February 18 - Cast & Heal

Don’t take from others, and us Southerners need to learn to get the fat out of the meat: Leviticus 6:1-7:27

Casting out demons instead of worms on a hook: Mark 3:7-30

The grass withers: Psalm 37:1-11

Lazy hands: Proverbs 10:3-4


Note in the first part of Leviticus 6 there’s a commandment concerning returning stolen or lost items to the rightful owner, with an increase of 20%. This commandment about returning stolen things isn’t an interruption in the many commandments concerning worship -- it’s part of the commandments concerning worship. I believe in God’s eyes, treating others right is part of worshipping God.

Check out in Mark 3 who knows that Jesus is the Son of God – the demons. They even speak it (verse 11). Even demons know that Jesus is the real deal, yet just knowing it & saying it doesn’t automatically put you on Jesus’ side.

Notice also who Jesus gave the ability to cast out demons & heal folks – just plain ol’ fishermen, a tax collector (Matthew), & the dude who Jesus knew would later betray Him (Judas) (verses 14-19). We think of the 12 disciples as being these larger-than-life people, but they’re really just average folks. Jesus & the Holy Spirit are the cause for the 12 disciples having the tools to jump start the church – actions that rippled to us being Christians today.

Most of us (including myself) find that hard to grasp: that God wants to give us the supernatural abilities to further His kingdom & heal the sick. It’s hard to see it. I don’t look at myself and see someone who can do miraculous things. And I’m right – I can’t. But the Holy Spirit can! It’s not me; it’s not you; it’s not even our leaders at church; it’s God who can do anything & everything. What if, however, the early disciples didn’t grasp this, both in Jesus’ time & after Jesus left? Had they tried to start the church with only their own abilities there might not have created the church & it might not exist today. Now the next question: what if we fail to grasp it today? What potential Christians around us will fail to see Jesus because we can’t perceive the Holy Spirit using us in whatever way He wants?

On a side note, some other Christians, who already believe in this whole-heartedly, have not fully understood verse 29, which says, “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” They sometimes misinterpret that as, “Hey ‘Christians’ who think we’re a bunch of fruit cake holy rollers because we believe in healing, prophecy, etc., you’re going to Hell because you blaspheme the gifts of the Holy Spirit when you tell us to ditch healing & prophesying.” (I haven’t heard that in over a decade, so I doubt there are many people who still say or believe this.) Verse 30 describes the scenario – it’s not trashing spiritual gifts that bring imminent damnation, it’s continuing to say that Jesus has an evil spirit. The “they were saying” in verse 30 really means “they keep on saying”. As long as you keep on rejecting Jesus as the Son of God (i.e., keep saying Jesus is of the devil), you keep holding your ticket to Hell.