May 21
11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (Acts 19:11-12)
As I stated yesterday, God and Jesus worked a transformation miracle turning Saul into Paul. And as we see in the two simple verses above, God invested incredible miraculous strength into Paul. This was not just a passionate conversion of faith and belief from a fervent Jew to a diehard Christian. God backed Paul’s passionate word and action with the same miracles Jesus walked this world with. Even handkerchiefs and aprons could be sent to the sick to heal them! Thank God this all happened before our current age of greed and extortion. If Pfizer knew they could have one man bless pieces of cloth that healed many diseases, I would think they would attach a hefty cost on such goods.
America’s healthcare system is a disaster. Prescription drug companies take advantage of those who need their healing powers. Insurance plans are ridiculously expensive. Doctors went from being paid way too little at the beginning of the 20th Century to being paid ridiculous amounts a hundred-years later. To think, there was a time when a town Doctor would help a sick person out for just the exchange of services, or whatever the family could provide. In the early days of the Christian church, the healing and remedies were not provided by any medical professional, but from God’s touch through His chosen Apostles. The further we move away from God as a country and people, the more we have to rely on our own understanding and ability to heal and care for each other. And as we have seen with COVID-19, we are truly powerless to prevent the spread of disease and death. Our only hope lies in God and Jesus. We will experience great hardships in this world, but thanks to Jesus we have a path to salvation and eternal life. This was the message Paul carried around the Middle East and Eastern Europe nearly 2,000 years ago. This is the message we must continue to teach and spread through our culture and society today.
Reading plan: Acts 20
Deeper reading plan: Job 10, 11, 12
Prayer and meditation: Pray for the sick, pray for the lost and their loved ones. Pray for redemption for this lost world. Pray for a reviving rattle to shake COVID off this planet. And continue to pray for all those in medical professions, grocery stores, supply chain operators, first responders, and the amazing teachers still doing all they can to teach the students they love so much. Pray for all the businesses trying to recover and keep their associates able to provide for their families. Pray that the world reopens without a surge of new COVID outbreaks. And pray that the world has undergone a lasting change and the flame of revival has been lit!
Fitness challenge: Distance Run day! Put in thirty minutes of work and see how far you can go!
Common Sense Reborn 