Miracles within alignment – 1. There are places that we have to enter.

Today the UK marks 1 year since our first lockdown, 23^rd March 2020. Churches will open, a minute’s silence at noon and people will stand on their doorsteps again tonight and we will think back on a year when over 126,000 people have died with this terrible virus.

Tomorrow we will again look forward to post-lockdown dates to come soon. We want to get out and to get back. We don’t care where we go we just want to go. Health and safety will be our concerns. The state of our mental health and the impact of our losses will be in our discussions. There will be many hurdles to overcome. We will need to instil confidence and we will need to make sure we are in alignment with the Holy Spirit.

I always believe the best is yet to come. I am an optimist. There are many doomsayers out there in the Christian world predicting awful times ahead. I’m not one of them. God hasn’t changed. We still need to keep in alignment with Him and when we do miracles can happen.

Over the next few days I am going to pause and read slowly our next verses of Matthew’s gospel:

(Matthew 8 v 5-13) “When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.”

Miracles within alignment – there are places that we have to enter.

“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.” V5

This town was Jesus’ base. He continually kept coming back here ever since he left Nazareth. It became his home.

Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— Matthew 4:13

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. Mark 2:1

Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. John 6:24

Jesus knew the town very well and he also knew the shores of the lake too spending lots of time there. The town also was where Peter had a house.

Don’t give upon your city, your town, village or street. There are places that we will need to enter for miracles to happen and your place is one of them.

• It is a place known by God.

Isaiah had prophesied about Capernaum and Matthew could see the connection, “to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:14-16).

On reading and memorising these Scriptures, Jesus would have realised that he was the great light, he was the dawn for a dark land and he had come for people like those living on the Way of the Sea, in Capernaum. Scripture was guiding him.

You are the great light for your place. It may be a dark place but you are there and you have to enter again knowing He knows your place.

• It is a place known by you

Jesus put down some roots even for a short time and lived as a man amongst them.

The residents of Capernaum had God on their streets, in their shops, in their synagogue and homes. God was there talking, laughing, in power performing miracles of healing and transformation. Much of the town were indifferent to the presence of God and judgment would be pronounced later in the gospel.

You know your place and you enter it with enthusiasm. Someone else may look at where you live with disparaging remarks but you will stand and defend your place because you are there and it is your place.

Capernaum was the home of Jesus for some years, it was his place which he would return to time and again. Where do you live today? Where is home? There are places that we have to enter, familiar places and when we do miracles can happen because of our alignment to where God has placed us. You are there for a purpose and it is your place.