Rebekah Wilson, Discipleship Coordinator
Rebekah Wilson 0:01
Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the Word of God. It's Monday, June 20, and Sunday is coming. This is Rebekah Wilson, and I serve as Discipleship Coordinator. Today, I'll be reading Luke 5, verses 17 through 21.
Rebekah Wilson 0:16
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd - right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy, who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Rebekah Wilson 1:03
I recently spent some time with a two-year-old nephew. And if you can imagine, I heard the phrase "I need" declared many times throughout the day. I need snacks; I need milk, I need my toy. It's been exhausting, and I confess I scoffed at this boy and his idea of what he thinks he needs. But as I was preparing this devotional, I thought more about myself and how my demands and my needs aren't that different. I pray to the Lord, "I need this thing. I need this to change. Lord, I need you to change that person." In our passage today, a group of faithful friends brings a man to Jesus because they think he needs to be healed. And I don't know about you, but the first time I read this passage, I thought, "Jesus, this man needs to walk. I'm not sure if he asked for his sins to be forgiven." And I'm sure that the man and his friends may have responded similarly. But what is our greatest need? We tend to get caught up in our earthly needs and wants, we get blinded by the enemy that there are more significant needs in our lives than the truth that our greatest need on Earth is to have a reconciled relationship with God. This is only accomplished through the forgiveness of sins. And the only way to be forgiven is to place our faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made on the cross on our behalf. This is our greatest need and the ultimate healing that Jesus brought to the paralyzed man.
Rebekah Wilson 2:36
Let's pray. Father God, we praise you for being our Redeemer and Savior. Thank you for providing for our greatest need. The forgiveness of our sins. Thank you for opening the way to you for tearing the curtain that once stood between yourself and humanity. We confess that we are often too occupied by our material needs or momentary wants. Please help us to shift our minds to internal needs instead. Help us to see the people that you've placed in our lives who still need healing for their greatest need. Please give us boldness and courage to bring our friends to Jesus, just like these faithful friends in this passage. We pray for all these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.