May 5 - Friends & Faith

Read: Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 2:3-12; Luke 5:18-26

And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. (Mark 2:3 ESV)

Story of Jesus and the paralytic is one of my favorites. Just imagine for a second if you'd been in Jesus' place. He was standing there teaching all of those people—it was a capacity crowd—and suddenly the roof opened up and a crippled man was lowered into the room.

Jesus had compassion on the paralytic. He healed him. He forgave his sins. But what if the paralytic's friends hadn't lowered him through the roof?

Who are you in this story? Certainly there have been times in my life when I was the paralytic. On many occasions I have found myself on the receiving end of an encounter with Jesus that was initiated by a loving friend. Sometimes that friend didn't even know what they did. Hopefully we all have friends like that. People who would tear apart houses and disturb the neighborhood, loved ones that would be willing to shake up the status quo a bit to initiate an encounter with the Prince of Peace.

What about all of those people around us that don't have anyone like that in their lives? There are millions, no billions, of people who need an encounter with Jesus. And every one of them needs at least one friend who would be willing to get out of their comfort zone and take them to Jesus.

Sometimes introducing someone to the King of Kings is about simply demonstrating an authentic lifestyle. At other times its about opening your mouth and sharing the truth. And then sometimes you just have to get them to a place where Jesus is. What will you do when the time comes to carry them to the One they need most of all?

March 5 - Leave Everything

Read: Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-32

And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. (Luke 5:28 ESV)

Matthew the tax collector (also called Levi) was probably wealthy compared to the people around him. He was essentially a government sponsored swindler. An employee of the Roman's, it was Matthew's job to get the needed taxes from his countrymen. Anything collected above the needed amount was kept as payment. It was a system that set Matthew up as an apparent traitor to his fellow Jews. That all changed for Matthew the day Jesus walked into his life.

Matthew left everything. The tax booth, the pay check, his assignment by the Roman conquerors. He left it all and started following a homeless traveling preacher. Why? Because Matthew recognized that there was nothing he had that was better than anything Jesus was offering. To him that was worth leaving everything.

How does the story translate to us today? Are you and I willing to leave behind everything? What would that even look like? Those are pretty tough questions to consider. They are made even tougher if you are someone sitting high atop the ladder of financial success. Still, Matthew did it. So can we. He even went on to write the Gospel that bears his name.

Our pursuits and passions are often varied and frivolous. Sometimes our careers can be as well. A life lived in full pursuit of Jesus is never frivolous. It is measured. It is costly. It is worth leaving everything.