HIS MIRACLES
“. . . For Your miracles have made us who we are.” Psalm 68:28bSince reading this verse this morning, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
How many of us, including me, have defined ourselves by the things we’ve faced or overcome?
I’m a “survivor” – of childhood sexual abuse, of a bitter divorce between my parents, of a mentally unstable and alcoholic, biological mother, of abandonment, of a relationship with an abusive, alcoholic ex-fiancé. I could continue the list. I’m sure you have your own.
You can’t live life in a broken world and not experience trauma.
Long ago, I stopped viewing myself as a victim . . . but I fully and proudly declared myself to be a “survivor.” It seemed to be a badge of honor giving a nod to my ability to overcome by the grace of God.
That survivor trophy in some ways became a sacred part of my identity that couldn’t be touched. I proudly gave testimony of who I’d become through Jesus, despite the traumas I’ve faced and overcome.
Brian has tried to help me see beyond that definition of myself but was only met with an angry response in return. In my mind, he had no ground to stand on to speak to me about this topic. He’s never had to endure what I have and doesn’t know what it means to survive. Never mind the fact that he’s nearly died more times than we’ve kept track of, and he hasn’t let that define him . . .
This verse created a massive shift within me this morning. I’m not the sum of what I’ve survived. I’m a product of His miracles in my life. The amazing thing? The list of His miracles I’ve experienced is FAR longer than the traumas I’ve faced.
God’s miracles have made you who you are, my friend. Let that truth reshape your thinking, your beliefs, and your identity.
You’re a walking sum of miracles!
Living for Him,
Andrea & Brian
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
FEELING PARALYZED?
God has been speaking to me over and over recently through the story of the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. Reading the account in The Passion Translation has helped me to see and hear things I’d never noticed before.
You can find the story in John 5: 1-16. You’ll read how Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish feasts and while there, He went to an area in the city near the Sheep Gate, which is where the sacrificial animals were brought into the temple. The note on this verse makes an observation that “the sick gathered there like bruised, wounded sheep, needing healing” (note, vs.2). I was struck by the recognition that hundreds were lying under the covered porches . . . “all of them waiting for their healing” (vs. 3). The Lord pierced my heart when I read that because I sensed His longing for ALL to be well – then and now. So many are still waiting on God for healing – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually . . .
The man at the pool had been waiting for 38 years. Time after time, he had tried to scramble into the pool when the angel stirred the waters, hoping to be the first in and be healed, yet he was unable to get healed from the source he had relied on for so long.
When Jesus saw him, His first question to the man was, “Do you truly long to be well?” (v. 6b) That may seem like an odd question to ask, but this man had created an identity as “the paralyzed man” and to be able to walk again meant letting go of who he was known as and who he identified himself as being. Life and his approach to it would look very different and feel unfamiliar if he were able to walk again. That was likely a little scary. Did he prefer to remain as he was, or was he willing to let go of how he saw himself? The man never answered Jesus’ direct question. Instead, he made excuses and blamed others for getting there first, “stealing” the healing he was longing for himself, yet he didn’t recognize the Healer who stood before him. How often do we do that ourselves? We blame others when we don’t get what we feel should be ours, we make excuses why we can’t obtain it, and we may even miss the solution being right before us.
Interestingly, in turn, Jesus didn’t respond to what the man said, neither did He pray for him to be healed. Jesus simply said, “Stand up! Pick up your sleeping mat and you will walk!” (v.8) The man had to act in obedience and do what he hadn’t been able to do in 38 years.
In picking up his mat, he also had to break the Jewish Sabbath law that he had lived by all his life and choose to literally step into the new covenant Jesus was making available to him. The law he lived under couldn’t heal, but Jesus was the fulfillment of the law (Matt. 5:17) and healing was found in Him.
The man never questioned Jesus’ command to him. He acted immediately and when he took that step – I think more out of obedience than faith, he was healed, no longer paralyzed but taking steps forward into his destiny. The man didn’t even know Jesus’ name, let alone that He was the Messiah. Yet, he experienced the fullness of Jesus in that encounter – His love, miraculous healing, and also His passionate pursuit of the man’s total freedom in every way, as we’ll soon see.
The crazy thing? The Jewish leaders didn’t rejoice over the miracle of this man’s healing but focused instead on the man breaking the Sabbath law. They were so steeped in religion, they couldn’t rejoice over the freedom that had been gained through relationship. Unfortunately, we still see that in churches and Christian circles today. When Jesus doesn’t fit within religious confines, many find it offensive.As the story continues, Jesus found the man a second time. In this encounter, Jesus affirmed the man’s healing, then told him to “Walk away from your sin so that nothing worse will happen to you” (v.14) Jesus’ words to the man left me confused. What sin had the man committed?
As I spent time in God’s presence asking Him about it, I asked if the man’s sin had been not living life and engaging with his destiny and calling even though paralyzed? Maybe it was that he hadn’t “walked” forward, despite his physical limitations, but instead wasted his life in self-pity? Maybe Jesus was telling him to act and take steps forward in his life because if he didn’t, he would remain “paralyzed” and would end up in an even worse state of hopelessness that would steal life from him in even greater measure. If the man continued to believe he was useless, powerless, too many years had been wasted, and he was too old to make a difference now, he would remain just as paralyzed as he had been when he couldn’t walk and that would be a sin. How often do we do and think similarly?
I believe Jesus was telling the man that he still had life to live and purpose to embrace. He was to walk forward, leave the past behind, and not allow what he had known previously in his life to keep him paralyzed from moving into all that still lay ahead of him. If he wasn’t willing to do that, he would continue sinning by remaining paralyzed by his past mindset and perspective of his life.
The story doesn’t record how the man discovered Jesus’ identity, but he went back to the Jewish leaders and told them who had healed him. It ignited the Jewish leaders’ persecution of Jesus – all because of what Jesus did on the Sabbath and how it broke their religious laws (v. 16).
So many of us remain in a paralyzed state each day. We allow mindsets, beliefs we have about ourselves and perceived limitations, as well as any number of accepted obstacles to prevent us from taking steps forward into our destinies and callings. We don’t engage in the things God is telling us to do because we don’t believe we’re able, worthy, or young or old enough to accomplish the dreams God has placed in our hearts. We’re afraid we’ll stumble and fall, so we stay put, never venturing to stand up, pick up our mats, and walk.
I believe many have been paralyzed for a long time – even decades. God is able to make you walk. He’s inviting you to stand up and take the first step into all He has waiting for you. Your future doesn’t have to look like your past or your present.
Will you stand up? Will you let go of the identity you’ve embraced as your own and be willing to walk forward in the truth of who you’ve been created to be? Will you allow God to redeem “wasted” time and make something beautiful out of your testimony?
If your answer is yes, paralysis ends now.
If we can pray for you on your healing journey, please reach out to us!
Living for Him,
Andrea & Brian
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
The word God spoke to my heart for this month is “encounter” and I couldn’t be more excited! I believe this is going to be a month of incredible, supernatural encounters with the presence and person of God, the Father, and Jesus, the Redeemer, Savior, and Healer. We’re going to see heaven collide with earth in the most beautiful of ways. Some encounters will be a result of us pressing into His presence, while at other times, these encounters will be a passionate pursuit of our hearts – simply because He longs to be with us.
When I shared this with a friend the other day, I off-handedly stated, “People are desperate for an encounter with God, not four walls.”
What did I mean by that? When you read about the times Jesus “encountered” people, it was almost always within everyday life. Yes, people came to hear him teach but very rarely was it within the four walls of the temple. More often, it was in open spaces. The most radical encounters with His transforming love and presence were on the road, near the shore, at a well, on a hillside or mountaintop, by a tree, in front of a tomb, and on a cross, just to name a few places. Jesus showed us some of the greatest face to face moments with Him mainly happened in the most unexpected times and places. I believe that’s how we’re going to encounter Him this month.
I’m not speaking against experiencing Jesus within the four walls of the church. I simply think we box Him in to those four walls and relegate Him to certain days and times of the week when what He longs for is to be with us every moment of every day, living life with us, sharing His innermost thoughts as he connects His heart with ours in the smallest and biggest of ways.
In the Gospels, we see a mix in Jesus’ life of people pursuing an encounter with Him, as well as times when Jesus sought individuals out to encounter them - even though they knew nothing about Him beforehand. I believe we’re going to see an increase in major encounters with Jesus this month – both ones that we pursue having with Him and ones where He pursues and encounters us unexpectedly.
There are ways we can position ourselves and create an atmosphere for encountering Him. Worship is one of the easiest. God can’t help but draw near at the sound of our worship. The thing is that it doesn’t take a band leading us. It’s not even necessary to have music. Worship can be found in our words, in our actions, in our yes to Him, and in our surrender. We can encounter Him as we read His word, pray, journal, or sit quietly focused on Him.
Expect encounters with Him this month in both big and small ways. As you encounter Him, allow yourself to be fully present in the moment and engage Him in conversation. That’s what the people in the Bible did – the woman at the well, the man at the Pool of Bethesda, the centurion, Martha, the disciples, Nicodemus . . . There are so many honest conversations recorded in the Word. Why would it need to be any different with us?
I believe we’re going to see a powerful move of healing encounters this month, as well. If you need that kind of encounter with Him, be persistent to press through to Him, just as the woman with the issue of blood did and was healed simply by touching His garment.
Like the man Jesus encountered at the Pool of Bethesda, He may tell you to “Stand up. Pick up your sleeping mat and you will walk!” (John 5:8) Make steps to move forward and the things you’ve felt paralyzed in will no longer hold you prisoner, paralyzed in the place you’ve been in – even for years and decades. Stand up! Move forward! Don’t remain where you’ve been!
Look for powerful encounters with Jesus this month. Expect them. Position yourself to experience Him in profound ways. And don’t be surprised when He shows up unexpectedly in the most unusual and normal places in your everyday life.
I bless you in your encounters with Him this month, my friend! Please reach out if you'd like us to pray for you!
Living for Him,
Andrea & Brian
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
WELLS OF TRUTH
I hear her brokenness echoing throughout the centuries . . .
It’s the sound of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well. This story is rich with meanings we often miss as we read through it. We take the words at face value and think of it as a great story, but there’s layer upon layer of text not written on the page, but between the lines and on the hearts of both Jesus and the woman.Over the course of conversation, Jesus drew the woman out, much as she would draw water from the well – slowly, bit by bit, and long before she acknowledged the truth of what Jesus already knew about her life, you hear the weight of her heartache in the words she spoke.
“The woman replied, ‘Let me drink that water so I’ll never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to draw water.” (John 4:15)
We take her statement as being relief over having a solution to a situation. She wouldn’t have to come and perform the hard work of pulling up the heavy buckets of water and hauling it home because she would no longer need it. She wouldn’t be thirsty any more.
Yet, what stirred hope in her heart was not having to come to the well at a time when she could avoid others who would also be there drawing their daily water from the well. These were those who were part of her community. They knew her. And they knew how she lived her life – as one who had had five husbands and was currently living with another man.
In the words she spoke, her heart’s cry echoed the pain of what she saw in their faces and heard them say about her. It encompassed the ache of rejection, the judgment toward her, and the condemnation from those who were meant to be friends. She was an outcast within her village.
I heard that same pain coming from the hearts of countless people today . . . and I wept.
The Samaritan woman wanted a quick fix to a situation she wanted to avoid. Jesus was offering her life – and so much more that she hadn’t yet grasped.
His unconditional love and acceptance of her for who she was as she faced Him in that moment in time not only offered her eternal life as she believed in Him - His love transformed her from the inside out. Through His eyes, she no longer saw or believed herself as rejected with good reason. In the face of His truths, she was utterly made new in every way and was restored to her original, divinely given identity and destiny.
Jesus valued this “sinner” so much that she was the first He revealed Himself to as the Messiah. A sinner and a woman – two strikes against her, yet she was the one with whom He shared this revelation and so much more in that conversation. She became a deep well dug by Him.
The story goes on to tell of how she ran to the town and drew them all out to meet the man who had told her everything she’d ever done. She convinced them He might be the One they’d been waiting for . . . The town believed her – and they believed in Him.
Brian Simmons shares incredible study notes in The Passion Translation of this passage of scripture. With verse 30, he explains:
“Although unnamed in the biblical account, church tradition identifies the Samaritan woman to be Photini. An internet search of her name will yield many interesting stories about her post-conversion ministry, including her being named as an ‘apostle’ of Jesus and her eventual martyrdom. Regardless of the validity of the extrabiblical references, history records her as the first New Testament evangelist to win a city to Christ. God is faithful to use anyone to reach others when we are honest to tell others that Jesus knows everything we’ve ever done and still loves us.”
NOTHING can separate us from the love of God.
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
I’m convinced – nothing can separate any of us from His love. Let that be our message to a broken-hearted world that believes so much less about themselves than He does.
Brian Simmons also notes (vs. 6-8), “When the sinner drank of the Savior and the Savior drank of the sinner, both were satisfied. Neither ate nor drank, but each satisfied the other.”
He's always in passionate pursuit of our hearts and He only sees us with eyes of love. He drinks US in…and WE satisfy HIM . . . “saint” and “sinner” alike.
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
RIGHTLY REFLECTING TRUTH
I was chatting with a friend recently and the subject of God came up. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since because I not only came face to face with truths I needed to examine in my own life but in that moment, I also recognized the Church needs to be held accountable as well. In short, most of us who say we love and follow God don’t really know Him and because of that, we don’t accurately reflect Him to the world around us. Often what you see is NOT what you get when it comes to God.
After listening to my friend’s perspective on God, it pretty much slipped out of my mouth that most people don’t have an accurate perception of who God really is – even those who profess to know and love Him. Because of that, we don’t accurately reflect the truth of who He is, so we end up misrepresenting Him to those around us.
I took it a step further and admitted that as a church, we don’t take responsibility for portraying God inaccurately. We also don’t admit we’ve portrayed Him as being something He’s not, most often because we don’t realize He’s different than what we’ve been taught and understood.
Christ-followers are called to reflect the loving, kind, good God we worship, yet what people regularly see is hypocritical living founded on judgment – often in the name of Jesus. We preach one thing and live another. We cast stones and point out splinters in others’ eyes while ignoring our own sins and living a life relatively void of repentance.
As a church, we’ve missed the mark – a definition often used for “sin.” We’ve been hard-hearted in this area, and I believe God is calling us to account for wrongly reflecting His character and heart of love toward all peoples of the earth. In His goodness and love, He’s offering us an opportunity to pause in His presence, allow Him to reveal areas where we’ve personally missed the mark, repent, and be healed.
Healed? Why am I talking about healing related to this? Because we’ve perceived God through the filter of brokenness. When we view God through brokenness, it causes us to form a wrong understanding of His character.
Our internal mirrors have been broken, so what many of us reflect of Him to the world around us has been a shattered image - and we haven’t even recognized it because we didn’t know it was broken.
From a healed place, we’re able to repent without shame because our repentance is founded on personal revelation of the truth of the heart and character of God, as well as our identities as His beloved sons, daughters, and Bride of Christ.
This is a time in history when the world around us is incredibly in need of hope and the belief that there is a loving, kind God and Savior who welcome them just as they are, without needing to “get their lives right” first. As a church, it’s time we repented - turned away from wrong thinking and inaccurate portrayals of our good and loving God. It’s time to tell the world how sorry we are for leading them to believe something that simply isn’t true and own up to having turned hearts away from the One who loves them like no one else, rather than drawing people close to His heart.
God, forgive us! Forgive me! Clean the mirrors of our lives so we can better see Your reflection and more clearly and accurately reflect You to the world around us as we shine Your light into the darkness.
Living for Him,
Andrea & Brian
Our Mission: Love Others Well & Empower Them to Do the Same
