God’s Long Arm and the Blind Man

March 25

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are

well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

John 5:14

There was a blind man who walked into an American pastor’s church in

Ukraine a few years ago. He came forward that night to receive Jesus Christ as

his Lord and Savior. When the pastor prayed for his salvation, he was instantly

saved and healed of his blindness! But, as it sometimes goes, temptation was

too great for him, and he once again found himself living a life of sin.

As in the story with the cripple Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda, the

man was confronted with his return to a life of sin and told he might suf-

fer something worse if he continued. Realizing the truth of the statement,

he returned to this church, where he repented once again, this time with new

understanding, and began a new walk with the Lord. God’s righteous right

hand had sought him out. Thank God!

h

We have a tendency to believe that once we are saved, we should be

through with sin. Yes, we have a desire to stop sinning; no, it isn’t automatic.

It is a process by which the Holy Spirit guides us into righteousness, which

translates to right living, not perfection.

Once we have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice, we are clothed in His righteous-

ness and are seen by the Father through Christ. It does not, however, remove

our free will by which we make choices. The longer and deeper we walk with

God, the closer we get and the less sin-filled life appeals to us. But, as with the

blind man, we are still capable of sinning. The danger at this point is that we

have already been forgiven our sins. By blatantly disregarding this, we open

ourselves up to a more extreme onslaught by the enemy, hence Jesus’ warning

to the man at Bethesda.

“God’s arm is not too short that it cannot save.” But sinning is not sup-

posed to be an option, despite the inevitable forgiveness we will receive from

our Creator.

Prayer

“Abba, almost all sin feels good for a while. Please lead

me into the truth of where that life leads and how it

separates me from You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Wounded in Battle

March 24

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have

against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Colossians 3:13

Kim knew Toby was furious, so she kept silent for the moment.

“That really ticks me off !” he proclaimed as he climbed in the car. “I’ve half a

mind to go back there and … ” He let his words trail off.

Toby was responding like most of us have when we’ve been wounded by

a brother or sister in Christ; he’d smiled on the outside, saying it’s no big deal

while a fire smoldered inside, kindling resentment and threatening to choke

out all reason.

His countenance was anything but spiritual. But the farther he got from

the moment, the clearer he heard God’s voice. “Do you think I missed what

happened? I know how much what Tim did hurt you.” Then he felt God ask,

“Who would benefit from you responding in anger? Your battle is not against

Tim.” He knew this was true, but the wound was so fresh that he didn’t want

to accept it. “You can refuse to follow Satan’s plan,” God said. “Have you never

been guilty of doing what was done to you?” God asked. Ouch, that hurts, Toby

thought silently.

Toby looked at Kim and said, “It’s so much easier to be forgiven than it is

to extend forgiveness.”

h

All of us, without exception, will be wounded in or by the church. It’s impos-

sible to put that many people together and not have casualties.

In the moments immediately following the wounding, we are faced with

choices: to strike out in pain and anger, to simmer in bitterness until it inter-

rupts communication between us and God. We can spread vicious rumors,

slandering the one who hurt us or act self-righteous as though nothing hap-

pened, allowing ourselves to carry the wound into the future where it will affect

everything we do.

Or we can take it to God, asking Him to help us do what we cannot do on

our own: forgive them as God, through Jesus, forgave us.

Prayer

“God of mercy and grace, You have forgiven us so much.

Show us how to forgive when it’s so hard. Be close right now

because we can’t do this alone. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Living the Memories

March 23

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was bur-

ied, that he was raised on the third day.

1 Corinthians 15:3, 4

It was as if he had found a great treasure. As he lifted the lid on the trunk, he

was taken by a boyish excitement. He had no idea what he would find. Pulling

away the sheet covering the items in the trunk, he gently began lifting each one

reverently from its resting place. Greg felt his pulse quicken, and he couldn’t

wait to learn what secrets would emerge. A waffle iron Gramma had used still

shined as though it were brand-new.

Memories of visiting Gramma’s apartment down the block came flooding

back; he’d been but a child. Gramma would fix him waffles and tea for break-

fast. Tea was a staple of every meal, especially at 4:00 p.m. since Gramma had

been born in Great Britain.

As Greg lifted each item from the trunk, a new and special memory came

with it. After several hours of reminiscing, he replaced each item to its resting

place and closed the lid. How precious are the memories of living. Though the

items would perish, the memories would last forever.

h

Memories are passed in many ways, all of which are meant to impart some-

thing of value. As Greg spent those hours in fond remembrance of his grand-

mother, he could vividly recall the events as they had unfolded because he was

actually there for many of them. As it stirs our heart to read about Greg’s joy in

reliving the events that shaped his life, we get a better understanding that we

have the privilege of reliving much of Jesus’ life and death through Scripture.

We have been given eyewitness testimony from those who were there! These

are not bedtime stories—although it is a good time to read them to our chil-

dren—but true-life events in our Savior’s life. He invites us to read ourselves

into the storyline.

Prayer

“We thank you for the written record of Your life,

Lord. Enlighten our hearts as we open the Word

so that we may feel some of what the disciples felt

so we may feel alive in the memories. Amen.”

 Good Stuff Spirituality

March 22

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many

kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops

perseverance.

James 1:2–3

Sarah gave cake and soda to her imaginary friends. Immediately following the

cake came candy; following the candy was punch and cookies. Two hours later,

Sarah, complaining of severe stomach cramps, was suffering from her sugar-

loaded free for all. 

Mom, unaware of what had taken place at the party, drove Sarah to the local emergency room. An hour later, with test results in hand, the physician asked, “Does Sarah have a history of diabetes? Her glucose level is pretty high.” Answering in the negative, Mom turned to Sarah and asked if she’d eaten anything following breakfast.

“Just good stuff, Mommy.” She spoke in a low groan. “What good stuff,

Sarah?” she asked. “Cookies, candy, cake, and pop stuff, Mommy.”

“Oh, Sarah! What were you thinking?” The anxiety was evident in Mom’s

voice. The doctor assured her that Sarah would be fine. But she needed to

restrict Sarah’s diet to nourishing, healthy food for a few days.

h

Early in our spiritual maturation, we lack understanding. We want the good

stuff all the time. But seeking only God’s blessing is unhealthy. In His wisdom,

he knows better than to pander to our desires. He knows that trials and sorrow

will come. Without the tempering that struggles bring, we would be unable to

face the hard stuff that will come our way.

A baby chick must struggle against the shell while hatching in order to

gain the strength necessary to survive. If the chick is freed from its shell with-

out struggling, it will die. As a loving Father, God allows us just enough strug-

gles to build spiritual strength. Spiritual maturity comes from dealing with life.

The Christian walk is hard stuff; we build muscle by resistance. God would not

deprive us of the deepest relationship possible, and He will not leave us alone

in the battle.

Learning to lean on Jesus builds good stuff spirituality.

Prayer

“God of wisdom. We ask that You hold us as we meet the

hard stuff head on. Teach us to persevere. We want more than

a good stuff relationship with You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”

 Anchored in God’s Love

March 21

For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him

through the death of his Son, how much more … shall we be saved

through his life!

Romans 5:10

Rebecca and Brook shared a unique bond. People found it ironic. They knew

it was anchored in God’s love. Rebecca’s son had been killed two years ago in

a traffic accident. He’d been T-boned by a car eluding police in a high-speed

chase.

Rebecca prayed for the young man who had taken her son’s life, asking

God to help her forgive him. She prayed for him to have a revelation of God’s

grace and healing power. 

When he was sentenced to prison, she began visiting, even bringing him a Bible. With each visit, Rebecca shared stories of her son’s life and how he had loved Jesus and served Him faithfully. During one of their visits, the young man gave his life to Christ. 

He shared how his mother had also come to know Jesus through someone’s selfless act of love, someone she had never met. He went on to tell Rebecca how, two years before, his mother had been the recipient of a heart transplant. It had changed her life. 

Before he finished, Rebecca knew—her son had been the donor, this young man’s mother the recipient. Shortly thereafter, Rebecca met Brook for the first time. 

They hugged silently in a tearful embrace. One weeping tears of grace, the other

tears of gratitude.

h

Not bound by a heart of unforgiveness, Rebecca was able to show the love of

Jesus Christ to someone in desperate need of it. Being secure in the knowl-

edge that her son was safe in his Savior’s arms, she was able to show grace and

unmerited favor to someone the world would call her enemy.

Through the events that took her son’s life, Rebecca was able to see God’s

hand at work instead of becoming bitter at the loss of her child.

It can be difficult to ask God to help us do something so unnatural. We

cannot forgive this kind of wound in and of ourselves. We need divine assis-

tance. Had God waited until He felt like forgiving us, we would be damned

for eternity.

Prayer

“What shall we say, Lord, except thank You for Your mercy

and grace, Your unmerited forgiveness and favor! Amen.”

 Wise Men Seek Help

March 20

The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of under-

standing draws them out.

Proverbs 20:5

Mitch was considering a career change. He’d been collaborating with Drake,

seeking help instead of trying to figure it out all by himself. They had been

brought together by divine appointment and both felt God leading them to

pioneer new territory.

Mitch had an unquenchable desire to discover a deeper knowledge of how

he could affect the kingdom of God. That was where Drake came in. Drake was

a career consultant/counselor, a godly man with tremendous wisdom. He was

gifted with the ability to help unlock other people’s spiritual potential.

After several weeks of meeting together, God revealed what He intended

Mitch’s ministry to be. Mitch decided to share his intimate knowledge of the

depth of God’s grace with the world through writing. With a sordid past,

Mitch was able to explain God’s grace with profound understanding because

he had needed it so desperately.

Eighteen months later, with a newly published book, speaking engage-

ments across the country had been scheduled; they would generate enough

income to allow for future writing.

h

The assertion “Wise men still seek Him” still holds true. Yet few choose to live

the life required to grasp and understand the deep mysteries of God. Those

mysteries are hidden for us, not from us.

God is a rewarder of those who hunger for His truth. We must recognize

that short of supernatural intervention, we need help unlocking those myster-

ies. His intention in revealing them is that we would learn from our discoveries.

Mitch knew he was being called to something deeper; Drake understood

how to discover what that was.

Pride and self-sufficiency has chained many a productive heart. God asks

us to come humbly seeking His will for our lives while enlisting the help of

others so the work we are called to might be accomplished.

Prayer

“Holy Spirit, set us free from the bondage of self. Help us to

not get caught up in our own version of wisdom. Teach us the

better way of joining with likeminded believers in an effort

to get at the marrow of Your nature. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”