Sins Forgiven! Health Restored!!

Thought For Today - September 8
Sins Forgiven! Health Restored!
By: Robert A Searles

A man who was sick of the palsy, being carried on a bed, was brought to Jesus.

. His family and friends, no doubt, had such confidence in Jesus that he could help and heal him, that they were willing to carry him a great distance to get to Jesus.

"And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, laying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy. son be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matthew 9:2.

Many sickness and diseases in our physical bodies may be the result of sins in which we have indulged without regard for the laws and commandments of God. The first step to a healthy mind and healthy body is to have our sins forgiven and to have a clean conscience with God.

The shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ washes away all our sins if we will ask him for cleansing. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9.

When the sick man, laying on the bed, received confidence that his sins were forgiven and he could have a clean conscience with God -  he arose from his bed and walked. Jesus said unto him: "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matthew 9: 1.

God rewards our faith and confidence in him. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." When we know that our sins are forgiven, and we are accepted by God through Christ, we can be of good cheer and this tends towards good health for both soul and body.

In spite of what the scribes said, Jesus Christ, the mighty powerful God, "The Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever",has power to forgive sins and heal our.sick souls and bodies,

"And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. and Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 'wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee or to say, arise and walk? But that ye may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,(then sayeth he to the sick of the palsy,) arise, take up thy bed and go into thine house. And he arose and departed to his house." Matthew 9: 3-6.

Telehelp Publications Christian Literature Ministry
https://telehelppublications.blogspot.com

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What Manner of Man is This?

Thought For Today - September  7
What Manner of Man is This?
By: Robert A. Searles

After Jesus had taught the multitudes on the mountain and they heard his sayings, now he came down from the mountain and they had opportunity to observe his power, the mighty power of God.
First, he cleansed the leper of his leprosy, then he healed the centurion's servant by merely speaking the word.

"And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever, and he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose and ministered unto them. When the even was come they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick that it night be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." Matthew 8: 14-17.

Jesus had a very busy day, and some of those who witnessed his power wanted to share in his glory, but Jesus warned them that to follow him would mean self sacrifice and sometimes hardships.

Jesus said: "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head." Matthew 8: 20.

 Jesus warned that to follow in his footsteps while here on earth would often times bring persecution and suffering and even death; but the rewards would be great in heaven.

Jesus was in a ship with his disciples and a storm arose, he was asleep and his disciples became fearful that they would all be lost. "And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm, but the men marveled saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and sea obey him!" Matthew 8: 25-27.

Many times we in our own life's experience have witnessed the power of God to heal, protect, and to save, yet, at the same time, our faith seems to fail and we become afraid of the present storm. Jesus would say to us: "Why are ye fearful O ye of little faith?" We must answer back: "What manner of man is this that even the wind and sea obey him? This is the person that I want to be my friend, companion, and Savior. How about you?

What Do We Believe Concerning the Sayings of Jesus?

Thought For Today - September 6
What do we believe concerning the sayings of Jesus? 
By: Robert A. Searles
 
After hearing all these sayings of Jesus great multitudes followed him when he came down from the mountain. We have listened to his sayings, how do we believe?

A leper approached Jesus and begged him to heal his leprosy. He believed that if Jesus wanted to, he had the power to heal him and restore him to health. “And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Matthew 8: 3. A centurion came to Jesus entreating him for his sick servant, that he might come and heal him. “And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.” Matthew 8: 7.

The centurion indicated his faith in the power of Jesus by saying that he need not come to his house, but that he speak the word only and it would be accomplished. Jesus commended him for his faith. And said:

 “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8: 10-12
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We have heard Jesus say to us that before we can enter in to the kingdom of heaven we must be born again and become new creatures in Christ. He said that he would accomplish this for us if we would believe .him. We heard him say that he was the way, the truth, and the light, and that he was the narrow gate by which all men would enter into heaven. He told us that we all are sinners and cannot save ourselves; that we need to be forgiven and receive pardon from God. He told us that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin, and that the divine blood of the Lamb of God,( himself), was the only acceptable sacrifice given freely to all who will ask. He told us that we can ask and receive, to knock and it shall be opened unto us, to seek and we shall find. He promised to forgive our sins and heal our diseases. All that we receive from the Lord depends upon what we believe.

“And Jesus said unto the centurion, go thy way: and as thou hast believed so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” Matthew 8:13.

What Did Jesus Say About Building Our House?

Thought For Today - September 5
What did Jesus say about building our house?
By: Robert A. Searles

If a house is to withstand all the storms and natural disasters that may come upon it , it must have a solid foundation, otherwise, it will crumble and fall with the slightest wind of adversity.
A wise builder will dig down deep into the earth until he comes to the bedrock upon which he can begin to build. Likewise, unless our spiritual lives are firmly fixed upon a solid foundation, we will fall into ruin and despair when the winds blow and the hardships come in to our lives. A wise person will seek to build his spiritual life and house upon the solid rock. The foolish person will build his spiritual life and his house on shifting sand, and when the floods come he will be swept away.

There is one solid rock for all ages and all people upon which we are advised to begin building our house. That rock is Jesus Christ, he is the solid rock. When we take heed to the word of God and pay close attention to the teaching of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and with his help follow his instructions for our lives, we are building our house upon him, and as the psalmist has said: "He is my rock and my fortress." "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Psalm 127: 1.

Unbelievers who will not acknowledge the authority of the Word of God have no spiritual rock upon which they can build their lives and houses. Consequently, when trouble comes, they fall into ruin because they have built their house upon the sand.

Jesus said: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. and every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7: 24-27.
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What Did Jesus Say About Those Who Call Him Lord?

Thought For Today - September 8
What did Jesus say about those who call him Lord?
By: Robert A. Searles

How sad and horrifying it would be to come to the end of our days and meet with God only to hear him say unto us, depart from me for I never knew you!

Many have taught and preached about Jesus Christ, but have never experienced a personal relationship with him. Many have adhered to his philosophy of good works and charity and morality, thinking that this is all that is required to enter heaven. There are many who believe that going through the ritual of baptism and church membership and sacrificial giving will guarantee their entrance into heaven. Jesus explained that more is required than all this, yet nothing that we have or can do will give us access to God's heaven.

Jesus said that they that do the will of God shall enter into heaven. What is the will of God? The will of God for all people is that they be saved - that they acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as God in human flesh, and acknowledge that the only way to God is through him. The will of God for each of us is to admit that we are sinful, helpless creatures, doomed to eternal hell unless God pours out his grace and mercy upon us. Jesus said that we must be born again, that is, become new creatures in Christ, having a personal, one on one, relationship with him as our Lord and Savior 

God has promised that he will save us and apply the blood of Jesus Christ to our account and make us his children and grant that personal relationship with him if we will approach him by faith and ask him to save us.

Jesus warned: "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter in to the kingdom of heaven : but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7: 21-23.

What Did Jesus Say About Preachers and Prophets?

Thought For Today -September 7
What did Jesus say about preachers and prophets?
By: Robert A. Searles

We are constantly being bombarded with the words of the philosophers of the world and the so called preachers of religion. Many voices are heard in the streets. We do not have to go far on the radio or television dial or even the Internet to come across the teaching of some cult or organization posing itself as a ministry for Christ. How are we to respond to these voices? We ought to be very discerning concerning them and their teaching. Even in some of our churches there are hypocrites in the pulpits with white collars and black robes appearing to be shepherds of their flock, but inwardly they are ravening wolves seeking only to exploit the people whom they pretend to be serving.

Jesus taught that we need to be aware of false prophets. How can we know which is true and which is false? We cannot make proper judgments of the heart of any, but we can look to see what kind of fruit they bear. A good tree will bring forth good fruit, and a corrupt tree will bring forth evil fruit. We need to listen intently to what they preach and then search the Holy Scriptures diligently to see if what they preach is true according to the Word of God.

The Holy Bible is our compass to guide us through our life and to bring us to our desired destination. The Holy Bible is the true Word of God and teaches that there is only one way of salvation and entrance into heaven, that being by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". He who is God in human flesh, took upon himself the punishment for the sins of all individuals who will believe him and turn to him in repentance and ask for forgiveness of sin.

"Christ died for our sins according to the scripture. He was buried and rose again the third day according to the scripture, and he ever liveth to intercede for us in heaven as our great high priest." This is the good news of the gospel. There is no other hope for mankind.

"But though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8

Jesus said: "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they re ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistle? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. But a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matthew 7: 15-20.

What Did Jesus Say About Entering into Fellowship With Our Heavenly Father?

Thought For Today -September 1 What did Jesus Say ? - About Entering into Fellowship with Our Heavenly Father?
By: Robert A. Searles

We have heard that it has been said that there are many ways to approach God and worship him. There are numerous religious denominations in the world that believe this concept. Some would try to approach and worship God through ritual and ceremonial sacrifices. Some believe that their good works will secure for them God's favor. Some would try to approach God by praying, using different names, other than his true name which he has revealed to us through the scriptures.

We are told that we are to be tolerant of other cultures and religions, and respect and accept their method of worship as being as valid as that which has been revealed to us in the holy bible. 

Jesus Christ taught otherwise. Jesus taught that the only way to approach the one and only true God almighty is a very narrow path that leads through a very narrow gate, and only a few walk that pathway and pass through that gate. 

Many have chosen to walk a very wide road and pass through a very wide gate which leads to destruction. This pathway and gate seems easy and convenient to the masses who like to believe that there is no absolute authority in the universe; truth is only relevant to those who perceive it to be truth. This is a road where many have tried to invent their own gods who will agree with their own code of behavior, not having to give an account to anyone higher than themselves.

Some refer to God as "the man upstairs" or just plain "God" without giving him a specific name or title. There are many so called "gods", every culture seems to have its" own set of gods.
The holy bible which is the revealed word of God tells us that there is only one true God who has a name, and that there is only one way to approach unto God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1:1-4.

 Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me John 14: 6  
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Jesus Christ is the narrow way and the narrow door, the only way that one may enter into fellowship with God the Father. Jesus said: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat: because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it." Mathew 7: 13, 14

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