“Gather Around The Healing, Emancipating Redeemer!(G.A.T.H.E.R)”

By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

April 28, 2008

Editors Note: The devotional has a background song  which can be heard if you use Internet Explorer.

Observations:
I asked myself who are the characters involved?

1. Jesus

2. A large crowd

I asked myself what Jesus did?
Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake.

I asked myself what the large crowd did?
A large crowd gathered around Jesus while he was by the lake.

Interpretation:
I asked myself why a large crowd gathered?
The news must have reached the people that made up the large crowd about Jesus’ miracle in Gerasdenes. Now they wanted to see Jesus in person. It would not surprise me if there were people there who wanted to experience Jesus’ healing in their own lives or to get to know Jesus. Because of the miracle Jesus did in the man’s life, Jesus had made an impact and aroused the curiosity of the crowd.

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. As I have come to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Personal Savior and asked Him to reign in my life, people around me have seen something different about me compared to those who did not know Jesus as their Lord and Personal Savior! This aroused their curiosity and they wanted to know more about Jesus.  I learned that people can gather around me not because of what I can do but because of what the Lord has done through me.

Few years ago, an international student so interested when I told him how Jesus had healed me of my severe asthma that he wanted to know more about Jesus and what Christianity is about.

I praise the Lord that on June 29, 2005, I had the opportunity to meet with him again. He was Hindu by background and I got to share with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had just got of work and felt like going home because I was so tired but felt I should call this person to see if he was still planning to meet. He told me that he was waiting for me at a church near campus as he wanted to gather together to know more about Jesus.

When I met him I did not have a Bible on me or a writing utensil but prayed to the Lord to help me share the Gospel with him with what I had in front of me (3 folded newspapers and one pamphlet).

I put two newspapers together and shared with him how MAN and GOD were together in the beginning.

Then, I pulled the two newspapers apart and told him that is what sin had done to our relationship with GOD. Sin had separated MAN from GOD and now MAN and GOD were apart and there was a big chasm.

Now MAN tried to do everything he could to reach GOD by doing good works, etc but whatever MAN did he still could not reach GOD. All his good works were falling down the chasm. His good works were not providing a way to reach GOD. I told him that you can do 99 good things and one bad thing which will still separate you from GOD because GOD in His Holiness cannot allow sin to enter His presence.

Then I told him that is how religions of the world are. In all the religions of the world, people are trying to reach GOD by their good works. They think if I do this and that, it can give me access to GOD. I told him some think praying three times a day will make them right with GOD, others think worshipping idols will make them right with GOD but the bottom line is MAN made religion and everything still falls in the chasm. All our good works we do are like filthy rags to GOD, so that will not give us access to GOD.

So, I asked him if God should ask you why should I let you into Heaven what would your response be and to think about it.

I told him if your answer is the good works you think you do, that will not cut it and GOD knows that. Then, I mentioned to him because GOD knows MAN is trying to reach Him but cannot, GOD decided to take it upon Himself to provide the WAY to MAN. GOD loved MAN so much that He sent JESUS CHRIST into the world to come and save MAN when MAN turns to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.

I told him we do not get access to Heaven because of anything we do but because GOD decided to reach out to us in His mercy and grace through the promise of JESUS CHRIST. JESUS died on the cross for you and shed His cleansing blood to wash away all your sin so now when you come to JESUS CHRIST and ask Him to come into your heart, He will forgive you of all your sin and live in you and you can have access to GOD and heaven.

I told him when GOD asks me why should I let you into Heaven, my response would be not because of anything I have done GOD because whatever I do is not good enough for you GOD because you in your Holiness cannot allow sin to enter your presence but because I believe in what JESUS CHRIST did for me and am covered by JESUS and His precious blood, so when you see me, you see JESUS’ blood covering over me and JESUS in front of me, I can have access to you.

Then I told him when MAN and GOD were together and sin separated MAN and GOD, creating a huge chasm, GOD in His love for us provided JESUS CHRIST to become THE WAY to reach GOD.

Now, I took the 3^rd newspaper and the pamphlet and made a CROSS out of it and put it where the separation and the dark chasm existed.   I told him the CROSS became the BRIDGE for MAN to get across to reach GOD.

I took the 1^st paper and walked it on the CROSS to show him, MAN did not fall in the chasm anymore but was able to reach GOD when MAN decided to depend on what JESUS did for him. I emphasized JESUS CHRIST and Him alone to save us from our sin and reach GOD because of His grace. I told him JESUS CHRIST became GOD-INCARNATE to reach us.

I wanted to emphasize to him that it is by GRACE we are saved through FAITH and not of any good works that we should boast!

I want to share the bridge diagram  with you here which I did not have to share with him in animation format:

Eventually, after sharing my testimony with him and flushing out the Gospel compared to other religions, he came to figuratively gather at the feet of  Jesus Christ to be His Lord and Personal Savior following Him.

I ask you now dear friend, will you gather before Jesus?
Dear friend, a large crowd gathered to see Jesus because of the impact Jesus made. A Hindu person seeking Jesus gathered, setting foot in a church because he heard about the impact Jesus made in my life. The result was him gathering before Jesus as I shared with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Friend, you can too gather before Jesus and help your family and friends gather before Jesus as you make yourself available to Jesus.

Friend, Jesus used me as his vessel not because of my ability but because of my availability. I was praying to Jesus in my mind as I began talking to the person. It starts with gathering before Jesus, being taught by Him, and learning from Him through His Word, prayer, and His Spirit working in us and through us in different ways including allowing others in our lives to teach us.

Friend, yesterday at the University of Pittsburgh, thousands of students gathered at commencement for their 2008 graduation ceremony but it could have also been to meet Dan Marino face-face as he spoke.

Dr. Marino has his accolades for which people like to gather around him. But if you compare Marino to Jesus, there is not even a comparison and Marino himself will tell you that.

Now won't you gather at the foot of the cross and receive what Jesus Christ did for you?

Friend, gathering around Jesus Christ will be the best thing you will ever do in your life. You can gather around Jesus even this day. The Lord Jesus will speak to you from His living Word. His Word is alive and you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt who this Jesus is as you read the Gospels by meditating on them and studying them.

What helps me a lot in campus ministry is my own time with Jesus spending time in His Word and prayer! Also, I have had opportunities to listen to countless of ministry programs, pastors of different churches, etc. We cannot truly be available for others if we are not available to gather before Jesus! It is His strength we need to work in us and through us so they see Jesus in us and decide to check Jesus out!

May you always find time to gather with Jesus and spend time with Him!

“Gather Around The Healing, Emancipating Redeemer!” (G.A.T.H.E.R)/“Will you gather before Jesus?”

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I love you so much. Thank you for loving me so much! I am so glad to read about how people gathered around you Jesus because of the impact you have made and continue to make. I am so sorry for my sin. Please forgive me of my sin and help me. Thank you Jesus for dying for my sin and coming back to life to save me! Thank you for forgiving me Lord. I need to always gather around you. There is none like you! I can search for all eternity long and find there is none like you. Only you can move the mountains and part the waters. You Oh Lord know what we face in our life. You Oh Lord know all about how much ability we have but you are excited to use us in our availability when we gather before you Jesus and learn from you. Help us to find time to spend with you Jesus in your Word and prayer. Let us not be legalistic in the time we spend but help us to focus on our quality time with you than the quantity for quantity means nothing to you if we are doing it just for the motions without our heart in it. Thank you Jesus there have been times I only spent 5 minutes quality time with you and you still taught me  and I learned from you. I thank you Lord the more time we have with you, the more we learn from you and we can share it with others too. We give our lives to you Jesus and ask you for your help that we gather around you daily. We acknowledge you as our Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you Jesus for being our Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you Jesus you have heard our prayers and answered us! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!