Warrior EncouragementSample

Today is the last day of this Bible plan, but it's a great lesson in leadership. I love this story because who wouldn’t want to work for this type of leader, the Roman centurion! What a man of faith! First, he’s a Roman and not Jewish, yet he must have heard about Jesus and all the amazing miracles he had performed. This guy cared enough about his dying servant that he personally went out to ask Jesus for help. The centurion risked embarrassment, ridicule, and harm to his career by humbly making this request to Jesus. Watch what happens next!

Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” (Verses 7–9)

That’s ultimate faith, ya’ll! He believed Jesus didn't need to see his servant. He believed Jesus was able to heal him just by speaking the word alone. WOW! Even Jesus was amazed and said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” (Verse 10). And it later says that at that same hour, the man’s servant was healed.

So, what can you learn from this story?

· Good leaders take care of their people.

· We can go to Jesus for help at any time!

· There’s nothing too big or small to ask of Jesus.

· Jesus is willing to come to you.

· Faith stirs the heart of Jesus.

AWWWW!!! All good things must come to an end. I hope you’ve been encouraged through this Bible plan that you can call on God at any time. He loves you desperately. The Bible is His daily encouragement and spiritual food for you. Remember to seek God first in everything you do!

We don’t want to ever end a HealingStrong Bible plan without pointing you to our ultimate victor, Jesus. He fought for each of us by taking on the sins of the world and dying on the cross for you and me. Each of us is a sinner, and there’s nothing we can do to earn salvation on our own. But Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Son, took your sin and mine, and He died on the cross so that we could have eternal life. If you haven’t asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life and to forgive your sins, we want to invite you to ask Him now. Pray this prayer out loud:

“Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you prayed that prayer, please let us know! We’d love to hear from you! We have an amazing prayer team at HealingStrong that prays for each prayer request sent to us, and it would be our honor to lift your prayer need before our Heavenly Father. Please email us at prayerrequest@healingstrong.org and tell us how you heard about us.

Questions:

1. Have you ever worked for a leader like the centurion? What made that person a good leader?

2. What was your big takeaway from this entire Bible plan?

3. Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life?

Warrior Encouragement was written by Cheryl Collins, a volunteer with HealingStrong. Find more of our Bible plans at healingstrong.org/bible-plans.