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Monday September 2 - Signs and wonders
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of
theHolySpirit... Hebrews2:4
When Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, he didn’t just use words, he also demonstrated it through signs and wonders. It was ‘show and tell’ at its very finest. Jesus taught truth, but he also acted on that truth and made it a reality for people through healings, provision, and deliverance. No wonder he was so popular with the ordinary people – but not so with the religious authorities, who were threatened by this demonstration of a different kind of kingdom.
The early church continued this ‘Kingdom’ teaching and demonstration. They expected supernatural things to happen when they prayed and spoke in Jesus’ name, because that’s what Jesus taught them to expect. The same should be true for us, but we often have very low expectations of the miraculous breaking-in of God’s kingdom; signs and wonders were always meant to be part of the work of God’s people on earth. When words are not enough, a sign points the way and a wonder makes us stop and think, often causing people to take God seriously for the first time.
Even when our prayers aren’t answered as we’d like and we don’t see the miracles we long for, God is still demonstrating his goodness and power through the prayers of his people, and he still testifies to the reality of salvation by defeating the powers of sin and sickness in miraculous ways in people’s lives and in society.
Lord God, please help me to both ‘show and tell’ the reality of your Kingdom. Amen.
Tuesday September 3 - Lower for a little while
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little
while... Hebrews 2:9
We all face difficult situations in life, when we find ourselves struggling to reconcile life’s outcomes with God’s sovereignty over all things. So much is wrong and broken, both in us and in society, that we are left to question, “Why, Lord?” This is nothing new; the book of Hebrews helps us to understand what’s going on by explaining how God delegated the job of running the world to mankind. Tragically, through mankind’s sin in defiantly acting independently of God, Satan was allowed to come in and impose his disorder in place of God’s order. Because of this, we find ourselves living with the consequences – that is until Jesus returns and sets things right once more!
The reason Jesus can do that is because, for a little while, he came and lived on earth as a human being, making himself lower than the angels. Although Jesus is superior in every way, he emptied himself of that superiority for a short time to live as one of us. Just like us, he ate, slept, worked, walked, rested. But he did it all well, without compromise or sin. Jesus restored order where there was disorder and gave hope to all who put their faith in him. He helped people then and he still does now. Although we must wait for the complete fulfillment of all that’s been promised, we can know and enjoy personal restoration and new life right now.
Jesus, thank you for giving up all that you had in heaven, making yourself lower than the angels. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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