Pick up your "mat"!

When I was younger, I remember watching this particular show that revolves around kids my age in school. On one of the episodes a classmate humorously comments to another classmate that this fellow classmate's summer report about his trip to a foreign country meant "nothin'" if he didn't have any pictures (proof). This classmate brushed off this comment and was confident that his teacher would still like the paper. Fast forward a little bit, and when the teacher asked this classmate regarding his paper whether or not he had any pictures, the classmate sheepishly replied, "no". The teacher in reply said, "Then you got nothin."

Stick with me here, because I want to talk about your "pictures"in your report. From the book of Mark chapter 2:

Mark 2

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. ² Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, ³ four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. ⁴ They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. ⁵ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, ⁷ “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

⁸ Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? ⁹ Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ¹⁰ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man^[a] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ¹¹ “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

¹² And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

I have heard many messages and read many things concerning this passage before: about the boldness and faith of the paralyzed man's friends, of the forgiveness of sins by Jesus whose authority to do so was proven by the physically miraculous, and of those who saw this miracle praising God because of this amazing and spectacular event. But the spirit of God impressed something upon me I never thought of before when I read this again. In verse 11 when Jesus heals the paralyzed man, he says, "stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!"

I have used a wheelchair for about half my life. It is with me all day every day. While I know I am fortunate to have the necessary medical equipment that assist me in my daily life activities, I still cannot help myself from not wanting to see my wheelchair ever again. If Jesus looked directly at me and told me to "stand up!", the last thing I would ever want to do when I stood up from being healed before joyfully running home to my family and friends to excitedly testify how Jesus healed me completely, is to first turn around and make sure I bring my wheelchair with me (for this paralyzed man, his "wheelchair"was his mat)!

When God has done a miracle in our lives, He wants us to testify to others we know (particularly non-believers)  by using things from our past no one can deny. Videos, pictures, x-rays, doctors reports, walkers, canes, and wheelchairs to name a few to testify to others of when we were physically sick and now by the healing power of Jesus, we can "stand up, pick up our mat, and go home!"

Throughout Scripture, we continually find that God works miracles so that He can be glorified. Whether that be a physical miracle, a relationship miracle, a financial miracle, or a salvation miracle, we are to bring praise and glory to Him! Any miracle that we receive, remember that it is not about us. The miracle is about His power and awesomeness being glorified for all to see!

And don't forget about the greatest, most unfathomable, and most fantastic miracle He has given us ---- the life and resurrection of His only Son (God in flesh) to annihilate all of our iniquities so that we can all be with the Father in eternity when we die! All we have to do is repent (turn completely from), and then pursue and trust in Jesus Christ (we do those things by obeying the commands of Jesus). We should all “pick up our mat” and eagerly show this to others to give glory to God! Every follower of Christ has a “mat” right now ---- it is your joy and love of Jesus that comes from undeserved salvation!  To whom have you shown your "mat" today?

How to make healthier cheesy, garlic biscuits!

I'm no cook. But I can follow a recipe. A couple weeks ago, I saw a picture of some biscuits and thought that I would like to make some. I looked at the recipe, and it seemed fairly easy. Thus, I embarked upon this wonderful-looking creation.  I have made them a couple of times since and my wife and I love them!  I made a few changes to the recipe found here

Preheat oven to 445°.

2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Coconut oil (the original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of shortening, but you can substitute shortening with a variety of things such as olive oil or applesauce --- half as much applesauce as shortening ----- according to here)
3 tablespoons butter, cold (or room temp works too)
About 1/3 cup kefir milk (or buttermilk, but if you do not have buttermilk or kefir milk, you can use 1/3 c milk and 1/2 tsp vinegar... let them sit together until little bubbles appear on the top, about ten min.)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt. 
2. Mix those ingredients in and then mix in the coconut oil (or whatever you use to substitute for shortening) and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. 
3. Mix in grated cheese. 
4. Then mix in the kefir milk or if you used buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok - the biscuits will be tough if they have too much liquid). 
5. Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet (you can form them in your hands). 
6. Bake for around 10 min.,or until golden and you can do the clean toothpick thing (I don't know what you call it, but you cooks out there know what I mean). 

That's it! Enjoy!

Testify!

Long ago when we were first dating, my wife showed me her reading lists up until the age of 15.  I kid you not, it was pages upon pages front and back of book titles she had read her first 15 years of life.  I remember being floored because I don't think I will read that many books in my whole lifetime!  I do read books and enjoy them, but I cannot read them as quickly as she does. Sure, I can read 100 pages per hour like she does ----- but that does not mean that I can remember what I just read if I do that.

I have to be careful with the books that I select. I have to make sure they're good because I do not have the ’skills’ in order to waste a little bit of time reading a bad book. Because I read slowly, the little bit of time it takes for my wife to read a bad book is a lot of time for me to read the same amount.  So like many people out there, recommendations about books that I have not read are key.  What are these people saying about this book? Do these people have the same interests as me? Is it a subject matter that I like? And does it have pictures?  Very important questions that I need to ask myself before I commit to reading a book.  The Bible is one of those books that I have read ----- and many times.  But that is not what I was transitioning to in these opening paragraphs.  The importance of recommendations and testimonies is what I want you to keep in mind.

The other day as I was reading the Bible, I read something that I wanted to share in the book of Mark chapter 5.

         Mark 5:1-20

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Gerasene Demoniac

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² When He got out ofthe boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. ⁶ Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; ⁷ and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “^[a]What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” ⁸ For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now there was a large herd of swine feeding ^[b]nearby on the mountain. ¹² The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to thedemon-possessed man, and all about the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to implore Him to leave their region.

It is always awesome to read about a supernatural miracle that Jesus performed.  This man received a psychological, physical, and, most importantly, spiritual miracle from Him who is greater than any demonic powers!  I pray constantly for supernatural healing from Him while I speak promises found in His Word. Scriptures and promises found in his word are true. Whenever I repeat those promises of healing, I remind not just God, but myself as well, that these words are truth.

While I constantly petition God for physical healing, maybe physical healing is not a miracle from Him that you are praying for right now. Maybe it is is a relationship miracle, such as with your spouse, kids, or parents. Or maybe you are praying for a salvation miracle for someone that you know.  Or a financial miracle.  Or an emotional miracle for yourself. The point is that every single person has or will have a specific area(s) in which he or she needs a miracle from Him.

So what happens after you receive the miracle? Are you just going to praise God in that moment and walk away? How are you going to bring the maximum amount of glory to God when He does provide that miracle?  One day, as I was praying for healing, I felt this question reverberating in my spirit, ‘Do you have your testimony ready so that it will bring Me the maximum amount of glory? ‘. That question is applicable to every person who is praying for a specific miracle in his or her life.

So let's continue the story in the book of Mark character 5 verses 18 through 20: 

 ¹⁸ As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might ^[c]accompany Him. ¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “Go home to your people and report to Them ^[d]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis ^[e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

Your specific purpose and my specific purpose right now is our testimony and how we can bring glory to God. This formally demon possessed man proclaimed and testified throughout the ten cities (Decapolis) of all of the great things that Jesus had done for his physical and spiritual health. As I read this past week I was reminded of the Scripture in the book of Psalms:

"Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory." - Psalms 50:15

So when he provides the miracle for you that His Scriptures promise, whether it be financial, spiritual, emotional, or physical, do you have your testimony ready so that it will bring Him the maximum amount of glory?

But really, this story is not quite finished.  In Mark chapter 7 versus 31 through 35.

³¹ Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. ³² They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; ³⁴ and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the ^[q]impediment of his tongue ^[r]was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 

Did you catch the verse 31? It says that Jesus went to the "region of the Decapolis". Remember what happened earlier when Jesus healed that demon possessed man in Mark chapter 5 verse 20, .” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis ^[e]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. So after this man received his miracle, he proclaimed his miracle not only to his neighbors or those only close by him, but instead he traveled throughout the 10 cities in that region (that is the Decapolis). And then when Jesus came back through the region, a man who was deaf and had trouble speaking was brought to Jesus and He healed him.  In the age of no Internet, no cell phones, no newspapers, televisions, and no radios (seriously, what did they do?), one has to wonder how this deaf man and those who brought him knew anything about Jesus.  No one knows for sure, but that formally demon possessed man giving his testimony throughout the 10 cities in that region is the most plausible reason.

What you do with your miracle when you receive it can be more important than the miracle itself. You are to bring glory to God. And not just a little bit, but the maximum amount of glory that you can.  Too often we get focused on what we need or want. We think that we have to pray a little louder or a little longer because we think that maybe God's hearing is a little bad.  After all, He has been around since before time began, so maybe he cannot hear as well as he used to. Right? God hears you perfectly fine. He heard you this morning, yesterday, the day before that, the day before that, and on and on.  But what I feel as though God told me in my spirit years ago is this: He wants to know if your testimony is "ready" in a way that can bring Him the maximum amount of glory when he does provide you your miracle. 

"Ready" means:
·         Is your testimony organized?
·         Are you prepared to share your testimony with more than your friends and neighbors?
·         Does your testimony bring honor and glory to you or to God?
·         How can you use technology now to share your testimony since that technology so easily enables communication with everyone all over the world?
·         And most importantly, you need to pray about it and ask God to fine-tune your testimony. 
 
Your miracle will come and it is up to you to “Trust Me in your times of trouble and you will give Me glory."

So give your recommendations and proclaim your testimony!  Our God is an awesome God!