Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Interruptions" Saturday, 22 March 2014 - Read Mark 5:21 When Jesus had crossed back over in the boat to the other side, a great multitude was gathered to him; and he was by the sea. 22 Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, 23 and begged him much, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.”
24 He went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they pressed upon him on all sides. 25 A certain woman, who had an issue of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things by many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse, 27 having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his clothes. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be cured of your disease.”
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”--Mark 2:4-5 (NIV)
“Come see,” I called to my mom; and she would leave the laundry to study an inchworm. When my experiment was complete, she returned to the unfolded clothes. “Mom, let’s go for a ride.” Though she had been elbow-deep in dishwater, she would join me for a jeep ride. When we returned, she finished the dishes. Mom saw these interruptions as opportunities to build a relationship with me — her youngest child. The healing of the paralytic is one example of how Jesus dealt with interruptions. When other people found Jesus involved in something else, they interrupted. Our savior seldom objected; he stopped, listened, and met their need. Jesus was available to those who needed him. We may feel we have no room for interruptions. But suspending our ordinary duties to reach out to other people could be the defining moment in their lives and possibly in ours. By considering the way Jesus responded to interruptions, we can begin to view interruptions as opportunities to be Jesus for other people.
The Author: Gene C. Burgess (South Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: Interruptions can be opportunities to share the love of Christ.
Prayer: Thank you, dear God, for interruptions that give us opportunities to reflect Jesus’ love to those around us. Amen.
Prayer focus: To respond to interruptions as Jesus did
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment