Faithful People Share Their Faith
By Rick Warren
“Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven’” (Matthew 9:2 NLT).
Faithful people share their faith. Today’s verse comes from the story in Matthew 9 about the friends of a man who was sick and paralyzed. They wanted him to be healed, so they brought him to Jesus by lowering him on his mat through the roof.
Notice that it was not the paralyzed man’s faith that led to the healing; it was the faith of his friends. When Jesus saw these four friends cared enough to bring their paralyzed friend, he said, “Those guys have great faith. They expect me to heal their friend,” and he did.
You have friends who are paralyzed and can’t get to Jesus. They are paralyzed by fear, guilt, doubt, pain, or maybe even resentment over being hurt in some church in the past. They are paralyzed, and they can’t get to Jesus on their own.
God is watching to see if you are going to be faithful enough to bring them. And if you are, God will honor your faith. He’ll not only heal your friend; he will also bless you. It’s a blessing of faith.
As long as we keep bringing paralyzed people to Jesus, God will bless not only our churches but also our families, our businesses, and our lives.
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Talk It Over
- Who do you know who needs help getting to Jesus? Start praying for them now.
- What does it mean to bring someone to Jesus? What is your part in someone’s salvation?
- How does your church show that they want to keep bringing people to Jesus?
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This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.