Tag: miracle

Wedding Celebrations

OLD TESTAMENT: Ezekiel 25-26

POETRY: Psalm 125

NEW TESTAMENT: John 2:1-11

Weddings are a lot of fun.  I’ve been blessed to lead wedding ceremonies for 6 of my own children and over 100 other weddings over the last 40 years of ministry.  Of all the weddings I’ve been involved in, the one that affected me most was the wedding of my wife Karen and me.  In 11 days we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary- November 24, 1984.

Weddings hold a lot of meaning in the Bible.  Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac had a special wedding when he married Rebekah.  Their son Jacob had a huge wedding surprise when he thought he was marrying Rachel but her father tricked him into marrying his older daughter Leah.

Jesus’ first miracle came at a wedding when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding.

John 2:1-11

2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The symbolism of marriage can be seen throughout the New Testament.  It begins in John 2 and makes an appearance in Matthew 22 with a parable of a King who has a wedding banquet for his son.  He hosts a great banquet, but his invited guests refuse to come to the banquet.  Instead, they mistreated and killed the king’s servants. So the king brings his judgment and wrath against the wicked.

Jesus tells a parable about the bridegroom coming to meet his bride for their wedding, but her wedding attendants were not ready and miss out on the wedding banquet (See Matthew 25).

Finally, the book of Revelation reveals the marriage supper of the lamb of God, when Jesus returns to claim his bride and celebrate his own wedding feast. 

 Revelation 19:6-9:

“6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.

7 

Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;

8 

it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Who is the bride of Messiah Jesus?  It is his Church.  We are the bride of Christ and when Christ comes we will celebrate our union with our savior and king Jesus.  So let us be prepared for this grand and glorious celebration with Jesus.  

Jesus begins his ministry with a miracle at a wedding, and when he returns to earth there will be a great and final wedding feast.  Don’t miss your great celebration.  The greatest banquet in human history.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What are some of your favorite wedding memories? What makes them so precious?
  2. Imagine what each of the characters at the wedding in Cana were thinking and feeling. Jesus and Mary were disagreeing as to if this was the right time for a first miracle. What do you think God thought?
  3. Why do you think God chose a wedding banquet to compare with the church meeting Jesus at his return? How does a bride prepare for her wedding? How ought the church to be preparing to meet Jesus? Are there any details (or larger issues) that you may have overlooked in your preparations thus far?
sglcalendar2024Download

An Appetizer

Old Testament: Genesis 43 & 44

Poetry: Psalm 19

*New Testament: Matthew 14

If you’ve ever been to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, there is one thing you can always count on: bread and cinnamon butter. This is provided before every meal as a free appetizer, and on more than one occasion, we’ve had enough to be full by the time our actual meal arrived (the same can be said of the breadsticks at Olive Garden). Those rolls were not the meal, and were never intended to be the only thing you enjoyed: however, it gave you a taste of what was to come later, and whet your appetite for more (if you had enough room left in your stomach).

Our passage in Matthew 14 reminds me of our experiences at Texas Roadhouse: it offers us a “taste of what’s to come” in the kingdom of God. There were many people following Jesus at the time, and they were hungry from their journey of traveling after him: so Jesus miraculously offers them enough bread and fish to feed 5,000 men (probably about 10,000 people when you include women and children). What Jesus was doing was showing them what the kingdom of God was going to be like, as he was talking to them about its splendor. In Isaiah 25:6-9, we learn that the kingdom of God will be a time of tremendous feasting and the end of hunger forever: Jesus gives the crowd a foretaste of what this incredible moment will be like by doing this miracle for them.

There are two cautions that all Christians should be aware of when it comes to the kingdom of God. First, there are some Christians who are only focused on the kingdom of God in the future. While we still wait for the kingdom to come fully, we are able to presently experience some of it NOW and offer that to others (notice that Jesus invited his disciples to perform this miracle first). We are able to enjoy some of the kingdom of God’s blessings now, through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as we anxiously await to experience it fully in the end when Jesus comes. We should never neglect the fact that “the kingdom of God is in our midst” when we have Christ dwelling inside of us (Luke 17:20-21).

The second caution for Christians is living too much in this life without having a hope for the future reign of God’s kingdom. Jesus is very clear: the kingdom of God will not come fully until he returns (Matthew 25:31-40). While we can experience an “appetizer” now, it’s not the full meal: never fill up completely on the blessings of this age, but look forward with hope towards the future when Jesus returns. We should LOVE his appearing in the clouds, longing for that day to come soon (2 Timothy 4:8). We need a balance of now and then: living for the future kingdom today, with hope that it is coming soon.

Do you look forward to Jesus’ return and the kingdom of God? How can you enjoy it today?

Talon Paul

Reflection Questions

  1. Do you look forward to Jesus’ return and the kingdom of God?
  2. How can you enjoy it today?
  3. How can you help feed (spiritually and/or physically) those who are hungry for more of Jesus and those in need of an appetizer of the coming glorious feast in the kingdom of God?
SGLCalendar2024Download

Conversion for All

Acts 9 5 (1)

Acts 9 

Saul is the worst kind of person. In our human eyes, he is completely undeserving of love, grace and patience. We would have tried to avoid him at all costs. I­n this chapter we see a true miracle happen, Saul becomes a person we don’t recognize anymore, and God does it all to show us how much he loves us.

To understand this further let’s read what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:15-16:

“though formally I was a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example”

What he means by this is that God had you in mind when he redeemed Paul. He showed his “mercy”, “perfect patience” and “overflowing grace” so that we can take hope for our own salvation and the salvation of others even when it seems like there is no hope at all. God changed Paul suddenly and without warning; Paul wasn’t preparing his heart or life to accept God, it just happened.

 This is a perfect illustration of Jesus’ suffering done for you. Saul persecutes the name of Jesus and rebels against God for YEARS. He abuses, mocks, and tears-down everything that God had built up. Jesus asks him in verse 4, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul doesn’t have an answer but drops everything to listen to the voice of Jesus.

 God chose Paul way before Paul chose God.

 The same love that God showed Paul, He wants to show you even when you think you’re too angry, or are too far gone, or can’t be converted, or don’t think a loved one can be converted, or aren’t good enough, or aren’t strong enough, or don’t think He can do it, God can and will suddenly and unexpectedly move and with more mercy, patience, and grace than you ever thought possible.

Grace Rodgers

Hi all! I’m Grace! I live in Michigan and attend Garden Park Church of God.  I’m an Industrial and Graphic designer and you may recognize my work at FUEL, mid-west family camp or in various projects throughout the conference. When I’m not designing you may find me rock climbing, gardening, or giving piano lessons. I’m excited to spend this post-Easter week with you!

What Do These Stones Mean?

Joshua 4

Joshua 4-24

Thursday, October 12

As of yesterday’s devotion we left the Israelites consecrating themselves in preparation to see amazing things the Lord would do for them the following day.  And, when the people were prepared – God was certainly ready to do His part.  The last part of chapter 3 reads:

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,  the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.  The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.   Joshua 3:15-17

What emoji would you choose if an Israelite just texted you that update on how their day was going?  Surprise!  Shock!  Awe!  It is an incredible account, isn’t it?  When I read it I was sorry to hear that the Israelites crossing didn’t get to gaze upon the water that was “piled up in a heap” as that was about 20 miles upstream (NIV text note on 3:15).  Wouldn’t that have been awe-inspiring!  Why not, I thought.  Perhaps God had planned to share this awesome display with those outside of the Israelite community – “so that all the people of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful.” (Joshua 4:24)

In chapter 4 we also have the rest of the story on the waters of the Jordan that had instantly dried up when the priests’ feet touched the waters’ edge.  Could have been coincidence, someone might try to argue.  Lots of busy beavers just upstream?   But then Joshua 4:18 helps clear up any doubt: “And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD.  No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.”  This wasn’t the work of beavers or tides or circumstance.  At just the precise time needed the flood waters unexplainably stopped – and then re-started, also, at precisely the correct time.  This was the work of the Maker of Heaven and Earth and He was having fun doing amazing things for His consecrated people who had decided to be bold and courageous rather than cowering in fear and discouragement as their parents had.

Joshua followed the LORD’s direction to have each tribe take part in creating a rock tower to commemorate what the LORD did at the Jordan.  This was done to keep the memory alive and spark conversation, down through the generations, of how Almighty God had provided just what they needed at just the right time.  Joshua said their children would ask, “What do these stones mean?” (Joshua 4:6,21).  It would be a great opportunity to tell of God’s power and provision for His people.

In what miraculous ways have you seen God at work?  Perhaps on your own behalf, or someone you know, or even someone you read about – Biblical miracles still count today! What reminders do you have displayed for you and your family?  What opportunities do you have to overflow with stories of God’s power and faithfulness?  We must not forget God’s power.  We must remember – and tell others.   When we fear Him, we can be strong and courageous.

-Be Strong and Courageous – Marcia Railton