The Powerful Faith of Faithful Friends

The Powerful Faith of Faithful Friends.

Mark 2: “1And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that He (Jesus) was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And He was preaching the Word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, ‘Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic— 11 ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’ 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Friendship is a great thing. In many ways it makes life bearable and enjoyable at times when it could easily be the opposite. A good friend stays by you through thick and thin. In life’s good times and when things aren’t going your way. In today’s passage we see a story of great friendship, we see a story of great faith, we see a story of great determination.

As usual Jesus was about His Father’s business. He was preaching the Word to a packed house, when all of the sudden dirt began to fall from the ceiling. Soon beads of light began to show through that same ceiling. Not long after that there was a gaping hole large enough for a man to fit through. As the people stood in astonishment looking up, they saw a man being lowered through that hole. He needed to be healed and his good friends were determined enough that they were going to stop at nothing until he was face to face with the One Who could heal. These were the type of friends that everybody needs. The type that are going to allow nothing to stand in the way of friendship. These guys were bound and determined.

The stories had spread everywhere about this man Jesus. He had the power to heal, He had compassion for the people, He was a powerful teacher Who spoke with authority like no one else. Everywhere He went the crowds followed to listen to His teachings and to experience a touch of the Master’s Hand. They had heard that if you had faith, you could be healed. They had faith and so on this day they set out to see this Jesus. There was an excitement welling up inside of them as they carried their friend towards the place where Jesus was staying. The excitement quickly diminished as they neared their destination and saw throngs of people were headed in the same direction. When they arrived at the doorway it was jammed full of people.  Every entry, every window was packed. When they tried to get in no one would move for them. They weren’t about to let that stop them. They carried him up the outside stairs to the roof of the home and began to tear away. They agreed that they would repair it when they were done, but for now they will stop at nothing until their friend was face to Face with the Master. Soon they were lowering him through a hole in the roof, soon his mat was at the feet of Jesus, soon the paralyzed man stood to his feet having experience a touch of the Master’s Hand.

But let’s backtrack for a little bit, let’s go back to the friends. We have already looked at their great determination. They were bound and determined to let nothing stand in the way of getting their friend before Jesus. Now that’s friendship. But that brings us to the next question. Why? Why did they go to such great lengths? When I look at this, there are basically two very real possibilities that seem to jump to the forefront of my mind:

1. These men were incredibly ignorant. They would have had to have been ignorant or they would have never torn a hole in the roof of someone’s home. Unless possibility number 2 is true. 

2. These men had amazing faith. Now one of these possibilities makes perfect sense, the other doesn’t. 

Number 2 is the only one that makes any sense at all. That is exactly what happened with this these men. There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus not only could, but that He would heal their friend, or they would’ve never gone to such lengths. That is putting legs to your faith. 

My prayer is that you and I would exhibit this type of faithful friendship, and that we would put legs to our faith. 

Seeking daily to be a good friend and to put legs to my faith,   

Jim Canady  

Pats on the Back

Mark 1:1-4 1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare Your way" 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.'" 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Prophesies fulfilled, we see this continually throughout the life of Christ as it is recorded in the Gospels. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, written 600 or more years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah writes of one who would “Prepare the way for the Lord”. That is exactly what John the Baptist lived for, he lived his life with one main purpose and goal; “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.”

The Nation of Israel had been experiencing great turmoil now for many years. If memory serves me correctly they were at the end of 400 years of silence. 400 years where they had not heard from God. No Abraham, no Moses, no David, no Solomon, no Isaiah, no one to be a spokesman for God. 400 years of silence! Oh they had their religious leaders who claimed to be spokesmen for God, but those religious leaders’ ears were deaf to the voice of God. Yes religion was alive and well in those days, but God has never been One who was impressed in any way with religion. Religion can easily be done as a ritual. What God is interested in is an individual who serves God, not from a sense of duty, but from a heart of love. That was what John lived and that is what he preached. John the Baptist preached “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” As you watched the life and ministry of John, you find out that John’s calls for repentance were certainly not aimed solely for the sinners in the world’s eyes. He pointed his accusatory fingers at the religious leaders as much, if not more, than the “sinners”. Guess what, those religious leaders didn’t like of appreciate that and as a result they wanted him dead! They had a good thing going and were not at all interested in loosing it. I wonder if they would have wanted me dead? Would they have wanted you dead? God had a plan, a purpose for John, and John was so intent on obeying God, that he would let nothing, including his own death, stop him from accomplishing that purpose. How set are we at being obedient to God and His purpose and plan for our lives? The good news for the vast majority of us is, we really don’t have to worry about loosing our life. That being said, in some ways the plan God had for John and has for us are quite similar. The rest is up to us. John was opposed to established ritualistic religion that “does, does, does” for the sake of man’s approval. Approval from men is a momentary pat on the back. It’s here today and gone…..well it’s gone today. Simply put, it doesn’t last. A heart that serves God because of love for Him receives a pat on the back from God. Those are the pats, the rewards, the blessings that never end. Which am I working for?

Seeking God's Pat on the back,

Jim

Doubt

Doubt
Written fall of 2000
Mark 16:9-13 "9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 when they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. 12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either." (NIV)

You know there are times doubt just seems to overtake you. It creeps in like a thief in the night and before you know it you can't seem to believe anything, no matter what others may say. They can tell you the truth, even give evidence to back up what they say, but you just can't seem to believe until you see it with your own eyes. That is what is happening with the disciples in Mark 16:9-13. Jesus Himself had predicted both His death and resurrection; they had heard the report from the ladies of what the angel had told them. Mary told them of her face to face encounter with Jesus, as did the two men who met Him on the road to Emmaus, but none of that mattered right now. He was dead! That's that. Their hearts were broken and their minds were made up and no wishful thinking people were going to convince them otherwise. Now, before you jump on the "blast the disciples" bandwagon. Let's quickly recap the events of the past week. This will help us gain a little perspective into what was going on in the minds of these men.

It all started with the Triumphal Entry. What an incredible event that was. Palm branches and cloaks carpeting the road before Him. Shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David" surrounding Him. Try as they may, His enemies could do nothing to stop the shouts from the crowd. He had the city of Jerusalem in the palm of His hand. By Thursday night the tide had drastically changed and I do mean changed. That night, as they were eating, Jesus talked about dying. He announced that one of them would betray Him, one other would deny even knowing Him and the rest would flee for their lives rather than go with Him. His words proved prophetic. Judas betrayed Him. Peter denied that he even knew Jesus not one but three times, and all of the rest ran for their lives. One of His young followers even ran away naked rather than get caught with Jesus. Since that night, they couldn't go anywhere without hearing the people talk about what had transpired. They heard the shouts of "Crucify Him!" Then, the ultimate of all evil took place. He was hung on a cross between two criminals, having already been beaten so badly He barely looked human. Darkness covered the land for three hours right in the middle of the day, He died, and there was a great earthquake. Guilt and depression consumed them and just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, they heard the news; Judas had taken his own life. Chances are many of them considered doing the same. Better to die a quick death at your own hands, than a slow painful death at the hands of those who had taken the life of Jesus.

On the tail of all this they hear from others of Jesus, so called, raising from the dead. Maybe they had delusions, or perhaps they were just trying to prevent more suicides. Could be they were just trying to lift the spirits of the disciples. This past week had been an emotional whirlwind. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't believe He had risen from the dead. When you look at the events of the last week it is a little easier to understand their reluctance to believe. When they were in the depths of despair, doubt had crept in and consumed them, so much so, that they couldn't even believe the words of their own friends. Doubt is one of satan's most powerful weapons, chances are you yourself have felt the iron grip of this weapon. For you it could be that doubt crept in through the door with the words of a physician announcing you have cancer. You have seen the devastation of cancer before and there is nothing pretty about it. It touches 3 out of every 4 families. My family has witnessed its power on more than one occasion. There was a day when my father-in-law Doug was a big strong man. Farmed and did heavy work all his life. It seemed there was very little he couldn't accomplish. Then, one day, his wife noticed he was struggling. He became seemingly unwilling to do anything, confused rather easily, had headaches all the time. After visiting the doctor, came the bad news. He had a brain tumor that proved to be malignant. Within a few short months cancer had transformed this, once powerful man, to a man who could do virtually nothing for himself. Then came his death. I don't pretend to know why God allowed him to die. He was a very godly man. He led more people to Christ every year than most churches. We all prayed regularly for his healing and I believe we had the faith God could heal him. Yet still he died. So what do you do to keep doubt from creeping in at times like this? What do you do? You trust. I'm not saying it's always easy, but you still trust. And what do you trust in? Well, to begin with you trust in His word. Let's go back to the passage we are currently looking at for an example. The disciples had gone from the ultimate in excitement to the ultimate in disappointment in one short week. Nothing made sense to them any more. They fully expected Jesus to come forward that week and take over the throne of David as ruler of Israel. They were ready to do battle against Rome alongside this powerful leader, who had the power to raise the dead, heal the sick, make blind eyes see and calm storms. All with nothing more than the sound of His voice. Instead, Jerusalem had turned against Him and He was dead. They expected one thing, God allowed the opposite. Ah, but you and I know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus had to die to pay the price for our sins. We know that His mind wasn't just on an earthly kingdom but also a spiritual one. Eventually He would rule over both but in order to do so, He had to die. Because of that we know we can trust Him even when it looks like what he is allowing doesn't make any sense. He has proven Himself in the pages of His word.

God's word isn't the only thing we can trust in where God has clearly proven Himself. There are also the true stories of what God has done in the lives of others. Take, for instance, the life of Joni Erickson Tada. One moment she is an active teenager swimming with her friends, the next she was paralyzed for life from the neck down. From first impressions you would assume that God blew it this time. Surely the rest of her life would be filled with great disappointment, despair and depression. If you are familiar with Joni, you know this couldn't be farther than the truth. While Joni could have allowed those these things to happen in her life, she chose not to, and because of her choice millions and millions have been blessed by her ministry.

For most, if not all of us, God has always proven Himself in our own lives. Think through your own life for a moment. Chances are, if you have been a Christian for very long, you can think of times in your life where it seemed God blew it. Nothing good could come out of the situation you found yourself in. Now, however, you know the rest of the story. You watched as God took a great time of turmoil, moved in with His own special touch, took the threads of despair and wove them together into a blanket with incredible beauty. Beauty that could only come from the hand of God.

The stories I could tell you from my own life. Let me share one with you this morning. Daniel was born January 21, 1993 in Valdivia, Chile. His birth mom was Rosa a young Chilean servant girl to a native Pastor and his family. She felt that it was in the best interest of this newborn that she placed him up for adoption. The Pastors wife had a sister who met and married an American while she was in the states for college. Over the years she had helped 10 different American couples adopt babies from Chile. She and her family were members of the church where I was serving as a youth pastor. Pam and I had always loved and wanted children but were unable to have our own by birth, as a result we were pursuing adoption. She along with our senior Pastor met with us and asked us to pray about adopting this soon to be newborn in Chile. In July of 1992 we began the process of international adoption. It was a long process but God seemed to be at work in every part of the process. International adoption can be very difficult but with God's hand at work every door seemed to open and every hurdle seemed like nothing more than a small fence you might have around a tomato plant in your garden. International adoption can also be very expensive but in God's graciousness He took care of all our financial needs to the tune of $15,000 +. So on January 28th Pam and I along with our Chilean friend and her son boarded a plane for Chile. The next morning we held little Daniel in our arms for the first time. We were certain that it wouldn't be long until Daniel would be home with us in America Sleeping in his own crib in a room we had joyously decorated for him. There were still a few loose ends to tie up so one week later I headed back to the states leaving Pam behind to care for Daniel. One thing led to another and as quickly as the doors had opened before, they were now closing and the hurdles were turning into insurmountable walls. Confidently we moved on, if the walls of Jericho were no problem for God then why should these be any different? For the next four months Pam lived in a foreign country with very little ability to communicate, pouring everything she had into Daniel. With no other family within 10,000 miles of her, Daniel became everything to her. Each day she took long walks carrying Daniel in a pouch across her chest, each night he slept in a basket within her reach. The bond was very strong. That mattered little, as the door was quickly closing. Finally, at the end of April, I boarded a plane headed for Chile, still hoping to bring Pam and Daniel home with me. As our final attempt, we flew to Santiago, the capital of Chile and met with a wealthy lawyer. As if it were yesterday, I remember sitting across from the lawyer in his high backed leather chair. He reclined slightly, folded his hands across his chest and told me that for another $10,000 American dollars we could take Daniel home with us. As I listened I knew, his intention were not legal. I can honestly say that money had nothing to do with our decision. Had it been legal, God would have provided. We knew God would not bless our family if we chose to do what we knew to be wrong. With heavy hearts, I turned to walk out of the door. That night, we placed Daniel back into the arms of his birth mom, Rosa, went back to our room and wept as we held each other. Soon we were back in the States facing an empty crib. The pain was incredible. At times like this it is hard to see the hand of God. All you can do is trust that God knows what He is doing. While this may be reassuring intellectually, it does virtually nothing to remove the tears. Over the next 2-3 years our tears flowed frequently.

You have heard the phrase "hind sight is 20/20". Well now, 6 ½ years later, our vision is clear. God did several great things through that tragic time in our life. Our next door neighbor watched us closely as we traveled those troubled waters. She had two children from two different men and many a night different cars would be parked in front of her house all night. Several months later there was a knock at our door. When we opened the door we stood face to face with our neighbor. Her eyes were wet with tears. That morning one of the owners of those "different cars" had taken his own life. She had broken off the relationship and it was more than he could handle. She watched how we had handled the loss of Daniel and wanted to know what enabled us to survive. Within a week she bowed before the throne of the One who laid His own life down for her. Our loss opened the door for her gain.

Many things have happened in the years since we went home empty handed. Yesterday as I was recording my thoughts in the very journal you are reading from, my two year old daughter sat on my lap helping me write, and what a big help she is! As a direct result of our adventure in Chile, God opened up the door for us to adopt, not one but 2 children. Brittany came from a family whose grandmother had prayed for us as we traveled those rough waters. Later, one of her granddaughters, age 19, became pregnant, out of wedlock. She had been raised in a fatherless home and wanted a different life for the child she was carrying. Brittany was that child. Because of her grandmother praying for us she wanted us to adopt her baby. Our 9 year old, Steven, is also a direct result of what took place in Chile. God was at work opening doors only He knew existed. That is the way He works.

Are you traveling through some rough waters today? Have you reached a point where you feel as though God has blown it, lost control, let you down in a major way? Wait patiently, my friend. Chances are He is opening a door for you that you do not even know is there. For if His eye is on the sparrow, you can know He watches you!