Monday 17^th December

Matthew 7:15-20, Galatians 5:19-25

Can a fig grow among thistles? Can grapes be picked from among thorn bushes?

Jesus teaches His followers the great truth of identifying a fruit-bearing believer. Yet as was Jesus’ custom, He includes a warning in His teaching. Whenever Jesus taught, it was not in a condemning tone but rather with a Pastoral, Shepherd’s heart for His flock. In today’s passage Jesus warns His disciples to be aware of false prophets/false converts. It is so easy to walk the walk and talk the talk but when we are truly tested in life’s struggles, we can best identify the fruit we are bearing in our lives and in other’s. Jesus warns that the fruit one produces is evident in the way one acts. He then asks the question noted above. The obvious answer to Jesus’ question is no.

Each tree produces the fruit that it was made for. An apple tree produces apples, and pear trees, pears. Jesus is highlighting an important principle here and one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Verse 17 and 18 tells us that “a bad tree can’t produce good fruit and a good tree can’t produce bad fruit”. In other words, if we take the produce of ‘fruit’ to mean the way we live/act in our lives, then if someone says they are a Christian then they should live/act in accordance to that of a follower of Jesus Christ. Well how should that be? What does a Spirit filled fruit-bearing believer look like? Well the answer is found in the book of Galatians.

Paul starts by naming the fruits of the flesh in verse 19. His extensive list of fleshly fruits are usually evident in a non-believer i.e. Drunkenness, orgies, sexual immorality, sorcery etc.. Verse 22 then gives the fruit that a Spirit filled believer should not only live by but that should be the very core of who they are. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul concludes in verse 25 that if we profess to live by the Spirit then we should also walk by the Spirit, living out the fruits in our lives. This is the evidence of Christ in us.

Note that being a fruit bearing believer, is not only so you can show yourself to be holy and righteous before other Christians but so that we may set an example to the world; that in times of hardship and struggles, what comes out of us is only the fruit of the Spirit. For it is in hard times when we are squeezed, that what is really inside us shines through and is evident in our lives. Jesus cements this teaching in Matthew 15 by saying that is not what goes in us but what comes out of us that defiles men. Simply, if Christ is in us then only Christ should come out of us. For if our hearts are deceitful and sinful, then that is what will be evident in our fruit.

If we are to truly say we are Christ’s followers then we must challenge ourselves to bear good fruit in every season of our lives. Whether that be in a church context, work or at home we are challenged in all that we do “to serve with all our hearts, as if working for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). In bearing good fruit we allow God to get the glory in every part of our lives.

Saturday 15^th December

1 Peter 5:1-9, John 8:44

A few years ago I stumbled on a YouTube video of a group of about 20 buffalos in an African safari. They were being tracked by a pride of about 5 lions. They waited and watched closely yet hid themselves under the tall reeds that grew there. Suddenly one of the younger buffalo started to fall behind and immediately he was taken away from the herd of buffalos. In my amazement the herd of buffalos suddenly turned round and charged the lions to win back their little one. After some tussling with the lions they managed to rescue the young buffalo, be it badly injured, and carried on their journey.

Two things stood out to me. Firstly the enemies tactics towards us and secondly how vulnerable we are on our own. Peter, in his warning to the church leaders, picks up the danger of underestimating our enemy. Peter uses the same imagery as we have heard about in the video of a lion waiting to pounce. He warns of the devil in verse 8 that “he is our great enemy…..who prowls about, like a roaring

lion, seeking whom he may devour”. The imagery Peter uses here is so strong. He is saying that the devil’s intentions are not to scare us with his fiery breath or daggered shaped tail (as is so often the image portrayed in today’s society), but he wants to destroy us, devour us, and do everything in his power to prevent us from getting to the place that he will never be able to get to.

Jesus also comments about the devil’s character in John 8 when addressing the Jewish crowds. They were justifying themselves in saying that their righteousness came from Abraham being their father (ancestrally) and God being their true Father which they thought disqualified them of judgement from sin. Jesus corrected them in what is one of the strongest rebukes in the Bible. Jesus says in verse 44 that in fact God was not their Father as their characteristics and works were the same as the devils, their real father. He loves evil, is a murderer and hates the truth. Jesus expands of the latter statement and says that there is no truth in him at all. “when he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of all lies.” Luis Palau, in his book ‘Out of the desert’ put this statement in his own words and says that when the devil lies ‘it’s his native language’. The devil’s desire is to deceive us and push us further away from the truth, for that is his very character.

In the video we learnt that as soon as the young buffalo trailed behind the others, the lions pounced. That is also when we are vulnerable. When we are out on our own, no Christian fellowship around us, when we have stopped meeting regularly with other believers, trying to do life by yourself, that’s when you find yourself falling into sin and drifting from the presence of God. It’s like a bundle of matches. Trying to blow them out when they are all lit together is an almost impossible task, but when you take one single match from the bundle and blow it out it’s easy. Strength is found in unity.

James tells us in his epistle that if we “resist the devil, he will flee” (4:7). In Jesus, not only do we have the victory but we have the strength to overcome the enemy. How? Through humility in the presence of God, by constant fellowship with your spiritual brothers and sisters, by taking authority in using God’s word, our sword and through not giving the devil and foothold in any area of your life. My mum always said to me you don’t have to put your head in the dustbin to know that there is rubbish in it. So we should live our lives with that awareness and steer clear away from danger, not underestimating our enemy. Don’t leave the pack but more importantly know that Jesus’ victory on the cross overcame the devil and in Him we too can live in victory over the enemy. The devil may be powerful but God, who is greater and more powerful, is always the winner! 

Friday 14^th December

Psalm 145

It is when I feel convicted of my sinful state in the light of God’s Holiness that I am reminded of His faithfulness and His unconditional covenantal love towards me.

So often when we read scripture, we read it with judgemental eyes. For example, myself included, how often do we criticise the Israelites for their ignorance of all God did for them against the Egyptians? Their stubbornness caused a 4-week journey to the Promised Land to eventually take 40 years. Or how about when we read of the Pharisees in the New Testament, seeing all the miracles Jesus performed, yet still refusing to submit to His authority. Instead they thought it wise to have Him killed.

Yet if we allow scripture to be our mirror (James 1:23), then actually the finger points straight back at us. We are just as guilty as those who have gone before us. So often we see God’s goodness towards us yet we turn our backs and live life with ourselves in the drivers seat. Even the great Apostle Paul questioned his inner motives of doing what he didn’t want to do and not doing what he did want to do. Yet in all our rebellion, Gods love and mercy towards us outshines our foolish ways and draws us back to Him.

David the great Psalmist writes of this love. His words in verse 8 of this chapter are so strong and encouraging. He writes of the Lord that “He is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy”. How encouraging are those words. When we look at these words, we can only but stand in awe of a God whose desire is not to condemn but to save, not pour out His rage but to pour His compassion and grace (that is not to say we have the right to do what we please). Verse 14 stands as a commitment to us, that God is for us and not against us. David says that “the Lord upholds all who fall, and raises those who are bowed down”. Even when we do fall, God’s love is there to pick us up and put us back on “the path of eternal life” (Psalm 139:24).

Yet how do we know of God’s faithfulness to us? Simply God’s works declare it. When we see of all that God has done not only in our physical lives but throughout creation, we are brought to our knees, knowing that there is a faithful God who shows Himself through His works. David knew of God’s faithfulness through the great stories of God’s works that had been passed down through generations. One of which would have probably been of the Israelites exodus from Egypt. He knew that even in their stubbornness and ignorance God was faithful and never left His people.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:8 that Jesus showed His commitment to us His people by giving up His life, even whilst we were in our sins. He didn’t wait for us to become righteous all of sudden; He died for us while we were still sinners to become our righteousness. This is how we know of God’s faithfulness towards us and how when we are reminded of our sins, we can encourage ourselves with His love. I see Gods grace as a poker game. Every time we sin we place a bet, yet God always has the better hand, always raises our bet and wins every time.

“…Yet where sins abounded, Grace abounded much more.” (Romans 5:20)

Thursday 13^th December

Psalm 139:23-24, Psalm 51

In my opinion, Matt Redman is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. My anthem for this year has been his song 10,000 reasons. What I love about this song is that it looks not to our circumstances but to God’s greatness and Majesty. Sometimes in our lives we seem to be so caught up in life’s problems that we forget to give God the praise He deserves. One of the lyrics that especially touched my heart in the song is where Matt writes that “Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes.” The theme of this song is that even when our circumstances pull us down there is always a reason to bless the Lord with our worship.

David, one of the greatest song/psalm writers of all time also had a deep reverence for God’s greatness and His need to be praised in all seasons. In reading Psalm 139 we learn of a God who is infinitely more amazing than we could ever imagine. But what response does that bring us to, as believers in Him? Well, we can learn from David’s response to God’s greatness. Knowing God’s Splendour and Might, brought David to a comprehension of his sinfulness in the presence of absolute purity. In Verse 24, David asks God to search his own heart to remove anything that “offended God” in his life. When we come into the presence of God, His holiness shows our sinfulness and our inadequacy to stand before Him. Our response is one of humility and repentance; to remove things from our lives that as David said “offends God”. The best news comes later.

Psalm 51 is David’s response to Nathans rebuke at his adulteress act with Bathsheba. David had been caught. In Psalm 139 David tells us that we can’t hide anything from an all knowing, all seeing God. Yet he didn’t listen to his own advice and got caught up in lusting after fleshly desires. Yet here we see the Godly response to not only knowing he had offended God in his sin but also to the knowledge of who God is. David knew that he had sinned against a Great God. He humbled himself and pleaded with God to take away not only his sins but the shame of it too.

 In verse 7 David asks God to wash him from his sin and make him whiter than snow. With today’s technology we know that snowflakes are made up from water vapor freezing around dust particles. Yet David’s request was simple. ‘I want to be WHITER than snow’. Although he probably didn’t know that snow was made up of dust particles, he knew that he wanted God to make him so clean and pure that he wanted to be whiter than snow. Throughout all David’s Psalms, no matter what circumstance he was in, He knew that God was slow to anger, rich in love and abundant in mercy. He knew when his life was mirrored against God’s greatness that he would fall short every time, yet he also knew that God’s mercy was always enough to forgive and wash away his sins.

In Jesus Christ we have a mediator who pleads on our behalf when we ask for forgiveness. It is Christ’s blood that washes away our sin and in Christ we have a safe refuge. We are hid within Christ so that the Father may not look at sin in us but rather look at Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for us (Colossians 3:3), which when we accept, washes our whiter than snow! Then we can stand forgiven at the cross, in reverence and awe of a personal loving Father.

Wednesday 12^th December

Psalm 139

Have you ever been asked the question of opposites? For example if I said to you what is the opposite of black, you would probably say white. Or what about left, you would surely say right! What if I said what’s the opposite of God? Would you automatically say the devil? Well in some part you are right. The devil in his character is the absolute opposite of God. Yet on the other hand, the devil actually doesn’t even fit the description of being God’s opposite. In fact the more we think about it, he is far from it. The truth is, God is so far beyond anyone or anything that He has no opposite. The devil along with the rest of the world is a created being (the fallen angel lucifer). What is the only one thing that is not created?? The Almighty Creator God Himself. That is not to say that we should underestimate our enemy for that would be foolishness, but rather it is to say that the splendour and supremacy of our Great and Mighty God is unmatched, unrivalled and unchallengeable.

In Psalm 139 David picks up on just how great our God is. It is almost a mirror passage of Romans chapter 8 whereby Paul comments of the magnitude of God’s love for us. In this Psalm, David picks up on the omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience of our God yet being all these things, still is a personal God who knows our personal needs.

David understood that God knew him inside out (omniscience). There was no secret that he could keep from God. In everything he did and said, God was already one step before him. In verse 4, David says that before he even had a word on his tongue, God knew it already. Yet he was fully secure in this understanding of God’s character. He knew, as the NLT puts verse 5, that God went before him and followed him, laying His hand of blessing over David’s every step. What a comforting yet incomprehensible truth. God knows us better than we know ourselves and watches over our every step.

David then describes God’s omnipresence. He comments in verse 7 that no matter where he went God would always be there. He, like the apostle Paul in the Romans passage, gives extremities of God’s presence. From the heights of the Heavens to the depths of hell, from the breaking of dawn to the ends of the sea is God’s presence known. Yet in all these places God is there to guide and to lead us. We cannot run away from God. That may be a comforting thought or a challenging one dependant on your circumstance yet in both cases God’s intentions are only good for us.

David further expresses this by highlighting God’s omnipotence. God not only knows us inside out and is everywhere, but He takes care of the intricate details of our lives. We are, as David stresses in verse 14, fearfully and wonderfully made. God in His power and authority intricately and carefully knitted you together in your mother’s womb. His design for you is perfect and unique. The awesome Creator God not only cares for the world He created for us, but cares individually for every need. Verse 16 says that God’s eyes watched us taking form as a human and wrote every detail of our life down in His book. God knows our every step before we take it. David marvelled at God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge and was humbled to be known by such a God

Our God is an awesome Creator God who values our lives, taking great care over our every need. He has no opposite or equal. Let the knowledge of who He is transform our lives and make us transparent before His presence so that we may be “led into the path of everlasting life” (verse 24).  

Tuesday 11^th December

1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-6

With exactly 2 weeks left until Christmas, there is an anticipation in the air. In England the autumn leaves have fallen leaving the trees bare, shops are full to the brim of customers getting Christmas gifts, the temperature has dramatically fallen and radio stations are playing Christmas classics non stop. Christmas was always such an exciting time for my family with many memories to treasure. For many that excitement and anticipation is also very true and resonates within them. Yet as this world becomes more secular, the very of thought of CHRIST is pushed out and replaced with an X. The sad thing is, many Christians do the same. X in algebra denotes the unknown quantity of a sum or equation. Do we want to celebrate an unknown entity or is this our chance to put CHRIST back in CHRISTmas?

Although the festival Christmas has its roots in paganism, it is an appropriate time to remember the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. However every Christmas I seem to want to jump to Easter. In His birth, Jesus fulfilled many prophecies of His coming to Earth. Yet the greatest of these (in my opinion) was not so much do with His birth but more His death and resurrection. Of course we would not have the latter without the former but it is in His death and resurrection that we are saved. This exciting news is the subject of our devotion today.

One of the clearest of these prophecies of Jesus’ death and resurrection is found in Isaiah 53. This passage is probably one of the most familiar passages in what is mostly an uncommon book to read. Yet there are so many gems to be found in it and chapter 53 is one of these.

A common misinterpretation of these verses, especially of verse 5 is that Jesus’ stripes and beating were for physical healing. Although Jesus’ resurrection gives us authority to pray for healing in His Name, that is not at all what this text is saying. Isaiah is prophesying about spiritual healing. If we take the whole context of verse 5 alone it is clear that Jesus’ physical suffering (Wounds, bruises, piercing, and stripes) was for our spiritual healing. Jesus being beaten and bruised was for our transgressions and iniquities. Jesus was paying for our sins on the cross. Unless He took our punishment we could not be set free from the debt we owed but breaking God’s commands. It is in Jesus’ sufferings and resurrection that we are saved.

The Apostle Peter alludes to this in His epistle whilst highlighting that Jesus is again our Standard and example. Peter describes Jesus as a non retaliating, humble man who was put to death and beaten for our sins, yet ‘by His stripes we are healed’ (1 Peter 2:24).  In His resurrection He becomes the great Shepherd and Overseer for our souls. Yet it was because He was beaten and bruised that we can be spiritually healed from our sins and our great debt is no longer ours but has been sacrificially paid for by Jesus Himself.

What a great and loving God we serve. He came a humble Baby born in a stable and died a humble Lamb led to the slaughter. Yet praise God, He now lives as a Humble yet Mighty Saviour, forever interceding on our behalf. Remember this in the busyness and celebrations of Christmas and hopefully it will make you think twice before you replace CHRISTmas with Xmas!

Monday 10^th December

Romans 12:9-21 

So far in this passage the Apostle Paul has highlighted some keys areas of what it means to be a CHRISTian. He has made those listening/reading this passage aware that being a CHRISTian is not some fruitless title but it is living a life purely to become more like Christ in both word and deed to both friend and foe.

We pick up the final part of this passage from verse 16. Living a harmonious life with those you sometimes might not get along with is vital in a Christian’s life. I believe that Paul had ‘church’ life in mind when he wrote this section. So often in churches will meet many who would not be in our normal social circles. We may meet people in church we might not, dare I say, even like. Yet there is one common thing that unites us, that is the bond of Jesus Christ and His love. See when Christ lives in us, He unites us in a common faith to get to the common goal of reaching the world for Him. Paul reminds the Roman church that it is in unity and harmonious living that the world sees Jesus through His ‘body of believers’.

Yet even in Paul’s day and most certainly in ours, the church is often seen as a fragmented institution through differing opinions and super proud leaders rather than an image of unified peoples. Yet it is in humble living and associating with those who we may not normally associate with, that these invisible yet visible boundaries are broken down. God shows no partiality to anyone and has no favourites. Jesus proved this in His living and teaching, to the lowly tax collectors and to the supposedly ‘Holy’ Pharisees and Scribes. If God’s standard is Jesus, then we all fall short of that, which makes us all equal, both saint and sinner. For even our righteousness is as a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). However, God’s love is consistent from the greatest sinners to the most holy saints. This is not to say that we should just give up trying to be like Christ but rather Christ in us and through us is our “Righteousness” which is shown in our lifestyles.

Paul summarises his point, in verse 17 and 18, about humble living; by not paying back evil with evil but rather seeing the best in every situation and in everyone. Jesus was the Master of this. Instead of seeing and focusing on people’s sinful ways, He saw a potential in them and how they can be used for His kingdom. Look at the Apostles Paul and Peter, and tax collectors Zacchaeus and Matthew. God sees potential in sometimes the most unlikely of people and uses them for His purposes. For this reason we should live peaceably with all people, loving them as our family, serving them with pure hearts, not taking revenge but rather putting their needs before our own, entrusting them to our Saviour’s Gracious care.

Finally the ‘why’ is answered in verse 20. When we set an example in all the things a Romans 12 CHRISTian should do we not only put shame on those who wrong the right, but more so that the world may see Jesus through His ‘church’ (John 13:35).

The standard might look unreachable or impossible and on our own it is. But when the Holy Spirit lives in us, not only is it reachable in our lifestyles but also we have the power to change the world for Christ’s Kingdom and Glory.

Saturday 8^th December

Romans 12:9-21

Paul continues his encouragement, in verse 13 and onwards, of putting the ‘sacrificial love’ into practice both in everyday basic needs but by also blessing your enemies. In verse 13, Paul highlights that offering practical brotherly love to the ‘saints’ (Christians) is not only living out Christ in our lives but serving others is also a way to serve God. In Paul’s time, the early church shared all they had and distributed their needs evenly (Acts 4:32-37). Many of the Apostles like Paul would often travel through dangerous towns and cities and would have to rely on the hospitality of the saints to both protect, feed and shelter them. This is true real love being put into practice.

But Paul takes this teaching beyond our comfort zones and challenges us in verse 14 to bless those who persecute us and not to curse them back. Paul again is echoing Jesus’ words in His sermon on the mount. Yet the importance of this message takes us beyond theological understanding but into true Christ-like living. It is so hard when someone wrongs you to then bless them and pray for them, yet if it was not possible then would Paul not have left it out of the standard of a Romans 12 Christian? The truth is that this is only achievable when the Holy Spirit is living in us and showing Christ through us, not in our fleshly weakness but in Christ’s strength. Again in Christ’s death on the cross, did He not practice what He preached in asking the Father to forgive His killers? It is because Christ was victorious in all things that we can overcome our struggles when we call on His help.

In verse 15 Paul encourages the believers to join in one flesh and one body. He teaches that we should rejoice when others rejoice but equally mourn with those who mourn. In daily living there are many situations were we could put this into practice. Sometimes we feel we should always have a word for someone or give them Godly advice but Paul dispels that ideology here by saying that we should show our love by practically getting alongside one another. When they are weak just be with them, when they are happy be happy with them. One act of genuine love is worth more than 10,000 words. That is not to say that we shouldn’t encourage each other, rather encouragement doesn’t always have to come in the form of words.

In Old Testament the thought that we could repay an ‘eye for an eye, or tooth for a tooth’ was often taken literally but both Paul in verse 17 and Jesus in Matthew 5:38-42 states that this should not be the case. This law or practice was intended to keep the peace between each other simply to stop revenge being taken into someone’s own hand. In truth there would be no end to this revenge, as someone would always have the upper hand. Yet here we are simply told that if love has no record of wrongdoing (1 Corinthians 13:5) then we must not think that it is our duty to repay wrongdoings with an equally cruel retribution. Love in it’s fullness is self-sacrificing even when we feel its our legalistic right to seek revenge. 

Friday 7^th December

Romans 12:9-21 

‘Being a CHRISTian doesn’t mean you are part of an elite group of do good-ers or pushovers but rather being a CHRISTian is becoming more like Christ in all that we do and say’. 

In a passage that both challenges and encourages, Paul writes to the Roman church to educate them in not only the truths of Christ but also in what it means to be a follower and imitator of Christ. Paul echoes much of Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels here and helps to educate a church he hadn’t yet visited. 

Paul starts off in chapter 12 by telling the ‘brethren’ that they are to be holy yet humble people for the glory of God in both church unity and in their personal lives. Our passage puts this idea/teaching into the practical everyday prospective that also stands as a reminder for us today in how to “present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God” (verse 1)

 The outworking of God through us should always start with love. Love is the essence of Gods heart. It is the very core of who God is. If we say He lives in us then that love should permeate through us. Paul reminds us that this love should be genuine and without hypocrisy. There is not truth in fake love. Rather let us love with self-sacrificing love as Christ loves us with. That is the standard we must live by. 

One way this love is shown is through the way we behave among others. In verse 10, Paul encourages the believers to put others before themselves. This type of affection/love is described as a brotherly love. Paul is saying that we should love others as we love our own family. How do we demonstrate that in our life? By putting each other’s needs before our own. Again we must remember that Christ displayed this through His own life by laying down His Kingship, humbling Himself and sacrificing Himself for us. His display of love showed the greatest act of ‘agape’ love. Paul here reiterates Jesus’ ‘New Commandment’;” Love one another; just as I have loved you, love each other” (John 13:35). In doing so Jesus says that we are an example to the world, that they may know we are Christ’s.

Paul encourages the believer to put away laziness from our lives, having a burning and enthusiastic desire in our spirit to serve the Lord in all we do. Serving the Lord is the outworking of an inward comprehension of Christ’s love for us. When we understand what lengths God went to in saving us from our sins, we are both filled with love and have an insatiable desire to want to serve him. 

Are our desires today to love each other (putting others needs before our own) and serving the Lord with passionate hearts? Let these verses both challenge and encourage us because we have One who has set the standard high but in Him, we find the grace to reach it.

Thursday 6^th December

Mark 2:1-12

“Stand up, pick up your mat, and GO HOME!!” (verse 10)

When Jesus turns up in your life, expect change. When Jesus comes to our churches, expect people to be saved. When Jesus came to Capernaum His hometown, news spread. Jesus had come home and people wanted to hear what He had to say. Mark says in His gospel that the house they were congregating in was so full that there was not even room outside the door!

As He was preaching four men came to the house bringing their friend on a mat. This stands as an encouragement to us to not be ashamed in bringing Jesus into peoples lives, whether that be in church, work, in our homes or elsewhere. When Jesus shows Himself to us or through us, we have to be ready to expect something supernatural to take place. The friends of the paralysed man expected Jesus to heal their friend. They must have carried a fair distance yet they were determined to see Jesus.

Verse 4 tells us that the house being full did not deter the friends from getting to Jesus. In an act of complete faith they climbed to the top of the roof and begun to dig through it. These were no easy feats as the roof was most probably made of hardened clay/mud and carrying a paralysed to the roof would have been just as difficult. Yet they persisted. As they lowered their friend from the roof, Jesus looked up and saw THEIR faith.

Upon seeing THEIR faith Jesus says to the paralytic man that his sins were forgiven. This would have been a surreal picture and a controversial thing to say as many teachers of the law were present. Not only did a man just get lowered from the roof, Jesus commends the friends for their faith and not the mans. Then to top it off He says his sins are forgiven and the man stays paralysed. Yet Jesus had a reason for this.

After being accused of blasphemy for His statement, Jesus questions what is easier; to forgive sins or to heal the paralysed man? Of course it is easier to say your sins are forgiven because you cannot see the result of that. But Jesus proving that He was God not only forgave sins but in verse 11 He commands the paralysed man to get up and go home. He jumps up, grabs his mat and walks out the door. Mark says that they were ALL amazed and praised God.

Not only did Jesus heal the man and forgive his sins but He showed 100s of people including religious leaders that He was indeed God, for it is God alone who can forgive sins and the miracle was the proof that He was who He said He was.

Surround yourself with friends who can carry you in faith when you feel down or have no strength and remember when Jesus comes to town; expect Him to change lives dramatically.