Do you want to be healed?

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me. Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk. And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. (John 5:1-3, 5-9 ESV)

This is one of the many healing stories in the New Testament. Here Jesus heals an invalid. But that is not what strikes me about this story…

Jesus asks the man, “do you want to be healed?” what would you say to Jesus if He asked you if you wanted to be healed?

Many of us are content in our disease. And all of us have dis ease… But do we want to be healed of it? We are able to function and get attention because of it. We have learned to use our disease to our advantage. We are scared to be healed. We don’t k ow if we can make it with out our crutch.

So what would you say to Jesus, “Do you want to be healed?”

The man made excuses for why he wasn’t healed… He did not tell Jesus he wanted to be healed he gave Him the excuse for why he was not healed. The man learned to live in his disease and was scared to be out of it… And notice the man has no name because he is you, or you are him…

So do you want to be healed? Give up your disease and live in the life that God has prepared for you? Are you ready to trust God and Jesus and let go of what you have known and leap into the wonderful life that waits before your?

Give up your disease and trust Jesus!

Unexpected

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10 ESV)

Jesus entered the city and sought out the person that the religious people thought was not one who should be with Jesus.

How many times has this happened to you?

The old joke is true.

One day a man walked into heaven and saw all the people who had done him wrong. They were the ones who bullied him… He looked at St Peter and asked “how did these people make it in here?” And St Peter said, “my son many of them are wondering why you are here.”

Jesus does the unexpected and looks for those we think are beyond His reach. Jesus does the unexpected…

Are you ready for Him to do the unexpected in your life?

Gracious

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! (Psalms 67:1-7 ESV)

How is God to be made known in the world?

Does God need you?

The Bible tells us that God could make the rocks and the trees cry out for Him if He wanted to. God does not need us.

But He does want us to cry out to Him and praise Him. He wants us to let all of the world know why we live and who we live for.

He is gracious to us, and blesses us.

So praise His name and let the whole world know why you live and who you live for.

Love Neighbor…

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:9-18, ESV)

We talk about loving our neighbor and doing for them, but here it is in black and white in the book of the Law!

We are suppose to leave som of our livelihood behind for the sojouner and the poor, the needy and those who do not have. Leave some of your crops and grapes behind.

Also you do not deal wrongly with anyone, but treat everyone as you want to be treated.

Love your neighbor as yourself and by this you will obtain eternal life, so says Jesus in the passage for today from Luke:

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.* ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ (Luke 10:25-28 NRSV)

So love of neighbor is higher than any law except loving the Lord your God. If you can do these two, then they will know you are a follower of Jesus and this is the highest of all Laws and commandments.