Ephphatha

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Jesus tells us that healthy people do not need a physician, but sick people do. Spiritually speaking, we are all sick people. Jesus came to heal the sick and call us to repentance. Now is an ideal time for a spiritual checkup. Schedule your physical today. Please read more.

Medical doctors tell us we should have an annual physical. The same is true spiritually. Lent has just begun and we are now in the time of preparation before Easter. It’s time once again for our spiritual physical. It is a time to rend our hearts. Spiritually speaking, some of us need a heart transplant so that we can return to God with a new heart. It is a time for fasting, weeping, and mourning. Have you been to the doctor yet?

I have always been intrigued by the Biblical stories about miraculous healings for those with health and medical conditions. Both the deaf mute and the leper were healed by Jesus. I believe both of them represent all of us.

Like the leper, at some point in our lives we have all felt the isolation of an embarrassing moment, or we have felt set apart from others by some area of our own sinfulness. Like the deaf mute, we often fail to speak up when we should, and we fail to listen to others and truly hear what they are saying. Like both, we need the healing touch of Jesus.

During the healing process, Jesus touched both men. Think about that for a moment. No one would touch a leper lest he become ritually unclean according to Mosaic law. Jesus could have healed the leper without touching him. Nonetheless, He did! In fact, He touched both the Leper and the deaf mute. Now, during this time set aside for our spiritual physical, Jesus the great physician and healer, wants to touch us. To each of us, He says “Ephphatha,” which means, “be opened”.

We need to allow Jesus to open us up. During Lent, our prayers could include words like these:

“Lord, touch me, heal me, and call me out of the isolation of my sin imposed leprosy. Lord, help me to be opened! Restore my hearing and help me to be more aware of others needs. Restore my ability to speak openly to others about things that are troubling me. Help me to speak words of comfort to others. And finally Lord, help me always to sing your praises.”

Restore my hearing Lord and help me to:

Be open to truly hear what others are saying.

Be open to hear their stories.

Be open to hearing about their pain.

Be open to hearing about their needs.

Be open to offering others a healing touch.

Restore my speech Lord and help me to:

Be open to speaking the truth.

Be open to telling my story.

Be open to sharing my pains.

Be open to sharing my struggles.

Be open to allowing other to be Christ to me.

Be open to telling the world what Christ has done for me.

The 40 days of Lent offers us an extended appointment period with the great physician. The Good Doctor is on call and ready to heal us today!

Both the leper and the deaf mute were told not to tell anyone. Yet, both went forth proclaiming the story of how Jesus healed them. They could not contain their excitement. Now, it’s our turn. Let’s go forth and tell the good news of how Jesus has saved us. The most compelling testimony of faith is a personal witness. With our restored ability to speak let’s tell our story. With our restored ability to hear, let’s listen when others share their story with us.

Before closing, can I ask you to pray for the men who attended the Blessed, Broken, and Scared Retreat this past Saturday in Belleview, Florida. It was a blessed experience for everyone who attended. The Holy Spirit touched many lives. Also, I would love to lead a retreat at your church. Simply click here to invite me.

Heavenly Father, open my eyes, I want to see Jesus. Open my ears Lord, I want to hear His voice. Open my heart Lord, I want to love like Him. Touch me. Heal me. Draw me to you. Amen!

AMDG

As always, I love to hear from you. You can email by clicking here.

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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