BE VALIDATED

The English word 'valid' originated from the Latin word validus which means strong. Uniquely, the opposite of validus is invalidus (same as English word invalid) which means weak.  The difference between validus and invalidus is the addition of just two letters at the beginning of validus changing the entire meaning and direction of the word. God is our validator because He is our creator. He made us in His image and likeness and built in our DNA - His strength, destiny and purpose. Conversely, Satan, the thief, as Jesus called him in John 10:10 has only one strategy which is "to kill, steal and destroy." Satan hates God's creation, especially humanity, because we remind Satan of our creator. So Satan's very existence is filled with unbridled animosity and enmity toward God and man; thus, Satan's primary focus is to interject  the unexpected, unintended, and undeserved with the intent to destroy LIFE - Satan hates life! Satan's sole mission is to CHANGE YOUR VALIDUS TO INVALIDUS and he has succeeded greatly because the world is full of people living in a place called IN-VALID because of something that happened early on in life or perhaps even later in life. Regardless of when, the enemy has succeeded in redirecting God's intended path and purpose for so many lives but the good news is that God always has and always will have a plan to bring resue, recovery and above all VALIDATION.  God has a best, a perfect plan in which He promises to all who will come to Him, trust in Him and allow Him to restore the years the enemy has stolen and repair the damage the enemy has inflicted. God promises, I know the the plans I have for you, DECLARES THE LORD, plans for good, not for evil, to give you a future and hope (Jer.29:11). Just as Satan's mission is to destroy, it is the mission of Jesus Christ destroy the works of Satan (1 Jn.3:8) and bring healing to the multitudes!!

Our heavenly Father sent His word to heal us (Ps. 107:20) in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to validate the in-valid, to undo the curse and to restore us to paths of righteousness. Whether you are one who overtly wears the sign, invalidus, as a scarlet letter,  or another who has managed to hide behind a false exterior, made with your own hands, plans and good works, God knows your heart and the actual state in which you live. Just as when Adam and Eve fell in the garden from a state of VALID to INVALID, the first thing they did was to attempt a cover-up by making with their own hands an exterior to camouflage their hearts. When God came to them (Gen. 3) after the fall He asked  Adam "where are you?" It wasn't as if an omnipresent God did not know where they were in regards to their physical presence, God wanted to know where they where in regards to their spiritual position. He wanted to know if Adam and Eve where willing to come out from behind the "scarlet letter" or the "exterior camo" and embrace Him, the VALIDATOR. Immediately, after Adam and Eve engaged God and came out into the open, sin and all, God through the act of shedding innocent blood, made a covering out of HIS HANDS for Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21). In that very act, God revealed His plan to cover, redeem and VALIDATE, or make strong again, the IN-VALID. The greatest news on earth is not that Jesus was but still is the validator of the in-valid!!

In John 5:1-6, there is an amazing and faith building story of a man, the Bible calls an in-valid man, who had been in that condition for 38 years. We do not know if he was born that way or if it happened later in life, but we do know that for 38 years this man lived in a perpetual state of weakness with little hope for change. Everyday this man sat around a pool, called Bethesda, with many other invalids. The Bible says that the angel of the LORD would come periodically and "stir" the waters and those that got in the waters during this time were supernaturally healed. I wonder how many church attenders actually believe that the same God that stirred the waters of healing is STILL STIRRING THE WATERS TODAY? Nevertheless, Jesus approached the in-valid man, and asked him, "Do you want to be healed?"
I don't know about you but the answer to that question would seem obvious; however, the man's response was not so obvious, "Sir, I have no MAN to help me get in when the waters are stirred." Jesus was not asking this question because He wondered if the man really wanted to be VALIDATED, Jesus asked because He wanted the man to redirect his faith from man to Him, the VALIDATOR. Anytime God wants you and I to redirect our faith in order to receive a miracle, God sends His word because "faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God" (Rm. 10:17).

At this moment, Jesus was challenging the man's staus quo. Jesus wanted the man to get real for a moment and truly contemplate the opportunity that was standing in front of him. Jesus knew the man had become so accustom to disappointment that He wanted him to focus his faith yet one more time. However, this time no man would be necessary because the the God-Man, the Word made flesh was extending an invitation for the in-valid man to be validated. When God extends an invitation or declares His will, He does so through His word. His word is what framed the universe (Heb. 1:3) and created everything from nothing (Gen 1). Therefore the word that He sends reveals the purpose for which it is sent and is empowered by the very life and breath of God to perform that purpose. When God's word is received and acted upon the supernatural takes place.

After challenging the man's staus quo, Jesus looks him in the eye and declares His word, "Get up, and take up your bed and walk (Jn. 5:8)!!"  The Bible says, "AT ONCE the man was VALIDATED and took up his bed and walked. " The man did exactly what the word declared.

The same word sent 2,000 years ago from the mouth of Almighty God are just as alive, powerful and directed today. God still sends His word to heal because Jesus has not changed His mind, His ways nor His word. He is the same yesterday, today and will be forever. I believe that His word still works for those who will receive it and act on it just as the in-valid man did and received validation. Maybe, He is challenging your status quo. Maybe you need to be VALIDATED in some area of your life and I believe you will if you receive His word by faith today in Jesus name.