"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO NEED A HEALING"
Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Luke 6:7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
Luke 6:8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
Luke 6:10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Luke 6:11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. When Jesus came into the synagogue, there was a man with a withered, or paralyzed hand.
2. It's interesting to note that the haters of Jesus were watching Him, to see if He would heal the man on the Sabbath. This tells us that they knew Jesus would generally be drawn to people in need, and would heal them, or teach them, or help them in some way. He is the same today by the way. He is drawn to weakness and need.
3. Jesus wound up healing the man, to the dislike of the Jesus haters as I like to call them. (they needed salvation but did not realize it) There are many, many people like that today.
4. Jesus spoke to the man and actually asked him to do something he could not do. "Stretch out your hand" That was an impossible thing for him to do, given that he was paralyzed. But, in a sense, a very real sense, the Lord was calling the man to exercise faith. And, the result was that Jesus healed Him.
5. It's certainly true that God does not choose to heal everyone, that's very clear. We don't need to wonder or question Him about it, that's all within His prerogative. But, what we can do, is ask Him to heal us. We can ask Him to heal others. And, we can exercise faith, and encourage others to exercise their faith, and then we can leave the results up to Him.
6. Do you need healing? Do you desire healing from God? Do you know someone who needs healing? Let's remember, that Jesus knows about the need, and as mentioned, He is drawn to the need as it were. He was and is known to be the healer, of both bodies, and of course souls. Let's pray right now.
Our prayer for healing:
Lord, as we pray this prayer, we may have ourselves in mind, a spouse, a child, a family member, a friend, a relative, a co-worker, a fellow church member, a neighbor, or some other person. You know them, You know their condition, and we ask You to extend Your power and Your grace into their lives to bring healing to them. They have a measure of faith, just as the man in the story did. We have a measure of faith. You have given that to each one of us. And, right now, we are exercising that faith by praying and asking You to heal. We ask it of You, in Your own name, Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
"HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE FACING CRITICISM BY OTHERS"
"HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE FACING CRITICISM BY OTHERS"
Luke 6:1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.
Luke 6:2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
Luke 6:3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Luke 6:4 “how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”
Luke 6:5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. It's comforting to know that Jesus faced the same things, time and time again. The Scriptures above are a classic example of a particular time when He was being criticized.
2. The critics of Jesus, and the critics of God's people are generally of the same mind set. They are people who self righteous, and not walking in the grace and love of God. Thus you have the Pharisees as a classic example.
3. They were fault finders. Always looking for faults in Jesus and His disciples. On the other hand, Jesus is the fault forgiver, and the fault fixer.
4. One other thing about Jesus is that He always stood up for His disciples, and He will stand up for you as well if you let Him.
5. The way that Jesus stands up for You is through the truth of His Word. He will show You just as He did in the verses above, what is true and what is not. Ask Him to help you the next time (or maybe at this time if you are the object of some critic’s.)
6. Essentially what Jesus was saying to His critics, is that He, Himself was the Lord over all, and that the things of God have been given to man, for man's blessing and encouragement, not to make His life a burden.
7. So, remember, You have Jesus in your life. He is Lord of all. He if for You, He will help You, He will defend You, He will keep You, and He will protect You.
Pray for your critics, and ask God to help them see the Love God has for them, and the love that God calls them and all of us to walk in.
He is the judge, we are not called to condemn others. We are called to encourage, and love others, to build them up and help them know and walk with God.
A prayer:
Lord, we ourselves have no doubt been critics many, many times. We pray for You to forgive us of our being fault finders. Help us to be fault helpers, to point people to You the one who fixes lives, and fixes faults. May we be more like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
Luke 6:1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.
Luke 6:2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
Luke 6:3 But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Luke 6:4 “how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”
Luke 6:5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. It's comforting to know that Jesus faced the same things, time and time again. The Scriptures above are a classic example of a particular time when He was being criticized.
2. The critics of Jesus, and the critics of God's people are generally of the same mind set. They are people who self righteous, and not walking in the grace and love of God. Thus you have the Pharisees as a classic example.
3. They were fault finders. Always looking for faults in Jesus and His disciples. On the other hand, Jesus is the fault forgiver, and the fault fixer.
4. One other thing about Jesus is that He always stood up for His disciples, and He will stand up for you as well if you let Him.
5. The way that Jesus stands up for You is through the truth of His Word. He will show You just as He did in the verses above, what is true and what is not. Ask Him to help you the next time (or maybe at this time if you are the object of some critic’s.)
6. Essentially what Jesus was saying to His critics, is that He, Himself was the Lord over all, and that the things of God have been given to man, for man's blessing and encouragement, not to make His life a burden.
7. So, remember, You have Jesus in your life. He is Lord of all. He if for You, He will help You, He will defend You, He will keep You, and He will protect You.
Pray for your critics, and ask God to help them see the Love God has for them, and the love that God calls them and all of us to walk in.
He is the judge, we are not called to condemn others. We are called to encourage, and love others, to build them up and help them know and walk with God.
A prayer:
Lord, we ourselves have no doubt been critics many, many times. We pray for You to forgive us of our being fault finders. Help us to be fault helpers, to point people to You the one who fixes lives, and fixes faults. May we be more like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TO MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS"
"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TO MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS"
Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
Luke 6:14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
Luke 6:15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
Luke 6:16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Some explanatory thoughts and applications:
1. The first thing that strikes us from this passage, is that Jesus prayed before He chose whom He would name apostles.
2. Luke's gospel presents Jesus to us as man. And, as a man, He prayed. He prayed at various times, for various needs. And, here, we find Him praying, and not only praying, but praying all night to God about whom He would choose to be His apostles.
3. Needless to say, if Jesus felt the need to pray when making decisions, there's no doubt about it, but we ought to follow His example. We ought to pray also about what lays ahead of us and seek God's wisdom and direction.
4. God promises to hear our prayers, and He promises to give us wisdom.
5. If you are like me, you probably wished you were more like Jesus in this area of prayer, and followed His example of decision making.
6. The good news is, that we can follow Jesus's example, we can pray, we can talk to God, and we can be confident, that He will lead us in making the decisions that He wants us to make.nAfter all that's really the purpose of prayer anyways isn't it. Prayer is to find God's will, not to try and make God do our will. We get that mixed up and turned around a lot.
7. So, are you facing a decision right now? And, You are wondering what decision do I make.? Well, let's put or faith into action, and, let's do what Jesus did. let's pray.
Our prayer for the decisions that lie ahead:
Father, thank You for the example Jesus is to us. And, thank You that You have promised to hear us, to answer us, to guide us in our decisions. It's interesting to note that one of the apostles, turned out to be a traitor, Judas, the name that is never thought of well.
Even in our decision making Lord, even after prayer, there may be things that surprise us.
But, even Judas was part of your plan. We trust You to draw us into Your will, and when the surprises do come along, help us to remember that we have prayed, and, that You have some purpose in mind. In Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
Luke 6:12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
Luke 6:14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;
Luke 6:15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
Luke 6:16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Some explanatory thoughts and applications:
1. The first thing that strikes us from this passage, is that Jesus prayed before He chose whom He would name apostles.
2. Luke's gospel presents Jesus to us as man. And, as a man, He prayed. He prayed at various times, for various needs. And, here, we find Him praying, and not only praying, but praying all night to God about whom He would choose to be His apostles.
3. Needless to say, if Jesus felt the need to pray when making decisions, there's no doubt about it, but we ought to follow His example. We ought to pray also about what lays ahead of us and seek God's wisdom and direction.
4. God promises to hear our prayers, and He promises to give us wisdom.
5. If you are like me, you probably wished you were more like Jesus in this area of prayer, and followed His example of decision making.
6. The good news is, that we can follow Jesus's example, we can pray, we can talk to God, and we can be confident, that He will lead us in making the decisions that He wants us to make.nAfter all that's really the purpose of prayer anyways isn't it. Prayer is to find God's will, not to try and make God do our will. We get that mixed up and turned around a lot.
7. So, are you facing a decision right now? And, You are wondering what decision do I make.? Well, let's put or faith into action, and, let's do what Jesus did. let's pray.
Our prayer for the decisions that lie ahead:
Father, thank You for the example Jesus is to us. And, thank You that You have promised to hear us, to answer us, to guide us in our decisions. It's interesting to note that one of the apostles, turned out to be a traitor, Judas, the name that is never thought of well.
Even in our decision making Lord, even after prayer, there may be things that surprise us.
But, even Judas was part of your plan. We trust You to draw us into Your will, and when the surprises do come along, help us to remember that we have prayed, and, that You have some purpose in mind. In Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE CONCERNING GOD'S GRACE"
"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE CONCERNING GOD'S GRACE"
Acts 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Heb 10:29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. Grace of course means, God's unmerited favor. It is as pastor/author Warren Wiersbe said, "God's grace is God's provision for our every need. God's grace is not a mystical substance, that God pours into us when we have a need. Grace, is God's bountiful supply for our every need. Law means that I must do something for God, but grace means, that God does something for me. Grace cannot be deserved. Grace cannot be earned. Grace can only be given"
2. There are several things said here about grace, that is, about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All for our benefit and help.
3. Jesus is called the Word of His grace. See Acts 20:32 above. And, Paul was commending, or encouraging the Ephesian elders, to be committed to or presented to or set before Jesus, the Word of His grace. He also tells us what the Word of His grace, "Jesus" is able to do. He is able to build us up, and to give us an inheritance among all those who are sanctified, or set apart to God, by faith in Jesus Christ.
4. The Holy Spirit is spoken of in Heb 10:29, and called, "The Spirit of grace" This third person of the Trinity then, is given this wonderful name, "The Spirit of Grace" He is also called the Helper.
5. Notice the wonderful truth and invitation, and promise given to us in Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
6. Finally, we have a beautiful name given to us about God. In 1st Peter 5:10, He is called the God of all grace. And, this name is given in connection with His calling in our lives, He has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, ( that is, by our faith in Christ for salvation ) Then, the subject of suffering is brought up. That God in His grace, will do a number of things in your life. He will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.
7. Here's how the above verse from 1st Peter 5:10 reads in the NLT. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
8. So, then, to round it all off, God is indeed the God of grace, the Son is gracious, the Spirit is gracious, and our Father is also.
A prayer:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are the blessed recipients of Your favor. We do not deserve the grace you give. We did not earn it, nor could we ever. You have not given us justice, which we deserve, but, You have given us mercy and grace. Thank You.
We will for all eternity be glorifying You for what you do, and what You have done. Thank You.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
Acts 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Heb 10:29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. Grace of course means, God's unmerited favor. It is as pastor/author Warren Wiersbe said, "God's grace is God's provision for our every need. God's grace is not a mystical substance, that God pours into us when we have a need. Grace, is God's bountiful supply for our every need. Law means that I must do something for God, but grace means, that God does something for me. Grace cannot be deserved. Grace cannot be earned. Grace can only be given"
2. There are several things said here about grace, that is, about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All for our benefit and help.
3. Jesus is called the Word of His grace. See Acts 20:32 above. And, Paul was commending, or encouraging the Ephesian elders, to be committed to or presented to or set before Jesus, the Word of His grace. He also tells us what the Word of His grace, "Jesus" is able to do. He is able to build us up, and to give us an inheritance among all those who are sanctified, or set apart to God, by faith in Jesus Christ.
4. The Holy Spirit is spoken of in Heb 10:29, and called, "The Spirit of grace" This third person of the Trinity then, is given this wonderful name, "The Spirit of Grace" He is also called the Helper.
5. Notice the wonderful truth and invitation, and promise given to us in Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
6. Finally, we have a beautiful name given to us about God. In 1st Peter 5:10, He is called the God of all grace. And, this name is given in connection with His calling in our lives, He has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, ( that is, by our faith in Christ for salvation ) Then, the subject of suffering is brought up. That God in His grace, will do a number of things in your life. He will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you.
7. Here's how the above verse from 1st Peter 5:10 reads in the NLT. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
8. So, then, to round it all off, God is indeed the God of grace, the Son is gracious, the Spirit is gracious, and our Father is also.
A prayer:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are the blessed recipients of Your favor. We do not deserve the grace you give. We did not earn it, nor could we ever. You have not given us justice, which we deserve, but, You have given us mercy and grace. Thank You.
We will for all eternity be glorifying You for what you do, and what You have done. Thank You.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
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