But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (5:16)
Freedom in knowing even Jesus needed ‘down-time’ and to be replenished by The Spirit.
Trust!
Step out in Faith!
Love those we perceive as ‘unlovable’!
Don’t give up in the face of what may seem like insurmountable obstacles!
Give the Good News to those who most need it.
5:31 It is not the healthy who need a doctor……..
"Many people in the Church are frustrated because they don’t see a harvest… They keep going to the same people…the Church keeps going to the wealthy and well-fed, and wonder why they don’t respond."
(Baker, There is Always Enough, pg 165)
As we still our hearts and seek to hear GOD this week, I challenge all of us to trust and step out in faith to love someone we may have perceived as unlovable.
Shalom!
9 comments:
Reading the Baker book in conjunction with the book of Luke shows us that what happened thousands of years ago is still happening now - God heals - although some in the Western world would find this hard to believe. When it comes to faith, we need to take a leaf out of the third world countries. In a lot of cases, people there have nothing, so they surrender completely to God - for healing and for life itself. They trust completely, perhaps without understanding, but isn't that what true faith is? These people are truly hungry and thirsty - in the natural also - and they seem to know that God will feed them and give them water, the water of life.
Yet we here lead such comfortable lives. Our problems are nothing compared with what is happening in Africa and other such places. But do we really thirst for the Lord? Are we hungry enough to want to be fed by his Holy Spirit and his Word? Are we surrendering ourselves completely to what He wants from us?
Thanks Gemma. One of my favourite verses from this chapter is also: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed". Why did Jesus of all people need to pray and what does this mean for us??
Welcome Gabi ;)
Thanks for being part of this 52 day journey and sharing your thoughts with us.
I know that, for me, I feel closer to God when I pray. We often tend to pray when things are going wrong or when we need something. I think it's so good though to pray just to have that conversation with my Father. Regular prayer is so important if we want this relationship to grow. As in any relationship, when there is no communication the relationship falters.
PS: Thanks for the great blog Gemma, and thanks for the welcome Andrew.
Why did Jesus pray? Been thinking how lovely it is to 'withdraw' to a place of prayer during this 24/7!
Reflecting on our 3 dimentional nature - which Jesus shared... We take care of the body and the mind, but the soul? I believe that needs repose and recharging in quietness.
Jesus knew frustration, righteous anger. We know he wept - and how often did he just grieve inside.
Withdrawing to lonely places was he properly attending to the needs of his soul - being refreshed in Spirit?
Being still with and before God is something I do too little of. My prayertimes are often filled - with thanksgiving and petition. I need more stillness to hear God speaking, refreshing my spirit with his. Resting in his presence.
I think we drive our souls very hard at times. No Rest!
Totally agree with you Rosaleen. We really need to learn what it is to "rest" in Jesus. I don't think we do that very well as a general rule.
I also came across something I never noticed before in Luke 5. Jesus said to Simon Peter (and some other fisherman): don't be afraid (same deal as the angels!!!!) from now on you will catch men - come follow me.
But the thing I never noticed before is that Peter "saw" something before this call. When he "saw" it he fell at Jesus knees. What was it Peter saw before Jesus' called him??
I like it when Jesus was preaching from a boat and then went fishing - my kinda guy. When he got Simon to cast out the net, Simon did it out of obedience rather than expectancy - and got the hugest catch. How many times I've looked around at work or my neighborhood only to think that there isn't a bite in sight....what if....
The Bakers speak about people being "desparate and hungry" for God. I reckon the picture of a group of guys pulling off a section of the roof to lower the paralysed friend down in front of Jesus is a great example of desparate faith!! They weren't going to give up.
Jesus priority was the forgiveness of sins but in this case he also heals the man as a "sign" that he has authority to forgive sins. Interesting....
Re what Peter saw Andrew - I wrote in my journal - this was not just a big catch. This was a supernaturally impossible catch! More than just amazing. Frightening! It left no doubt that Jesus was just some 'bloke'. It caused them to abandon what they were doing and follow Jesus.
We have only just started our journey through Luke and already I am seeing so clearly that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Cor 4:20)!
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