Have you ever had a door slammed in your face? It's no fun is it? Read this for some encouraging words of hope.
God holds the door for us. This is full of good news.
I can think of a few instances when God held the
door open for some needy individuals.
A street prostitute was brought before Jesus
once. She needed to gain entrance to
grace and hope and love. God through
Christ held the door open for her. He
pretty much put her accusers in their respective places by one simple statement
– “If you are without sin, then you may
throw the first stone.”
After her accusers had left the building, Christ
opened the door even further. “Where are your accusers” he asked. The answer was obvious, for they had all
left.
He then flung the door wide open. “Then
neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.” He showed the lady to way to grace and invited
her in. He held the door open. Amazing!
Meet Zacchaeus.
He was a nobody. He was a tax
collector, and a dishonest one at that.
He was despised hated by his own clan. His shortness in stature had nothing to do
with his need. It was a simple fact to
put the story in total perspective, for he had to climb a sycamore tree so he
could see when Jesus came down the road.
And sure enough He came. And He stopped at the foot of that tree and
opened the door for Zacchaeus to walk through.
He held the door for this wee little man and invited him into the grace
place. And it made all the difference in
Zacchaeus’ life. Luke 19:1-10
Christ met a man named Bartimaeus once. Now Bart was blind. His life consisted of sitting by the side of
the main thoroughfare into Jericho begging for any gracious coins the
passers-by would toss his way.
Bart heard the crowd grow more excited and he
picked up enough of the conversations to understand that Jesus, the Christ was
going to be passing near him.
He began calling out. “Jesus. Jesus.
Have mercy on me.”
Bart’s friends tried to slam the door on
him by telling him to be quiet. “Be still.”
“Stop that racket right now.” “Hold
your peace man.”
He cried out more loudly.
“Jesus, Son of
David. Please have mercy on me.”
The sound of Bart’s voice rose above the noise of
the crowd and Christ heard him calling.
Jesus stopped a few feet away and ordered that
this man be brought to him.
Bartimaeus stood up, dropped his outer garment,
and shuffled over to where Jesus stood.
Jesus opened the door just a crack, you see. He asked … “What do you want me to do for you?”
What an opening.
Bart could have asked for the moon, but he asked that his greatest need
be met. He said, “I want to receive my sight.”
A bold request.
An audacious ask.
A man who was pushed around, ignored, shoved, barely
surviving on the streets of Jericho was asking for a miracle of sight. What nerve?
And the response?
The door opened wider. Jesus’ words were healing words.
“Go on your
way. Your faith has made you whole.”
And the door flung wide open!
Bartimaeus immediately received his sight, and
started following Jesus.
He walked through the door of grace and healing
that was being offered him. Mark 10: 46-52
Do you need God to hold open a door for you? Is it a door to peace, or healing, or to meet
a need? Is it a need for salvation? Or
hope?
Call out. Present yourself as you are. Come just as you are, not as you should
be. You don’t have to go home first and
repair the damage of the road you have been traveling. Come just as you are.
And when the door flings open, enter as a child of
God, not as a dirt-rag, or a servant. Enter
as a child of the King. For that is what
is being offered to you.
P Michael
Biggs
Internet Church
The Place for
Hope Encouragement
Inspiration
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