They Watched Him

Mark 3:2 "And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him."

When Jesus began His earthly ministry most everywhere He went He performed miracle after miracle. He healed the sick, the lame, the deaf, and the blind. He cast devils out of those possessed by them.  Everywhere He went, people watched Him.  Some watched with amazement.  Some watched with faith believing. Some watched with skepticism and doubt. Some watched, as our verse points out, looking to catch Him doing something wrong or against the law. 

Jesus was the Son of God.  He was without sin, without fault, without error, and without mistakes. Yet, because of their doubt, they watched and waited for Him to fail.  Glory to God He never did. 

Are you watching how the Lord is working in your life today?  If so, how are you watching? Are you watching with great amazement? Are you watching with skepticism and doubt?  Or are you watching with faith believing?  Nearly every time Jesus healed someone He would tell them it was their faith that made them whole.  Even today, there are great benefits of exercising our faith and trust in what God is doing in and through our lives.

Watch the Lord with faith believing today and see how wonderful it is to believe. 

Have You Considered Praying for Someone Other than Yourself?

Job 42:9-10  "So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.  And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before."

 What a tremendous statement we find here in our scripture today.  In Job 42:10, the Bible says, "and the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends."  Job was no doubt an amazing man who had a great amount of faith and trust in God.  He went through the fire.  Trial after trial that he went through, and yet never was his faith rattled by those trials.  It seems to me that answer to ending those trials came when Job stopped focusing on himself and started to notice the need of his friends around him. 

I remember the first time I noticed this phrase at the end of the book of Job.  It just jumped off the page at me.  Job's captivity was turned, when he prayed for his friends, wow.  I was simply amazed.  Maybe we need to apply this principle to our own lives.  Instead of focusing on everything wrong in our own life, maybe we should take a moment and consider praying for someone else other than ourselves.  Learn the compassion of praying for someone.  Our friends need our prayers, they need our compassion. Pray for them.
    

Don't Stop, Keep Going...

Mark 1:16-22 "Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.  And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.  And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."

Here in our passage today we get a glimpse of the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry and the calling of the disciples.  The first ones we see Him calling are the brothers Andrew & Peter, and more brothers James & John.  All four of them did the exact same thing, when Jesus said to come and follow they left everything and went on to follow.   As they followed, they heard Him teach. When He taught they were amazed at what He had to say, and the authority He displayed as He said it.

What caught my attention the most today was the phrase, "And when he had gone a little further."  What an awesome and convicting thought.  What if Jesus hadn't gone further that day?  We very possibly would not have 5 books of the New Testament.  Or they would at least be titled differently than after John.  What if Jesus hadn't gone further that day?  Would the New Testament even read the same way with out James, John, Peter being a part of the inner circle of Jesus.  It is exciting to me that Jesus went a little further.  I am grateful that He always goes a little further for His children.

While I am thrilled that Jesus goes a little further in my life, it convicts me to think that when the Holy Spirit prompts me to go a little further, I often stop a little short.  As I type these thoughts this morning, I am overwhelmed with thoughts of people that I should have, and could have reached with the gospel, but didn't because I stopped too short.  I wonder how things would be different in my life had the people who have gone out of their way to help me, if they had stopped too short.

We need to be the type of Christians that would be willing to go a little further.  You may be reading this today, and you've been thinking about stopping.  May I plead with you for a moment - don't stop, just go a little further.  You never know who you may come across if you just keep going.  You may never know whose life you will impact by not stopping.  Just go a little further, seek to be a blessing. Step out of your comfort zone today, and go a little further for Christ.

Be Strong and Do It...

I Chronicles 28:10 "Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong and do it."

Here in our scripture today we are given the wonderful look at some fatherly advice from David, King of Israel, to Solomon his son, concerning the Temple which Solomon was to build for the Lord.  For years, David had a strong desire to build a house to honor the Lord with. However, the Lord would not allow David to what he desired to do, because he was a man of war.  David had chosen Solomon to follow after him as the next king.  As he is preparing the people around him for the transition of power, he is also preparing the heart of Solomon.  Here in the text verse David tells Solomon that God has chosen him to be the one to build the sanctuary.  At the end of the statement, David admonishes Solomon by telling him to, "be strong and do it"  David goes on to explain how it should be done, and in the end Solomon did indeed complete the project given to him by the Lord and his father. All because he stayed strong.

I could not help but think as I read that verse about the phrase, "be strong and do it."  I wondered about how many tasks God has chosen for me to do that I was not strong enough to complete the assignment given to me...hmmm??  That's too convicting, let's move on :)

34 times through out the scripture we can find the statement "be strong."  Here are few:

•  I Corinthians 16:13 says, " Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong"
•  Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his     might." 
• II Timothy 2:1says, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

We may never be chosen to build a house for God, but I want to remind you of something.  Any task that we are chosen to do for God is of utmost importance.  We must remain strong and get the job completed the way that He wants it done. Have you quit because you didn't think you were strong enough to get it done?  If God has chosen you, remember that he has also equipped you with the ability to finish.  Don't let your flesh and the devil deceive you into thinking that you can't, because you most certainly can.

Be strong and do it.