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Mitch Todd About Mitch

I Do Choose. Be Made Clean!

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" —Mark 1:40-41

Everybody gets dirty.

Everybody sins and messes up. Everybody gets tainted by the ways of the world. Even you. So what are you gonna do about it?

You could pretend to be clean. You know, strut around and laugh and act like you've never gotten dirty before. You could pretend that you don't have problems, or issues, or sins. But that's not gonna help.

You could give in to your unclean ways and dive right into the mud and muck—and let the dirt rule your life. You could major in Sin with a minor in "who cares". But that's the road to ruin.

You could just live with your predicament. Not exactly filthy, but not really ready to get cleaned up, either. Kind of stuck-in-the-mud. But you'll never grow that way.

What you COULD do is to be like the leper in the scripture above. He recognized Jesus in his midst, he came forward, acknowledging his predicament, and he asked for help. More than just asking for help—he displayed a trust in Jesus... he displayed faith when he said, "If you choose you can make me clean."

And would you look at that? Jesus hears him, and is moved. He heals the man.

We read this as if it's an isolated miracle in the bible. Not so. This happens all the time. I'm not talking about curing leprosy here, I'm talking about washing away our sins. It happens anytime someone reaches out with faith to Christ. It can happen for you, too. If you're feeling dirty today, why not reach out? "Christ, if you choose, you can make me clean!"

Every time you reach out to Christ, Christ responds with the same six words: "I Do Choose. Be Made Clean!" Doesn't that feel better?

Now that we've been washed up...

Let's try to stay out of the mud.

Have a good week,

Mitch
rmitchelltodd@yahoo.com

Discussion Questions

1. The Leper in this story was an outcast because of his disease. What diseases or medical conditions today can cause people to be outcast?
   
   
2. What about sin? How can sin cause you to be outcast? Are there ways sin can help you to fit in?
   
   
3. Sin can make a person feel dirty. Look at the four options for dealing with being dirty. How do you think most people deal with sin? Which options have you chosen before?
   
   
4. Jesus was moved with pity by the Leper’s faith. What role does our faith play in Jesus’ ability to make us clean?
   
   
5. Why do you think Jesus chooses to make us clean—even when we get dirty again?
   
   
6. Picture being covered in mud and then taking a nice long shower. That’s how clean feels on the outside. How does it feel on the inside?
   
   
7. Does Jesus take it too easy on us? What sort of motivation is there to keep us from getting dirty again?