The One That Multiplies

Matthew has spent years proclaiming the gospel of Christ to the villages of India with little results. After many hours of prayer and hard work, Matthew had only one faithful convert. Matthew did not understand what God was doing. He knew he had been called to this place. God why did you send me here knowing there were be so little response?

Then the situation got worse. Matthew’s only convert became very sick. The doctors tried to save him but the man died anyway. Matthew was devastated and cried out to God:

What are you doing God? Now my only convert is dead?

After four days, the body was prepared for burial. As the village gathered around the body, God spoke to Matthew’s heart,

Go, uncover his face and pray.

At first Matthew was uncomfortable with the request because he did not consider himself to be a great man of faith. Then again,

Go, uncover his face and pray.

Matthew pushed back the fear and follow the Lord’s leading. He walked up to the body, uncovered the man’s face, and prayed, “Lord, in obedience to You, I lay my hands on this man and I ask for you to heal him in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

The words barely got out of Matthew’s mouth when the man gasped for air. Matthew was astonished. And the village…well they will never be the same again.

In His timing, God had answered the cries from Matthew’s heart for the people of his village. There was no question in anyone’s mind that Matthew’s God was real and powerful. There, in that moment, a whole new church was born.

When I heard this present day miracle over the holidays, my heart leaped for joy. And as I pondered what happen, these two truths seemed to pop out.

·      The way God handles ministry can often be misunderstood because of His timing. We go in expecting the immediate results. If we do not see progress, we assume we made a mistake. Sometimes, we do not take into account the need for periods of intercession as well as learning about and getting to know the people/situation we are to serve.

·      Matthew did not lay his hands on the dead man because he had great faith in himself. He did it out of obedience and confidence/faith in God’s words and abilities. So often when God wants to do the miraculous, we hold back by putting the spotlight on our lack and not on God’s abundance. The power for this mighty miracle came with Matthew simply surrendering to what God had asked him to do.

This story gave me hope. Those things, which I have been praying for and waiting to manifest, are still under God’s care. And in the end, it is not about building great faith in my abilities but in God’s. When God asks me to step up and act, His creative miracles are ready to come forth to do the impossible.

What Are You Expecting Of Me?

“I lost my job today,” Julia said with a sigh as she sat on the sofa beside me.

OH NO!” I replied. “What happened?”

“I was over $14.27 in my cash drawer. I don’t know how. I counted everything. And this was the third strike against me in this area. Three strikes and you’re automatically fired. I am a reliable worker and my manager thinks so too yet I am suspended until farther notice,” Julia said.

Faith began to rise up as I replied, “I know this situation looks impossible but I am learning nothing is impossible with God. Please give God a chance to work on your behalf and do not speak in negative terms about your job. Let your good character and work performance speak forth. I cannot promise anything. However, we will pray that God’s favor will triumph when your boss calls the corporate office. 

I am not sure Julia was actually on board with the idea at first but as we prayed, she seemed to relax and we sealed the deal with a hug.

The next day, I sat by Julia in church. During the praise and worship, the Lord spoke to me and told me to ask Julia this question:

What are you expecting from Me?

Knowing the Lord desired to teach Julia to trust Him with her job, I wrote the question on a scrape of paper and handed it to her. She read it, smiled, and hugged me again.

Later that afternoon, Julia received a call. Her boss had talked to the corporate office about the error. Corporate wanted to stay firm on the rules until Julia’s boss stressed that even with the error, Julia was still one of her most dependable workers. After hearing that plea, corporate decided to give Julia one more chance.

We both learned from this experience of trusting in God so with joy, we both celebrated the victorious news.

And now…as I take down the Christmas decorations, that same question keeps coming back, challenging me to walk closer to God this year. I know my heart wants to but how can that happen when my mind accuses me of unworthiness?

Then Jesus gently reminded me,

“My blood continuously cleanses you of all unrighteousness. There are no barriers keeping My favor away. When your mind accuses you of unworthiness, who is behind those lies? I desire to freely bless you with grace and favor beyond measure, if you will allow Me entrance into your daily situations.” Jesus held out His hand, “Come…let us walk close together in this brand new year.”

And so I ask you…

What are you expecting from Jesus this year?

Are you ready to change habitual thoughts and attitudes? Will you let go and allow God to work on your behalf? Favor does not come because of our abilities and righteousness. It comes because of our acceptance of His. Allow God to work on your behalf this New Year and watch the marvelous begin.

What To Do With Santa Claus

Several months ago, my daughter–in-law, Leslie, asked me this question:

“What do I do with Santa Claus?”

I have known for a while that my heart and my head were not in agreement over the Santa Claus issue. I want to save my childhood tradition and yet knowing it interfered with the true meaning of Christmas. So… I prayed that God would show me the way to go. 

I started out by asking other Christians what they thought about Santa Claus. As you can imagine, I got a variety of answers. However, the one by which the Holy Spirit used to touch my heart the most came from a close friend. She told me about believing in Santa as a child and all the joy it had held for her. When she was seven, her parents told her the truth about who Santa really was. She was devastated. The revelation caused such a lack of trust towards her parents that she began rethinking everything her parents had ever told her. She even questioned the truths about Jesus. Was He a fake too?

For me, to keep endorsing Santa in my traditional way would be continuing to promote the same lie and distracting from the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Christ. The Santa of today has developed into a giving machine for our materialistic desires. Santa can give us anything we desire if we are good. In holding on to this tradition, aren't I leading others to believe that earthly figures can produce the same supernatural results as God Himself, if they only believe. Is that really what I want to portray in the end?

Why should I promote the lie when I can promote the real thing? Jesus IS the only true giver of everlasting love, peace and joy. Jesus came to give us life and to bless us abundantly. When we receive Him into our hearts, we have an eternal relationship without any more shame, guilt, and condemnation ever again. His blessings of healing, protection and provision are not dependent on whether we are naughty or nice. Jesus is the true miracle worker.

Honestly, I feel like Santa has to die in my heart again like he did long ago. The feeling of not wanting to let go tells me Santa is a stronghold in my life that needs to come down. 

I desire Christmas to be about the supernatural birth of my Savior not the world’s materialistic Santa. I want to tell the world that God loved mankind so much that he initiated the process to save all from the power of sin through His son Jesus. 

I am letting go of the false now. Truth and its lasting joy is flooding my soul with peace and fulfillment. Thank you Jesus for Your patience in the process.

Can I inspire that joyous expectation  without Santa Claus? Sure I can. It may be a challenge. However, if I seek God’s ways, His creativity will inspire the way.

Waiting For Christmas

Sally Matheny is my guest blogger this week. She has a refreshing look at the way we look at Christmas activities.

Christmas is a fun time of year, especially for children. There is an abundance of merryactivities: parades, special programs, baking and decorating. Adults walking children down toy aisles and making wish lists. Pointing to different toys they ask, “What about this? Do you like this?”

As far back as I can remember, my mother read stories to us each night, in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The Christmas devotionals came from a green hardcover Guideposts book. My sister and I loved those stories and they always seemed to draw our focus away from the material things and towards Christ.

But I must admit Christmas morning was a completely different matter. The shiny bows and mysteriously shaped packages under the tree screamed for my attention and we were not allowed to open them right away. The gifts had to wait until Mama and Dad got up which seemed to take forever.  Then, we could sit in front of the tree but not touch anything until Daddy got his coffee—, which seemed to take forever.

Next, we had to wait for Mama to put the sausage balls and cinnamon Danish rolls in the oven—, which seemed to take forever.

Finally, it was time for Mama to read the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 2. Many times my mind wandered away from the manger and over to the presents. Why could my excitement about the gifts not make those shepherds walk a little faster?  Let the wise men hurry and give their three gifts because I had already scanned my name more than that on tags under the tree.  What? Time to pray? Alright! That meant presents were next!

Another tradition we had is that it wasn’t a free-for-all. We had to take turns opening gifts starting with the youngest, which was cool since that was I. I liked seeing what everyone else got, especially my sister, since she might share her toys with me. However, I always readied the next gift in my lap while everyone else opened their presents.

Shameful and sad, isn’t it? Alas, it was the mindset of a self-centered five year old. God bless my parents for hanging in there. I’m thankful they didn’t throw their hands up in discouragement and let us delve into a selfish frenzy.

As much as they enjoyed watching their children’s delight on Christmas morning, they had a deeper conviction. They knew something that I did not know until I was older—that the fulfillment in gifts is fleeting. Most of the toys would be discarded within a few years, some within a few months. Not one toy would last forever and even if it did, they knew the happiness it once brought would not. 

The greatest gift they gave us was their consistent pointing to Jesus Christ.  All they could do was point the way. We had to make the choice.  

The angels told the shepherds the good news. However, the shepherds made the decision to go find the Messiah. The star pointed the way for the magi, but they had to choose to follow it.

Praise God, as I matured, my gaze gradually shifted from the gifts to the manger. God drew me to Him. He used my parents and others to point me in the right direction.

It is delightful giving gifts at Christmas, especially to children. In the midst of all the merriment, let's continue turning our focus on the best Gift.

My joy comes from God’s perfect gift, Jesus Christ.  It thrills my soul beyond measure to know Him.

How long will His love fulfill my life?

Forever.

What about you? How do you point the way to Christ during the Christmas season?

Sally Matheny’s mission in life is to encourage others through her written and spoken words.

Her writing is published by Focus on the Family; Keys for Kids; and Practical Homeschooling. Her work is also found on-line at Christian Devotions; DevoKids, and other publications.

She serves on the leadership team for the Write2Ignite Writers’ Conference, held at North Greenville University and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and of the American Christian Writers Association.

Visit her blog at www.sallymatheny.blogspot.com. You can also connect with her via facebook and Twitter: Sally_Matheny.

Happily married for twenty-four years to her pastor-husband, they have three children and have been homeschooling for fourteen years.