What Do You Want?

"Do you want to get well?" 

I don't know where you are in your life...in your relationships, in your journey with God, in your finances, in your prayer habits, in your attitudes, in your health, in your everything and anything that might be a problem area for you.  But Jesus asks a question to the man by the pool, who for 38 years had been unable to help himself down to the water for healing (from time to time an angel of the Lord would come and stir up the water, and the first one into the pool would be cured).  The question He asked the invalid on his mat is the same question He asks of us.

Like the man stuck on his mat, we can create for ourselves a hopeless situation.  The invalid sat there, waiting for someone else to help him...but everyone else was too worried about themselves to help him.  We can do the same thing when we're stuck in a problem area.  We can rely on ourselves or even on others for help, but where human efforts fail - Jesus is right there asking "Do you want to get well?"  When we turn to the source of hope that is never failing, we are no longer trapped.  Who knows what God has planned through the things we experience, but He is our true source of healing and the forgiveness of our sins.

Another part of this I thought about today are the people who walked right past the invalid on his mat, never looking at him or offering a hand to help him get to the water.  How many times have I done this...not really looking at someone I encounter during my daily life...how many have I rushed past an opportunity to do good, only worrying about myself and my needs?  More food for thought I guess...

Busted...

Okay - I'll admit it.  This was my longest stretch of not doing my daily Bible reading.  It's been almost a full week, and I'm getting caught up today.  The interesting thing I've realized is that I really missed getting that time with God every day.  I was doing other things that sounded good - last day of my bible study on Friday...went to church Sunday.  But it just wasn't enough, is the best way I can put it, and I know that my actions and choices were a reflection of that.

As I was reading today, it occurred to me that certain things in my Bible's study notes were jumping off the page at me and slapping me in the face.  (It may seem like I feel beaten down, but I assure you - this was a much needed and refreshing slap in the face.)  Maybe you can relate...

• "How blind and foolish to call Jesus nothing more than an unusually good man or moral teacher.  Yet sometimes we act as if this were true when we casually toss around his words and go about living in our own way." (John 1:1-2:11...Jesus is the eternal Son of God)
• "God looks for steady growth, not perfection.  How well does your present level of spiritual growth match up to how long you have known Jesus?"  (referencing Nicodemus)
• "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30)
• "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)  Notes: "Is your worship genuine and true?  The Holy Spirit helps us to worship by praying for us (Romans 8:26), teaching us the words of Christ (John 14:26), and tells us we are loved (Romans 5:5)".
• "Faith is a gift that grows as we use it." (John 4:53)

So that got me caught up on John.  Then I went back and got caught up reading Psalms 39-42 and had a few more good face-slappers:

• Theme for Psalm 39 "Apart from God, life is fleeting and empty". 
• Psalm 40:6 "To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22)  Make sure to give God the obedience and lifelong service he desires from you".
• "Psalms is divided into five books, and each one ends with a doxology or an expression of praise to God.  The first book of the psalms, Ch. 1-41, takes us on a journey through suffering, sorrow, and great joy.  It teaches us much about God's eternal love and care for us and how we should trust him even in the day-to-day experiences of life."
• Psalm 42 "Our lives depend on God.  Feeling separated from God, this psalmist wouldn't rest until he restored his relationship with God."

I'm feeling very re-energized after going through all this today.  It feels like when you breathe in deep and fill your lungs with the new spring air outside that is being warmed by the sun and is bringing fresh life to the earth.  John 4:34 sums it all up for me today: 

" 'My food', said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work' ".

The food Jesus talks about here is exactly what I've been missing.  It's so much more than going to bible study, praying, and attending church.  Spiritual nourishment fills us as we take in the Word, in addition to nourishing us by what we then give out for God.