Paying our bills, carrying out our financial responsibilities is part of our duty as responsible adults.
The ability to stay on top of financial responsibilities has a lot to do with our personal economy.
We don't live in a perfect world, situations are not always perfect, people are not perfect, evil exists in our world and the world and its systems and platforms are not level playing fields.
For these reasons people can sometimes find themselves in situations and circumstances that are less than perfect.
There are times when people's personal economy cannot meet up with their financial responsibilities.
During such times we need a plan, a strategy, direction, or instruction to get out of the murky waters of financial stress or debt.
The Lord Jesus Christ found Himself in a situation where He didn't have money with Him and He and Peter his disciple had to pay temple tax.
Jesus knew what to do not to pay temple tax,
He could have exempted Himself from it, but He didn't.
We learn from Him in this Biblical story that there is always a way out of every difficult or tricky situation.
We see from the actions of Jesus, that we don't have to run away from our financial responsibilities.
We see from the story how Jesus overcame the situation, we learn from the situation that as long as God's power exists, it can be brought into our daily lives and responsibilities; even our financial needs.
Rather than exempting Himself from paying council tax, He gave Peter an instruction that brought about the provision for them to pay their council tax.
God's power always follows God's instructions!
The power of God had gone ahead of Peter to creatively make the money (gold coin) available from the moment Jesus gave Peter the instruction.
We need to locate God's instructions for our lives!
Instant miracles still happen.
Creative miracles are real.
Supernatural provision still shows up from unexpected sources!
Peter went to the river as he had been instructed by Jesus, he cast his fishing equipment into the water and the first fish he caught was pulled up, he looked in its mouth and found a golden coin in there!
It happened exactly as he had been told by Jesus!
The coin was used to pay temple tax for him and Jesus!
That was a miraculous provision indeed!
There are times people find themselves in need of a miracle.
There may be days people need miraculous provisions from the Lord to pay bills, fulfill pledges, manifest dreams, carry out promises, and to make good on vows.
Supernatural supplies and miraculous provisions can occur by God's power.
When God's power is involved in a matter miracles happen!
When God's power is brought into a situation or circumstance that's not favorable and difficult, the negative situations and circumstances change for the better, solutions come forth and provision manifests!
There is no direct connection between a fish which is an aquatic animal and a gold coin which is a precious metal and used as a legal tender on land.
Treasures of darkness are treasures that are out of human sight, hidden in things and places men could not imagine they would be in.
The gold in the mouth of the fish was a treasure of darkness, hidden away from plain sight but located by God's direction.
In obeying Jesus, Peter went for gold.
In obeying Jesus Peter made a profit.
In obeying Jesus Peter received gold!
In following Jesus's instruction Peter uncovered a treasure of darkness.
Sometimes our blessings are in the most unusual places and we need to be led by the Lord to where they are.
Peter finding gold in the fish's mouth would not have happened without direction.
There are different views about the kind of legal tender found in that fish's mouth.
Some scripture translations read that its a silver coin that was in the fish's mouth.
Some translations read that its money that was found in the fish's mouth.
Other translations say it was the four-drachma coin which is just enough to pay the temple tax for two people that Peter found in the mouth of the fish.
The bottom line is that Peter found legal tender to pay a bill he and Jesus needed to pay.
I've chosen to stick with the Smith's Literal translation which informs its gold that was in the fish's mouth.
There are times miracles are needed to avert embarrassment or shame.
When Jesus performed what was recorded as His first miracle, it was at a marriage in Cana of Galilee and He worked that miracle to avert shame for the bridegroom.
He turned water to wine.
When He saw to it that Peter received gold to pay their bills, He did it to avert a financial embarrassment for Peter and Himself.
Nothing can mock the power of God, shame and lack does not occur around God's power.
When we find ourselves in shameful, hard and embarrassing situations, it is an opportunity to receive the miracle of God and see His power at work!
I once heard a wise preacher say "God performs miracles on the platform of difficulties"
He is right.
I believe in miracles, I believe in miracle provision. I believe God still performs miracles even today.
What about you?
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