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Miracles

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

We live with quiet miracles every day; miracles that go totally unnoticed. Our very lives are miracles second by second. Our hearts beat without being reminded. Our eyes adjust to light and print size and blink to replenish the lubrication they need to function, and we are unaware. We breath all night long and don’t even know we are doing it. The very God of miracles has created our bodies miraculously to work without our control. He is in control – these miracles should remind us of that fact.

Then there are miracles of divine intervention. The definition of a miracle in Webster’s Dictionary is: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. The Bible bursts with miracles too numerous to list, but a few to remember are:
Yeshua being born to a virgin who had become pregnant when the Holy Spirit came upon her.
Yeshua’s first miracle of turning water into wine
The miracle of a boy’s lunch feeding 5,000 - with left-overs!!
Yeshua speaking to the storm that obeys and stops.
Yeshua speaking life back into Lazarus after he’d been dead for four days!
And, of course, the resurrection of Yeshua after three days in the tomb! He miraculously overcame death for all of humanity! Only God could do that!

And now we enter a season of miracles as our thoughts turn to Chanukah. Just a small band of Jewish fighters, determined to fight for the right to worship God as they had been instructed, fought a large, well organized Seleucid army and won! Did I mention that the Jewish fighters were outnumbered five to one? Could we call this a miracle? By all means. It is the amazing miracle of God working with the efforts of men to bring about something that in reality should never have been able to happen. But it did.

Then in the desecrated Temple, the soldiers found one flask of pure oil for the Menorah, enough to last only one day. The oil was lit, and miraculously, the one flask of oil burned not for one day, but for eight days.

And we celebrate the miracle of this light and the winning of this war during Chanukah. It is a miracle that keeps us all hoping and struggling to maintain our religious and political freedoms, not only for our generation, but for generations to follow.

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.

Miraculously, Jesus’ words are still true today. As the world gets darker, it is time to let His light shine through us.

Happy Chanukah!

Light Shines Best in the Dark!

Download the PDF of this blog post: Miracles

Elul Has Begun

Elul Has Begun - What Are Your Goals to Be a Changed Person In the Next Year?

What a blessing we are given to have an entire month, Elul, to solidify our spiritual goals and begin new behaviors and habits. On Rosh HaShana, we stand before the King.

First, we want to measure ourselves. There is a way to do this. Just ask yourself how many days last year that you woke up happy and bounced out of bed with energy to do the work HaShem had for you that day.

Now ask yourself what you are willing to do to have almost ALL days full of joy and peace and energy.

The answer lies in one more question: What am I willing to do to be Closer to the Lord; for the joy of the LORD is our strength?

Here is the best way to begin to make the changes necessary to be closer to the Lord:

Write down what your targets for spiritual success are.

Some suggestions to get us thinking:

1. More prayer
2. More Giving
3. Visit the people you know who are ill
4. Accept the Love the Lord has for me
5. Know my purpose
6. Fulfill my purpose
7. Stop Arguing with my family members
8. Speak with more love in my voice
9. Smile more
10. Have more joy
11. Trust the Holy Spirit to change what I cannot change and pray instead of fighting
12. Learn more Jewish liturgy

You get the idea — in humility we need to admit our faults and set our minds and hearts to fix the issues.

In Elul, the King is in the field. He is all powerful, and He knows how to help those who trust and obey. He sees our efforts. He strengthens us.

Write down what you truly believe about the Lord.

This will be our assignment for Elul 1.

And we pray, Lord:

As we blow the shofar every day during this month, may our complacency be shattered and make us conscious of the sin in our lives. May the sound of the shofar enter our hearts, for blessed is the people that hearkens to its call.

Turn us to You, Adonai, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.