Did Jesus do Magic?

Memory Verse:

“With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19: 26

When you read about all the supernatural things Jesus did in the Gospels, do you sometimes wonder if He did magic? What is magic?

My World Book dictionary has a few definitions. It says it’s the pretended or supposed art of using secret charms and spirits to make unnatural things happen; like the fairy’s magic changed the brothers into swans. In simple cultures, magic is often closely related to religion. Sorcery, occult and witchcraft are listed as its synonyms.

Its second definition says magic is something that produces results like a mysterious influence or unexplained power like in music; the magic of her voice charms the audience.

And it also says magic is the art or skill of creating illusions. An illusion is an appearance or feeling that misleads because it is not real. That’s what you see magicians do at birthday parties when they pull a rabbit out of a tall black hat.

Is that what Jesus did? Or were the wonders and healings He did real? And by what power did He do them?

Jesus and His disciples, with His mother were invited to a wedding. The people hosting the wedding ran out of wine. Wine was very important in that culture, especially at a wedding. Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no wine.” Then she also informed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to.

Mary, being Jesus’ mother, knew He was God’s Son. She must have been thinking -You’re God, Jesus. Please help these people.

There were six huge water pots made from stone standing there. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus told the servants to fill each water pot with water. So they did. They filled each one to the brim – to the top.

Then Jesus told them to draw some out and bring it to the master of the feast. So they filled a pitcher with the liquid. To their surprise it was no longer plain water but had turned into wine. Jesus had made the water into wine.

The master of the feast tasted it. He didn’t know that it had been water, turned to wine. He said it tasted better than the first wine they had served. When Jesus does something, it is always good. It is perfect.

So let’s go back to my question. Did Jesus turn water into wine with magic? Or how did He do it?

The church leaders of that day, the chief priests and the elders, also had questions about how Jesus did such supernatural things. At another time they asked, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” Matthew 21:23 [NKJV]

In Matthew 12:28 we read His answer. “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.” [The Living Bible] And there we have His answer. He did it by God’s power.

We call Jesus’ supernatural signs, miracles. A miracle is a wonderful happening that is beyond the known laws of nature.

God created and maintains the whole world. Making water into wine must have been a small thing for Him. But then, nothing God does is ever just a small thing. He does everything for a purpose; to meet our needs and to bring honor and glory to His name.

Going Deeper for Parents:

A lot of people, even Christians, have a hard time believing that Jesus’ miracles were literal.

Let me take you back to John 1 where Nathanael said He now believed that Jesus was the Messiah, because Jesus knew he was under the fig tree when Philip called him. At that time Jesus told him, “You will see greater things than these.” Then He added, “Do you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater proofs than this. You will even see heaven open and angels of God coming back and forth to me, the Messiah.” John 1: 50, 51 [The Living Bible}

Jesus’ disciples did see Him do many miracles. That is what convinced them that He is the Christ.

Bible scholars believe that when Jesus spoke of seeing heaven open and angels coming back and forth to Jesus, He was referring to the future glory of Christ, returning to take us to glory with Him. That is one miracle none of us want to miss.

All rights are reserved by Ruth Willms.

This devotional is free to use with your family or classroom.  If you would like to make copies of this devotional please contact Ruth Willms for permission.

 

Your Name is You!

Memory Verse:

“Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin!” John 2:29 [The Living Bible]

Names are very important. Our name is our handle for the rest of our life. Too bad we don’t get to pick it; we have to trust our parents for that.

I have heard of some very unusual names in the celebrity section. Gwyneth Paltrow and her rock-star husband, Chris Martin of Coldplay, chose to name their daughter, Apple. The British rocker, Bob Geldof, named his daughter Peaches. Those two names have grown on me and I kind of like them.

Call me conservative but I felt sorry for Fifi Trixiebelle, Geldof’s other daughter, and David Bowie’s son Zowie Bowie and Todd Rundgren’s son ReBop. And I always thought actor Jason Lee’s choice of Pilot Inspektor and Michael Hutchins of INXS choice, Tiger Lily Heavenly Hirani, should be outlawed. But maybe their kids’ names will help them make it in the acting world.

I hope your parents took great care in naming you, and your name suits you just fine. But if you cringe every time someone calls you by your unusual name, don’t worry. You can change your name for a price when you reach adulthood.

In Bible times, and in some cultures today, parents do choose names which are supposed to describe their child’s character. Sometimes God even changed people’s names; He changed Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah and Saul to Paul.

After Jesus returned from the wilderness, where He was tempted, John the Baptist saw Him walking by the river. He cried out, “Behold the Lamb of God, who bears the sin of the world!” John was prophesying that Jesus would be like a lamb led to slaughter for the sins of everyone in the world, past, present and future.

Two young men were with John the Baptist that day. They were his disciples, or learners of his. They were very interested in the writings of God. When they heard that Jesus was the Messiah, they left John the Baptist and followed Jesus instead. One of these young men was Andrew. He became a disciple of Jesus. The Bible doesn’t say who the other man was but Bible scholars think it may have been John the disciple, who wrote the book of John in the Bible.

Andrew thought of his brother, Simon, who he knew would be very interested in meeting the Messiah, whom they had waited for all their life. In those days, when they went to the temple to worship, or to the synagogue (their church-school), they were always taught that the Messiah would soon come to deliver them. And now Andrew knew He was here; He was Jesus.

Jesus saw Andrew bringing Simon to his lodging place. Right away Jesus changed Simon’s name. He said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which when translated, is Peter) [John 1:42 NIV]

‘Cephas’ or ‘Peter’ means ‘rock’. Jesus called him that because later Peter would become the leader of the disciples and also of the Christian church.

The next day Jesus began his journey back to his home country in Galilee and these three men accompanied him. As they were walking they met another young man, Philip. He lived in the same town as Simon and Andrew. Jesus called him to also be His disciple. Philip too had learned about the Messiah and was anxiously waiting for Him. He immediately believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.

Philip was so glad to meet and know Jesus; he wanted to introduce Him to Nathanael, his neighbor. But when Philip left and found his neighbor, Nathanael said, “Can any thing come out of Nazareth?” You see, the Scriptures said that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem so Nathanael had a hard time believing that this Jesus from Nazareth was the Messiah. He didn’t know yet that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

When Philip finally introduced Nathanael, Jesus called him: “An Israelite in whom there is no guile!” Guile means deceit. Nathanael wasn’t deceitful but an honest, sincere man.

Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Then Nathanael finally believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Only God could have known all about him before He even saw or heard about him.

I like what Jesus said then:”Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater proofs than this. You will even see heaven open and the angels of God coming back and forth to me, the Messiah.” [John 1:50 and 51 The Living Bible] All of God’s children will see this too.

If you have chosen to be God’s child you too have a new name. You are now called ‘Christian’; a follower of Christ Jesus.

Going Deeper for Parents:

How do you think Simon felt when Jesus changed his name to ‘Peter’, the rock? I think it must have really encouraged him. He saw that Jesus believed in him; Jesus had great plans for him. In a way, Jesus affirmed him but also much more. Jesus was already preparing Peter as the leader of the Christian church.

As children of God, we bear the name ‘Christian’. As C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, we are little ‘Christs’.

The Bible says: “But God is so rich in mercy: he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead – only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved – and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Jesus, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms – because of what Jesus did.” Ephesians 2:4 to 6. [The Living Bible]

In God’s eyes we already sit in the heavenly realms with Jesus. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work Jesus did. In fact, Jesus said we would do works even greater than His.

 

All rights are reserved by Ruth Willms.

This devotional is free to use with your family or classroom.  If you would like to make copies of this devotional please contact Ruth Willms for permission.

 

All about Temptation

Memory Verse:

“God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10: 13 [NKJV]

If you’re alive and human you have temptations everyday. Some of us handle temptation better than others. To yield to sinful temptation is wrong but there are things we say we are tempted to do that are not wrong.

If you are tempted to run for two miles when you’re tired after running one, and you yield, it’s just an unhealthy choice. But if you are tempted to do something that you know is against God’s Word or will and you actually do it, then that action becomes a sin.

Just being tempted is not a sin. Yielding to temptation is sin. God can give us special help to walk away from temptation. In fact, He can put Satan on the run. The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” [James 4:7 The Living Bible]

Do you know that even Jesus was tempted to sin when He was on earth? He did, but He never ever yielded. He is the only person that never sinned.

After He was baptized, Jesus spent 40 days alone in the wilderness getting close to God, His Father. The Bible says He fasted the whole time. I believe He spent time praying and listening to His Father.

Then Satan came to Jesus and tempted Him. If someone hadn’t eaten for 40 days and 40 nights and you wanted to make him do something he didn’t want to, what would you tempt him with: eating, of course? Satan is pretty smart, but in a sly sort of way. He uses all of his knowledge and slyness to get us into trouble.

So Satan came to tempt Jesus with food. I suppose he remembered how he had tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden with food. Maybe he thought; it worked that time and it will work again.

Satan told Jesus that if He really was God’s Son He should turn some stones into loaves of bread to prove it. But Jesus was strong and replied using Scripture. He said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” There was nothing wrong in turning stones into bread but that was not the Father’s will for Him at the time.

Satan tried again. He took Jesus up into Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. Then he said, “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down because it is written that God will send His angels to bear you up so you won’t hurt your foot on a stone.” But Jesus only replied, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Satan didn’t give up easily. He tried one more time. This time he took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Then Satan said, “I will give you all of these if you will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus replied, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” Finally Satan left Him.

But this wasn’t the last time Satan tempted Jesus to sin. Satan tempted Jesus to sin many times just like he does us. Yet Jesus never gave in; He never sinned.

Jesus was faithful to God so He sent Him a very special blessing. God sent His angels to meet Jesus’ needs; to minister to Him.

As you read this devotion, did you discover how Jesus can help you not to give in to temptation?

Because Jesus was tempted, He knows how we feel when Satan whispers to our heart and tells us to sin. Jesus understands how to help us and if we ask Him, He will.

God is good to us. He won’t let His children go through something for which He has not prepared us for. He will give us grace and power to endure the temptation and say ‘no’. The secret is to ask Him to help us and to stay close to Him.

And God has done more. Even if we fail and yield to temptation and end up sinning, if we ask Him, He forgives. Wow! What a great God we have. We can’t lose.

Going Deeper for Parents:

Jesus had just had a great spiritual experience. It is said that spiritual victories are sometimes followed by testing. So it was for Jesus. After His baptism, when the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove signifying that He was the Messiah, and the Father spoke, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, Jesus was tempted.

In this experience Jesus taught us how to handle temptation victoriously; each time He quoted Scripture, proving that God’s Word is truly the Sword of the Spirit.

God blessed Jesus for being obedient after He was tempted, in sending His angels to minister to Him. God rewards us also. The Bible says, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” [1 Corinthians 9:25, NKJV]. In heaven, at the end of our race, we too will receive a crown or prize for endurance and suffering for the cause of Christ.

 

All rights are reserved by Ruth Willms.

This devotional is free to use with your family or classroom.  If you would like to make copies of this devotional please contact Ruth Willms for permission.

 

 

What does it mean to “repent”?

What does it mean to “repent”?

Memory Verse

“Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin!” John 1:29 [The Living Bible]

While Jesus was growing up in Nazareth, his cousin John was growing up in the desert country of Judea. John spent a lot of time listening to God. God had chosen him to prepare the people for what Jesus would soon be teaching.

John preached, “Repent and be baptized”. The Jews then and all of us now, need to repent before we can do what Jesus teaches us to do. Repent simply means to stop doing wrong and begin to do right. People were baptized by John to show that they were sorry for their sins and chose to obey God from now on; that’s why he was called ‘John the Baptist’.

If we had seen John the Baptist we would have probably thought he was weird. He didn’t wear ordinary long flowing clothes like the custom of the day required. He wore an outfit made from camel’s hair. The Bible says he ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are grasshoppers.

We lived in Lethbridge, Alberta for years. One of the things that Lethbridge is known for is its many windy days and dryness. We lived at the edge of the city and our back yard skirted a farmer’s field. One summer we had a huge infestation of grasshoppers. They were everywhere. I couldn’t walk across the back yard without grasshoppers jumping all over me. The back of our house was covered with grasshoppers. I was thinking: too bad we didn’t have John the Baptist’s craving for locusts. We could have had a feast.

When people were baptized by John, that didn’t mean their sins were forgiven. Jesus still had to do that. But they were showing that they were sorry for their sins and wanted to obey God.

John the Baptist told the people that if they wanted to please God they should be unselfish and help the poor people. He taught the soldiers to not hurt people and to be contented with the money they earned. He was teaching them the way to live is to practice love and peace; just what Jesus would soon teach.

This year you saw the running of the global torch relay on TV. Just as the torch relay got people ready for the 2008 Olympic Games this year in Beijing, John the Baptist was making people aware that Jesus was coming.

John the Baptist didn’t only have the honor of preparing the way for Jesus; he also had the honor of baptizing Jesus. Jesus didn’t have to be baptized for repentance of His sins, because He never sinned. He is God. Jesus was baptized to show people it was the right thing to do and also it prepared the people to accept Him. When He was coming out of the water, the Spirit of God came down from heaven in the form of a dove and God the Father’s voice from heaven spoke: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This proved to John and the people that this man was Jesus, God’s Son.

So when the Bible says that we need to repent it means we need to be sorry for our sins, the wrong things we do, and stop doing them. Then we turn to Jesus and say we want to do things His way. We live the way the Bible, His Word, teaches.

Going Deeper for Parents:

According to the Nelson NKJV Study Bible, the Greek verb ‘repent’ means a change of attitude and outlook which may result in sorrow for one’s sins. True repentance is more than regret. True repentance always brings a change in one’s life. One turns from wrong doing to doing right.

People in John the Baptist’s time were just as hypocritical as we sometimes are today. John saw the multitudes come to be baptized with the baptism of repentance but he also saw that not everyone truly repented. They were there to impress others or to follow the crowd.

It’s easy to say “I’m sorry, forgive me” to God or to a person we have offended. Change only happens if this is our inward attitude.

I remember when my son was very young and saying ‘sorry’ came so easily to him. After supper I would remind him that he forgot to take the garbage out before he went out to play. He would say, what I thought was a glib ‘I’m sorry’ but the next day he still failed to oblige me. Obviously he wasn’t too interested in turning from his neglect or in pleasing me. He only wanted to be left alone and only said ‘sorry’ because he thought that would put him on my good side.

Often we treat God the same way. We say ‘sorry’ because we know we are in the wrong but we are not ready to change our ways.

We often struggle before we repent. First God shows us what we need to change in our life. We ignore His voice. After awhile He nudges us again.

We tell Him it’s too hard, we can’t do it. What we are really thinking, is we don’t want to deal with it. Then He reminds us how much He loves us and He wants us to deal with that issue because He wants to grow us.

Even in our struggle to repent, God has His time frame. He has to start somewhere with us so we start to surrender to Him. You, like I, can find consolation in God’s mercy as He continues to chip away at our stubbornness.

Ruth Willms

Author: The Lion Tree
http://ruthwillms.com
ruth.willms@gmail.com

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