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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture,

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Speaker 1: a calming, scripture centered devotional podcast designed to help you

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Speaker 1: end each day with God's word in your mind and

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Speaker 1: on your heart. Right after this short word from our sponsors,

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Speaker 1: we'll reflect on tonight's scripture Matthew nine. Tonight's scripture reflection

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Speaker 1: is written by Peyton Garland and read by leacher Art

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Speaker 1: Matthew nine. Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and

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Speaker 1: came to his own town. Some men brought to him

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Speaker 1: a paralyzed man lying on a mat. When Jesus saw

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Speaker 1: their faith, he said to the man, take heart, son,

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Speaker 1: your sins are forgiven. At this, some of the teachers

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Speaker 1: of the law said to themselves, this fellow is blaspheming.

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Speaker 1: Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, why do you entertain evil

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Speaker 1: thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier to say your

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Speaker 1: sins are forgiven, or to say get up and walk.

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Speaker 1: But I want you to know that the son of

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Speaker 1: Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. So he

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Speaker 1: said to the paralyzed man, get up, take your mat,

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Speaker 1: and go home. Then the man got up and went home.

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Speaker 1: When the crowds saw this, they were filled with them all,

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Speaker 1: and they praised God who had given such authority to man.

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Speaker 1: As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man

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Speaker 1: named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me,

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Speaker 1: he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

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Speaker 1: While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax

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Speaker 1: collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

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Speaker 1: When the Pharisees saw this, they asked the disciples, why

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Speaker 1: does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners. On

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Speaker 1: hearing this, Jesus said, it is not the healthy who

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Speaker 1: need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn

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Speaker 1: what this means. I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I

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Speaker 1: have not come to call the righteous but sinners. Then

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Speaker 1: John's disciples came and asked him, how is it that

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Speaker 1: we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do

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Speaker 1: not fast. Jesus answered, how can the guests of the

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Speaker 1: bridegroom morn while he is with them? The time will

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Speaker 1: come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, then

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Speaker 1: they will fast. No one sows a patch of unshrunk

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Speaker 1: cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull

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Speaker 1: away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do

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Speaker 1: people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do,

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Speaker 1: the skins will burst, the wine will run out, and

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Speaker 1: the wineskins will be ruined. Now they pour new wine

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Speaker 1: into new wineskins, and both are preserved. While he was

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Speaker 1: saying this, a synagogue came and knelt before him and said,

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Speaker 1: my daughter has just died. But come and put your

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Speaker 1: hand on her, and she will live. Jesus got up

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Speaker 1: and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then,

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Speaker 1: a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,

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Speaker 1: came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.

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Speaker 1: She said to herself, if I only touch his cloak,

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Speaker 1: I will be healed. Jesus turned and saw her. Take heart, daughter.

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Speaker 1: He said, your faith has healed you, and the woman

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Speaker 1: was healed at that moment. When Jesus entered the synagogue

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Speaker 1: leader's house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes,

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Speaker 1: he said, go away, the girl is not dead but asleep,

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Speaker 1: but they laughed at him. After the crowd had been

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Speaker 1: put outside, he went in and took the girl by

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Speaker 1: the hand, and she got up. News of this spread

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Speaker 1: through all that region. As Jesus went on from there,

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Speaker 1: two blind men followed him, calling out, have mercy on us,

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Speaker 1: son of David. When he had gone indoors, the blind

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Speaker 1: men came to him, and he asked them, do you

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Speaker 1: believe that I am able to do this? Yes, Lord,

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Speaker 1: they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, according

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Speaker 1: to your faith, let it be done to you, and

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Speaker 1: their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, see that

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Speaker 1: no one knows about this, But they went out and

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Speaker 1: spread the news about him all over that region. While

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Speaker 1: they were going out, a man who was demon possessed

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Speaker 1: and could not talk, was brought to Jesus, and when

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Speaker 1: the demon was driven out, the man who had been

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Speaker 1: mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, nothing like

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Speaker 1: this has ever been seen in Israel. But the Pharisee said,

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Speaker 1: it is by the prince of demons that he drives

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Speaker 1: out demons. Jesus went through all the towns and villages,

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Speaker 1: teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the

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Speaker 1: Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw

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Speaker 1: the crowds. He had compassion on them because they were

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Speaker 1: harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he

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Speaker 1: said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the

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Speaker 1: workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,

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Speaker 1: to send out workers into his harvest field. My weaknesses,

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Speaker 1: both physical and spiritual, are never more prevalent than at night,

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Speaker 1: as my mind attempts to wind down but relentlessly runs

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Speaker 1: through a checklist of the day's failures. Headaches, backaches, and

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Speaker 1: heavy feet scream that I'm aging and certainly not carving

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Speaker 1: out adequate time to stretch and exercise. Thoughts of how

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Speaker 1: many times I lost my temper with my son, took

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Speaker 1: the easy route with his meals, or chose my wants

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Speaker 1: over his needs made me question why God thought it

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Speaker 1: was a good idea to bless me with a child

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Speaker 1: and another on the way. Here in Matthew nine, we

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Speaker 1: see Jesus healing the physically sick, but we also recognize

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Speaker 1: that those who are questioning Jesus's motives are sick in

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Speaker 1: heart and soul. Everyone he encounters in this passage desperately

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Speaker 1: needs his compassion, healing, and grace, But thankfully, as we

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Speaker 1: read in Second Corinthians twelve ten in our weaknesses, Christ's

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Speaker 1: power and goodness are made strong. Isaiah forty six' four

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Speaker 1: reminds us that when our bodies can't take another's, step

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Speaker 1: he carries. Us and we learn In luke fifteen four

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Speaker 1: through seven that when our hearts go, astray whether by

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Speaker 1: ignorance or sheer, force his compassion is espirate to forgive

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Speaker 1: and restore. Us, lord as the sunsets and our hearts grow,

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Speaker 1: anxious grant us the freedom and strength to accept your.

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Speaker 1: Compassion for those of us who wrestle with self, guilt

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Speaker 1: may we remember that The gospel has never been about our, faults,

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Speaker 1: fears and. Failures The bible makes it clear that we

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Speaker 1: don't have the power to change the, ordinary devastating story

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Speaker 1: we crafted for. Ourselves, instead the theme of life and

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Speaker 1: its purpose has always been the, unmatchable inconceivable love that

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Speaker 1: you lavish on your imperfect. Children scripture is unabashed in

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Speaker 1: sharing this wild plot line that not only transform our,

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Speaker 1: hearts but will one day heal the world of all

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Speaker 1: its frailties and. Failures whether we're battling weaknesses of the

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Speaker 1: body or, soul remind us that your grace not only

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Speaker 1: sustains but transforms. Us you are, patient you are, kind

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Speaker 1: and you are readily available to heal our weary hearts

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Speaker 1: and worn. Bodies please let us rest in this beautiful.

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Speaker 1: Truth thank you for who you are and for the

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Speaker 1: healing in your almighty. Hands. Amen thank you for listening

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Speaker 1: to Your Nightly. Scripture tonight's scripture was read from The

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Speaker 1: New International version By. Biblica all rights. Reserved if tonight's

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Speaker 1: episode blessed, you be sure to follow the show On

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Speaker 1: Apple podcasts so your Next nightly scripture is ready when you.

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Speaker 1: Are Your Nightly scripture is a production Of Life audio

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Speaker 1: And Salem. Media thank you and we'll see you. Tomorrow

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Speaker 1: night