Mark 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Yes Friends, today we have more healing done by Jesus on some who showed extraordinary faith. But before we get to that, I have a quote to share. It talks about the past and is attributed to Laura Palmer. ‘The past should be culled like a box of fresh strawberries, rinsed of debris, sweetened judiciously and served in small portions, not very often.’ And isn’t that the truth mih people! Too many of us still dwell in the past by constantly recalling all the bad things that happened back then. But those things are supposed to stay in the past, since dwelling on them is rather unproductive. It just causes us to take those negative feelings that the bad memories generate and use them as guidelines or expectations for the future. We fill our minds and hearts with evil forebodings; that the same bad things are going to continue happening. But as Ms. Palmer says, we’ve got to be very selective of our bad memories, only recall them occasionally, and then sweeten them up some, so that their negativity doesn’t affect our current lives and keep us on that lurid path of doubt and disappointment. Some old times were also very good, but we can’t dwell on those either, we’ve got to look to the future; hoping, expecting, dreaming and believing that upcoming times will be more productive, eventful and pleasing. And my Friends, the only way to do that is to have faith. Remember God’s mercies are new everyday, which means that anything’s possible on any given day. We need to believe that God will improve our situations if we remain steadfast in His Word. That brings us to today’s example of faith. Jesus is in Capernaum again, and once word gets around that He’s in town, a crowd immediately gathers around the house He’s at, leaving no room anywhere, not even near the door. So Jesus stands up in the doorway and preaches to them. Then four people show up bearing a paralyzed man on a bed. ‘And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.’ (Mark 2:4) Now Friends, that doesn’t only show great faith, but also much ingenuity. Imagine these four people showing up with a paralyzed man on a bed nuh, and seeing the large crowd that they obviously couldn’t get through. Steups! I’m sure they did not just hiss their teeth but also let fly some lovely deleted expletives, especially if they had travelled far for the opportunity to heal their associate. But the good thing is that they did not give up, did not lose hope, just turn around and go away disappointed and disgruntled. No, it’s obvious they put some thought into the problem, desperately trying to figure out a way to get close to Jesus. And what’s interesting too is that when they hit upon the idea to remove the roof, they didn’t consider it too difficult a task either. They were so focused on getting their friend healed, that they thought it well worth doing. I wonder if they even considered the owners of the house, or asked their permission. You just can’t go dismantling someone’s roof because you want to get close to Jesus. But they did. Now how many of us today are willing to go the extra mile for someone else eh? Not very many, cause the predominant consideration is strictly me, myself and I. We don’t put ourselves out very often, even for close friends or family. But my people, that’s not the Christian way. Jesus taught that we should always be willing to go the distance, even for strangers. And Bruh Paul reminds us to treat strangers well, for they may just be angels in disguise. Jesus was so touched by the efforts of those men that the Good Book declares; ‘When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Mark 2:5) Obviously the sceptics were present. ‘But there were certain scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?’ (Mark 2:6-7) And of course once Jesus perceives their scepticism, He jumps all over them. ‘Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all: insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw it on this fashion.’ (Mark 2:8-12) Oh mih Friends, doesn’t it do your heart good to see Jesus put down those doubting, hypocritical, know-all, but really know-nothing fools? And they were so staid in their old fashioned ways, that despite all Jesus said and did, they still refused to believe. I guess that’s why some consider wealth and education enemies of faith, because most of those who believed were poor and uneducated, while the rich, educated, foppish fools didn’t. Anyway my people, that’s a fallacy, for wealth, education and faith actually do go hand in hand. To acquire the first two, one must possess a large portion of the latter, since you’re embarking on projects that take time and effort, and there’s no guarantee how they’ll turn out. However, if you don’t first believe that you’ll accomplish your goals, then you never will. So have faith my people! It’s difficult at times, but that’s just life. Much LOVE!…to succeed at anything…the roots of faith…must be sunk deep down in our souls…
Yes Friends, today we have more healing done by Jesus on some who showed extraordinary faith. But before we get to that, I have a quote to share. It talks about the past and is attributed to Laura Palmer. ‘The past should be culled like a box of fresh strawberries, rinsed of debris, sweetened judiciously and served in small portions, not very often.’ And isn’t that the truth mih people! Too many of us still dwell in the past by constantly recalling all the bad things that happened back then. But those things are supposed to stay in the past, since dwelling on them is rather unproductive. It just causes us to take those negative feelings that the bad memories generate and use them as guidelines or expectations for the future. We fill our minds and hearts with evil forebodings; that the same bad things are going to continue happening. But as Ms. Palmer says, we’ve got to be very selective of our bad memories, only recall them occasionally, and then sweeten them up some, so that their negativity doesn’t affect our current lives and keep us on that lurid path of doubt and disappointment. Some old times were also very good, but we can’t dwell on those either, we’ve got to look to the future; hoping, expecting, dreaming and believing that upcoming times will be more productive, eventful and pleasing. And my Friends, the only way to do that is to have faith. Remember God’s mercies are new everyday, which means that anything’s possible on any given day. We need to believe that God will improve our situations if we remain steadfast in His Word. That brings us to today’s example of faith. Jesus is in Capernaum again, and once word gets around that He’s in town, a crowd immediately gathers around the house He’s at, leaving no room anywhere, not even near the door. So Jesus stands up in the doorway and preaches to them. Then four people show up bearing a paralyzed man on a bed. ‘And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.’ (Mark 2:4) Now Friends, that doesn’t only show great faith, but also much ingenuity. Imagine these four people showing up with a paralyzed man on a bed nuh, and seeing the large crowd that they obviously couldn’t get through. Steups! I’m sure they did not just hiss their teeth but also let fly some lovely deleted expletives, especially if they had travelled far for the opportunity to heal their associate. But the good thing is that they did not give up, did not lose hope, just turn around and go away disappointed and disgruntled. No, it’s obvious they put some thought into the problem, desperately trying to figure out a way to get close to Jesus. And what’s interesting too is that when they hit upon the idea to remove the roof, they didn’t consider it too difficult a task either. They were so focused on getting their friend healed, that they thought it well worth doing. I wonder if they even considered the owners of the house, or asked their permission. You just can’t go dismantling someone’s roof because you want to get close to Jesus. But they did. Now how many of us today are willing to go the extra mile for someone else eh? Not very many, cause the predominant consideration is strictly me, myself and I. We don’t put ourselves out very often, even for close friends or family. But my people, that’s not the Christian way. Jesus taught that we should always be willing to go the distance, even for strangers. And Bruh Paul reminds us to treat strangers well, for they may just be angels in disguise. Jesus was so touched by the efforts of those men that the Good Book declares; ‘When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Mark 2:5) Obviously the sceptics were present. ‘But there were certain scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?’ (Mark 2:6-7) And of course once Jesus perceives their scepticism, He jumps all over them. ‘Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all: insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw it on this fashion.’ (Mark 2:8-12) Oh mih Friends, doesn’t it do your heart good to see Jesus put down those doubting, hypocritical, know-all, but really know-nothing fools? And they were so staid in their old fashioned ways, that despite all Jesus said and did, they still refused to believe. I guess that’s why some consider wealth and education enemies of faith, because most of those who believed were poor and uneducated, while the rich, educated, foppish fools didn’t. Anyway my people, that’s a fallacy, for wealth, education and faith actually do go hand in hand. To acquire the first two, one must possess a large portion of the latter, since you’re embarking on projects that take time and effort, and there’s no guarantee how they’ll turn out. However, if you don’t first believe that you’ll accomplish your goals, then you never will. So have faith my people! It’s difficult at times, but that’s just life. Much LOVE!…to succeed at anything…the roots of faith…must be sunk deep down in our souls…
SCRIP-BITS 