Today's Reading:O.T. - Psalm 119
N.T. - Matthew 8
Focus Verses:
Matthew 8:1-3
1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
Psalm 119:173-176
173May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. 175Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. 176I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Insight:
The leper asked Jesus "if he was willing" to heal. The psalmist hopes God will be "ready to help." The testimony of scripture is that God is both ready and willing to heal and save those who call out to him. In this chapter of Matthew, Jesus demonstrates the power of God over disease, sin, nature, mental illness, and evil spirits. He willingly speaks and his word is powerful to save. The psalmist looks to God's word (precepts, laws, commands) because the truth of God's word sustains, guides, and restores him.
Response and Action:
I am thankful that God is ready and willing to restore and save. By faith, I acknowledge that God's word is powerful to save me and truthful to guide me. I will choose God's word. I delight in the words of scripture. I look to Jesus, the good shepherd, to seek me and save me. I will seek him with all my heart and he will not let me stray from his commands (Ps. 119:10).
O God, thank you for your powerful, healing, and sustaining word. Thank you for your readiness and willingness to save all who cry out to you. Give me a heart that delights in your word and make me ready and willing to follow you. Help me to grow in faith and confidence as I walk in your ways. Amen.
Proverbs: 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
Resources:
Transforming Bible Study:
Understanding Scripture Like You've Never Read It Before
by Bob Grahmann
How Can I Ask God for Physical Healing?
by David J. Smith
