{Matthew 9:5 NKJV}
For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? Which is easier? Jesus posed this question after a scribe accused Him of blasphemy, a crime which was punishable by death according to the Law of Moses. Of course it is easier to say your sins are forgiven. For how can anyone say of another that his or her sins have actually been forgiven? How can we know for sure that even our own sins have been forgiven? We believe they have by faith; the faith we have in God and His word. When Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven He was taking on the authority of God. For only God has the authority and the right to forgive sin. We can forgive trespasses against each other but we cannot forgive others trespasses against God! We have no right to give absolution of someone else’s sin regardless of who we are in Christ. We do have the authority given to us by Jesus to preach Gods word and tell others that HE can and will forgive them. Jesus proved that day that He really does have the authority to forgive sin. When He told the man to arise and walk the people knew immediately that only God could do that. A teacher of the Law, Nicodemus, would make the statement; “We know You are from God for no one could do the works You do unless God was WITH him.” Forgiveness of sin takes place in the heart, out of sight of man. Physical healing is done right in front of our eyes. Because someone is not healed physically does not mean their sins have not been forgiven and because someone is healed physically does mean their sins have been forgiven. Even before Jesus died on the Cross that our sins may be forgiven He forgave this man. He could do that because He knew the Cross was ahead of Him. If you need your sins forgiven then come to Christ and ask Him. He will say to you just as He said to that man; “Arise and walk.” Arise and walk in your new life! Your sins have been forgiven! I say that not on my authority, but on the Authority of the Almighty God. We walk by faith, not by sight.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
He Is Willing
“I am willing; be cleansed.” [Matthew 8:3 NKJV]
I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. You have heard that before haven’t you? I am not sure where it originated from but if that idiom existed in the Aramaic language I am sure people were saying it about lepers. They were the outcasts of society. People believed that if you were stricken with leprosy you had done something awful and God was punishing you for it as He had been known to do. What if we took that same way of thinking and applied it to cancer? All who have it did something that caused God to put it on them. No, sin brought disease upon the body and God did not bring sin into the world. As a society we do not avoid those with cancer but do our best to treat them. As Christians many of us lay hands on them, anoint them with oil, and pray for them. We certainly do not marginalize them as outcasts. Jesus changed their way of thinking by healing lepers. I can imagine someone in the crowd saying, “He touched him! He touched him! He touched that leper!”
It was not the physical ailments Jesus was so much concerned with because He knew the body would die anyway at some point. He healed their physical bodies so their suffering would be eliminated. He demonstrated His power over disease that we may know He has power over sin. We can define uncleanness several ways but the way God defines it has to do with our spiritual condition. A diseased soul is much worse than a diseased body. The body eventually dies; the soul never will. Our lesson is not to marginalize the sin laden souls but rather to embrace them and allow Jesus to touch them through us. What an honor to have someone say of you, “Look, look, he is talking to a sinner!” Look, look, she is praying for that drug addict!” Remember Jesus touched us when we were unclean and He is still willing to cleanse others!
I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. You have heard that before haven’t you? I am not sure where it originated from but if that idiom existed in the Aramaic language I am sure people were saying it about lepers. They were the outcasts of society. People believed that if you were stricken with leprosy you had done something awful and God was punishing you for it as He had been known to do. What if we took that same way of thinking and applied it to cancer? All who have it did something that caused God to put it on them. No, sin brought disease upon the body and God did not bring sin into the world. As a society we do not avoid those with cancer but do our best to treat them. As Christians many of us lay hands on them, anoint them with oil, and pray for them. We certainly do not marginalize them as outcasts. Jesus changed their way of thinking by healing lepers. I can imagine someone in the crowd saying, “He touched him! He touched him! He touched that leper!”
It was not the physical ailments Jesus was so much concerned with because He knew the body would die anyway at some point. He healed their physical bodies so their suffering would be eliminated. He demonstrated His power over disease that we may know He has power over sin. We can define uncleanness several ways but the way God defines it has to do with our spiritual condition. A diseased soul is much worse than a diseased body. The body eventually dies; the soul never will. Our lesson is not to marginalize the sin laden souls but rather to embrace them and allow Jesus to touch them through us. What an honor to have someone say of you, “Look, look, he is talking to a sinner!” Look, look, she is praying for that drug addict!” Remember Jesus touched us when we were unclean and He is still willing to cleanse others!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Hope Raised
A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. ~ Luke 7:12 (NCV)
No one actually knows what happened to her husband, except the Lord of course. She may have married at a young age and life was fulfilling for her. When she became pregnant and gave birth to her only child, a little boy, it seemed that God had blessed them. Maybe it was an accident or an illness; we do not know what it was that took the life of her husband. As a woman without a man in a society that had no social services or government funded security, she was left to feed herself and her son the best she could. The Apostle Paul put it plainly how it worked; “If you do not work, you do not eat.” The boy was her only family. Apparently her husband had no brothers. Her son was her provider. Women could not do public work in that day in that society. When he died her whole world died with him. No income, no family, no inheritance, no hope. Can you understand now why Jesus raised him?
God set this up. The woman and her husband had no idea that their marriage and their son were orchestrated by God. Before He created the boy in the womb God had this day planned. The grief she must have endured at losing her husband and now her son. God wanted the world to see His power, His compassion, and His ability to fix that which seems impossible to fix. Her grief was replaced with joy as death was rebuked and life was restored. That is what God does: He gives joy for sadness.
I do not know what your last straw was. I do not know what has happened that has caused you to think all hope is gone. I do know this though; Christ came to give us life; more than we need! Just as He fixed the widow’s situation He will fix yours. Go to Him. Take your dying hope with you and let Him touch it. The hope you thought was dead will be resurrected! New life breathed into a dying situation by the Giver of Life Himself. Why? Because He loves you and will use you just as He did that family in order that the world may know He is still the Almighty God.
No one actually knows what happened to her husband, except the Lord of course. She may have married at a young age and life was fulfilling for her. When she became pregnant and gave birth to her only child, a little boy, it seemed that God had blessed them. Maybe it was an accident or an illness; we do not know what it was that took the life of her husband. As a woman without a man in a society that had no social services or government funded security, she was left to feed herself and her son the best she could. The Apostle Paul put it plainly how it worked; “If you do not work, you do not eat.” The boy was her only family. Apparently her husband had no brothers. Her son was her provider. Women could not do public work in that day in that society. When he died her whole world died with him. No income, no family, no inheritance, no hope. Can you understand now why Jesus raised him?
God set this up. The woman and her husband had no idea that their marriage and their son were orchestrated by God. Before He created the boy in the womb God had this day planned. The grief she must have endured at losing her husband and now her son. God wanted the world to see His power, His compassion, and His ability to fix that which seems impossible to fix. Her grief was replaced with joy as death was rebuked and life was restored. That is what God does: He gives joy for sadness.
I do not know what your last straw was. I do not know what has happened that has caused you to think all hope is gone. I do know this though; Christ came to give us life; more than we need! Just as He fixed the widow’s situation He will fix yours. Go to Him. Take your dying hope with you and let Him touch it. The hope you thought was dead will be resurrected! New life breathed into a dying situation by the Giver of Life Himself. Why? Because He loves you and will use you just as He did that family in order that the world may know He is still the Almighty God.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Now Where Is That Tree?
And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. ~ Luke 19:4 KJV
He was just a regular Joe; grew up in a neighborhood full of kids. One thing he did notice however that separated him from his playmates. He was vertically challenged. He was usually the last to be picked when they chose team players. He worked extra hard at being good at everything he did as though he had something to prove to others. He endured all the jokes as he grew into adolescence. Names like “half pint” and “shorty” plagued him at social gatherings. Very few girls were interested in him seeing that he was not tall, dark and handsome. He made it through college and became an accountant. Passing through the market place one day he saw a sign advertising for an IRS agent. No respectable Jew would ever work for the Roman government. The money was tempting in that after collecting the usual tariff he could pocket the rest of it. He finally found a way to get back at all those who had ridiculed him about his stature; now they would pay. For some reason this revenge was not as sweet as he hoped. Although he had more money than most of his fellow citizens he lacked friends. He was not really happy with his life. As the crowd noise arose in the street he knew this man they called Jesus was coming by. He had heard about Him and His kindness toward underdogs. He needed an advantage that day and God had provided it; a tree with limbs close to the ground that he could reach. He found a perch above the crowd and fixed his eyes on the One in front. The Nazarene paused and looked up at the little man perched on a limb like a starling. “Zacchaeus, take Me home for lunch.” Someone finally called him by his proper name. The talk about Jesus was true! He really did care about people; regardless of their height or their reputations. The Grinch’s heart was changed when acknowledged by the King of Kings. His life was changed that day. Forgiveness permeated the greedy spirit and the Spirit of the Lord infiltrated his very soul. He would make it up to those he had cheated; a total one hundred eighty degree change in direction. He never grew an inch physically or biologically on account of that encounter but now he had a chance at new growth; a rebirth you could say.
Feel like an underdog? Think you are lower than the dirt on your shoes? Look for that tree. The one God has placed in your path so you can climb up and make contact with underdogs Champion of Heaven!
He was just a regular Joe; grew up in a neighborhood full of kids. One thing he did notice however that separated him from his playmates. He was vertically challenged. He was usually the last to be picked when they chose team players. He worked extra hard at being good at everything he did as though he had something to prove to others. He endured all the jokes as he grew into adolescence. Names like “half pint” and “shorty” plagued him at social gatherings. Very few girls were interested in him seeing that he was not tall, dark and handsome. He made it through college and became an accountant. Passing through the market place one day he saw a sign advertising for an IRS agent. No respectable Jew would ever work for the Roman government. The money was tempting in that after collecting the usual tariff he could pocket the rest of it. He finally found a way to get back at all those who had ridiculed him about his stature; now they would pay. For some reason this revenge was not as sweet as he hoped. Although he had more money than most of his fellow citizens he lacked friends. He was not really happy with his life. As the crowd noise arose in the street he knew this man they called Jesus was coming by. He had heard about Him and His kindness toward underdogs. He needed an advantage that day and God had provided it; a tree with limbs close to the ground that he could reach. He found a perch above the crowd and fixed his eyes on the One in front. The Nazarene paused and looked up at the little man perched on a limb like a starling. “Zacchaeus, take Me home for lunch.” Someone finally called him by his proper name. The talk about Jesus was true! He really did care about people; regardless of their height or their reputations. The Grinch’s heart was changed when acknowledged by the King of Kings. His life was changed that day. Forgiveness permeated the greedy spirit and the Spirit of the Lord infiltrated his very soul. He would make it up to those he had cheated; a total one hundred eighty degree change in direction. He never grew an inch physically or biologically on account of that encounter but now he had a chance at new growth; a rebirth you could say.
Feel like an underdog? Think you are lower than the dirt on your shoes? Look for that tree. The one God has placed in your path so you can climb up and make contact with underdogs Champion of Heaven!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead.
6) No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. 7) It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. [Psalm 75 NIV]
Osama is dead. That’s the first news I heard this morning. The networks were showing people all around the nation celebrating his demise from Ground Zero to baseball stadiums to college campuses; people cheering, singing God Bless America and the National Anthem. It seems that revenge has been gotten upon the 911 mastermind. It would be wonderful if we could now say that all is well in the world. The head terrorist is dead. Ding dong the witch is dead they sang in Oz. However their celebration did not last long until another, more evil witch showed up. Already people are now starting to wonder what type of retaliation will be carried out. What will his followers do to get even with us now. Who will they target to get revenge? It seems it never ends does it?
As I watched the celebrations I wondered how many, if any, of those cheering had any idea of how this may play into Gods plan for America and the world. I wondered if they really cared. Have they ever given a second thought to how this fits into prophecy? I wondered if any of them thought in their hearts, “God is up to something.” Maybe many of them did; and maybe many of them did not. You my friend are one of the blessed ones. You know God is up to something and you care about what He is up to. You understand that the killing of a man can change history. You know firsthand how the death of a leader can effect generations. You know about Jesus. You know about the cheering crowds the day He was killed. What you know now, the crowds that day did not know; that He would not stay dead! When Jesus was put to death the opposition thought they had won. They believed that this rebel rouser would not be a thorn in their flesh any longer. They rejoiced because the blasphemer had been crucified for His crime against God; claiming to be His Son.
Bin Laden will not rise from his grave. His followers will continue to carry out his mission for him. They will do things in his name but they will do it without his help. His death will not bring peace to the world. Revenge may be sweet for a while but it will not put an end to hatred. Only the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will put an end to hate forever. The Bin Ladens’ of the world will never be able to do it. We are just one nation under God; He is over all the nations. He rules whether we realize it or not. His will shall be done on Earth as it is in heaven. If you are not following Jesus I highly recommend that you start now. You may be glad that Bin Laden has finally been killed but more importantly; be glad that Jesus is alive! He is the only One that can save you.
Osama is dead. That’s the first news I heard this morning. The networks were showing people all around the nation celebrating his demise from Ground Zero to baseball stadiums to college campuses; people cheering, singing God Bless America and the National Anthem. It seems that revenge has been gotten upon the 911 mastermind. It would be wonderful if we could now say that all is well in the world. The head terrorist is dead. Ding dong the witch is dead they sang in Oz. However their celebration did not last long until another, more evil witch showed up. Already people are now starting to wonder what type of retaliation will be carried out. What will his followers do to get even with us now. Who will they target to get revenge? It seems it never ends does it?
As I watched the celebrations I wondered how many, if any, of those cheering had any idea of how this may play into Gods plan for America and the world. I wondered if they really cared. Have they ever given a second thought to how this fits into prophecy? I wondered if any of them thought in their hearts, “God is up to something.” Maybe many of them did; and maybe many of them did not. You my friend are one of the blessed ones. You know God is up to something and you care about what He is up to. You understand that the killing of a man can change history. You know firsthand how the death of a leader can effect generations. You know about Jesus. You know about the cheering crowds the day He was killed. What you know now, the crowds that day did not know; that He would not stay dead! When Jesus was put to death the opposition thought they had won. They believed that this rebel rouser would not be a thorn in their flesh any longer. They rejoiced because the blasphemer had been crucified for His crime against God; claiming to be His Son.
Bin Laden will not rise from his grave. His followers will continue to carry out his mission for him. They will do things in his name but they will do it without his help. His death will not bring peace to the world. Revenge may be sweet for a while but it will not put an end to hatred. Only the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will put an end to hate forever. The Bin Ladens’ of the world will never be able to do it. We are just one nation under God; He is over all the nations. He rules whether we realize it or not. His will shall be done on Earth as it is in heaven. If you are not following Jesus I highly recommend that you start now. You may be glad that Bin Laden has finally been killed but more importantly; be glad that Jesus is alive! He is the only One that can save you.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Back To Life: for us.
“Children, have you any food?” [John 21:5 NKJV]
Here we are the Monday after Easter. Many of you are back to work and some may be enjoying an extended break. Life gets back to the normal hum drum of work, family and day to day chores. The excitement of yesterday’s celebration still lingers in our memories. The music, the dramas, the sunrise service; the breakfast! To be blunt that Sunday celebration of the rising of Christ should not cause us to be anymore excited that day than we are any other day. It is just human nature to live in the moment. We are no different than the first followers. We do not have a lot of detailed information about what happened the Monday after Jesus arose. We do pick up from John that eight days later Thomas got his wish. Now we see sometime after that the disciples are obeying the Lord and waiting in Galilee for Him to meet them again. Some think Peter decided to give up on ever being restored by Jesus and went back to his day job. After all we do not know for sure how long they had been there waiting on Him. I on the other hand think different. Listen carefully to what Jesus asked them while they were in the boat. “Are you still hungry?” I arrive at this conclusion because He fixed them breakfast. I do not think this was a commercial fishing trip or one just for fun; but to catch something to eat. It is interesting that they did not know it was Him at first. They expected Him to meet them on the Mount of Olives or perhaps in an undisclosed location while behind locked doors while hiding from the Jewish leaders, but here He is; in all His Glory! Still doing what He always has and always will for His followers: feeding them.
The resurrection changed the body of Jesus from one that was destroyed for sacrifice to a body that was equipped to serve once again. His appearance may have changed but His mission had not! He reaffirmed that mission to Peter by first taking care of his empty gut and then feeding his starving soul. I can picture Peter lying on his side in the grass picking his teeth with a fishbone when Jesus asks; “Do you love Me Peter?” I think that Peter was wondering if Jesus still loved him after his denial. Jesus makes it clear that He never stopped loving Peter.
You may be wondering today, this day after Easter, if Jesus still loves you. I assure you; He does. He always has and He always will. The question is: do you love Him? Do you love Him enough to come to Him to be fed?
Here we are the Monday after Easter. Many of you are back to work and some may be enjoying an extended break. Life gets back to the normal hum drum of work, family and day to day chores. The excitement of yesterday’s celebration still lingers in our memories. The music, the dramas, the sunrise service; the breakfast! To be blunt that Sunday celebration of the rising of Christ should not cause us to be anymore excited that day than we are any other day. It is just human nature to live in the moment. We are no different than the first followers. We do not have a lot of detailed information about what happened the Monday after Jesus arose. We do pick up from John that eight days later Thomas got his wish. Now we see sometime after that the disciples are obeying the Lord and waiting in Galilee for Him to meet them again. Some think Peter decided to give up on ever being restored by Jesus and went back to his day job. After all we do not know for sure how long they had been there waiting on Him. I on the other hand think different. Listen carefully to what Jesus asked them while they were in the boat. “Are you still hungry?” I arrive at this conclusion because He fixed them breakfast. I do not think this was a commercial fishing trip or one just for fun; but to catch something to eat. It is interesting that they did not know it was Him at first. They expected Him to meet them on the Mount of Olives or perhaps in an undisclosed location while behind locked doors while hiding from the Jewish leaders, but here He is; in all His Glory! Still doing what He always has and always will for His followers: feeding them.
The resurrection changed the body of Jesus from one that was destroyed for sacrifice to a body that was equipped to serve once again. His appearance may have changed but His mission had not! He reaffirmed that mission to Peter by first taking care of his empty gut and then feeding his starving soul. I can picture Peter lying on his side in the grass picking his teeth with a fishbone when Jesus asks; “Do you love Me Peter?” I think that Peter was wondering if Jesus still loved him after his denial. Jesus makes it clear that He never stopped loving Peter.
You may be wondering today, this day after Easter, if Jesus still loves you. I assure you; He does. He always has and He always will. The question is: do you love Him? Do you love Him enough to come to Him to be fed?
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dateline: Tuesday, Nisan 13, A.D. 33. City of Jerusalem
John 12 (NLT)
34 The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”
Dateline Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nisan 13, A.D. 33. (Jewish Press). We are in the crowd as this fellow from Nazareth, after entering the city a few days ago being welcomed as the one who would deliver Israel from Roman oppression and Pharisaical rule, has just announced that the thunder we just heard was actually a voice from heaven. For the past three years He has been going about the nation performing miraculous signs and saying that He is not only speaking for God as a prophet, but that He is the Christos, the anointed One of God; the Messiah. All of this being hard to believe about Him and especially now when He has said that He must die. We know from the Scriptures that the Messiah will never die, but will reign forever as Gods chosen ruler, so how can this Man, known as Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a carpenter conceived out of wedlock, possibly say He is the Messiah; and who is this “Son of Man” He talks about? Just as He is known to do, He leaves us with these sayings of His and disappears! Our Rabbis and teachers cannot figure it out; they say He is a blasphemer and a lunatic. However they cannot explain His miracles. One of them, Nicodemus, has said that “He (Jesus) has to be from God in order to do all these works.” The controversy is stirring the crowds as many believe He is the Messiah while others think He is nothing more than a zealot making up His own rules as He goes. We cannot get any pertinent information from His disciples, His followers, mostly comprised of public servants and unlearned fishermen, who seem to have no idea of what He is talking about but follow Him anyway. Word on the street has it that after He turned the temple upside down on Monday, running all the workers and vendors out and calling them all a bunch of “crooks” that the Pharisees and some others were plotting to have Him assassinated. I would not be surprised with all the turmoil surrounding Him if one of those close to Him would carry it out!
As of press time this evening we had still not been able to reach Him for any further comments. With preparations being made citywide for the celebration of Passover coming up I am sure He is still in the area and will no doubt show Himself at the most opportune time to get the most attention from the crowd once again. If He is not careful He may end up being charged with the crime of blasphemy by our leaders which may lead to imprisonment or even death; if the Romans feel He is a threat. Jesus of Nazareth; the Messiah, or a zealous, itinerant preacher trying to form a religion? Only time will tell.
34 The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”
Dateline Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nisan 13, A.D. 33. (Jewish Press). We are in the crowd as this fellow from Nazareth, after entering the city a few days ago being welcomed as the one who would deliver Israel from Roman oppression and Pharisaical rule, has just announced that the thunder we just heard was actually a voice from heaven. For the past three years He has been going about the nation performing miraculous signs and saying that He is not only speaking for God as a prophet, but that He is the Christos, the anointed One of God; the Messiah. All of this being hard to believe about Him and especially now when He has said that He must die. We know from the Scriptures that the Messiah will never die, but will reign forever as Gods chosen ruler, so how can this Man, known as Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a carpenter conceived out of wedlock, possibly say He is the Messiah; and who is this “Son of Man” He talks about? Just as He is known to do, He leaves us with these sayings of His and disappears! Our Rabbis and teachers cannot figure it out; they say He is a blasphemer and a lunatic. However they cannot explain His miracles. One of them, Nicodemus, has said that “He (Jesus) has to be from God in order to do all these works.” The controversy is stirring the crowds as many believe He is the Messiah while others think He is nothing more than a zealot making up His own rules as He goes. We cannot get any pertinent information from His disciples, His followers, mostly comprised of public servants and unlearned fishermen, who seem to have no idea of what He is talking about but follow Him anyway. Word on the street has it that after He turned the temple upside down on Monday, running all the workers and vendors out and calling them all a bunch of “crooks” that the Pharisees and some others were plotting to have Him assassinated. I would not be surprised with all the turmoil surrounding Him if one of those close to Him would carry it out!
As of press time this evening we had still not been able to reach Him for any further comments. With preparations being made citywide for the celebration of Passover coming up I am sure He is still in the area and will no doubt show Himself at the most opportune time to get the most attention from the crowd once again. If He is not careful He may end up being charged with the crime of blasphemy by our leaders which may lead to imprisonment or even death; if the Romans feel He is a threat. Jesus of Nazareth; the Messiah, or a zealous, itinerant preacher trying to form a religion? Only time will tell.
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