Thursday, November 7, 2024

            In Mark 1, Jesus healed a man who suffered from leprosy.  This man who came to Jesus was desperate and even begged for healing on his knees.  We can imagine what he must have felt.  Leprosy was an awful disease—perhaps the cancer of its day.  It was a disease that no one wanted to suffer.  It was universally dreaded and feared.  The social and religious fallout from leprosy was immense—maybe even worse than the physical suffering and consequences.  The man who came to Jesus phrased his request in this way, “If you are willing, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40b).  Jesus responded with only five words, “I am willing.  Be clean!” (Mark 1:41b).  And instantly, the man was healed and cleansed and the leprosy left his body and life.
            Near the end of this miraculous moment, Mark noted, “Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45c).  Jesus had warned the man healed from leprosy not to mention his healing to anyone but, rather, to show himself to priests and offer the appropriate sacrifices for gratitude and thanks.  But this newly healed man could not keep his mouth closed.  He could not bury the lead and keep the story to himself.  Instead, he spread the news of this miracle to anyone who would listen.  And because of his testimony, people came to Jesus from everywhere.  I suspect if we had lived at that time and suffered from some sort of illness we would have gone to Jesus too.  Why not?  Jesus clearly possessed power to heal and power to banish diseases, sickness and suffering.
            How often do we approach Jesus today?  Usually speaking, our approach to the Lord happens as we read the Bible, pray and worship.  These basic spiritual disciplines lay the foundation for us to grow in faith and to grow in our relationship with the Lord.  It is practically impossible to build a friendship with someone when you never spend time with that person, talk with that person or enjoy shared experiences.  You may really, really, really want to have a friendship but you have made no investments to that end.  So, likely, that relationship will flounder and perhaps even dry up altogether because there is nothing that holds it together.  An aspiring friendship might easily shrivel into little more than a memory or a “what could have been?” puzzle.
            This same analogy applies to our relationship with the Lord.  When we fail to read Scripture, pray, worship and build our faith in community with others, we will flounder in our relationship with the Lord.  Our walk with Him and love for Him will likely grow arid and barren.  We want to approach Jesus—as this crowd of people did.  We certainly want to approach Him daily.  But we also want to come before the Lord in worship with other believers.  We are reminded not to neglect coming together (Hebrews 10:25).  Indeed, God invites us to come before Him and to bring an offering of praise and thankfulness when we do (see Psalm 100 for example).
            If you need a boost to help you approach the Lord each day, find a good Bible
reading plan that allows you to read the Bible every day by getting your eyes on a few
chapters of Scripture at a time.  A good Christian devotional book about some aspect of faith or Christian living can help to discipline your approach to the Lord.  We have great selections in the church library to help you.  Devoting time to a Bible study with other believers helps you to approach the Lord more consistently and frequently.  We do not have to be sick, stressed or stretched to come to the Lord.  Seeking the Lord daily can be one way that we minimize sickness, stress and those moments where we feel stretched and pulled almost to a breaking point.  Proactively seeking the Lord can make us healthier and stronger people. 
            Throughout the Bible, the Lord invites us to call on Him.  We are called to bow before Him and to surrender ourselves to Him each day just as a young child learns to lean fully on his or her parents.  Those unnamed people in the crowd who approached Jesus at the end of Mark 1 knew what was good—to be with and in the company of the Lord.  Those people likely had a thousand or more reasons to come to Jesus.  And each one did.  We have reasons to come before the Lord today—hope, healing, help, hurts that won’t end and forgiveness for the guilt and shame we carry.  The good news is the Lord is willing to receive us!
            Remember you can share our worship any time at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.  This coming Sunday is High Attendance Day in Sunday School and our Homecoming worship.  We’ll gather for lunch after worship ends.  Bring a couple of dishes to share.  Remember to continue praying for the names in the sanctuary who are lost spiritually.  Pray for them to come to know the Lord.  And be willing to share your faith with others!  Have a great Thursday!