June 26, 2023
Melissa Valerio
When my son, Victor, was sick with a stomach bug, I did what I could to ease his discomfort. I laid down with him, helped him vomit in the bucket, cleaned him up afterward, gave Pedialyte, then waited until the next episode. This happened all night long and by 5am, his body was so tired from vomiting, he finally crashed for the day. Shortly after that, I fell sick as well. This is the normal cycle when one person gets sick in the home, the others usually follow suit. It’s just the nature of sickness, it spreads.
In Matthew 8:1-4, we read about a man with leprosy who seeks out Jesus for healing. “As Jesus came down the mountain, he was followed by large crowds. Suddenly a man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus. He said, ‘Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.’ Jesus put his hand on the man and said, ‘I want to! Now you are well.’ At once the man’s leprosy disappeared. Jesus told him, ‘Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple just as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.'” (CEV) I find it amazing that in this story, instead of Jesus becoming leprous from this extremely contagious disease, the man became healed. Wouldn’t that be something! If I could have touched Victor while he was sick and transfer my well-ness to his body. But it just doesn’t work like that for us. We cannot impute our health onto someone who is sick. Yet this is exactly what Jesus did for this man. And it’s exactly what He does in our hearts when we ask Him in. Sin is a disease, much like leprosy. It’s painful, incurable, it alienates you from family and friends, keeps you bound under shame and guilt, and most importantly, it prohibits a relationship with God. But Jesus has the power to cleanse us and heal us from sin if only we’d ask Him to do so, just as this man did.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, You have the power and authority to cleanse us of all filth. We ask that You come into our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls to do a complete renovation. Cleanse us of all sin. Give us new hearts that are pleased to follow You. In Your matchless name, Amen.
Action: Jesus is willing to cleanse us! We all have areas of sin, not one of us is sinless. Take a moment and identify one area of your life that’s dirty. Ask the Lord to cleanse you and restore you in that area. If you can’t think of any area, ask the Lord to show you where He’d like to renovate.