Day 135 "God doesn't need our help to make Him look good, He can do that all by himself."

Day 135 Matthew 15:29-31 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. It appears that the people Jesus was ministering to here were primarily the Gentiles rather than Jews; therefore, He was, again, by His actions, showing that He truly had come for all people. If Jesus was indeed purposely ministering to the Gentiles, the message is very clear–that He is, of course, aware of His coming betrayal. This is no surprise; however, the question could be raised as to why would He go through so much trouble when He already knew what the outcome would be? Why not just cut to the chase, turn away from the Jewish hierarchy, and minister to anyone and everyone, thus bypassing the frustration of dealing with the Jewish leaders? Why allow them to humiliate and scourge You when there were much easier ways to allow Your blood to be shed? The answer, in my opinion, is very profound and of amazing importance to all mankind–to fulfill the scriptures. If Jesus, in any way, did not fulfill the prophecy of old, He would completely invalidate the Word of God, thus rendering it as just another old book. But He didn't, He fulfilled every prophecy! By doing so, He not only validated the writings of the past in the Bible, He also validated the writings and prophecies of what were yet to come. Because of His obedience and the faithfulness of God in every way, we should have unshakable confidence that what the Lord has promised in His Word will come to fruition, both the good and the bad. I for one stand firmly convicted by the Word of God, fully convinced that it is inspired and true, and I am able to do so because of this faithfulness of which I speak. This conviction creates within me a boldness that allows me to live my life according to those promises and predictions, especially those yet to come. I know, by the testimony of what God has done according to His Word, that He has provided both you and me with payment in full for our sins. We know that "no one comes to the Father except through Jesus." We know that He defeated death, and we know that He will be returning soon–we know this because of the signs His Word tells us to be watching for. You see, we don't need to guess, ad lib, or conjure up catchy ideas and phrases to share with folks about our faith; we don't even need to be eloquent or bold people–we are able to simply show them the truth and allow it to minister to them. We can't take any credit nor receive any blame: we didn't make it, we just repeat it, and this really does seem too easy. All because Jesus did exactly what was prophesied of Him hundreds of years prior to His birth and for so many other promises which God has faithfully fulfilled. Daily Prayer: Father, I want to personally thank You for being so faithful in every way. You truly have blessed Your people, and I pray that we would walk accordingly–bold and convicted by Your truths. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "God doesn't need our help to make Him look good, He can do that all by himself." Pastor Gene Burroughs