“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”” Mark 2:5-7 NIV
The teachers of the law could not stomach the idea of Jesus forgiving sins. Only God could do that! This would mean Jesus claimed to be God! And it would upset all their traditions and ways. But the Good News is that Jesus is the One who forgives sins!
Jesus went to eat at Levi’s house. He was a horrible and hated sinner, a Jewish tax collector working for the Romans.
“When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” Mark 2:16-17 NIV
The Good News is once again proclaimed! Jesus came to bring healing to those sick with sin! He came to call to sinners that He could set them free!
Jesus has not changed! He is the same today as He was yesterday, and will be the same tomorrow. He has come to forgive our sins and to bring healing from its horrible effects on our life. What made the difference in the man paralyzed and the tax collector’s lives? They came to Jesus! He invites us to come too! Good News!!
When the Kingdom of God comes near healing and restoration occurs. Everywhere Jesus went lives that were broken were fixed, lives that were occupied by evil were set free, unclean lives were made clean. The people were amazed. Yet in all this activity, Jesus took time to get alone with His Father.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”Mark 1:35 NIV
Why? Jesus was God and there was so much to do? Why would He need time to pray? He was One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. He was in relationship with them. He still is! Out of this relationship God’s Kingdom love and power flowed!
We are invited to enter into this relationship and be One with God. Then God’s Kingdom flows through us! As Jesus ambassadors of the Kingdom, we are a part of His plan to restore and heal. This was Good News then. This is the Good News now. The Good News that goes on and on!
(This month I’m going back to the gospels, the books that tell about Jesus’s life- the Book of Mark)
Mark starts his book by proclaiming that Jesus and His coming is Good News! It is Good News indeed! John the Baptist testified of this Good News in his ministry before Jesus came. John said this:
“And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”” Mark 1:7-8 NIV
In the first 12 verses of Mark, the Holy Spirit is mentioned three times. Why is this important? Jesus came as God with us! He walked in our world. Jesus came so that He could baptize us or fully immerse us with the Holy Spirit, who is God in us! As we come into that relationship we will find the Holy Spirit to be such a precious friend.
This same Holy Spirit that fills us is the same Holy Spirit of whom John the Baptist spoke. The same Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove at His baptism. He is the same Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness afterwards.
Jesus offers us Good News as well today! The Kingdom of God has come near! We can be a part of that Kingdom! He wants us to follow Him just as He called out to Simon and Andrew.
“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.” Mark 1:16-18 NIV
And as we follow Him others will want to follow as well! Empowered by the Holy Spirit and sharing the goodness of God we receive. Good News for all!
“My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.” Song of Solomon 2:10-13 ESV
Sunday will mark the 7th Wedding Anniversary of my son and his bride. A lot has happened in seven years for them including a growing family. So I offered to watch my grandsons, three years old and one, for an overnight date for my son and his bride. I told my daughter in law, “You need to go out alone and remember why it was you got married in the first place.” I remember what it was like. Having had four children of my own. My mother in law offered to watch them for my husband and I to go away for our anniversary, so I wanted to give my own daughter in law the same gift my mother in law gave me.
This morning I awoke at 5 am. I contemplated staying in bed a little while longer, but I heard the still small voice say to me, “Come away with me.” So I quietly snuck out of my room, fixed a cup of coffee and headed to my upper deck that faces East. Time to watch the sunrise with the lover of my soul, Jesus.
As I have sat here listening to the sounds of morning, in particular the cooing of the doves in the distance, I was reminded of the verses above. And I thought about how I was as a young mom of four. Laundry!! Lots of it! Cooking, cleaning, baths, and boo boos. My life was preoccupied. When I finally got all my kids to sleep, my mind was not on my romantic relationship with my husband. I was distracted. Getting away with him helped me to lay aside all the responsibilities and to remember why it was I fell in love, or as I told my daughter in law, “why you wanted to get married in the first place.”
My heart toward God is not that different. Things crowd in. They occupy my mind and my time. And He calls to me, “Come away!” He wants me to remember why it was I fell in love with Him.
There was a time when the disciples had a time of busy ministry doing good things, the things of God. When they got back, Jesus saw their need. He told them to come away.
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” Mark 6:31-32 NIV
He still calls to His disciples, me and you today. Every morning, if I take the time to listen, He speaks. He calls me away to remember. He reminds me exactly what it was that caused me to fall in love with Him: He is so kind. He is so good. He is so patient with me. He gives me so many blessings. He speaks of His love towards me. The doves cooing, the smell of honeysuckle floating through the air, the colors of a sunrise are all His gifts to me. And His presence…none can compare. When I’ve felt Him, just a small taste of what it is like to be totally immersed in His love, my heart is overwhelmed.
This is why He calls to me. This is why He calls to you! Time with Him is not a duty that we mark off a list of chores for the day. If it is we have missed the point. He wants us to “come away with Him” so we can remember. Remember how much He loves us and we in turn will love Him all the more. Then our desire will be to be close to Him, attached, to know Him intimately.
Paul was brought before King Agrippa to plead his case. He once again tells his testimony of how he had an encounter with the living, resurrected Jesus. In that encounter, Jesus told Paul what his mission in life would be when he met him on the road to Damascus.
“But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” Acts 26:16-18 ESV
He was testifying of the power of God that enables us to turn from the darkness of sin- anything we do that is against God’s laws and separates us from God. He told everyone he was in contact with about what he had both physically and spiritually experienced, a God who could take eyes that are blind- unable to see God’s ways and truth- and make them see. He spoke of forgiveness from God for the wrongs we have done and being set apart for God’s purposes through faith.
This is all still available to us today. The Holy Spirit continues to move our hearts to desire to know all of what Paul was telling King Agrippa about. We have a choice. King Agrippa did too. But his response was truly a sad one.
“And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind…In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”” Acts 26:24, 28 ESV
Paul’s desire was not simply to be free of his chains. His desire was that everyone he came in contact with would know the Jesus he knew. Paul wanted them to experience the relationship with the Holy Spirit he was experiencing. His response was this to the Kings question.
“And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”” Acts 26:29 ESV
This is why I write these things to you. I know from experience the power of God who broke off the chains of sin by which I was held captive. I can tell you the difference of walking in the darkness of my own ways as opposed to walking into the light of God’s path- His ways. Do not be “almost persuaded” to surrender your heart entirely to God! King Agrippa walked away from Paul’s testimony of Jesus that day unchanged. May we see the value of what he spoke and seek out the relationship he described. It is the only way!
There is power in the testimony of what Jesus had done for you. Paul was not afraid to tell the people his testimony, even though it was controversial and unacceptable to testify that Jesus, God’s son wanted Paul to go to the Gentiles to proclaim God’s favor towards them. Paul knew God had chosen him years before on the road to Damascus to do just that. Ananias told Paul shortly after his encounter with Jesus himself:
“…The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 22:14-15 ESV
We have been called too. The Holy Spirit has been given to us as well empowers us to testify. We are to know this is His will. We are to “be a witness for him to everyone of what we have seen and heard.” Our testimony of God’s goodness in our lives will point others to the truth we have found. Lives will be changed!
Come Holy Spirit make us witnesses! Let us share our testimony!
Paul speaks the elders at the church of Ephesus that he dearly loves. He tells them that he knows the Holy Spirit is compelling him to go to Jerusalem, and he knows that hardship awaits him. Even so, Paul has set in his heart to obey and to go. His only desire was to obey God and to do exactly what God had called him to do. Paul says this:
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24 ESV
Life is not easy, and living for God with a heart that is wholly His is not normal to the world around us. Because those around us who do not know God do not value Him or His ways. But Paul had an encounter with Jesus Himself, and Paul had experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit in his life. He was forever changed and wanted to know God alone. He only wanted to please God no matter what.
Have you come to that point in your life? Have you had an experience with Jesus and found that He alone satisfies? Have you entered into fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Can you hear Him speak to you, and do you know He hears you when you pray? This is what you were created for! Nothing else matters!
My prayer is the same as Paul’s. May I testify if the grace of God in my life! God has been so very good to me! I want you to experience that same goodness! But that goodness is only experienced when you surrender your life to Him. That is when the Holy Spirit fills you to overflowing and you experience the same Jesus Paul encountered on the road to Damascus and the same Holy Spirit the disciples were filled with in the upper room at Pentecost.
Paul went from town to town and from house to house declaring Jesus. He even stated:
“…I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,” Acts 20:20 ESV
Paul did not hesitate to preach anything that he thought would be helpful to the believers he knew. Especially the importance of faith in Jesus:
“testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21 ESV
That is how we need to live our lives. There is only one answer to the circumstances of life that we find ourselves in. There is only one truth! May we declare this to those we know. It is the only thing helpful in a world that is confusing and full of hurt!
I love this account of God’s power as He delivered Peter from jail. What God did was so amazing it was hard for Peter to understand and for the disciples gathered praying for Him to believe. It was mind blowing!
As the angel appears, Peter’s chains fell off and gates were opened, Peter thought he was seeing a vision. When Peter went to where the disciples were the servant Rhoda answered. The disciples thought she was “out of her mind.”
What struck me was these very disciples were praying for Peter! God loves to work amazing miracles in our lives and the lives of others! He loves to perform the kind of miracles that leave us speechless and scratching our heads. He loves to display His power and His glory!
The disciples saw what was an impossible situation and they were faithful in prayer. They could not and did not imagine the miraculous that God did to answer their prayers. God came through! Peter was freed. In the end, the one who put Peter in jail in the first place died because he failed to give glory to God. And “the word of God increased and multiplied.” (Verse 24)
God’s plan goes on! The work of the Holy Spirit through His people that was started on Pentecost continued on and it continues on today! Be faithful to pray and be assured we serve a God of mind blowing miracles!
Two major miracles! One…Peter commands a man paralyzed for eight years to get up and walk in the name of Jesus! Two… Peter commands a believer who had died to get up and she did! In both cases people heard of the miracles and “turned to the Lord.” They “believed in the Lord.”
Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit, not only with boldness, but with the Spirit displaying signs and wonders through his commands. All of this was done in the name of Jesus! It pointed to Jesus, who was and still is alive!
The Holy Spirit wants to empower us today to see signs and wonders that bring glory to Jesus and testify of His living lordship over all. May we hunger and thirst to be full of Him so we can be a display of God’s love, His image here today! And May we see the Holy Spirit work the unimaginable through our lives so all will see and be in awe of our glorious God!
Your Love 