"Get Jesus' Attention"

"And, behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David." Matthew 20:30,31 

The crowd tried to shut these blind men up. They told them to be quiet, but they cried out to Jesus even louder. They knew that Jesus was their only hope. They knew their opportunity to be able to see was passing by. If they would ever be able to see, here was their chance. They paid no attention to the crowd. They did not allow the others to keep them quiet. They knew the crowd couldn't help them. They knew that no one who was telling them to be quiet had their answer. There was no one that day that could give them what they needed but Jesus. So, they did whatever it took to get Jesus' attention. 

 

It is the same with us. Jesus is the only one who can meet our need. Like we have said in past days. Others are only resources, but He is the source. Don't let anyone stop you from getting to Him. Don't let intimidation stop you. Don't let fear stop you. Don't let the jeers of people stop you. Don't let the accusations of the enemy- his condemnation and words of guilt-- stop you. Be persistent. Don't allow anything to shut you up or stop you. The woman with the issue of blood didn't let anything stop her either, she pressed through the crowd and the weakness of her own body to touch Jesus. 

 

Because they didn't let anything stop them, they got Jesus' attention. He heard their cries. He stopped and stood still and called for them to come to Him. When we will persist in our cries to Him, when we don't let anything stop us from getting to Him, He will stop for us too and call us to Himself. He will look at us through eyes of compassion and minister to us at the point of our need. We may not need to receive our sight. But whatever our need is, we must continue to call out to Him and He will meet it too whatever it is.

 

Have a great day. Don't let anything or anyone stop you from getting Jesus' attention. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 20:30-34

Philippians 4:19

 

"Follow Him Wherever He Goes"

"And he saith unto them, Follow me..." Matthew 4:19 

We aren't called to follow a religion, a philosophy, or an ideology. We are called to follow a person, but not just any person. We are called to follow Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God. Many have turned back from following Him because they were disillusioned. They thought that following Him would mean a life of blessings, perfect peace, happiness, no hardships and nothing but joy. But they found that this wasn't the case. "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (John 6:66)

 

Following Jesus takes us into many places. There are those wonderful times when following Him leads us besides still waters-- places of peace, rest and plenty. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:2) But not all of them are "pleasant" places. 

 

Following Him also takes us into the wilderness to be tempted. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

 

It takes us into places of being hated for His name sake. "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." (Luke 21:17) 

 

It takes us into places of suffering. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." (Hebrews 5:8)

 

It takes us to a place of crucifixion and self-denial. The crucifixion of self. The denial of our own selfish desires and ambitions. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)

 

It takes us into a place where we may have to leave the familiar and comfortable. "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." (Matthew 19:21) 

 

Following Jesus takes us into some difficult places that is why we must count the cost before we begin the journey with Him. Will it cost us something? Did it cost Jesus something to follow His Father's will? The answer to both is yes. But will it be worth it? You have to decide. This is a question that we each have to answer for ourselves, no one can answer or do our following for us. Are you willing to follow Him? "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62) Will following Him cost you something here? But what you will receive later at the end of the journey will far exceed what you went through here as you followed Him. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us." (2 Timothy 2:11,12)

 

Have a great day. Following Jesus takes us into many places- not always easy ones. But it will be worth it in the end. 

 

"The Real Source"

"And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." Luke 13:38

Yesterday we talked about seeking the Lord first before we seek out others when we are in need. This morning, I feel compelled to talk about it again. If our needs are going to be met, we are going to have to go to the right source of help. 

 

When Queen Esther's people were threatened with death, she didn't go to one of her servants for help. She didn't turn to her friends. She went straight to the one who could grant her petition-- the king. When the blind man sat by the roadside desiring to have his sight restored, he didn't cry out to Peter or James, he cried out to the One who could give him sight- Jesus. 

 

Who are we crying out to? Are we looking to politicians to meet our need? Are we looking to some prophet to help us? Are we looking to the doctors to heal us? Are we looking to the credit union to pay our bills? Like I said yesterday, God can use any vessel He wants to use-- He has used a donkey, a raven, a pitcher of oil, judges, doctors, kings, etc. But these only offer aid and assistance-- they are not the source of our help.

 

I don't have the power in and of myself to save myself, heal myself, deliver myself, provide for myself, strengthen myself, give myself wisdom, and so on, and neither do you or anyone else. It is because we are not the Source. We have nothing and can do nothing apart from God. Whatever we have, whatever we can do, it all comes through Him. It is only because He gives us the power, the ability, and the know how to do it. Outside of Him we possess nothing. Even Jesus said that He could do nothing without His Father. 

 

We must stop running here and there seeking out help that is just as inadequate as we are. We must go directly to the Source of our help. Again, hear what I am saying-- what the Spirit is saying through me-- God has all kinds of resources available to us. But they are only resources not the Source. We tend to seek out the resources but neglect to seek out the Source of those resources. God is saying, "Seek Me first. Come to Me first and I will lead you and guide you and direct you in the way to go". 

 

Have a great day. Resources are only aids. God is the true Source of our help. 

 

For further reading:

John 5:19

Philippians 4:13

"The Wrong Order"

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 

Where is the first place you go when you are in trouble or need help? Do you run to this person or that person, to this place or that place? Do you, after you have exhausted every avenue you can think of that might give you help, then turn to God? Do you wait and go to Him after all else fails? If so, you have got it out of order.

 

Am I saying that we shouldn't seek out places and people that have been established to offer help with certain needs? Am I saying that when we are sick we shouldn't go to the doctor, or seek council from a friend, or guidance from someone qualified in that particular area? No, I believe God can, and does, use people to help us. What I am saying is that we should not automatically turn to them as our "first" resort. And then after they can't help us, we decide to turn to God. He should always be our first resort. We should look to Him first. It might be that He will then tell us to seek out the help of this one or that one. 

 

We should give God the first "option" to see what He says, or will do, about the situation. Then do whatever He tells us to do. At the wedding of Cana they ran out of wine. Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. She turned to Him first with the need. He met it and a great miracle was seen. I tend to believe that if we would do the same, we might see more miracles than we have been seeing. But how can we ever witness a miracle if we don't bring the Miracle Worker into the situation? 

 

Again, I am not saying that God can't or doesn't use people to meet our need, He often does. I am just saying that He should not be our last resort after everything else we have tried has failed. He should always be the first place we run to, and maybe we would experience more miracles if we give Him the chance to do something on our behalf first.

 

Have a great day. Who do you go to first when you have a need?

 

For further reading:

John 2:1-11

"I Need Water"

"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." Psalm 63:1 

There are times when my body feels so dry and thirsty. When this happens, I go get a drink of water. I have plants in my house and when they start looking dry and beginning to wilt, I water them. When the flowers in my yard are dry and shriveling up, I get out the water hose and water them. When our pets are thirsty, we put a bowl of water out for them. 

 

When living things get dry and thirsty, we water them. The spiritual part of us is living and if we neglect it, it will get dry too. So, what do we do? If water is the remedy for every other living thing, then it is the same answer for our spirits. We have to water them. 

 

Are you feeling dry inside? Are you feeling like you are "wilting" on the vine? Well, when was the last time you were "watered"? When was the last time you watered your spirit? How do we water our spirits? "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Ephesians 5:26) With God's Word. You water it by opening God's Word and filling your spirit up with it. You read it and you meditate on it. I am not talking about just a verse or two. I am talking about a good "soaking". When my plants are dry and wilting, I don't just give them a drop or two of water, I give them a good soaking. It is amazing what that will do for them. Their leaves are no longer droopy. They stand upright. And they look refreshed again. 

 

We need to daily water our spirits. We need to soak them in God's Word. It is the "water" that we need to get refreshed and come back alive.

 

Have a great day. If your spirit is feeling dry, when was the last time you watered it?

 

For further reading:

Psalm 68:6; 107:35

Isaiah 55:1