A POWERFUL FAITH BUILDER

Greetings, 

I love the entire ninth chapter in the book of Matthew in the Holy Bible, and I encourage you to read it today.  Christ heals a paralyzed man, forgives sin, calls a man to be one of His beloved disciples, heeds a desperate father's request to resuscitate a child who has died,  restores the sight of two blind men, casts the demon out of a possessed man, and literally "traveled through all the towns and villages...announcing the Good News about the Kingdom, healing every kind of disease and illness...having compassion on the crowds..."

Jesus brings health and wholeness to the soul, the body, and the mind. He defines a life's purpose for Matthew when He called him to be a disciple, and He rewards faith. And Christ did all these blessed things with compassion and unparalleled power and authority.

There is not one area of your life, nor one aspect of your being that is beyond the reach or the might of Jesus to bring health and wholeness. 

Remember the paralyzed man Christ healed? "Some men brought him to Jesus."

Remember the girl who Jesus raised from the dead? He did so in response to a father who pleaded, "Come and put Your hand on her, and she will live."

Remember the two bind men whose sight was restored? First they, "followed Him, calling out, 'Have mercy on us,  Messiah!'"

Remember the demon-possessed man? He was "brought to Jesus."

Let us bring others to the Lord in prayer, and let us plead for ourselves while we are at it. Let us follow after the One Who has infinite compassion, power, and authority.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Matthew chapter nine. This is a faith-building chapter because Your unlimited power is on display. We praise You for Your willingness to use it in response to prayer! You know what is best, and we need You in every area of our lives  -  soul, body, and mind.  Have mercy on us, Messiah! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Faith-building Chapter: Matthew Nine

Greetings, 

I love the entire ninth chapter in the book of Matthew in the Holy Bible, and I encourage you to read it today.  Christ heals a paralyzed man, forgives sin, calls a man to be one of His beloved disciples, heeds a desperate father's request to resuscitate a child who has died,  restores the sight of two blind men, casts the demon out of a possessed man, and literally "traveled through all the towns and villages...announcing the Good News about the Kingdom, healing every kind of disease and illness...having compassion on the crowds..."

Jesus brings health and wholeness to the soul, the body, and the mind. He defines a life's purpose for Matthew when He called him to be a disciple, and He rewards faith. And Christ did all these blessed things with compassion and unparalleled power and authority.

There is not one area of your life, nor one aspect of your being that is beyond the reach or the might of Jesus to bring health and wholeness. 

Remember the paralyzed man Christ healed? "Some men brought him to Jesus."

Remember the girl who Jesus raised from the dead? He did so in response to a father who pleaded, "Come and put Your hand on her, and she will live."

Remember the two bind men whose sight was restored? First they, "followed Him, calling out, 'Have mercy on us,  Messiah!'"

Remember the demon-possessed man? He was "brought to Jesus."

Let us bring others to the Lord in prayer, and let us plead for ourselves while we are at it. Let us follow after the One Who has infinite compassion, power, and authority.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Matthew chapter nine. This is a faith-building chapter because Your unlimited power is on display. We praise You for Your willingness to use it in response to prayer! You know what is best, and we need You in every area of our lives  -  soul, body, and mind.  Have mercy on us, Messiah! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Lessons From a Newly-healed Man!

Acts 3:2-8

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.  He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and PRAISING GOD.”

Happy New Year, and greetings in the name of our powerful and precious Lord!

Have you ever felt like the lame man in the verse above?  His problem had been going on so long that he accepted it - all he did was beg for money so he could at least have the basics of life.  No where do we read that he prayed for a healing. I hope it’s because the temple goers were generous, something all Christ followers should be known for. 

Regardless, we can learn a lot from this newly-healed man.  As soon as he received his healing he went straight into the temple courts praising God!  He did not complain that his healing had taken a lifetime to arrive.  He did not question why God had let him suffer so long.  He did not get angry that Peter and John had not shown up earlier or that he had wasted so much of his life as a beggar who had to depend on others for pretty much every thing. No! Instead, he did what we all should do when the answer comes: HE PRAISED GOD!

When he was taken by the hand, helped up, and made strong, he used it to first and foremost praise God.  That’s not to say he didn’t have questions.  All of us want to know, “Why?”  Sometimes, however, it is better to go with the flow of the good thing that has finally happened and just praise God.  It is better to forget the past and enjoy the new thing. Once we are off that desert road we should focus on the blessing and not look back. (That sounds familiar!)

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We look to You to take us by the hand and help us get up into our healing.  When we get up, we will praise You.  We will not sit back down and wonder what took You so long.   Nor will we squander our lives being bitter about anything that was lost.  On the contrary, we thank You for all the good in our futures.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!