Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012           The Blind Saw and the Mute Spoke       

Page 120      Matthew 9:27-34

All of us are familiar with operating systems such as Apple, Windows, and Android. These, and several others, are the brains in our personal computers and smartphones. Most people don’t have a particular preference for an OS; they just want to be able to click their mouse and check email or push a button and make a cell phone call. All people also have their own unique OS that determines the way information is received, processed and conclusions are reached. As with their PC or cell phone, most people just want results and would be hard pressed to articulate how their particular OS works. However, we all would do well to heed the Ancient Greek aphorism, "know thyself". The two blind men in our reading for today demonstrated this virtue.

Jesus said it was because of their faith that he could make the men see. These men revealed their faith in two ways. The first was in the way they addressed Jesus: Son of David and Lord. These titles indicated that Jesus was the Messiah and that they were acknowledging his authority. Secondly, “They went right into the house where he was staying” (Matthew 9:28a). Their faith was active and I suspect the Apostle James could have used them as an example of “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22a).

Within their personal OS, these men had processed all they had heard about Jesus and reached the conclusion he was Son of David and Lord. “But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons” (Matthew 9:34). The Pharisees not only heard about Jesus, with their sight they actually witnessed the blind receiving sight and the mute speaking. However, they had a different OS and they reached a different conclusion about Jesus.

As in the case of Jairus and Veronica, the blind men and the mute were driven by desperation. Jesus was their only option; therefore they were compelled to consider that Jesus was in fact who he said he was. The Pharisees weren’t limited in their options for life. Since Jesus went around knocking down all their neatly laid boundaries, their OS couldn’t conclude he was the Messiah.

I don’t often feel desperate, and while I fully appreciate all the options I have that help make my life free from anxiety, such as credit cards, cell phones, and AAA, I am absolute persuaded that the foundation of life, my OS is expressed in this simple prayer:

O Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth;

I worship you. With all angels and saints I adore you.

I acknowledge you to be my Creator and my God.

I render to you the reverence of my being and my life.

I am not my own. I am yours.

By creation and redemption I am yours.

I will devote myself to your service this day and forever.

O Lord, grant grace for this I pray

in the name of my Savior, Christ Jesus.

Amen

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

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The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ

(Seed Sowers Christian Book Publishing House. http://www.seedsowers.com/)

Thursday, December 13, 2012     I Sent Out the Twelve       

Page 120-122         Matthew 10:1a, 5-11:1; Mark 6:6b-13; Luke 9:1-6