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“Christ Asks Us, Serve Eagerly!(C.A.U.S.E)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

Editors Note: This devotional was originally sent through email on Monday, November 02, 1998 at 12:06:36 p.m. to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) students and others who wanted to receive daily devotionals at the University of Pittsburgh while I was serving at IVCF! It is being republished on Pittsburgh Standard today.

SCRIPTURE:

"Jesus then told him sternly, "Go and be examined immediately by the Jewish priest. Don't stop to speak to anyone along the way. Take along the offering prescribed by Moses for a leper who is healed, so that everyone will have proof that you are well again" (Mark 1:43-44)

What the man healed from leprosy does:

"But as the man went on his way he began to shout the good news that he was healed; as a result, such throngs soon surrounded Jesus that he couldn't publicly enter a city anywhere, but had to stay out in the barren wastelands. And people from everywhere came to him there" (Mark 1:45)

Jesus gave the man couple of commandments sternly:

1. Go and be examined immediately by the Jewish priest.

2. Don't stop to speak to anyone along the way.

3. Take the offering prescribed by Moses for a leper who is healed.

The man immediately disobeys Jesus:

1. As the man went on his way presumably to the Jewish priest, he began to shout the good news that he was healed.

The results of the man's disobedience:

1. Because of the man's disobedience such throngs surrounded Jesus.

2. Jesus couldn't publicly enter a city anywhere.

3. Jesus had to stay in the barren wastelands.

4. People from everywhere had to come to Jesus.

I learned a lot from this passage that I wanted to share with you all.

First of all, we see Jesus being obedient to Scripture and telling the man who was healed from leprosy to take along the offering prescribed by Moses. This is very relevant in that Jesus wants the man to follow what we consider to be part of the Old Testament (Leviticus 14). When we become Christians, we cannot ignore reading the Old Testament because we feel we are under the New Covenant. The Old Testament is Scripture and God uses His entire Word to speak to us! It is important to realize that if Jesus said something in the New Testament that should take precedent though. Because of what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross and coming back to life to save us we can do away with sacrificial kinds of offerings.

Second of all, it is implied by the offering that God should be thanked by the man before he does anything else including telling other people what happened to him. When the Lord answers our prayers it is so important to go to the Lord and thank Him for what He has done for us before going to anyone else. There can be a tendency to pray and accept God's answer and not take that time to offer our praises to Him. God inhabits the praises of His people. Let the Lord know that you appreciate what the Lord has done for you. Even though we have done away with sacrificial offerings we can still praise the Lord with our lips.

We also see the consequences of the man's disobedience in the lives of others. I realized long time ago that my actions and reactions have effect on other people's lives too. When I am disobedient and do wrong, I not only hurt myself but those around me can be affected too. This is what the man caused.

We do not think about it this way very much but the man's actions caused problems to Jesus that he could not publicly enter a city anywhere but had to stay in the barren wastelands and people had to come to him. If the man just obeyed and did what Jesus told him to, Jesus could have still been there and it would have been much easier on the people there too without having to go search for Jesus. It is important to realize what we do in our private lives when no one is looking can affect our public ministry or the lives of others (Achan is an example from the Old Testament)   

We have the opportunity to let the Lord be glorified and not cause grief to the Lord by our actions, so let us hold on to the faith and love the Lord Jesus has given us and hope in Him as we travel the journey of life.

"Christ Asks Us, Serve Eagerly (C.A.U.S.E)"/"What does your disobedience C.A.U..S.E for others in life?"

Think about what you can learn about confidentiality from this passage.

Prayer:  Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you so much because how much you love us. You love us so much that you give us commandments for our own good. Lord there are times your commandments are hard to follow because they seem like they deprive us of the fun we want but Lord deep inside I know you know what is best for us at all time. I know you will never ask us to do anything that will not be for our good in the long run. Forgive us Lord and help us Oh God of our Salvation for the glory of your Name and deliver us and provide us with your Word always for the glory of your Name. Thank you so much Lord Jesus that you have provided atonement for our sins for your Name's sake and have given us your Word. We are sorry when we cause pain in other people's lives because of our actions and when we do not thank you. I thank you Jesus for forgiving us and answering our prayers. Thanks we can come to you. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May the Lord Jesus guide you in His love leading you! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help by His grace alone!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

2013 DEVOTIONALS:

Mark 1:41-42: "What past do you need to be C.L.E.A.N from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 31, 2013, 10:54 a.m)

Proverbs 29:25: "Where will you take a S.T.A.N.D without wavering?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 30, 2013, 07:43 a.m)

Matthew 18:21-22:"Why F.O.R.G.I.V.E when it will happen again?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 29 2013, 09:35 a.m)

Psalm 27:14:"How do you C.O.P.E with your hurt?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m)

John 12:24:"Who do you remember physically and spiritually on this M.E.M.O.R.I.A.L day?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m)

"What has the law P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D you to do but it goes against the Lord?"  By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 09, 2013, 6:57 a.m)

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