healing

The Last Healing

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47 NKJV

As Jesus is begins His final journey towards Jerusalem, a blind man named Batimaeus hears the news and in desperation cries to Jesus for help. Breaking the decorum of his day he starts to shout as loudly as he can, trying to get Jesus’ attention, no matter what anyone else thinks.

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During His ministry Jesus had healed all kinds of people including the mother of the Apostle Peter’s wife, the servant of a government official and a woman who touched his robe in a crowd. As He neared the end of His time on earth He raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. But what was likely His last miraculous act of Jesus paused to heal a bind beggar named Bartimaeus.  The blind man had no special credentials or connections except Jesus was passing by.For all of us who also have no pedigree, political connections or friends in high places there is hope. The mercy of Jesus comes with only the requirement that, like Bartimaeus, we ask with all our heart.

Jesus is as willing to stop for a jailer as for a prisoner. He hears the prayer of the surgeon as well as the patient. He bends his ear as closely to hear orphans he does to the father of a nation. Our hope in Jesus Christ is based on one thing alone. He died for our sins and rose again. He is walking down our street and He is still inviting beggars to come to His side in His heavenly home!

Lord I Want to See!

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“What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. … Luke 18:41-43 NLT

Often our greatest problem is that we are not seeing clearly. “Sit still!” my Step-father used to say as I would try to wriggle away from the tweezers with which he worked to pull splinters from my hand. All I could see was a big man standing over me with something that was causing me pain. But he could see that if the splinter wasn’t removed then an infection could cause greater pain or even irreparable harm.

Are you going through situations that are out of your control? In the moment it is so painful that all you want to do is wriggle free. We cry out praying things like, “Lord hide me from this situation!” But maybe our best prayer would be, “Lord help me see this trial like You do!” Then when Jesus says, “Receive your sight.” we will suddenly see other people for the very first time. Next as we turn to look in the mirror we will be able see ourselves as God does. Then when we look up to Jesus we will see that His plan was best. Last of all as we look ahead we will be able to walk side by side with our Savior and Sight Giver and follow Him all along the way!

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Our Great Hope

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That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, He Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses Matthew 8:17 KJV

Did you know that God is so intimately concerned with our physical needs that He has even counted the number of hairs on our head? We have a great hope that whether in this life or in the next; God will heal every disease, restore all that is broken and renew our youth like the eagles!

Whether sitting in a wheel chair in a nursing home or confined to a bed with a tracheotomy tube in order to breathe, Jesus offers the hope of complete and entire healing as one part of His promise of eternal life. That promise may be overlooked or forgotten by those in perfect health, but God does not forget. The same Jesus who was moved with compassion for lepers, the blind and the lame has promised to wipe every tear from our eyes. He not only has compassion for our aches, pains and disabilities but the Bible tells us that He took all of these onto his shoulders and carried them.

If we continue reading in the chapter of Isaiah that Matthew quotes we see in the very next verse that it is by His stripes that we are healed. God is so very concerned for every one of our pains and infirmities that He allowed a whip to fall across the shoulders of Jesus. As He was wounded again and again we were being healed. Weak arms will be lifted, failing voices will sing again and deaf ears will hear the shepherd’s voice! When the things of earth have passed we will stand strong and eternally young in the presence of our ageless King!