NO TO OUTSIDERS< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 8: 49-56

All things that do not represent you, that are not the things of God, that are outside of your beliefs are outsiders to you and they should all be considered and treated as an outsiders. Do not allow outsiders inside, neither should you inhabit any outsider. Let the outsiders be on the outside, and by denying outsiders, doubt will die, mockery will be denied, and above all ridicule will not locate you. Jesus, with all the power in Him, in His attempt to bring forth JariusÕs daughter back from death to life, made some moves before He did. The first thing that Jesus did was to encourage the family not to be afraid, but believe with a positive statement saying, Òit is well.Ó Secondly, He told them that their daughter had only went to sleep and not unto death so that they should stop weeping. The first and second moves were to address the family from the inside because when the inside was settled, then the outside could be dealt with by putting out the outside. Jesus did not address the outside until He had taken care of the inside. While Jesus was taking care of the inside, the outside was in operation. Luke 8: 53, ÒAnd they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.Ó  The outsiders that were present ridiculed Jesus thinking it would be impossible for Him to raise JariusÕs daughter back to life. Ridicule is from the outside; it is an agent of discouragement. As an agent of discouragement, ridicule will bring forth discouragement to stop exercising faith, which would cause the loss of faith. Jesus did not hesitate He needed to settle the outside since the inside had been addressed, the bible recorded in Luke 8:54, ÒÉHe put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ÒLittle girl, arise, Ò 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.ÓÓ Jesus did not allow the surrounding people or the outsiders deny the miracle for JairusÕs daughter. Just as Jesus put all agents of mockery and ridicule out in the case of JariusÕs daughter, so He will do on your behalf. All that belongs unto you will return to you and your testimony will glorify God.

IN HIS HAND< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 4:38-39, 5:12-15

The touch of His hand is healing and His hand inhabits deliverance. He is the Lord of lords, the healing healer and He is gracious and merciful. Jesus deserves to be served because He is worthy of all service that can be rendered to Him. Luke 4:38-39, ÒNow He arose from the synagogue and entered SimonÕs house. But SimonÕs wifeÕs mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.Ó SimonÕs wifeÕs mother received healing touch of Jesus and she was up to serve the Lord. The power to move from sickness to serving the Master is in the hand of the Master. As it was requested on the behalf of SimonÕs wifeÕs mother, will you request for His hand to bring you out of you all that have been keeping you from serving Him? Also, in His hands there is power to cleanse. JesusÕ hand will clean every stain of mockery if you will call for the extension of His healing hand. A man that was full of leprosy fell on his face to ask for his cleansing and he received his cleansing. Leprosy without any doubt is an agent of shame, embarrassment and mockery. Is there any way or anyhow you have been experiencing shame, mockery or any kind of disease or situation that is causing you from not being able to present yourself where you have a need? Again, your cleansing and deliverance is in the hand of the Healing Master Jesus. Luke 5:12-13, ÒAnd it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, ÒLord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.Ó 13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, ÒI am willing; be cleansed.Ó Immediately the leprosy left him.ÓÓ Are you willing to receive your cleansing? You must be ready to fall on your face and implore Him for His intervention. The man that was full of leprosy did the same and he was cleansed from his head to his toe without any issue of leprosy all because of the healing hand of Jesus. Jesus has it all in His hand. All that it takes for you to be delivered and free is in His hand, but until you ask, it will not be activated. The power to heal, cleanse, and deliver are in His hand.

JUST A CATCH< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 5:1-11

When it was over, when there was no way out, when there was nothing to account for. When it was certain that time had gone and when it was time to clean up instrument and let go because of no result; because of emptiness, Jesus showed up. He will show up in our own situations of no hope. He showed up despite the multitudes that were pressing Him at the Lake of Gennesaret. The multitude is an agent of delay. The multitude will slow down a miracle if you flow with them too long, and the multitude is a crowd that will not allow you to see Jesus when He is passing by. Despite the multitudeÕs pressing, Jesus was able to find a place in SimonÕs vessel to sit. The multitude at the Lake of Gennesaret were not able to stop Him from showing up concerning the emptiness situation that Peter and his fellow [professional] fishermen were facing after toiling all night in vain. Have you been toiling all year or have you been toiling for so many years? Wait and watch out for Him He will soon show up concerning all of your concerns. It is written, ÒWhen He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ÒLaunch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.Ó 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, ÒMaster, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.ÓÓ (Luke 5: 4-5) At the time the fishermen were supposed to be launching away from the deep, Jesus asked them to launch into the deep. It was the wrong time for launching into deep because the time of launching deep was past and it produced no result, but with the Jesus there, there is no wrong timing or accidental. With Jesus all time is set to meet the plan and purpose of God. Has He been asking you to move when it is time to stay or has He been telling you to stay when it is time to move? If you will listen by the grace of God, your story will change for good. Despite SimonÕs fishing skill he had no reason not to obey Jesus. Peter and his fellow professional fishermen responded to the word that called for a catch. Just a catch, Jesus did not speak into many catches, but just a word for a catch. Just a word to catch filled up all the emptiness. Just a word caused a breakthrough that was enough for others to partake. Just a word from Him is enough to terminate every struggle. It was a word of astonishment. Ask the Lord God to allow His word sound in your direction for a breakthrough and for making you to fall down at His knees and become His follower all the days of your life.

ACCEPT HIS GIFT< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 14:16-22

Jesus came to a synagogue in Nazareth where He was brought up, ÒAnd He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written 18 Ò The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed MeTo preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.Ó Jesus identified Himself by pointing out the gifts that He had brought to every man and none could relate with all that He was reading, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah long before the birth of Jesus. As many have failed to receive that gift then, so many are refusing to accept the gift today.  So many know His name, so many celebrate His birth, so many claim to know about Him, but greater numbers are yet to take to all that He brought for an abundant life. He said in John 10:10, ÓThe thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.Ó The thief is the devil, and he has been working vigorously to deny as many as possible all that Jesus came to give a present. Jesus, the Anointed One is here to heal every broken heart but the broken hearted are not open and He will not force Himself to enter someoneÕs heart that is broken for it to be fixed. The Spirit of the Lord that He, Jesus, was carrying is a gentle Spirit, not a forceful or competitive spirit. The captives remain captive because they have yet to capitalize on the privilege of grace that came for their freedom. The blind remain blind because they refused to look up to Jesus. Many are attempting to see through other gods instead of the One and Only God and many are putting man in the place of Jesus. And by that virtue the vision is not clear enough for them to move in the right direction. Jesus is the Lord and Savior and that demands looking up to God through Jesus. The birth of Jesus made salvation available that is not to be manipulated neither to be monopolized by any man because it is not from man, but from God to every man. Jesus came for the poor so that He can make them rich in the things of the Lord. Knowing about Jesus is half knowledge, to know Jesus is not enough when your behavior does not comprehend with Jesus. He wants us to be like Him and to be like Him is to behave like Him. Do you believe in Him? If you believe in Jesus then behave like Jesus. Behaving like Jesus is being known in Him. Behaving like Jesus is not of determination, but it is by the grace of God. Ask God for the grace to be known in Him today.  

WORD WAS BORN< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Luke 1:39-45, John 1:1-8

ÒIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.Ó (John 1:1-2) Mary through the Holy Spirit conceived the Word that was in the beginning. The Word is the Word of God by whom all that was made was through Him. The Word of God is power and was described by God in Jeremiah 23:29, ÒIs not my word like a fire?Ó says the LORD.Ó  And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?Ó The word of God that was, and still is the same Word of God that is and forever will be the Word of God and will be, because the Word inhabits eternity. The same Word, when conceived by Mary, made Mary more than ordinary because there was no way to carry the Word as described by God and continue to be the same. Are you carrying the Word of God? Have you given the Word a dwelling place in your inn? While Mary was carrying the Word, she went and visited Elizabeth who was carrying John the Baptist (at the time of MaryÕs visit) the Bible recorded during that visit as she ÒÉentered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.Ó(Luke 1:40-41) Have you been speaking the Word with nothing happening? How many times have you received the spoken Word of God and have not encountered any visitation? When the Word is heard and nothing happens something must be happening that is not right in the life of the one that receives the Word. When Elizabeth heard the word of greetings from the one that was carrying, the Word of God, the babe, leaped and the effect the Holy Spirit had, made Elizabeth speak out with a loud voice. After she spoke she testified, ÒFor indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.Ó Jesus, the Word of God, was on His way to the face of earth in human form when He began to operate as a source of joy. He came with joy and joy was His mission. Once in royal DavidÕs City, in a lonely cattle shed, joy came to this world by the grace of the Almighty Gracious God of gods with a plan and purpose to deliver all that had been held captive, to give hope to the hopeless and to make life everlasting a possibility for all that will turn to the Word and accept living in the way of the Word. Ask in this season as you celebrate the birth of Jesus that His Word will have more power and meaning in your life for His name to be glorified.