What Can I Do For You

                           What Can I Do For You?

Scripture reference for this devotional: Mark 10:46-52

Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
Mark 10:47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mark 10:48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mark 10:49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
Mark 10:50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
Mark 10:51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Mark 10:52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

In these Scriptures we encounter "Blind Bartimaeus". This man was blind from birth yet he had a yearning desire to have sight, something he knew that as a human he had every right to.

So when he heard that Jesus, the only one that would be able to give him his sight, was passing before him, he did what you or I would have done: he yelled his lungs out attempting to get the Master's attention. But as is always the case, there were a few who tried to silence his cries to the Master. But Bartimaeus would not be denied. The more he yelled, the more they told him to be quiet, which in turn, made him yell
louder. You see, he didn't care what anyone else had to say or thought about his cries, he only cared about what Jesus would think and say.

Then we see he finally gets Jesus' attention in verse 49. The Lord calls unto His followers to bring Bartimaeus to Him. The Scriptures aren't clear to me here in regards to if the second group of men that called Bartimaeus were different than the first ones who chastised him. One thing is for sure he sprung to his feet, casting away his garment, the one thing that identified him as a blind man: his license to beg.

We see Jesus then asks him in verse 51 using plain English for our purposes: "What do you want me to do for you?" Or "What can I do for you?" And the blind man simply answers: "Lord, that I might receive my sight."

Simply? Not at all! You see, when Bartimaeus sprung to his feet and cast away his garment, he actually took a GIGANTIC leap of faith. That garment, remember, was
his "meal ticket." When people saw him on the side of the road, they knew he was a beggar because of it, and they gave him money to help out with his situation. Without that garment he would have to pay his own way. But he knew since the Master called him, he wouldn't need to use that
as his crutch, for Jesus would set him free from that moment on.

My questions now should be "How does that garment identify with my Christian walk?" "What is it that I am holding on to in my life that identifies me as 'Spiritually Handicapped', obstructing my spiritual sight?" Whatever that may be, hidden pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, vanity, hatred, lust, hurt, etc., Jesus is willing to heal us if we are willing to cast away that garment that identifies us with the world. Once He
sees that we have cast away that garment in a GIGANTIC leap of faith, resting assured that He will deliver His end of the deal, He will ask us:   "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?", in other words:   "What do you want me to do for you?" Then we may boldly ask Him for what we know has been given to us by inheritance, a place in the Kingdom
of God, for Jesus shall then say "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."(V. 52)

Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Here am I casting away that garment that identifies me as a "spiritual cripple," dear God. I take that GIGANTIC leap of faith, resting assured that You have come to make me whole so that I not only live life, but live it more abundantly. When Your Son Jesus set us free, we were free indeed. No longer subject to any bondages, unless we freely chose to hang on to them. Father, I lay my claim now to Your promise that I am free and whole, proudly running the race, testifying of Your love,
mercy, grace, and wonder-working power, all for Your honor and glory; the same which snapped the chains of bondage which held me captive for so long, for which now have no claim unto me, for I choose to exercise the inheritance granted to me in Your "Will" the "New Testament" in which my name is written as one of the beneficiaries to your fortune: The kingdom of Heaven
& my right to partake legal residence in a mansion on my Father's land!
I thank You in Jesus' name, amen!

Your Son,

Joe.