Conversations with God

Much has been written about the girl Mary, her simple trust in God when told she would bear the Messiah. It’s a powerful encouragement to wait for the word of the Lord to be fulfilled in our own lives. But we sometimes forget there was more than one miracle birth that year: “But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John’” (Lk. 1:13). Elizabeth and her husband were past the age of child-bearing (v. 18). Both Jesus and John were miracle conceptions; both were promises only able to be fulfilled by the power of God. But they were also different. When Mary asked how this could happen, she was told the Holy Spirit would overshadow her. Elizabeth didn’t get that reassurance. While Mary was basically told to wait on the Lord, Elizabeth had to take some action. Not to be crass, but the simple nature of things tells us that Elizabeth and Zechariah were not going to ...

I want to start by saying I believe in healing. Wholeheartedly, 100%, with all my heart and my soul, I believe God heals today. In fact, I pray for it every day I walk into work in a special needs preschool room. Which leads me to the next point - it doesn't always happen. No matter how hard I pray, believe, fast, and declare the Word, sometimes it doesn't come. I've spent a long time blaming myself. If I only prayed longer or fasted more...maybe my faith is weak, or I have hidden unbelief. My understanding was that if I believe God is a healer, then the problem can't be with him. Logically, that means the problem is me. But I'm finding it's a lot bigger than me. Galatians 4:7 says, "So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." Wait a minute. If I am an heir, that means I already have access to everything in the Kingdom. Now. All of it. I am seated in heavenly places  with J...