Editors Note: The devotional has a background song by called which can be heard if you use Internet
Explorer.
SCRIPTURE:
“Jesus commanded them
not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking
about it. People were
overwhelmed with amazement. 'He has done everything well,' they said.
'He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'" (Mark 7:36-37, NIV)
Observations:
I asked myself what did Jesus do after healing the
deaf and mute man?
-
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.
-
Jesus commanded them more than once.
I asked myself what the outcome was?
But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.
I asked myself why?
-
People were overwhelmed with amazement.
-
They said, “He has done everything well.”
-
They said, “He even makes the deaf hear and
the mute speak.”
In this same chapter, I had learned about Jesus not wanting to take
credit for His actions. I also learned more about His is humility as I
once again see Jesus’ humility. Jesus does not do things to be
recognized. Still, Jesus gets recognized. My favorite is when the people
said, “He has done everything well.”
Interpretation:
I asked myself the significance of that?
The people recognized wherever Jesus worked, Jesus did an
excellent job. Everything Jesus did, Jesus did well. Now, they came to
realize that He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. That is
amazing to know!
Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. Whenever Jesus works in my
life, He will work in my life well. As I turn to Him, I can be confident
that He will do everything well as He has done in the past. Knowing
Jesus is there for me and He does everything well should put a new
perspective on my life. For I am in the Hands of my wonderful Lord and
Personal Savior!
Whether I am concerned regarding a career, academics, relationships,
etc I can turn those concerns to the Lord and when He intervenes,
everything will get done well. He makes everything beautiful in His
time. In His time, I know all things will fall into place too. I need to
wait on the Lord and let Him lead me and guide me.
I ask you now dear friend, what do you need
done well in your life?
Dear friend, you know what you need done well in your life. The man with
the deafness and muteness knew that he needed to be well in that area
and Christ did the job perfectly well in the man's life. Friend, there
are areas of your life that need to get well but you cannot on your own
because there are strongholds in your life that's blocking that. These
strongholds are from the enemy who wants to trap you and keep you where
you are at.
You don't have to be stuck where you are at. Whatever you need done
well in your life, take it to the One who can do all things well. Yes
friend, He can do all things well and I am here to tell that Jesus
Christ is His Name and for your sake He came. What a joyous day it was
in the life of the man who could finally hear and speak.
Yes, friend all the days in the past were gone for him but with
Christ now he was able to start a new future. In the same way friend,
whatever you need done well in life, don't let your past stop you.
Have you failed in something but that is still
your dream?
Take it to the Lord in prayer for He does all things well and can
give you your dream in His timing if He approves of it. And friend, if
He does not approve of it, it is still a reason to rejoice because of
what the people exclaimed: 'He
has done everything well,' they said. 'He even makes the deaf hear and
the mute speak.'"
This same Jesus who healed the mute and deaf man is here to heal you
and do things well in your life. Yes friend and it will be His Way for
His honor and glory for His love for you. But just as the man went
before Jesus because of the intervention of those who brought him to
Jesus to help him graduate from the bondage he was in by interceding
before Jesus, you too can come before Jesus. You have to friend and
there is no other way to have your life changed around and transformed
for only His GRACE can transform your life.
Don't let your shortcomings and the strongholds you feel that you are
facing stop you from holding on to Jesus! For when you hold on to Jesus,
you are holding on to hope.
The hardest area to counsel has been the area of helping others
overcome their addiction to pornography. This is a stronghold and I can
tell you that by the Lord's transforming grace even this area cannot
stand the power of the risen Christ.
If you are one struggling in this area and you need the Lord Jesus to
do things well in your life so you can overcome this area, wait on Him
and He will.
He will not abandon you or leave you as an orphan in the storm but
will come to you. (John 14)
Never say to yourself that this is a stronghold in my life so I am
not responsible for it. HOGWASH!
As my pastor Hugo says it, "In a Christian's life there is no such
thing as I CANT but I WONT"
We can do all things through Christ who gives
us strength and power! (Philippians 4:13, NIV)
Implications is whatever Christ wants us to accomplish by His power,
it will happen in His timing. Praise the Lord!
We are responsible for all our actions but the GOOD NEWS is that our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is there to forgive us when we mess up
whatever area it is! And when we focus on Him, He will get us through
and we will be well because He does things well. Yes He does friend.
To you pornography, may not be the issue that you need to overcome to be
well but other issues that you can name right now. Friend, name them
right now, right now friend.
Now take your issue whatever it is and I want you to travel back in
time with me with your issue. Now you are standing at the Hill of
Calvary. There are three crosses there. You are drawn to the cross in
the middle. You look up and see eyes so loving looking down towards you.
Jesus is looking right at you and you are face to face at the cross with
Jesus.
I want you to hear Jesus saying, "I love you, I love you, I love you!
You are precious and special in my sight. I have called you by Name. I
am here to redeem you and take all your baggage upon myself so your load
can be off. I want to replace that baggage with my love. Take my love
in. My blood I am shedding for you to wash away all your sin no matter
what it is. In me you will find redemption and hope. You have come to
the right place where my precious cleansing blood flows for you who are
so precious. Give me your issues and let me make you well. I will in my
timing. Rest in me and know you have been redeemed forever"
Friend, you have been redeemed and all your sin has been taken from
you. This means your past, present, or future is in the Hands of our
loving Savior who saved you by His grace and will now help you live by
His grace.
When you mess up and turn back to your ways, don't let it get you
down. Turn to Romans 7 and Romans 8 and make them your prayer claiming
the promises there so you can and will do things well. Areas where you
need healing will come. Yes, they will.
Lest there is a misunderstanding, this is not about a prosperity
Gospel or 'if you come to Jesus, your life will be peachy from here on'
No friend, for that is not even biblical and the Lord never promises
us a sorrow free life in this world. That cannot happen because
sin marred this world but the Lord does assure us of a life with Him
when He comes back or when He takes us before He comes back, there will be no
more crying and He will wipe away all the tears
from our eyes! Yes, He will friend.
My mom shared with me yesterday about a sermon she heard where a
pastor spoke and said, "When loved ones who belong to Jesus are leaving
this earth, we cry and say they are going, they are going, they are
going BUT the angels are so excited and rejoice saying, "They are
coming, they are coming, they are coming"
Wow! What a picture that the angels rejoice at the day when Jesus
brings us home.
Jesus said, "In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33b, NIV)
Turn to the Lord my friend as you are in your issues and pain. The
angels cannot say, "They are coming, they are coming, they are coming"
unless what is well is the soul of the persons they are excited to
receive.
That means our soul needs to be in the right place for the Lord Jesus
to receive us and it can be when we surrender our soul to the One who
came to redeem us. Jesus INITIATED the process for us to be redeemed and
saved.
If you have never given your life to Jesus and want to, you can right
now. Now is the time of Salvation for you friend. Now is the time of
rededication of your life to the Lord Jesus. It is time. Don't let others stop you from coming to know Jesus who loves you
so much and wants you in His Kingdom that He died for you.
As a song goes, "The Victory is the Lord's and we have just begun to
fight. When I get discouraged and feel I cannot stand, He has given us
weapons of power..."
There are weapons Jesus has given you to do things so well:
PRAYER, HIS WORD, HIS SPIRIT, HIS COMMUNITY
Everything should be tested with God's Word for that is when we will
know things are well! Praise the Lord!
Friend, you are not alone no matter what struggles you face for Jesus is
your Redeemer and friend. Yes, He is and you can come as you are to the fountain
of blessing.
The Lord wanted to restore our relationship with Him when sin marred
that relationship and separated us from Him. So, Jesus Christ was sent
on our behalf to redeem us. This means nothing you are I do can redeem
us except Jesus Christ.
We need to believe in Jesus Christ and what He can do in our lives so
He can take over and lead us. Yes, friend as Jesus healed so many, Jesus
can heal you too. You will never be out of His love and never be out of
His reach no matter what you have done and what you will do once you
have Christ's blood covering over you.
The final transaction has been
done and there is no refund. In other words, Jesus will never return you. You were bought by His
blood and have been adopted into His family. Now you can experience the
wonderful blessings of His family all by His GRACE. Yes, friend what a
GRACE that is AMAZING GRACE HOW SWEET THE SOUND THAT SAVED A WRETCHED
SINNER LIKE ME, I ONCE WAS LOST BUT NOW AM FOUND. I WAS BLIND, NOW I CAN
SEE!
The Bible says all our good works we think we do well and other
people see us as doing well are like filthy rags to the Lord without
Christ in our lives. This filthy rags is used in the context of a
women's menstruation during her period. That's how God sees all our good
works we think we do if Christ is not in the picture. Wow!
That means we cannot ever reach God by the good we think we do
because none of us can do good by God's standards. Even the good we
think we do can have ulterior motives and those motives won't make it
truly good.
So this means all the religions in the world including Christianity
if it emphasizes work based Salvation, will be fruitless and empty.
For can any good come out of a muddied spring?
For can any good come out of a wicked heart?
Not on our own without the intervention of Christ's Spirit working in
us and through us.
"No one is good, not one! All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NIV)
Is there any hope for us to do things well
done then?
Yes, there is! JESUS CHRIST, the HOPE OF THE NATIONS.
The good we do is only good in God's eyes when we have Christ
residing in us because then it is the Holy Spirit that produces good
fruit approved by the Lord. When the Lord looks at us, He will see
Christ's righteousness covering us because of His Blood wiping away all
our sin. We will always be covered in the Blood of Christ and receive
all the blessings Christ has for us forever! Praise the Lord!
For that to happen we need to acknowledge that we cannot save
ourselves by the good we do and that we are sinners who need to confess
and repent of our sins, believe in our heart that Jesus died for our
sins to give us new life in Him, was buried, and came back to life on
the 3rd day to save. Jesus did that to set you and me free from the
bondage of sin because of His love.
Now we can live our life for the honor and glory of our Lord
and Savior so that our life would reflect the glory of the
risen Lord because of His work in us. It is the work empowered by the
Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord! It is His grace that saves us and helps us
to live for Him! Amen!
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
No matter what is happening in our lives or around us, when we have
Jesus, He will do everything well for us for WE ARE HIS BELOVED. This
means even when we mess up and feel it is too late for something, the
Lord can change the situation around. For our Lord has always done
everything well and He is the same yesterday,
today, and tomorrow. What He did then, He can even do now!
Let me share one experience with you among many experiences through
the years. I had severe asthma and felt at times I
was going to die. I was so restricted in my diet, in my physical
activity, and all I was doing. I also hated being on medication but in
times of severe attacks I always had vicks and an inhaler available.
I heard about Jesus and what He had done in the days of old. So years
ago, I said to myself the Bible says Jesus is the
same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If that is the case then
what Jesus did in those days, He can still do now. I wanted healing from
Jesus and gave my life to Jesus from being a Hindu by background.
What a change occurred in my life. First of all, I had given my life
to the Lord on Feb 14, 85 and did not even know it was Valentine’s Day.
I did not even know what Valentine’s Day was then. The Lord Jesus healed
me completely and I was able to do things I never was able to do. I had
faith as a child and I saw His miraculous work in my life. Through the
years, I have seen Jesus do everything well in my life as I look back.
Sometimes things may not seem like they are well but as we look back,
everything serves His purposes and we come to understand why things
happened the way they did. So, never ever give up.
Naaman, the Syrian had leprosy and was asked to dip himself into the
river 7 times but each time he dipped, the leprosy was not going away.
What if he had stopped after the 1st, 2nd, or even
6th time?
Healing would not have come but it is the 7th time that brought
healing even as his faith was built up.
In the same way, there are areas in our lives we feel are not going
well and will never go well. But this is a LIE from the PIT OF HELL.
With Christ all things are possible if Christ wants that to be
possible in your life. You will do all things well when the Lord
intervenes in your life. Well will be according to His definition.
Does that mean, I did not face any adversity,
trials, and tribulations?
Of course not, for I did face them even as recently as 15 months ago
when our beloved dad went to be with the Lord Jesus on Dec 17, 2007. But
our Lord is so loving, helpful, kind, and merciful. He meets us where we
are at when we cry out to Him. Jesus met me so many times in my pain.
When I felt things could not get better and did not know how long it
will be before the pain would subside, He filled it with His presence
and love.
Being able to spend time in prayer, reading the Bible, spending time
with loved ones, and having cell group support from Oakland
International Fellowship was so helpful. Especially, Pastor Hugo was
there for our family during this crisis including Ryan, a Pitt medical
student at the time and a dear brother in Christ.
In retrospect when we look back, we will see that whatever the Lord
does in our lives, He will do everything well. Even when we cannot
understand in the pain.
I cannot say from a human perspective that what happened to my dad
was something that went well but who am I to understand the mind of God.
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond
tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his
counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay
him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen." (Romans 11:33-36, NIV)
God gives and God takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord should
be our attitude. We cannot on our own and need the Lord's strength to
help us so with Job we can say,
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may
the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21, NIV)
Friend, if you are suffering right now, it may not seem that things
will go well because of the suffering but I want you to know Jesus wants
to be there for you in your pain. Yes, He does friend! He wants to make
you well and wants you to wait upon Him and rest in Him and Him alone.
Let Him comfort you and work in your life. For He alone can make
everything work out for our good! Oh yes, He can friend! You and I need
to continually believe that rather than focusing on the circumstances of
life. Even through suffering, He will give us the strength to bear it.
Yes, He will. Come to the Lord as you are.
Won’t you do that friend?
Jesus wants to be there for you. I am not going to say when we come
to Jesus everything will be alright in our lives because Jesus never
promised us that. Jesus even told the disciples, in this world they will
face trials and tribulations but they should rejoice because Jesus has
overcome the world and will be there to help them. He will be there to
help us too and we should make that our prayer to be resting in the
Lord. He will carry you friend no matter what you are facing. Yes, He
will! He will give us strength and endurance through the pain to and
make everything new in His time! Amen!
“Wonderfully Emmanuel Lovingly Leads!” (W.E.L.L)/"What
do you need done well in your life”?”
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for healing the deaf and mute man. Thank you
so much for your humility and not doing things to get credit. Forgive us
when we do things to get credit for ourselves rather than doing things
to bring you honor and glory. We are sorry Lord and ask you for your
help. Thank you so much for all that you do that people recognized that
you do everything well. That is awesome to know Jesus. This means even
now you can do everything well in our lives because you are the same
yesterday, today, and forever more. Thank you so much Jesus. We rest in
you! Help us Oh Lord God of our Salvation. Deliver us! Thank you that
you do! I pray right now for the one who is hurting and feels like
nothing is going well for them. You see what they are going through.
Hear our prayers intervene in their lives Oh Lord. We intercede on their
behalf and bring them before you. Touch them in your mighty love and
take away their pains, scars, and wounds bringing your healing to them.
Help them to rest in you Oh Lord. Thank you Lord Jesus. We entrust our
time to thee. Thank you for your help. Thank you for the healing you
bring in our lives. Help us to wait on you! Thank you so much Jesus!
Thank you Jesus that you have heard our prayers and answered us! In Your
Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!!
May
you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him
the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you
become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR,
JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.
You
don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and
give you peace to live out your actions.
How
do you look at GODISNOWHERE?
One
of my pastors, Pastor Hugo shared this example this past Sunday at the
RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh
Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:
If
you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin
and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no
peace.
But
as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to
tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.
Yes,
friend God is alive and wants to bring a transformation in your life
through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on
the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and live
with us.
Yes,
friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE
& LIVING GRACE.
When
we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive
us and restore us to Him and we will find peace in Him.
"Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God." (Colossians 5:17-21, NIV)
"For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his
Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our
sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge
so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the
finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
May
you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior becoming
His offspring so you can spend Eternity with Him. He is waiting for you.
Come as you are. Please do not reject the gift of God.
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart and finding your new
identity in Christ Jesus.
Make this your prayer. Don’t let
the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before
coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the
answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly.
Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!
Make this your prayer. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking
you need all the answers before coming to Christ. Let me just assure you
though you may not have all the answers right now before coming to
Jesus, He will answer them slowly. Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer
will! Amen!
Prayer:
Jesus, I thank you for being the Bread of Life. You are the Living Bread
of my life. Thank you for coming from Heaven and giving your life for
the life of the world. You sacrificed yourself for humanity. Thank you
Lord when we eat of you symbolically making you part of our life,
digesting what you teach us by following you, we can be living
Eternally, and the fruit that comes will reflect and resemble your life.
I want that Father God. I want that Lord Jesus! I want that Holy Spirit!
I know of a lot of people who partake of Holy Communion where the bread
represents your body broken for their sin and the juice represents your
blood shed for their sin. When we partake of Holy Communion, we are
reminded that we are remembering you. I want to remember you always Lord
Jesus. But for me to remember you always, I need to know you and
acknowledge everything you said you are. So right now I acknowledge that
you are my Lord and Personal Savior who died and rose again to give me
life from sin. So right now, I come to you and say how sorry I am for my
sin and living a life on my own. I repent of my sin and ask you to
forgive me of my sin with your cleansing blood which I accept. Wash me
and I will be clean from this infection of sin. Come Lord Jesus and
please become part of my life as you live in me and I will live for you.
I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your
home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve
you the rest of the days of my life. I do need your Spirit to reside in
me and work in me and through me so I surrender all that I am and will
be to you. Whatever your will is for me, please give me the strength and
willingness to bear it and rejoice in you. Thank you so much Jesus. I
thank you Jesus for becoming my Lord and Personal Savior. I thank you
Jesus you have heard my prayer and have answered me. I thank you that I
am your child Oh God. I thank you for becoming my only Way to Eternal
Life. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
