Transmission - Video
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Transmission - Devo
Day Three - Completely
Luke 5:17-26 (NLT) - One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn't reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Young man, your sins are forgiven." But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, "Who does he think he is? That's blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!" Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up and walk'? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, "We have seen amazing things today!"
Shattered is such a strong and vivid term which speaks of splintered and useless things. Even in a physical sense, shattered glass cannot be used to make anything unless it is crushed further, so that the pieces are uniform. We see in this story a paraplegic whose life has been shattered by circumstances, situations, and sins. He's attached to a sleeping mat and made mobile via friends. Is this how he is to spend the rest of his life? With the help of faith-filled friends, the paralyzed man enters Jesus' scene. Jesus is so unlike our physical response which is to crush and make uniform shattered things. Jesus doesn't just want another walking man, but what He does is forgive sins, bring blessing and complete healing. Even as everyone was watching, this young man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.
Responding to the Transmitted Message: Jesus does not take shattered areas just to make them more law-abiding, more model Christian, or more functionally hidden. God takes shattered areas of our lives and brings them to the surface, sometimes once and sometimes many times, until we receive all that God has for us. Let's pray that we would be where Jesus is. Let's ask for a willingness for God to do complete body, soul, mind makeover. May we experience our lives being set right so that we can follow and live lives of wonder and awe before God.
