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T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
no sense of need and th e worship and th e Word profit them nothing. L et any one touch Christ w ith th e trem bling hand of tim id faith and a t once His saving power will be exercised. WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22. Mark 5:35-43. Raising Jairus’ Daughter. It was more difficult for Ja iru s to seek th e help of Jesus th a n for the blind beggars and palsied cripples upon whom He lavished H is healing mercy. He had to humble himself as th e ru ler of th e synagogue before one whom peo ple knew only as a Nazarehe carpenter. How hardly shall they th a t have riches, place or station, en ter th e kingdom of God! It is h ard indeed, b u t not impos sible. The grace of God is equal to any emergency. God can b reak down all b arriers and save princes and peas an ts alike. In th e case of Naaman re fusing to wash in the Jo rdan , pride was overcoming want. In the case of Jairu s, love was conquering pride. It was the bleeding love of a fa th e r’s h e a rt th a t brough t Ja iru s to Jesus. Many a p ar en t th a t never gave a though t to Christ in th e day of p rosperity and pleasure, h as been driven to seek th e help of Christ by th e power of love for a child. Jesus never disregards th e cry of love. He may no t in every case answer th e prayer of love exactly as love may ask, h u t he will surely come to th e aid of every h e a rt th a t calls for Him. There was faith in th e prayer th a t Ja iru s of fered and when Jesus w ent w ith him a g rea t hope m ust have sprung up in his h eart. Every (moment must have seemed an age to '* th e anxious fath e r and they were delayed by th e healing of th e woman on th e way. We are often puzzled by th e delays of Christ, hu t He doeth all things well. Even when a messenger came announcing th e daugh te r ’s death, Jesus re-assured th e broken hearted fath er, saying: “F ear not, only believe.” When they reached th e house, Jesus hushed th e h ired mourners, say ing: “The child is not dead, b u t sleep- eth .” A sleep implies a waking. He proved th a t th e little girl was no t be yond th e reach of H is voice. Taking her hand, He said: “L ittle lamb, arise.” And straigh tw ay she arose and walked. This is a revelation of th e m o ther-heart of Jesus. We need th e m o th er-h eart b u t we m u st have something more be sides, for th e m o th er-heart is helpless in th e presence of death. H ere is also infinite power and lordship over death.
is real prayer in many a long address m ight have been u tte red in a petition as sho rt as P e te r’s.” The prayer was answered w ithou t delay. Jesus rescued him first and rebuked him afterw ards. The m iracles multiply. When Christ came th e wind ceased, and they were b rough t a t once to land. These m ir acles convinced them th a t Jesus was the Messiah. All on board th e boat united in saying: “Thou a r t the Son of God.” The healing of th e woman w ith th e issue of blood was a wayside ac t of mercy. Jesus was on th e way to the house of Ja iru s w ith a g reat crowd fol lowing, when th is woman crep t up and stretch ing ou t h er trem bling hand, she touched th e blue tassel of Jesu s’ g ar ment. She was imm ediately healed. It was an incidental benefaction. There were o ther sim ilar m inistries by the wayside. Matt. 20:30, Luke 17:12. Jesu s was so fu ll of nmrcy and loving kindness th a t it overflowed and touched all w ithin His reach. We should not he so in te n t upon th e g reat obligations a,s to neglect th e sm all opportunities th a t p resen t them selves by th e way. Each day brings w ith it many unfore seen opportunities of saying a kindly word and doing a gracious deed. Upon th is touch of faith Jesu s perceived “ th a t v irtu e had gone ou t of him .” This sug gests th e cost of doing good. Service is costly. One cannot be a blessing w ithout paying th e price. Sympathy is suffering w ith another. We sometimes th ink th a t Jesus w rough t His m iracles by th e u tteran ce of a word or a wave of His hand. He felt the ills and needs of men as if they were His own. Matt. 8:17. He could only remove them by th e im partation of His own life. This principle explains th e cross. He could only quicken those who were dead in trespasses and sins by laying down His own life. If a man w ants to do good, he m ust give more th a n money. He m ust give himself. The disciples won dered a t the question of th e M aster/ “Who touched m e?” Jesus knew th a t while m any were in physical contact w ith him , some one had touched Him in faith. There is g reat difference in crowding again st Him and touching Him in faith . It is possible to come into close contact w ith Christ and receive no blessing. Many do so in reading th e Bible and attend ing church. They have TUESDAY, Oct. 21. Mark 5:22-34. Made Whole By Faith,
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