Reading: Mark 2:1-12
Four people carry a sick person to Jesus. Due to palsy his life is restricted to bed and his world is very small. For many reasons we too restrict our lives. These four people help him come out of his small world. They carry him to Jesus, the creator of mankind and universe but are unable to enter the house where Jesus was preaching the word because of the crowd. Amazingly no one in the crowd was willing to give way for the bed-ridden sick man. But those four ignored the stubborn nature of the crowd and decided to carry him through the roof top. People may become a stumbling block in our way when we do God’s will but God will lift us up high.
“…………... When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.“Isaiah 59:19
Those four people signify a praying community. As the people gathered together in the name of Jesus are bothered about their own needs thereby neglecting others. God chose a praying community. But even they are at times astonished by the attitude of hypocrites and stumble because of infirmities. But God helps them.
“— Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.“Romans 8:26
Now the praying people located Jesus and uncovered the roof, the block, and they placed the sick person exactly in front of Jesus. This is the miracle of prayer. Nothing can stop it.The remarkable thing that we should notice here is that no one said a word against them when they uncovered the roof.
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2
Prayer transforms us and unites us with Christ and fulfils God’s will. If we pray, we can do great things for His glory. Due of lack of prayer, we are unable to conduit the miraculous power of Jesus to people across the world. People dogmatically argue that miraculous deeds of Jesus had ceased after the death of His disciples. Dr. Grant R. Jeffrey in his book “Unveiling Mysteries of the Bible” dealt with the topic “The Mysteries of When Miracles and Healing Ceased” and he has brought out the fact of continuing Miracles and Healing from AD 100 to AD 1546 quoting various official records of historians. He wrote that “If space permitted, I could quote from a variety of church authorities over the centuries that followed who witnessed the continued operation of supernatural miracles”. His logic is that as our Lord is the same forever His deeds will also be the same.
“For I am the Lord, I change not;“ Malachi: 3:6
If our Lord is the same, then why do miracles and healings not happen? The answer is that no one looks at Jesus. Everyone looks at the obstacles. No one has compassion for others like Jesus has.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Mark 2:5
Here Jesus saw the faith of the people who carried the sick to Him and forgave the sins of the sick person. These four people had the same compassion of Jesus in them. This compassion comes from love. Paul in 1st Corinthians 13:1 describes the power of love. If we do anything without love then that would be of no use. The crowd that surrounded Jesus in that house did not have this love. Those who do not have this love will always find fault in others. Finding fault is Satan’s primary job. If we start assuming the reasons for a person’s suffering then it is evident that we are in Satan’s hands. In Revelation 12:10 we can see the name of Satan as an accuser. If Jesus is in us, we cannot accuse any one. Instead we would stand with them to pass on the love of Jesus in their life. If a person in our family, in our church or in our society is in trouble or is sick, it is our primary duty to pray for them. Whether they know Jesus or not is not an issue. They can be a sinner too. We should not see that. This is possible only if we love them and if we love them then we can also pray for them. Through our prayers their iniquities are being forgiven by our Lord. This is exactly what happened here.
“I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion“. Mark 2:11-12
James reiterated this in his book.
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.“ James 5:15-16
With this I want to emphasise the fact that miracles and healings never stopped but the conduit ‘love’ is cut off to carry these miracles and healings to His people. Let us pray to have this Divine Love to fill our hearts.
“and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5
God’s love and the Holy Spirit cannot be separated. If we believe that we are spirit driven people then we should also be a person filled with God’s love.
The Jordan Valley 
God does not make mistakes, everything He mad was very good this is why He did not make sickness, suffering, hardship and sin, they are part of a fallen world which is under the influence of the Devil God does not afflict us or a baby and because we Love God He makes everything work for good, sad that some put Him in a box of their own very limited understanding.
Lamentations 3: 33 For God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
As an example of His great Love, I was born with a gene defect and also a disability, one that would eventuality would lead me to be a Paraplegic, the other has caused me to have great difficulty in reading and writing, I have shared a lot of my Story on my Blog but there is more for me to write.
Because my birth Mother was an Alcoholic which can cause birth defects and also she may have tried to abort me as I was conceived in Adultery but what ever happened I’m now disabled but I have had Miraculous healing and God has intervened and saved my life a few times and now I will not be a Paraplegic either as medically diagnosed, also I have experienced Signs and Wonders, none of this could have been done by man so they are not counterfeit and they were witnessed and documented.
But what is so wonderful is that God gave me gifts that compensated for my shortcomings, no He it did not take them away, I’m still disabled in my feet and I’m Dyslectic but He helps me with these, I can’t write fluently more then a few sentences without His leading, yes I’m still a cracked vessel and make spelling , punctuation mistakes etc but He is the Super glue and it is His Truth as confirmed in the Scriptures and I also create Power Points so I can bring His Truth to life and as I do my Spirit soars and I often feel His presence greatly and there are tears of Joy and thankfulness. God has also given me a Balm for the pain I suffer and He gave me the Scripture below to hold onto in the Storms of life. Yes All things work together for good when we Love Him
Isaiah 43:1-3 – Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.”
Christian Love in Christ Jesus – Anne.
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Thank you for the testimony. You are a living witness of a living God.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
May God use you mightily to bring glory to his name.
Yours in Christ
DRS
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I know first hand miracles and healings still exist and manifest today! I have been on both sides of God’s healing. I have received it and been miraculously instantly delivered from sickness and kidney stones and i have been a vessel by the Holy Spirit to raise someone from the dead! Thank God He never changes and His word is just as true today as it was in the beginning.
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Matthew 5:16
” Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Amen.
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We don’t hear enough about the miracles that happen in today’s world. If they happen we tend to write them off as coincidence BUT they’re not that. The more outrageous our faith it, the more outrageous God can be for us! Nicely written post. Thanks for discovering and liking mine too.
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Miracles happen when we pray with faith. Miracles happen to non-christians also. There are many testimonies of sick healing including many cases of Cancer healed recorded in Sehion retreat centre, Attappady, Palakkad, Kerala, India where I attended retreat twice. I found a very good prayer book for the sick there and published in my blog. This prayer is very good. You can download this from my blog.
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Miracles surely exist because I’m a living witness to the power of God. The problem does not lie with God but with us, when we fail to look beyond our feeble strengths and minds and allow God to work His perfect will through us.
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To me this passage I am quoting of your post ,shows Jesus’s love to want heal the sick definitely not demanding or criticizing. “Finding fault is Satan’s primary job. If we start assuming the reasons for a person’s suffering then it is evident that we are in Satan’s hands. In Revelation 12:10 we can see the name of Satan as an accuser. If Jesus is in us, we cannot accuse any one. Instead we would stand with them to pass on the love of Jesus in their life.”
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Miracles exist today. I have seen them, have been part of them. People are afraid “they” will fail, so they are afraid to ask for miracles. That is why “little children” is so important in the Bible. If they think they can, they can, and they will. If they think Jesus can, He will. Period. They do not understand that Christ CANNOT FAIL. He is infallible. His Word stands. Psalm 91:11-12 states 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
I was hit by a car as a child. I was lifted up and out of the road onto a curb, onto my own feet. NOT by a person.
I was struck by lightning one time, I was lifted up and outside a swinging door at a store and set down on my feet. NOT by a person.
I drove over 70 miles in a truck that had no gas because I had promised someone I would be there for them and never broke my promise. I drove that truck on prayer and the promise of God. It would not start the next morning.
A friend of mine was paralyzed from the neck down. The church Elders came – anointed him – prayed over him on the promises of God – then left. A few days later, his toes started moving. His arms started moving. He saw it and felt it. He was afraid to believe it after all he had been through, and because he had been paralyzed for so long, so he told himself it could not be, and it stopped cold. Never moved again.
Yes, miracles happen. Satan has blinded people into thinking God doesn’t exist today and that we aren’t God’s children any longer. WRONG on both counts. Damn the Devil.
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Thanks for sharing the testimonies.We have added it to our testimony column. We thank God for the miracles he has done in your life and your friend’s life. May God continue to bless you.
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I pray that His children will open their eyes to His promises and understand that The Almighty God, who forgives sins, who loves fully, who listens always, who never leaves, who would allow His Son to lay down His life to save us all, can do ANYTHING. He is glorious. And awesome. Oh, Yes, Thank God for miracles.
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I really like the last sentence. And yes, I have seen a few miracles. Prayer is powerful
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Very Good message from Mark chapter 2
I used to preach only to the non-believers.Now I saw a message for christian believers too
.God bless you Brother
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I did a study on healing and saw a clear connection between healing and God’s Word. That real connection is between healing and as we see in the gospels, people seeking God, today we seek God through His Word. Sad to say, today we live in a world of condensed religion…. you know, a few verses or maybe a small portion of a verse mixed in with a lot of human words, ideas, and thoughts. Why? Because we’re told by human reasoning, that is what the world wants — translation: The world wants quick answers that fall in line with their life style, not a real relationship with God. It is like taking a miracle cure in a bottle, then mixing it will all the water in an ocean. It is so diluted it no longer has an effect. Where is their faith. Like the bottle of oil, God can make more.
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Reblogged this on thejourneyinchrist.
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Inspiring..with faith we can achieve great things.But i have a query,what if we have great faith to achieve something but God does not grant us that thing…
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Our expectation is limited to known things. But God has planned everything for you even before the creation of the world. What you want to achieve May be a trivial one. God May be thinking of giving you a great thing. Read Rom 8:28
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Iam a God’s child so nothing can attack me..I wonder how a demon enters a person who is a christian
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Read Mathew 12:43 to 45. & John 10:1&10 If your heart is closed to the living words and all your senses are open for worldly pleasure then the devil will enter. So according to 2 Cor 4:16 our inner spirit should be renewed day by day.
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Beautifully simple reply DRS.
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So I can be very sure that God has something great for me..
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Amen….
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Your post so blessed me, your writing and explanations are very clear, Jesus is so good and healing is still very real, thanks.
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Thank you for this inspirational post. I was just reading the story of 12 year-old Jesus in the Temple, another inspirational story. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. Luke 2:47
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