Matthew 9:35-38
Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. “What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples. “How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Have you ever watched a child play with bubbles? You know the ones I'm talking about - those in the bottle or tube with the little wand that has a circular band on the end for creating delicate - and elusive - prismatic spheres that quickly drift away or fall to the ground and burst. Children are often all about catching those bubbles and holding onto them for a few seconds. But their attention quickly turns to the next batch.
I'm afraid this is just how we Christians often treat new believers. We are so invested in them...so concerned about their spiritual future...so eager for them to invite Jesus to be the LORD of their life. We want to add their names to our membership rolls at church and share their story with others. We are excited about their decision and hold them up as examples of how Jesus can work in the lives of others. And then we are done.
This is how we interpret Jesus's challenge to be "harvest hands". We're a lot like the child with bubbles...or a kid opening presents at Christmas or on his/her birthday. Each package holds our attention for a few minutes...and then we move on to the next one. In my opinion, many of the "confused and aimless" to whom Jesus refers in this passage are not the "lost"...at least not in the sense of this word that we generally recognize.
Take a good look at the prayer list for your church. How many of those folks do you know personally? Have you not only prayed for them, but also connected with some of them...sent a card, made a phone call, dispatched an encouraging e-mail or just offered a hug or handshake when you met them in public? Take a mental inventory of those who attend your church - or rather, attended. Where are they now? If they have stopped coming on Sunday, do you know why? What about that person in your circle or the community at large who seems to have dropped off the face of the earth? Have you made any inquiries about these folks? Are their hearts bruised and hurting? Are they sick or in need of some kind?
What about the elderly and infirm? Are they shut away in a facility or at home, and no one other than paid employees or immediate relatives are checking on them to let them know that they matter? Are we so busy flitting from one "pretty bubble" or gift to the next that we have neglected the "sheep" in our midst? I honestly believe that when Jesus "visits our towns and villages", He is grieved at how quickly we lose interest and focus in those who are in our own back yards.
Remember the story in Luke 15:3-4 of the "lost sheep", and how Jesus talks about going after one out of 99 that was missing. Each person is precious to Him. We all matter! Our transformation in Jesus is instantaneous...and at the same, we are ongoing "works in progress". We all need continual nurture and care. And as much as Jesus seeks "harvest hands" to bring more people into a relationship with Him, He wants us to cultivate strong discipleships and kinship among fellow believers.
We desperately need real "harvest hands"...believers who are awake, alert and "dialed in" to the needs of those in their midst. In every "town and village", there are sick, bruised, hurting and lonely people who are hungry for a touch of Jesus' love and care...and YOU may be the person He has chosen to deliver it. Will you be so busy blowing new bubbles that you fail to recognize those all around you?
Are you ready to get your "harvest hands" dirty for Jesus? Don't you think you should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label healing others in Jesus' name. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healing others in Jesus' name. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for October 18, 2014
Matthew 15:29-31
After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
This week, we received a new picture of our “son”...Timothy Kodjo Owusu Frim. “Kodjo” will be 14 next week, and we “adopted” him via Compassion International* when he was only five. We send money each month to support Kodjo, who lives most of the time with his grandmother near the African city of Accra in the country of Ghana. Kodjo attends the Mt. Zion Methodist Child Development Center. His family engages in “petty trading” – information we are provided indicates that they make about $58 per month. Our “sponsorship” costs $38 a month.
We pay an additional $8 for HIV/AIDS response and another $8 in Compassion International partnership to help sponsor other children – both of these donations are optional. Just as importantly, we send frequent letters and photos to Kodjo. You can write to your child as often as you like...and there is even an online form to do this and send up to three photos, which makes this more convenient. We offer him encouragement, ask questions about him and the culture and life of Ghana, and we share the love of Christ with him via Bible verses. Kodjo writes us in return with the assistance of a worker at the Child Development Center.
We also send monetary “gifts” for Kodjo’s birthday and at Christmas. And there is an option to provide a “family gift” each year to help siblings (if there are any) and other family members. Compassion decides what the child/family should do with the money, and Kodjo has used his gifts for clothing, food, and a soccer ball. If you follow soccer, you know that this game (referred to as “football” in other countries) is incredibly important in other cultures, including that of Ghana. When the USA beat Ghana in the 2014 World Cup games, Kodjo told us that he was so upset that he was unable to eat or sleep! So the chance to own his own soccer ball was very special to him.
Why am I telling you this...and what does it have to do with this scripture passage in Matthew 15? I believe that when Jesus performed healings and other miracles, He knew that someday, people like Greg and I would “heal” others in His name by sponsoring children via such organizations as Compassion, International. I believe that Jesus fully understood that His demonstrations were not necessarily to be taken so literally by people who lived thousands of years later...but rather, that we were to look for situations in which “miracles” and “healings” were needed – and we were to accomplish these in His name.
There are hundreds of children just like Kodjo – all around the world – who need a sponsor. There are countless charitable organizations that need a few bucks – or a helping hand. It’s not just about money. But many of us plunk down more than $38 a WEEK for mindless purchases...totally oblivious to the impact this amount could have on someone living in a Third World country or even the hungry child in your local elementary school's third grade classroom. We fail to recognize how many lives could be touched if we gave an hour a week to deliver Meals on Wheels or to volunteer in a classroom at school or church. We don’t think about the lifelong impact of mentoring a child...or how precious our visits might be to an elderly person who is housebound. We totally underestimate the power of a simple note of encouragement...or a smile.
Notice that this passage says, “They came...tons of them.” It was no accident that Jesus ministered to these people...that He assessed their needs and met them – in droves. He did this in large part as a demonstration for us of how we are to live. He was showing us what to do to serve and honor Him – and the exponential impact of such ministries. Now it is our turn. The people may not come to us...we may have to seek out the opportunities to “heal” and “perform miracles”. But they exist, nonetheless. Our job is to look for them – and to get busy! Are you ready to do your part? Will this be the day that you begin?
©2014 Debbie Robus
* For more information on Compassion, International, visit http://compassion.com
After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
This week, we received a new picture of our “son”...Timothy Kodjo Owusu Frim. “Kodjo” will be 14 next week, and we “adopted” him via Compassion International* when he was only five. We send money each month to support Kodjo, who lives most of the time with his grandmother near the African city of Accra in the country of Ghana. Kodjo attends the Mt. Zion Methodist Child Development Center. His family engages in “petty trading” – information we are provided indicates that they make about $58 per month. Our “sponsorship” costs $38 a month.
We pay an additional $8 for HIV/AIDS response and another $8 in Compassion International partnership to help sponsor other children – both of these donations are optional. Just as importantly, we send frequent letters and photos to Kodjo. You can write to your child as often as you like...and there is even an online form to do this and send up to three photos, which makes this more convenient. We offer him encouragement, ask questions about him and the culture and life of Ghana, and we share the love of Christ with him via Bible verses. Kodjo writes us in return with the assistance of a worker at the Child Development Center.
We also send monetary “gifts” for Kodjo’s birthday and at Christmas. And there is an option to provide a “family gift” each year to help siblings (if there are any) and other family members. Compassion decides what the child/family should do with the money, and Kodjo has used his gifts for clothing, food, and a soccer ball. If you follow soccer, you know that this game (referred to as “football” in other countries) is incredibly important in other cultures, including that of Ghana. When the USA beat Ghana in the 2014 World Cup games, Kodjo told us that he was so upset that he was unable to eat or sleep! So the chance to own his own soccer ball was very special to him.
Why am I telling you this...and what does it have to do with this scripture passage in Matthew 15? I believe that when Jesus performed healings and other miracles, He knew that someday, people like Greg and I would “heal” others in His name by sponsoring children via such organizations as Compassion, International. I believe that Jesus fully understood that His demonstrations were not necessarily to be taken so literally by people who lived thousands of years later...but rather, that we were to look for situations in which “miracles” and “healings” were needed – and we were to accomplish these in His name.
There are hundreds of children just like Kodjo – all around the world – who need a sponsor. There are countless charitable organizations that need a few bucks – or a helping hand. It’s not just about money. But many of us plunk down more than $38 a WEEK for mindless purchases...totally oblivious to the impact this amount could have on someone living in a Third World country or even the hungry child in your local elementary school's third grade classroom. We fail to recognize how many lives could be touched if we gave an hour a week to deliver Meals on Wheels or to volunteer in a classroom at school or church. We don’t think about the lifelong impact of mentoring a child...or how precious our visits might be to an elderly person who is housebound. We totally underestimate the power of a simple note of encouragement...or a smile.
Notice that this passage says, “They came...tons of them.” It was no accident that Jesus ministered to these people...that He assessed their needs and met them – in droves. He did this in large part as a demonstration for us of how we are to live. He was showing us what to do to serve and honor Him – and the exponential impact of such ministries. Now it is our turn. The people may not come to us...we may have to seek out the opportunities to “heal” and “perform miracles”. But they exist, nonetheless. Our job is to look for them – and to get busy! Are you ready to do your part? Will this be the day that you begin?
©2014 Debbie Robus
* For more information on Compassion, International, visit http://compassion.com
Daily Devotional for October 17, 2014
Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
When you hear the phrase, “I don’t get no respect”...most of us think of comedian Rodney Dangerfield. This was his “hook” for many years...the words that made him famous. Dangerfield had a string of “examples” to illustrate how/why he was not respected...
Read Matthew 10:8 again. Jesus tells us to minister to others – to “heal” them, encourage them, lift them up and support them – and share the Gospel with them. That’s really what He means when He says “heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal those with leprosy, and force out demons.” But what is critically important is his next sentence...”You received without paying, now give without being paid.”
I don’t know about you, but this hits me squarely between the eyes! Jesus did all of these things – and so much more – for you and me without expecting anything in return. In fact, there is no way we could even begin to repay Him. So what makes us think that we should expect payment for anything we do in His name? What right do we have to get upset when we help someone else and they treat us miserably? Yes, it hurts...sure, it stings when we are disrespected or dishonored. Of course we are angered when our efforts are demeaned or squandered. But imagine how Jesus feels...because we do this to Him – all.the.time!
We have to learn to treat Jesus with more respect...we must make a concerted effort to offer Him our sincere praise and appreciation for all that He does for us every second of the day. Additionally, we have to get over ourselves with regard to those we “heal” in His name. We have to learn to operate so fully in the joy of serving Jesus that what others do with our offerings truly doesn’t matter to us. We put it out there...the rest is up to that person.
Be advised...the devil will make sure to needle you every time someone doesn’t respond as you had expected. He will be front and center to say, “How dare they!”...to make you question yourself, and to doubt your strength in Jesus. Operating above the “fray” won’t come easily...and it surely won’t happen overnight. But we must continue to work toward this goal...to study God’s word and maintain close communication with Him, so that we are strengthened and encouraged to keep trying.
We must accept that there will be a lot of things that we do in this world for which we are never given “credit” or proper respect...and that this is not the goal. Jesus is the only One whose feelings and opinions truly matter.
I know I have a lot of work to do in this area...but I’m ready to put in the time and effort. What about you?
©2014 Debbie Robus
Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
When you hear the phrase, “I don’t get no respect”...most of us think of comedian Rodney Dangerfield. This was his “hook” for many years...the words that made him famous. Dangerfield had a string of “examples” to illustrate how/why he was not respected...
- ”When I was a kid I got no respect. I worked in a pet store. People kept askin' how big I get. On Halloween, the parents send their kids out looking like me.”
- “When I answer the door the kids hand me candy.”
Read Matthew 10:8 again. Jesus tells us to minister to others – to “heal” them, encourage them, lift them up and support them – and share the Gospel with them. That’s really what He means when He says “heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal those with leprosy, and force out demons.” But what is critically important is his next sentence...”You received without paying, now give without being paid.”
I don’t know about you, but this hits me squarely between the eyes! Jesus did all of these things – and so much more – for you and me without expecting anything in return. In fact, there is no way we could even begin to repay Him. So what makes us think that we should expect payment for anything we do in His name? What right do we have to get upset when we help someone else and they treat us miserably? Yes, it hurts...sure, it stings when we are disrespected or dishonored. Of course we are angered when our efforts are demeaned or squandered. But imagine how Jesus feels...because we do this to Him – all.the.time!
We have to learn to treat Jesus with more respect...we must make a concerted effort to offer Him our sincere praise and appreciation for all that He does for us every second of the day. Additionally, we have to get over ourselves with regard to those we “heal” in His name. We have to learn to operate so fully in the joy of serving Jesus that what others do with our offerings truly doesn’t matter to us. We put it out there...the rest is up to that person.
Be advised...the devil will make sure to needle you every time someone doesn’t respond as you had expected. He will be front and center to say, “How dare they!”...to make you question yourself, and to doubt your strength in Jesus. Operating above the “fray” won’t come easily...and it surely won’t happen overnight. But we must continue to work toward this goal...to study God’s word and maintain close communication with Him, so that we are strengthened and encouraged to keep trying.
We must accept that there will be a lot of things that we do in this world for which we are never given “credit” or proper respect...and that this is not the goal. Jesus is the only One whose feelings and opinions truly matter.
I know I have a lot of work to do in this area...but I’m ready to put in the time and effort. What about you?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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