THE FOUNDATION FOR MIRACLES - God is no comparison to your earthly father. Your own father may have rejected you, but your heavenly Father accepts and loves you perfectly. The Son of God, who loves you, gave Himself for you as if you were the only person who ever lived. God does not love you for what you do. God does not love you for your service. God loves you because that is what He does; He is a God of love. When you live from the foundation of how much you are loved and accepted, and that God is your loving Father, you will find yourself loving God back with all your heart, soul, and mind. The beginnings of the foundations will be set correctly where miracles will flow because of your identity of Him in you and you in Him. - ”In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us.... We love Him because He first loved us.” In the late ‘90s I went to my senior pastor one day and declared to him that I was going to commence a lifetime fast until I saw breakthrough. I was really hoping that he would talk me out of it, but his only words of comfort were to be careful. So now that I had committed to this, I had to carry it through. The first day was easy and the second day I was getting hungry, but by the third day I really thought I was going to die. I came home from work one night and fell on the couch and called my wife and said, “I feel so hungry and so sick that I really feel like I could die.” My wife gave me two options: break the fast and eat, or die, but if I chose the latter option, then to do it quietly. She left the room laughing, and I had to make a decision, as I was miserable. No matter how much we do in works, I have found that it is never enough.

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The Foundation for Miracles

God does not love you for what you do. God does not love you for your service. God loves you because that is what He does; He is a God of love. 

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God is no comparison to your earthly father. Your own father may have rejected you, but your heavenly Father accepts and loves you perfectly. The Son of God, who loves you, gave Himself for you as if you were the only person who ever lived. 

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When you live from the foundation of how much you are loved and accepted, and that God is your loving Father, you will find yourself loving God back with all your heart, soul, and mind. The beginnings of the foundations will be set correctly where miracles will flow because of your identity of Him in you and you in Him.

Written By Destiny Image

 

”In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us.... We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10,19).

 

In the late ‘90s I went to my senior pastor one day and declared to him that I was going to commence a lifetime fast until I saw breakthrough.

I was really hoping that he would talk me out of it, but his only words of comfort were to be careful.

So now that I had committed to this, I had to carry it through.

The first day was easy and the second day I was getting hungry, but by the third day I really thought I was going to die.

I came home from work one night and fell on the couch and called my wife and said, “I feel so hungry and so sick that I really feel like I could die.”

My wife gave me two options: break the fast and eat, or die, but if I chose the latter option, then to do it quietly.

She left the room laughing, and I had to make a decision, as I was miserable.

I chose to break the fast and went to the fridge and ate an entire packet of sausages and a whole loaf of bread.

I really thought I was going to die after that; I felt so much worse.

No matter how much we do in works, I have found that it is never enough.

You read three chapters of the Bible and the enemy comes along and says, “If you had read six chapters, you would have gotten a breakthrough.”

You pray for 60 minutes and that same voice says, “Maybe you should have prayed for two hours and you might have had your breakthrough.”

You fast for 21 days, and that condemning voice of the accuser whispers in your ear, “Maybe a back-to-back, 21-day fast would have gotten you what you need.”

Often we do works-oriented things out of a place of desperation to see God move or to please Him.

We believe that the things that we do will cause God to love us more, and the supernatural will flow.

This mentality leaves us in a position of working for God’s love as opposed to working from God’s love.

I spent many years working hard for His love because of the lack of revelation on just how much He already loved me and liked me.

Many Christians may know that God loves them, but when you question them, they really have no revelation on just how much God also likes them.

Though they know in their heads that God loves them, they may also believe the lie that God just tolerates them.

God likes to hang out with us and to do the things that we like to do.

When we have the revelation of His love, grace, and goodness, then we really begin to understand that He can’t love us any more than He already does.

The apostles Peter and John are two of my favorite people in the Bible. It appears that they were wired totally differently.

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved (John 13:23).

The Bible calls John in this passage “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” so we could take from that that Jesus loved John the most.

It’s interesting that this phrase only appears in the Gospel of John, of which John is the author.

So what exactly was John doing?

We know without question that Jesus loved all the disciples intensely, but I believe that John had a revelation that maybe the other disciples did not have.

John knew that he was loved. Could it be that John was the disciple who most knew how to practice enjoying the presence of Jesus and His love?

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus made a statement that must have been hard for the disciples to take.

He told them they would all fail Him and they would all fall away from Him.

I am sure they were all shocked because without question, they all loved Jesus so much.

When Jesus said this, Peter took Jesus aside and essentially agreed with Jesus that the rest of the disciples would probably fail Him, but “not me,” he said to Jesus.

Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise (Mark 14:29-31).

The setting in John 13:23 was during the Last Supper.

We see the disciples at the table with the Lord, including the two I have mentioned, Peter and John.

At the table we could say that there were two kinds of Christians represented.

One was represented by Peter, whose name means “stone” or “rock,” and if we break that down further, means “law.”

Peter represents the believers who declare their love for the Lord, just as we all do.

John’s name means “beloved,” “loved one,” or broken down further, means “grace.”

Now John leaning on the breast of Jesus is a picture of depending on the Lord’s love for him; he represents every believer who declares the Lord’s love for them.

We could say that one represents Christians under the law, and the other represents Christians under grace.

But the one who was always declaring how much he loved Jesus, before the night was out, was found denying Him three times, while the one who was dependent on the Lord’s love for him was there to minister to Jesus at the time of His greatest need.

Jesus knew that each of the disciples would fail Him.

But Peter’s dependence on his love for Jesus instead of a solid foundation of Jesus’ love for him actually caused him to fail Jesus in His time of need.

Jesus said that each of them would fail Him. John also failed Jesus that night, but because his foundation of their relationship was first on how much Jesus loved him, even when he failed Him in the garden, he was able to step over the failure to be at the feet of Jesus at the time of His need.

John was the only disciple of the twelve who was at the cross with Jesus. The others were alone, feeling bad, and probably drowning in condemnation.

While Peter was feeling unworthy and drowning in condemnation, John was at the foot of the cross because he clearly understood that his relationship with Jesus was not based on how much he loved Jesus but how much Jesus loved him.In my years of ministry, I have met many people who have asked me, “Chris, I love God so much, yet why do I fail to see the power of God displayed through my life?”

I love to look into their eyes and ask if they know how much they are loved.

Very few look me back in my eyes and tell me how much they are loved. Many look away or look down or divert the subject.

We need a greater revelation of the Father’s love toward us.

I so believe in loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind, but I can’t help but fall in love when I see just how much I am first loved.

My love is the byproduct of knowing how much I am loved.

”In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us.... We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10,19).

God is no comparison to your earthly father.

Your own father may have rejected you, but your heavenly Father accepts and loves you perfectly.

The Son of God, who loves you, gave Himself for you as if you were the only person who ever lived.

God does not love you for what you do. God does not love you for your service.

God loves you because that is what He does; He is a God of love.

When you live from the foundation of how much you are loved and accepted, and that God is your loving Father, you will find yourself loving God back with all your heart, soul, and mind.

The beginnings of the foundations will be set correctly where miracles will flow because of your identity of Him in you and you in Him.

Destiny Image

If you’re passionate about hearing God’s voice, walking with Jesus, and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, then you’ve come to the right place.

Destiny Image is a community of believers with a passion for equipping and encouraging you to live the prophetic, supernatural life you were created for! 

We offer a fresh helping of practical articles, dynamic podcasts, and powerful videos from respected, Spirit-empowered, Christian leaders to fuel the holy fire within you.

And best of all… it’s FREE.

https://www.destinyimage.com/2016/08/15/chris-gore-the-foundation-for-miracles/

LEAVING YOUR FIRST LOVE - What does it mean to have left your first love? - Jesus commends the Ephesians for their many good works and hard work. But they had lost their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go through the motions” of good works, motivated not by the love of and for Christ, but by the works themselves. What was once a love relationship cooled into mere religion. Surrounded by paganism and false teachers, the Ephesian church would have had ample opportunity to correct false doctrine and confront heretical teachers. If they did so for any reason other than love for Christ and a passion for His truth, however, they would have lost their way - the Ephesians were in danger of falling away from Christ completely. This is why He warns those who have “ears to hear” to prove the reality of their salvation by returning to Him and rekindling the love that had begun to cool. We face the same challenges in the twenty-first century. There are few churches that aren’t subject to, and in danger of, a certain amount of false teaching. But Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love, and to not let the frustration of false teaching overpower the love of Christ in us. Our first love is the love Christ gives us for God and each other. - “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” - Ephesus had some unique challenges for a Christ-follower in that it was home to the Emperor’s cult and the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis. Because of these influences, the Ephesian believers had developed great discernment when it came to false teachers and heresy. Christ commended them for this discernment, but He faulted them for having lost their “first love.”

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Leaving Your First Love

What does it mean to have left your first love?

Our first love is the love Christ gives us for God and each other

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Jesus commends the Ephesians for their many good works and hard work. But they had lost their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go through the motions” of good works, motivated not by the love of and for Christ, but by the works themselves.

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What was once a love relationship cooled into mere religion. Surrounded by paganism and false teachers, the Ephesian church would have had ample opportunity to correct false doctrine and confront heretical teachers. If they did so for any reason other than love for Christ and a passion for His truth, however, they would have lost their way - the Ephesians were in danger of falling away from Christ completely.

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This is why He warns those who have “ears to hear” to prove the reality of their salvation by returning to Him and rekindling the love that had begun to cool. We face the same challenges in the twenty-first century. There are few churches that aren’t subject to, and in danger of, a certain amount of false teaching. But Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love, and to not let the frustration of false teaching overpower the love of Christ in us.

Got Questions Ministries

 

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” - Revelation 2:4 English Standard Version

 

Revelation 2:1-7 contains Jesus’ message to the church in Ephesus, the first of seven exhortations to various churches in the Roman Empire.

Ephesus had some unique challenges for a Christ-follower in that it was home to the Emperor’s cult and the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis (Acts 19:23-40).

Because of these influences, the Ephesian believers had developed great discernment when it came to false teachers and heresy.

Christ commended them for this discernment, but He faulted them for having lost their “first love.”

The first love which characterized the Ephesians was the zeal and ardor with which they embraced their salvation as they realized they loved Christ because He first loved them (1 John 4:19) and that it was, in fact, His love for them that had made them “alive together with Christ.”

So overwhelmed were they by the joy that came from understanding their former state — dead in trespasses and sins — and their new life in Christ, that they exhibited the fruit of that joy (Ephesians 2:1-5).

Because of God’s great love for the Ephesians, they were “made alive in Christ” and that new life was exhibited in the passion of gratitude.

That passion for the Savior spilled over onto one another and out to those in the culture they inhabited, corrupt as it was.

Jesus commends the Ephesians for their many good works and hard work.

They tested teachers to see whether their professions were real; they endured hardship and persevered without growing weary.

But they had lost their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go through the motions” of good works, motivated not by the love of and for Christ, but by the works themselves.

What was once a love relationship cooled into mere religion. Their passion for Him became little more than cold orthodoxy.

Surrounded by paganism and false teachers, the Ephesian church would have had ample opportunity to correct false doctrine and confront heretical teachers.

If they did so for any reason other than love for Christ and a passion for His truth, however, they would have lost their way.

Instead of pursuing Christ with the devotion they once showed, much like a bride who follows her groom “through the desert” (Jeremiah 2:2), the Ephesians were in danger of falling away from Christ completely.

This is why He warns those who have “ears to hear” to prove the reality of their salvation by returning to Him and rekindling the love that had begun to cool.

No doubt there were among the Ephesians those whose profession was false and whose hearing had become dulled.

He warns the rest not to follow them, but to repent and return to Him with the passion they once had for Him.

We face the same challenges in the twenty-first century. There are few churches that aren’t subject to, and in danger of, a certain amount of false teaching.

But Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), and to not let the frustration of false teaching overpower the love of Christ in us (Ephesians 4:31-32).

Our first love is the love Christ gives us for God and each other.

We should be zealous for the truth, but that zeal should be tempered so that we are always “speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Got Questions Ministries seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and timely answers to spiritually related questions through an internet presence.
GotQuestions.org is a ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation, and other spiritual topics. We are Christian, Protestant, evangelical, theologically conservative, and non-denominational. We view ourselves as a para-church ministry, coming alongside the church to help people find answers to their spiritually related questions.

https://www.gotquestions.org/left-first-love.html

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DORCAS - The Woman Whose Dressmaking Made Her Famous - Dorcas certainly lived a lovely life, and had eyes reflecting the compassion of the Master whom she so faithfully served. As a disciple she certainly had faith in the One who had called her, but she came to see that faith without works is dead. She also knew that works without faith gained no merit with God, and so the hands that dispensed alms and made garments were inwardly inspired by Him whose hands were nailed to a tree. Dorcas did not aspire to be a leader, but was content to stay in her own home and try to do all she could in all the ways she could. Dorcas implies “the female of a roebuck,” “a gazelle” — an emblem of beauty. Dorcas is the first Greek name of a female in the New Testament, its Hebrew equivalent being Tabitha which is the Syro-Chaldaic form of the Hebrew Zibiah, or Tsibiah, the name of the mother of King Joash. In the seaport town of Joppa she became known for her acts of charity and is the namesake for a charitable group named the Dorcas Society. Where did she learn to sew, make garments for the poor and become notable for her charitable works? It could possibly have been in a godly home that she was taught how to use her fingers and her funds for the comfort and relief of the needy. Dorcas must have been a woman of means to serve humanity as freely as she did. She is called, “a certain disciple,” and is thus included among the numerous disciples mentioned in the New Testament.

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DORCAS

The Woman Whose Dressmaking Made Her Famous

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Dorcas certainly lived a lovely life, and had eyes reflecting the compassion of the Master whom she so faithfully served. As a disciple she certainly had faith in the One who had called her, but she came to see that faith without works is dead. She also knew that works without faith gained no merit with God, and so the hands that dispensed alms and made garments were inwardly inspired by Him whose hands were nailed to a tree. Dorcas did not aspire to be a leader, but was content to stay in her own home and try to do all she could in all the ways she could.

All the Women of the Bible

Herbert Lockyer

Scripture Reference — Acts 9:36-43

Name Meaning — Dorcas implies “the female of a roebuck,” “a gazelle” — an emblem of beauty.

Dorcas is the first Greek name of a female in the New Testament, its Hebrew equivalent being Tabitha which is the Syro-Chaldaic form of the Hebrew Zibiah, or Tsibiah, the name of a princess of Judah, the mother of King Joash.

Wilkinson says that “the Greek equivalent for her Syriac name may be accounted for by her residence at Joppa, a seaport much frequented, and no doubt partially inhabited by foreigners speaking chiefly the Greek language.”

Family Connections — The Bible is silent concerning the parentage and genealogy of Dorcas.

In the seaport town of Joppa she became known for her acts of charity and is the namesake for a charitable group named the Dorcas Society.

Here was a woman “who with her needle embroidered her name ineffaceably into the beneficence of the world.”

Where did she learn to sew, make garments for the poor and become notable for her charitable works?

It could possibly have been in a godly home that she was taught how to use her fingers and her funds for the comfort and relief of the needy.

Dorcas must have been a woman of means to serve humanity as freely as she did. We have five glimpses of her witness and work in the historical account Luke gives us.

She Was a Christian

She is called, “a certain disciple,” and is thus included among the numerous disciples mentioned in the New Testament.

Through the Spirit-empowered ministry of Philip the evangelist, a Christian Church was established at Joppa — now known as Jaffa — and from an early date the church was not only a center of fervent evangelism but also of a well-organized social service.

Possibly Dorcas came to know Christ as her Saviour in this church, and there caught the vision of how she could serve Christ with her money and her needle.

Dorcas knew what it was to have a regenerated heart and this was the source of her unselfish life and charitable acts.

Behind her sewing of garments was a saved soul.

Giving of alms, and the making of garments in themselves gain no merit with God who, first of all, claims our hearts before our talents.

It was only when Mary Magdalene was recovered from her stained past, that Christ accepted her desire to minister to His wants.

In our churches and also in commendable societies there are many public-spirited women who, with humanitarian ideals, are engaged in various relief activities, and whose sole object is to do good. But they are not actuated by Christ.

Trying to emulate Dorcas, they lack her Christian discipleship, forgetting that caring for widows and others in need springs from “pure religion” which also reveals itself in keeping oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:26, 27).

When Luke says that Dorcas was full of good works, he meant the word “full” to refer primarily to her inward grace, which prompted the outward deeds.

“Good works are only genuine and Christian when the soul of the performer is imbued with them.”

The cup of cold water to be acceptable must be given in His name.

With Dorcas, then, being good meant doing good. Her manifold good works flowed from a heart grateful to God for His saving grace.

Lange the commentator says that “The gazelle is distinguished for its slender and beautiful form, its graceful movements and its soft but brilliant eyes; it is frequently introduced by the Hebrews and other Oriental nations as an image of female loveliness, and the name was often employed as a proper name, in the case of females.”

Whether Dorcas, whose name means “gazelle,” was a beautiful woman or not we are not told.

She certainly lived a lovely life, and had eyes reflecting the compassion of the Master whom she so faithfully served.

All whom she influenced and helped saw in her the beauty of Jesus.

As a disciple she certainly had faith in the One who had called her, but she came to see that faith without works is dead.

She also knew that works without faith gained no merit with God, and so the hands that dispensed alms and made garments were inwardly inspired by Him whose hands were nailed to a tree.

She Was a Philanthropist

Dorcas the believer was likewise Dorcas the benefactress. “This woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.”

How significant are these last three words!

Too many well-meaning people sit around and talk about charitable works they never do. Sometimes they propose these works and leave others to execute them.

Dorcas not only thought up ways of relieving the needy, but she also carried out her plans. 

Which she did! She knew what she could do, and did it.

Studying the female characters of Scripture, it is interesting to discover how several of them are conspicuous for one grace or work of mercy, or for another.

o  Rizpah we remember because of her loving care of the dead.

o  The widow of Zarephath for giving bread to the hungry.

o  Anna the prophetess for her fastings and prayers day and night.

o  Martha, as the queen of gracious hospitality.

o  Mary for her box of fragrant ointment.

o  Joanna, and her ministering unto Jesus.

o  Dorcas, for her care of widows and clothing the poor.

o  Further, a few Bible characters have inspired profitable institutions for the welfare of human society—

o  Mary Magdalene — home for wayward and lost girls.

o  Lazarus — whose name has been given to hospitals caring for the sick and poor.

o  Dorcas — source and inspiration of Dorcas Societies all over the world.

Among her good works was that of fashioning coats and garments for widows and the needy of her church and community with her own loving hands.

The practical, unselfish service of this Christian philanthropist has filled the world with fragrance, for there flowed out of that little city of Joppa a multitude of benevolent and charitable organizations in which women have been prominent.

The question came to Dorcas as it did to Moses when he felt he was not the man to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, “What is that in thine hand?”

And Moses answered, “A rod” (Exodus 4:2).

And that rod became the symbol of delegated divine power.

“What is that in thine hand?” the Lord asked Dorcas.

She said, “A needle,” and He took what she had and she stitched for Christ’s sake.

All praise, then, to the needle that represented practical benevolence among the needy. The garments Dorcas cut out and sewed represented Christian faith in action.

“I was naked and ye clothed me,” said Jesus of those who clothed His poor and destitute children.

She Was Mourned and Missed

It was a sad day for the church at Joppa when one of its most beloved and devoted members died in the midst of her works of charity.

“Death loves a shining mark, a signal blow,” and death certainly found such a mark in the bountiful Dorcas whose passing was a blow to the community.

The vessel containing the costly ointment was broken, and the odor filled the house as never before.

Kind hands washed the corpse and placed it in the upper chamber, with feelings expressed by the poet—

Sister, thou wast mild and lovely,

Gentle as the summer breeze,

Pleasant as the air of morning

When it floats among the trees.

While Dorcas doubtless owned her home, she seemed to have no relatives to mourn her going.

The widows she had clothed and to whom she had been a friend laid her out; and great grief prevailed.

Although so diligent on behalf of others, Dorcas died in the midst of a useful life.

The writer had a preacher-friend who always said that he would like to die with his boots on — and he did, one Sunday morning, while preaching the Gospel.

Is it possible that Dorcas had a sudden call with her needle in hand? What a grand way to go!

She Was Raised From the Dead

Her fellow disciples at the church where she had worshiped, learning that Peter was nearby, sent two members to beseech the apostle to visit the grief-stricken company.

They knew that he had exercised supernatural power, and doubtless entertained the hope that their greatly-loved benefactress might live again.

Like the faithful minister that he was, Peter did not delay in accompanying the two men to the death chamber at Joppa where the weeping widows were assembled.

The apostle must have been moved as they reverently exhibited the coats and garments Dorcas had made for them.

Then after Christ’s example at the raising of Jairus' daughter, “Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed” (see John 11:41, 42).

When he felt his request had been received, Peter spake the word of power and authority, “Tabitha, arise,” and life returned.

Dorcas sat up, and Peter presented her alive to the saints and widows (compare Matthew 9:25; Mark 5:40, 41).

What a moving scene that must have been!

What joy must have prevailed among her fellow-saints and the widows, now that their much-loved Dorcas was alive again, and in her resurrected life, with fuller dedication to the service of the Master, was willing to take up her needle again.

Her return from death must have been a great gain to her church.

Her only pang was that she would have to sicken again and for the second time enter the gates of death.

She Was the Cause of Revival

The resurrection of Dorcas had a twofold effect.

First of all, the miracle comforted the mourners for she had returned to her life of good works and almsdeeds.

This miracle was thus like our Lord’s miracles — one of mercy.

The second effect was to convince all of the truth of the Christian faith attested as it was by miraculous power.

Throughout Joppa the message rang, “Dorcas is alive again,” and “many believed in the Lord.”

The miracle in that upper chamber, then, was not a miracle for the sake of a miracle.

Dorcas raised from physical death became the cause of the resurrection of many from their graves of sin and unbelief.

How the church at Joppa must have increased its membership through the many who were saved as the result of the return of Dorcas from the realm of death.

After the resurrection of Lazarus, we read that many of the Jews believed on Jesus.

Is not the same true in a spiritual resurrection?

A transformed life attracts others to the Saviour.

We read that after the miracle, Peter stayed in Joppa for many days, and we can assume that his ministry greatly helped the church there in the establishment of the new converts.

Peter stayed with Simon the tanner, a saint who prepared skins for leather to the glory of God, just as Dorcas made up her garments with consecrated hands.

A lesson to bear in mind as we part with our saintly benefactress is that she was unconscious of the magnificent work she was doing and of its far-reaching consequences.

Dorcas did not aspire to be a leader, but was content to stay in her own home and try to do all she could in all the ways she could.

Thus, in spite of herself, she became a great leader in an almost universal philanthropic cause, just as “The Lady of the Lamp,” Florence Nightingale, did when she went to Crimea to care for the wounded, dying soldiers on the field of battle.

May grace be ours to do whatever our hands find to do, as unto the Lord!

Devotional content drawn from All the Women of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer.

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https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/all-women-bible/2011/09/05