"His Report To You"

   So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.
   And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house.
   for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.
   Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,
   came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
   And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng You and press You, and you say, 'Who touched Me?"
   But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."
   Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
   And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."  
   While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher."
   But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."
   When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, John, and the father and mother of the girl.
   Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."
   And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
   But He put them all out, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."
   Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.
   And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. Luke 8:40-56

Today's message is about a moment that we all experience. It is the moment where we come face to face with a choice that only we can make. It is the moment where we make the choice about, "Whose report will we believe?" (Isaiah 53:1, Romans 10:16) In the above account we see the moment when Jairus was faced with his moment of decision. We know that he was 'a ruler of the synagogue' which means that he was fully aware of all the talk/debates of the religious leaders about who Jesus was and what he had doing. He may even have known about some of their attempts to 'trap' Him into saying or doing the 'wrong' thing. Truth is we don't really know what he had seen, heard, or believed about Jesus up until this moment. What we do know is that when it came to the welfare of his only daughter Jesus was the One he had come to with at least a measure of hope that Jesus would be able to help her. It says that he came 'And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house,' which gives the impression that by begging Jesus to come he is feeling that Jesus represents the last bit of hope that his daughter has. So, at this point he has seen or heard enough to feel that Jesus represent 'a chance' of life for his daughter.

Next comes the whole delay as Jesus deals with the woman with the issue of blood. He sees the healing that she receives just by touching Jesus, which must have sparked an increase in his anticipation for what Jesus could do for his daughter. At the same time he must have been feeling a certain amount of fear and anxiety caused by the delay. On the heals of this universal struggle (fear for his daughter, hope at the woman's healing represents as he sees it happen right there in front of him)  the news he fears most comes.  "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." In and instant he receives the worst report possible! Hope dies.

This is that moment for Jairus. This is the moment when he lets hope die or he chooses to believe the words that Jesus speaks? Jesus had already agreed to go with him. The outcome was already decided the moment Jairus had believed in Him enough to ask Him to come and Jesus had started along the way. It says that, 'when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." Jesus is always going to let you know that ... It is never too much trouble! Over and over and over and over He was always telling people to believe and that believing is what gets it done. Believing will move mountains! Jesus had already told him He would come and it doesn't matter what report comes after that! His is the report we need to believe! His report tells us that 'by His stripes we are healed.' Isaiah 53:5 His report tells us that 'signs and wonders follow those that believe,' Mark 16:17 etc. His report tells us that it really is just this simple. Believe His report! His report tells us ...He always wins!

Remember this; the next time a bad report tells you to not to bother or that you are faced with the struggle of which will in win your situation, fear verses hope. Remember that His report to you is, "Do not be afraid; only believe."

Hang on Sheep

Seh was transfixed. His mind swirled with Jesus' words. Jesus was telling a story about a good shepherd. It was like the story was taking place before his eyes. Seh could see it...

The good shepherd laughed at his herd of sheep. The herd was following the alpha around, and as a small rodent startled the alpha, and he jumped. In turn, each of the following sheep jumped in that same spot, even thought the rodent had long since disappeared.

Weird, silly creatures. He wouldn't trade them for anything.

These were his sheep. He glanced at them lovingly. Sure they were a pain in the rear sometimes, and man, could they be dumb! Despite their flaws, they were his.

The image faded from Seh's mind, but was immediately replaced with a new one as Jesus continued his story about a hired hand...

The good shepherd had to take a journey, and a hired hand was watching over his sheep in his absence. The hired hand didn't care about the sheep. They drove him crazy with their constant bleating, falling into ditches, and smelliness! Why, he even shoved them around!

One day, a wolf came. As soon as the hired hand saw the wolf stalking the sheep at the edge of the herd, he hid behind a tree. When he was certain the wolf hand not seen him, he ran away.

Leaving the sheep defenseless. Many died, and the rest were scattered.

Seh blinked. What a horrid ending! The hired hand should have defended the sheep. Saved them. Done something. If it had been the good shepherd, he would have given his life for the sheep, Seh was certain of it!

Then it dawned on Seh. Jesus was THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Seh shook his head in amazement. If Jesus was anything like that shepherd, he was going to follow him.

Based on John 10:11-13

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." John 10:11-13

Jesus is comparing Himself to a good shepherd, one who cares about his sheep. Jesus says that a hired hand doesn't care about the sheep. A hired hand is just kind of there, hanging out. What if a wolf appears while the hired hand is there? The wolf is intent on harming and devouring the sheep, and a hired hand is not going to mess with him. He's going to save his own neck! So he runs away.

The good shepherd would have laid down his life for his sheep, because even though they are dumb and a pain in his rear, he loves them. His job is to protect them.

Some of you are reading this, and you come from a past filled with hurt. You feel like all God and Jesus have even done is abandon you. You need to understand that He hasn't.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

God even gave his son to die for you. Jesus laid down his life for you, like a good shepherd does for the sheep he loves. The world is full of "hired hands" who are watching over us. Unless they are Godly people, they don't care about us. Then the enemy comes, and we are hurt.

But God has not abandoned you.

The Good Shepherd loves you. He's coming for you. And He will care for you. Don't let the enemy scatter you. Don't abandon The Good Shepherd. Even in ways we can't see or understand, He's taking care of you.

Hang on sheep. Hang on.

V. Joy Palmer

"He Steps In"

   Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
   And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
   When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."
   Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
   And he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
   Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people." Luke 7:11-16

   Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
   And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the burning fiery furnace.
   Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
   "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
   Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, srvants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.
   And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. Daniel 3:22-27
  
   And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.
   And they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabath, so that they might accuse Him.
   Then He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."
   And He said to them, "Is it lawful on theSabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent.
   So when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Mark 3:1-5

   Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
   So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
   And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
   Then she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread,  only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
   And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
   "For thus said 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.'"
   So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
   The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:8-16

   Then a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."
   Then Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."
   As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. Mark 1:40-42

Old Testament or New, it really doesn't matter because it really is very simple. When God shows up all things are possible and ... Miracles Happen!!!

God Bless!!!

"Give A Shout Of Praise!"

   Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own garments on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.
   And as He went, they spread their clothes on the road.
   Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
   saying:  "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
   And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." Luke 19:35-40

Lord, I pray that we as Your disciples would be faithful to give You a shout of praise today and everyday, despite any and all opposition by those who 'don't approve.' We lift Your name on high as we to, with all our might cry, "We love You Lord."

God Bless!!!

Staff of Snack Time Devotions
   
  

Freely Give

"You have heard that the law of Moses says, "If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it. But I say, don't resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other one, too. If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who borrow." Matthew 5:38-42

I bet Jesus had people really upset about this one. I mean, going from being able to slap someone back, or poke 'em in the eye? I mean, come on, who wants to turn the other cheek when you could nail them right back? And not only that, these people are taking something from you, and you have to give them even more? How is that right?

"Give as freely as you have received!" Matthew 10:8

Jesus gave us eternal life. After that, what could compare? I mean, really, what compares to that? Certainly not money, clothes, or anything that we can find in this world. And if we have that eternal life, what value does any of our possessions truly have? Shouldn't we use anything we have to help us in our commission to preach the Gospel to every creature? And if, we have to give something up to be a witness to someone, shouldn't we do it with a happy heart? Don't begrudge anyone anything. God provides us with what we need, and often, more than that.

"Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required to whom much more is given." Luke 12:48b

Another hard message. Its frustrating, knowing that God expects so much of us. Seriously, we are only human. How can we make an impact? I guess its a good thing that he came and gave us the example to follow. He showed us how to do it. Do we actually follow his example? We can feed the thousands waiting. We can heal the sick. We can raise the dead. But before we can do that, we have to be faithful in the little things. Bible reading, prayer, worship, just spending time with Him builds us up to do the miraculous.

Be faithful in the little things so He can trust you with the big ones.

Sam

"Change Your View"

   Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
   And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were in trouble, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.
   But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."
   And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
   So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
   But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
   And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
   And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
   Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." Matthew 14:25-33

Have you ever really wanted to be like Peter? I know I have! The whole idea of doing something this amazing with Jesus is pretty appealing to me. Walking on water, walking in the anointing of God, with signs, wonders, and miracles all that stuff cool God stuff ... definitely has me crying out to Him, "Lord, bid me to..."

I long to be like Peter who was the one and only disciple that dared to ask Jesus to 'bid him to come.' He then responded to that call and actually got out of the boat! Pretty amazing, right? I say that because I know from personal experience, both my own and years of watching others, that most of us have dared to call out to Jesus and asked that we might join Him in some endeavor or another. And the truth is, we all have the best of intentions when we call out to Him, asking Him to use us to further the kingdom. We all have a hearts cry to do big things for Him. That is always the intention! Then comes His response. He bids you to come and now its time to step out of the boat and step into that moment of walking with Him! Trusting Him to help us walk.

I've been thinking about Mark 16:17-18 lately where Jesus said, "And these signs WILL follow those who believe; In My name they WILL cast out demons; they WILL speak with new tongues; they WILL take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they WILL lay hands on the sick and they WILL recover." These words are the words of Jesus to His disciples, to us who are called by His name. They are His words, bidding us to, "Come and do likewise." They question remains WILL we get out of the boat and join Him? Everywhere He went these are the things that He did with never any question about the outcome. Do we believe? Do we act like we believe? Do we have these signs following our 'beliving?' For example, do we, beliving His words, step out in faith and lay hands on the sick? Do we lay hands on them believing that healing will come?

Peter, was out of the boat because He believed and responded when Jesus said, "Come." He was out there walking when he got distracted by the wind and the waves. Suddenly the storm was bigger than being out there with Jesus. When we are laying hands on the sick do we understand that we are responding to His command and trusting Him or do we too get distracted by the sickness or others opinion? Do we truly understand that it is all about Him! He equipped Peter to walk and if we are being obedient to His command He will equip us as well and according to these, His words, its as simple as believing!

When Peter believed, he walked. When he didn't, he sank. "But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" Its important to note that as soon as he started to sink he turned to Jesus and it says that just that quick, or rather, immediately "Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Just that quick, Peter's view changed from the storm and once again he was looking up toward Jesus. He will always respond with an outstretched hand to help lift you up, so, how about you? The next time you are being obedient and stepping out, 'laying hands on the sick ...etc.' and you are doubting or feeling less than confident, cause its a big sickness' and your just you, remember to change your view! Stop looking at the wind and waves and what you can't do! Instead, look up! His is the healing/helping hand that gets it done!

Jesus Has Life

Where is he?"

Byki looked around. Everyone was asking the same question. The multitude of people searched high and low. Just yesterday, Jesus had fed them. How, Byki didn't know. There were thousands and thousands of men, women, and children here, but they had all eaten their fill.

Byki desperately wanted to find Jesus. He took care of them.

Someone screamed over the crowd, silencing them for a brief moment. "He's not here!"

So, where had he gone?

"His disciples crossed the sea during the night, but Jesus was not with them," an old man claimed. Others chimed in, agreeing that Jesus had not gone with his disciples.

Byki looked out to the calm waters. There had been a great storm during the night, but you couldn't tell from the waters gently lapping at the shore and the cloudless blue sky.

If Jesus wasn't here, when and how did he get across the sea?

Almost at the same time, the people around Byki started shouting his conclusion. "We need to cross the sea, and find him!"

Based on John 6:22-27

"When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.'" John 6:25-27

When reading this the other day, it struck me how Jesus said that they weren't looking for Him because of the signs and miracles. No, they were looking for Him because, well, He fed them! Jesus then took their appreciation and need for physical food to talk to them about their need for spiritual food.

It kind of amazed me. How many times do we see in the New Testament the Pharisees demanding a sign or miracle? These simple people didn't demand a miracle. Originally, they had followed Jesus to the middle of nowhere because He met their physical needs. He healed and loved them.

And that's the reason they chased after Him. Their bellies were filled, and someone who could fill their bellies was a man worth following.

Guys, are you following after things that will only fill you temporarily? Are you slaving to fill your physical needs while not knowingly starving your spiritual needs? Follow Jesus. Cause He's got both. He holds the means to fill your bellies, provide all your needs, and fill your heart completely.

These people chased after Jesus to meet their physical needs, but they left with so much more. He can meet both needs. He can meet all needs. Jesus has the eternal food, the living bread, and the never ending supply of water.

Jesus has life, in every sense of the word.

V. Joy Palmer