* Bodacious

Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”

Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

Mark 10:46-51 NLT

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I love the audacity of Bartimaeus. He shouts for Jesus, and when the crowd tries to stop him, he shouts louder, "JESUS!" Then he throws off his coat - his beggar rags - and comes to Jesus. He went from blind beggar to Bodacious Bartimaeus! Mercy AND healing!! Don't you love that?!? 

It's symbolic of our own experience. We walk around blind to the goodness and holiness of God, then we call out to Jesus - and we have our first choice. When the world tries to shout us down, do we give up or go on? If we shout the louder and get His attention, will we leave our rags behind - everything we've ever known - to get up and go on with Him? And if we get up, do we have an answer for His question - “What do you want me to do for you?”  

How bodacious are you?

Prayer:

Father,

          We want to see! Open our eyes to see what You have planned and purposed for our lives. Open our hearts to embrace all that You have planned. Cause us to be bodacious!! We want to see You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen