Universal Utterings
for March 17, 2026
A Godcast
UniversalUtterings.Com
03-17-2026 John 5 v0116 Look You Are Well; Do Not Sin Anymore
The Gospel of John Chapter 5 Verse 1 thru 16
1 After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep [Gate] a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. 3 In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. 4 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” 13 The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. 14 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
In John 5:1-16, we encounter a powerful narrative that invites us to reflect deeply on our own desire for healing and wholeness. The story unfolds at the Pool of Bethesda, where a multitude of sick and suffering individuals lingered, hoping for the chance to be healed. Among them is a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. When Jesus sees him, He poses a profound question: “Do you want to be well?”
This question transcends the immediate context; it challenges us to examine our own lives. Do we truly desire to be healed, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually? The man responds with a litany of excuses, focusing on his inability to reach the water in time. This reflects a common human tendency—we often become so accustomed to our struggles that we forget the possibility of change. Jesus, however, cuts through the man’s excuses and commands him to stand up, take his mat, and walk. In this instant, the man’s life is transformed.
The invitation from Jesus to each of us remains: “Do you want to be well?” It’s a question that confronts our comfort zones and challenges us to let go of the familiar pain we cling to. Healing requires vulnerability and trust, and it may mean releasing what we’ve always known in exchange for something new and unknown.
So, as you reflect on this passage, consider your own journey. What responses echo in your heart? Will you accept Jesus’ invitation to healing? Are you ready to take up your mat and walk into a new life, free from the burdens that have held you captive? In faith, embrace His promise of restoration, because Jesus desires to heal you. Amen.
Join me as we pray our daily prayer of forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer.
At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.
I am sorry Lord. I believe You died and rose for me. Please forgive me as I forgive others. I share You as my Lord and Savior seeking to live your Will in all things. Prayers for wife Toni and my mother Betty pray for our children especially our two oldest Alexandra & Allen Son in Law Mark Stern; Julian, Gabriel and Jeffrey and our grandchildren Oliver, Julian and Elliott. We pray for those we’ve said we’d pray for and those who’ve asked us to pray for them. We pray for the dying as we do each day Lord give them peace in their last breath. Novena Day Five for Repose of the Soul of Paula Templeton. We pray for Holy Mother Church. Our prayers for our niece Brittany. In Jesus Precious Blood by His Name we pray. Amen.
I am a poet obedient to Christ,
Catholic Evangelist Thomas Cruz†Wiggins
†Spirit led God inspired Christ fed†®
Ephesians 6:17-20
03-17-2026 John 5 v0116
**Look You Are Well; Do Not Sin Anymore **
In Jerusalem, by a pool so still,
A man lay waiting, his heart to fill.
Thirty-eight years, in shadows he dwelled,
By the waters’ edge, with hope upheld.
The multitude gathered, each seeking a chance,
For the angel would stir, and the waters would dance.
But this one, alone, with no one to aid,
Felt the weight of his sorrow, the dreams that had frayed.
Then came a stranger, a figure so bright,
“Do you want to be healed?” he asked, full of light.
With trembling voice, the man shared his pain,
“I have no one to help me, I strive in vain.”
The Savior commanded, “Rise, take your bed,
Walk forth with courage, leave doubt for dead.”
In that miraculous moment, the chains fell away,
He stood and he walked; it was a glorious day.
Yet when the day broke, the Pharisees frowned,
“For it’s the Sabbath!” their harsh voices pronounced.
“You carry your burden, how dare you defy?”
But the healed man smiled, “The healer is nigh.”
“Who told you to rise?” they cried in disdain,
But the man had no answer, only joy, not pain.
Then later, Christ found him, brought peace to his heart,
“Sin no more, lest a worse thing should start.”
In the echoes of mercy, love’s song did resound,
For the walls of tradition, He’d break to the ground.
In John’s sacred words, a truth to behold,
The power of grace, more precious than gold.
So let us remember, in moments of strife,
The promise of healing, the gift of new life.
For we all are like him, in need of embrace,
In the arms of the Savior, we’re met with His grace. Amen.
© Thomas Joe Cruz†Wiggins
March 17, 2026 @ 05:23 AM EST
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