Sin Can Be Paralyzing.

Mark 2:3-12
3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Have you ever asked yourself is Jesus God? The answer is yes! Scripture shows us that Jesus is able to heal, love, and forgive us even as we sin. Wow, now that's authority!

The paralytic in this situation has a disease that inhibits mobility and limits his activities. There's not much that can be done for that. When we sin, we often paralyze ourselves with all our pain. When we continue to sin, it takes a toll on us, devastating us even more. Just as the paralytic couldn't really get rid of his pain. There is nothing we can do with our sins besides give it to God. Also, we need to seek Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

The four friends of the paralytic were perfect role models. Even though they could not successfully carry him through the crowd, they weren't about to give up. They weren't letting anything separate themselves from God.

Now it's your turn. Show someone Jesus, especially if they are going through a difficult time.

Today, listen to the song "More Now" by Seven Glory.



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.