I Will Show My Power

Jeremiah 16:21 “The Lord says, ‘Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might. At last they will know and understand that I am the Lord.’” I had another inner healing session on Monday, and again Holy Spirit uncovered some crazy stuff that totally came out of left field. After the session the ministers asked me to spend some time praying before the next session. “The picture we got was that of a house, with some rooms that need a bit of tidying here and there. We thought it would be good to just ask God what those rooms might be.” This morning I asked, and I got a few memories of my youth when I felt very powerless. One involved verbal abuse, another physical, and another an encounter with a girl. I realized that the enemy has been sewing this narrative into my mind over the years that I lack power and because of this I had limitations on what I could do with my life. This morning I heard God say “well it’s true that you lack power. But you have died to self and I live in you. So the only limitation on what you can do, is the limitation on what I can do. And I have no limits. Come, let me show you.” Lord, I love getting freed from my limitations, but I love and need you more than any of my aspirations. You are a God of restoration and redemption. Thank you for that. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Simon Zhao

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This morning I read about an incredible man of faith named Simon Zhao. In his late twenties he became the leader of a movement of people who dreamed of traveling from China to Jerusalem, spreading the good news along the way. On his first attempt to cross the border, he was stopped and sentenced to 4 decades in prison as a traitor. No prison is easy, but Chinese prisons in the 1940’s were essentially death camps. His wife miscarried, then died herself. His 4 co-leaders all died. Doled a daily ration of torture with 14 hour working days on starvation rations, death looked certain for Simon as well. But he never gave up his faith in God, and he managed to survive his sentence. God had provided miracles in jail too. “On one occasion the other prisoners locked him out of the barracks in the dead of winter with no outer clothing, taunting him to see if his God would help him. Simon cried out to the Lord and suddenly felt warm all over. The prisoners were astounded to look outside and see steam rising off his body and the snow melting around his feet. On another occasion, he was beaten so severely that his skull was fractured. While unconcscious, the Lord came to him in a vision and said ‘My child, I am with you. I shall never leave you or forsake you.’ Regaining consciousness, he touched the spot where his skull was smashed, and although there was dried blood on the spot, the wound had been miraculously healed.” (From “Unrelenting Prayer”, Bob Sorge) When he got out, all he wanted was to live a quiet life in the presence of God, but believers heard about this man’s story and insisted that he come and speak. Simon reluctantly started traveling to share, and masses of believers were inspired by his testimony of perseverance. He fueled the fire of perhaps the greatest revival of the 20th century. Lord I bet there were moments when Simon Zhao wondered why you didn’t let him cross that border. It probably didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but in hindsight we can see that you had bigger plans for him. You wanted to multiply his impact. When I wonder about my circumstances, I thank you that I can have faith in your ultimate goodness. You have a plan. I love you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Chasing Attention

Mark 1:45 Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. A couple years back a mentor who had built a very large business empire relayed to me his philosophy on money. “Too many people go around chasing money. It’s a waste of time. Instead of chasing money, become the right kind of person, and money will chase after you.” In today’s economy, the most precious currency is attention, and the world’s largest companies have got everyone hooked in trying to chase attention through likes, comments and shares. We know as believers that our ultimate goal is Jesus, not affirmation through our social networks, but today I’m reminded that if we become like Jesus, attention will naturally chase after us. In Mark 1, Jesus healed the paralytic and asked him not to tell anyone what happened. Of course the guy went and ran his mouth to anyone who would listen, and more and more crowds started chasing Jesus. How can you die to self and live in Christ without having miracles in your life? And how can you have miracles and not have people around you paying attention? Lord I know that as I become like you, attention will chase me more and more. But I declare that that this is not my purpose nor my goal. My only aspiration is you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.