Series: Devotion

If a person recovered, the priest could certify the recovery and send him or her home free. The healed person would wash and offer a sacrifice and then be free to return to normal life—healthy, happy, clean.

He came to the earth to be one of us—a human being. Jesus took our sin, suffering, and death, and made them His own. He lost His own life so that He could find us.

Jesus made us His own forever, by laying down His life for us on the cross. He drew us close to Himself as possible, making us part of the body of Christ, members of His own body!

This isn’t a peaceful future Jesus is looking forward to—and yet it is a good one. It is a future full of life and hope, the future we are living right now—as we wait for Jesus to return.

When is it a good thing to be a robber? When you’re robbing the original robber, of course! And that is the way Jesus describes Himself when it comes to the devil and his power.

The lawyer summed up the Law in a few pithy words—”Love God, and love your neighbor.” Jesus agreed: “Do this, and you shall live.” But who can actually do this?

But Jesus looked at that village and saw, not enemies, but people—people to be loved, saved and forgiven and cared for. Jesus rebuked His disciples, and they went somewhere else to sleep.

Jesus told His disciples to deny themselves. He told them to “follow Me.”
The whole point was the following—the trusting—the obedient, loving life of a disciple who was glad to let God use him to bring others to faith in Jesus.

Jesus’ first sermon to the hometown folks in Nazareth. “What gracious words! What a wonderful preacher!” Not a bad reception… then Jesus ruined everything.