It’s not always easy to have our limitations removed from our lives.  And the nature of the limitations doesn’t matter.  A hindrance is a hindrance whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.  And if we’re honest, most of what places limitations in our lives is what we are willing to believe.  One writer has said, “Nothing happens, until first, a dream.”  The blind, the lame, the spiritually ostracized — nothing can free them from their limitations until they first believe that their limitations can be removed — that the obstacles preventing them from having a fuller life can actually be remedied.

         When the blind man heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he immediately recognized the presence of God in his midst.  And with that recognition came the belief that Jesus could remove the limitations in his life.  Had he not dreamed of having his eyesight and believed that Chrit could heal him, he never would have called out to Jesus.  And the only thing  that would prevent his liberation would be the limitations that Christ could place on the mercy and grace Christ could offer.  But there is a reality that the key that opens the door to the grace of God begins with our faith.  Without faith (our awareness of the presence of God) the limitations placed on God’s grace belong to us.  We must first free ourselves from our own disbelief, before we can access the unlimited grace of God.  Once we recognize the presence of God among us, the limitations of God’s grace are removed and the world of possibilities opens up.  God’s grace becomes the unlimited power that frees us and creates the possibility for the unlimited grace of God to transform our lives.  It becomes an open invitation in which God invites us to come.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, empower my faith in You to deliver me to become the catalyst that sets free Your unlimited grace for me that I may be made whole again.

         We don’t often consider how much our faith plays into our ability to void life’s limitations on what we can do.  And yet many people have difficulty trying to define what faith is, let alone how it can impact their lives.  Our scripture for today invites us into the lives of two men, both of them blind.  It doesn’t offer us any reason for their blindness, just that they were blind.  Yet, as blind as these two men were, they could see that they needed to follow Jesus.  Perhaps they had developed their listening skills, so that they could tell the sound of his voice when he spoke.  But nothing in our text suggests that he was speaking as he was moving.  But there was something else — something they could see spiritually  something that removed the limitations of their blindness to allow them to see that Jesus was the Lord.  Their call to him, “Son of David”, was a dead giveaway that they were aware of his presence.  And when asked about their belief — their faith — that he could “have mercy” on them, they didn’t hesitate to say yes, again, calling him Lord.  And the limitations of their sight was removed by their faith — their awareness of the presence of God.

         Maybe it’s not so unusual to experience God’s unlimited grace once we acknowledge God’s presence among us. After all, that’s what faith really is — an awareness of the presence of God.  And for two men who were blind to see beyond their blindness to the presence of God among them was enough to unleash God’s unlimited grace to them.  And maybe that is the key to opening up the floodgates of God’s mercy.  One must first acknowledge that God exists and — in faith believe that what one asks of God, God can do by the powerful mercies at God’s disposal.  God’s unlimited grace became available to two blind men just as easily as it can become available to us — if in our faith we become aware of God’s presence among us.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, seek to remove my limitations from me by the power of my faith — my awareness that You are with me and by my faith — find pleasure in making me whole again.

         We’re often caught off guard by our lack of understanding that the power of faith and persistence can play removing limitations in our lives.  We’ve all heard the old sayings like, “nothing beats a failure bur a try”, “try, try, and try again … .“  President Calvin Coolidge was quoted as saying, "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not ... Genius will not ... Education will not.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."  Wise sayings it would seem to address the issues of personal determination.  But what if the thing that removes the limitations is not persistence alone, but the revelation of faith that accompanies that persistence — especially if that faith is laid out to the person who has both the power and authority to change the limitations for everyone.  And perhaps our failures to remove our limitations lies in the fact that we give up too soon, that we lack the faith to overcome those limitations which lie before us.

         Jesus was clear about his call and his mission — to rescue the lost sheep of Israel.  That was his primary goal and responsibility.  But his broader responsibility was to remove any limitations that prevented people from knowing God loved them.  Enter the Canaanite woman, fraught with fear and anxiety because her daughter was possessed.  Yet, filled with faith that Jesus could change everything, if he would.  And if we’re honest, God has always been willing to alter circumstances for those who have faith, and remove whatever limitations are before them.  God negotiated with Abraham about saving the righteous people in Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33).  And now, Jesus is willing to remove the limitations of faith that the Canaanite woman might receive the mercies of God.  He also did it for the thief on the cross.

         In a world (our world and theirs) where people often draw circles of exclusion around other people God has broadened the circle so that there are no limitations on the access to God’s grace.  This Gentile woman has found her way beyond the limitations of exclusion to become the recipient of God’s grace and mercy.  God’s grace has truly become unlimited even as it extends to you and me.

• What is it like for you when you realize that at one time God’s grace was not available to you, but now — through faith — the limitations of God’s grace no longer exist?
• This limitation was removed as soon as she proclaimed Jesus for who he was. When did you become aware that God’s grace was unlimited for you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, thank you for removing the limitations of Your grace and allowing the crumbs or Your mercy to fall to those of us who are called Gentile. Because of Your mercy, Your unlimited Grace has saved even me.