"The Final Say"

   Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."
   And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
   The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
   For I am a man under authority having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and He goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
   When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"
   "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
   But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
   Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. Matthew 8:5-13

As I read through this account of the centurion soldier today I felt led to ask you this question, "Do you, like this centurion, understand that Jesus has the final say? Do you get that He is the ultimate authority and that at His Word every sickness and disease is defeated? If the answer is yes than ...

   At this very hour ... "Go your way; as you have believed, so let it be done for you!"

HIS WORDS not mine and He does get the final say!

"Reach Out"

I don't seem to be able to get the words from these two verses out of my thoughts today.

  "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15

   "Son, you are always with me and all that I have is yours?" Luke 15:31

The time for us to know and understand that we are His is now. All that pertains to the kingdom is our inheritance in Him and it is ours to walk in, in the same way that the second son could have had his fatted calf anytime he chose to.

The kingdom of God is at hand! That means it is accessible to us. We are His children, His sons and daughters. And as such, all of heaven, in all its power and might and grace and mercy are at hand, ready and available to us because we belong to Him.

Need a healing? Reach out in faith, believing/knowing it's yours to walk in! Need deliverance? Reach out! How about salvation? Reach out, repent, believe ... it's yours! Nothing is to hard for God! All things are possible and the impossible is yours just because your His and its His kingdom!

"His Outstretched Hand Is Always Enough"

But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with fever, and the told her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. Mark 1:30-31

Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing, be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:3

But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all the land. Matthew 9:25-26

Then the Spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and He arose. Mxark 9:26-27

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. Matthew 14:30-32

And brought Israel from among them,for His mercy endures forever; With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:11-12

BEHOLD, THE LORD'S HAND IS NOT SHORTENED, THAT IT CANNOT SAVE; NOR HIS EAR HEAVY THAT IT CANNOT HEAR. Isaiah 59:2

Whatever the need, deliverance, sickness, disease, death, and a lack of faith were all dealt with by His touch. Remember the kingdom of heaven is ... at hand!  And He is always within reach!

Always Learning

Apollos smiled at the man he had been talking to and clapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at the couple that had been patiently waiting in the wings. Apollos studied the short, thin man and the elegant woman beside him. He recognized them. He smiled a greeting. "Hello," he said.

"Hello," the thin man smiled warmly. "I am Aquila, and this is my wife, Priscilla. Could we talk to you?"

"Of course."

Aquila motioned for Apollos to follow them. They navigated threw the throngs of people to a dimly lit, private alcove. Apollos hadn't even known this area existed in the little house.

Aquila started. "You are certainly an eloquent man, and competent in the Scriptures."

"We can tell that you've been instructed in the way of the Lord," Priscilla added. "You speak quite accurately about Jesus."

Apollos beamed, feeling pride in his knowledge of the Lord.

"However," Priscilla continued, then hesitated. The words seemed caught in her throat.

Aquila filled in for his wife. "We must explain the way of God more accurately to you. As fellow Christians, we feel it is our duty to help one another."

Apollos felt chest fallen. Hadn't they just said he was knowledgeable? That he spoke accurately? Why did he need to learn more?

There was a check in his spirit. They were always learning. Was he really so arrogant to think that he had learned all there was to know about God? He almost laughed at the thought. He smiled slightly. "Please, tell me."

Based on Acts 18:24-28

"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus." Acts 18:24-28

What I saw in this section was a man who was greatly anointed by God. A man who had great understanding of God and His Word. A man who boldly preached God's message.

A man who still had more to learn.

A man who knew that, wasn't offended by that, and learned.

I think we get into this mindset that we will one day know all the things. But we won't. We will always have more to learn. Even our pastors, mentors, and parents have more to learn. We are always learning, always growing. It's laughable to think that we won't be wrong about some things or that we don't need a better understanding of God.
   

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9

Who will you be? Will you be like Apollos, a man who knew he still had so much to learn about God's Word? Or will you be the person who says in their heart, "I already know it all"?

   

"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance." Proverbs 1:5

V. Joy Palmer

If God Wills

"Please stay," the man pleaded.

Paul shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't."

Another man turned his piercing blue eyes onto him. "What are you going to do then? What are your plans since you insist on leaving us?"

Judging by their expressions, Paul didn't think they were going to like the truth. "Whatever God wills."

They all spoke at once. "What?" Some of the Jews sounded quite angry, angry that Paul would leave without a commitment already in place. Others were confused. They wanted him to stay and teach them. Together their roar demanded an answer.

"I go where the Lord wants me to go, when He wants me to go. Sometimes I don't know what He wants me to do, but I trust in His plans for me." Paul met the gaze of each person in the room, sharing in their sorrow, their conviction, their hope. "I will return to you if God wills."

Acts 18:19-21

"And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, 'I will return to you if God wills,' and he set sail from Ephesus."
Acts 18:19-21

I liked Paul's response to the uncertainty of the future. He didn't try to plan. He just put it in God's hands. "I will return to you if God wills."

If God wills.

Sometimes the uncertainty we face in this life is overwhelming. Gut-wrenching. Confusing. Sometimes it is all we can do to stay afloat in this sea of uncertainty. We try to plan our steps as best we can, only to have our carefully laid plans be destroyed.

I'm a planner. When my plans are derailed, I despise it with every fiber of my being. But I'm not The Planner. God makes plans for me.

"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." Proverbs 16:3

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

So now, my plan is to stop planning. If God wills, then my plans may be apart of His plans. If not, I know the plans He has in store will be even better. I plan to go with His plans.

V. Joy Palmer.

"Your One Of His"

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me,

Bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

   Now one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

   So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? We're there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" Luke 17:15-18

I find it interesting that the leper that comes back to praise Him was a Samaritan and the foreigner of the bunch. This is the point that Jesus makes! The others, who weren't foreigners, but considered children of God, took their healing for granted and didn't take the time to appreciate the One who took the time to heal them.

Don't forget to be the one out of ten who takes the time to bless and praise Him for ALL He has done for you. Don't take Him or All His blessings for granted! 

Take the time to bless Him today BECAUSE Your one of His! 

   

"His Eyes Are On Us"

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerned of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eye of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13

I don't know about you but this is one of my favorite verses! I love that the word of God always, always, always speaks to my heart no matter what situation I find myself in. I love that every day, every time I draw near it speaks to me whatever I might need to hear!  It might be a word of encouragement, a message with a call to arms, a promise that offers hope. It might be message that inspires me to keep the faith or even a call to repentance but it always speaks the truth I need at that very moment and today as I was reading through Hebrews I realized the why. 

Why it's possible that the word always seems to know what I need to hear and if you look, the answer can be found in the very next verse. Did you see it? It's because He sees us in the here and now. We are not hidden from His sight ...ever! He knows what we are going through and what we need to hear. HE HAS THE PLAN IN PLACE AND HE SPEAKS TO THE NEED RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. His Word speaks because He always has eyes on us. 'Out of sight ...out of mind' is not a concept He knows.  We are never alone or out of His sight, NOT EVER, and because He sees ... He speaks!

"...For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerned of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eye of Him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13