“Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.”
Mark 1:41
“When you’re locked up in prison, you feel like a leper, cut off from everyone and everything,” Allan said. I responded that I knew exactly how he felt.
Years ago during a time of depression, I self-medicated with alcohol and quickly became an alcoholic. I lost my marriage, my home, and my ministry. I lived for two years in an inner-city rescue mission. Few family or friends would have anything to do with me. I might as well have been a leper. Confused and lost, I didn’t know what to do. I only knew that I needed Jesus.
So I started reading through the gospel books of the Bible. I got to Mark 1:40-45 where I read, “A man with leprosy came to Jesus, imploring him … ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing, be cleansed’” (vv. 40-41, NASB).
In that moment I knew Jesus was in this place. He touched my heart, cleansed me, and accepted me. Others had given up on me, but Jesus had not. Friend, this is precisely what you must cling to today!
Years ago during a time of depression, I self-medicated with alcohol and quickly became an alcoholic. I lost my marriage, my home, and my ministry. I lived for two years in an inner-city rescue mission. Few family or friends would have anything to do with me. I might as well have been a leper. Confused and lost, I didn’t know what to do. I only knew that I needed Jesus.
So I started reading through the gospel books of the Bible. I got to Mark 1:40-45 where I read, “A man with leprosy came to Jesus, imploring him … ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing, be cleansed’” (vv. 40-41, NASB).
In that moment I knew Jesus was in this place. He touched my heart, cleansed me, and accepted me. Others had given up on me, but Jesus had not. Friend, this is precisely what you must cling to today!
Scripture Focus
Mark 1:40-45
Insight
If you feel alone and cut off, turn to Jesus. He will come to you and say, “I am willing to make you clean.”
Bible In A Year
- Exodus 37-38
- Psalm 44
- Luke 8
