Tag: healing

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Upon Hearing An Elk Bugle

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“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.” (Hosea 6:3)

I heard an elk bugling in the Aspens. It was such an otherworldly sound that I thought, how can this be real? I’m not a dramatic person, and I say this in all seriousness: my life was changed. How can I say I’ve lived, almost 60 years if my birth certificate is right, and I’ve never heard an elk bugle?  Like the grinch, I think my heart grew 3 sizes!

I grew up in Houston, a metroplex of hot cement and urban sprawl. My childhood playground boasted a hot metal slide and a chain-link fence. I know how to navigate city streets. But a forest of Aspens and a cold mountain stream are foreign to me. It’s a shockingly different world when one can hear an elk bugle, or an owl, bigger than my dog, hooting at dusk, or see a lanky legged moose slowly grazing nearby.

God often speaks to me through moments in nature. When that elk bugle screamed through the woods, the hair on my neck stood up and instantly I understood: just as I’ve never experienced this sound before in all my days, I’ve also never experienced much of the spiritual realm that God wants to reveal. I’ve walked with God—passionately, intentionally—for 44 years my friends, but to be blunt, I don’t know jacksquat about the Kingdom and Power of Christ! I’ve never seen an angel but the Bible clearly states their existence. I’ve never raised anyone from the dead although it happens throughout the world today. Jesus said that we would do greater works than He did (see John 14:12) yet healing, miracles, and prophetic words are more the exception in my week than the norm.

The instant I heard the elk bugle in the aspens, I realized how little I know of the spirit realm.  I cried out to God saying, Lord forgive me for being content with merely attending church and leading a little Bible study. Forgive my arrogance that I think I know my way around Christianity and around YOU! God, You are infinitely more than I can think or imagine. You operate in a realm that I’ve only seen tiny glimpses of, and You have more power, more glory than I can even dream of!

And here’s what’s funny and beautiful about the Lord: He said, I know, come on! Come on! My friends, God LONGS for us to press in. He longs to astound us, surprise us, delight us with His more. More wonder, more power, more glory and revelation. It is exactly as Jesus stated: “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12)

I hear some of you agonizing, “How? How do we press in, Margaret?” Rend your heart, not your garments. (See Joel 2:13) Get with God in an honest and real way, without a time limit. If you have people in your life saying, “naw, you’re fine where you’re at; just study harder, pray longer, go to church,” OMG get away from those people and find believers that press in through worship, that heal the sick, and brag on God’s goodness every day! Get with people who have God stories from THIS week, not just 20 years ago!

For too long I sat in a community that complained of rarely hearing God speak. Now I’m in community with people who cannot CONTAIN all the miracles and revelation Holy Spirit is releasing! God says, Come on! Come on, let’s go!

What do YOU say?

Learn more ways to press in to the presence of God with Gracious Living, creating a culture of honor, love, and compassion anywhere books are sold. Go to www.MargaretAllen.org/Mondays to sign up to receive this blog each week.

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Unlikely Comfort

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My college kids headed out in the boat for the last run of the day. Lake Shasta had not disappointed in a day filled with wakeboarding excitement and laughter.  As the sun was setting, my daughter Nicole took a hard fall after jumping the wake. She fell forward and her board popped up, hitting her in the back of her head.  She was able to climb onto the boat, unaware of the blood flowing down her neck.

The kids raced for the marina to get cell service to call 911 and to let us know what happened. As Nicole was lifted into the ambulance, she instantly had a feeling that she would be prayed for on the way to the hospital. Whether she was seeking distraction from her pain or just curious how prayer would happen, she asked Ashley, the EMT, how he handled seeing trauma every day.  He replied, “Honestly, it’s Jesus.” Nicole smiled and said, “Do you go to Bethel church?” He replied yes. They talked about their church and healing experiences.  As they pulled up to the hospital, Ashley prayed for her healing.

Listen to these words from the Apostle Paul: “We were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.  Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:5b-6) Where do you receive comfort when you are hurt or afraid? Who can you turn to when you need healing and help? God sends us comfort, sometimes in unlikely places. One minute you can be jamming on a wakeboard and the next you’re in an ambulance but God knows all about it. He sends encouragement and faith through a Titus, or in our case, an Ashley. Outside are conflicts, inside are fears, but God finds us.

In every difficult situation you encounter, God offers help. Maybe it’s a neighbor who is praying for you, a friend who pays your rent, a co-worker who reaches out. Maybe it’s a huge lit-up cross on the side of a hospital to remind you that God knows all about your pain. No matter how that comfort comes, take it as a wink from God. If you encounter opportunities this week to be that help, that unlikely prayer warrior, healer, encourager-BE the provision sent by God. You never know how God may use you to bring encouragement, healing, or transformation in someone’s life.

After an agonizing five hour wait outside the emergency room of (no joke) Mercy hospital, Nicole emerged stitched, bandaged, and cheerful. She told us about Ashley’s prayer, confidently assuring us she would not have a concussion.  The next morning Nicole was not concussed. She didn’t even have a headache. That was God’s wink for her. 

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I love witnessing the tender ways God encounters regular folks like you and me! I share these stories in my book, Gracious Living, creating a culture of honor, love, and compassion. Get it today at www.MargaretAllen.org  

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Waking Up

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I woke up sensing:  I have food to eat of which you do not know. Ok, that’s weird but I recognized it as something Jesus said in the Bible. Like a smooth stone in my hand, I turned the phrase over and over in my mind. God why are you saying this to me?

I have food to eat of which you do not know comes from the Biblical book of John, a first century biography of Jesus, chapter 4. The story describes mid-day during a long journey and Jesus’ disciples have gone into town for food. Jesus, sitting at a well encounters a Samaritan woman. He rips through social boundaries to experience a genuine conversation with her (normally it would be improper for a rabbi to speak to any woman in public, especially one of mixed race as the Samaritans. It was even greater impropriety to share a drink with her). The long story short is that He pretty much reads her mail! He indicates knowledge about her past with all of its disappointment and shame. He indicates knowledge of her future hope. Get this: He tells her that God is seeking true worshippers. She, a discarded Samaritan woman, mattered to God.  

What I love about Jesus is that He did not participate in racial bias. He refused to be hindered or held back from extending justice toward a woman of the lowest rung in society. He lived out a life of honor, love, and compassion rather than perpetuating fear, shame, and division. Do you know anyone like that today? Are you that person creating a beautiful culture in your community?

I haven’t even gotten to my favorite part of the story! When his disciples return with the food, He essentially says no thanks, I’m full. Besides being shocked that Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman, the disciples want to know where He got his grub! Jesus clarifies, My food is to do the will of God. And what was the will of God? To bring this woman into wholeness. To establish her worth, dignity, and purpose. To answer her deepest questions about friendship with God. 

When I woke up with the Spirit speaking those words, I have food to eat of which you do not know, He was reminding me there’s a feast in the Spirit of God. There’s a joyful sustenance bigger than my circumstances would want me to know. Jesus is seeking an encounter with each of us today. He wants to minister to our pain and our shame. He waits to release hope, purpose, and destiny to us! Dear friend, do you have food today that others can’t see?

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