A Heart Of Thanks: Refuses To Forget

Most people are quick to forget where the blessings come from.

 

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 

17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you. ”

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You heard about a man that has the power to change your life, and then you learn that he is coming to town, you and your companions are skeptical that he would ever come anywhere close to you. 

But then sure enough you and your friends all cry out for healing and he responds, all ten of you get what you asked for but not in the same way that you have heard about, this time he doesn't heal until the are on their way.

Your dream of being healed has come true for you but also for the other nine. Which leper are you? 

Do you think the other lepers remained healed? If so, what was the benefit or blessing for the one leper who returned to give thanks?

Does living with a heart of thanks make a difference in your life?

So many people chose to use Jesus for what he could do to improve their lives. We see very few people in the New Testament that show us the kind of thankfulness that the one leper displayed.

I have been blessed beyond measure, it is way too easy to be in the crowd with the nine lepers, I have been healed from the leprosy of sin. I need to stop and remember to give God thanks for what he has done and what he is still doing in my life.

Thank you Lord for healing me and bringing me to life!

The Good Physician - John Newton

How lost was my condition, Till Jesus made me whole!

How lost was my condition

Till Jesus made me whole!

There is but one physician

Can cure a sin-sick soul

Next door to death he found me,

And snatched me from the grave,

To tell all around me

His wond'rous pow'r to save.

The worst of all diseases

Is light compared with sin;

On ev'ry part it seizes,

But rages most within;

'Tis palsy, plague, and fever,

And madness-all combined;

And none, but a believer,

The least relief can find.

From men, great skill professing,

I sought a cure to gain;

But this proved more distressing,

And added to my pain;

Some said that nothing ailed me,

Some gave me up for lost;

Thus ev'ry refuge failed me,

And all my hopes were crossed.

At length this great Physician,

How matchless is His grace!

Accepted my petition,

And undertook my case;

First, gave me sight to view him,

For sin my eyes had sealed-

Then bit me look unto Him;

I looked, and I was healed.

A dying, risen Jesus,

Seen by the eye of faith,

At once from danger frees us,

And saves the soul from death;

Come, then, to this Physician,

His help he'll freely give,

He makes no hard condition-

To Jesus look and live!

RELATED ARTICLES

Healer (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)
The Great Doctor (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

The Great Doctor

The only requirement for this healing is belief in the healer.

Isaiah 53:4-5  Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

5  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

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A pandemic of epic proportions has been raging throughout the ages. There are a lot of different reactions to it, most of us will deny the seriousness of it, a lot of people will attempt to use protective equipment, and others will claim that they have found some medicine that will make it all go away but the problem continues to get worse.

The fake news tries to give us hope but because the disease is hereditary, we are all suffering under this condition, so a mask and gown and social distancing isn't useful. This sickness isn't a virus or bacteria so man made medicine will never give you relief.

The healing that we need requires greater wisdom and power than the best trained doctors can provide. Their schooling and textbooks aren't adequate for this world wide condition that threatens civilization.

The world is desperate for a cure but they are prejudiced against the only source of hope that we have. There isn't any reason to allow the infection to continue, the suffering and death needs to stop, but the bias against this doctor is incredibly strong.

1 Peter 2:24  He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

Jesus is the great physician that can heal our greatest sickness and stop the devastating effects that sin has on our world. Doctor Jesus doesn't discriminate, he loves to make house calls to any neighborhood, he is willing to touch anybody and he works after hours.

He doesn't ask you to make promises to him or offer to change yourself, there isn't even a copay, it cost him everything but he takes great pleasure in giving it away.

Do you know the great doctor?

John 1:10-12 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

The only requirement for this healing is belief in the healer, but you don't need to believe without any evidence, his credentials are available in his best selling book. It is sad that so many people refuse to read his book and learn about him so they don't really know him.

Knowing about Jesus is very common but do you know Jesus? Has he healed you from the greatest sickness that you can possibly have? Find out more about Jesus.

Helpless sinners without hope have been given the ultimate hope, the powerful contagion called sin has lost its power, everyone that is healed will spend eternity with the healer.

RELATED ARTICLES

Recovering From The Disease Of Sin (desiringgod.org)

Healer

By his wounds you are healed.

Video: Healer from Elevation Church

Isaiah 53:1-6 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?

2 My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.  3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.

Hope And Glory

Jesus is the only one that can heal our land.

Hear our cry, Oh King of heaven 

Jesus hope to every heart 

We are lost, without Your glory 

We are lost, without you God 

Be the fire, that burns within us

Flames of love that purify

Send the power and Your salvation

Let us see Your kingdom come

Only You can move the mountain

Only You can heal our land

Chris alone our hope and glory

Chris alone in You we stand

Turn Your eyes and show us mercy

How we need Your Father’s love

Lead us home and out of darkness

With Your gospel burning bright

Only You can move the mountain

Only You can heal our land

Christ alone our hope and glory

Christ alone in You we stand

(Repeat)

We believe our God is mighty

We believe our God is here

We believe our King is coming

Christ alone in You we stand

Praise the Lord our God is mighty

Praise the Lord our God is here

Praise the Lord our King is coming

Christ alone in You we stand

The Light Of The World In Action

The Light of the World has left us here to be the light of the world while he is gone.

 

John 9:5-11  "While I am here in the world, I am the light of the world."   6  Then He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes.  7  He told him, "Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "sent").

So the man went and washed and came back seeing!  8  His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"  9  Some said he was, and others said, "No, he just looks like him!" But the beggar kept saying, "Yes, I am the same one!"

10  They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?"  11  He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.' So I went and washed, and now I can see!"

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God sent light into our world because we desperately needed it, we had the sun for physical sight on this planet but we were still in the dark spiritually. Just like this blind man, we had sunshine all around us but we couldn't see it, we need Jesus help to give us spiritual light.

This man had no hope of seeing the light, nobody ever healed a man that was born blind, and he didn't have any reason to believe that his situation was going to change. He lived everyday knowing that he would never see, he would always be a beggar, and he would always be stuck depending on others.

This man never knew the light of the sun so he couldn't know that the light of the world was on the way. He may have been physically blind but there must have been some amount of spiritual light that gave him the faith to follow Jesus instructions. He didn't have to obey and go to the pool, what if his faith in Jesus wasn't any better than the Pharisees?

John 9:15-16  The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, "He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!" Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus is not from God, for He is working on the Sabbath." Others said, "But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?" So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

Now what do you do with Jesus? The religious leaders are really in a bad way. There are too many witnesses to the fact that this man has been blind all of his life but now he can see. The fact that he is healed seems to be undeniable, at first they try and say he isn't the same man but that opinion was quickly shot down and now they need a new story.

What can we do with Jesus? He isn't the Messiah, the Messiah wouldn't break the Sabbath, he wouldn't tell us Pharisees how bad we are, but how can we deny his power? Maybe we can say that his power is from Satan. As God's number one creation, man will go to great lengths and create outrageous stories to deny God's glory. We will explain away what is so easy to accept when you aren't spiritually blind.

John 9:30-33  "Why, that's very strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where He comes from?  We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will.  Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.  If this man were not from God, He couldn't have done it."

Now what do you do with an ex-blind man? Someone that is pointing out the obvious about Jesus. Someone who just received physical sight has more spiritual sight than the religious leaders. They were sure that he was born in sin, a total sinner, how could he think that he is going to teach them anything (John 9:2, 34)

The simple logical reasoning of this guy couldn't be denied, he broke it down and made it plain, there wasn't any other explanation for the facts. No pressure from the Pharisees would make him change his mind, not after what he has just experienced, so they verbally attack him and expelled him from the synagogue.

John 9:38  "Yes, Lord, I believe!" the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

Jesus never left people wondering, he found the man and helped him understand, if they had mustard seed sized faith then he was going to water it and help it increase. There are a lot of different responses to Jesus but this man gets it right and responds in worship, he even does it right there in front of the Pharisees, he doesn't care what anybody thinks or what the consequences will be. Out of all of the people that were a part of this story there was only one that was worshiping.

Giver Of Light

2 Corinthians 4:4,6  Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

The "giver of darkness" has been defeated by the "giver of light." God said "Let there be light" and shortly after that Satan brought us back to the dark but that dark has been defeated by the Light of the World.

To those that believe in Jesus it is difficult to imagine standing right there in front of him and not having a clue about who he is. We look back and think how could they be so blind? The giver of light is right there in front of you. We need to remember that if they are blind then it doesn't matter how much light there is, there isn't any way to comprehend it, everything about the gospel will be foolishness to them. (1 Corinthians 1:18-19)

John 10:24-27  The people surrounded Him and asked, "How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly."  25  Jesus replied, "I have already told you, and you don't believe Me. The proof is the work I do in My Father's name.  26  But you don't believe Me because you are not My sheep.  27  My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

I was amazed when I did a search on Google for "giver of light." A lot of the search results had nothing to do with Jesus or the gospel, Satan knows that we want to live in the light so he has developed a lot of counterfeit sources of light.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

The Light of the World has left us here on this dark planet with a job to do, since Jesus our Savior has opened our blind eyes for God’s glory, we should work to point others to Him. Now it is our turn to be the giver of light, sure we are small candles compared to the true light of the world but as a community of believers we can shine very bright as we live for him and love like he did.

I need to remember that this world is blind, they live and behave like they do because they can see nothing better. I need to be the light and pray to Jesus that their eyes will be opened so that they will see the glory of God through my life. (Matthew 5:16)

Help me to be a light house for you in this dark world. Amen.

The Healer

By his wounds you are healed.

Video: Healer from Elevation Church

We are all infected and struggle to find relief, is there a vaccine, could there be a cure? I have found a cure that I would like to share with you.

Isaiah 53:2-5 There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole.He was whipped so we could be healed.

Jesus is our healer, he is the Great Physician, he came to cure our deepest wound, that awful disease called sin. There isn't any reason to allow the infection to continue, grace and forgiveness are the cure and they are completely free, no amount of money or good works are required. (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9)

While he was here on earth he healed a lot of sick and he brought dead people back to life but this was just a temporary fix. All of those touched by Jesus eventually got sick again and they eventually died but this healing that I am talking about is permanent. Jesus made a complete and permanent atonement for our sins, the only thing that we need to do is believe. (1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 10:10-12)

Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 

Jesus Christ, through the predetermined plan of God, was born of a virgin, died as the sacrifice for humanity, was resurrected to restore spiritual life. Helpless sinners without hope have been given the ultimate hope because we know that death is not the end and that we have eternity to spend with our healer.

All Because Of The Cross

Nothing but the blood of Jesus can heal our disease.

All Because Of The Cross - Paul Baloche

What can wash a- way my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus

For my pardon this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus
For my cleansing this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus

All because of the cross we are white as snow
All be- cause of what You've done
There's a cleansing flow for all who come
Lord, we come

This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus

All because of the cross we are white as snow
All be- cause of what You've done there's a cleansing flow
All because of the cross we are white as snow
All be- cause of what You've done
There's a cleansing flow for all who come

Lord, we come
Lord, we come
Lord, we come

Oh, the blood of Je- sus;
Oh, the blood of Je- sus
[Repeat]
Oh, the blood of Je- sus
Oh, the blood of Je- sus
On the cross, our sin erased
In Your death, our life was raised
On the cross, our sin erased
In Your death, our life was raised

All because of what You've done,

 There's a cleansing flow for all who come"

This Easter don't forget the sacrifice that was made to bring forgiveness to us all. That brutal rugged blood stained cross made me white as snow, I dare not forget the high price that was paid for my soul.

God Blesses More Than We Thank

One out of ten lepers appreciate Jesus

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

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Modern medicine has an effective treatment for leprosy but back in ancient civilizations it was greatly feared and those that were affected had to isolate themselves from society.

There were different methods that Jesus used when he healed somebody, in this situation he told the guys to go see the priest before they were actually healed. The Old Testament law said that they were to go to the priest after they were healed so that he could verify the healing and offer an animal sacrifice as part of a cleansing ritual. (Leviticus 14:1-32)

The ten left Jesus to go to see the priest and then on the way there they were healed. Out of ten that needed relief, there was only one that returned to Jesus and this one happened to be a Samaritan, the people that the Jews despised. The crowd must have groaned when Jesus pointed that out to them.

We can never thank God enough for his kindness

Psalm 95:6-9 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over,   the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The LORD says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did.

Ninety percent of the men healed that day did not acknowledge that God had blessed them and changed their lives. That statistic probably stands true for every generation that has ever lived. We do not acknowledge God's love and compassion for all of the blessings that we have been given. His chosen people took him for granted and we all do the same. Worship was the appropriate response to the touch of Jesus in his life, Luke's gospel says that the man fell at Jesus feet and said “Praise God!” How often do we remember to stop and run to Jesus feet?

Reasons why people forget God:

• Easy circumstances - Deuteronomy 6:10-12
• Idolatry - Judges 8:33-34
• Pride and stubbornness - Nehemiah 9:16

Consequences of people forgetting God:

• Spiritual adultery - Hosea 1:2
• Social decay - Hosea 4:1-3
• The destruction of the nation - Deuteronomy 8:19-20
• The death of the sinner - Psalm 9:17

God has healed me and provided for every need that I have ever had, he has blessed me a lot more than I have ever said "thank you." I need to remember that I was made to worship him and I have more than enough reasons to do so.

Thank you Lord for all of your blessing. From salvation from my sins to the awesome planet that you chose to create for my pleasure to the daily provisions that you have provided, there isn't anyway to adequately say thank you.

Faith That Is Amazing

Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion.

Luke 7:1-10  When He had concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

2 A centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die.

3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.

4 When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

6 Jesus went with them, and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Him, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. 7 That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured. 8 For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

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There was a slave that was about to die, this slave was loved by his master, very unusual considering the fact that his master is a Roman military officer. The centurion was desperately wanting to help when news about Jesus came to him, he heard that Jesus had the power and that his slave could be healed.

This particular centurion was not your normal centurion, first the scripture tells us that he loves his slave and then we learn that he had been very generous to the Jews. He asked for a favor from the religious leaders, the same leaders that didn't like Jesus, I wonder how they felt about that.

The Jews considered the centurion to be a good guy, good enough that Jesus should go and help him, Jesus didn't agree or disagree about the centurion's morality, he just went. The centurion on the other hand didn't feel like he was as worthy as the Jewish elders thought that he was, he was humble, he didn't even want to go to Jesus directly much less have him come to his home. Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion, he was impressed with his faith.

I need to have an amazing faith, wouldn't it be great to be known for your faith instead of the outward things that the world looks at.

Lord help me to grow in faith, trusting in your power over every circumstance.

You might like to read:
It's God's Decision To Heal  //  Believing The Impossible  //  Easy Faith And Great Faith

It's God's Decision To Heal

God knows more than I know, I will never understand everything he allows in my life.

Luke 5:12-15  While He was in one of the towns, a man was there who had a serious skin disease all over him. He saw Jesus, fell face-down, and begged Him:

“Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

13 Reaching out His hand, He touched him, saying, “I am willing; be made clean,” and immediately the disease left him.

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"Lord heal me right now!" That's the way we want it to be, we pray for instant relief so that we can get back to the highest level of comfort that we can possibly attain. That is part of our nature, we don't want to hurt, we don't like it, so we ask to be healed in hope that the suffering will be gone as soon as possible.

This man came to Jesus with a lot of respect, he asked Jesus to heal him but he did it in a non-demanding way knowing that Jesus might not do it, he acknowledged that Jesus had the power but he also knew that he couldn't force Jesus into action.

Too often we come to God with our list of goods and services that we want to have and we fail to remember that we are so small and we are so little in our thinking and we are talking to GOD. He wants to hear about our hurts and our needs but the truth is that he isn't always going to make us comfortable.

I must remember that suffering is going to happen until the Lord returns and makes all things new, that's when everything in creation will be restored to its glory that it had before sin entered the world. (Romans 8:18-30)

I thank you Lord for the hope that we have in you. Hope that looks beyond the pain and suffering of this world.

What Is Your Opinion?

Are you too blind to make the right choice?

scripture

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John 9:1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sins or his parents’ sins?” 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them. 17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” 20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” 25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” 27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” 28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 9 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.” 30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.” 34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” 41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

observation

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Where is my party?
Doesn’t anybody want to throw this guy a party? He has never been able to see anything for his entire lifetime and now the Pharisees are too intent on killing Jesus, they aren’t your typical party guest and the common people are too afraid of being harassed by the Pharisees, so they aren’t willing to loosen up and celebrate with this man either.

We don’t even know if this guy even asked to be healed, just like every other day of his life, probably the only thing he was asking for was for some money, which was his whole existence. And now because he was healed he is being harassed and being given a hard time for something he didn’t even ask for. His friends and neighbors (verse 8 – 12) give him a shake down and then they haul him over to see the Pharisees (verse 13).

“What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
This poor guy has never seen Jesus and at this point although he is healed he still hasn’t seen the man that healed him. The Pharisees have seen a lot more evidence to prove who Jesus is than this guy has ever seen, he knows that Jesus is not your ordinary average Joe so to the best of his ability he tells the Pharisees that he thinks that perhaps Jesus is a prophet (verse 17).

This guy is more perceptive about what happened here today than anyone else around him. “I was blind but now I can see, and there is something else that I know for sure, I know that Jesus could not have healed me if he were not from God” (verses 24 – 34). He has never met Jesus but it is obvious to him that Jesus is not an ordinary guy, he doesn’t know that this is the Messiah yet but he will find out real soon.

Now what’s your opinion about this man?
This seeker that had the ability to see spiritually is now able to see physically. It is only appropriate that Jesus should reveal himself to his man that has great spiritual insight. Now that he has met Jesus he knows that he is more than just a prophet, as soon as he is introduced to the Savior he immediately believes and worships Jesus, there is not any doubt in his mind that Jesus is the Messiah.

application

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Are we so busy being religious that we miss the point of what God is trying to do in our lives? Sometimes we can miss our Savior while we are busy doing church, is he working right in front of you and you are too blind to see him?

Everyone of us needs to see the Savior for who he really is and accept him as Lord and worship him.

prayer

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Thank you Lord for revealing yourself to us, I am so thankful that you have given me spiritual eyes that can see the truth about who you are.

Watch Out, Envy Will Sneak Up On You

SCRIPTURE

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Genesis 37:1 Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them. 3 Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him. 4 And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him.

12 Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers with the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14 And he said to him, Go now, and see if your brothers are well and how the flock is; then come back and give me word. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

19 Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer. 20 Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams. 21 But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. 22 Do not put him to a violent death, but let him be placed in one of the holes; this he said to keep him safe from their hands, with the purpose of taking him back to his father again.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on; 24 And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it. 25 Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels. 26 And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood? 27 Let us give him to these Ishmaelites for a price, and let us not put violent hands on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers gave ear to him. 28 And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt.

31 Then they took Joseph's coat, and put on it some of the blood from a young goat which they had put to death, 32 And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not? 33 And he saw that it was, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast has put him to death; without doubt Joseph has come to a cruel end. 34 Then Jacob, giving signs of grief, put on haircloth, and went on weeping for his son day after day. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him.

OBSERVATION

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What a family drama! As parents we can all see the danger in being partial to one of your kids.

Jacob had a favorite son and all the other sons knew it, it was so obvious so let’s make it worse and give him a really sharp coat. Let’s make him really stand out so that everybody can see just how special Joe is. Jacob already had a problem in this area, he was partial to his second wife Rachel he really loved her from day one (Gen 29:16-20,30-31) and only took Leah because he was tricked (Gen 29:21-25).

Some lessons in life are hard to learn and we get hung up on the same mistakes over and over. I think that Jacob could have found Celebrate Recovery to be helpful.

Joseph’s brothers were in great danger for their envy almost led to murder but instead God saw to it that Joseph was taken care of. Be careful with envy it is very dangerous; it took Jesus life (Mark 5:9-10).

APPLICATION

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I will always try to treat my “kids”; they are adults now, with fairness and impartially.
Watch out for envy it is very dangerous we must be content.

PRAYER

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Help me Lord to be content with who I am and with what you have given me. Keep me from the evil of envy.

Help For The Hurting

SCRIPTURE

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Heb 2:17-18 (Living) And it was necessary for Jesus to be like us, his brothers, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God, a Priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us.

Heb 4:3 (Living) For only we who believe God can enter into his place of rest. He has said, "I have sworn in my anger that those who don't believe me will never get in," even though he has been ready and waiting for them since the world began.

Heb 4:14-16 (Living) But Jesus the Son of God is our great High Priest who has gone to heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting him. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned. 16 So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.

Heb 5:7-9 (Living) Yet while Christ was here on earth he pleaded with God, praying with tears and agony of soul to the only one who would save him from premature death. And God heard his prayers because of his strong desire to obey God at all times. 8 And even though Jesus was God's Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey when obeying meant suffering. 9 It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the Giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him.

OBSERVATION

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We have all seen a lot of suffering in this world; I have seen my wife with her struggles, suffering physically everyday with ailments that no doctor has been able to relieve. I hear about the intense suffering of patients battling with their fight against cancer. I have seen despair crushing down on helpless people, I have seen pictures of torture victims in other countries. We have all seen people on television that suffer from hunger and famine.

God’s son came to earth he saw a world full of hurting people, he saw the persecution, he saw the sick the hungry, and he saw the despair of hopelessness (Compassion of Jesus- Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34).

Jesus experienced temptation, he was pushed by Satan to give in to human weakness, he was hungry, and he was dealing with Satan’s tricks. He cried out loud when he saw the “lost sheep” everywhere. In agony he told his disciples in the garden "My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death.” He prayed to God in the garden to save him from the cruel death on the cross (Hebrews 5:7) and from the cross he cried out with a broken heart, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

We have a compassionate Savior that is fully aware of our pain because Christ shared in our humanity, the temptations and the suffering that he went through enables him to sympathize with us and help us.

As simplistic as it sounds, yet difficult to do we have to trust in Jesus, we must “come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need”. It sounds simple in theory but in the midst of the battles we have to remember to stay before the throne, the throne where we will receive mercy and grace (4:16).

We all seek to find rest hopefully we do better than God’s people that were moving to the Promised Land. They labored in the desert because of their unbelief. They labored in the Promised Land and never took control of it because they didn’t have faith that they would win the battles (3:18, 19).

Some times God brings us through some desert land and we have to remember to keep the faith. If you are weary of the suffering that you are going through please keep the faith. Take comfort in the promise that God’s rest is still available today (4:1) he invites us to:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

APPLICATION

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Therefore we should:

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Heb 10:22-23 (NIV)

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
Heb 10:35-37 (NIV)

PRAYER

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Father I know many people that are suffering and longing for relief, strengthen their faith Lord until you bring them into your rest.

A Changed Mind

Scripture

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Acts 3:1-26

Observation

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Walking to Temple each day everybody saw this crippled guy that someone carried to the outside of the Temple gates to beg for money. I am guessing that a person with a deformity was probably not allowed to go inside the Temple and since he was lame from birth, then he has never been inside the building. Do any of you know, please comment?

We see this guy trying to get his or her physical need for food and clothing met but Peter and John go beyond this to the source of his problem. This man never expected to walk home from the Temple that day, he was always carried home, why would today be any different.

It is cool that Peter saw an opportunity (verse 12) to give a witness and he jumped on it, he made it clear to everyone why this man was walking around inside the temple today when he was always sitting outside begging.

The basic message that Peter gave the people was that you rejected Jesus before (verse 13-15) now change your mind (verse 17-19) and turn to Jesus, realize that he died according to God’s plan to save us from every wrong thing that we have done, said or thought. Just like that crowd we have rejected Jesus and at some point in life hopefully you have changed your mind about Jesus.

Peter said that Jesus fulfilled prophecy in his first coming and in His death. God told his people through the prophets that the Messiah would come and that he would die a dreadful death and rise again and it all happened just as the prophets said. The last thing that Peter told his audience that day in the temple was that Jesus will fulfill another prophecy in the future, He will return for those of us that have changed our minds about him (verse 19-26).

There is no better assurance that future prophecy will be fulfilled than to look at the past prophecy that was fulfilled. We can place our confidence in these words:

John 14:1-3  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Application

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I will be bolder in jumping on an opportunity just as Peter did.

Prayer

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I pray Father that just like I blogged yesterday that I will be bold and confident in sharing the good news. I pray that my co-workers hearts will be softened to hear your message. I pray that they will let go of the classic excuse of the hypocrites in the church.