JESUS NOTICES

Mark 3:1 NLT Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.

Do you ever walk down the street and not notice one of your friends who you walked past? It wasn’t done deliberately, you just didn’t notice because your mind was preoccupied! There again many people are so focused on their phones these days that they don’t notice the things around them anymore. They miss the smile of the person who passes by, or the blossom in the trees.

But Jesus didn’t have a phone and even if He did have one He would still have noticed what was going on around Him!😊 We can take great heart from our verse today because when Jesus was in a crowded room in the synagogue He still noticed this man straight away. He focused in on him and picked him out of the crowd to meet his need, regardless of the critical Pharisees watching nearby.

The next time you’re in a crowded room and feel all alone, just know Jesus notices you and is right there with you.😊

We don’t ever need to feel insignificant, or not noticed by our God. He focuses in on us every moment, He thinks about us all the time, and He has set His purpose to meet our needs as well. The thing is, are we noticing Him? If that man with the deformed hand hadn’t noticed Jesus was calling to him he might have walked out the side door and missed his miracle! If the blind men hadn’t noticed Jesus was passing by and asked for mercy, they would have missed their miracle.

This is just an encouragement to us all, to know God notices everything about us, and He’s waiting for us to notice Him and respond to His instructions, whatever they might be - even if it means standing up front in a crowded room, like this man. 

God only wants the best for us, for the end result to not only bless us but bring Him glory so others will be brought to Him. Be encouraged, God notices you right now, wherever you happen to be. He knows how you feel, He knows the desires of your heart, He cares about it all and He has good plans for you to walk into. 😊

Thank You Lord for always noticing me. Please help me to always notice You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Maria Lupan on Unsplash

ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS

Matthew 20:32-34 MSG Jesus stopped and called over, “What do you want from me?” They said, “Master, we want our eyes opened. We want to see!” Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant, and joined the procession.

These two blind beggars were shouting their heads off to get Jesus’ attention in the middle of a great crowd of people. People tried to shut them up, but those men knew what they wanted and were prepared to make a spectacle of themselves to get it! They wanted Jesus’ attention more than anything else!

Those men hadn’t earned Jesus’ mercy, had done nothing to deserve His attention, hadn’t done anything other than call out to Him for mercy and for His help.

I wonder if we sometimes make the mistake of coming to Jesus to ask for our healing based on our good works, thinking ‘Jesus you ought to heal me!’ I’ve heard people say “They’ve been such a faithful servant, such a good person, God ought to heal them, they deserve it!” Actually, none of us deserve it!😊

We forget that the only way to receive anything from God is by His grace through faith. If we feel we ‘deserve’ to be healed then we’re believing we’ve earned it! If we know we don’t deserve anything but are just asking because of God’s great mercy (like the blind men) and because of Jesus’ shed blood, then we’re remembering it’s all because of what Jesus has done in His finished work on the Cross. By Jesus wounds we are healed. (1 Peter 2:24) It’s always all because of Jesus, not us!😊

We know we received the forgiveness of our sins by believing what Jesus did for us, and we receive everything else in exactly the same way. So whatever it is we need today let’s ask for His mercy because it’s new every morning, and for His grace, believing we receive it, and that it’s on its way.

I hope that encourages us to remember it’s not depending on us, and we can receive all God has for us, purely because of Jesus and His grace.😊 Amen.

Photo by Miriam G on Unsplash