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Voice of Inspiration

    by Andy Castro

Instantly!
Date Posted: December 18, 2022

There is a very interesting story in John 5:1-9. 1LATER ON there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves, colonnades, doorways). 3In these lay a great number of sick folk--some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up) waiting for the bubbling up of the water. 4For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was cured of whatever disease with which he was afflicted. 5There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?] 7The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me. 8Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk! 9Instantly the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked. But that happened on the Sabbath.

Here is today’s focus. In verse 5, the point is made that the man had been sick for thirty eight years. That is a very long time to be sick. In thirty eight years, sitting by the pool, he had plenty of time to think about his life and sickness. He had plenty of time to remember why he got sick in the first place. He remembered the sin that got him here and he lived in shame for those thirty eight years. Why do I say this? In verse 14, Jesus says to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Also, the word Bethesda comes from a root word in the original language meaning

1. to dishonour, disgrace

2. to put to shame, make ashamed

a. one is said to be put to shame who suffers a repulse, or whom some hope has deceived

My question to you is: Do you have some past sin that has shamed you and continues to afflict you? If so, Read the reply that Jesus gave to this man in verse 8. Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk! If you are a Christian, stop holding on to your painful past. Read 2 Corinthians 5. In verse 17 it says: Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! Because of Christ, the day you received Christ, you where instantly a new creature just like the man by the pool. Read John 5:9. “Instantly the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked.”

It will take faith to believe this great truth and you will have to put effort into renewing your mind but you do not have to hold on to your past. Read Isaiah 53,54 to remind you of what Jesus did to set us free.

“Next Level Thinking” requires faith to be free from past sin and shame.

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Biography Information:
Since recommitting his life to Christ in 2000, God has changed Andy in such a way, he hardly recognizes himself. Andy is a story of God's grace and mercy.

He now writes and speaks as a voice of inspiration to encourage people to 'find the call' for their life and to fulfill their God given purpose. He writes to help you in your pursuit.