O Death

Had Christ the death of death to death

Not given death by dying,

The gates of life had never been

To mortals open lying.

I'm not sure where I found this little poem, but I stumbled upon it sometime within the past few months. It was credited as "Unknown" (that guy and his brother Anonymous sure get around, I'm telling you), so I can't tell you much about it. At first I saved it to my compilation of quotes (it's literally 39 pages long, and counting) so that I could ponder it later. The first time that you read it, if you don't take it slowly, you'll wind up really confused. (I know I did.) 

But then, if you read it slowly... it's really quite profound. Put into simpler tongue, it's saying that if Jesus hadn't killed death by dying, true life in Heaven wouldn't be accessible to us. 

If I let myself go too deep into this subject, we'll all end up with migraines. The post would be so long that not even I could read it. (And even without my fullest extrapolation, it'll still be pretty lengthy.) When it comes to God, you just can't exhaust anything. Because He goes on forever and is infinite in every way, our discussions and thoughts on Him never end. It is impossible for a human to fully comprehend God. But we can surely do what we can. 

This poem reminds me of an excerpt from Miracles, a book by good ole C. S. Lewis. I found this paragraph in A Year With C. S. Lewis. 

On the one hand Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy. Christ shed tears at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane: the Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptised into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death is, in fact, what some modern people call 'ambivalent'. It is Satan's great weapon and also God's great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered.

Wow. I often find myself jealous of Lewis' literary excellency and theological wisdom. In this excerpt he explores the death in life and the life in death. He shows us, quite plainly, that death is both our kindest of friends and our harshest of enemies. I've found myself meditating on this passage quite a bit. It is so profound. I would compose on it, but really, is there anything left for me to say? Lewis is well-known for his honesty and precision. Quite frankly, he inadvertently leaves many subjects impossible to expand upon.

I am then reminded of a Bible verse. I've used it on here before, but I failed to see the profundity of it. It fits right in with Lewis' aforementioned description of death:

[We are] always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 

~ 2 Corinthians 4:10 (NKJV)

How did I not see that before? Without Jesus' death, we can't enjoy the life that He brings! Selah. I have to wonder if, whilst penning Miracles, C. S. read that verse. Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch, but one of the things that I got from this was that Jesus gave death a taste of its own medicine. This entire philosophical notion gives me a bit more joy than it should give a teenager.

Another thing that I am reminded of in all of this is that some people wonder how a loving God could kill His Son. Again, that would take quite a bit of space to do the subject justice. There are so many corridors and rooms to explore within that house. I find quite a bit of truth in this quote:

The dying Jesus is the evidence of God's anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is proof of God's love and forgiveness.

~ Lorenz Eifert

While this quote doesn't encompass fully the subject of the crucifixion, it's pretty interesting. Because God is a just Person, He must punish sin or it must somehow be atoned for. (This is why in the Old Testament, His children had to perform ritualistic sacrifices in order to avert judgment.) With Jesus, He made the final sacrifice. He got in the last word. And yet again, this leads us to another extremely long post, which will have to be written some other time. God is like that; you can't condense any given aspect of Him to one blog entry. You could write for your entire life and still not even come close to finishing. My head is already spinning! All that I wanted to do with this post was give you the excerpt from Miracles and ask you to think about it. Instead I've ended up with another novel!

Anyways. I'll try and bring this to a close. You've got a life that you should get back to, and so do I. Basically, through this wild goose chase that I've led you on, I've just given you a few additions to C. S. Lewis' thought. One could think for hours about death and its theological and philosophical implications and properties. Jesus, the Man Who was God, slayed death by arising from it. He conquered its power. We can now boldly shout,

O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?

~ 1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)

We no longer have to consistently live in rituals. We don't ever have to make an atonement sacrifice. Jesus did that for us. And through Him, I completely agree with Socrates:

Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.

Promises 4,000 years in the making

Reading the Bible, though excruciatingly dull at parts (I'm reading through Leviticus now. Yikes.), is also brimming with gorgeous gems for us to harvest. God's Word continuously speaks to those who scour it, and even to those who only seek revelations with half their hearts. This collection of books, written over the course of several millenia, has spoken directly into the lives of countless individuals. For years and years, the Bible has penetrated the soul. No matter how many centuries old its writings are, the Bible always finds a way to relevance. Wherever you are, it speaks to that place. The Word is convicting, encouraging, hopeful, lovely... it is alive.

For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

~ Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

Just a few days ago, I finished reading the Book of Exodus, famous mostly for the story of Moses' early life and the events encompassed therein. I know that when I attempted to read the Bible through before, I didn't make it past the story of the Hebrew exodus. I hadn't seen what God wanted me to see.

You may think that once the exciting part of Moses' story is over, Exodus has nothing to offer. I thought that for awhile as well. But then, this time around, I discovered three treasures buried beneath laws and stories of Moses conversing with God. The verses that I'm about to show you are often overlooked. I don't think I've ever heard them referenced before.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this here or not, but I believe I'm called to foreign missions, particularly Africa. I honestly cannot imagine anything else for my life. So naturally, being used to my quiet suburban life, this urging from God wasn't comfortable news. It's not what I would have chosen for myself. In fact, it was the last thing I wanted to do! (I'll probably extrapolate on callings at a later date.) My mission field isn't a safe one. For awhile I worried about my safety, my life (and occasionally the fear tries to creep back in). I worried that I might die. I worried that people wouldn't receive God, or that I wouldn't be a "good missionary". And then, in Exodus, I found a diamond amongst coal:

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; ... for My name is in Him. ... If you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you. ..."

~ Exodus 23:20-23 (NKJV)

These few verses began to re-silence my fears and reconfirm my faith. The fleshly voice of doubt within me went from painful screaming to semi-confident shouting. And then, a few verses later...

"I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you."

~ Exodus 23:27 (NKJV)

The voice went from a shout to normal speech. Slowly, through His ancient written Word, God was calming me. Here. In 2011. With something written thousands of years before my birth! Originally spoken to the infantile nation of Israel, this promise of theirs became this promise of mine. You see, the place to which I am called is not safe. It is not easy there. My biggest fear was of a premature death. I was worried about 'enemies' coming to slit my throat or pierce my side. But He will cause them to "turn their backs" to me. You will be safe in His arms. This reminds me of a verse found in Job:

From one disaster after another He delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you.

~ Job 5:19 (MSG)

That's not to say that bad things won't happen, or that you won't face any adversity. (Click on the link, and look at the entire verse. It's pretty interesting.) But in the end, God will win out. If you allow it, His will will be done. When it comes down to it, you'll be delivered. And that voice of doubt will devolve and vanish.

I read those verses in Exodus sometime last week (I really don't even remember what day) and a few days after reading those, I came across a later Exodus verse. I call it "The New Jeremiah 29:11". For awhile now I've been praying that God will do some crazy stuff through me. I've been asking Him to reveal His glory through my life. I've been asking Him to fix me and make me more like Jesus. I've been asking Him for a lot for my future, as well as for my present. I want Him to show Himself through what I do, and I want Him to wreck the despair and violence in which people live. But anyways. When I read this verse, I got Holy Spirit chills, just as I did with the other verses. But this one especially, I felt, was a bold promise. 

And He said, "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the Earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you."

~ Exodus 34:10 (NKJV)

He makes a covenant. A covenant. The strongest promise that there is. He will do things that haven't been seen or even fathomed in the entire Earth. Everyone around me will see His work. He will do an awesome thing through me. This is a sermon that I've got to preach to myself continually. And it's a powerful one. 

These promises are thousands of years old. So, I believe that God transcends time, right? So while He may not have been speaking to my face when He first said those words, I believe that He knew that one day, I would read those covenants. He was speaking them to me then, just as He was speaking to the Hebrews. 

So, those are my promises. What are yours? What is God promising you? I ask you to seek out answers. Pray for revelations. Pray for Him to reveal your calling to you. Count on God to make you some crazy awesome promises. 

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

~ Matthew 7:7 (NASB)

[See also Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)]

Seek His covenant to you. Search for your calling. But don't stop there.

"Selah." Do what now?

If you've been reading my blog, you may (or may not) recall an instance or two in which I used the Hebrew word "selah", famous for its 70-something occurrences in the Bible. For years scholars have argued over the meaning of this elusive word, never able to agree on a meaning. In Bibles it is simply transliterated as "selah" and left without translation.

After awhile I started to wonder what this word meant. It was used fairly heavily in the Psalms (and featured once in Habbakuk). What was the meaning of this mystery word?

If you take a look at the footnotes of your Bible, you'll probably see it noted that the exact meaning is unknown. "Probably a literary or musical term" is often what you'll find, but in a few copies, you'll see something suggesting that it means "reflect" or "pause", which I like much better than merely "interlude" or any random word.

Okay, so I'm not an expert on the Hebrew language. Heck, I'm not even an expert on the Bible! So I'm most definitely not the one to tell you what this word means. But perhaps I could offer my opinion?

In all the instances in which I've read it (that I recall at this moment), "selah" has been used after a thought-provoking statement has been made. It seems to me that the word invites the reader (or listener, whatever) to meditate upon what has just been said. To pray. To dream. To reflect. Pause, wonder, ponder, imagine, bask. To me, this is what "selah" means. It's not simply some "musical or literary term" -- which, if assigned that meaning, there is nothing for us to gain from it.

So maybe this wasn't the best of my entries. It's been difficult to find the perfect words lately. But I'm waiting for God to inspire. I'm asking Him to show up. I'm inviting Him to speak to me, and about more than just this little project of mine. I'm asking Him to guide me, and show me His ways.

There are many verses in the Bible that warrant a "selah". Your job now is to find them. Search the Word for everything. Look to it and its true Author for spiritual fulfillment. He won't turn us away. God will love me regardless of what I do (or do not). He will never leave me. He will never abandon or forsake me. And that, my friends, begs a selah.

Waiting for Inspiration

I apologize for the lack of posts in this past week or so. I've been busy.

And lacking inspiration.

The funny thing about inspiration is that you can't choose when it comes to you. You can keep trying (and I did--I wrote about 5 possible entries, but none of them really worked) and hoping, praying even, that you can produce something of quality. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that lately. With school and church and work and all my other activities, life can get a bit hectic. It can be a struggle to stay focused and joyful.

But I'm hoping that God grants me some wonderful, glorious inspiration this week--and then through my inspiration, you can be inspired.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfect of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

אֶפְרָיִם (Ephraim)

Warning: this post is my longest to date.

So I recently started reading the Bible. Chronologically. And this time, I won't stop at Exodus chapter 2 (that's where I fell off last time). This time, I'm going to finish it. I've been reading 10 pages a day for about a week now; I read through about 2/3 of Joseph's story today. And suddenly, I found the inspiration that has been missing for quite some time now. I haven't posted in days.

My inspiration comes from Genesis 37:5-11. If you don't recognize the reference right off the bat, it's not too far into the story of Joseph.

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 

(Genesis 37:5)

What's interesting about this verse is that it mentions that he was loathed "even more", which suggests that his siblings had hated him previously as well. It's concluded that their hatred stemmed from the fact that he was clothed in a beautifully colored robe, symbolizing that he was favorited by their father. Thus if we are clothed in righteousness, placed in the garments of truth by our heavenly Father, our brothers will hate us. (See this also.) But the thing is, our brothers won't despise us if we simply blend in and live as the world does. They will hate us if we tell them of our God-given dreams. If we step out in faith, and show them that we believe in God, they will mock us. This then leads us to the beatitudes. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and 

thirst for righteousness, 

for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, 

for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 

for great is your reward in Heaven,

 for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

-- Matthew 5:3-12

This list is ample. It doesn't mince words. Was Joseph, for revealing that God has spoken to him, persecuted? I would say so. Are we, if we make bold statements in Christ, also persecuted? The truth is, quite often, we are. Those who believe in God are often derogatorily referred to as "Bible thumpers" and even worse, slandered as idiots and lunatics. But blessed are we. 

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing... in all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds. 

-- 2 Corinthians 6:10, 7:4 (NKJV)

And yet another Bible snippet following in this spirit:

[Be] rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. ...Bless those who persecute you. ... Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. 

-- Romans 12:12, 14, 20 (NKJV)

Doesn't this completely go against the grain? We're inadvertently taught, in American society at least, so be self-serving and self-righteous. We learn to love primarily ourselves, and only to love others if they are of use to us. If it doesn't go our way, we get to throw a tantrum. If it goes our way, we can bask in our glory however we wish to. One of the most common myths in America: "Just do what you can to be happy. Happiness is the goal." But you'll notice that in 2 Corinthians, it wasn't written that "in all our troubles, my happiness knows no bounds"--it was written that the joy is limitless. 

By continuing on our mission, staying the course (I just had to link to this, haha), and following our God-breathed dreams, we are accumulating treasures in Heaven. We are doing things of eternal value, not of mortal worth. To follow God is to follow Love and Perfection and Beauty and Truth and Joy. To follow Him, to spread His attributes, to tell others of what He has done for us, is to build one's treasure in Heaven. To do good as you have opportunities to do so (Galatians 6:10) is to serve God. (And there are many other ways as well.) So back to Joseph.

This guy didn't have it easy. He tells his family of his special revelation from God, and what do they do? They shun him. His brothers build up animosity towards Joseph, who was merely following God. And so begins the plot to kill him.

God, however, intervenes. Instead of murdering Joseph, his brothers wind up selling him to a band of Ishmaelites. Joseph survives. However, his survival is less of smooth sailing and more of a roller coaster.

Quickly Joseph is recognized as a great man, and he is promoted from lowly slave to important servant. He's got a great position in a prominent household; that of Potiphar. Things are looking up for him, and I imagine he must be somewhat satisfied with where he is. That is, until Potiphar's wife makes her move. I think most of us are acquainted with this story. When refused, this seductive wife accuses Joseph of trying to rape her, basically. ...Uh, yeah, not so great.

Suffice it to say, Joseph gets thrown in prison. And prison isn't such a fantastic place to be.

Joseph was there for a couple of years before Pharaoh had a dream that puzzled him. Enter: an opportunity. The chief butler, who had temporarily shared the prison with Joseph, finally remembered the Hebrew who had interpreted one of his dreams. I can almost imagine the memories that flooded over him when he remembered Joseph. And it is because of this butler that Joseph is released from his cell.

But see, the funny thing is, Joseph had to be in prison initially in order for him to meet this butler. Then, the butler had to have a dream, and Joseph consequently had to interpret it. When the butler was liberated, Joseph entreated that mention of him be made to Pharaoh, so that he, too, might be freed. But the butler forgot. There went that sliver of hope. ...For two years, that is.

Pharaoh heeded his butler's eventual voice and called Joseph to interpret. And interpret he did. Or, should I say, God interpreted through Joseph and Pharaoh recognized something extra shining through in Joseph.

And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"

-- Genesis 41:38 (NKJV)

Shortly after, when the Pharaoh saw that there was truth to Joseph's words, Joseph was made prominent once more:

Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."

-- Genesis 41:44 (NKJV)

Now, I have two thoughts that come from this one verse. One thought is yet another verse:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

-- 1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV)

"After you have suffered." After. Not before. You don't get to live an abundant life and then do a few years of community service. Life doesn't work that way. You have to work. You have to earn your rewards. If you're given a gift, don't forget that someone else had to labor first in order to reward you with it. Have you ever heard the saying "Things get worse before they get better"? I think it's safe to call that adage a true one. In order to go downhill, we must first trudge uphill. Other than that, I think that verse speaks for itself.

And thought #2 from Genesis 41:44: Joseph was given dominion over Egypt by the Pharaoh. Seriously, the only person higher in rank than Joseph was Pharaoh himself! Pharaoh bestowed so much power to Joseph. In all practicality, Joseph was lord of Egypt! He could do whatever he pleased--and get this--in the Pharaoh's name. It's like when we're little kids, and we're caught by a sibling doing something. "But Dad said it was okay!" we'll argue. And if we're telling the truth, that's that. Dad said. Mom said. The end. Take it up with them.

Isn't this just like the power that Jesus has given us? In His name, we are able to move mountains (Mark 11:23). In His name, we are able to cast out demons (one among many references is that of Luke 10:17-20). In His name, we are able to heal the sick (again, one of many references is Luke 9:1). You get the picture. If the Ruler authorizes it, it's done. (Daniel 4:35)

So do you see it now? Do you see that this ancient tale of Joseph relates to us today? Right here, right now? This man didn't wrong his brothers, yet they desired him dead. He didn't attempt to undermine their authority, yet they sold him as a slave. He didn't sleep with Potiphar's wife, yet he was accused of adultery. This man, an overall righteous one, a "good" man, spent years in prison before his release. He suffered. And then he was exalted.

He is eventually reunited with his brothers and father. He eventually marries and later, is the father of two sons in particular:

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

-- Genesis 41:51-52

Also somewhat like Joseph was Job. Many others, Jesus Himself included, who were "good" and "righteous" (I use quotations because the men who were purely human could not compare to Christ) suffered a great while before their reward was dealt to them. We are not any different. Bad things happen to good people. But the good always wins out in the end. Someone once said, "Everything will be all right in the end. If it's not all right, it's not the end."

We are assured that one day, there will be no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). We will have forgotten all of our sadness at the first sight of God's glory and wonder.

Let us let Him make us fruitful in our affliction. Ephraim. Let us let Him make us forget pain and sorrow. Manasseh.

But he who loves God has no need of tears, no need of admiration, in his love he forgets his suffering, yea, so completely has he forgotten it that afterwards there would not even be the least inkling of his pain if God Himself did not recall it.

-- Soren Kierkegaard 

Cielo

I started off being unable to be in the same room as Phil Wickham's music. To tell you the truth, I just don't know why I detested it so much. The only logical answer I can come up with is that my heart had been hardened to Christian music. I didn't warm up to it until April/May of this year, when I re-encountered God. Then, I heard his 2009 song "Cielo" and instantly fell in love with the lyrics.

Instead of writing some ridiculously long dissection of the words... I'm just going to write my favorite lines and post the song. Maybe I'm the only one who feels connected to this song. Maybe I'm the only one who is in love with its true and happily heartbreaking lyrics. But, for me, would you give it a try?

I can't sing loud enough, I can't sing loud enough,

When I'm singing for You, my God ...

I can't bow low enough, I can't bow low enough,

At the vision of You, my God ...

I can't lift my hands high enough, lift my hands high enough,

When I'm reaching for You, my God ...

If you like the song, click here to purchase the mp3 album that it comes from. Also, while you're there... just buy everything by Phil Wickham, alright?

Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.

 ~ 1 Chronicles 29:13-14 (NKJV)

What's in a name?

Well? What is in a name, anyways? Again I find myself writing about an apparently common and simple concept, extrapolating on what it really is, trying to find the true and hidden meaning. It seems like that's kind of what I do. But then again--how can we even dream of understanding complex thoughts and deep sciences when we barely comprehend the most seemingly obvious ideas? Before we can get to the top, we must realize that we have to begin at the bottom.

At the foundation of our worldly identities lies one thing, and one thing alone: our names. (Or, Social Security numbers. You pick.) We are sorted out, for the entirety of our lives, by our name. And then by our age, gender, etc. But wherever we go, we must have some form of a name, even if it is merely "Anonymous". No matter who we are, we all have a name, even if all we can claim is "Nameless". 

So this song doesn't really have all that much to do with what I'm writing about, but I love Jim Croce's music, and the title seemed fitting. But anyways...

The most glorious, wondrous of all names is that of the Lamb: Jesus. In this one name lies an infinite amount of power. In that name alone is the wealth of spirituality, the essence of beauty, the intention of creation, the thought of salvation, the greatest love there ever was. And the list doesn't stop there. I could literally go on for hours about all of the qualities of His name.

But His name is much more than a slew of attributes. It is "power, breath and living water" (Lyrics from "Revelation Song", one of my all time favorites.) His name, His name, His name.

I know what I wish to say about His name. There are two things about it that I want to cover. But I don't know how to communicate it well enough so that you understand what power is bestowed unto us by use of His name. Words are so powerful and impactful. Every time we speak, we are either forecasting life, or we are proclaiming death. On the day of judgment, we will give account of every word we have ever spoken. Every word.

The Bible places emphasis on hopeful and joyous outlooks. Naturally, positive words flow from this. And when one realizes that their words hold the key to life and death themselves, one will scale back on the negative and pursue words of life. One's life will begin to change in amazing ways.

Prophecy, one of many spiritual gifts, deals heavily with words. When somebody prophesies, they are speaking the future. If someone has been divinely gifted with prophecy, their words will be God-inspired, God-breathed, and what they say--or rather, what they allow God to say through them--will eventually come to pass. But, again, this isn't what I was trying to get at as my main point.

But in order to receive the gift of prophecy... one must be Spirit-filled. And how do we get Spirit-filled? By receiving the gift of salvation, which comes from calling on the name of Jesus. The ability to call upon His name, to even use it at all is such an overwhelmingly gracious gift. God allowed His people in the early days to use His name, with only one rule governing it:

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 

~ Deuteronomy 5:11 (NKJV)

God understands the capacity of His name. It is because He loves His people that He warns them to not misuse His name. Why? It's explained in the New Testament.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

~ Mark 16:17-18 (KJV)

Meditate upon that. Realize what you have just read. This reminds me of one of my all-time favorite movies, The Prince of Egypt, and one of the songs contained therein:

There can be miracles when you believe...

And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing. 

~ Luke 9:1-2 (NASB)

If you're a follower of Christ, He has granted you power and authority over all demons. In His name, we have more power than it is even possible for our small human minds to merely fathom. If we command something to be done in the name of Jesus, and it lines up with God's will, it will happen. 

“… If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” 

~ Acts 5:38-39 (NIV)

Nuff said.