www.notreligion.com"And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel." (Matthew 15:30-31, ESV)
It's easy to read through a few verses like these and move on without thinking about them. But stop, take a closer look at what's happening here and ask God to teach you through it.
-The people realized their need (verse 30). It's easy when you know that you are lame, blind, crippled, mute. People are pretty good at grasping their physical needs.
-They came to Jesus and submitted to Him (again verse 30). These broken and hurting people came and asked Jesus to heal and complete them. They understood they couldn't do it on their own.
-Jesus healed them (still in verse 30). The Scripture doesn't say how He did it, whether by a touch or word or what, but Jesus healed those who came to Him. The lame could walk, the blind could see, the crippled were made well and the mute could speak.
-The people praised God (verse 31). Amazed at what they saw, the crowd gave glory, thanks and praise to whom it was due.
You know what, this story still happens today. The trouble is, if we don't need physical healing, we're a little slower to recognize it. But we're all still sick and in need of healing.
-You live in a world blinded and crippled by sin. You've been broken by your sin and you can't fix it yourself; you need Jesus.
-You must look to Jesus and submit to Him. After you've seen your need, you've got to know there's nothing you can do to fix it. You need to humbly ask Jesus to take care of it for you.
-Jesus will fix your sin problem. That's why He came--Luke 19:10 says that "For the Son of Man [Jesus] came to seek and to save the lost" (ESV).
-Now praise the Lord. Don't miss this. You can accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gives; you can feel a sense of relief or even great joy. But don't go back to the same old life. Praise God by the way you live. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1, ESV). You don't do this by following a set of rules but by following Jesus, out of your gratitude for all He's done.
After all, what blind man, upon receiving his sight, puts a blindfold on and continues to stumble around? What lame person is given legs to run and jump but goes back to sit on his mat and beg? If you've received Jesus into your life, He's changed you! So praise Him with your life. Follow Him and see what incredible things He leads you to.
Subject: Healing 
Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:14 pm
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