Full House

[cmc]

September 27, 2007

Key Passage: Mark 2:1-12

Topic: Faith/Trust; Forgiveness/Unforgiveness

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:5, ESV).

Picture this scene: Jesus is preaching to a full house, literally. Like, there's no room for anyone else to join the crowd, or even come remotely close to Jesus. He's got a captive audience, and nobody is moving.

Now these four guys come to the house carrying their paralyzed friend on a mat, hoping to get close to Jesus, but there's just no way they can get in! Not by the usual means anyway. So get this: These men carry their friend up to the roof, dig a hole through the mud ceiling, lower him on his mat into the room and set him down in front of Jesus.

OK, that takes guts. Imagine what the homeowner thought about these guys tearing up his roof! And what about all the people who'd been standing there all day? They were probably like, "Wait a minute--we got here first! If you want to get close to Jesus, get in line! There's no going through roofs!"

Obviously, these four guys and their friend knew exactly what they were doing. They knew that Jesus had the power to heal, and they were determined to experience that. It took more than guts to do what they did. It also took a great amount of faith.

Sometimes do you ever think, I've got this huge problem that not even God can handle. Maybe you're dealing with an addiction that won't let go. Or you've made some bad choices that have damaged your marriage. Or maybe you're dealing with a serious illness.

You don't have to dig through a roof to ask Jesus to help you. You just need to go to Him in prayer. And put your faith in Him. And sometimes, that's the toughest part.

Copyright ©2005-2007 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc.

[best]

Originally Posted by cmc

You don't have to dig through a roof to ask Jesus to help you. You just need to go to Him in prayer. And put your faith in Him. And sometimes, that's the toughest part.

I had to dig through my pride, my guilt, and my shame, oh and then there was this other thing... my selfishness and self will.

The roof may have been an easier way. Who would ever have thought one tiny step towards God would be so tough?

That first step... a step of faith is all it took because once I started my foot going in the right direction...Jesus took over and did the rest.

[toad]

In the King James version of the Bible, it says that Jesus was "in" the house. It doesn't say who's house it was. I think that it is a possibility that it was His own house. I feel that Jesus could have owned at least two houses. After all, he was a carpenter and probably knew how to built a house. I don't think that he was homeless! I think he had a home in Nazareth and one in Capernaum where this healing took place. What always impressed me about this healing was how Jesus "saw their faith." The faith of the men who were bringing their buddy to get healed.......Jesus saw it! Today I realize that I can also see faith in others

thanks for sharing cmc............toad

share this with me............

The most creative power given to the human spirit
is the power to heal the wounds of a past it cannot change.

We do our forgiving alone inside our hearts and
minds; what happens to the people we forgive
depends on them.

The first person to benefit from forgiving
is the one who does it.

Forgiving happens it three stages: we rediscover the
humanity of the person who wronged us; we
surrender our right to get even; and we wish that
person well.

Forgiving is a journey; the deeper the wound,
the longer the journey.

Forgiving does not require us to reunite with the
person who broke our trust.

We do not forgive because we are supposed to;
we forgive when we are ready to be healed.

Waiting for someone to repent before we forgive
is to surrender our future to the person who wronged us.

Forgiving is not a way to avoid pain but to heal the pain.

Forgiving someone who breaks a trust
does not mean that we give him/her their job back.

Forgiving is the only way to be fair to ourselves.

Forgivers are not doormats; to forgive a person is not a
signal that we are willing to put up with what he does.

Forgiving is essential; talking about it is optional.

When we forgive, we set a prisoner free
and discover that the prisoner we set free is us.

When we forgive we walk in stride with the
forgiving God.
(author unknown)

[cmc]

Thanks toad, I never thought about whether Jesus owned a home or not! I think you are right about that.
What you wrote about forgiveness reminds me alot of what I learned in Alanon, about boundaries, expectations and living a life of personal accountability. That said, the entire program and what I learned by attending meetings and reading the literature all line up perfectly with biblical principles.