Draw Near and Be Healed

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 6:17-19 ESV

17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place,
with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people
from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 
18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. 
And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him,
for power came out from him and healed them all.
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Do you realize how dependent you need to be
on Jesus for everything?

Where else can you go?
For healing?
For comfort?
For your salvation?

We are all such self-reliant people, aren’t we?

In his book
What is the Gospel, Greg Gilbert wrote:
“We are convinced of our own self-sufficiency,
and we resent any insinuation that we are what we are
because of somebody else’s intervention.
Think of how you would feel if someone said
about your job or something else you value,
‘Yeah, you didn’t earn that.
You only have it because somebody gave it to you.’
This is exactly the case when it comes to our salvation before God.
It is given to us as a gift of grace
and we don’t contribute anything at all–
not our own righteousness,
not our own payment for our sins,
and certainly not any good works
that balance the account. (Galatians 2:16).”

Do these statements surprise you?

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

We all are much more self-reliant than we realize.
We are so sophisticated.
So 21st century.
We think, “Jesus can’t be all that we need.”

But whether we acknowledge it or not,
we are utterly dependent upon God and His Son, Jesus Christ,
and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Apart from Him we can do nothing!

You must put all of your hope in Him.
You must abide in Him.
You must draw near to Him and rely completely on Him.

Will you lay down your ways and your self-reliance?
Will you draw near to Him?
Will you look to Him for everything?
Will you go to Him to receive His power for your need?
Draw near to Jesus.
Bring your hurts, your needs,
and your impossibilities to Him.
Ask Him to heal you.
Ask Him to bring His power to bear in your weakness.

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following passage from Luke 6 and recite it 3 times.
Take it with you throughout the day.

18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. 
And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him,
for power came out from him and healed them all.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I draw near to you.
Help me see my utter dependance on you.
Be my everything.

In His hands for His glory,

Laurie
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