Through a series of small events Sunday, God led me to a great online sermon that had a clip from a talk given by Joni Eareckson Tada. If you don’t know who she is, she is a wonderful witness for Jesus and a quadriplegic. At the time of the recording in 2013, she had been a quadriplegic for 46 years.
She talks about how she desired and prayed to be healed, searched the Scriptures about healing, and how God spoke to her through Mark 1:38. In the preceding verses, Jesus had healed many and cast out demons. The next morning He got up early, found a quiet place and prayed. Simon and other companions found Jesus and exclaimed “Everyone is looking for you!” The assumption is that another crowd of people seeking healing had gathered and was looking for the healer. Joni found Jesus’ response “curious”. Here’s what He responded:
Mark 1:38 (ESV)
And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns,
that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
Joni says: “And that’s when it hit me, O did it hit me. It’s not that Jesus did not care about all those sick and diseased people, it’s just their problems weren’t His main focus. The gospel was. The gospel that says sin kills, hell is real, but God is merciful and His Kingdom can change you and Jesus is the way. And whenever people miss this, whenever they just started coming to Jesus to get their pain and problems fixed, the Savior would always back away.”
Jesus’ priority was to proclaim God’s message of salvation to all, to bring healing to our souls by freeing us from sin and eternal death.
Luke 19:10 (ESV)
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” – Romans 10:9&10
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14&15
You can look up these verses yourself in a Bible or online at a site such as https://www.biblegateway.com/. Give God a chance to speak with you. He loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.
God has made it very simple for us. It's just a matter of realizing we have done wrong in His sight, ask His forgiveness and believe what Jesus has done to bridge the gap between us and God. The greatest gift anyone can receive is the free gift of salvation. I hope you will search out the truth of Jesus and His great love for you today. A love that lasts for all eternity.
John 15:13
That's what Jesus did for you and for me. No one loves us like He does - unconditionally. No matter what life throws at us, as believers, Jesus is with us through it all.
TIP: Don't delay to seek Jesus. It is a matter of life and death.
- We have all missed the mark of God's perfection. We have all done wrong in God's eyes and therefore we have all earned eternal death (hell). God is holy and cannot allow sin without a payment. Jesus paid that payment in full. God offers us eternal life through Jesus Christ as a gift. A gift cannot be earned. It must be freely given and freely received.
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6
- Jesus was very clear that He is the only way to gain access to the Father who is God.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” – Romans 10:9&10
- Simply say and believe that "Jesus is Lord". This statement gives Jesus authority over our lives and is His promise that we are saved from eternal death.
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14&15
- You can be assured that now you are part of God's family and He will empower you by His Holy Spirit to live a life for Him. A life of joy and abundance.
You can look up these verses yourself in a Bible or online at a site such as https://www.biblegateway.com/. Give God a chance to speak with you. He loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.
God has made it very simple for us. It's just a matter of realizing we have done wrong in His sight, ask His forgiveness and believe what Jesus has done to bridge the gap between us and God. The greatest gift anyone can receive is the free gift of salvation. I hope you will search out the truth of Jesus and His great love for you today. A love that lasts for all eternity.
John 15:13
"Greater love has no one than this,
that someone lay down his life for his friends."
TIP: Don't delay to seek Jesus. It is a matter of life and death.
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