Tag: Mark 10:51

Posted in Family, fear, friends, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful

What Do You Want?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Mark 10:51

What can I do for you?  It seemed like an odd question but really it wasn’t.  The other day I was at the doctor’s office accompanied by my wife Judy.  The wait in the waiting room was very short and as always, the first stop was the stupid scale.  You can tell this is not my favorite part of any doctor visit but regardless it is part of the deal. After making me face my weight, she took us back to the screening room where she asked questions, and I gave answers. She did a great job and soon we were waiting for the doctor to come in.

The wait wasn’t too long and when he came in, I could sense he was a good guy.  This visit was to begin to hopefully write the final chapter about my pancreas and an abnormally high-test result.  He was a specialist dealing with all the various parts of the human digestive system so I was a little surprised when he asked, “Now, what can I do for you?”  See what I mean about seeming a bit odd.  You are a doctor, and I am a patient…either tell me I’m not broke or fix me. But I wasn’t perturbed by his question…in fact, I was pleased. He wanted to know how things looked and felt from my perspective and I valued that.

Well, we had a great conversation and like our nurse friend, he asked a lot of questions, and I gave him a lot of answers. After a while, he made several suggestions concerning a few more tests to make sure that things were good and, in the end, I felt like he cared and that he understood my need. And, get this, it all started with that odd question, “What can I do for you.”

There’s a story in the Bible with the same question and it might seem crazy too. A blind guy is sitting by the road, and he hears Jesus coming by. He begins to holler asking Jesus to stop and heal him. Jesus calls for him and members of the crowd lead him to the Healer and that is when Jesus asks the question, “What do you want me to do for you?” It might seem obvious since obviously the guy is blind, but Jesus wanted him to acknowledge his need. After all, he might have wanted a new walking stick or seeing eye donkey.  No, Jesus wanted the man to say it, express it—I want to see. So, the guy says exactly that, Jesus heals the guy and well, it was a pretty happy ending.

Sometimes asking the right question is important…very important. Jesus was the master of everything He did and that included asking the right question. I wonder if that is something we need to learn to do better. I wonder if it would help us help others. I am sure it would. I sometimes have the tendency to start talking when I should have continued listening. Our interactions with people—husbands, wives, kids, friends, even strangers are more important than we realize. You can bet that God is great at this. Go ahead, have a conversation, ask a question. He will surely want to know what you really need, and then He’ll let you know…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Read more from our blog: Grits with Grace – short stories with big truths

Posted in fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Meet Bart

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Rabboni,” the blind man said to Him, “I want to see.” Mark 10:51

The old blues song goes like this, “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, only darkness every day. Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone…and this house just ain’t no home.” Bart would have understood that well.  There wasn’t a bit of sunshine in his world.  Not one bit.

Bartimaeus, or Bart as his friends called him, was blind.  Along with blindness came the usual social stigmas of being an outcast and the usual career choice–begging.  He had landed on a good stretch of the highway to beg.  There was a lot of traffic but as always–a lot of darkness.  But all that was about to change.

One day he heard a crowd passing by and asked what was happening.  The fact that anyone even acknowledged him was a miracle.  Someone said, “Jesus is passing by.” Bart had heard of this young Rabbi, and he had also heard stories, rumors really, that he could heal people like him.  Three words flashed into his mind–now or never.

He began to shout, to beg, to scream “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Over and over, he shouted.  The crowd quickly became annoyed and demanded that he shut it down or they would shut him up.  But desperation and hope wouldn’t allow that.  “Jesus, Son of David, please, have mercy on me.” Right at the point when his ears told him the noise was fading, he heard it.  Jesus was saying something, “Call him.”  Amazingly the same crowd that tried to shut him down now helped pick him up.

“What do you want me to do for you?” the unseen Rabbi asked.  It might seem like a strange question to ask a blind guy, but Jesus wanted to be sure Bart knew his need.  Perhaps a small contribution?  Maybe a walking stick or a seeing eye camel?  Jesus was asking, “Do you want a better life or a new life?” Bart was ready for something new.

Mark 10:51 gives us his reply.  “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.” His five words are loaded with meaning.  First, the word “Rabboni” was master, and it was a term of surrender.  He was saying, “I haven’t experienced what I need but I will trust you for it anyway.”  That’s faith.  Second, “I want to see.”  He wasn’t asking for a band-aid…he was wanting something new, something life changing.  Faith and the wisdom to ask for the right thing were game changers for Bart.

Wait, Jesus is speaking again and what He says is amazing.  “Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.”  Your.Faith.Has.Saved.You.  And do you know what happened next?  Mark tells us in the rest of verse 52. “Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.” Immediately his world exploded into light and color.  Instantly the darkness was forced to flee as the light of the world flooded in. Amazing.

Well, Jesus told him to go. His new world was at his doorstep and guess where he chose to go? Right with Jesus.  He followed him.  I mean, where else would he go but to follow the One who gave him light, who gave him life.  I can imagine the smile on his lips and chatter from his tongue as he shared what Jesus had done.  “I once was blind, but now I see” he would say.  We added the “amazing grace” part later.

So how about you?  Does your life ever seem dark?  Ever feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed with life? Jesus knows and He understands. Whatever it is, Jesus is passing by, and He has an invitation just for you.  He invites you to come and when you get there don’t ask for a seeing eye camel or walking stick.  He’s got something bigger for you.  He has peace and He has hope. He has a new life of light and color.  You’ ll find a friend who will never leave or abandon you.  Go ahead, get up.  He’s waiting.  You can trust him.  Rest in Him.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful

Ain’t No Sunshine

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” Mark 10:51

Bartimaeus, or Bart as his friends called him, was blind.  Along with the blindness came the usual social stigmas of being an outcast and the usual career choice–begging.  He had landed a good stretch of the highway to beg.  There was a lot of traffic but as always–a lot of darkness.  But all that was about to change.

One day he heard a crowd passing by and asked what was happening.  The fact that anyone even acknowledged him was a miracle.  Someone said, “Jesus was passing by.” Bart had heard of this young Rabbi and he had also heard stories, rumors really, that He could heal people like him.  Three words flashed into his mind–now or never.

He began to shout, to beg, to scream “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Over and over he shouted.  The crowd quickly became annoyed and demanded that he shut it down or they would shut him up.  But desperation and hope wouldn’t allow that.  “Jesus, Son of David, please, have mercy on me.” Right at the point when his ears told him the noise was fading he heard it.  Jesus was saying something, “call him.”  Amazingly the same crowd that tried to shut him down now helped pick him up.

“What do you want me to do for you?” the unseen Rabbi asked.  It might seem like a strange question to ask a blind guy but Jesus wanted to be sure Bart knew his need.  Perhaps a small contribution.  Maybe a walking stick or a seeing eye camel.  Jesus was asking, “Do you want a better life or a new life?” Bart was ready for something new.

Mark 10:51 gives us his reply.  “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.” His five words are loaded with meaning.  First, the word “Rabboni” was master and it was a term of surrender.  He was saying, “I haven’t experienced what I need but I will trust You for it anyway.”  That’s faith.  Second, “I want to see.”  He wasn’t asking for a band aide he was wanting something new, something life changing.  Faith and the wisdom to ask for the right thing was a game changer for Bart.

Wait, Jesus is speaking again and what He says is amazing.  “Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.”  Your faith has saved you.  Amazing. And do you know what?  Mark puts it very plainly in the rest of verse 52. “Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.” Immediately his world exploded into light and color.  Instantly the darkness was forced to flee as the Light of world flooded in. Amazing.

Well, Jesus had told him to go and do you know where he went.  Right with Jesus.  He followed him.  I mean, where else would he go but to follow the One who gave him light, who gave him life.  I can imagine the smile on his lips and chatter from his tongue as he shared what Jesus had done.  “I once was blind, but now I see” he would say.  We added the “amazing grace” part later. So how about you?  Does your life seem pretty dark right now?  You’ve seen the list over and over.  Fear. Corona virus. Unemployment. Unknowns. Whatever it is, Jesus is passing by and He has an invitation just for you.  He invites you to come and when you get there don’t ask for a seeing eye camel or walking stick.  He’s got something bigger for you.  He has peace and He has hope. He has a new life of light and color.  You’ll find a friend who will never leave or abandon you.  Go ahead, get up.  He’s waiting.  You can trust him.  Rest in Him.  He’s got this.