The Upper Room Daily Devotional – “First Things First” Saturday, 30 November 2013 Read Matthew 9

The Upper Room Daily Devotional – “First Things First” Saturday, 30 November 2013

Read Matthew 9: 1 And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2 And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” 7 And he stood up and went to his home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.(NRSV)

“Be encouraged, my child, your sins are forgiven.”(Matthew 9:2 (CEB))

Like many children, I tried to apply my own sense of order to my life. What was wrong with having at least a taste of dessert before the meat and vegetables? Why couldn’t homework come after television time? Fortunately, my mother found even my most compelling arguments less than convincing. Inevitably, her priorities won out, and my life has been better as a result. Jesus also attached great importance to priorities. Before addressing the paralytic’s physical maladies, Jesus attended to the man’s spiritual illness. Only after healing the sickness of the spirit did Jesus heal the man’s physical paralysis. In approaching the situation as he did, Jesus taught a valuable lesson. Today, time once devoted to setting and attending to priorities is now spent mastering a different approach: multi-tasking. Tasks completed at the same time hardly need an assigned priority. Yet Jesus chose to put spiritual well-being first. I can see my mother giving a knowing smile at that idea. “Like I always said, son, ‘First things first.’”(The Author-Robert L. Stephens (Virginia, USA))

Thought for the Day: To see a photo of Robert and his mom, go to devotional.upperroom.org/blog.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving us loving reminders of what is important. Amen.

Prayer Focus: To allow God to set our priorities

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