What Jesus Did! 'Healing with a Word' — Luke 4:38-39

Friday, March 3, 2023

After [casting a demon out of a man and then] leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
— Luke 4:38-39 NLT

Key Thought

One way that Jesus showed the authority of his words was by his power over illness. Here, Jesus rebuked the fever and it left. His words were powerful and healing. Simon's mother-in-law was not only instantly made well, but she was also restored to health, vitality, and usefulness. Jesus' words still have the power to heal and restore us today if we obey them. When we believe and obey his message, Jesus' words restore our spiritual health, vitality, and usefulness. His words have the power of an expert surgeon to cut through the diseased tissue, to excise what is decaying and false and to restore spiritual life. So as we journey through Luke (or Matthew, Mark, or John for that matter), let's do more than read the words of Jesus: Let's ask God to use them to make us whole.

Today's Prayer

God Almighty, my heavenly Father, as I spend this year listening to the words of your Son and observing his life, may your Spirit use his words to convict me, to instruct me, to rehabilitate me, to liberate me, to remake me, to restore me, and to make of me what you would have me be. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Illustration

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About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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