Saving Face

Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;

Several things we observe in relation to the curing of the man with the dropsy (now called edema).

1. That he was allowed into the party was notable. Perhaps he was a relative of the host Pharisee or was brought in as a set up to see what the Lord would do on the Sabbath day. Either way, the man was an anomaly at this get together. Have you ever thought about the circumstances that put you in a place where you would eventually be able to meet the Lord? You could have been born, raised and died in a place where the name of Christ was never once mentioned. Instead, you are blessed to hear the blessed story of the Savior's love and respond to His love!

2. Jesus noticed the need and acted before the stricken man could even ask for help. "There was a certain man before him." Jesus had responded to an invitation which was a set up by the religious leaders. They invited, He accepted and then, "they watched him." Jesus was in hostile environs, but it would mean that someone there had a great need which He could meet. So, here was the man with the disease of dropsy. His face was grossly swollen with water. He was in extreme pain. The man stood out in a crowd and didn't escape the Lord's notice. Jesus pre-empted any request by the man and healed him. We are reminded that often, before we call, He already answers.

3. The detractors were put to silence. When Jesus asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, they stayed mum. Neither answer would help their cause in their condemnation of Jesus. So they just continued with their observant scowls.

4. Jesus "took him, and healed him." This public healing became a personal affair between Creator and creation, between Lord and servant, between God and man. Perhaps the two of them ducked behind a wall or found privacy in another room. Soon, the dropsied man emerged with a shining, rather than a swollen face. Whatever the Pharisees must have thought, the healed man was just grateful to be healed. He could have chimed in with Bartemaeus, “I can't say anything bad about Jesus. All I know is, I once was stricken but now I am whole!"

5. Jesus "let him go." He went away much different than when he came. What a difference once we have been touched by the Savior! We come to Him needy, sinful, sick, but we leave Him full, forgiven and whole.

Thank you for Reading this Blog

Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Dear Reader, I want to thank you for sharing a small part of your day with me by looking in on my blogs.

When I started this blog back in May of 2009, it was basically to keep myself faithful in the daily study of God's Word and to keep myself accountable before anybody who might care to read my thoughts on the Word each day.

I have a difficult time expressing what a tremendous blessing it has been to me to be able to share Jesus and His goodness to His children through this venue and to present Him as Savior to those seeking answers.

Today, I thought you may like to know a little about who else is reading what you are reading. I was thrilled when almost 500 people read the blog that first month three years ago. I am humbled that the number has increased nearly 10 times.

What touches me most is that people are looking in on the blog from places that boggle my mind. Following are the countries from which our readership is derived.

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua & Barbuda, Austria, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia,

Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belarus, Bermuda

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Cambodia,

Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Columbia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus

Czech Rep, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador

Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar

Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia

Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kuwait

Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia

Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco

Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua

Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Pakistan

Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda

St. Helena, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia

South Africa, S. Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname

Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia

Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, UK, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, US

Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

You may notice that many of these countries do not allow the Christian message to exist in any form in their land. And yet readers are searching the internet for sources of God's holy Word and related articles.

So, thanks reader, for looking in on our blog from time to time. May God richly bless you as you seek Him, put your faith in the completed work of Christ on Calvary and look for His return.

Chew on This!

Luke 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

The Lord is invited by a Pharisee to his house for dinner. There were a number of other Pharisees in attendance and some lawyers too.

Things quickly went south at this get together. The host criticized his guest of honor for not washing His hands before supper. So, this was it. This was the showdown at the OK Corral. How many times had Jesus admonished others to keep their peace about His ministry? "Tell the vision to no man," etc. He had stopped so many holes in the dam, but now it was time to let loose and let the Pharisees have it smack between the eyes.

"Cruddy cups!" "Dirty dishes!" "Wicked fools!" "Unloving hypocrites!" "Pious, self-serving open graves!" "Do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do murderers!"

This dinner opened a can of worms that would never get the lid back on again. They gave the Lord both barrels, hoping to catch Him slipping up in some way. But the dinner party ended with both sides going their own way, Jesus toward the cross and the religious crowd toward hell. But they had plenty to chew on.

This story behooves us "religious" types to take inventory of our motives. Are we guilty of the type of hypocrisy the Pharisees and lawyers expressed? Are we laying loads upon others we are not willing to move ourselves? Would we have been guilty of wanting to stone the righteous for simply telling the truth? Do we dot our "I's" and cross our "T's" just so-so, but ignore important things like judgment and love?

If Jesus came to our house, would there be sweet fellowship, or would He feel compelled to throw down the gauntlet?

Something to chew on.

Four Key Elements of the Lord's Prayer

Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Sanctus - Praise: He is worthy

Give us - Provision: He is able

Forgive us - Pardon: He is gracious

Lead us - Protection: He is wise

Let us not leave the glorious, powerful resource of prayer untapped today. Pray early, pray often, pray purposefully, pray expectantly.

The Meaning of the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

The man who fell among thieves represents the poor sinner, unable to save himself. Mankind is half dead, alive in body but dead spiritually. 30

The priest and the Levite represent the law and religion which are powerless to save. 32-32

The Samaritan is Jesus, in a sense, a half breed...Heavenly Father and earthly mother. He came to where we were and had compassion on us. 33

He saved us, by His stripes we are healed. The oil and the wine represent the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus. The inn is the church which cares for the reborn sinner. 34

The two pence are the Old and New Testaments which are given to the host, the pastor to care for us until repayment is made at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Be like Jesus, this my song,
In the home and in the throng;
Be like Jesus, all day long!
I would be like Jesus.