We Are The People

Mark 2:1-12   And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ² Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. ³ Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

When Jesus is near, many hear about His presence among man and those who have need of the miraculous lean in close to experience a little heaven come to earth.

This week we will look at the account of Jesus being in a house in Capernaum. In the scripture text we find a man who was a paralytic, healed by Jesus as four men bring their friend to the Lord.

Tonight as we unite our hearts in focused prayer from 6-9 pm (all time zones) let’s consider the man in his helplessness as an example of the needs our cities, states and country face as we enter the new year.

Focus #1  Jesus could not be hid – so many people came to see the one they had heard about.  Possibly the people heard of Peter’s mother-in-law being healed of a fever.  She lived in Capernaum.  Whatever the case may be, many people gathered near to the Lord.

Pray tonight that Christians who are hungering for more of the Lord will seek out gatherings of Christians who believe as we do, that “prayer changes things”.  Let us agree in prayer that America draw near to God and admit our need for His love and strength in our weakness.

Focus #2 Pray that there be brotherly kindness in the land once again.  In the early chapters of Genesis, Cain discovered that we are to be our brother’s keeper.  Pray tonight that we will watch out for our neighbor with compassion and care as fellow Americans who will work together to heal the pain created by our lack of obedience to God’s command to love our neighbor as ourself.

Focus #3  It took four men to get their friend to Jesus; They carried him as an empty and cracked pitcher to the fountain and as a frozen one, they brought the man to the “Sun of Righteousness” for warmth.

Let our final prayer point be that in this new year there be found among Christians a cooperative spirit of faith that will be visible and expressed in tangible ways as our nation is brought back to God and His healing power in 2014.