The Gospels, including this writing in Luke Chapter Five, carry a story of this incident involving Jesus:
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
I’m not sure where or when this occurred, but I was attending an event where Ivan Parker was speaking and singing. At one point, Ivan referenced these verses, then asked those present: “Do you have four friends who’d be willing to cut open a roof and lower you down to Jesus?” I wonder how many in this world can say YES to that question?
How Times Have Changed . . .
Jack Wyrtzen
- One hundred years ago, the Bible was required reading in all American public schools.
- Fifty years ago, youth evangelist Jack Wyrtsen, founder of Word of Life Fellowship, came to our high school in suburban Philadelphia and spoke (preached?) to an all-student general assembly. Of course, the subject was Jesus Christ and having a relationship with Him. As far as I know, there were no questions raised about this Christian event being held on school property or the required attendance by all students.
- Today, we live in a world where the validity of the Scriptures appears to be challenged more and more frequently … and if a student even carries a Bible into school, it is more often than not made an issue.
Indications You May Have Been Sleeping . . .
If you think Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego are Donald Duck’s nephews, you may have been sleeping through Sunday School!
If you think “Simon Peter” is a judge on American Idol, you may have been sleeping through Sunday School!
If someone asks you to explain “Daniel in the lion’s den” and you reply, “I didn’t even know Animal Planet was on,” you may have been sleeping through Sunday School!
We must confess, we did not write these. However, at this point I cannot tell you the source. We have a few more, which I’ll share at another time.
Prayer . . .
I know that many of you who listen to enLighten pray for it and yours truly regularly. Add to that, I ask that – if you don’t already – you now pray for the Sirius XM management team and that the Lord will move in their hearts to provide funding for adding to the staff of this channel.
I have a long list of programming-related items … including live musical performances and artist-related specials – that we’d love to develop to enhance our programming, and I regularly receive meaningful suggestions from listeners. However, all of them require manpower and manhours that aren’t available. I already have a full plate and am beginning to feel the effects of the passing years. While I have no desire to, a forced reduction in the workload I carry will one day occur, very possibly sooner than I wish.
Our goal and desire is to grow and improve the enLighten product, not to allow it to regress in any way. Therefore, your prayers are coveted! Thank you.
Marlin
