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A Christmas Miracle

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There are many things that come to mind when we think of Christmas. Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas dinner, the gifts, and spending time with family. Let’s not forget Christmas carols, Christmas cards, and the excitement (or trepidation) of Christmas shopping. Even in many non-Christian communities and families around the world, Christmas is celebrated with enthusiasm.

For believers, it is a time to focus on the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is a season of joy, of gratitude, and new life.

The Christmas story is full of miracles. In fact, without the miraculous, there would have been no Christmas story. The power of the Holy Spirit came upon Mary to allow a virgin to conceive and give birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:26-33). The wise men were directed by a star to come and worship Jesus after He was born (Matthew 2:1-2). The angel of the Lord warned Joseph through a dream so that their family could escape from Herod and go to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). Supernatural wonders were demonstrated again and again throughout the conception, birth, and life of Jesus.

The word miracle in the Greek is the word ‘dunamis’. This word means power, miraculous force, or mighty strength. When we see a miracle, it is God’s mighty power becoming evident.

While all miraculous stories centred around the birth of Jesus are incredible, one of the greatest Christmas miracles is something small and unexpected. Something we can all have, but often need more of. A conviction which is freely available, but regularly comes under attack. And that Christmas miracle is BELIEF.

For the Christmas miracles to come to pass, ordinary people like you and me had to believe. They had to take God at His word. People had to trust that the signs they had seen, and the dreams they had received, were true. God needed men and women to partner with Him. Mary needed to believe what the angel Gabriel told her, and she came into agreement with God’s plan. Joseph had to believe that his betrothed was indeed impregnated – not by a human being, but by God himself. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth believed that she was in the presence of the Saviour the moment that her own baby in her womb leapt with joy.

Belief is a simple word, but such a powerful concept. It means to place confidence in or to credit as true, even when we don’t have proof. It shouldn’t be surprising that those who profess to follow Christ are called believers! To have faith in an unseen God is a necessary foundation of Christianity.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Belief is necessary for the miraculous, but it also unlocks blessing. Luke 1:45 tells us that Mary was blessed because she “believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her.” After his death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and says to Thomas:

John 20:29 “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

We are blessed to be called children of God. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Yet through circumstances and disappointments, our faith can diminish. Even when we still believe in God and His Word, our belief for the miraculous can waver.

For many of us, this year has been filled with challenges and difficulties. Our faith has been tested like never before. But as we look forward with anticipation to Christmas, it is time to believe for new things. It is time to expect the miraculous again.

Your own Christmas miracle is not out of reach. It might seem impossible, illogical or even crazy, but our God is the God of the impossible. His miraculous power is available to us. If he can part the Red Sea, then he can make a way for you. If Jesus can raise Lazarus from the dead, He can bring that dream back to life. If Paul and Silas can be freed from prison and lead the jailer and his family to salvation and baptism, there is still hope for your unsaved family and friends.

If a coin can be found in the mouth of a fish, then the Holy Spirit can direct you out of that financial challenge you are facing. If God can provide manna for the Israelites, He can put food on your table this Christmas.

Keep praying and keep believing for your Christmas miracle. Keep coming into agreement with God’s Word. Together, let’s expect the unexpected for this next season and for the New Year.

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Ambassadors For Christ

Ambassadors For Christ

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This world desperately needs to see Jesus as He really is. And this is where you and I come in! To be ambassadors of Christ. An ambassador speaks of a representative who will reflect the official position of whoever (or whatever) they are representing.

At David McCracken Ministries, we have a passion to see the Church Triumphant accurately and powerfully representing the Lord Jesus Christ in every nation.

As His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) we are the ones that God has chosen to declare His Son to this world. As His Church, we are not called to demonstrate a religion nor an organisation, we are called to be a supernatural people, living a supernatural life, declaring a supernatural Christ. We are called to declare a Message that declares His absolute authority over sin, sickness and every Satanic oppression.

In Matthew 24:14 we are given our Commission to take this Gospel of The Kingdom into ‘all nations’.

The objective is not just to make converts. It is to bring a ‘witness’ of Christ to that nation. That means raising up a body of believers that are true ‘Ambassadors’ of the King. It means we represent Him in everyday living, in our families, in our vocation, in our recreation, in our corporate gatherings, in our involvement in society. Our calling is to live like The Christ, talk like The Christ, act like The Christ. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ who are empowered, significant, and relevant.

For such a community to be established in ‘all nations’ (literally in every language group), the whole Body of Christ must be involved. An ‘all nations’ commission demands an ‘all saints’ policy of involvement. Why? Because, as Ambassadors, His agenda must become our agenda; His heartbeat must become our heartbeat; His passion must become our passion. And His passion is for ‘all nations’ to see Him accurately and fully represented.

Friends, if we are all His Ambassadors, then we will share His vision, His heartbeat and His passion. His vision is that in every language group on the Earth, there shall come the living witness of an all-conquering, miracle-working, compassionate, redemptive Christ that has all authority to set them free and give them a new life.

True humility is seen in our worship, our adoration, and obedience to the Supreme King of our heart and in our accurate representation of who He is, and in carrying out of His will on the Earth as it is in Heaven. Let’s honour Him by fulfilling the royal commission He placed upon us: to be His ambassadors who exercise His spiritual authority to ensure His will is done on the earth as it is in heaven!

In such a Cause we are all called to serve. This is the call of God on our lives!

Let this be the year you discover your own personal role in seeing His Vision for ‘all nations’ become a reality.

 

The Anointed One

The Anointed One

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Jesus Christ is the anointed one. He is the Messiah, our deliverer, our Saviour, and our King.

Matthew 1:1 in the NKJV states, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” When we look at the name Christ, it mainly points to two words and they are ‘Messiah’ and ‘anointed’ (Strong’s g5547).

In the Oxford Dictionary, the word ‘Messiah’ is defined as ‘the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible’. It goes further than this and names Jesus; ‘Jesus regarded by Christians as the Messiah of the Hebrew prophecies and the Saviour of humankind’.

This is true – Jesus is the Deliverer and the Saviour – but this is not predominantly what the word ‘Messiah’ means in the Bible.

The word ‘Messiah’ only appears twice in scripture (Daniel 9:25-26), and it means ‘anointed’ (Strong’s h4899). The word ‘anointed’ appears many times in scripture, and it is the primary meaning of the name ‘Christ’. Why is this so important?

The following verses are what Jesus said about Himself when He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2:

Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV) “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to 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; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

The word ‘anoint’ here, when referring to Jesus, means ‘through the idea of contact; to smear or rub with oil, i.e. by implication, to consecrate to an office or religious service’ (Strong’s g5548). This is powerful!

It also means ‘consecrating Jesus to the Messianic office, and furnishing Him with the necessary powers for its administration’ (Strong’s g5548). Wow! Jesus was sent from His Father to be the ‘Messiah’ (everything contained in the name ‘Jesus’) He was empowered to do everything He did because He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38)

Jesus is anointed with power and spiritual authority. He is The Anointed One!

Humility and Righteousness

Humility and Righteousness

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What is the connection between our humility and our righteousness? Let’s look at the life of Jesus.

Matthew 3:13-15  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptised by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptised by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

The Eternal Word and Son of God came to his natural cousin to be baptised. What a picture of humility!  John understandably kicked back against this because he knew that Jesus was far greater than who he was. John had received a revelation that his cousin was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. But Jesus knew that this was His Father’s will; that this needed to be done to fulfil all righteousness.

For each of us, humility declares “I am not good enough in and of myself. I need God.” For all of us, humility is an essential doorway to walk through and lifestyle to live if we are going to truly walk with God.

For Jesus, humility was a little different because He was good enough; He was sinless, and therefore, He was perfect. For Jesus, humility was putting aside His will, His desires and His rights for the sake of His Father’s will to be done. For us, this is also an essential element to humility; a submission of our will to our Father’s will. But how is humility connected to righteousness?

The word ‘righteousness’ means ‘a condition acceptable to God, the state of being as we ought to be’ (Strong’s g1343). Jesus knew that being baptised by His cousin John was His Father’s will. Therefore, submitting to His will and doing what His Father said was an expression of His righteousness.

Now let’s lean back into the fact that Jesus was baptised by His natural cousin, and combine it with the following statement by Jesus:

Mark 6:4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

Jesus knew that people often miss God speaking and moving due to over-familiarity with the vessel through whom God is speaking and ministering. This happened continually with Jesus. And this is why it is so powerful that Jesus was baptised by His natural cousin John. Jesus saw John as His Father saw John, not just how His natural childhood experiences saw him. John also saw Jesus as He was, not just as His cousin. This shows the humility of John too.

Is there someone in your family or in your close friends that is Father’s intended vessel to speak to you and minister to you? Are you missing out on Father’s will because you see “them” as “just them”?

Humility is needed for all righteousness to be fulfilled in our lives. It was true of Jesus. It was true of John. It is true for all of us.

A dove representing the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit Power

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We live in a time when too many Christians accept such a small part of what God intends for our new life in Christ. We also live in a time when so many (myself included far too often) try hard to be good, rather than be filled to overflowing with the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:11-12 says, I (John the Baptist) indeed baptise you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

This scripture can be a little confusing, yet because it is one of the first mentions of what Jesus will do, I feel it is important to look to see what God is saying. As I pause and listen, I see two things: Firstly, all that God wants to accomplish in our lives is through the power of the Holy Spirit, not through our best efforts. Secondly, God wants to do a thorough and truly transforming work in us, not just a slight improvement.

The work of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit is a thorough clean out work. We need a deeper revelation of this in our lives. But we also need a deeper revelation of why Jesus wants to thoroughly clean out the chaff of our lives.

Freedom is the reason Jesus is an all-or-nothing Saviour. He has no desire to simply improve our present reality and our spiritual condition. Sure, we might measure our lives compared to some other people and think we are not too bad. But compared to a holy, righteous and perfect God, well, we all miss the mark terribly.

And this is why Jesus came! He came to remove restrictions, to remove barriers and to remove obstacles! He came to pay the price, tear down the veil, disarm the devil and usher us boldly into God’s throne of grace! He came to live as a man, sinless, reliant on the Holy Spirit, in communion with His Father and as a tangible example of this new life He was purchasing for us!

All of this is done by the power of the Holy Spirit.