Living Boldly for Christ: Daily Reflections on Faith, Prayer & Spiritual Life by David Hathaway
The power of our faith is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We do not speak enough about the resurrection. At Communion we remember His death and celebrate His resurrection. At Easter we proclaim His victory over the grave. But the heart of the Gospel is this: God raised Jesus from the dead! Everything we believe, everything we preach, and everything we hope for rests upon that glorious truth.
In the Church, we need to return to the power of personal testimony. There is too much religious preaching and not enough declaring what the Lord has done in our own lives. People need to hear the evidence of God's transforming power. In my own ministry, I make it a priority to share testimonies of all that God has done.
In Acts 4, the religious leaders were astonished by two things: first, the miracle that had taken place; and second, the boldness of Peter and John. It is time for us to stand with that same boldness and declare the truth we know. The leaders recognised that these ordinary men had been with Jesus – and that made all the difference.
In this story, Jesus was asleep, a storm arose, so the disciples woke Him, ‘We’re all going to die, it’s the end of the world…’ But Jesus just got up, He bound the storm, the winds stopped, the boat was safe, nobody died – and when those strong fishermen saw the demonstration of the power that this Man had over the elements, they said, ‘What kind of Man do we have in the boat?’
God had to reduce Gideon’s army to only 300. Why? Because God can only use willing, obedient, committed people who will make His glory the first priority. God needs the right men and women in order to do what He wants, to bring glory to His Name, to bring deliverance to nations, to build His church – He’s looking everywhere, to find those through whom He can direct all His power, and energy into saving sinners.
I love to see God heal people that the doctors cannot help! To me, the real miracles of healing are when doctors have tried to heal and failed, then God takes over and by a miracle does what the most expert of doctors cannot do. I have seen many people healed of broken bones and the effects of accidents, especially young people, and many other young ones born blind, deaf, crippled, where medical science can do nothing.
If you think like that, you will not be healed. No, just as God forgives sin, instantly, He wants to heal you, NOW! God loves you! When Jesus healed the blind man the religious leaders asked, ‘Who sinned, this man or his parents?’ Jesus said neither! If God were to punish us now for every sin or mistake, then every one of us would be dead, including me!
Even in times of crisis, I am not ashamed of the Gospel – and I don’t want you to be ashamed either. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is where the power of God is revealed. All the power of God – the strength to transform, to heal, to save – is contained within the Gospel. It’s not just words; it’s the very life-changing, world-shaping power of God at work.
I have Christ IN me and I have the Holy Spirit IN me! That is the secret of fifty years of miracle ministry. I do not want any new Gospel – I want the Bible-believing, miracle-working, powerful Gospel according to God’s Word! You can pray for an easy life, ask Him to prevent the problems, ask for a quiet time... but that means where there are no problems, there are no miracles!
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