DEVOTIONAL 15
Monday, February 20
Why Give to the Proclaim Initiative?
Making Space
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” —Mark 2:2–5
The reports of what Jesus could do were incredible; the only thing limited in this scene was the size of the home. But room capacity didn’t curb the enthusiasm of these men; their logic was simple – Jesus is in the building, and our friend needs to get to Him, but the building is full … so we’ll just make the building bigger! Jesus regarded this interruption as an act of faith, not a nuisance. Yes, repairing the roof would take time and money, but the Lord didn’t draw attention to that. The only debt mentioned was that of the man’s sin, and Jesus canceled that debt Himself.
PRAY
God, give me a fearless attitude when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get more people to see Jesus. I pray no one in my community will look at the North Campus and determine “we’re full.” Please bless the efforts of the North Campus as we expand the seating capacity in the Worship Center to make room for those who need to get to Jesus.
ACT
As you park at church this week, choose a spot as far from the building as possible. Pray silently as you walk. Ask God to bless the PROCLAIM initiative so the parking lot might expand soon, making room for more guests.
FROM PASTOR CONNOR BALES
