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Since I am on sabbatical, over the next few weeks, we will be featuring devotions from a few guest writers, including my son, Bryant Forshee, Junior High Pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church, and my son-in-law, Jeffrey Samplaski, Student Pastor at Great Hills Baptist Church. But first, for this week's devotions, I am republishing a series about why Jesus came to earth.
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"And recovery of sight to the blind."
(Luke 4:18)
Jesus came to open blinded eyes.
Jesus said He came to recover the sight of the blind, and that is precisely what He did. The clearest example of this is in John 9, where Jesus heals the man who was born blind. He healed him physically, but more importantly, He healed him spiritually. Jesus opened the man's physical eyes, but gave him spiritual vision and life as well. I love John 9:25, when the healed man said, "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." A person with a biblical story is not at the mercy of a person with a human argument! In John 9:33, the healed man proclaims that Jesus is "from God", and in verse 38, he calls Him "Lord".
When I served as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lavaca, AR, my family and I traveled with 60 other people from our church to go on a mission trip to Montana. We had a great week of serving at the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. I got to spend some time with a man named Bruce Plummer, and he has quite a story. He shared with me how he used to hate people like me—white people. Bruce is Native American. He told me of his days as a homeless young man, addicted to alcohol at age 16. When he was 21 and living in Portland, Oregon, he woke up from passing out the night before, and to his astonishment, he was lying under a tree just across from a Lutheran church. The pastor bought Bruce lunch, invited him to his home, and shared Christ with him. He even let him take a shower. Bruce said the thing that homeless people appreciate more than almost anything is a warm shower. Bruce said as he took a long shower, he felt this voice ask him, "How would you like to be clean on the inside?" Bruce said, "God, I believe in You, but please help me believe in Jesus." Bruce said this peace came over him and he felt so clean. Miraculously, he said that all of a sudden, he no longer had "the shakes" from his alcoholism. Today, Bruce Plummer is the leader of Christian work on the reservation, and God has given him great favor in Montana.
Jesus opened Bruce's blinded spiritual eyes so that he could see who Jesus was. Do you know Jesus Christ? Have you believed in Him, turned from sin, and asked Him for forgiveness? If not, do so right now. Romans 10:13 says, "For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"
Why did Jesus come from heaven to earth? He came to share the Good News of His salvation. He came to heal all those who have a broken heart. Jesus came to set captives free, to set at liberty those bound by the chains of sin. And He came to open blinded eyes. Praise God for sending His Son to be our Lord and Savior!
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Touch Lives with God's Truth
Help others discover the life-transforming
power of God's Word with a copy of
Touched by the Truth.
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What's After? Pt. 2
Pastor Danny continues in his overview of our new series about what happens to us after we die. This series will explore what the Bible has to say about death, heaven, and hell, as well as the recorded experiences of people who have lived through near death experiences (NDEs).
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