Strength from the Scriptures

Word for the Day Genesis 17 & 18: psalm 9: Matthew 8 Read Matthew 8; 2-4 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. From this chapter, according to Matthew, that Jesus started performing miracles. In verse 2, a leper approached and worshipped Him saying; “Lord, if thou will, you can make me clean”. Jesus stretched out his hands and touched him saying; “I will; be thou clean”, and his leprosy was immediately cleansed. Here we see a man who has faith in Christ and his mission; a man who believes that Christ can cleanse him of his leprosy, if He so wishes. His convincing faith and belief in Christ emboldened him to approach Him and make his request. And Christ, acknowledging that faith, healed the man of the leprosy. We see the same faith in the centurion at Capernaum whose servant was sick of the palsy. He believed that Christ does not have to come to his house to heal the sick servant; He can do it from anywhere. Like the leper, the centurion had great faith in the ability of Christ to perform miracles from anywhere, and under any condition. Christ, also, acknowledged the centurion’s faith. Can we boast of these kinds of faith in Christ’s ability and powers in our lives today? Especially now that he is no longer physically present with us. Do we believe, like the leper, that He can still heal our sickness and make us whole; solve our problems; provide our needs, and protect us from evil? Can He still forgive our sins if we call on him to do so? It is all a matter of faith and trust. The question is, do we trust and believe in Him enough? Many Christians today pay lip service to faith, though they publicly profess to it. Privately, they nurse doubts. They seek alternative means of solutions to their problems, some in the forms of idols and personal “chi” tucked away in secret corners of their houses. Our weak faith results in our problems not being solved, and our needs not being met; which leads to further weakening of our faith. But if we can be like the leper and the centurion, and stand firm on our faith and belief in Christ, we will be witnesses to miracles, signs and wonders being performed in our lives. First, we have to believe that Christ “can” before we ask if He “will”. Prayer Lord, help strengthen our faith and trust in you, so we can be cured of our sicknesses, forgiven of our sins, and protected from our enemies. We do not have to depend on other gods but you for our salvation. Amen