Thy Faith Made Thee Whole

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Today's Chapters: Acts 23-25
Message Title: Thy Faith Made Thee Whole

Hello My Friend, 

“And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” - Luke 17:11-19.

I do not normally start a devotion with a passage, but as I was working I came across it, and something came to mind. Do you know how many people are healed by the hand of Jesus, yet they just keep on going? Our lives are not based on mere chance, they are set by the thoughts and deeds that stem from the heart. We do not need God to tell us right from wrong, but we do need Him to guide our heart in the right direction. Many will walk away from the mercies of God, but a few will turn back to be made whole by Jesus. 

Now, Paul is in Jerusalem, standing before the Sanhedrin counsel, a board of men that ran the affairs of temple included enforcing the Law of Moses, which by they way none of them followed. Half of the men were Pharisee's, who believed in resurrection, and the other half were Sadducees, who did not. Of course, with this mix of men, there were bound to be disagreements within the counsel, and that is exactly what happened when Paul gives his own personal testimony of the day he got saved. “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.” - Acts 23:1-6,9.

You know, people are quick to judge us because we follow Christ, I do not know how many times I have heard, “I thought you were a Christian.” when someone not living for Christ gets offended when I do not agree with what they are doing. Do I have the right to condemn them? No. God will do it Himself. I do have a right to stand up for my actions. By the way, wrong actions cannot be justified by ignoring that they are wrong to begin with. Likewise, convincing ourselves that something we are doing wrong is right does not make it right. “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” - 1 Corinthians 1:9,10.

The counsel could not agree, in fact, there was such an uproar between the two groups that a guard took Paul to keep them from puling him apart. The unbelieving Jews conspired to have him killed, God intervened and had him sent to the governor, but that didn't stop them from following him and stirring the people up. “Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.” - Acts 23:19-22.

Paul lived by the Scriptures and it was by doing so that he knew the truth and also trusted in the hope of God to get him through every one of the circumstances he faced. He knew who God was, and he was not about to compromise his beliefs in order to save his life because he knew if he died he would be in heaven with Jesus. All who are saved can join Paul in saying, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” - Philippians 1:20,21.

Today's Prayer: God, Reveal to us the things that need our attention so we can fully gain confidence in Christ Jesus our Lord in all that we do. To live in Christ and to die is gain when we get to see our Lord face to face in heaven one day. Show me the way, Lord, help me to endure my afflictions without taking my eyes off you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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