John 5:1-9 "Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie - the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was curred; he picked up his mat and walked."
We had a guest speaker at church yesterday, Chris Simning. He told this story, one many people have heard before, in a new and enlightening way. Chris has a rare muscle and nerve disease, but his out look and message were clear. I found myself on the way to church caught up in my own "afflictions" - money, ills, work, etc... but something inside me told me I needed to go to church today. I was so blessed I did. I would encourage you to look for Chris Simning's messages (he has various links on the web), you will be truly blessed you did.
God is here to heal us and make us whole - he only requires our faith and obedience.... The man could have stayed on the mat, God told him to get up - he did and was blessed. We all have mats in our lives, are you ready to give yours up?
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