Jesus is a miracle worker.  The Bible records many instances of His miraculous power in healing souls and bodies.  Jairus' daughter lay dying.  He knew Jesus could heal her and earnestly pleaded with Jesus to come to his home for this purpose.  Jesus readily consented.  Also following Jesus was a woman that had endured an issue of blood for 12 years and could not be healed by doctors.  She believed that if she touched the hem of Jesus' garment, she would be healed.  Jesus satisfied her need.

Someone arrived to inform Jairus that his daughter was dead.  Jesus had one thing to say to her father:

"...Be not afraid, only believe."  Mark 5:36

After reaching Jairus home, Jesus raised the daughter from the dead.  Jesus satisfied Jairus' need.

Jesus met a naked man who was full of bad spirits and lived in a graveyard.  This man would cut himself and cry out in agony, being constantly tormented by the evil spirits that inhabited him.  Jesus cast out the evil spirits, and this man was immediately restored to his right mind.  Jesus satisfied this man's need.

Jesus is in the business of satisfying needs.  No need exists that He cannot satisfy.  It is our opportunity to come in faith to Him, believing that he will satisfy our need, whatever it may be.  His power is not limited by anything but ourselves.

"...According to your faith, be it unto you."  Matthew 9:29

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."  Matthew 28:18

Sin in Canaan

The Israelites were God's special people.  He had brought them out of the slavery of Egypt to the land of Canaan, which He had promised to give them.  Before entering the land, God told Moses to relay some special instructions to them.

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;  A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:

And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day..."  Deuteronomy 11:26-28

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:  therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"   Deuteronomy 30:19

Also, since Moses was close to death, he gave them a new leader named Joshua.  The people promised to be obedient to their new leader.

The first conquest in Canaan was the city of Jericho.  God instructed the Israelites to defeat Jericho in a way that, to the human mind, would result in failure.  They were to merely walk around this high-walled city once a day for six days.  On the seventh day, they were to encompass the city seven times, blow trumpets, give a shout, and God would take care of the rest.  Although this was an odd way to conquer a city, the Israelites were careful to obey these unusual commands.  Because of this obedience, God gave the blessing and caused the walls of Jericho to crumble.

When the Israelites conquered Jericho, they were instructed to destroy everything but the precious metals of gold, silver, brass, and iron.  These metals they were to bring to the Lord's treasury.  Unfortunately for all, an Israelite named Achan decided to keep some gold, silver, and clothing.  These he hid in his tent.

When Israel set out to conquer the small city of Ai, their second conquest in Canaan, they were miserably defeated.  God had given a curse, instead of a blessing.  Joshua fell upon his knees to God in prayer.  God showed Joshua that He would not bless Israel because someone had sinned.  Until the sin was removed , he could not bless Israel again.  Achan, who thought he could hide his stolen treasure, was found out, and he, his family, and all his possessions, were destroyed.

"...be sure your sin will find you out."  Numbers 32:23

Now, the Israelites could again receive the blessing rather than the curse.  They returned to Ai, and, following God's direction, they conquered it.

God gives everyone a choice.  A choice to obey or disobey Him.  If we obey, we can expect the blessing.  If we disobey, we can expect the curse, or punishment, for it.

When Achan sinned, God could not bless Israel.  If we sin, our soul dies and we are separated from God.  God cannot dwell where sin is present.

"...the soul that sinneth, it shall die."  Ezekiel 18:4

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."  Isaiah 59:1-2

There must be a punishment, or curse, for sin.  Achan had to die for his sin.  Jesus died in our place.  As a result, once we give our hearts to God, He takes away the sin, and we are no longer separated from Him.  We no longer need to "hide" our sin, for nothing can be hidden from God.  We now forsake all sin and do not sin anymore.  Christ helps us to live each day without sinning at all.

However, if we do sin, we are once again separated from God and our soul dies.  We must take care of the sin before we can again have life in Christ.

Sin in a Mission Home

A missionary named Faith Stewart had a home in India for orphaned girls.  Although they had enough food to eat, the girls did not often receive candy or treats as these were not affordable.  There came a time when the girls desired some candy so badly that they went to prayer for it.  God answered their prayer and sent enough candy for everyone.  Two of the teachers, who were not at home when the candy arrived, returned and were instructed to retrieve their candy from the kitchen.  When they searched for it, there was no candy to be found.

Although Sis Stewart asked the children about it, no one confessed to stealing the candy.  Sis Stewart prayed that God would teach a lesson to all of the folly of sin.   Food became scarce and though everyone prayed for God to send in more food, there was not enough.  The younger children were able to receive their share, but the older girls went hungry.

Finally, Sis Stewart talked again to the girls and informed them that God was not sending the food because someone was guilty of sin.  She asked everyone to search their hearts.  A ten year old girl stepped forward, confessing and asking Sis Stewart to pray for God to forgive her.  The next day, a letter came with a good supply of money in it.   After studying the postmarks, Sis Stewart determined that this letter had been at the post office for four days.  God had kept it in the post office until the sin was taken care of.

God cannot bless when sin is covered, or when it is in our hearts.  We must confess and forsake sin or turn away from it, and then we will receive the blessing.

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."  Proverbs 28:13

The Bible tells us of a rich and lonely tax collector who sought a glimpse of Jesus by climbing a tree.  Jesus, who looks on the heart of every person, saw in Zacchaeus a repentant heart and called out his name.  Zacchaeus took Jesus home to his house that day and became changed into a new man by the power of God.

Jesus loves everyone, no matter how unloved they are, or how wicked and deceitful they are.  He is calling to humble, repentant hearts who are seeking to see Him, to see Truth, and to see Life.  If Jesus is invited into the "heart-house", He can change every wicked heart into a clean and holy one, for He has all power in heaven and in earth.  There is hope for everyone in Jesus.

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

  John 8:26

Although both Johnny and Susie were apple trees of very similar appearance, their actions were very different from one another.  Johnny was thankful and kind, while Susie often complained and acted in an unkind, impatient manner.  Farmer Goodapple, who cared for them, did his best to try and help Susie, but she was stubborn and resisted his efforts.

When the apples were mature enough to eat, Farmer Goodapple picked some of the apples from his trees and tasted them.  He found that Susie's fruit was bad tasting and Johnny's apples were delicious.  Farmer Goodapple decided that he must cut Susie down, much to her grief, and use her as firewood.

The Bible compares people to fruit-producing trees.   Those who produce good fruit are true Christians, who love and serve God with all their hearts.  Those that produce bad fruit are those who would rather have sin and their own way.

The Bible says that people will know what we are by the fruit, or words and actions, that we display.  A true Christian will have fruits such as love, humility, obedience, peace, kindness, and holy living.  A non-Christian will produce bad fruits like lying, pride, disobedience, unthankfulness, and sinful living.  God will do his best to work with someone who is producing bad fruits, but if they will not change, or repent, they cannot go to heaven.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."  Matthew 7:15-19

It's important for those who claim to be Christians to produce Christ-like fruit.  When we have given our hearts and lives to Jesus, he will help us to yield good fruits every day.

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  John 15:5

 Many years ago in a small schoolhouse, an unusual incident occurred.  A new teacher had come to the school and had brought his Bible with him  He had the children make the rules and the consequences for the school year. 

One day a rule was broken and the teacher called the culprit up to receive his punishment of 10 lashes for stealing another boy's lunch.  The thief, a small, poor boy named Johnny, had stolen the lunch because he was hungry and didn't have enough to eat.  Big Jim, whose lunch had been the one stolen, was a big, strong fellow who was usually mean to the younger boys.   This time however, Jim asked the teacher if he could take Johnny's punishment on himself.  The teacher assented, for which Johnny was very thankful.

The teacher then explained how Jesus did the same thing for us.  We committed wrong, or sin, and therefore we deserved a punishment for that sin.  We deserved to die because we disobeyed God.  However, God loves us so much and didn't want us to suffer the punishment for our sin.   Therefore, Jesus came in the form of a man and died on the cross in our place.  It was only this way that we could be free from the punishment and from the sin that incurs the punishment.  Thank God for his wonderful love!

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  I John 4:10

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:  for he shall save his people from their sins."  Matthew 1:21

Jesus died to save us from sin.  He died so that we could be forgiven and be free from the penalty of sin and the power of sin.  Jesus took our sins upon him.  They were buried with him in the grave.  The power that caused him to rise from the grave is the same power that destroys the power of sin in the lives of all who will serve Him.

When we come to Jesus and give our hearts to him, our sins are buried with Christ - our old sinful soul is buried and we arise spiritually, just as Jesus arose, to a new life in Him.  This new life is pure, holy, and free from sin.

"What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

God forbid.  How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  Romans 6:1-4

 Whosoever had a heart-house that was quite dirty, in spite of his best efforts to keep it clean.   He knew that one day the king would come and inspect his heart house.  If it was clean, he could go to live with the king in his beautiful home.  But if Whosoever's heart-house was dirty, he would not be able to go live with the king.

Whosoever felt distressed about his predicament.  It seemed to be so hard to keep the bad, dirty things like lying and bad habits and bad attitudes out of his house.  Things went from bad to worse.  Some kind people named Mr. Do-Good and Miss Smiley Cheer-up tried to help him, but they could only make the outside of his heart-house clean.  They weren't able to remove the dirt and bad things from the inside, which was what he needed most.

Finally, a nice lady named Mrs. Go-to-Church directed Whosoever to Mr. Preacher.  This man explained that the only way to get his heart-house clean was to ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins, which are the wrong things he had done, and ask Jesus to come in and clean his heart-house and keep it clean.

Whosoever obeyed Mr. Preachers instructions and sure enough, all the dirt and bad things had to leave.  He was left with a sparkling clean heart that was ready for the king.  He finally had the peace and joy of knowing that his heart was right with God.

Every person is like Whosoever.  We all begin with a dirty heart-house that has sins like lying, swearing, bad attitudes, etc. in it.  We can't go to heaven until Jesus cleans our heart.  We must repent as Whosoever did, and Jesus will come and clean our heart and help us keep it clean everyday.  Only then can we have true peace and happiness.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

Jesus sometimes works in mysterious ways in order to strengthen our faith in Him.  When Jesus' friend, Lazarus, became ill, his sisters sent for Jesus to come heal him.  Jesus didn't come until Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.  Many believed that if Jesus had arrived before Lazarus had died, Lazarus could have been healed.

But Jesus had a better way.  He went to the tomb and asked to have the stone rolled away from the mouth of the cave.  Martha was mortified that Jesus would request such a thing, but Jesus said to her,

"...Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"  John 11:40

He first prayed to His Father, then commanded Lazarus to come forth from the grave.  To the amazement of all present, Lazarus was resurrected.  As a result, many believed on Jesus.

Many believe that Jesus was a real person.  Others believe that he is the Savior of the world.  Sadly, not so many believe in the power of God through Christ to deliver men and women from all sin and keep them free from sin every day.

Jesus spoke the following words to Martha when she asked about her brother Lazarus.

"...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"  John 11:25-26

We all begin with sin in our hearts.  When we do things we know are wrong, like lying, stealing, disobedience, or saying bad words, our hearts die spiritually.  They are not right with God.  At this point, if we come to God asking for forgiveness and help to stop doing these things, Jesus cleans our hearts and resurrects them, or brings them back to life.  We then, though the power and grace of God, do not sin anymore.  We do not continue to ask forgiveness for sin, because we live a holy life each day.  If we will believe, we will see the glory of God in our lives in this way and in many other ways as well.

"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin;  for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."  John 3:9

People love many different things, such as: shopping, money, sports, games, family, etc.  You can usually discern what they love because it is what they talk about and/or do more than anything else.  And it is usually all about self and what "self" can gain or enjoy from it.

Jesus showed us a better way - His way.

A lawyer asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to go to heaven.  Jesus asked him what the law said.  The lawyer replied with these words,

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself."  Luke 10:27

Jesus told him to obey these commandments.  The lawyer, wanting to make excuse for himself, asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Jesus answered with the following story:

A Jewish man journeyed from one city to another.  Along the way, he was attacked by thieves, who stole all he had and left him dying on the road.  A priest and a Levite passed by.  Neither of these Jews stopped to aid their fellow-countryman.  Last of all a Samaritan, which was a of a nationality the Jews despised, stopped and helped the man.  On his own donkey, he carried the injured man to an inn and took care of him there.  He had to leave him in the care of the innkeeper, but promised to return and pay whatever was needed to cover the cost of the patient's care.

The only one who truly was a neighbor to the injured man was the enemy of the Jews, who showed him love and compassion.  Jesus wants us to do the same.  Instead of thinking of ourselves and what we want or like, he wants us to reach out and help others who are in need and bring them to Christ.  He wants us to do this even if it comes as a disadvantage to us; even if we must help our enemy.

Christ loved his enemies and died for them.  If we truly love God, we will love everyone, enemy or friend.

"But love ye your enemies, and do good..."  Luke 6:35

"...love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another..."   John 13:34