20150917 JESUS KNOWS

JESUS KNOWS

Matthew 9:3-4 But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, "That's blasphemy! Does He think He's God?"  (4)  Jesus knew what they were thinking, so He asked them, "Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?

Back in the 1930’s and 1940’s there was a radio show that started out this way, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.” It featured a man with powers to cloud men’s minds. Since then it has been made into comics and even a movie. But there is one who really does know what evil lurks in our hearts and His name is Jesus.

Only you and Jesus know what goes in your mind and heart. It is good for us to remember that at all times. I love this verse… Psalms 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Since He already knows what we are thinking it is a good idea to talk to Him about it. Be honest and when you know what you are thinking is wrong, confess it and ask Him for His help. This will please Him more than if you act like you have it all together. Psalms 51:6 But You desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Father in heaven, You desire truth from us. Give us pure, honest hearts and boldness to speak honestly with You. Thank You that when we confess our sin You forgive us and cleanse us from all uncleanness. In Jesus Name AMEN!!!

20150904 WILLING

WILLING

Matthew 8:1-3 Large crowds followed Jesus as He came down the mountainside.  (2)  Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Him and knelt before Him. "Lord," the man said, "if You are willing, You can heal me and make me clean."  (3)  Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," He said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

Lepers were deemed unclean, untouchable, and from a human standpoint, beyond hope. Lepers were not sent to the physician, but to the priests who would offer no healing balm, no poultice of relief, instead they would set the individual aside to see what God would do. Would the infection prove to be temporary? Would it be healed? Or would it prove to be an illness of great judgment? Once declared unclean by the priests the diseased individual was shunned, put outside the city and commanded to cover their mouth and proclaim their uncleanness as they made their way from one place to the next. Being shut out from the city meant they were also shut out from the temple and all things holy.

But here we have Jesus, our great High Priest who reaches out and touches the untouchable, giving hope to the hopeless and healing the un-healable. While doing so He says, “I am willing. Be healed.”

The unclean man had faith that Jesus had the power to heal. The only question left was whether Jesus was willing. A man who may not have felt the touch of a human hand in years is suddenly touched by the Divine and healing pours into him and the disease is gone. It is disappeared.

When you are ill, what is the first thing you do? Reach for the aspirin? The cold medicine? The doctor’s phone number? I believe all of these things have their place, but as a believer shouldn’t we turn to Jesus first? How will we know if He is willing or not unless we ask? “You have not because you ask not.” (James 4:2b My own paraphrase)

I wonder how often He is willing, but we are not. Several years ago I was pastoring a small congregation or about 35 people. One Sunday morning I felt strongly impressed to ask those who were ill to come forward for prayer and anointing. There were two ladies in the congregation that day who both suffered terribly from diabetes. One came forward the other did not. The one who did was anointed and prayed over. A week later she had testing done and there was no sign of diabetes in her body.

I asked the other lady why she didn’t come forward. Her reply was something to do with not wanting to steal someone else’s thunder. She continued to suffer from her illness for many years until the symptoms of it eventually took her life.

Jesus is able and often willing to heal. Let us ask and ask and ask until the door is opened unto us.

Father in heaven, Thank You for the healing power You have manifested to us through Jesus and Your Holy Spirit. Please continue to grant miraculous healing to Your saints and to the lost who thereby may be drawn to Your saving grace. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

PURE

PURE

Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

Pure – This word translates, “clean.” Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?  (4)  Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.  (5)  They will receive the LORD's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.  (6)  Such people may seek You and worship in Your presence, O God of Jacob. Interlude”

A clean heart, a pure heart? How is this possible for any of mankind? 1 Corinthians 1:30 “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin.” That’s how. Christ does it, did it for us, but note the rest of that verse, “and He freed us from sin.” He saved us that we would live in that freedom He purchased for us with His own blood. So, spiritually we are clean, pure in God’s eyes because of Jesus’ work on the cross, but are we pure in thought?

Psalms 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

Why is it important for us to strive for purity in this life if Christ has already taken care of it in the spirit? Paul explains this to us in 2 Timothy 2:21-22. “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.  (22)  Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” And I like the way the Message paraphrases this passage. 2 Timothy 2:21-22 MSG Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.  (22)  Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness--faith, love, peace--joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God.

Is your heart pure? If the Savior were looking for someone for a special task would He consider you? Only you and He know the answer.

We have a dish washer for which I am very grateful and most of the time it does a great job getting the dishes clean. But, occasionally a dish will somehow go through all the cycles and still not be clean. I’ve gotten into the habit of looking inside any cups I pull from the cabinet before I fill them. I wouldn’t consider drinking from a dirty vessel. Why would God who is Holy, without spot or wrinkle, pour His Holy Spirit through a dirty vessel?

Those who have such a clean heart are promised that they will see God. We know that no flesh can see Him and live. Moses saw as much of God as was physically possible. In the spirit we can see Him and in eternity we will see Him in all His glory. But even now we can see Him at work like one can see the wind at work by the way it bends a tree or blows a flag. Those who are pure in heart will see this more readily than those whose hearts are full of self and sin. May we be among those who see God.

Father in heaven, as Your servant David prayed, create in us a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within us. Make us clean, usable for Your glory. And may we see You at work in us, around us and through us. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!