Matthew 10:8
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
Jesus gave this charge to the apostles when He sent them out. This was like a lab for them. They hadn’t done this before. They had seen Him do miracles. The message was the kingdom is coming near. How cool is that. He says this in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. That’s our message too.
He wants to bless others. He wants to come into their lives. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come into Him and sup with him and he with Me.” I heard His voice when I was 17. I responded to an altar call. I thought it was a challenge. “If you’re with God, come up.” I had no idea what I was doing. He had me. He filled my thoughts. He began to peal away evil from me. I would talk about Him all the time. I knew no christians. I wasn’t going to a bible teaching church. I was on my own. I would share this with my mom. We began to watch christian tv together. We would go to the station and watch the shows live. About nine months later I met Gordon. He was a seminary student who invited me to his house every friday night for a bible study. I did this for a couple of years. Thank You, Lord.
The apostles would share that the kingdom was near and they did miracles. I’m not sure if they had any specifics to their message. Just the kingdom is near and they would pray for people their healing. They also cast out demons.
This was practice for what they would do in a couple of years. As a small group we are going through Acts. This is their reality. In terms of connecting with God, the kingdom was here. Not in its fulness, but God and man can be close. No more sacrifices. He performed the sacrifice. Great news.
We are to do the same. The miracles really aren’t there. He will do them on occasion. We are to love others and share the good news with them. As we go into our days we pray for opportunities to love and bless others.
Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness and Your desire to be with us. Thank You that You use us to bless others.