Today is Friday, December 6^th, 2013. It is the day 340^th of the year; there are 25 days left in 2013; and, only 19 days left until Christmas!

Mark 2:15-17 (ESV)

¹⁵ “And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Devotion:

Obviously, I am focused on physicians this morning.

The context of this passage is not about physicians, it is about why Jesus came… HE came for those who needed a Savior! His comment about those who are sick needing a physician is simply used as a clear illustration of the greater truth that HE is teaching; that is, if people were righteous they would not need a Savior; but, since people are not righteous they do need a Savior.

So, as I focus on needing a physician please forgive me for building this devotion on an illustration rather that which is the real focus of the text.

Here’s my point: just as Paul took “Luke, the Beloved Physician” (Colossians 4:14) along with him on his missionary journeys, we ought to include physicians in our acquaintance as well.

If we are going to be good stewards of the body in which the Lord has decreed that we will live out our life, we need to use the skills of physicians. (Lin and I have just had another lesson about that!)

From my illness thirteen years ago to Lin’s illness these past six months, I am thankful for the medical advances we have been allowed to discover and develop in our lifetime. It appears that God has directed us to them to use them for our good.

Bottom Line: get your check ups and screenings! Be good stewards of the body God has given you. (I am painfully aware that this is FREE advice from a man who is 40 pounds overweight…)

Let me close with this… I thank God for God! I thank God for physicians! I thank God for you!

Pastor Lanny