Posted on Thurs, January 02, 2014 at 06:20 a.m. (EST) & 04:50 p.m. (IST), JAN 2014 Edition
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“Present Reveals Eternal
Savior's Emancipation Now Today! (P.R.E.S.E.N.T)”
Ramesh C. Reddy
SCRIPTURE:
"A man with leprosy came
to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me
clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched
the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy
left him and he was cured" (Mark 1:40-42, NIV)
Background:
Observations/Interpretations: 1.
He came to Jesus with the disease that
made him feel like an outcast. (Skin falling off and blisters everywhere)
2. He fell on his knees
3. He begged Jesus, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’
The significance of his actions show
that he was not willing to stay in the past because of his disease but took a proactive step to
move forward in the PRESENT. But moving forward was not some self-help new age
enlightenment for he knew that only Jesus can give him a new
PRESENT. That is why he came to Jesus with all the baggage of his
past and fell on his knees. In essence, there is an acknowledgment
and realization here of his condition, that his identity will
always remain a leper unless there is outside intervention, so he
comes to Jesus. He does not stop there but humbles himself before
Jesus by falling on his knees and begging Jesus. This shows complete
surrender of himself and his past begging Jesus for a new PRESENT when he said,
‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’
Observations/Interpretations:
Observations:
Point 1:
Jesus was filled with compassion.
Point 2:
Jesus reaches out his hand.
Point 3:
Jesus touched the man.
Point 4:
Jesus said, "I am willing"
Point 5:
Jesus said, "Be clean!"
I asked myself what was the result of Jesus' actions and it's
significance!
Immediately, the leprosy left him and he was
cured!!!
The significance is that
the man now was instantly healed spiritually, physically, emotionally,
relationally, and mentally from the past trauma
he faced after a personal encounter with Jesus. Now, Jesus made
something new in his life and gave Him a new identity in the PRESENT. In essence,
Jesus became the Lord of
the past for that man and
helped him move forward. The wounds of yesterday were taken by Jesus and
Jesus brought healing because Jesus can do anything.
Implications:
I ask you now dear
friend what will your P.R.E.S.E.N.T look like in 2014?
It is exciting to know what
Jesus did for the leper, He can do for us too when we have a personal
encounter with Him. He waits for us to come to Him to clean us even
from our past and give us a new PRESENT. Yes, He
does! I don't know His timings but I know He loves us and wants the best
for us!
Whether you already believe in Jesus or don't, you are not exempt from the pain of the
past.
But the Good News is that Jesus is there to bring healing when we turn
everything over to Him. His healing will come in His way and in His
time. But, it will come. Thank you Jesus.
When Jesus becomes the Lord of the past, moving forward can become easy
because He will permeate your PRESENT and future giving you His Hope,
His Help, and His healing. Thank you Jesus!
“This is what the LORD says— he who
made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, "Forget
the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new
thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in
the desert and streams in the wasteland.”-
Isaiah 43:16, 18-19
The same Lord who parted the red sea to
make ground so the Israelites can escape and the same Lord who healed
the leper with His compassionate healing touch and words, wants to be
your Jehovah Rophe, the Lord my Healer. He wants to take your past and
give you a new PRESENT. It can happen this year of 2014!
Jesus loves you so much and wants to be the Lord of your
past and move you forward. No matter what your past looks like,
'he
who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters'
can make a way in the desert areas of your life and streams in areas you
see as a wasteland. Yes, He can friend! Jesus healed the wounds of the leper and
delivered him from his past. He can do the same for you.
You don't have leprosy but you may have a stigma of things that happened
to you that brings you torment; you maybe feeling yucky on the inside
because of past things you are haunted by; you may have been in
perpetual sin over and over that your conscience has become
desensitized, etc. Now you cannot wash that past and identity away
because the past sticks like glue to you just as the leper
could not wash away his leprosy. You want to forget the past but the
past won't let you forget.
In different situations, all those scenarios described me at one point
or another. They could be describing you too.
But the Good News is you can give up on yourself and
give in to the Savior who wants to become the Lord of your past so you
don't have to live in the past anymore, no you don't!
Whatever happened in 2013 or before, bring it before Jesus. Bring all
your pain, guilt, suffering, shortcomings, stigmas before the cross of
Christ.
Jesus who had compassion on the leper, will also have compassion on you!
Jesus who touched the man to bring restoration in his
life, will bring restoration to your life. Jesus who said to the leper,
'I am willing' will say to you 'I am willing' if you are willing to come
before Jesus on your knees begging Jesus in your pain, suffering, torment, etc as the leper did.
Then, as Jesus' touch and words healed the leper and cured him, Jesus
can cure you too.
Yes, He can friend, Oh yes He can! Come as you are and
find grace in time of need! He will show you His mercy and grace
exhibited by His wonderful compassion to you just as you are. So come to
the throne of grace and find help in time of need. He is Mighty to Save!
Friends, each of you has a past and identity; otherwise you won’t be in
the PRESENT. You know the skeletons from your past. You know the deep
hurts and scars that are hidden deep inside. You know the times of
rejection, ridicule, etc you may have faced. Many of you may still be
carrying them with you as heavy baggage. It will not go away on its own
but you can definitely find healing from your past and be set free once
you start dealing with what happened and not hesitate to receive the
help needed. Jesus wants you to come to Him as you are and He will not
turn you away. He wants to clean out your past for you just as He made
the leper clean. Yes, He does friend! Come as you are and receive your
PRESENT in Christ.
The man with leprosy was determined to receive help and did not let his
past stop him nor 'what other people might think of him' and received
healing! You do not have to let your past stop you
from receiving the help the Lord wants to give you right now! You should
not think to yourself, 'what will my family and friends think of me if I
give my life to the Lord Jesus Christ'. No, don't think that but come to
Jesus as you are. He will help you. Thank you Jesus! It won't be easy and there could be a lot of
inner turmoil and pain but when you pour out your heart to the Lord
showing him everything that has caused the wounds and scars you are
dealing with and ask Jesus to make you clean as the leper showed himself
to Jesus and asked Jesus to make him clean and was healed, so will you
be in God's perfect timing. Thank you Jesus!
The leper revealed his past to Jesus what was causing
torment! You need to do the same and then leave it in the hands of the
Lord Jesus for hope, help, and healing. When you pray to the Lord listen to what He has
to tell you through His Word, His Spirit, and His Church remembering
that whatever He tells you will never contradict His Word.
Just as Jesus reached out to the man, touched him and spoke to him
being willing to make him clean, Jesus wants to reach out to you, touch
you in every area of your life, and speak to you making you clean.
Whether you have experienced any
kind of abuse, a relational break-up, a family-dysfunction, guilt over
sins of the past, death in the family, loss of a job, etc because of
mistakes of the past, Jesus is willing to reach out to you with His
Loving Hands, touch you with his healing love. Take the help He is
offering you. He loves you so much.
I don't usually recommend movies during these
devotionals but I highly recommend the movie: 'The Sin Eater'
Each of you knows what the Lord may want you to do to deal with what you
are facing. Don't let your past or what other people will think about
you stop you from receiving your healing. Just because you may have had
bad experiences in the past and they hurt you so badly, don't let that
govern your PRESENT
and future. One example is relationships. If you have ever
experienced a bad-break up, it would be so easy to just give up and not
be in a relationship with anyone else fearing you may get hurt all over
again. But don't let the other person who broke up with you have a hold
on your life preventing you from enjoying life again. Depend on the Lord
to send that right person your way. I know He would because He created
you, you are special in His sight and He knows that special one out
there for you who you can spend the rest of your life with. I speak from
experience.
Come as you are and receive cleansing for all your sins. Give your
past to the Lord
Jesus and be healed! Be healed and cleaned by the Lord as you turn to
Him!
Whatever you are facing with, take the first step and bring it to the
Lord as the man with leprosy did so you can find
healing in Jesus' Name! His love can enter everyone now and make them
clean. Yes, it can friend! Amen!
No matter who we are whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated,
male or female, whatever our ethnicity, etc we are all in the same boat
when it comes to the deadly virus that is more than a pandemic that
started in the past. It has invaded all of humanity making us so
unclean. This virus has trapped us and is driven by Satan himself.
He wants to take us where he wants to go and where he wants to be which
will eventually end up in Hell. Sin started in the past and all the
problems we face is because of the sin of the past which continues to affect humanity.
The leper became an outcast to the people around him because of his past condition but Jesus intervened to give Him new life. Now,
friend all humanity is an outcast before the Lord because of this deadly
virus. You see friend because of sin, we have been an outcast to God
because God in His Holiness cannot allow sin to enter into His presence
of Heaven.
So, God became the Initiator to save us from this bondage of the past since we cannot save
ourselves from this sin. As Jesus went to save the leper from his
condition, God also sent Jesus to save humanity from its condition of
sin.
Jesus Christ went to the cross, shed His precious cleansing blood by
dying on the cross for our sin, was buried, and came back to life on the
third day to save. Now friend, we have an antidote to clean us of this
deadly virus known as sin. The antidote is the precious cleansing blood
of Jesus that can wash away all our sin.
However friend, Jesus won't force His antidote for us to take just as
Jesus did not force the leper to come to Him. The leper chose to come to
Jesus in His un-cleanliness, fall on his knees, and beg Jesus for
healing and Jesus took care of the rest. Jesus wants
to do the same for us. When Jesus died on the cross, I believe Jesus
chose humanity to come to Him.
Now, it is up to you and me friend to
turn our lives over to Jesus knowing Salvation is by grace through faith
and not of any good works that we can boast.
When we come to Jesus, we have to acknowledge our own short comings
before a Holy God, fall on our knees, and beg Jesus to cleanse us and
make us Holy by His precious blood. Just as Jesus intervened
compassionately by His grace and mercy to heal the leper and make him
clean, Jesus wants to do the same for you in your sin condition. That is
so exciting to know so come as you are and find your PRESENT in Christ
alone. Thank you Jesus!
Friend, we can be set free from the past by the Lord and now is the time of Salvation.
You are loved so much and Jesus can redeem
wherever or whatever you have messed up. His way will be the best way!
Come to Jesus as you are knowing He loves you so much and has a plan for
your life. You can be clean no matter what you have done! You are never
out of His love and never out of His reach. You will find your true
PRESENT
in Jesus!
May you receive healing in the Arms of our loving Lord and Savior now
and forever who wants you to forget the past and find your PRESENT in
His precious Arms of Love as He wants to be the Lord of the past and the
Lord of your PRESENT 2014 and into the future of 2015 and on.
Freedom From Your Past (Read
Philippians 3:12-21)
Having trouble with your PAST?
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a
new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way
in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”-(Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)
"Present Reveals Eternal Savior's Emancipation Now Today!
(P.R.E.S.E.N.T)"What will your P.R.E.S.E.N.T look like in 2014?"
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace,
Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a
life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I
need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround
me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your
presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you
love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek
your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for
your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case.
Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!
(Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.
No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in
and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with
the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend.
You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word
reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you
and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before
moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to
which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be
part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible
believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to
Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who
brings us hope, healing, and help!
No matter who you are, it is not ever too late
to join a Bible-believing church or a college fellowship. I highly
encourage each of you to come to Transformers Small Group on Friday
nights at 7:00 p.m. and Oakland International Fellowship on Sunday
mornings at 9:30 a.m. for prayer, 11:30 a.m. for worship, 10:30 a.m. for
Sunday School, and 12:30 p.m. for fellowship lunch.
May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and
forever! Amen!
Feel free to email
me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com
if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with,
talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is
412-641-9426
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB) |