January 11. A test of faith, safety in righteousness, Jesus teaching us healing

Readings: Genesis 21:22 - 23:20, Psalm7:9-17, Prov 1:32-33, Matt 8:5-27

Genesis
22:1-14. Abraham's test of faith. This is an incredible testimony of obedience & faith. Imagine for a moment how you would feel in this situation. Those of us who are parents know what would have gone trough Abraham's mind here.
However, there are indications of his trust in God, who had promised to turn Isaac into a great nation. Abraham clearly had placed all his trust in the covenant God had made & that nothing is impossible for God. In verse 5, Abraham indicates that they will return from the mountain. However, what Abraham would not have known is how God was going to unfold the situation.
Often God tests our faith - faith requires trust in Him & His promised outcome but often without knowing the steps. Sometimes He leads us one step at a time - to test & build our faith. He had already done this with Abraham.
v18. Here is a Messianic reference, that Jesus would be a seed of Abraham who would bring salvation to the entire world.

Psalm
v9. God is all about righteousness. As he examines our minds & emotions, He looks for the attitudes of our hearts. Often we do things which we can justify to others, but perhaps the truth behind our motivation is somewhat different - but God knows. When we stay away from worshiping Him, it is God who misses out for our primary purpose is to worship Him & it is He who benefits.
v12. Repentance (changing the way we think) is one of the keys to righteousness. But God will deal with the Christian who refuses to repent. Repentance isn't a once only act for each time we disobey Him we are in rebellion.
v17. Our righteousness comes from God alone, we cannot make ourselves righteous, but He can put us right with Him. For this one reason alone we should live lives of thankfulness.

Proverbs
These verses continue the same them of the Psalm. As we grow into maturity we begin to learn of the dangers to us in the battle we are in, how to avoid those dangers or how to use the weapons we have, If we fail to mature (because we do not read the word for example) or we live lives of complacency we are fools & likely to fall into destruction. The only way to live safely is to listen to God, through His word or by His Holy Spirit.

Matthew
v7. Often we are prepared to pray for the sick, but from a distance. We can be afraid to pray for people physically, as we are actually commanded to do. In many cases, Jesus laid hands on people for their healing. This verse clearly indicated that that He was going to do with the Centurion's servant.
v8-10. The centurion then demonstrates great faith in God's ability & also the authority which Jesus had. This is the same power & authority which is in believer's today. Jesus was fully human & it was through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus healed. He tells us that He could only do what He saw the Father do.
Whilst Jesus was able to pray for this man's healing, it was clearly the centurian's faith that moved God to act. As Christian's we carry great faith in the One who can do the impossible. When we lay hands on people we bring the kingdom to earth.
v15-17. Here we see a clearer picture of what Jesus came to do on earth. Firstly, do you notice that Jesus doesn't preach, so these miracles were not to authenticate what He was saying. The miracles were life changing acts in themselves. Jesus came to bring salvation, yes, but healing & deliverance too. At the cross He carried our sins, weaknesses & sicknesses. This is the gospel, the kingdom is for now, as well as eternity.