Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Judges 13-15; John 5
Devotional Thought:
The Holy Spirit prophesied through the pen of Isaiah, “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. (Isaiah 35:3-5) Here in John 5, the promised Messiah has come and is doing the very things that were prophesied. Had these religious leaders truly known the God of the scriptures, they would have recognized the Messiah. However, there eyes were blind and they were spiritually lost. We see in this impotent man the same condition we were in before Jesus saved us. We were helpless, hopeless, and harmed by the spiritual disease of sin. There was no possible way, in ourselves, to solve our sin problem and there was a demand for a personal confrontation with Christ. Jesus asks a simple question, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (vs. 6) The man responded with a broken yet honest heart when he said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” (vs. 7) Before a person can be saved, he must recognize his complete dependence upon Christ to save him. It certainly is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us.” (Titus 3:5) Jesus told him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk! And immediately the man was made whole…” (vs. 8-9) It never ceases to amaze me how self-centered people can miss the obvious. Here is a man who has not walked for 38 years and he is miraculously healed and the pious hypocrites of the day say, “It is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed on the Sabbath day.” (vs. 10) Do you get excited when a sinner gets saved? Are you still amazed at how God can take a vile and wicked person and turn them into a saint? We best not try to take any of the glory if God uses us, for it is a transformation that God brings not man. “The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.” (vs. 15) I am personally excited about the number of people who have been saved in the recent weeks at Faith Baptist Church. I am thankful for the people and programs God has used, but these people are saved and growing because of the work of Jesus! May we rejoice that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost and that He is still doing it today! What a privilege for us to participate in His program and to have the privilege to be instruments in His hand.
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to never get over the miracle of salvation. Help me to always be grateful for my salvation.
• Lord, please help me to rejoice with those who are rescued from the penalty of sin and who become my brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Lord, please help me to never become a pious and hypocritical critic that loses sight of the miracle of salvation to elevate my preferences or priorities. Thank you for my salvation.