20150918 FORGIVENESS AND HEALING

FORGIVENESS AND HEALING

Matthew 9:5-8 Is it easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up and walk'?  (6) So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!"  (7)  And the man jumped up and went home!  (8)  Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority.

Sickness is, at least, the indirect result of sin. Often upon healing Jesus would tell the healed to go and sin no more. We know that there was a blind man about whom Jesus said his blindness was for the glory of God, but had Adam and Eve not eaten from the forbidden tree there would have been no sickness, no death. In the verses we’ve been looking at the last few days Jesus seems to allude to the fact that this man’s sickness was the result of sin. Jesus first words to him signify this.

Yesterday we talked about the evil in the hearts of men who thought Jesus a blasphemer because He dared to forgive this man’s sins. Today we see His final response to them. He commands the man who was carried to Jesus by his friends to stand up and carry his bed home. The man did it and Jesus proved His point… He, the Son of the living God, Creator, King of kings has the power to forgive sins and to heal the sickness that sin has caused.

Once again I urge us to always search our own hearts when sickness strikes us. Confess any known sin, and pray for healing before reaching for the medicine cabinet or the doctor’s phone number.

Father in heaven, today I pray with the Psalmist, Psalms 139:23-24  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  (24)  Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

20150916 DOES LIFE HAVE YOU DOWN?

DOES LIFE HAVE YOU DOWN?

Matthew 9:1-2 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to His own town.  (2)  Some people brought to Him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Be encouraged, My child! Your sins are forgiven."

I stopped here today because I believe that gratitude is one of the most important attitudes for any and all believers. Here is a man who is paralyzed and Jesus says this to him. Are you encouraged by the fact that you have been forgiven?

There are times in life when it seems that everything is falling apart around us. We may lose our jobs, our loved ones, our health, but no one can take the forgiveness of Jesus Christ from us. That, sometimes, may be all the encouragement you have to hold onto. So I urge you to get this, to grasp it, cling to it and practice it. Yes, practice gratitude for the forgiveness of sin. Because of our sin we deserve hell. Because of our sin we do not deserve life, or air, or water, or food, or clothing. We deserve hell… but in Jesus we are forgiven, we are justified, made just as if we never sinned before God’s sight.

Be Encouraged.

Father in heaven, thank You for the forgiveness of sin. Let that truth sink deep into our hearts and minds. Cause it to sing from our lips and shine in our countenance no matter what the day may bring. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!