Healed and Obeyed

John 5:1-9

"After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked."

Something that always fascinates me is the way Jesus healed people. There was no set, standard way for fakes to copy. It was Jesus, all Jesus, the real Jesus, healing people. 

This story in particular was brought to my mind recently. Actually, at the OCHEC conference I recently went to with Mom, Adeena and Heather. It wasn't necessarily supposed to be brought to my mind. We were listening to Heather Kendall, and she mentioned this portion of Scripture in passing. But something sparked my interest, and I marked it down for later. 

What sparked my interest was this: Jesus healed the man, and then the man obeyed Jesus. 

Why was it that way? 

Did the man have to begin to obey before the healing came? 

Did he have to promise he would try his best? 

NO! Look! It says "at once the man was healed" - he didn't have time to try obedience before he was healed. Jesus spoke, and it was! That's the way Jesus did it when creating the universe, and that's how He did it in healing this invalid. 

I think that's a fine illustration of how salvation works. It's not by our obedience. It's certainly not by our choice - the invalid didn't choose Jesus. He probably wasn't even looking for Jesus. When Jesus questioned him, the man was still hoping to get into the water - he had no clue Who Jesus was. 

That doesn't stop my Lord. He kind of blindsided that man with healing. :} 

He did the same to me. I wasn't looking for Him, and He called to me, reached out and saved me, died on the cross and paid the price for my sin, and clothed me with His righteousness. 

I didn't choose Jesus. I wasn't even looking for Jesus. He chose me. 

And notice too that only after the man was healed did he follow what Jesus said. 

In the same way, we can't hope to be able to obey God unless we are first regenerated - reborn - in the Spirit, reconciled to the Father through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 

Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We can't hope to please God by obeying Him - we neither can nor want to obey Him. But then Christ blindsides us with salvation, opening our eyes and clothing us in HIS righteousness - which is more than pleasing to the Father. 

Now that we're reborn, we have the ability to obey God. We're no longer dead in trespasses and sins. We're alive in Christ. And we have the desire to obey Christ; we want to do what is pleasing to Him, to bring Him glory and praise. Obedience is the fruit of salvation, not the beginning. 

So I just thought that was cool. :P

Contemplation

A quiet stirring nestles in my soul; 

A gentle soothing, potent as the air;

A peace so great, it's fathomless and whole - 

It fills me with a stillness free from care.

Such wonder this, that calms my every nerve

And contemplating now, I bow my head;

This peace is far beyond what I deserve;

It c omes because He took pain in my stead.

For every lash He took, He bought me back

He paid the full price as the nails drove in

Because of Him, forgiveness has no lack

And I am separated from my sin.

I wildly hate the Self I used to be

Vile, putrid, ragged, evil, wild;

Yet now because my Lord has called to me

I am proclaimed as my Father's child.

A Holy God can't stand the deeds of men.

Constant sinful acts and thoughts entice

None is good; no single one! So then,

Because of this there was a sacrifice.

A quiet stirring nestles in my heart.

Renewed and changed, I bear the mark of He;

By His love and grace I'll ne'er depart

Christ, the Lord and Saviour, died for me.

Song of the Week

"Pieces" by RED

I'm here again

A thousand miles away from you 

A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am

I tried so hard

Thought I could do this on my own 

I've lost so much along the way 

Then I'll see your face

I know I'm finally yours 

I find everything I thought I lost before 

You call my name 

I come to you in pieces 

So you can make me whole

I've come undone 

But you make sense of who I am 

Like puzzle pieces in your hand

Then I'll see your face

I know I'm finally yours 

I find everything I thought I lost before 

You call my name 

I come to you in pieces 

So you can make me whole

I tried so hard! So hard!

I tried so hard!

Then I'll see your face

I know I'm finally yours 

I find everything I thought I lost before 

You call my name 

I come to you in pieces 

So you can make me whole

So you can make me whole

I think I'm starting to get addicted to these guys.  ^.^

*Just as a warning for those who don't really like heavy stuff, this is the lightest song I've heard from RED, so if you search for more of their music you might want to prepare yourself for some "loud noise". (Mom and Dad. Love ya.)

A Comment on 1 Thessalonians 5:8

1 Thessalonians 5:8 "But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation."

It says here first of all that we belong to the day. What day? To understand that, look back on the previous verses, especially verses 2 and 5:

1Thessalonians 5:1-7 - "Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night." 

So, gathering our knowledge from this, we understand that we belong to the day of the Lord, as its children. This is not any particular day, though all days belong to the Lord. This is talking about a specific day - the day of the second coming. We belong to that day - why? Because we as Christians look forward to that day. It is the day we move toward; the finish line of the race; the great and terrible day of Christ's return. 

We belong to that day, because we belong to Christ. We are the Lord's. 

Romans 14:8 - "For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."

That day belongs to Him, and we to Him. Knowing we belong to the day that is under the power and authority of the Lord is an assurance. We know He is in sovereign control of not only the beginning of our life, but also the end of it. 

With that assurance, let us be sober...

Here's the definition of "sober" from the Free Dictionary. Pay attention especially to the latter half, I think especially number four. 

so·ber  (sbr)

adj. so·ber·er, so·ber·est

1. Habitually abstemious in the use of alcoholic liquors or drugs; temperate.

2. Not intoxicated or affected by the use of drugs.

3. Plain or subdued: sober attire.

4. Devoid of frivolity, excess, exaggeration, or speculative imagination; straightforward: gave a sober assessment of the situation.

5. Marked by seriousness, gravity, or solemnity of conduct or character. See Synonyms at serious.

6. Marked by circumspection and self-restraint.

God doesn't want us to be showy; He wants us to show Him. He doesn't want us to exaggerate; the Truth needs no exaggeration. (It is the truth. Tell it plainly.) 

We don't live to glorify ourselves, or even to glorify Christianity. Any attempt by Christians to glorify Christianity is a case of missing the mark. Christians glorify Christ. The glory goes to God and God alone. 

Being sober doesn't mean never smiling. If that were the case, I'd be out of luck. I smile even when I'm not smiling. (Figure that one out.) 

What being sober really means, I think especially in light of 1 Thessalonians 5:8, is being ready. Being awake, as Jesus commanded us. Having our armor ready. 

I read something today about Roman soldiers. It seems that if they were found drunk they were to be "transferred to another branch of the service". (From some guy named Ruffus.) 

I wonder if God does that for His people. If we are slacking, if we are "drunk" in the sense of being spiritually lax, discarding faith, hope and love in favour of easy living and pleasuresome lies, does God transfer us? The Bible talks about being "given over" (see Judges 2:11-14; Acts 7:39-42). It's definitely a wake-up call. 

A drunk soldier is practically useless. How can they keep watch, let alone fight an enemy?

Are we spiritually drunk?  If so, how can we be ready? Will we not be caught off guard? 

Breastplate of faith and love...

Faith and love come from the heart; the center of your being. It stems from within, from the "true self". We can only have true faith if our spirit is renewed in Christ Jesus. 

I was thinking; can we really love without the grace of God showing us what true love is? Humans certainly are created in the image of God, and have a remnant of what used to be - we have the capacity to love selflessly. But I don't think it happens often. Far too often, on the other hand, we have selfish love, impure love, even hateful love, as paradoxical as that sounds. 

Love comes from the heart, and a heart renewed means a love renewed. I can now love people through Jesus Christ, where before I couldn't care less about them. 

Helmet the hope of salvation...

"Hope is a mindset" - hope is a choice. You can choose to be depressed, or you can choose to say "YET I will hope in the Lord..." 

Hope isn't much different from faith, but the two are different and I think they come from different aspects of our self. Faith is a sense, while hope is a choice. That's the simplest way for me to explain it. 

Faith is given to us as a gift from God, while we hope in the God of hope through the knowledge we have of His character and promises. Does that make sense? 

~

Keep your armor clean. If you neglect a part, you will be vulnerable. If you keep the breastplate polished but neglect the helmet, your head will be an easy mark for any flaming dart. If you seek to build faith and love without the hope of salvation, I wonder how far you'd  get. 

Similarly, if you kept your helmet tip-top but left marks and rust spots in your breastplate, where do you think the enemy will attack? He'll go for where you're weak. You can't really have the helmet without the breastplate. You need both. 

Just as you need the hope of salvation AND faith and love. 

All together they protect you so you can march forward with confidence in your master and King...who is also your blacksmith. 

Hilarious Quote

"I'm sure that most of the crimes in the world must be committed by hungry people. I always feel 'fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils' when I’m hungry." 

- Lucy Maud Montgomery (with thanks to William Shakespeare)

Yes, that is all. 

What? 0.0

I don't always write gimoungously gargantuan posts, you know.