself feeling completely alone and crushed under the weight of isolation?
Wounds are how. Tender places where the enemy has bitten us and left his mark. Painful experiences linger that have allowed the deceiver to whisper messages into our souls that defy God’s truth about us and rob our identity. So just as we start to move forward into God’s promises, the enemy digs into that old pain to draw fresh blood.
But here’s the thing about wounds, dear one. The Physician can’t bind them if we aren’t willing to expose them. Jesus will never heal a wound we pretend not to have.
You and I need to let Jesus lift the veil on our brokenness. Not to shame us, dear one. We need to expose the wounds we carry so He can heal and restore us, freeing us from the enemy’s influence.
Remember the promise we started with in 1 Peter 2:24,
You received that gift of healing the moment you put your faith in Jesus. But, if you find yourself perpetually tormented by darkness, that pain reveals areas where you haven’t yet realized your divine identity. Wounds exist that you have not exchanged for the healing Christ has given you.
Lies remain in your belief system, denying the Truth that sets you free.
Deep down, we already know. The lingering ache in our hearts reveals our need. A longing deep within cries out for more. Let’s stop settling for the lie that this is as good as it gets. Don’t waver between the darkness and the Light. Let’s press into Jesus and let Him reveal His healing in our lives. You’re not who the enemy says you are. Fear and doubt have no business oppressing you. Jesus speaks the final Word.
And His blood declares you healed.
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