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Read Mark 10:46-52
”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” (v. 48).
“They thought I was a corpse!” the rescued sailor said.
Trapped in water up to his chest in a cabin of the overturned boat, he little expected the pocket of air sustaining his life to last much longer. Hour after hour he stood atop a pile of mattresses, his muscles screaming for relief as the chilly water sapped his body’s warmth and strength. Awaiting death, he quoted Scripture and prayed for rescue.
Suddenly, he heard hammering overhead. With all his remaining strength, he banged back. When a diver’s headlamp pierced the darkness of his watery prison, he stretched out his hand and squeezed the diver’s fingers in a desperate, silent plea for deliverance.
The crewman could have succumbed to despair. Likewise, blind Bartimaeus could have permitted the crowd’s disapproval to deprive him of a miracle. But his need was great, and the Healer was passing by. He cried out and received his sight. Today, we can cry out to the Great Deliverer whatever our need. Jesus will hear the faintest heart cry and respond in love. (Joyce Cooper)

Reach out and touch the Lord as He passes by.
You’ll find He’s not too busy to hear your heart’s cry.
He’s passing by this moment your need to supply.
Reach out and touch the Lord as He passes by. — Bill Harmon

Have a need? Just reach out to Jesus by faith.

This is the Friday, December 19, 2014 devotional reading of Opening the Word.
Photo credit: "STATION SAN FRANCISCO (FOR RELEASE)" by Tidewater Muse used under CC BY 2.0 / Resized, cropped.

Read Psalm 86:10-17
"For thou art great, and does wondrous things: thou art God alone" (v. 10).
Several years ago, our oldest son applied for a loan to purchase a home. After a few days, he received a letter saying that he was denied the loan. He contacted the loan company to find out why he had been denied. He was told that his credit was impeccable but that he was overextending himself. As he looked deeper into his credit report, he found that the loan I had secured to purchase a home was on his credit record. The combined payments from his load and mine were more than his income could repay.
The reason for the discrepancy was that our names are the same except for different middle initials. Because of the failure of someone to examine our names carefully, we were not recognized as different individuals.
God is God alone. Some have attempted to impersonate Him, but anyone who looks diligently will recognize that He is God alone. There are other gods, resulting in different religions, but there is only one true God. Jeremiah wrote, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (29:13). A diligent search for Him will result in finding Him because He is God alone. (Larry DeOrnellis)

We always find Him when we diligently search for Him.

This is the Wednesday, December 10, 2014 devotional reading of Opening the Word.
Photo credit: "KURDISTAN Nature as I see it" by jan Sefti used under CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped