July 07, 2012
Jesus heals the paralyzed man.
The house is packed and there is no way to get in. But Jesus, who was going about healing the sick, was inside and the paralyzed man and his friends were stuck outside. What to do? They were desperate for healing and they knew Jesus was the healer. Their response was what our response should be: DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET TO JESUS!
They went up on the roof and lowered their friend down to where Jesus was. Jesus told him, "Young man, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees of course are upset. Who does Jesus think He is? Words are cheap! Anyone could say that! Jesus, knowing what they are thinking says, "Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man 'your sins are forgiven', or to tell him, 'stand up. Take up your mat and walk?' But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (Mark 2:9–10) So Jesus told the man to stand up and go home, which he immediately did. Jesus' outwardly performed miracles so people would believe He had the authority and capability of performing the most important healing of all—forgiveness of sins.
Do whatever it takes to get to Jesus. Believe. Obey. Surrender ALL. You can't add Jesus to your life in addition to holding on and keeping the old things. (Exodus 20:23) It doesn't work. What ends up happening is the old resurfaces and takes over and the new life is lost. Do whatever it takes to get to Jesus. Believe. Obey. Surrender ALL.
Jesus knows. He knows the hearts, motives, and thoughts of people. The seemingly "religious" who were actually "religious unbelievers" were cynical, suspicious, accusatory, envious, jealous—and unbelieving. Yet the evil spirits recognized who Jesus was immediately! They fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God." The religious unbelievers did everything in their power to prove Jesus wasn't the Son of God while the evil spirits knew immediately He was indeed the Son of God. Oh, how dangerous it is to be a "religious" unbeliever. Jesus knows. We may try to dress up the outside so we can fool people (and ourselves) about who we really are. We can learn the words to say and how to act, but eventually the truth comes out. But even if it doesn't—Jesus knows! He knows our hearts. He knows our thoughts.
You may be able to fool some people some of the time. You may even be able to fool everyone all the time. But at NO time will you fool Jesus.
Next Entry: The New Beginning: Where and How it Began
Jesus heals the paralyzed man.
The house is packed and there is no way to get in. But Jesus, who was going about healing the sick, was inside and the paralyzed man and his friends were stuck outside. What to do? They were desperate for healing and they knew Jesus was the healer. Their response was what our response should be: DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET TO JESUS!
Do whatever it takes to get to Jesus. Believe. Obey. Surrender ALL. You can't add Jesus to your life in addition to holding on and keeping the old things. (Exodus 20:23) It doesn't work. What ends up happening is the old resurfaces and takes over and the new life is lost. Do whatever it takes to get to Jesus. Believe. Obey. Surrender ALL.
Jesus knows. He knows the hearts, motives, and thoughts of people. The seemingly "religious" who were actually "religious unbelievers" were cynical, suspicious, accusatory, envious, jealous—and unbelieving. Yet the evil spirits recognized who Jesus was immediately! They fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God." The religious unbelievers did everything in their power to prove Jesus wasn't the Son of God while the evil spirits knew immediately He was indeed the Son of God. Oh, how dangerous it is to be a "religious" unbeliever. Jesus knows. We may try to dress up the outside so we can fool people (and ourselves) about who we really are. We can learn the words to say and how to act, but eventually the truth comes out. But even if it doesn't—Jesus knows! He knows our hearts. He knows our thoughts.
You may be able to fool some people some of the time. You may even be able to fool everyone all the time. But at NO time will you fool Jesus.
Next Entry: The New Beginning: Where and How it Began
No comments:
Post a Comment