Holy Dread
“Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’
“And some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This fellow blasphemes.’ And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, ‘Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ – then He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’
“And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” Matthew 9:1-8
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I wonder in amazement that Jesus would pay the price for my sins, the trivial and tremendous ones. It fills me with awe, fear and reference and the realisation of how serious my disobedience is for His plan for the world.
This beautiful and familiar story uses the word ‘awestruck’ or ‘marvelled’ to express the surprise of the witnesses to this healing.
What would it have been like to be one of those bystanders, who were just going about their ordinary lives when one of their friends or someone they knew, was brought to Jesus.
Can you imagine the personal impact this would have on you as you watched Jesus both forgive sins and instantly heal this paralytic? Who could do this without Divine authority? Your fear would be the ‘holy dread’ that often accompanies an encounter with God’s power and results in praise and thanksgiving. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7a).
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Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com