Mar. 28: What Obstacles?

One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."
(Luke 5:17-26)

Do you have friends or relatives for whom you pray to know Jesus, and with whom you share what Jesus has done for you, hoping that they will put their faith in Him and live with Him and yet they still do not believe?

The lesson from today's passage is this: Never give up! My "father in the ministry" prayed for a man every day for over ten years before the man came to experience the new life that Jesus offers.

Like the friends in the story, find creative ways to get around obstacles. The crowd. The roof. The weight. The cumbersome climb. All the obstacles could have been used as excuses to stop...but they never gave up. They knew that once their friend met Jesus His life would change dramatically for the better.

Who do you know who needs to know Jesus? Pray for them. Love them. Jesus will reveal Himself through you. Never give up on them.

~ Father, forgive me for letting the obstacles keep me from faithfully pursuing you on my friends' behalf. God, continue to work in their lives to make youselft known to them. Amen.