Have you had the conversation with someone discussing and wondering if you would have accepted and followed Jesus if you had lived during Jesus’ time?

I kind of wondered what I would think or do, but looking at the following verses, I have more confidence that it would have been very difficult to ignore, write off, or rationalize what Jesus was doing at the time.

In Matthew 12:15, Matthew writes, “…with many following him. He healed all the sick among them.”

And in Matthew 14 after the story of the miracle of feeding the 5000, in verses 35 and 36, Matthew writes, “And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.”

The key word in both of these descriptions is “all.” Jesus didn’t heal some of those that were sick, he healed “all”, and it wasn’t just some of those that touched his cloak that were healed, in was “all.”

Finally John writes in John 21:25, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

We can only imagine what the media frenzy would be like today if someone was able to heal every illness of everyone he encountered, and do the many other miracles Jesus did. We would all have been amazed at the significance and magnitude of what Jesus was doing at the time. It was incredible.

Dear Lord, we thank you that you have sent your Holy Spirit into the world, so that we don’t have to figure out and prove you are the Messiah. We only need to drop our resistance and accept the free gift of your salvation. Help us share the opportunity for this gift with others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You are probably familiar with the expression, “if you play with fire, eventually you will get burned.” This expression is very applicable to our lives as Christians. We cannot spend our time around activities we know are wrong, and think it will not influence us.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-18, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

We need to stop and think about what we are doing, often. We should ask ourselves, if we saw someone else doing what we are considering would we think it wise and thoughtful?

Dear Lord, help us think before we act. Protect us from temptation when we might put ourselves at risk. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off of your goal.” Henry Ford

When we have ourselves focused clearly on our goals with determination to achieve them, we tend to ignore or not even see obstacles and challenges that arise along the way.

Paul describes how this was demonstrated clearly by Jesus, as a lesson for us.

Hebrews 12:1,2 he writes, “…And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.”

Jesus is what we need to focus on as we run this race toward our eternal salvation. Just as he focused on the goal of conquering death and returning to Glory with God in heaven, he endured being shamed and crucified in order to accomplish his race, we can endure the challenges and obstacles to maintaining our faith and doing God’s will, by keeping our focus on our goal; The goal of eternal life in heaven.

Dear Lord, as you said, You established the principles for our success thousands of years ago, showing us the importance of focusing on our goal to overcome our obstacles. Help us do this and run our race toward salvation, with faith and obedience. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is a power in what we say. It is like putting our signature on a contract. We can have a contract in front of us to purchase a car, or sell our house, or purchase a business, and that document may have been drafted in great detail with every contingency considered, but until we sign it, it has no power.

I think in some ways our beliefs are like this. We can think about what we believe, and know all the related scriptures, but when we say it out loud, we are putting the power in our belief.

Jesus tells the disciples in Matthew 17:20, “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

When we say negative things like, “I can’t figure this out,” or “I always get this wrong,” “I am a terrible test taker,” “I am bad at math,” “I am always late,” we are putting power into these beliefs, and keeping ourselves in those holes.

Paul says in Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” If we believe this, we should say things like, “Lord willing, I will get an A,” or “I will get accepted to that school,” “I will make the sale,” “my friend will accept my offer to come to church with me on Sunday.”

Saying what we believe, out loud, strengthens our faith and shows our commitment, which is one reason we say the creed every Sunday. “I believe in God the Father Almighty…..”

Dear Lord, our power comes from you. Help us believe that we can do all things through you, and say so with our words. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an account in 2 Kings 5 about the leader of the army of Aram named Naaman who had leprosy. The king of Aram heard there was a prophet, Elijah, in Israel who could heal diseases. The king thought so highly of his commander that he sent 750 lbs of silver and 150 lbs of gold, worth $5+ million in today’s dollars to the king of Israel asking him to heal his commander.

This very important man came to Elijah’s house with his entire entourage, and expected to see Elijah, but Elijah sent a messenger to meet him instead. The messenger relayed Elijah’s simple instructions for Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of his leprosy.

This would be like a celebrity entertainer or famous business executive with a incurable disease showing up for an appointment at the Mayo Clinic or John’s Hopkins University and being met by a clerk with message to pick up some over the counter medication at the pharmacy. Obviously Naaman was surprised and offended by the response and was about to leave when one of his men said, in 2 Kings 5:13,14, ” “Sir,if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!”

Just like Naaman, we need to trust God’s power first. Though He may work through means of science and medicine, as Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

Dear Lord it is so often difficult for us to simply trust that you will take care of us. We agonize over exactly what to pray for and how we want you to answer. Help us just give our concerns over to you and trust in your power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.