READ IT! - August 8th

Worship is both personal and corporate. While we need to spend alone time worshiping God, we also need to take part in worship services with others, with those to whom we will minister and with those who will minister to us. Think about that as you read these passages. 

From the Torah

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.

“Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

Exodus 4:1-17

HOPE! - Jesus Love the Outcasts

In John 5 we see the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. And this story is actually one of the stranger stories we get of Jesus healing somebody.

For one thing, the setting of the miracle is at an odd location - The pool of Bethesda. This pool was situated to the north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and had been a sort of pilgrimage site for many people since around 150 BC. They came because they believed that the waters of Bethesda contained the power to heal people. People were still crowding around the pool to be healed during the time of Jesus.

One of the weird things here is that Jesus usually healed people in just plain old ordinary locations – nothing particularly special about them. But in this story, Jesus heals somebody in a place of healing.

Another weird thing about this healing is that Jesus doesn’t ever touch the paralyzed man. He often touched the people he healed. Jesus also doesn’t use any of the healing water from the pool to restore the man. Jesus was known to use various things around him when he performed miracles, such as when he made mud and put it on the blind man’s eyes, or when he used the five loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. But this time, Jesus only uses the power of his word to heal.

Another strange thing in this story is the attitude of the man himself. After he is healed, he shows no sign of having put his faith in Jesus at all. He appears to not even know or care who Jesus is.

When Jesus goes to him and finds out how long he had been lying there – for decades – he asks him, “Do you want to get well?”

But that man almost changes the subject, and he says, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

It almost seems like the man is so focused on the pool that he can’t see anything beyond the pool. It’s like he doesn’t even look Jesus in the face because he’s always got one eye on that dumb pool.

Often when Jesus heals people he tells them that they have been healed because of their faith, and many times it seems that Jesus’ power is limited by the amount of faith people have in him to heal them. The Gospels even tell us that in some towns Jesus was only able to heal a few people because of their lack of faith.

But for some reason, the paralyzed man’s lack of faith doesn’t seem to prevent Jesus from healing him.

Another odd thing about this story is what Jesus says later when he bumps into the man. He says, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” This stands in stark contrast to the words of comfort Jesus spoke to many other after he had healed them.

Later, in chapter 9, we learn that Jesus does not believe that people suffer or get sick because God is angry with them. So why does Jesus tell this guy that something worse may happen to him?

Well, perhaps a little background on the location of the miracle would be helpful. Here’s what the archaeologists of Yale Divinity School found out when the excavated the site:

Between 150 BCE and 70 CE, a popular healing center was located in this area… The baths, grottos and a water cistern were arranged for medicinal and religious purposes. After bathing, patients could sleep in a grotto. “Priests” were available to interpret dreams as part of the healing ritual.

Now, when you look into the background here, you find that this description of events is exactly what the pagan priests of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, did in their own rituals to him.

And so through archaeology, we have learned that the Pool of Bethesda was actually holy shrine to the pagan god Asclepius.

This is where Jews who had given up on their own God would go to seek healing.

So why did Jesus go here in the first place?

Well, it sounds like he went there to challenge the title that Asclepius held of being the “great physician.” Jesus shows that he doesn’t need the sacred water and he doesn’t even need to touch the man to heal him. Even the man’s lack of faith in him doesn’t stop him. Let there be no confusion. Jesus heals here. And Asclepius does not.

But there’s more to this story than Jesus confronting a pagan god. Jesus has compassion on someone who doesn’t even care who he is.

But it goes deeper than that.

Of all the people who sat waiting at the pool, hoping to be healed, Jesus chooses this one man, the man who had apparently been there the longest. Jesus chooses the man who had no one to help him. The man who was ignored. The man that even Asclepius, the supposed great healer, had overlooked for so… so… long.

Because Jesus loves the outcasts.

PRAY IT! Thirst Things First - John 5:1-15

In the previous passage, we saw how our prayer could be positively impacted when looking at the healing of the official's son.  In John 4:47, we saw it beautifully modeled how we can approach Jesus when we model how the official approached Jesus:  he heard, he went, and he begged.  But how do we respond when we are the ones who get approached by Jesus?  We can look to John 5 for some input.  In John 5, Jesus heals a paralyzed man lying by a pool.  

Read a bit of it below (John 5:3-6):

In these lay a multitude of invalids - blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?"

In this passage we see that there were many people with many needs.  This man who was about to encounter Jesus had been dealing with his circumstances for THIRTY-EIGHT years.  Talk about patience... talk about potential frustration.  But Jesus saw him.  And Jesus asked him a very pointed question.  

"Do you want to be healed?"

Many needs.

Much patience.

Jesus sees.

Jesus asks.

In Psalm 142:4, the psalmist laments:  "Look to the right and see:  there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul."  Ever feel that way?  If so, be encouraged.  Hope abounds in Jesus.

When we're feeling washed over by waves of many needs, including our own... when we have been waiting (perhaps patiently, perhaps not so patiently) for what seems like eons... when we're discouraged that no one notices or cares, take heart that Jesus sees. We can approach him in prayer desperately, like the official did in the previous passage.  Or, sometimes in his care, Jesus makes the first move.  In his kindness, he offers the help and hope we desperately need, but that perhaps we have given up on.

Is Jesus asking you something?  Take the time to focus your attention and listen.

What is it that you need from Jesus?  Talk to him now.

Are you worried that Jesus cannot attend to your needs whilst attending to the needs of the MULTITUDES?  He can.  Set those fears aside and talk to the one who died on a cross for you, me, and everybody we know.  

I cry to you, O LORD; I saw, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."  Psalm 142:5

Pastor Celia

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Thirst Things First”

What kind of helper are you?  Do you like to help, or not so much?  Or does it depend on what kind of help is needed?  

Right now my son wants to help with anything that involves cooking.  He likes to measure, pour, mix, and taste.  Especially taste.  There are times when it would be a little easier (and a LOT faster) if I just did things myself, but I love that he loves to help, so we pull out the step ladder and just let dinner be a little later. 

I’m extra grateful for his helpfulness, because, truth be known, I was not a big helper as a kid.  I was pretty independent, which basically means I wanted to do things myself without anyone telling me what to do or how to do it.  So since I didn’t need or want help, I had a hard time understanding people who did.  When people said they needed help, I figured they were either lazy or they were trying to “teach me something” through work.  Well, I didn’t want any part of that!

It took me a lot of years to understand that there are times when each of us—even independent people like me—need help from other people.

Get out your Bible and read about a time when Jesus helped someone in need.  You’ll find it in John 5:1-15.  

This was a pretty special pool!  Every once in awhile, the waters would start to churn, like a whirlpool almost.  Then, whoever got into the pool first was healed.  I can’t imagine seeing all of the people who were sitting around waiting for healing.  The man that Jesus talked with had been there for almost forty years!  All that time and no one had helped him get to the pool first.  

I wonder why?  Maybe they figured he was strong enough to get into the pool on his own.  I’m sure it took a long time waiting for the waters to churn, so maybe his friends didn’t have that kind of extra time.  Or do you think he was the kind of guy who just didn’t have any friends to help him at all?  Thankfully, Jesus showed up.  He knew what this man needed and healed him.

We have our own reasons for not helping people.  Sometimes we think it’ll cost too much to help someone.  It’ll cost us money.  It’ll cost us time.  It may even cost us other friendships or our reputation if we get teased for helping in the first place.  Other times we figure we shouldn’t help.  We’re convinced that either the person doesn’t really need help or, if they do, that we don’t know how.

But these are really just excuses.  The truth is that we can bring a lot of helping to people in very simple ways.  Maybe you know someone who needs money.  You may not be able to give them all that they need, but you could give them some grocery money or even invite them over for dinner.  Is there someone at school or at work who is having a hard time learning what they need to know?  Maybe you can help them study or go over the manual with them during lunch.  Sometimes they biggest need a person has is just to have a friend they can talk to who will listen and care about them.  Everyone can do that!

One of the cool things about this story is that we see Jesus help twice.  First, helps the man walk again, which was what the man wanted most.  But then at the end, Jesus comes back and offers help for the man’s heart when He warns him not to sin anymore.  That’s the help the man really needed!

When we help others, when we offer that help and hope that they’re looking for, God uses it to connect people to himself.  That’s a great reason to help!

Talk together about ways you and your family can help someone you know.  It could be a friend, a neighbor, a family member, or maybe even people you don’t really know.  Think of something you can do to help meet a need.  Now pray that God would use this help to show the hope they have in Jesus.

EXPLORE IT! - John 5:1-15

Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a feast, and at the Pool of Bethesda he sees a paralyzed man sitting by the side of the pool. The ruins of the Pool of Bethesda are still standing in Jerusalem today.

Now some later editions of John’s Gospel state that an angel of God would come and stir up the water of the pool on occasion, and that the bubbling water had the power to heal people. This is why the paralyzed man was there in the first place.

Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to get well?” but the man changes the subject slightly, and he tells Jesus that he doesn’t have anyone to help him into the pool when the water is “moved.”

And Jesus tells the man to pick up his mat and walk… and the man stands up and is healed.

Now this takes place on the Sabbath, and the Jewish religious leaders see the man carrying his mat and tell him this is against the law. And so he tells them the man who healed him told him to do so, and they ask who that was. He tries to point out Jesus, who apparently means nothing to him even he had just healed him, but Jesus has already slipped away into the crowd.

Jesus comes to him later and tells him, "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

But then the man rats Jesus out and he goes and tells the Jewish religious leaders it was Jesus who healed him.

According to John, this is Jesus' third miracle (after the Marriage in Cana and the healing of the official’s son). It is also the third of seven miracles that John documents for us in his Gospel.

As we have seen before, John’s Gospel was most likely custom written for one of the main headquarters of the church at the time in the city of Pergamum in Asia Minor. And Jesus’ story is laid out in such a way as to show Jesus’ superiority over the various local pagan gods.

Like his previous miracle, when Jesus heals the crippled man at the pool we see that Jesus has the power and authority to heal people and to make them whole again. The Greeks of Asia Minor to whom John was writing his Gospel also had a god who healed – the god Asclepius.

Asclepius, who was supposedly born of a virgin, had the power to heal… and he healed with moving water. According to legend, he got so good at miracles that one time he actually raised a man from the dead. But Zeus got mad at him and killed him. But then he felt bad, so on the third day he raised Asclepius from the dead, and ascended Asclepius to heaven to sit at his right hand.

All of these things sound very similar to the story of Jesus. But Jesus is the truth – and Asclepius is a fraud. John is showing his Greek audience – and us as well – that Jesus is not inferior to gods like Asclepius. Jesus can heal people too, and he does a much better job of it! John is proving to us that Jesus is superior to all other gods.

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is so much better than the story of Asclepius. It’s filled with so much more hope and healing and joy and salvation. Even if someone like Asclepius ever existed and did all those miracles, he doesn’t really even compare to Jesus. He could only make a bad attempt to copy what Jesus would do.

And while many may have believed in this counterfeit god, those who get to know Jesus can’t help but see how much better Jesus is than any other supposed god.

There are many false gods and false messiahs in history; some came before Jesus, some appeared during the time of his earthly ministry, many came after his ascension, and there are still more yet to come. But those who know Jesus know the truth.

If you don’t know Jesus, how can you distinguish one god and one messiah from another? They all start sounding the same. But if you do know Jesus, you tend to recognize him when you see him. And he helps you to distinguish between what is the real thing and what is just a cheap copy.