Simon the Leper
"While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper." (NIV).
Jesus dined at Simon the leper, evidently, he was a healed leper. I'd like to think a leper healed by Jesus. But he had to have been healed of his leprosy or he could not have been hosting a "party." Yet he was still known as "Simon the leper."
He was healed but once a leper always a leper
A leper's life was difficult not just because of the leprosy but maybe more so because leprosy was believed to be a curse from God. It was believed that a leper was a leper because of some heinous sin in their lives and they were under God’s judgment. But when Jesus heals He heals completely
Are we guilty of the same thing?
Once a drug addict, once an alcoholic, once an unwed mother, once an illegitimate child, once a divorcee…
He’s Simon the leper.
Once a liar, once a thief, once an adulterer… God forgives but we never forget.
We must receive all those who Jesus receives.
With the exception of…, if you can answer that go back to God and ask Him which of your sins he is still holding against you.
The High Cost Of Justice
Belinda Geary For The Daily Mail Australia, writes:
A man who has been to five different courts and racked up a $100,000 legal bill over a $250 speeding fine said that after a four year battle he still won't rest until 'justice' is served.
Mustafa Al Shakarji, from Townsville, Queensland was pulled over and fined $250 for speeding in March 2012 after a police radar allegedly detected him doing 28 kilometres over the speed limit.
But the pharmacist, who immigrated to Australia from Iraq in 2002, insists that he was not speeding and is determined to continue to fight until the courts give him justice.
Now, after going through five different courts and losing a final appeal the determined driver said he will be the first person to take a speeding fine all the way to Australia's High Court.
Everyone one of us is counting on one of two things when we face our Maker. We will either be seeking justice or mercy. Those who insist on justice will receive God's justice, which requires a just punishment for every transgression. However, those who repent and seek mercy will receive God's mercy, which promises all the joys and rewards of heaven.
What most people want, what they insist on as a matter of principle, is justice. And just like Mr. Shakarii, they are determined to take their case all the way to the highest court to get it. If you are one of those who insist on justice, be forewarned. It will be far more costly than you imagined.
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:13).
The World According to Ronda Rousey, MMA Champ
Recently Sean Gregory asked Mixed Martial Arts champion Ronda Rousey, "You have said you love to be hated. Why?" Her answer was most instructive; she replied, "It leaves room for error. If you're the perfect little hero and you mess up, people find out that you're not the perfect little hero. But if you're the villain, the antihero, then your mistakes make you more complex and interesting."
Titus 3:3 which reads, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." But wait, there's more! The next verse reads, "But when the KINDNESS and LOVE OF GOD our Savior appeared, he saved us...because of his mercy."
We are all sinners, headed for death, and will either die that way or learn to receive and give mercy. Proverbs 13:15 says, "The way of the transgressor is hard," in part because it leaves no room for forgiveness, kindness, or a second chance. I would much prefer those virtues to merely being "complex and interesting."