The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 10:1-2 (NLT)
1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother.
2 Tainted wealth has no lasting value, but right living can save your life.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 36:5-6 (NLT)
5 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Mark 3:1-6 (HCSB)
1 Now He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a paralyzed hand.
2 In order to accuse Him, they were watching Him closely to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath.
3 He told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stand before us."
4 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is evil, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.
5 After looking around at them with anger and sorrow at the hardness of their hearts, He told the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6 Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
My observation:
The healing of the man with the paralyzed hand on the Sabbath by Jesus is revealing. It shows how destructive religious people can be when they add extra biblical traditions to the word of God.
Jesus cut through their attempts by getting to the heart of the matter. He asked them a central question which they refused to answer.
Mark 3:4 (HCSB)
4 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is evil, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.
The Pharisees had a problem of the heart that Jesus was able to see because unlike them, he had the power to discern the attitude of their heart. In their heart, the Pharisees were more interested in their position, purse, and their power over the people. Jesus had another agenda, and the Pharisees refused to address the moral question Jesus asked them.
So, Jesus proceeded to do something that proved He was God in human flesh. He healed the man on the Sabbath without breaking the law.
He simply told the man, "Stretch out your hand". The man stretched out his hand, "and his hand was restored".
In an amazing display of His authority and power, Jesus healed the man by grace without giving any sign of working on the Sabbath.
My prayer:
Father God, my dear Father, I am so thankful that I serve a God who is able to do amazing things, and that He has a heart for people, and their deliverance. Father, I ask for a double portion of grace and mercy to help me live the overcoming Christian life. Father, give me a compassionate heart like Jesus who is a deliverer, and not a heart like the Pharisees who wanted to destroy.
--
1 Peter 2:2-3 (ESV)
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
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