Monday September 8, 2008 I WILL FOLLOW HIM
But he said, "Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! For I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus." When it was clear that he wouldn't be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The will of the Lord be done." Acts 21:13-14 As Paul is preparing to leave for Jerusalem, the Believers there are mourning his going. A man with the gift of prophecy warned him that he would be bound and thrown in jail, but as we see, Paul insisted in obeying what he felt the voice of God was telling him to do. Quiet a contrast to the passage I read before these verses in my quiet time. I read about the crippled man beside the Bethesda pool. Jesus walked over to a man who had been lying there for 38 years and asked him, ". . .Would you like to get well!" (John 5:6) Now, we see that as a fairly silly question, the man is crippled; of course he wants to be well. Jesus, however, wants us to see something else. >From time to time an angel would come and stir the water at this pool, and the >first person in received healing. It never fails, when I read this story I picture myself sleeping on the pool's edge so that I could fall in at the right moment. However, that isn't the action this man choose. His reply to Jesus was that every time the angel touched the water for healing someone beat him in the water. He was playing the blame game. Jesus told him to take up his mat and go. So the man did that and he was healed but the Jewish leaders approached him angrily because it was the Sabbath and said that he shouldn't be carrying his mat. Again, he plays the blame game and told them that the man who healed him told him to do it! "But afterwards Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, 'Now you are well; don't sin as you did before, or something even worse may happen to you.'" (John 5:14) Instead of staying and talking to Jesus so he could know Him better and discover what the meaning of those words were, the man runs off to the leaders to tell them who healed him. (I don't think he was witnessing to them.) I don't know if the man's sin was denial of his problem, blaming others for the lack of healing, laziness, unbelief, or what, I just know Jesus warned him not to sin in the same way again. God wants us to trust Him with and for everything, whether it is who we need to witness to or even for our emotional or physical healing. We all have a story to tell in one way or another. Like Paul, we have a destination. These words from Philippians 4:6-7 should give us courage and hope to trust God as we confess our sins to God and seek God's purpose in our life, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank him for the answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus." I guess it's true; peace comes in trusting not in trying. Let's sing happily the old song, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to Trust and Obey!" Lord, help us hear Your voice and not the voice of those who think they know what is best for us. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] window live messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
