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COMMUNITY

“And it came to pass on a certain day, as He [Jesus] was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him.  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.  And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. (Luke 5:17-20).   As I read the story told in Luke 5 of the man sick with the palsy whom Jesus healed, I am intrigued, not just by the miracle itself, but by what happened before the miracle.    This man was paralyzed.  We don’t know to what extent, but we can assume that since he was...
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COME!

In St. Matthew 14 we find an account of Jesus constraining His disciples to get into a ship to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.   They had just witnessed a notable miracle where Jesus multiplied a few fish and loaves of bread to feed over 5,000 people.   The disciples must have felt on top of the world after such an experience, but they soon became less confident as they found themselves in the middle of a storm out in deep water and Jesus not with them.     This has always reminded me of the highs and lows that we go through as Christians.   One moment we may feel blessed and strong in the Lord, and the next moment be frightened by circumstances that we don’t seem to have any control over.   The mountains and valleys of life are something that we all experience; but through them all, Christ is teaching us that He is the Master of all things.   When it began to grow late, Jesus came to them walking on the sea.   At first, they w...
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ONE THING YOU LACK

A story is recorded in three of the Gospels in which a man came to Jesus and asked Him, “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16).   To this man, the question was all about doing good things to obtain salvation.  He was obviously very proficient at doing good things already because, when Jesus told Him to keep the commandments, and spelled them out for him, this man said that he had kept them all since he was a child.  For all his good works, however, he still was in doubt about the condition of his soul.   Many folks today have placed their hopes for Eternity in the quality and quantity of “good things” that they have done in their lives.   Sadly, many who confess Christianity fall into the same trap.   They have been churched all their lives, and tried to keep the commandments, and perhaps been quite successful, and yet they feel an emptiness in their soul.   They know in their hearts that there is something mor...
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