Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.(Mark 2:27,28)

Rest is Holy. Rest is Godly. God commanded all of us to rest. It is the 4th of the 10 commandments.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

God designed our bodies in such a way that they need REST on the seventh day.

Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.(Exodus 34:21)

We are not designed to work 7 days, non stop. That’s why the Lord God rained down manna only for 6 days, and asked people to collect twice as much on the 7th day.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions. Then on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.(Exodus 16:4,5)

A man who was seen working on Sabbath day was stoned to death

the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.(Numbers 15:36)

The fruit of disobedience to God is death.

Sabbath is made Holy, a day of mandate of rest for all of us. A day to spend time in God’s presence rejoicing in God for His goodness in our lives.

When we enter a state of rest, we hear from God. We operate in the fullness of His power to extend His kingdom on earth.

Let’s enter the divine rest, and partner with our God to walk in His power

God Bless You

✍ Sis. Anita Thumma
To access all the insights that are part of 270 day Bible Reading Program visit: halleluhosannamission.com

Mark 1: 42 “I am Willing” he said “Be Clean” immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Here we see an encounter between Jesus and a leper.

Here the leper approaches Jesus and begs for purification.

To the leper’s begging request, Jesus replies, “I’m willing”.
Jesus touches him and declares him to be clean at which the leper is cured. This was one of the miracles Jesus did during the last days of his ministry in Capernaum.

There was a culture followed in North India where a person diagnosed with leprosy had to leave his family and go to a mountain called Rishikesh, where they would spend their remaining life.

Their wife had to live the life of a widow wearing white clothes.
Their children would accompany the fathers till the valley and then come back.

It was a similar culture followed among Jewish people, where a leper was considered unclean and was ostracized from the society.

People throw rocks at these lepers so that they do not come in contact with any person.
If anyone comes in contact with a leper, they would also be considered unclean as per the law and be declared unfit to participate in religious and social activities.

There is a story shared by Dr. Somerville who served amidst leprosy persons.

Once a leprosy affected beggar came to Dr. Somerville’s house. Seeing the beggar, the doctor walked towards him, touched his shoulder and asked “Brother, what can I do for you?”

The leper replied, “I don’t want anything because I got what I desired”.

Confused, the doctor asked, “What have you got?” The leper replied, “I had been longing for a touch and for someone calling out to me. You touched me and called me ‘brother’. That is what I desired and I got it before I asked”.

Mother Teresa is one person who followed the paths of Jesus touching many uncleans, thus purifying their hearts and souls.

THE DESPERATE ISOLATION OF LEPERS MADE THEIR LIFE MORE PATHETIC.

How do we see others?

Are we isolating someone based on race, age, gender, socio-economic or educational level, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and even personal quirks, political beliefs, or looks.?

The gospels say Jesus, never isolated anyone even a leper nor Samaritans.

How is God calling us, to live up to Jesus’ example, in touching the leper today?

Jooley Mathew Z
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