Signs of Life

Superstition vs. Supernatural

“It’s surprising Japan has any problems considering how many omamori you can buy for every bad scenario!” I teased.

“Stop poking holes in the reasoning behind my gifts, Ashley. It makes me feel like my purchases are meaningless!”

Both of these statements were made in jest, but it was this conversation that came to mind when I encountered John 5 and the sick man who described the water “stirred by the angel.”

Let me back up. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Japan, where two religions dominate the cultural landscape: Shintoism and Buddhism. From my limited understanding, these religions have become heavily intertwined over the centuries, so at Shinto shrines AND Buddhist temples, you can find small silk amulets called omamori which you can buy fairly inexpensively to ward off challenging pregnancies, car accidents, or help you pass school exams, just to name a few; many of my fellow travelers were buying them up like their lives depended on them.

It was fascinating to see my fellow travelers (who are certainly not Shintoists or Buddhists) buying these amulets like they actually held some sort of power. I’m sure for most of them it was more about the gesture of thoughtfulness it would convey to a friend or loved one if gifted on their return, but the amount of superstition puzzled me.

However, I am not one to judge. Growing up, I started to unconsciously believe that if I didn’t stress out before a test (it took many years for me to realize I believed this), I wouldn’t do well on it. How toxic!

It’s so comforting to be reminded of the power on display in the story of the sick man being healed by Jesus and beside the pool of healing, no less; the contrast between the power of superstition and Jesus’ supernatural power is made clear: what superstition can hold a candle to the light emanating from our God? Why put our trust in the whims of chance when we could put our trust in the Creator and Designer of the universe? Even if we “lose” while trusting in him, we’ve won. For as Paul says, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Does this mean the “death which is gain” or “living as Christ” will not be hard? Unfortunately, no. But when those who trust in amulets have wood, string and silk to hold on to when times get tough, we have a loving Savior who will hold us fast in his embrace when the darkness that surrounds us is too great to face.

Ashley Carr

by Ashley Carr

A Direct Question

Do you want to be healed? It’s a direct question that demands a direct answer: yes or no!

It’s been 38 long years; who knows the last time this crippled man considered his plight. But now he must take responsibility for his future. However, he answers with an excuse that attempts to explain the reason his healing is not possible. Jesus is not looking for excuses, He is looking for a yes! There is no time to waste, Jesus calls this man to a place of decision; “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” This is this man’s moment to respond in faith and as he believes Jesus meets him in his time of need. No longer a victim of his circumstances, this man is no longer looking at what he can see, but with eyes wide open with faith!

What area of your life are you telling Jesus He can’t? How are you allowing your unbelief to hinder you from taking Christ up on His offer of healing? He is looking for your yes!

Margy Hill

by Margy Hill

Lord of a Better Day

“Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.”

John 4:50 ESV

My father recently shared with me the story of how he came to faith. It was at the lowest point of his life. My dad was a body-builder in his early twenties and took a lot of pride in his physical ability. During a particularly difficult workout, he badly slipped a disc in his back, leaving him unable to do much of anything for months. Depressed and with no sense of self-confidence, he decided to show up to church for the first time in ages. My dad sat down in the farthest seat, scoffing at the service the whole time. I’ve heard this all before. How can people really buy into this stuff? However, in the middle of the pastor’s sermon, there was a sudden change of tone.

“I have a word for someone in the room.”

The pastor’s words seized my father’s attention.

“There’s someone in this room who’s been suffering from immense back pain for a long time now.”

This can’t be possible, My dad thought to himself.
“If you’re out there, I want you to come forward and receive from Jesus the healing you need.”

There’s no way this is happening right now. What the heck is going on? My father painfully got up and everyone in the sanctuary turned their heads in his direction. All eyes on him, he started limping down the aisles. There he was, the punk who was just making fun of the whole scene walking down the aisles from the very back, past every pew, unable to explain his trajectory towards the pulpit.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I trust you.” My dad spoke to his savior again after so long. He approached the pastor and told him his story. The pastor placed his hand on my dad’s shoulder, and the moment he began to pray, every ounce of pain disappeared. His back straightened before everyone’s eyes and my dad gave his life to the Lord right then and there.

It was a miracle that gave my father the faith to run the race ahead of him, trusting in his Savior. That same faith carries him through the highest and lowest points of his marriage to my mom. That same faith led him to raise his two sons, my brother and I, to put their trust in the one who healed him. You see, our Savior’s miracles draw us to trust in Him. Every miraculous work is done so that we might believe who He said He is.

“‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the man who was paralyzed—’I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’”
Luke 5:24 ESV

Our Savior’s deeds point to a better day when He will redeem all of His people, wipe every tear from their eyes, and heal them fully of every pain they have ever or will ever experience. We can trust in Him to heal us continually today and completely someday. The official from Capernaum did so for the sake of his son. The centurion did too. And, my father certainly does. Jesus is the Lord of that better day. May He be Lord over us as well. Amen.

Jared Graf

by Jared Graf

Faith to His Whole Household?

“The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.” - John 4:53

There are a few other times in scripture that it sounds as if entire “households” come to faith automatically simply because of the faith of one person (see also, Luke 19:10 and Acts 16:31). However, we know that faith isn’t automatic, it’s a decision each person must make. Those of us who are parents wish that our faith would be enough for our kids. It would be so nice if we didn’t have to worry about their own personal faith decisions. We know that most of the “you’s” in the Bible are plural, but this is one of the very clear single “you’s”: “If YOU confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is the personal responsibility of each individual person. I tell my kids all the time that they can’t inherit my faith… they need their own.

To make matters a bit more confusing, the word “house” or “household” in all of these passages is not just referring to one’s “nuclear family.” The Greek word, “Oikos,” which is behind all of these words, is much more. One’s “oikos,” especially of an influential “official” like the man in John 4, would have involved a wife, kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even servants and co-workers who lived on the same property. Households could be 20-30 people. It was basically all the people that you would interact with on a daily basis. Did all of them get saved because this man believed?

No! It just doesn’t work that way. Instead, the only rational explanation for this is that when this man realized what had happened, he told everyone in his household about what Jesus had done. He not only became a believer, but he also became a disciple who makes disciples by testifying to what Jesus had done.

This is what it looks like to follow Jesus as his disciple. The message of salvation has been given to us and because of that, God has miraculously changed our lives. Now what a disciple does is testify to what Jesus has done. Nowadays, we may not live in “households” that are quite as large, but we all interact with “oikos.” We have people in our lives that we interact with on a regular basis who need to hear about the One who has changed our life. Today, would you take some time to think about who those people are in your life? Pray for them, and then look for an opportunity to give Jesus credit for what he has done in your life.

Josh Rose
Discipleship Pastor

by Josh Rose

Evolving Faith

by Deb Hill

Faith to Leave

The scene reads like a script for a movie. A wealthy father’s son is sick, so sick that even the best doctors cannot help him. So, when the official hears that Jesus is in a nearby town, he travels 25 miles to try his best to talk Jesus into coming with him to heal his son. This wealthy official was probably used to getting what he asked for, so the images he had in his head of the way things would go probably included Jesus responding positively and acquiescing to the man’s request.

Only Jesus didn’t. Instead of traveling the 25 miles with him back to his home, Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” (John 4:50a). If I were the wealthy official, I would have responded, “Go with you? You’re coming with me?” After all, that’s what he wanted. That’s what he initially believed was needed for his son to be healed. Not only that but can you imagine how mad his wife would have been if he waltzed back into town without Jesus? Yikes!

John tells us that “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” (John 4:50b) He took Jesus at his word and he went home. The initial journey of leaving Capernaum and going to Cana took faith, but it might have taken even more faith for him to leave believing that Jesus would be faithful to his word. Those two components of faith are present for us as well. First is the faith to come to Jesus. That needs to be present in each one of us - to bring our hurt and pain to him and ask him to heal. However, like this man, we also need faith to believe that Jesus will be good on his promises. Just like this man, we need the faith to leave, trusting that what Jesus promises is good as done.

We have a cultural proverb: seeing is believing. However, in this passage, we see that Jesus sometimes operates with the opposite methodology: believing is seeing. Sometimes our sight follows our belief - sometimes we need to leave before we see the provision firsthand.

What is one promise of Jesus that you are clinging to today? What would it look like for you to take Jesus at his word, just like this official did?

Pastor Ryan Paulson

by Ryan Paulson

The Big Ask

Have you ever modified a request of someone to make it more palatable in hopes they will grant it? It could be called sneaky, or simply tactical. The royal official in John 4:46-54 can’t afford to soften his request, he needs Jesus to come through in a big way right now. It’s a big ask and a big assumption that Jesus can deliver. We see our Lord delivers above and beyond with instantaneous healing and sends the official on his way.

The Lord sees who we are and all the things in our minds and in our hearts with perfect clarity. There’s no tactical approach when coming to God, he knows our words completely before we say them. Jesus won’t always give us what we want as he did with the royal official, but we are invited to ask full-heartedly anyways. The answer he does give will be for our good according to his greater purpose and his fingerprints will be all over it.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

The Lord still heals in miraculous ways, for all intents and purposes, I am the son who was healed from death after almost drowning at 18 months old. Most importantly, every day he miraculously heals people spiritually. The Lord has his own plans for the world and we get to play a role in it. No matter what, we need to be real, open, and honest with the Lord, whether it be through laughter or tears. Meanwhile, our faith and the faith of others will be growing.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7

Jonathan Duncan

by Jonathan Duncan