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“And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” —Mark 2:16 Why did Jesus go to parties with sinners and tax collectors?  Why did He do it?  That's the question the Pharisees asked; and maybe we need to answer that question from the words of Jesus.  Why did Jesus befriend the sinners? Because people are sick and hurting, and they need a physician.  Jesus did not see these tax collectors and sinners as pagans.  He saw them as patients who needed a physician.  He saw them as broken people who needed someone to heal their broken lives. Sin is much like a disease, just a little germ that enters the body and attacks the immune system.  Then that germ begins to spread throughout the body.  Having spread throughout the body, then the body is sapped of its energy and of its strength.  And if not cured, the disease can kill. That is why it's so important to know Jesus. He is the only one who is the cure for mankind's ills.  But there's only one Great Physician; and I beg you, church, that we be friends of the wounded heart as well.  People are desperately sick and in need of the Great Physician. Sometimes we have the idea that we want to protect ourselves from the sickness so much that we've isolated ourselves from those who don't know Christ.  We want to be strong against sin. Please, Christians, let's don't get the idea that we ought to be so offended by sin that we don't love people who are sinners. Jesus went to parties with sinners, so that people could come home and have a party with Him.. Wednesday, November 14, 2018 The Snare of Idleness by Dr. Paul Chappell “And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.” 2 Samuel 11:1–2 The beginning of the greatest failure of David’s life was a simple decision—he stayed behind in Jerusalem when it was time to fight rather than going into the field with the army. We are not told what led to David’s foolish choice, but we do know the tragic result. He was exposed to a temptation that he would never have seen if he had been where he was supposed to be, and doing what he was supposed to be doing. While there is a time and a place for rest, and it is important for us to care for our health and our bodies, there is also a great danger in avoiding responsibilities and remaining idle. Charles Spurgeon said, “Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the idle.” When we are not doing what we should, we are opening the door to all kinds of trouble. We must never forget that we have an active, aggressive adversary who is constantly looking for ways to bring us down. Peter, who knew about failing to be alert to Satan’s attacks—if he had watched and prayed with Jesus instead of falling asleep, he might have claimed the Lord rather than denying Him—wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Today’s Growth Principle:  The devil does not take days off, and we cannot afford to help him by being idle when we should be working.