The Secret Miracle

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." ... His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

-John 2:1-3, 5

[A]nd the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

-John 2:9

There were myriad responsibilities these servants needed to take care of to make sure the wedding feast ran without a hitch. Is the food ready? Are there enough seats for the guests? Do we have enough wine for the guests? Apparently, this last responsibility was not sufficiently covered. Imagine the servants' anxiety at this point. "Out of wine?? What are we going to do? Our master will not be pleased with us." (<-A gross understatement, most likely) Enter a woman who claims that her son has a solution for their situation. Jesus' mother told the servants at the wedding feast to do whatever Jesus instructed them to do. And, without question, they did it. Filling six 20-30 gallon stone water jars with water is no small task (Mind you, there are no garden hoses or other such modern conveniences to assist in this endeavor, so imagine the process involved in obtaining 180 gallons of water. As an analogy, picture filling 180 milk jugs, but replace the plastic with stone... Yes, quite a task.). Yet, they obeyed this most unassuming of wedding guests. These servants looked upon this Man, whom they had never seen before, and one glance at Him assuaged their anxieties. One look at Jesus and "something" about Him told the servants, "He will provide for us a solution." Not only did He provide the solution to overcome this obstacle, Jesus was the solution these servants and the world were seeking.

So, the servants start obeying. They draw the water as Jesus instructed, filling the jars to the brim. Next, they probably expect Jesus to wave His hands over the jars or sprinkle some magic dust into the pots, resulting in a mini-firework display and an eye-popping color change in the liquid, signaling the amazing transformation of water into wine! Instead, Jesus tells them to take some of the water they had collected and bring it to their master. "Ummm," thought the servants (probably), "so you want us to give our master this water which we just drew? That's it? You know we're serving wine at this party, right?" But again, they obeyed. They ended up serving the best wine of the night ... and Jesus didn't have to lift a finger. The servants did all the work - they were the instruments of this miracle. Jesus worked through these obedient servants, whose faith in this Wedding Guest was now filled to the brim, on the verge of overflow, because they "knew" of what just occurred. The master of the banquet, bridegroom, bride and other guests continued celebrating, unaware of what took place to let the party continue. But, the servants "knew" and were content in being a part of the greater work that was done here.

God commands all of us to do - so we must do. Anything he commands, so must we obey. God has given us authority in this world from the time of Genesis. We, being His hands and feet, are the servants, the miracle workers. The same power which raised Jesus from the dead resides in us as well (see Ephesians 1:18-21 & II Timothy 1:7). Even if we don't see the ultimate outcome, we do the work, because God's point-of-view sees what we cannot see. What Jesus wants us to also realize is that miracles don't require great pomp, circumstance, magic powder or overt theatrics to be considered a miracle.

• Helping someone break an addiction? That's a miracle.
• Praying for someone and seeing someone healed from cancer? That's a miracle.
• Mending a broken marriage? That's a miracle.
• Listening when no one else listens and loving when no one else loves? That's a miracle.
• Seeing someone receive Jesus as the Lord and Savior of his/her life? THAT'S A MIRACLE!

That we are alive in this wretched world despite our wretched ways is a miracle of grand proportions, thanks to the saving grace and blood of Christ. Best of all? When the workers "know" and never forget who is the Source and responsible for it all. Though the world may not know now, the servants do the miraculous work, so that the world will know. For God's is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever ... AMEN!

Bringing EVERYONE back into the fold

Many think that God is looking forward to casting people away into judgment and dooming all of those who do not believe in the Son. On the contrary! Is that what a Father would desire for His children. Look at how Anne Cetas of Our Daily Bread puts it eloquently:

In our Bible-study class, we were reading Ephesians 4:17-24 out loud when Alyssa began to cry. Most of us were wondering why, when she quietly said, “I’m crying because hearing this passage read out loud makes me see the condition that lost people are in. They’re separated from God and are blind to it! That breaks my heart.”

One person in the class admitted later that he was embarrassed he had never felt that sad about nonbelievers and had in the past even talked excitedly about the judgment they would receive one day from God.

The apostle Paul laid out the condition of the lost with these words: “[They have] their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God . . . because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). He testified that he had “great sorrow and continual grief in [his] heart” because his fellow countrymen had not yet come to know the love of Christ (Rom. 9:1-3).

As we think about the condition of nonbelievers, we can remember God’s heart toward them: “The Lord is . . . longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). When we share the Word of God and pray earnestly for others, eyes will be opened to His love. — Anne Cetas

God wishes to commune with all members of His one big, happy family. Just as He yearns to bring back the lost, so should we.

God's Command to Live

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged." -Joshua 1:9

Isn't that fascinating? God has commanded us to be strong and be courageous. God has commanded us to go forth boldly to proclaim His name. God has commanded us to live life abundantly. Those who are fearful, who complain, who worry ... STOP! There is no need, for God is above and out of the reach of all of that and assures us that we can be too, if we heed His commands. It's a direct command from God to be strong and courageous, so go be strong and courageous, will ya? Because God says so!

The Law of Love

"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
-Romans 13:10

What a profound statement from the Word! Love, which God has shown us immeasurably, is the one and only thing that keeps us all on the right path. In fact, the previous verse (v. 9) says essentially that all of the commandments that have been decreed by God and by man can be satisfied and summed up by one encompassing idea: loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, proclaimed by God (see Leviticus 19:18) and His Son as the greatest commandment of all (see Mark 12:30-31).

Julie Ackerman Link from Our Daily Bread beautifully explains:

God had a relationship with Adam and Eve that was based on loving trust. The only rule necessary was one that protected them from knowledge that would end in death. But when disobedience broke the trusting relationship, God added more rules to protect the wayward couple and their offspring.

In Christ, God proclaimed once more that the good life He wants for us is not about rules but a relationship. As Paul wrote, all the commandments can be summarized in one word: love. Because we are “in Christ,” we can enjoy peace with God and others—not because there’s a rule, but because there is love.

If we love each other, then we abide by God's law. The laws are there to help us remain in God's love.

The Omnipresent Holy Spirit & Trinity

The famous Biblical episode of the apostles receiving the Holy Spirit during Pentecost in Acts 2 is a fulfillment of Jesus' promise of a Comforter and Counselor that will remind them (and us) of the work and salvation of Jesus (see John 14:26). But, this is not the first appearance and impact of the Holy Spirit:

• David knew the Holy Spirit abided in him (Psalm 51:11; Mark 12:36)
• Mary and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:28, 30; Luke 1:41)
• Simeon, via the Holy Spirit, recognized Jesus as the Christ, as God promised (Luke 2:25-35)
• The Holy Spirit abided with Jesus Himself (e.g. Luke 3:22; Luke 4:1)

The Trinity is that much more appreciated in light of various ways shown here that God impacted lives. From the very beginning, the Trinity existed (Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." [Genesis 1:26]). And, forever, the Trinity shall be. (Revelation 22:13)