Saturday, Ordinary 22/Proper 17-- Aug 30
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Meditation
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17 showed how proof made life easier to convince people. In the Old Testament lesson, Moses was looking for some kind of proof to present to his own people. I know how difficult it could be to convince a family member of the success of anything. Proof is required. Moses knew that some of the people would question his authority and he wanted to be able to give them proof.
God offered the miracles that defied science. Moses’ staff on the ground became a snake; picking it up by the tail resumed its staff frame. He probably freaked when God told him to put his hand under his robe and it came out leprous; then clean again when he put it back under his robe. Water from the Nile poured on the ground would become blood when it touched the ground. Three offerings of proof…would convince even the most skeptical.
The New Testament lesson in Matthew revealed how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law with his touch. She got up from her sick bed and served them a meal. The word went out and soon people brought their sick, their demon-possessed and the injured. Jesus healed them all with a touch, fulfilling the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would heal diseases and cast out demons.
Proof. Moses needed proof and God gave it. Jesus demonstrated that he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah and gave people the proof they needed to believe in him. We have proof in the Scriptures, although seeing and understanding ‘proof’ requires faith.
There is a film called ‘Proof’ where a brilliant mathematician, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, suffered a debilitating disease and his current ramblings were non-sensical instead of brilliant. His daughter, a drop out of university to care for her aging father, (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) wrote a formula that offered a break-through. The question of proving who did it—the established father with his former brilliance—or the unknown daughter, who might be trying to capitalize on her father’s work—became the focus of the film. No one believed her—not her friends, her professors or her sister. She didn’t have proof.
In this day, people want proof, too. The Scriptures tell the truth, but they can’t ‘prove’ God or the truth of the Word. It requires some faith. Of course, stories of amazing occurrences help people believe.
A missionary to Myanmar (formerly Burma) rode in the trunk for 2.5 hours to smuggle into a remote village. The village was ruled by a chief and one did not enter the town without his invite, so the missionary lived in a cave for two years outside of town before his invite. A friend came to him and declared the chief wanted him to come because his prize bull had died and he wanted him to heal it.
The missionary thought, “God could you have made it a little easier?”
He went with the trepidation that if the bull did not live again, he would probably be killed. The bull had been dead for a couple of days, since the other medicine men had tried unsuccessfully to heal it.
He laid his hands on the bull and asked in the name of Jesus for it to live and it got up after being dead for two days.
The chief declared the missionary’s God to be the true God and ordered everyone to convert. He had wanted proof and God provided the proof needed for their conversion.
Sometimes it takes a lot of proof. Sometimes it takes very little to convince unbelievers of the truth of God’s work. We can live our lives knowing that God will do whatever is necessary for us in our efforts to show the truth of God to those around us that may not know the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b;Exodus 4:1-9;Matthew 8:14-17&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Psalm 105:1-6 Psalm 105:23-26 Psalm 105:45
Exodus 4:1-9
Matthew 8:14-17
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 124:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 4:1-9
King James Version (KJV)
4 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, many people want proof of your existence and we try to show you in our own lives so that others would believe. Help us to be the kind of people that are ‘proof’ of what you can do in this world. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17 presented the ways that proved the truth of God to the people who needed evidence. To the Old Testament Hebrews, God offered Moses three means of showing miracles of the power of God at Moses’ fingertips.
The New Testament gospel showed Jesus at work, healing the many, who flocked to him. He must have grown tired when people only flocked to him for what they could get out of it, and yet he continued to heal them and took their demons and diseases away from them, so they would be convinced to love God and follow Christ.
We can be open to God using us to be the healers and the ones who carry away the pain and sickness from people. There are healers even today. The book about Delores Winder, of Fellowship Ministries speaks to the ways that God brings healing in miraculous ways today. I have watched her touch and heal people. It changed me from a skeptic to a believer in healing. I took that information with me to the Navy and saw many circumstances where God healed miraculously.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17 showed how proof made life easier to convince people. In the Old Testament lesson, Moses was looking for some kind of proof to present to his own people. I know how difficult it could be to convince a family member of the success of anything. Proof is required. Moses knew that some of the people would question his authority and he wanted to be able to give them proof.
God offered the miracles that defied science. Moses’ staff on the ground became a snake; picking it up by the tail resumed its staff frame. He probably freaked when God told him to put his hand under his robe and it came out leprous; then clean again when he put it back under his robe. Water from the Nile poured on the ground would become blood when it touched the ground. Three offerings of proof…would convince even the most skeptical.
The New Testament lesson in Matthew revealed how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law with his touch. She got up from her sick bed and served them a meal. The word went out and soon people brought their sick, their demon-possessed and the injured. Jesus healed them all with a touch, fulfilling the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would heal diseases and cast out demons.
Proof. Moses needed proof and God gave it. Jesus demonstrated that he fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah and gave people the proof they needed to believe in him. We have proof in the Scriptures, although seeing and understanding ‘proof’ requires faith.
There is a film called ‘Proof’ where a brilliant mathematician, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins, suffered a debilitating disease and his current ramblings were non-sensical instead of brilliant. His daughter, a drop out of university to care for her aging father, (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) wrote a formula that offered a break-through. The question of proving who did it—the established father with his former brilliance—or the unknown daughter, who might be trying to capitalize on her father’s work—became the focus of the film. No one believed her—not her friends, her professors or her sister. She didn’t have proof.
In this day, people want proof, too. The Scriptures tell the truth, but they can’t ‘prove’ God or the truth of the Word. It requires some faith. Of course, stories of amazing occurrences help people believe.
A missionary to Myanmar (formerly Burma) rode in the trunk for 2.5 hours to smuggle into a remote village. The village was ruled by a chief and one did not enter the town without his invite, so the missionary lived in a cave for two years outside of town before his invite. A friend came to him and declared the chief wanted him to come because his prize bull had died and he wanted him to heal it.
The missionary thought, “God could you have made it a little easier?”
He went with the trepidation that if the bull did not live again, he would probably be killed. The bull had been dead for a couple of days, since the other medicine men had tried unsuccessfully to heal it.
He laid his hands on the bull and asked in the name of Jesus for it to live and it got up after being dead for two days.
The chief declared the missionary’s God to be the true God and ordered everyone to convert. He had wanted proof and God provided the proof needed for their conversion.
Sometimes it takes a lot of proof. Sometimes it takes very little to convince unbelievers of the truth of God’s work. We can live our lives knowing that God will do whatever is necessary for us in our efforts to show the truth of God to those around us that may not know the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b;Exodus 4:1-9;Matthew 8:14-17&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;CEV (multiple versions)
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17
Psalm 105:1-6 Psalm 105:23-26 Psalm 105:45
Exodus 4:1-9
Matthew 8:14-17
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 124:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
Exodus 4:1-9
King James Version (KJV)
4 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, many people want proof of your existence and we try to show you in our own lives so that others would believe. Help us to be the kind of people that are ‘proof’ of what you can do in this world. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Saturday Ordinary 22, Proper 17 presented the ways that proved the truth of God to the people who needed evidence. To the Old Testament Hebrews, God offered Moses three means of showing miracles of the power of God at Moses’ fingertips.
The New Testament gospel showed Jesus at work, healing the many, who flocked to him. He must have grown tired when people only flocked to him for what they could get out of it, and yet he continued to heal them and took their demons and diseases away from them, so they would be convinced to love God and follow Christ.
We can be open to God using us to be the healers and the ones who carry away the pain and sickness from people. There are healers even today. The book about Delores Winder, of Fellowship Ministries speaks to the ways that God brings healing in miraculous ways today. I have watched her touch and heal people. It changed me from a skeptic to a believer in healing. I took that information with me to the Navy and saw many circumstances where God healed miraculously.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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