July 22, 2010Read: Mark 10 "Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him.' So they called to the blind man, 'Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you!' Throwing his cloak aside, he leaped to his feet and came to Jesus." --Mark 10:49-50

No need to adjust your computer screen, that's indeed the same verse as yesterday's entry. But I just had to go back to it. Ever since we posted last night, I haven't been able to get a particular thought out of my head: The crowd knew something. Read the verse again.

Typically, we focus on either the blind man, Bartimaeus, or of course, Jesus. But the crowd's response has bugged me for nearly 24 hours. The crowd is...us. They knew something. They knew what Jesus had the power to do in the blind man's life. Otherwise, they wouldn't have reacted as if the beggar had just won the lottery.

Read it again. Of all the thousand voices that were clamoring for Jesus to hear, that of a blind beggar behind all the others sitting on the side of the road found the ear of Jesus, and the crowd knew what that meant. Can't you just see the pause, the wide eyes, open mouths, and then their whiplash reactions as they run to the one who's number had just been called?

You and I stand among those who need to heed the call. Read the verse again (last time, I promise). Isn't Jesus calling everyone? Didn't He die for all the world? And if we've been saved and healed...aren't we the crowd who knows?

--J.P.

TIME FOR A REMINDER

Time for more "broken record" rhetoric. Don’t worry about working on balance while trying to train for strength. For example, you may see people from time to time standing on one leg while doing biceps curls. That makes no sense, since both the biceps and core are not being fully stimulated. Your best bet is to focus on one or the other. Besides, the strongest cores are of power athletes, who spend their time picking up heavy stuff from a stable surface.