Tag: Supernatural

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Demanding signs.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake. ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

After a brief but interesting mention of leaving the city Dalmanutha, which only shows up in Mark 8:10, Jesus has this confrontation with Pharisees. This time Mark writes of a dispute or challenge between Rabbis. This “argument” is not uncommon among Rabbis of that day. Religious leaders had become accustomed to thrashing over theology for fun, entertainment and education. You will still find this today, happening around different gatherings of denominational disputes, arguing the deep but useless depths of old, stale tensions of Christianity. For most people it is boring, but few realize its dangers and sway on younger believers. Asking Jesus for a sign was probably the quickest way to discredit him.

It is ironic that Mark’s gospel is filled with signs and miracles, progressively more supernatural as the Messiah eventually raises Lazarus from the dead! NLT using the word “demand,” from the Pharisees, may be too aggressive, the word also just means to seek or search, coming from the word investigate. Ah, but the Pharisees were indeed “testing” (peirazó) or even tempting him. Does this sound like the similar situation where Jesus was led, by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted by Satan? Maybe it was.

When the men, who supposedly worked for God asked Jesus this to “prove” or authenticate (sémeion) his authority, Mark notes that Jesus physically reacted to their request, groaning deeply (anastenazó). I don’t think Jesus was into doing some performa, cheap tricks to prove himself. Every single miracle had a purpose behind it! Every miracle was driven by mercy, the one of many godly attributes the religious leaders had long forgotten.

I find it very interesting that very few of Jesus’ miracles were “performed” with any religious leaders present to witness the supernatural. They kept hearing stories and testimony of such things. I only know of one, early on, where Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, on the Sabbath and in the synagogue (Luke 6:10).

Here in Mark, they want to see a miraculous act, but we know that later, when Jesus does miracles, the religious leaders call Jesus a fraud and a fake, even declaring he does so as a servant of Satan himself! We need to understand, the Sanhedrin had a very meticulous system of verifying miracles. They required multiple eyewitness testimonies, and backed it up with the fact that a priest had to examine and clear a physical exam to allow the person to be among the community again. It was all meticulously recorded. Wouldn’t it be great to find those records the religious leaders kept on Jesus during that time!

When Jesus asked the question, “why do these people…” he wasn’t directing that at the needy, sick and broken. He was speaking to the “people” in religious authority. And, when he said he would not give this generation any such sign, who do you also think that was directed towards? Right! The generation of hardhearted, sons of snakes and vipers!

Would I ask God for miracles demanding a show of power to shut the mouths of His critics and modern-mockers? Oh, I’ve wanted that! Or, would Jesus still be reserving miracles, signs and wonders for those who are truly seeking and needing hope? Early on in the gospels Jesus kept telling those who were healed to keep it quiet. We now know that this was all about God’s timing of revealing Jesus as the Messiah! But what if miracles are still supposed to be quiet, intimate expressions of God’s mercy to the broken? Does God have need to display His power to prove His existence? I don’t think that’s how it works. What do you think? Miracles are incredible at drawing a crowd, but is that why Jesus did them? Is that what we think will soften a person’s heart and turn them towards God? It certainly didn’t work on the super-religious.

Prayer

Dad,
I’m not okay with demanding signs. Sure, I want to see and feel your presence working in our selfish, self-reliant culture. But, maybe if folks aren’t seeking, they just won’t find you, even with some flashy miracle-lure of the supernatural. I know plenty of plain-old people in a world of hurt and pain that need you. May your compassion and mercy lead and guide us just as it did so with Jesus! May your love shine in the darkest of places where people find themselves trapped and imprisoned. Help us to be your grace extended to allow the hurting to see you through us. Amen.

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The crowd’s response.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel… ‭‭Acts ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Luke, recording the Day of Pentecost activities, writes that the crowd didn’t know what was happening with the people that gathered. They assumed the group displayed drunk and disorderly conduct! There was a lot of supernatural activity happening – whirlwind, some semblance of fire resting on individuals, and the loud speaking in other languages. Those are signs of drunkenness? Wow. When God does a miraculous thing among us, that’s when we assume the worst?

Have you ever witnessed a mob, mosh-pit, brawl, rave, or riot? Sadly, these are common images on the news or during spring break and we think nothing of it. And, although they are overwhelming to experience, these public displays are somehow normalized, captured and celebrated. But oh, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit with supernatural phenomenon – that’s weird?

Someone needs to speak up when bad human behaviors are normalized, expected and sometimes celebrated compared to a God moment that is dismissed or scrutinized. Peter did so, he spoke up saying, “these people are not drunk,” as they were assuming. What they were witnessing was yet another promise that God had predicted would happen! Joel 2:28-32 records what WILL happen and DID happen, in the last days. And the morning of the Pentecost Sunday – it did happen! Peter brilliantly uses the moment to share the gospel. Basically telling the crowd, they got it wrong. Seeing the supposed mayhem they assumed the WORST in human behavior, yet they were actually witnesses to another one of God’s fulfillment of His promises.

We get it so wrong when we dismiss miracles as drunkenness. I’ll admit, being in the room when something supernatural happens is a little disconcerting, but believe me, it is far better than being in the middle of a drunken brawl between family or friends. I’ve been in both and prefer God’s revival over human revelry.

Prayer

Dad,
Far too often I have seen people dismiss your miraculous moving among us and readily accept a drunken display of stupidity. It’s frustrating to explain that one is real and life changing, the other is destructive, especially in our relationships with each other. I get upset when folks confusingly trade out truth when one is rejected and the other is accepted. How in the world can we be so drawn to the supernatural when it comes to things of darkness and be repelled by Your Spirit doing a miraculous work among us? We’ve got some serious misconceptions of how the spiritual realm works. Yet you still desire to do the miraculous in us! Thank you for your grace even when we’ve mistakenly misplaced our faith in the wrong place.

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The experience of a lifetime

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground. Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.” Matthew‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This powerful episode, this transfiguration, takes place high up on the mountain. A transfiguration is, “a complete change of form or appearance into something more beautiful or spiritual.” We would use a similar word, “transformed.”

Matthew tells us that this is what happened on the mountain when Jesus took three of his closest friends (the minimum for number of witnesses in legal matters) with him to pray. How did Matthew know what happened? He interviewed Peter as an eyewitness.

As Jesus’ physical appearance rapidly changed, his face and clothing bursting with blinding white, two other figures also appear in that moment. Two super, well known characters from the Old Testament – Moses and Elijah. The whole scene is reminiscent of the high mountain moments that took place on Sinai. The presence of God had clearly descended on that place. Jesus, Moses and Elijah are having a conversation, like it was normal, you know, old friends catching up after not seeing each other for 1600 years! The three disciples, Peter, James and John are just standing there, taking it all in. Peter, of course, has to say something, offering to build some temporary tents for the three to have an extended time of fellowship if they so desired. Mark’s gospel adds, “he didn’t know what to say.” Jesus doesn’t respond. But then the cloud comes down.

This descending cloud is directly connected to when God came down on the first tabernacle (Exodus 33:9) and filled the house of the Lord on the dedication of the Temple” (1Kings 8:10). It was, in later Jewish language, described as the “Shechinah” glory of God’s presence. It was a holy moment. It was also a difficult moment to process for the disciples. This friend of theirs, Jesus, was indeed the messiah. But they could not wrap their brains around the concept of what the messiah would be and do according to everything they had been taught about him. Their understanding did not match these experiences. Jesus had proven that He is God through miracles. He had proven that He had all power and authority over ALL things! And now this supernatural moment just put it over the top. And yet, Jesus had already told them he was to die, resurrect, then leave?

In this moment on the mount, these three average guys are experiencing something no one else could even dream of – a meeting with Jesus, two famous Prophets and God-the-Father’s voice coming out of an ominous CLOUD! What’s the protocol for such situations? What does one do when in the middle of a supernatural, other-world event, taking place right in front of you? You fall! You bow! You make yourself as low as possible and stay that way until someone tells you different. You don’t peek! You don’t look at your friends to see what they’re doing. You flatten down, shut up and be very, very still – like you’re dead! Being terrified doesn’t even begin to capture the emotions of that moment. Think about this, when the Apostle Paul says, “every knee will bow and tongue confess,” this moment describes why. Humans won’t bow and confess, being forced to do so. It will be the natural response to complete and utter realization of who Jesus is! Jesus touches them so they can get back up.

This whole experience must have been so overwhelming for the three apostles, Peter, James and John. It did not however, prevent them from having future doubts, questions and even failures! It would be a mistake to think that spiritual high-points are somehow the answer or “fix” to our problems. It didn’t happen then, it’s not going to happen today! The deep patterns of a spiritual life are still the same, denying ourselves, being obedient to pick up the cross of Christ and follow Jesus daily. When we fail, we confess, repent and get back at it.

Prayer

Dad,
It is so hard for me to imagine experiencing something so powerful, so profound, so supernatural. It would take me forever to even process an event like this. Even so, I would completely expect my life to not just be changed, but that I would never again wrestle with doubt, faith or even sin! Ah, but they did, and I realize… so would I. I need your grace and mercy all the way to the end! I need your forgiveness and patience my whole life through. I am grateful for your long-suffering love.

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Our craving for the supernatural.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I no longer think miracles are the epitome of necessary proof needed to believe. I know, we would think that an undeniable miracle happening to us or a family member would just be THE thing, the moment that sweeps away our doubts about the reality of God and His desire and ability to intervene in our human affairs. Jesus seems to suggest otherwise!

The guys supposedly working FOR God demand a show of proof to settle the open case of “by who’s authority do you do or say these things.” Remember, one group tried to accuse Jesus of working for Beelzebub! Jesus pulled some lessons from history using some famous people as an object lesson. He used the Prophet Jonah, but really drew a verbal picture of a court scene where the people of Nineveh were called to judge the generation Jesus lived in at the time. Nineveh, that vile, cruel people group who took pleasure in torturing their enemies. Jesus mentioned that even they recognized their sin and at one point, repented! Those folks would testify that the current generation was WORSE than they were! It would be like Hitler getting up on the stand and saying, “and you thought I was evil…” check your own hearts! Then Jesus name-drops another very famous name out of history – Queen Sheba. This powerful, beautiful, smart and accomplished woman came to test Solomon’s wisdom, where she found him the most wise person person on the planet (1 Kings 10:1-13 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. “She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true!” Jesus personifies Sheba getting on the stand and testifying that Solomon’s wisdom cannot even come close to the Son of God’s wisdom.

Both of these examples showing the disparity in what Jesus called, “this generation.” When the wicked testify against the mindset and attitudes of the Pharisee’s wickedness and the queen of Sheba testifies how little their knowledge has translated into wisdom – it is supposed to be crystal clear! We are not better, we are worse.

We have not gotten better with the knowledge of good, we’ve gotten worse with practicing evil. We’ve not increased in wisdom, as philosophers and atheists have predicted, we’ve increased in foolishness. Why? Because we may know more about our world, our history and even ourselves, but we have used that knowledge to consume things unto ourselves.

Teacher, show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority? So we can mock it, criticize it and get back to our own will and own way? Jesus says, a miracle will not fix us! “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign…” Jesus closes this thought with a haunting illustration of what happens if we should happen to figure out how to “clean ourselves up.” An evil spirit comes back to find the place clean and invites his friends 😱. What should we ask for…? Jesus, we want you to forgive us and show us mercy!

Prayer

Dad,
When I was younger, I really thought that people just needed to see you working in supernatural ways, performing a miracle to convince them that you are real. I know better now. After multiple times of hearing the promises to believe based on a miracles and not a simple faith, I’ve seen too many folks forget and go back to life as usual. The supernatural is just not sticky enough to hold our hearts in place! Faith and a relationship with you is what keeps us. I am impressed by the miracles of mercy, but more impressed by your faithfulness through the highs and lows of this life.

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Joseph knew.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭13‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Joseph lived a very long and productive life! He held his viceroy position in Egypt for 80 years and lived to 110 years old. But he knew Egypt wasn’t his final resting place. Moses records, ““Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.”

“So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭50‬:‭24‬-‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬. Jewish historians tell us the Egyptians, at the time of Joseph’s death, ALSO knew that the Jews would not stay in their land forever. However, they did not want Joseph’s family to take their beloved leader out of Egypt, when the people would finally leave.

To guarantee the Jews could NOT honor Joseph’s solemn request, one of the stories is the Egyptians put Joseph’s body in lead casket and sunk his remains in the deepest part of the Nile river. Even more mysteriously wild is the story that Moses went to one of Joseph’s long-living nieces, Serach, and asked her where they had sunk the casket. Moses, supposedly went to the edge of the riverbank and called out, “Joseph, Joseph – present yourself or release us from our oath!” Of corse this is all in Jewish folklore and not in the Bible at all. But it is fascinating to think that both the Egyptians and Joseph knew Israel would be moving on.

Jewish history tells us that it was 139 years later that Joseph’s bones would be taken with them and be buried in an odd, full-circle, final resting place. In Joshua 24:32, it is recorded that they bought a piece of land in Shechem, “The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought along with them when they left Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the plot of land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor for 100 pieces of silver. This land was located in the territory allotted to the descendants of Joseph.” Why is that so strange? The Jewish Talmud says, “It was from Shechem that they [the brothers] stole him, and it was to Shechem that he was returned.” And continues, “Remember that when Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers and taken away from his dear father, it was in Shechem. Bringing him back to this site was an act of closure and historical justice.”

Are you kidding me? That’s so amazing! What’s the takeaway in all this? God is really into keeping His word and the level of detail spanning thousands of years is unfathomable! Everything, and I mean everything, is not just for a specific reason, it is also accurately timed and supernaturally placed to defy the possibility of anything being a coincidence. Everything God does is providentially perfect. The sooner we wrap our brains around that the faster we understand how critical it is that we not only trust God but in total faith believe Him at every second of every day.

Prayer

Dad,
Wow. Just wow. I am always so impressed by the level of detail and perfection that you carry out your will and your ways! No wonder Isaiah said your thoughts and your ways are so far above ours! It is so amazing to see this truth in history, yet so difficult for me to see them in both the present and the future. How can I doubt when there is such consistent evidence of your patient faithfulness in all of our human history? I have faith, but I always seem to need more when facing a dilemma or decision. Thank you for your grace as I grow in that faith.

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Elizabeth did you know?

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭41‬-‭45‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As with Mary, Jesus’ mom – yes, she did. I’m so jealous of these two women. Before Acts 2, before the general outpouring of the Spirit of God coming on all who would receive, Elizabeth gets this supernatural visitation that was rare in the Old Testament, but would be common in the New Testament and from there on. Little baby John leaped in utero and Liz was filled (plḗthō, filled to capacity)!

Ezekiel had prophesied this would happen, hundreds of years earlier, “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭36‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬. The gals experienced this right at very beginning of the New Testament story. Was this infilling permanent? Or, was it a temporary visit like it was in the old days? Was it just to cover their time of carrying the child in their womb? Who knows!

Mary experienced it first, ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬. Then Elizabeth. Then even Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭67‬). All three, being filled with the Holy Spirit, began to know things, Mary and Zach burst into these powerful prophetic prayers. Liz seemed to know exactly who the child was in Mary’s womb, saying “mother of my Lord,” even knowing about Mary’s extraordinary faith to believe! These three folks, in the Christmas storyline had supernatural things happening because of the Holy Spirit within them.

You realize that Luke is the author here as well as the author of the book of Acts, right? He writes in Acts 1, “In my first book I told you, Theophilus…” Luke had a particular interest and knowledge about the whole subject of the Holy Spirit and God’s ability to come and dwell not just “with” us as the Logos, the Word made flesh (Jesus), but also “within” us as the third person of what we call the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). And with God living within us, believers have both the Spirit in our heart as well as this unique and constant Spirit of God swelling up within like a supernatural eruption of power when we are also “filled” as Jesus, and the other New Testament writers speak of.

Peter watched in amazement as Cornelius and his friends were filled ‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭44‬-‭47‬. Paul asked some Ephesians believers, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19‬:‭1‬-‭2‬. They had even been baptized! In both scenes with Cornelius and the Ephesian crew, they spoke in tongues and even prophesied.

Supernatural things happen when the Holy Spirit comes flooding out from within instead of pouring out on us from above. Every believer can have, should have these experiences happening in and through them as God brings about the Kingdom of a God here on earth! Why not me? Why not you? Why not more often? These are questions for another time. Question to believers: “Follower of Jesus, did you know?”

Prayer

Dad,
I knew from the moment you flipped my heart and my life around that you live within me. I had a conscience, a sense, a new “knowing” of you and things around me. But learning how it all works and what it means has taken a lifetime to just begin to figure it out. I think the understanding and ways you work through us is sparked and fueled by faith. But as I have gotten older, I don’t like the feeling or idea of getting it wrong or looking like a fool about it. When I was young and in many ways a social outcast, I didn’t care. Now, sadly, I care too much of what others might think. I was more eager to obey than to care what others thought. Now, sadly, that has flipped around. What happened to those deep and compelling urges to obey? Are they still there? Are they just dormant? Can I change? Can I be more aware and obedient to the Holy Spirit moving in my life now?

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Do you hunger for the supernatural, then snuggle up to the Holy Spirit.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:10-13‬ ‭NLT‬

This past Sunday I spoke on Jesus final words before leaving for heaven. But before he left, Luke tells us that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” It takes God to help us connect the dots. Paul explains it so well here to the churches in Corinth. Corinth was totally into all things mystical and fantastic.

The Spirit of God shows us the deep secrets of God himself. I believe those deep things are God’s plans and His ways. Paul even says we need “Spirit” words to explain spiritual truths. Jesus was the master of this concept. His words, illustrations and object lessons were simple yet profound. He was taking eternal ideas and making them reachable, accessible to those who had “ears to hear” what the Spirit was saying. He also spoke in parables that cloaked truth just enough to cause the listener to press in an be curious and inquisitive to learn.

Paul certainly was impressive explaining a lot of spiritual truths, especially when it came to wisdom of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote more about the function and ways of the Holy Spirit to Corinth than any other church. You don’t see him write about things of the Spirit nearly as much in Romans or Ephesians. Corinth must have had a curiosity about the workings or “deep” things of God and Paul was boldly explaining them. I think these “spiritual truths” and “deep secrets”

Paul words are difficult for us westerners to understand. Last Sunday I said, we are “mystically challenged.” Oh, we enjoy our sci-fi, fantasy entertainment in movies, books and podcasts. But to explain or experience the the reality and truth of God’s word we are uncomfortable around miracles and the supernatural. It is dangerous to dabble in the fantasy world of spells, wizards, or even the paranormal while denying the very real spiritual realms of God himself and the purpose of power behind it. Let’s do as Paul suggests and reign in our imaginations or “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor 10:5.

Do you want to explore the mystical, supernatural wonder of the spiritual world? Snuggle up to the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit of God lead you into all truth!

Prayer:

Dad,
Let our imaginations, our fascinations, our affections be set on you and only you. Help us not be carried away and tricked into seeking and believing the fantasy world of magic while disbelieving and even denying your deep secrets of plans and purposes of heaven. There is plenty of mystical wonder in the workings of your Holy Spirit. There is a very real power to experience and transform our lives and the world we live in. Let us press in to find the real and not be all enamored with the fake.