Lower Your Mat Before Him

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 5:17-26 ESV

17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees  
and teachers of the law were sitting there.
They had come from every village of Galilee  
and from Judea and Jerusalem.
And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.  
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat  
and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat  
through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  
20 When Jesus saw their faith,  
he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.  
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking  
to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked,  
“Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  
23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  
24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man,  
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  
25 Immediately he stood up in front of them,  
took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.  
26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.
They were filled with awe and said,  
“We have seen remarkable things today.”
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We need the power of the Lord!
There is no healing apart from Him.
We can so easily forget that He holds the world in His hands.
Only He can open the gates of heaven,
only He can open our eyes,
only He can unlock our ears,
only He can make the lame to walk
and only He can raise the dead.

We can pray faithfully and continually
but only God can answer.
We cry out to him day and night, night and day
seeking rescue, relief, or resolution.
Sometimes He answers swiftly,
but other times we are met with silence,
seemingly endless silence without answer.
It is not our will that needs to be done.
It is His will that must be done.
It is His mighty power alone that can save.
In His perfect time.
In His perfect love.

He does according to His will in heaven and on earth
and no one can stay His hand (cf. Daniel 4:35).
Our hearts cry out from within
“How long O Lord, how long?” (cf. Psalm 13:1).
How long have you been waiting, crying out to Him?
How weary are you with your moaning?
Listen to the psalmist’s plea.

Psalm 6:1-10

1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O LORD– how long?
4 Turn, O LORD, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my plea;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

We all need the power the Lord!
We must remind ourselves that there is no power apart from Him.
We so easily forget. We fret, we run, we moan.
But we must put our faith in Him and in His power.

We must carry our mat of prayer to Him.
Climb to the roof,
lower it down,
and place it before Him.

He does hold the whole world in His hands.
We must look to Him.
He alone can open the gates of heaven.
He alone can rescue and deliver.
He alone can make the lame to walk.

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following passage from Luke 5 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.

23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  
24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man,  
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  
25 Immediately he stood up in front of them,  
took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.   

PRAYER

Lord God, I lift up to you the cares and concerns
of my heart.  Please come quickly to my aid!

In His hands for His glory,

Laurie
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Shepherded by Jesus

by Susan Sampson

Are you tired of trying?  I am.  I can hear him say, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat. 11:28-30).  I hear these words, but I can see that I’m still working.  Trying to do the right thing.  Trying to not make a mistake.  Trying to be good.  Trying, trying, trying.  Trying is not following.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3).  It was such a refreshment to my soul as I heard the Lord speak to my heart through Laurie’s words about Psalm 63, “this is the pasture I led you to in order to care for you and feed you.”  Wow.  Our perfect and loving Shepherd led us all here!  To His Word.  This beautiful oasis in the midst of the dry and weary land we are living in.  The lush garden, the promised land of His Word.  Full of milk and honey.  Our daily bread.  Life giving, life sustaining.

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live…” (Isaiah 55:1-3a).  

I want to follow Jesus.  I desperately want Him to be my Beloved.  I desperately want to believe that I am His Beloved.  We can believe this.  We must believe this.  It is by faith that we choose to believe God’s words are truth.  We must put our doubts to death once and for all.  Crucify them.  “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).   God’s Word is truth.  It is the Lord’s own words to us. His voice.

I don’t want to be shepherded anymore by my feelings.  Christ alone leads me to green pastures.  He is the Good Shepherd.  He is our Righteousness.  He is love.  Feelings lead us to darkness and despair.  It is Christ who rescued us from the dominion of this darkness.  Lord, help me to repent and follow you into the light.  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).  

The Lord shepherds us by His Word, His Spirit, the Body of Christ, and through prayer.  Let’s choose today whom we will serve; whom we will follow.  Let us follow our Good Shepherd each and every day to the pasture of His Word in Psalm 63.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). 

I want to be free.  I want to fall in love again with my Lord.

Lord, meet each of us right where we are.  Help our unbelief.  Draw near to us in oneness as we draw near to you this semester.  Enable us by your grace to lay everything down at the foot of the cross in absolute surrender.  Compel us by your love to the shadow of your wings where we can sing for joy.

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The Terrible, So Good, Blessed Day

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 5:12-16 ESV

12 While he was in one of the cities,  
there came a man full of leprosy.
And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him,  
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  
13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him,  
saying, “I will; be clean.” 
And immediately the leprosy left him. 
14 And he charged him to tell no one,  
but “go and show yourself to the priest,
and make an offering for your cleansing,  
as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
15 But now even more the report about him went abroad,
and great crowds gathered to hear him  
and to be healed of their infirmities.
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
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Do you ever feel like you are covered with leprosy,
inside and out?

Has the Lord ever tapped you on the shoulder,
opened your eyes, spoken to you during your prayer time,
and revealed your sin to you as never before?

He is so gentle.
He is so loving.
He is so pure and holy.
The more light He sheds, the more you see your sin.

You don’t want to be sinful.

You don’t want to fear, but you do.
You don’t want to worry, but you do.
You don’t want to care what other people think of you.
You don’t want to crave that next candy bar, diet soda, or whatever.
You don’t want to fly off the handle, harbor a grudge,
“adjust” the truth, or hide your true self.
You don’t want to feel inferior, self-conscious, or inadequate,
but you find yourself spiraling downward,
beating yourself up, and wanting to give up.

However, when God opens your eyes to your sin and you see your sin
more as He sees it, even though it may feel just like
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,
it is actually
The Very Awful, Terrible, So Good, Very Blessed Day!

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

Jesus is our Shepherd.
He has purpose in everything He allows, even your sin!
He is forming and shaping us into vessels of God’s glory.

The leper, full of leprosy,
came to Jesus and fell down on his face in front of Jesus,
and begged Jesus to make him clean.
What did Jesus do?
Did He shun him?
Did He sort of heal him?
Did He say to the leper, “Sorry your condition
is too repulsive, too extensive, and too severe?”

Do you need to see your sin as Jesus sees your sin?
Have you already (to some extent)?
Either way, fall on your face and beg him,
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean!”

When the man cried out to Jesus, what did Jesus do?

Luke 5:13
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him,  
saying, “I will; be clean.”
 And immediately the leprosy left him. 

1 John 1:9 
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just  
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin.
But it can.

All of it.

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following passage from Luke 5 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.

12 While he was in one of the cities,  
there came a man full of leprosy.
And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him,  
“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”  
13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him,  
saying, “I will; be clean.” 
And immediately the leprosy left him. 

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, please show me my sin as you see it.
Cleanse me from the leprosy of my iniquity.

In His hands for His glory,Laurie
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