LM, Nelson's Open Bible,
New Spirit Filled Life For Women
NKJ Version
Dear Friends,New Spirit Filled Life For Women
NKJ Version
As I knelt down to pray, the moist, hot air of India hung around me like a blanket. A small boy sat on the ground in, the cardboard box that was home to him and his large family, and my heart felt as though it would break.
Having witnessed God work tremendous miracles of healing and deliverance, I gathered my team around and we began to pray for this little boy's healing. Filled with faith and compassion we waited to see what God would do, but nothing happened.
That day began a long journey of earnestly seeking the Lord for understanding. I was surprised to find in Luke 11:20 the key that God would use to begin teaching me His ways.
Luke 11:20 NKJ
“But if I cast out demons with the finger of God,
surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."
surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."
Though your circumstances may be different, you, too, may have experienced this dilemma. Why do we see God do miracles sometimes, but not at other times?
We know from Scripture that when the Kingdom of God comes in, it's fullness there will be no more death, sickness, pain or crying; all of the former things will pass away.
Revelation 21:1-4 NKJ
(1) "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for
the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
(3) And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
(2) Then I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God.
(4)
And God will wipe away every
tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death,
nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain,
for the former things have passed away."
We also know that we do not yet live in that future state. Dr. George Ladd, in his work on the Kingdom of God says; "that we live in an "age of tension." "We don't have to look far to see that we are living in an age where sin and evil seem to dominate our present life situation. We live in an age of tension between the victory won through Jesus' death and resurrection and the culmination of that victory when He comes again.
Into this tension, the words of Jesus bring understanding to our dilemma. Jesus is saying that when a deliverance takes place, the future Kingdom of God breaks into the present reality of life. When Jesus performed miracles, people experienced the glory of the future Kingdom of God first hand. In Jesus' touch, they were touched by eternity.
Today, by the Power of God's Spirit, we continue to see both the reign and glory of the future Kingdom of God breaking into our present life situations; for the Kingdom of God is both a present and a future Kingdom.
We see this when someone is healed, when someone is delivered, and when we see miracles. Why don't we see this happen all the time? Because we still live in age of tension, affected by evil and sin, experiencing death, pain and mourning.
We have not yet experienced the Kingdom in it's fullness. God manifests His Grace to us when He invades our lives through the miraculous and grants us a taste of eternity."
May God place within your heart, as He has in mine, a fresh expectancy and fervency in prayers that His Kingdom would come in power and that He would touch His People with eternity.
Leslyn Musch