Consider this

Her husband was dead, she was out of money and a creditor was coming to take her and her two boys away as slaves. That is when she sought help from the prophet Elisha. “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Elisha asked. “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil”. Elisha then told her to go to all her neighbours and borrow as many empty jars as she could. She was then told to go home and start pouring the oil into the jars. As she began to fill the jars, the oil miraculously continued flow until she had filled every jar that she had in the house. God provided for her in her time of need and she was able to sell the extra oil to pay her debts. Here is the interesting part of this story for us: The scripture says, “When all the jars were full she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing” (2 Kings 4:6). Did you get that? The oil stopped flowing after a...

In twelve years, she had seen every doctor that she could think of and, though she had “spent all that she had” (Mark 5:26), she still had no relief. Her condition was not just inconvenient, it was incapacitating. Under the Jewish law, a woman who was “subject to bleeding” was considered “unclean”, or an outcast. She could not go to worship. She could not go to social events. Essentially, she was cut off from everyone. That is why she snuck in to see Jesus. She thought, "If I can just get close to him, touch him, maybe I will be healed” and she was right. One touch and twelve years of misery and loneliness were gone. Her health and her life were restored to her in an instant. At the same time, Jesus was on his way to help someone else. A man named Jairus had a twelve year old daughter who was very sick. He hoped that Jesus could help his little girl and so he came and made the request. Not long after arriving, word comes that Jesus’ help is no longer needed. “Your daug...

The phrase “What would Jesus do?” (Often abbreviated “WWJD”) became popular in the 1890s (as the subtitle of a book by Charles Sheldon) and again in the 1990s. It is a reminder that in any situation we can choose to act the way Jesus would. As 2009 opens, may I suggest a slightly different phrase to consider, “WCJD - What could Jesus do?” You see, if I ask, “What would Jesus do?” then the focus is on me. I have to decide how to react and do something. However, if my question is, “What could Jesus do?” then Jesus and his power become the focus. Instead of me trying to fix things, maybe I pray and trust God to do something. Instead of worrying, maybe I end up trusting and believing that God is working. If I am bringing everyone and everything to Jesus, then who knows what could happen? Luke chapters 8 and 9 make up one interesting section of this gospel. It begins with Jesus calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee (8:22-25). He then heals a demon possessed man (8:26-39), a sick wo...