John 5:1-9 KJV “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [2] Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. [3] In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. [4] For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. [5] And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? [7] The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. [8] Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. [9] And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.”

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An angel would come down from time to time, stir up the waters in the pool of Bethesda and whoever got in first (if they were able) got healed? Hmmmmm.🤔 Those who know God know this healing process doesn’t sound like Him. First of all this healing is based on human effort (works), who can race to get in the pool the fastest, whereas God’s miracles work through faith:

‭Mark‬ ‭5:25-34‬ ‭NET‬‬ “Now a woman was there who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she kept saying, “If only I touch his clothes, I will be healed.” At once the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Jesus knew at once that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you and you say, ‘Who touched me?’” But he looked around to see who had done it. Then the woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, YOUR FAITH HAS MADE YOU WELL. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.””

Mark‬ ‭6:1-6‬ ‭NET‬‬ “Now Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” HE WAS NOT ABLE TO DO A MIRACLE THERE, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF. Then he went around among the villages and taught.”

SATAN’S CHARACTER

I bet there were many fights over who was first in line at the pool of Bethesda. Think about how wickedly demonic this is; making the physically impaired compete in a physical contest, a race to see who can get in the pool FIRST to be healed. No second place consolation prize you had to be FIRST. Some folks who waited by the pool were blind, some were crippled like the man Jesus healed. So unless they had someone pick them up and rush them into the water FIRST (when the angel supposedly stirred the water up) they couldn’t get healed. God does not work like that. The entire Bible shows this is not His character. (Ecclesiastes 9:11 Matthew 19:30) But this is the character of Satan the Devil: 

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🤡“Too bad you didn’t get here first. You’re not fast enough hah hah hah hah!”

😥“I know, I can’t walk, so I definitely can’t run. Isn’t that why I’m here, to be healed?”

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Whether people actually got healed at the pool of Bethesda or not is debatable. But it wouldn’t surprise me if counterfeit miracles did take place. The Devil is more than happy to perform miracles to keep people from worshiping God in spirit and truth. (Exodus 7:8-13) Think about it: if every now and then someone got healed at the pool of Bethesda wouldn’t this cause people to put their trust in the worship of angels and other things instead of God?🤔

Colossians 2:18 LEB “Let no one condemn you, taking pleasure in humility and the WORSHIP OF ANGELS, going into detail about the things which he has seen.”

ARE CHURCHES LIKE POOLS OF BETHESDA?

We find the same evil practices done at the pool of Bethesda in some churches today? People put their trust in the power of angels and worship them over God. You even see statues and pictures of angels in these churches everywhere, something that God commanded us not to do:

Exodus 20:4 KJV “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or ANY LIKENESS of any thing that is IN HEAVEN ABOVE, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

People place their trust in physical objects also in these churches like phony anointing oils, prayer cloths, prayer beeds, man made altars, etcetera. People are taught without the use of these objects in worshiping God no miracles can take place. This is all idolatry and witchcraft!

Some of us just like the folks at the pool of Bethesda have believed in wrong things for many years. Waiting by a pool to be healed for 38 YEARS😳 at first sounds like a long time. But when you think about it how many of us did or do the same thing? How many seek to be healed in false churches for many years?🤔

THEN JESUS SHOWED UP!

One day Jesus showed up!😃 This poor guy who waited for 38 long years got a gift from heaven. No angel came down and stirred up the waters in the pool. The Creator Of Heaven And Earth; the ruler of all the angels came down and healed the man!😊 (Psalm 146:6 ) This tells me a lot about God’s heart. God though so high and holy looked down, saw the pitiful man’s state, and helped him. He didn’t tell the man how stupid he was for believing the wrong things. He simply showed the man how to believe in the right thing by helping him.😊 (John 3:16 John 14:6) No physical contest for the physically impaired (survival of the fittest😳) was necessary to be healed by Jesus. How wickedly demonic that is!👽 All the man had to do is accept Jesus’ free gift.😊 

Has not God done the same for so many including us? Many of us too believed in witchcraft for our healings. We did some silly things hoping we would get what we want. We were putting our trust in powers that are not of God. (Ephesians 6:12) Sometimes we did get those things we desperately sought after. But when it is obtained through witchcraft a whole lot of sorrows come with it: 

Proverbs 10:22 NET “The blessing from the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds NO SORROW to it.”

I’m glad that God is so merciful and loving.😊 There is no one like Him. Let’s not forget where we come from. We are no better than the man at the pool of Bethesda. ALL are in need of God’s healing, love, and forgiveness. ALL have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23-24) But sadly not all will receive Jesus Christ’s free gift; the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.😞 Not all will receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. This will be to their eternal detriment. How sad. Let’s pray that those who are misled like we were wake up. Let’s pray that Jesus shows up in their lives too just like He did in ours and the man at the pool of Bethesda. 

THERE ARE MANY POOLS OF BETHESDA

There are many pools of Bethesda in this life. Some have been anxiously waiting by the pool for years hoping to find the right man or woman to fall in love with and make their life whole. They believe life can’t be joyful, complete or fulfilling without that special someone.❤️ Though desiring a mate is not sinful but normal there are some who will do ANYTHING to get it, and here is where the problem lies. Others believe they won’t be made whole until they become rich and wait by the pool for years in search for that. They will do ANYTHING to get money. This too is a false healing. (1 Timothy 6:5-10) There are many things in this life that resemble the pool of Bethesda where people will search for years and do whatever to get what they want. DON’T BE FOOLED! To complete your life you must go to the source of life: GOD! You must establish a strong relationship with Him through His son Jesus Christ. You will eventually find that He is all you ever need.😊 Other things are added blessings. Jesus is truly the miraculous healing everyone is looking for. They just don’t know it yet.

Please share this with a friend😊

1 Peter 2:19-21 HCSB “For IT BRINGS FAVOR if, mindful of God’s will, SOMEONE ENDURES GRIEF from suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But WHEN YOU DO WHAT IS GOOD AND SUFFER, IF YOU ENDURE IT, THIS BRINGS FAVOR WITH GOD. For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps.”

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“BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED”

Are you really, “Blessed and highly favored?” Are you suffering unjustly for doing what is good? And are you enduring it patiently? If so you are indeed favored by God the scripture says. Your endurance is commendable to God. That’s not something we hear often is it? Most folks think being, “Blessed and highly favored,” means all is well financially, or everything is going right in other areas. No, God says the blessed and highly favored ones are those who patiently continue to do good and share in Christ’s sufferings for it. These folks are UNCOMPROMISING in their faith:😊

Matthew 5:10-12 KJV “BLESSED are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. [12] REJOICE, and BE EXCEEDING GLAD: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

See who Jesus says have God’s favor? Those who are being treated like garbage because they refuse to compromise in following Jesus’ teachings. If you do not suffer (NEVER EVER) as a Christian your faith needs serious repairing. This is not my opinion. I am simply agreeing with what God’s word says?

2 Timothy 3:12 KJV “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

ALL who desire to live godly lives in Jesus will suffer persecution the Bible says. So if you NEVER EVER suffer persecution (persecution as a Christian that is) how can you be living a godly life?🤔

THE SUFFERING APOSTLES HAVE GOD’S FAVOR

1 Corinthians 4:9-13 HCSB “For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, WE ENDURE IT; when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the world’s garbage, like the dirt everyone scrapes off their sandals.”

The apostle Paul was homeless and highly favored.😊 So are many others like him. The Bible says first in the church are the apostles (1 Corinthians 12:28), but they’re not first in the world, they’re last. (Matthew 19:29-30) These Jesus lovers are treated like scum. But they are indeed blessed and highly favored by God because they endure trials patiently, and joyfully:😄

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1 Peter 2:19 HCSB “For IT BRINGS FAVOR if, mindful of God’s will, SOMEONE ENDURES GRIEF from suffering unjustly.“

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Acts 5:40-42 HCSB “After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, REJOICING that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name. Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”

The apostles were flogged, beaten in the worse way for teaching people about Jesus. They were indeed, “Blessed and highly favored,” not because they were persecuted, but because of their attitude in the face of persecution. They did not compromise their faith. After they were badly whipped they went out, “REJOICING that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name [Jesus].”😊 They knew what their beating meant and focused on that. They knew they were blessed for having direct fellowship with the son of God through sharing in His sufferings. (2 Timothy 2:12 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 2 Corinthians 11:23-27)😊 They remembered and obeyed what Jesus says at Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. REJOICE, AND BE EXCEEDING GLAD: for GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” The apostles were not deterred from their mission. They kept on preaching Jesus is the Messiah in spite of being severely punished for it. How unlike these fake preachers today who shut up (when it comes to the true gospel) and do what they are told.

Will we patiently endure harsh treatment for doing good when God permits it? Let’s be in constant prayer about such things not just for ourselves but for all of our brethren. (Ephesians 6:18) Will we even REJOICE when persecuted for Jesus’ name as He commands us to? Like the apostles did?

James 1:2-4 KJV “My brethren, count it all JOY when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

James 1:12 KJV “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

1 Peter 2:19 HCSB “For IT BRINGS FAVOR if, mindful of God’s will, SOMEONE ENDURES GRIEF from suffering unjustly.“

Please share this with a friend😊