Mark 1:29-31 NIV

            As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So He went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

            I’ve read this passage before but missed a major point. I always thought it was about the healing Jesus did in making her fever perish. That part is important, but I think there is something deeper. The scriptures tell us that as soon as the fever left that she began to wait on them. Her “disease” was healed and she went straight to work. There’s no doubt that what Jesus did here was nothing short of a miracle, but her reaction is a direct result of that miracle. Because He healed her, she decided to serve Him. Because He showed love to her, she would love Him back.

            This story is a pure example of what Christians are called to do daily. Jesus heals us, Jesus loves us: therefore, we serve Him, and we return love to Him. This is the difference in Christianity and many other religions; Christ first loved us and sacrificed for us “while we were still sinners.” He reached down to us before we even thought about looking up to Him. Christ’s love for us is what compels us to serve Him. As we are healed from our disease called “sin,” may we grow closer to God and serve Him in ever-increasing ways each day. Our daily question to God should be: “Thank you for forgiving me father, how may I serve You today.” If we set our minds on others and serving the Kingdom of God, amazing things will happen!

If Christmas Never Came

“I think of God,
His son not sparing,
Sent Him to die,
I scarce can take it in;
on the cross, my burden,
gladly bearing, He bled and died
to take away my sin!
Then sings my soul
My Savior, God, to Thee
How great thou art,
How great thou art!”

-Lyrics to “How Great Thou Art” written by Carl Gustav Boberg

Can you imagine? If He didn’t come, if He didn’t die, if He wasn’t raised, if He didn’t suffer; can you imagine if God wasn’t so generous with His Son? David Phelps once sang in one of his songs “There’d be no hope for me, that’s just how it would be, if Christmas never came.”

But praise God He did. Because of Him coming to earth, dying, rising, and defeating death, we can have “peace that surpasses all understanding.” (Philippians 4). Praise God we will never have to know what it would be like if Jesus didn’t come and generously give us everything He had.

We serve a God who wants us to have victory in our everyday life. He says, “Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6). The decisions we make and the way we respond to situations is completely under our control. Don’t let the negative of today get you out of whack. Don’t let the devil have the foothold in your life today. Don’t live one day as if Christmas never came.

Christmas did come; God took our suffering and pain, put it on Jesus and in exchange gave us joy, true joy! Believe today and receive the gift of joy God wants to give you. How great Thou truly art God, how great Thou art! Joy abounds in my soul! 

One of my favorite songwriters of our time, Mrs. Gloria Gaither once mentioned in a performance, "I've come to believe that all that God puts in our lives, good and bad, joy and pain, successes and failures, sometimes horrible failures, He puts there to crowd us closer to Him."

As I think upon that statement, I think about the grace and love of my forgiving God; He uses my failures to draw me closer to Him. He uses my failures to teach me wisdom. He uses my failures to reveal to me how much I need Him. He uses my failures to show me how much He loves me.

The Bible tells us that Jesus came to heal those who were sick. "Those who are healthy don't need a physician," Jesus said, "but those who are sick do." God allows us to fail him, get off course, and sometimes "take the long road home" so that we will realize how much we need Him.

It may not be very comfortable at the moment to realize how much of a failure you really are without God, it may be humbling; but our God promises to "never leave or forsake us" and promises "plans to prosper you; to give you hope and a future." So when you fall, don't worry, God's going to pick you up and bring you even closer to Him.