READ Mark 3:1-6
And he [Jesus] said to the man with the withered hand … “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
-- Mark 3:3,5b (ESV)
In the fictional movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Dr. McCoy (aka “Bones”) visits a hospital to rescue Chekov, but encounters a woman with kidney failure needing dialysis. He comments on how primitive that 20th-century procedure is and instead gives her a pill containing “bio-memetic gel.” When the hospital doctors later examine her, they’re astonished that her kidneys are now “fully functional.”
I have a friend with a “withered hand.” I’m sure he’d love to take a pill and be completely healed, but our modern medicine isn’t capable of doing that. Mark 3:1-6 tells the story of Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. He didn’t give the man a magic pill to swallow. He simply said, “Stretch out your hand,” and the man was healed. It was a miracle that only God could do.
Does God perform miracles today? Years ago, our Sunday school class prayed for a missionary with Stage 4 cancer, laid hands on her, and she was later completely healed. As a former elder, I’ve prayed many times for people to be healed, and laid hands on them in accordance with James 5:14-16, but most weren’t healed. Why does God sometimes heal and sometimes not heal? I think the answer lies in Matthew 8:1-4. A man with leprosy approached Jesus and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus responded, “I am willing … Be clean.”
We have to trust that while God is able to heal in all cases, he may have some higher purpose in delaying healing, or not healing at all. Our job, like the persistent widow described in Luke 18:1-8, is to keep praying.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16b).
Prayer: Lord, you can do anything. If you’re willing, please heal our friends and family who need it.
Prayer Focus: THOSE WHO NEED HEALING
Rick Stockwell retired from a career in information technology, teaches Sunday school for first graders, served as an elder at his church, has been married for thirty-five years, and has two children and six grandchildren.
Rick is the author of two novels in his Heavenly Realms series called The Wall and The Battle. Audio, eBook and paperback versions are accessible via this link: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07HQ8G3MJ
Clean
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Like a Breath
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Sermon on the Mount
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Lies
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Back in the Box
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Looking Ahead
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Who's Driving?
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Interruptions
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What's the Most Important Question in Life?
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Feathers
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Victory
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Restless
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Assurance of Salvation
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Anniversaries and Holidays
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Knowing
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Hate at Hebron
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Naos
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Why Believe in God?
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The Last Starfighter
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Be Alert
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Time's Up
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Can't Take It With You
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Safe with God
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Happy New Year
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Choose Wisely
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Merry Christmas
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Two by Two
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No Root
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I Did It My Way
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Sandals
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Amazing Forgiveness
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Temptation
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Cards You're Dealt
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Shelf Life
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Watchman
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Seeds
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Allegiance
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Water Bottle
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Charlie Kirk
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Book Binding
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Meeting Together
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Weak and Strong
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Repentance
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Why Didn't You Tell Me?
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Nose to Nose
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Discipleship
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Already Chosen
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Drainage Tunnel
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Withered Hand
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Traveling Mercies
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Doomscrolling
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Working Toward Heaven
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Foxes
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Self-Reliance
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Flawless
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The Scripture Cannot Be Broken
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Friends
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Steal No Longer
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Why is the World So Messed Up?
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Judging Others
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Stay off the Grass
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Who is my Neighbor?
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Same Reward
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Love and Respect
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Can God Use You?
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Do All Paths Lead to God?
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Final Exam
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Clear Conscience
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Guardian Angels
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Invictus
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Faith
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Post-Retirement Planning
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Twin Parallel Truths
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I Will Be With You
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Deny by Default
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Living Water
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Marriage Proposal
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What is Truth?
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Success
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Crumbs
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TV Turnoff
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Thanksgiving
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Burning Brightly
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One-Way Mirror
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Time
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My List
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Bronzed
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Anti-malware Software Needed
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A Real Miracle
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Forgotten God
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Version 2.0
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Chasing Shadows
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Red Scribbles
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The One I Esteem
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Swimming Lessons
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Hard Heart
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Racial Healing
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Are you Listening?
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The Narrow Path
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Go Save Someone
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He Knows What You Need
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Bleach
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Firm Foundation
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Impressions
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Running Uphill
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Are We Listening?
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Go Save Someone
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He Knows What You Need
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Firm Foundation
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Bleach
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Impressions
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Running Uphill
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Racial Healing
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Start Each Day With Prayer
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