Gracious God of opportunities, bless and protect this dear reader in whatever challenges they may face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Good day, dear friends, our text for today comes from the Gospel of Mark 1: 29 Directly on leaving the meeting place, they came to Simon and Andrew's house, accompanied by James and John. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed, burning up with fever. They told Jesus. 31 He went to her, took her hand, and raised her up. No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them. 32 That evening, after the sun was down, they brought sick and evil-afflicted people to him, 33 the whole city lined up at his door! 34 He cured their sick bodies and tormented spirits. Because the demons knew his true identity, he didn't let them say a word. 35 While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. 36 Simon and those with him went looking for him. 37 They found him and said, "Everybody's looking for you." 38 Jesus said, "Let's go to the rest of the villages so I can preach there also. This is why I've come." 39 He went to their meeting places all through Galilee, preaching and throwing out the demons. (The Message)
The smart-alec theologians and scholars might call a portion of this story, the double-miracle healing, for not only was the woman healed, Peter actually wanted his mother-in-law healed. For those of us who were blessed with sweet, loving mothers-in-law, we can identify with the ansxiousness of Peter and his household. For those of us whose mothers-in-law are in Heaven, we miss them dearly. Yet, this is the story of Jesus' early ministry according to Mark. The arrival of Jesus and His disciples to the home of Simon and Andrew finds a key member of the household very sick. A fever in those days was not a good sign and thus the people there told Jesus of this illness. Jesus takes her by the hand and she is healed. Her healing is so complete that she began fixing the evening meal. You might be one, like me, who would have said, "Well, the fever has left me, but I'm still a little weak, perhaps I should stay in bed a little longer to recover my strength."
That evening the village, having heard of this healing, brings to Jesus all of the sick and demon-possessed. Jesus healed them all, and in so doing begins to demonstrate the power of God within Him. Jesus was the Son of the God of wholeness. He reveals to His disciples that His power came from staying connected with God through prayer. And this prayer was a holy habit of Jesus, and one usually done in seclusion so that Jesus could not only speak to God, but listen to God as well. The lesson shared here is that we should stay connected with God and share with God all of our needs, trusting God to be at work in helping and blessing us. We should also model our lives as those who go forth, after prayer, to serve the God of wholeness.
PRAYER: Loving God, I praise and love You. I am blessed to have You as my God. I thank You for Your strength, ability, and desire to be at work in my life. Bring me to wholeness according to Thy will. Let me stay connected with You throughout this day, and guide me to more deeper service in all areas of my life. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Personal Note: Dear friends, I thank all of you who prayed for me this weekend as the first round of interviews were held in Dallas and Little Rock. I thank God for safe travel and for this special opportunities to meet the fine leaders of our jurisdiction. Please continue to pray for all the candidates before us as we have offered ourselves to serve God in this unique way. This coming Saturday I am traveling to Oklahoma City to meet with two delegations there. Blessings to you!
