Reflective Bible Study

After Jesus calms the storm, we discover that He and the disciples then land on the other side of the lake, and they land their boats at a relatively deserted part of the shoreline. While some parts of Lake Galilee were well-populated, other parts, such as the place we discover Jesus and the disciples reaching, have a lot less people living there. However, while this place is deserted by human standards, we discover that it is well populated in a slightly different way.

Let’s read the passage and discover what we can learn about who inhabited the place where Jesus and His disciples traveled to. While our event is found in three of the four gospels, as you can imagine, for our year in Mark, we will be looking at it from Mark’s gospel. This event is found in Mark, chapter 5, and let’s read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us that:

¹ They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. ² When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³ This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹ A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Let’s pause reading this event for a moment. While reading from Mark’s gospel, I find it interesting that when we are first introduced to this man, Mark describes him as someone who lives among the dead and who has an impure spirit. The thing that stands out in my mind is the singular nature of this description.

In contrast, when Jesus confronts the evil spirit and asks its name, we discover that the evil spirit’s name is a plural: The evil spirit’s reply in verse 9 is, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

What first appears to be a region inhabited by only a handful of people, specifically one demon possessed man and a group of pig-herders, is now defined as a key location that was home to thousands of evil spirits. Looking at the size of the herd of pigs, there would have been at least 2000 evil spirits in this man using a ratio of one spirit to one pig.

However, when we look up the definition of a Roman “legion”, we discover this term was used to describe a group of three to six thousand Roman soldiers. This means there could have been anywhere from two to six thousand evil spirits living in that region, specifically within that social outcast.

It may have been likely that two or even three spirits got to share each pig in that large herd.

However, why would Jesus have agreed to the evil spirits’ request to be sent into the herd of pigs?

In many ways, this doesn’t seem all that nice, especially to grant the request of a group of evil spirits at the expense of a herd of thousands of pigs who just happened to be nearby.

Let’s continue reading and discover what might be the answer. Picking back up in verse 14, Mark tells us that:

¹⁴ Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

Pausing our reading one additional time, I see in what happened here one possible answer to why Jesus let the evil spirits stampede the pigs to their death. For this miracle to be significant, it cannot truly stay hidden. Too many people knew about the man living in this region and about his demon possession. If this had been a secret miracle, then the healed man’s testimony would have very little credibility because people could just discount him saying that he was not that guy. Also, people visiting the region would welcome the absence of that man and would likely not assume that he had been healed. It would be more logical that he died somehow or that he moved to a different area. With attention being given to this miracle, we discover that this shines the spotlight on God and on God’s power over the evil spirits.

In our last episode, we discovered how one word from Jesus can calm the most significant storm Satan can muster, and this episode draws our attention onto the truth that one command from Jesus sends an army of evil spirits out of a comfortable home in a man and into a herd of pigs. One command from Jesus will always send Satan away. Any confrontation Jesus has with Satan results in Jesus gaining the victory.

However, what comes next is also amazing. Continuing in verse 18, Mark tells us:

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

At the close of this passage, Jesus sends the man home and this man goes to a region that was clearly known in that area, but one where Jesus rarely visited. Actually, there is only one other mention of this region in the gospels that references Jesus’ presence. It is likely that this man’s testimony about what Jesus did for him opened what was otherwise a shut door for His ministry. Those present in this event wanted Jesus to leave, but they couldn’t say no to this man whose home was there.

This man becomes a powerful ambassador for Jesus. In an instant, Jesus takes this man whose condition would place him firmly against God, frees him from the spiritual chains that held him, and then commissions him to be a missionary to his home territory.

In many ways, this mirrors how God calls us. While God calls some people to be missionaries for God in distant places, many of us are called to be ambassadors and missionaries for God right where we already live.

Wherever God has placed you and I, I believe He has called us to be His witnesses. While this man wanted to travel with Jesus and be a disciple, His commission to spread the news about Jesus was even more significant. While we might not readily think of it this way, this man becomes the first apostle, because like the disciples who were commissioned by Jesus after His resurrection, this man spreads the great news about Jesus with everyone who would listen! This man, like Saul turned Paul who we read about in the book of Acts, needed only an instant with Jesus in order to have His life turned around and focused on being an apostle for Jesus!

As we come to the end of another episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to serve Him in wherever He has you placed. Choose to be God’s best representative regardless of the situation you are in and regardless of what other people might think of you.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow and strengthen your relationship with God. A strong personal relationship with God will help you be the representative God has called you to be in a world that is growing more hostile to God the closer to Jesus’ return that we get!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or leave where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Coming immediately following Jesus’ miracle in our last episode, which happened on the Sabbath, and following the religious leaders learning it was Jesus who had healed the man and told him to pick up his mat on the Sabbath, we discover these religious leaders challenge Jesus about what He is doing. In this challenge, and specifically in how Jesus responds, we discover many amazing things about God, and about who Jesus truly is.

Since this is a longer passage, let’s dive into it and discover some amazing truths about Jesus from this passage and this conversation. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 16, John tells us that:

¹⁶ [So,] because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. ¹⁷ In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

Pausing briefly, I want to draw our attention onto the huge truth that God the Father is not the Judge. While God the Father could easily be the judge, He gave the authority to judge to Jesus. While Jesus had said earlier in His conversation with Nicodemus that He did not come to judge the world but to save it, the next time Jesus comes to this earth, it will be as King and Judge. Jesus’ first coming was to save the world, Jesus’ second coming will be to judge the world and redeem God’s people. God the Father has given Jesus the authority to judge.

However, that isn’t all. Let’s continue reading to discover what else Jesus tells us that is powerful. Picking back up in verse 28, Jesus continues saying:

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³ “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶ “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Let’s pause reading again briefly, because what we just finished reading is powerful, and I don’t want you to miss it.

In the first century culture, that was built on the Old Testament structure, in order for a testimony to be valid, it must be validated by additional witnesses. When two or more people gave testimony that was in line with each other, that testimony would be considered valid.

While some people have claimed that Jesus only spoke on His own, and that His single testimony is not valid, John has just recorded Jesus telling the religious leaders three additional witnesses that testify about Him.

The first witness, which should be the clearest, is John the Baptist. John the Baptist came testifying about Jesus, and he directly tells people Jesus is the Messiah on more than one occasion. However, Jesus tells these religious leaders that John the Baptist was given for their benefit, and Jesus doesn’t need to rest on John’s testimony.

The second witness Jesus gives is the witness of God the Father. When Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven affirming Jesus. When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, God the Father spoke from heaven affirming Jesus. And, later in John’s gospel, while Jesus is teaching in the temple, God the Father speaks from heaven affirming Jesus. Rejecting Jesus’ second witness means rejecting God the Father.

The third witness Jesus gives is the witness of the Old Testament scriptures. When we look at the Old Testament, there are so many layers of prophecies foreshadowing Jesus that it is difficult to get away from them. From obvious prophecies about where Jesus would be born, to subtle symbolic prophecies like the lamb given as a sacrifice on the alter to pay for sins, the Old Testament speaks loudly about who Jesus truly is. Rejecting Jesus’ third witness means rejecting the Old Testament scriptures.

Unfortunately, today we have Christians who reject God the Father and there are Christians who reject the Old Testament. By rejecting Jesus, these Jewish leaders ultimately reject not just John the Baptist, but God the Father and the Old Testament scriptures as well. When we let our preconceived biases get in the way of God’s truth, we blind ourselves to what God wants to teach us.

However, Jesus isn’t finished. Picking back up in verse 41, Jesus tells these religious leaders:

⁴¹ “I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴² but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵ “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

In this passage, and in Jesus’ counter challenge to the religious leaders, we discover that Jesus only accepts glory from God. Jesus is not interested in glory from people.

It is also interesting to note that Jesus won’t accuse those who don’t believe in Him. Instead, he will let historical individuals who the people did believe in to accuse them. In the religious leaders’ case, their accuser is Moses, who did believe in Jesus, and who wrote about Him.

Ultimately in this passage, we discover that Jesus is God’s Son, that Jesus has multiple witnesses to testify to this, and that Jesus is more interested in doing God’s will and receiving God’s glory than on being accepted or praised by people. We are called to be like Jesus, to trust in the multiple witnesses of the Old and New Testament scriptures, and to focus on receiving glory from God and not praise from people.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As always, seek God first and place your hope, faith, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for each of us on the cross. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we discover how much God loves us and how much He wants to redeem us from this sin-filled world.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and discover who God really is. While it is easy to rest on other people for your knowledge of the Bible, by doing so, you short-change yourself because you will only grow as much as those you pay attention to. God wants a personal relationship with you, and this relationship begins when we make it personal, without putting anyone else in the middle.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

One thing that amazes me as we move through Mark’s gospel is how Mark races through Jesus’ story, and how many of the events that we think of as being later on in Jesus’ life come early in Mark’s record of Jesus’ life. While this might be simply because Mark has fewer chapters than the other three gospels, it is also possible this just seems to be the case since Mark doesn’t devote several chapters at the beginning to Jesus’ birth story.

However, regardless of the reason, we come to an event Mark includes that completely shifts the disciples’ perspective at that point. This event comes after Jesus has finished preaching to the crowds all day.

Our passage for this episode is found in the gospel of Mark, chapter 4, and we will read from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 35, Mark tells us:

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”

³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.

³⁷ A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. ³⁸ But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.

So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹ Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.

⁴⁰ He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

⁴¹ They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

This event challenged the disciples on an entirely new level. If prior to this point, the disciples simply believed Jesus to be a significant teacher and healer, this event amplified their impression of who Jesus was and what Jesus was capable of.

When I say this, it is interesting in my mind because up to this point, the disciples likely had a similar impression of Jesus as the religious leaders. Both of these opposite groups believed Jesus to be a gifted speaker and a skilled healer. However, while the religious leaders disliked Jesus because of what He taught and what He did, the disciples had allied themselves with Jesus.

It is interesting too that this mirrors what many people believe today. Of those willing to admit that there was a historical figure known as Jesus Christ, many believe Him to be only a significant teacher or perhaps a skilled healer. Another group willing to admit that Jesus Christ was a historical figure say they believe He was God’s Messiah, but they stop there, not willing to accept what this actually means. In contrast to both these groups, only a small number actually accept Jesus as God’s Messiah, including what this actually means.

The event we just finished reading polarizes these groups of people. Some people will simply reject this event as fiction. Others, while admitting that Jesus lived and storms like what we just read about in this passage happened on the sea like this regularly, will say that this event was simply a fluke or a convenient coincidence. The reason this event polarizes people is that if we decide, like a minority of people, to accept that Jesus can command the weather, this makes Jesus God, and it is difficult to accept the idea that God is actually interested in us to the point that He would become one of us.

Understanding how God the Creator can choose to become a part of His creation is impossible for me to comprehend, but this is what the Bible describes in Jesus. With this event, we are forced to accept Jesus for being more than simply a teacher or healer, or to reject Jesus’ significance entirely.

When reading this event, it is interesting in my mind because the disciples do not ask Jesus for a miracle. Instead, the disciples wake Jesus up with the belief that this is their last night alive. The disciples had concluded that there was no way they were making it through this storm alive. When waking Jesus up, these disciples ask Him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

In this question, there isn’t any indication or faith that Jesus can do anything for them except help them pitch water from the boat. I don’t know if Jesus had a hint of irritation in His voice regarding the disciples or regarding being woken up, but when Jesus commanded the wind and waves to stop, according to this passage, the effect was instantaneous.

Jesus then turns and challenges the disciples, calling them cowards and calling out their lack of faith. The disciples lack of faith is evidenced in how they ask themselves who Jesus really is. By questioning how a man could command the wind and the sea, these disciples are at a crossroads in their belief. These disciples must make a choice between believing Jesus is more than simply a religious teacher and healer, and whether He truly is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Also in this passage is another amazing truth that I want to focus our attention on. The only reason this storm was so bad was because Satan wanted to end Jesus’ life before He reached the other side of the lake, and especially before Jesus was able to face the cross. The truth we can discover in this passage related to this idea is that Satan caused storms are no match for Jesus’ command.

When Satan brings a storm into our life, or when he tries to amplify challenges or temptations in our minds, we should lean on Jesus’ promises and Jesus’ commands because the best Satan can come up with to challenge us is no match for Jesus. The best, scariest storm Satan could muster ended the instant Jesus spoke. When deciding who we should align our lives with, the clear choice is Jesus. He has the power to help us face anything Satan wants to throw our way!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus as God’s Son and as our Messiah. Remember that anything Satan tries to throw at us is no match for Jesus, and in every case where Jesus steps in to face Satan head on, Jesus wins clearly and easily. Choose to align your life with Jesus.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God and Jesus each day. Choose to spend time praying and studying to grow personally closer to God and to fall in love with Him like He has fallen in love with you. Discover in the pages of the Bible, a God who gives up everything for you and me!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue moving through John’s gospel, and the events John shares with us about Jesus’ ministry, we come to a miracle that is unique to John’s gospel, and one that seems to prompt more questions about Jesus than answers. When reading the gospels, the miracle John includes here, while it is unique, is not a very unique miracle when compared with all the different types of miracles Jesus performed.

However, I wonder if John is building up Jesus’ miracle working ability by including one notable miracle of each type in his gospel, rather than lots of different but similar miracles. If this is the case, then John must see something in this miracle that is worth us paying attention to.

With that said, let’s read about what happened, and discover what we can learn from this event. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ² By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. ³ Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [then some Bible manuscripts add that these people were] [—waiting for the moving of the water, ⁴ because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].

⁵ One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” ^9a Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.

Let’s pause reading for a moment, because I want to draw our attention onto some things that stood out to me as we read this event.

The first detail that stood out to me is Jesus walking by this pool that was surrounded by a large number of sick and disabled people. This details stands out in my mind because we only see Jesus interact with one man, someone who may have been there the longest of any other. From the way this event is framed, we are left to conclude that this man had been abandoned at this pool and left alone. It seems logical to believe that there were people who took compassion on him and gave him food to eat and water to drink, but there was no one present to help him into the water when the time was ideal.

This is significant, because I would have expected Jesus to have interacted with more than one sick or ill person. In other gospels, we read about Jesus entering cities or towns and healing everyone in that place. This event leads us to a big question, “Why heal only this man?” or perhaps we could ask it a different way, “Why only record Jesus healing this man?”

One possible answer is the next detail that stood out to me in this passage. When seeing this man and realizing he had been at that pool for a very long time, Jesus first asks that man if he wants to get well. This is significant because not everyone would want to be healed.

While it sounds crazy to think about, some people in that situation could grow comfortable in their less-than-ideal circumstances, and being healed would mean stepping back into society, needing to find work, and rebuilding a life. When faced with certain, less-than-ideal situations verses the fear of a difficult unknown that could ultimately be better, a certain percentage of people are likely to choose to stay in the less than ideal, but familiar situation.

Jesus does not want to heal someone who does not want to be healed. That would be cruel. It’s the same way with heaven. God would be cruel if He forced eternity in heaven, or eternal life, onto someone who truly didn’t want it.

When the man replies about not being able to get to the pool, this tells us two things. First, it tells us that the man wants to be healed, which is a direct answer to Jesus’ question, and second, this tells us that those present at this pool had placed their faith in the pool for their healing. This second detail is interesting because while God may be behind the pool’s miraculous properties, I wonder how much glory went to God from those who were healed there.

Perhaps, if this had been going on for some time, God received glory early on, but later, after many people had been headed, the pool may have been the greater recipient of praise. This man’s faith was less on God or Jesus and more focused on the pool.

However, when Jesus tells the man to get up, pick up his mat, and walk, the man doesn’t hesitate taking Jesus at His word. The old focus on the pool wasn’t working out so well, so this man decides to shift his focus and faith onto Jesus and Jesus’ promise.

If we were to stop reading here, this miracle would be amazing in itself. However, what comes next is even more amazing. Continuing reading in the second portion of verse 9, John tells us:

^9b Now that day was the Sabbath, ¹⁰ so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”

¹¹ He replied, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹² “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. ¹³ But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

In this event, we discover after the miracle that this was done on the Sabbath day. This is significant because the religious leaders had set up a complex series of rules about what was allowed and not allowed on the Sabbath day in order to keep people from even coming close to breaking God’s Sabbath commandment.

These religious leaders realized that breaking the Sabbath was the catalyst that ultimately led to their ancestors being exiled out of the Promised Land, and when God brought them back, they promptly set up a strict set of rules to keep people from coming close to breaking this commandment again.

However their rules had overshadowed God’s law, and they failed to offer grace when people broke their rules while not truly breaking one of God’s laws. They had lost the reason for their rules and had become prideful that they were the rule makers and rule enforcers.

It is humoring to me that the man does not know who healed him until after being challenged about carrying his mat. If Jesus had not met up with him later, this man would have never known until much later who had healed him.

In this event, while there is more we could focus in on, let’s conclude this podcast looking at one big idea that we see present in this miracle. When God is our last hope, it is easy to look to Him. However, when God is not our first hope, we might not experience many miracles in our lives. When this man gave up hope in reaching the pool, which is something the other people present may not have been ready to do, he was ready to experience the healing Jesus offered him. When we give up hope in the things of this world, and focus our faith on Jesus and what He accomplished for us, we are ready to receive miracles in our lives as well!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open these challenges by saying, continue to intentionally seek God first in your life and look to God first, rather than use Him as your last resort. While God sometimes works miraculously, other times God draws our attention to the answer without using anything miraculous. Choose to have faith in God and look to Him first when challenges, problems, or trials come into your life for the strength and guidance to face whatever you are facing.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While other people have ideas they want you to focus on, filter what you see, read, and hear through the pages of God’s word to discern its eternal value. Let the Bible teach you what is truly valuable within God’s eyes.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!