pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: blind


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Come

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”  That was blind Bartimaeus’ call that day as Jesus was passing by.  We do not know if he was in his usual spot to beg or if Bartimaeus was there on purpose.  If so, we can assume he needed help getting there.  We can also assume that Bartimaeus knew that Jesus could heal him.  But first he must gain an audience with Jesus so he calls out as he senses Jesus drawing near.  When he is rebuked and told to be quiet, Bartimaeus shouts all the more.

At times we are in Bartimaeus’ position.  Maybe we are not physically blind but we maybe have a physical need or maybe we need a relationship healed or maybe we need a situation fixed.  Although Jesus is not physically present to us today, we often will cry out to Him.  And we can do so at any time because Jesus is always present to us!

Bartimaeus was bold in his request.  He made enough of a commotion to be heard and for Jesus to stop and call for him.  Then he told Jesus his desire: to see again.  Bartimaeus had enough faith in Jesus already to believe that He could restore his sight.  He was persistent enough to get Jesus’ attention.  Jesus probably knew all of this before He called for Bartimaeus.  After being healed, Bartimaeus joined in and followed Jesus down the road.  Jesus probably knew that this would happen too.

When we call out to Jesus, do we too expect that He will give us an audience?  Do we truly believe that He can do what we are asking?  Jesus will respond according to the will of the Father.  He is faithful and true.  He hears all of our prayers and callings.  We simple need to continue to do what He calls us to do: come.

Scripture reference: Mark 10: 46-52


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One Word

“Ephphata!” – be opened.  With a touch and this one word, Jesus restored a man.  The man brought by his friends was both deaf and mute.  One word from Jesus later and he was healed.  With one word his life was forever altered.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be blind.  It would be very different as I rely so much on what I see.  From reading to observing people to writing to playing music – I am dependant upon my sight.  To not have the ability to talk and sing and shout would be very difficult as well.

Up to this point the man has been dependent on friends and family.  A job would be impossible so he would beg or impose.  To the Jews, he was ceremonially unclean so he could not enter the temple to worship.  Other than those closest to him, many in society would have shunned him or ignored him at best.

Some people in my world need restored and healed.  They need to be connected to a community to care for and guide them.  They need healing and restoring from a wide variety of things.  For some it is addiction, for others a significant loss.  For some it is broken relationships, for others it is a string of poor decisions.  The list goes on.  We all know people who need much.  All need healed and restored.

Friends brought the man to Jesus.  With a word Jesus restored and healed the man.  Faith grew that day – for the man, for his friends and family, and for all who heard the story.  We all know people who need healing and restoration.  May we all be a part of bringing people closer to Jesus so they can hear Him speak the one word they need to hear: “Come.”  Share Jesus so that the restoration and healing can begin.

Mark 7: 31-37