And when He SAW their faith

Have you ever thought that tenacity, strategy, determination, ingenuity, thinking outside the box could be characteristics that are very appealing to the Lord. In fact could this be so pleasing to the Lord that He could possibly say, "My child since you have shown me your heart of tenacity and ingenuity in thinking outside of the box and beyond the normal/natural scope of things and have shown a sense of determination I am going to grant to you the desires of your heart."

I was thinking about this the other day after reading about Christ Jesus healing the man with palsy in (Luke 5:18-25) And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Did You catch that? When Jesus saw their faith He said, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." The men showed their trust and confidence in Jesus by being ingeniously determined to get their friend to Him. The men did what they felt they had to do for their friend and then Jesus took it from there.

Have you heard the old saying, "There's more than one way to skin a cat?" No offense cat lovers, I love cats myself, so don't get your panties in a tuft. These men were determined to come up with a strategic way to get their friend to Jesus so that he could be healed and they were dramatically successful in their conquest. Because of their faith and ingenuity, this man so far, has been spiritually healed (his sins have been forgiven).

We must go a little further because this man's physical healing is about to be granted by Christ Jesus as well. And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up they couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that wheron he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying God.

Isn't Jesus cool? The Son of man (Jesus Christ) has not only the power upon earth to forgive sins He also has the power upon earth to heal the body. I can just see the Scribes and Pharisees now, standing there with their mouths agape in total amazement and perplexity.

This account in scripture was a reminder to me by the Holy Spirit that we can possibly stop short of seeing the physical miracles in our lives because we limit our vision of hope. We can look at circumstances as hopeless and get tunnel vision which then causes us to lose our faith/determination and thus we can overlook the one possible way that will birth a miracle. The men had hopes that if they couldn't get their friend through the crowd then they would go over the crowd. They were tenacious, determined and strategic. I can just see Jesus smiling as if to say, "That's my boys! and I am proud of them for showing determination in their quest to get to me and having confidence in me."

If it seems as though it is impossible to get to Jesus because circumstances are blocking the way ,then we must look up and go over them. This is where Faith comes in. Circumstances should never stop us from our pursuit and appointed destination which is Jesus. Jesus is our Hope and He is our Answer both now and forever!

May we all be honest with ourselves and ask this question, "Am I looking up and going over the circumstances in life and trusting in Jesus or have I stopped short by looking at the overwhelming crowds of circumstances in front of me and think that all is hopeless?

Tenacity will take you up and over

Have you ever thought that tenacity, strategy, determination, ingenuity, thinking outside the box could be characteristics that are very appealing to the Lord. In fact could this be so pleasing to the Lord that He could possibly say, "My child since you have shown me your heart of tenacity and ingenuity in thinking outside of the box and beyond the normal/natural scope of things and have shown a sense of determination I am going to grant to you the desires of your heart."

I was thinking about this the other day after reading about Christ Jesus healing the man with palsy in (Luke 5:18-25) And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Did You catch that? When Jesus saw their faith He said, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." The men showed their trust and confidence in Jesus by being ingeniously determined to get their friend to Him. The men did what they felt they had to do for their friend and then Jesus took it from there.

Have you heard the old saying, "There's more than one way to skin a cat?" No offense cat lovers, I love cats myself, so don't get your panties in a tuft. These men were determined to come up with a strategic way to get their friend to Jesus so that he could be healed and they were dramatically successful in their conquest. Because of their faith and ingenuity, this man so far, has been spiritually healed (his sins have been forgiven).

We must go a little further because this man's physical healing is about to be granted by Christ Jesus as well. And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up they couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that wheron he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying God.

Isn't Jesus cool? The Son of man (Jesus Christ) has not only the power upon earth to forgive sins which is spiritual but He also has the power upon earth to heal the body which of course is physical. I can just see the Scribes and Pharisees now, standing there with their mouths agape in total amazement and perplexity.

This story was a subtle reminder to me by the Holy Spirit that we can possibly stop short of seeing the physical miracles in our lives because we limit our vision of hope. We can look at circumstances as hopeless and get tunnel vision which then causes us to lose our faith/determination and thus we can overlook the one possible way that will birth a miracle. The men had hopes that if they couldn't get their friend through the crowd then they would go over the crowd. They were tenacious, determined and strategic. I can just see Jesus smiling as if to say, "That's my boys! and I am so proud of them for showing so much determination in their quest to get to me and having confidence in me."

If it seems as though it is impossible to get to Jesus because circumstances are blocking the way ,then we must look up and go over them. Circumstances should never stop us from our pursuit and appointed destination which is Jesus. Jesus is our Hope and He is our Answer both now and forever!

May we all be honest with ourselves and ask this question, "Am I looking up and going over the circumstances in life and trusting in Jesus or have I stopped short by looking at the overwhelming crowds of circumstances in front of me and think that all is hopeless?

Water off a duck's back

We had a Pastor who use to say that he had a back like a duck because he had learned not to carry or allow offenses to soak into him, they would just roll right off of his back.

Jesus said in Lk. 4:18-19 That the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

The word brokenhearted in the Greek means to have crushed/shattered feelings. I think most of us have experienced this kind of pain. Having your heart crushed is a horrible pain. It's like a heaviness that lingers in the pit of your stomach. You have been pierced through and feel utterly devastated. The worst pain I think I have ever felt is the pain of betrayal. My heart has literally felt crushed by this heartache. But praise be to God that He didn't leave me with holes of betrayal in my heart. And He doesn't want to leave you with a shattered heart either. Jesus has said that He has come to heal the brokenhearted. Jesus came to mend our hearts and bring healing into our lives. He desires to make us brand new. The first step in becoming brand new is to first give our forgiveness to those who have caused us pain. We must forgive others of their offenses before the holes in our heart can be filled with Jesus' healing balm.

God has allowed me to experience some tough emotional pain in the last few years and I believe this is because He has been teaching me the lessons of giving forgiveness and Grace to others so as I can have His forgiveness and experience His healing in my life and be set free. He is teaching me to keep my eyes upon Him. These experiences have been some hard ones for me but I will have to admit that it is getting easier for me to let things just roll off of my back and not allow offenses and unforgiveness soak into me. I have been taught some valuable lessons by the Holy Spirit to not only be forgiving and gracious toward others but also to use Godly wisdom and discernment.

I truly believe that the only holes that will forever be permanent are the ones that Jesus (our Lord and Savior) took so that we wouldn't have to. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. May we allow His healing to take place in our heart by first offering our forgiveness to others

so that we can say,

"It's just water off a duck's back!"

I AM THAT I AM

These words spoken to Moses in Exodus 3:14 have had a very dramatic effect on the children of Israel and followers of Jesus all through history. "I AM THAT I AM" What exactly does that mean to you and I. And how can we apply this to ours lives in this day and time of history.

First of all we acknowledge, that in the beginning was the Word and the Word spoke "LET THERE BE". We are speaking of a all encompassing God. For by Him all things were made. This is exciting because there is a Father God who created everything for us. Out of the infinite love that He has for us, He created. In Him is all truth and understanding of the universe. He knows how every atom, molecule, and quark is supposed to act, because He made them. For example, suppose I created a new automobile that runs on sand. You would probably scratch your head and say how can this be, but I, as the inventor will have the understanding of the process to turn sand into a energy source. Likewise because God created all things He also has all understanding of His creation. So the Father says "I am that I am."

What does this mean to you and I? Did you notice the diamond at the top of the page and how it radiates the beautiful prism of colors in all directions and the many cut facets of the stone? Well, this is a picture of the awesomeness of God the Father when He says;

I AM THAT I AM.

Each facet is a picture of who He is. Psalm 103:2-5 says Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all your iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth your life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

God the Father is not a respecter of men. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He says He will do for one, He will do for all, if you believe by faith that He is who He says He is. So he forgives those who ask for forgiveness. He heals those who ask for healing. Are you troubled in your mind with worry, stress, and the cares of this world. He has deliverance for those who ask for it.

Jesus said, in Mat 11:28-30 "Come unto me all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Can you see another facet of the Lord? He wants us to have rest. He wants to teach us to have a fulfilling life in Him. So far we have seen just 7 facets: creative, saving, delivering, healing, loving, teaching, burden lifter. Here are some more: He is a Provider to the needy, a Shepherd to a straying lamb, a Feeder of the hungry, a Father to the fatherless, a Comforter to the comfortless. He brings joy into a sad situation, He gives happiness, He gives miracles to those who need a miracle. He is a Friend to the lonely. He will stay closer to you than a brother. He won't leave you or forsake you. He talks to you when there is silence. When you were condemned for your wrongs, He took your place and died for you.

So ultimately it all comes to this, our Father in Heaven is saying;
I AM whatever you need Me to be. He is a many faceted God. He has all the attributes that you or I will ever need in a loving caring Father. All we have to do is ask. Ask for Him to intervene in our lives. To take over to make the decisions of our future. Then you will begin to see the facets of a Father who would do all for His children. When the prodigal son came home the father didn't wait till he came to the gate. But when he was a great way off the father saw him coming, and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Only time will unfold His greatness in our lives.

But this one thing we all can be sure of.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
                                                                                                          Joe Greenwell