Mark 2 Session 5

As the crowds of people dispersed from my house, leaving me with a hole in my roof, I was able to quiz Jesus a bit further regarding the miracle that had taken place under my roof, or should I say under the hole in my roof.

What I needed to know was why did he say "Your sins are forgiven you". It seemed to me that he was just being contentious knowing that it would cause some debate. Surely that is a challenge to far. The answer he gave was simple. "I" he said "came to call sinners to repentance, not to make people better, if people get better as a result of having their sins forgiven then so be it".

After Jesus had left the house I sat and thought about all that had happened that day in my house. I came to the conclusion that my life needed to change and that I, like the crippled man needed Jesus to forgive my sin. I did all I knew, I just talked to God as if he were in the room with me. It wasn't until a few years later when I next saw this same Jesus being dragged through a crowd on his way to Calvary that I knew the significance of my prayer.

It was a wonderful moment when I realised my "sin" had been forgiven. That is, that I did not have to continue to live a life that was condemned, as I had thought, because Jesus had come willingly from God to set me free to live a life dedicated to Him and free of quilt. It was not as if my life changed over night but my life took on a different perspective. I now had hope where before there had been despair. It was no longer governed by what I wanted but only what God wanted. Whilst I struggled at times to work out practically what that meant, I determined to continue to pursue this desire within me to follow this man Jesus and what his life meant.

My story ends here in the knowledge that "Jesus came from heaven to earth to show the way, He went from the earth to the cross my debt to pay, then from the cross to the grave and from the grave to the sky" and I say "Lord I lift your name on high". This encounter with this man changed my life forever.

 What I pray is that all our lives will encounter this Jesus in such a way that our lives will be different.

Mark 2 Session 4

These four men were unbelievable and audacious. I suppose when your desperate you will do anything. I later recalled some words that Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends". This was certainly true in this case.

As we gazed upwards towards this hole, IN MY ROOF!!, we were no longer in control of the situation, or to be more precise I was no longer in control. I realised years later after following this Jesus teaching that this is the exact place that Almighty God requires us to be for him to take control of our situations.

As these four men swung the stretcher type of affair over the hole and began to lower the one laid on it down through the roof I could hear tut, tuts from those around me. It was interesting to be the by stander on this occasion and observe what Jesus would do next. In the immediate he didn't do anything, he just waited for the stretcher to alight on the floor in front of him, and in front of some very religious and powerful leaders of the local church. Well you could have cut the air with a knife. Not only had these four men broken with protocol, they had illegally dismantled my roof and now without a word were watching Jesus, as was everyone else.

I thought, do I intervene at this point after all it is my house. This was a vital lesson to me and one that I shall never forget, that is that it is always unwise to intervene into what God is doing in a person's life. After all that is what was happening here in my house God was dealing with a person's life. My house had now become Jesus house and he was in control not me.

"My Son", he said "your sins are forgiven you". Well you should have seen our faces, especially those more qualified in the Jewish laws and traditions than me. Although nothing was said we all knew we were inwardly thinking the same thing. "Who is this man who reckons he has the power to forgive a man his sin?"

Then without warning Jesus took the lid off and said "Is it easier to say your sins are forgiven you or take up your bed and walk?" Then to the man lying before us all he said "Take up your bed and go home"
To our amazement that is exactly what the man did, got up, took his bed and started to push his way through the people to the door. I took a quick glance upwards to the hole in my roof and smiled at the four faces still peering in, but only for a second because in that moment these men also knew that God was present and had done something significant and had forgiven a guilty man. They knew that this forgiveness was available to them as well. I never saw them again.

Jesus had set something going in my heart, I couldn't find it in myself to judge this man Jesus or condemn him for seemingly assuming power or authority from what I percieved was only available from God Himself. That is what I had been taught. I determined from that day onwards to never limit or doubt God again. Something I did not find easy at times but what I do know is that I committed my life to follow this man of God, my saviour and redeemer and He committed Himself to me and when I doubted He carried me through.