Devotional Thoughts

Matthew 9:4-8     " And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?   For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?   But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.   And he arose, and departed to his house.  But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."  Jesus had just spoken to a man sick with palsy and told him to be of good cheer because his sins were forgiven. The scribes (which were religious lawyers) were offended by this and reasoned among themselves that Jesus had blasphemed. They thought their thoughts were hidden from Jesus because they did not credit who He was. I imagine that His response to them added to their surprise. The evil in their hearts was that they thought ill of Jesus...

Matthew 9:1-3     " And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.  And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.   And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth."  No matter where Jesus was, people were drawn to Him. Mark 2:1-12 gives us a deeper look at this instance. The city was Capernaum which is where Jesus went after the Sermon on the Mount. The centurion, whose servant Jesus healed, and Peter’s house were in Capernaum (see Matthew, chapter seven). We know from our previous study that Jesus was returning after having sailed from Peter’s house to the city of the Gergesenes and casting out the demons from the two men living among the tombs. Mark’s account further tells us that word soon spread that Jesus was back in town. Immediately, a crowd gathere...

Matthew 8:28-34     " And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.  And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.  And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw ...

Ephesians 6:18-20     "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  (19)  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  (20)  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Recently we saw the whole armour of God and the necessity for each of us to put it on every single day. We must seek to strengthen the core of our being. We must guard our hearts so that they do not grow cold as a result of the actions of the worldly minded people that are around us. We must be ready to answer the call to follow Christ in service by sharing the wonderful news of redemption in Christ Jesus - the forgiveness of sins through the shed blood of our Saviour. We must always carry the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts that are hurled at us everyday...