I taught Matthew 16 for years, but always shied away from verse 19. The English translations cannot do justice to the Greek tenses, and I am no Greek scholar. But the Lord recently prompted me to go back to it, and I am glad I did—it is life changing! In Matthew 16:16, Peter declared that Jesus is, “the Christ, the […]
God’s power is beyond understanding. But when Jesus visited his hometown, he could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them (Mark 6:5)—his power constrained by unbelief. When Paul was in Ephesus, the sons of a Jewish rabbi tried to cast out a demon, which trounced them. The story went viral, […]
In my last post I said Elijah cried out to the Lord for miracles, while Jesus just commanded. But a passage in James 5 stands in clear contrast to the rest of the New Testament. Since it’s all the word of God, it’s all true. Apparent contradictions conceal deeper truths. What’s going on? Here’s James 5:13-18 Is any one of […]
The widow of Zarephath’s son had died. “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He (1) took him from her arms, (2) carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and (3) laid him on his bed. Then he (4) cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying […]
Jesus came to show us the Father. He preached the gospel, cast out demons, raised the dead, and healed the sick. He also said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). Am I a disciple? Then shouldn’t I do what Jesus did, and not what he didn’t? What Jesus […]
On my way to the Christchurch airport, we visited a rest home, to minister to a lady with a leg ulcer that wouldn’t heal. We anointed her with oil and spoke healing in the name of Jesus. We saw no change and left to catch my flight. The ulcer has since healed, and the lady is walking. Read the full […]
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said to Peter (Matthew 16:19). He went on, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Whole books have been written about binding and loosing, which imply astonishing authority. But what are the keys? Keys […]
When we pray for the sick, if we’re honest, most of the time we’re praying in hope—hoping something will happen this time. At the back of our minds are all those occasions when nothing happened. We prayed for Aunt Elsa. She died. These memories are deadly. Deadly Experience What we’re really doing is elevating our experience above the word of […]
When Jesus healed the sick, stilled the storm, and cursed the fig tree, he didn’t pray. His relationship with Abba was closer than ours. But only three times in the New Testament did people pray before ministry, and they teach us valuable lessons. Raising Faith In Acts 28, the prisoner Paul enters the house of the chief official’s father, sick […]
Jesus said, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). Note the condition? Faith in Jesus. For the first five keys (faith in his love, sacrifice, word, power, and example,) see my earlier […]