Who Touched Me?

In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” Luke 8:43-45

Who touched me? Maybe He was really saying, “Who touched my heart?  Who drew from my well of compassion?” Jesus’ questions are always much deeper than the words spoken. He knew the crowd was jostling around Him. Many were bumping into Him by accident, but only one touched Him on purpose! This was no ordinary pat-on-the-back touch. This was a touch of desperate need! Jesus knew the difference.

How often do we come to Jesus almost by accident or with a passing jostle? Oh, there You are, Jesus. So glad I bumped into You today. I’m going Your way, please don’t mind if I get ahead of You, or lag a little behind. I really do want to see what You’ll do next, but my schedule is full today. Or do we push through the crowd of busy schedules, tough circumstances, physical or emotional pain, confusion or disappointment because we know if we can just touch Him, help and healing will come.  Just touching the hem of His garment with our faith will be enough.

Dear Father, please help us to slow down and realize that just one touch of your garment first thing each day will provide the strength, healing and wisdom we need to navigate the day successfully.

This Little Light of Mine

Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. Luke 11:34

Jesus is sharing how our light is to shine so others can see the wonder of joy and belief we have in Him. If we open our eyes wide to the love and wonder of Christ, then our whole body will be filled with a light that others can’t miss.

I read once that you could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. Look at any picture and cover up the face except the eyes and you could see into a person’s heart. I have tried this, and I believe it is true. Some were smiling with their mouths, but their eyes were sad. This was so true during the days when we were wearing masks, when often all we saw was the eyes. You could still tell if a person was angry, sad or happy.

The eyes truly are a window to the soul. If our eyes are wide open to God’s Word and we believe His truth, our eyes will show it. The more light we seek from God’s word, the more light we will have in our own lives to share with others. We must never let our light grow dim or go out or we will stumble through the darkness and leave others in the dark. What do our eyes say about our soul?  How much light from God’s word are we allowing in our lives? How much light is shining out of us to light the path for others to find Jesus, the Light of the World?

Father, may Your light shine bright in us to lead others to You. Help us to bring Your light into the darkness around us. Even a small candle can light a dark cave. Help us to realize we don’t need to carry around a spotlight to blind people but just let our little light shine constantly for You.  May the light of Your truth shine into our hearts and out to others. May we remember it is YOUR light that must shine through us! 

He sees Your Tears

As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. Luke 7:12

Jesus and His disciples were going from village to village preaching, teaching and healing. A widow’s son had died, and she was on her way to bury him. When Jesus saw the funeral possession, He was broken-hearted and raised the son back to life.

Sometimes, depending on how we were taught, we think of God as sitting on a huge throne waiting for us to sin again and shaking His head at our failures. Or we may think that He is so busy caring out His plan in the world that He doesn’t have time to be concerned about our issues great or small. When I read those words, “His heart broke,” I was reminded of my daughter’s death. As I lay prostrate pounding the floor crying out to Him my “whys” and ‘what did I do wrong,” I remember hearing Him very clearly speak to my heart. He said that He was crying with me and reminded me that he understood as His Son died too. That was the first time I realized God suffered grief and pain. I just assumed it was all in His will, so He would just pat us on the head telling us it would all be made right someday. But that day I realized when God made us, he gave us all the emotions He had, so we could truly represent Him to a lost and dying world. At that moment I realized I could grieve and express my emotions, even screaming at Him, and not pretend because I was a Christian, I was to joyfully accept her death as His will. His heart breaks with ours, He grieves with us! This was not part of His original plan for us. I felt His tears mingle with mine that day.

Father, thank You for revealing this truth to me, Your heart breaks with mine! And that tells me that You also rejoice with me and understand all my emotions! You share my pain, my grief and my joy. And, yes, You tell me I will see my precious Amy again someday. You are such a compassionate and caring Father!

No Longer a Slave

5Then he said, “The Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.      Luke 6:5

Observation:

Way too much in this chapter to settle on one verse, but this one sets up the rest by saying the Son of Man is not a slave but the Master of all commands and rules! He then goes on to list all the areas that would infuriate the religious leaders who had made it impossible for anyone to obey all of them. Jesus’ standards broke all their rules.

  • Healing on the Sabbath.
  • Blessings when you speak truth and are cut down for it.
  • Never be satisfied with where you are spiritually.
  • Expect suffering in life.
  • Don’t live for approval of others.
  • Look for the best in others; do not criticize.
  • Love your enemies and do not mistreat those who take advantage of you.
  • Be generous in your attitude and treatment of others when they are down and out.
  • Get rid of your” I-know-better-than-you” mentality.
  • Stop saying “yes” and never doing anything to obey that “yes”.

I can see why the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus. The more rules they added, the more Jesus reversed them! It makes me think of the of the rules we have today. Each church seems to have its own set of dos and don’ts. You cannot even find many of them in scripture literally or in principle. The list above is much harder to live out because they concern the heart, not the ability to keep rules. You cannot fake these for long as truth always comes out when we least expect it. I need to realize as hard as they are, Jesus set me free to live out His Word. He set me free to live completely contrary to the world and to prepare me for my eternal home where these commands will be natural. If I am not comfortable with them here, will I even have an opportunity to live with them in heaven? Hum??

Father, this entire chapter is stuffed with what you expect of us, as well as, promises of Your rewards if we obey!  Being treated well, if I treat others well. Being given grace because I give others grace. Being able to stand against the storms of life if I build my life on Your Word. And following Your example of freedom to do good. I realize today when I say, “What would Jesus do,” I am saying,” What would love do?” Jesus, help me to live in the freedom You died to give me!! Forgive me when I allow myself to be bound by chains of worldly thinking and behaviors. I need You, oh, I need You!!

Don’t Tempt God

“For the third test the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, “If you are God’s Son, jump. It’s written, isn’t it, that ‘he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone’?” Yes,” said Jesus, “and it’s also written, ‘Don’t you dare tempt the Lord your God.’“ Luke 4:9-12

Jesus had just spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness before the beginning of His public ministry. At the end of that time the devil came to tempt Him, to try to take advantage of His weakened physical state. His third test was to tempt Him to prove He was God’s Son by showing off God’s power for selfish purposes. How easy that would have been and put Satan in His place immediately! End of story! But He knew that would have been an abuse of God’s power and was not God’s will for His life. He states very clearly, we are not to test God.

Everything Jesus did was in obedience to God and to glorify Him, not put Him on display for His own benefit and to prove a point about Himself. Jesus spoke to me several months ago about this very thing and this is a strong reminder. He showed me I am not to ask Him to do for me that which I can do for myself. I am not to ask Him to heal my body and continue to abuse it. I am not to ask Him to heal my finances and continue to spend needlessly. I am not to pray for God’s protection when He has provided the way to protect me. Now, that does not mean I don’t pray for my health, finances or protection, while obeying His commands and using what He provides and watch him work in me as I walk in obedience. I know story after story of missionaries and saints who have walked into danger for the sake of Christ and salvation of others, not knowing if they will survive or perish, but only that they must obey. They don’t have the “watch what God will do for me to prove a point” attitude, but with a humble, obedient heart.

Lord, help me not to point my finger at others for their lack of faith, but to check my own attitude as I pray and obey. Anything good that comes from my prayers is because of You and not about me! When I am tempted to display my faith and Your power to prove what a great Christian I am, I violate Your command to not test the Lord, God, examine my heart and help me to trust and obey and leave the results and glory to You. Help me not to parade my faith, but Your faithfulness!

Radiant Faith

The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! 1 Thessalonians 1:7

Paul was bragging about the Thessalonians converts who had accepted the Word and stood firm in their faith. The world around them could see the change and news spread of their radiant faith.

Those words, “You’re the message,” caught my attention this morning. Their lives were so full of Christ that they became the gospel to their world. They were following the example that Paul, Timothy and Silas had taught them. These were Paul’s children (disciples) in Christ; therefore they exhibited that same joy that Paul had. They accepted the truth from his lips and his example before them.

 This is my desire for my life and my church, that others see Christ through us and will join with us in following Christ. As Blackaby expressed so well this morning,” we are not perfect or flawless,” but like Peter, I pray we are continually running toward Christ. Wherever we see Him at work, we want to run to be there with Him.

Jesus, help me to be a world changer. Help our church to be full of world changers. Oh, Father, we can’t change even one person – ourselves- but you can change us and use us to be an example that others want to follow as we follow YOU! To me, that’s so scary, but I know it’s not about me but what you are doing in me that attracts others to You!  I yield this day to You for Your purposes and Your glory. Work in my mind today and give me clear thinking. Thank You for loving and transforming me to reflect Your glory!

Worship or Duty

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

God who is the Spirit and author of truth must be worshipped in spirit and truth.

I am reminded that in the OT God warned his people about their worship practices. They would come every Sabbath with their sacrifices and offerings and go through the proper ritual of sacrifice to fulfill the law. It became a duty and a habit. It lost it’s true meaning and God said he detested their sacrifices. He desired a sacrifice of a humble and repentant heart. He did not care what they were doing in the flesh (on the outside) if their hearts did not match their actions.

God is a Spirit and we too are spirits. You do realize when we die and are called to the judgment, we will not have our fleshly bodies, we will be in our spirit bodies. Beyond my comprehension…  but this speaks to me about my worship not just on Sunday when we gather for cooperate worship, but daily when I worship, do I do so in spirit and truth or out of obligation and duty? 

You know when you have connected to His Spirit. The Spirit bears witness with my spirit……  How many times do I go through the motions and look holy on the outside but inside am distracted, anxious to get on with it, coming to Him to placate my mother’s voice constantly echoing in my head, “Do not leave the house until you have had your devotions.”   Sometimes my spirit connects immediately, but other times I find I must quiet my spirit to hear His.  Much to ponder again today, Jesus!

Lord, I want to worship You in spirit and in truth!  I want to hear Your whisper and be so sensitive to Your Spirit that we are in constant connection, consciously and subconsciously.  I want to see beyond the flesh and be able to discern how to best cooperate with what You are doing in my life and those You have entrusted to my care.  Holy Spirit be my counselor and guide. Be my radar and Sonscreen!  Be my SBI (Spirit Bureau of Investigation).  Please transform me into Your likeness. Amen!

The Aroma of Fresh Bread

“Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time!”35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry”… John 6:31-35

Jesus had met the needs of the people for physical nourishment with the loaves and fish. Because their physical needs were met, they followed Him. But when he began talking about their spiritual needs they were not as thrilled. Earlier in John, Jesus says that those who worship Him must worship “in spirit and in truth.” He continues this theme here as He uses bread as His metaphor. They knew full well the importance of bread to physical life but failed to make the connection to their spiritual life.

We have been decaying since the day we were born. No matter how well we take care of this physical body, it continues to decay. Nothing can stop that process!  So, Jesus is offering them hope and a future, not in the physical but the eternal.  Eating His Bread and drinking in His Spirit is necessary if we want to live with Him forever in heaven. Obviously, this crowd was still concerned only with the physical and when He moved to the spiritual, they left Him to continue searching for another to meet their needs.

 We are so often centered on what Jesus can do for our bodies, our families, our finances, our earthly concerns that we overlook the most important need that He came to meet, our need for forgiveness and eternal life.  The need to love others and put their needs ahead of our own.  The need to put God first and see and act as His hands and feet in this hungry world. We need Him to meet our daily physical needs, yes, but only to point to the reality of our spiritual needs and prepare us for eternity.

Oh, Jesus, we have been taught to seek and serve You, but not for our physical and temporal health and success only, but to live in the spiritual reality that seeks to sacrifice so that others may come to this truth here and now and experience hope and nourishment as they, too, feed on the Bread of Life in community with all believers. May we drink of the Living Water and partake of the Bread of Life and share it with others both now and forever, we pray.

Calm and Quiet

 On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. John 18:1-2

Judas knew exactly where to find Jesus because he had been there many times with Him.

There is much to chew on in this chapter, but as I read this morning I was struck once again with Jesus’ desire to be alone with His disciples. We know He can speak in any place or situation but very often we find Jessus and his disciples in the mountains, by the seashore, in the olive groves, places of quiet beauty. These places that display His awesome creative beauty seem to draw you into a meditative mindset. It speaks loudly of Jesus desire to spend quality time with His disciples in a setting that soothes and calms the spirit and is free from the distractions of the daily grind. This passage makes me want to paint a beautiful outdoor scene on my wall, play some ocean sounds, turn on the sunlamp and sit on a blanket on the floor to have my devotions each day. 😊  (I would not be able to get back up.)

Seriously, I love to sit out on my deck in the warmer weather and even though there are city sounds around me, it is easy to focus on the blue sky, listen to the birds, watch a squirrel scurry across the lawn, and know that my God created and controls it all. Somehow belief, trust, and assurance come more easily to my heart in that setting. I feel a closer connection when I am out with a clear view of the heavens, even on a cloudy day!

Lord Jesus, thank You for the reminder that the things you created lead me back to You. You want to spend time with me in a quiet place away from distractions, and although You can speak at any time or place, in any situation, quiet times are a must. Thank You, Jesus for meeting me in my quiet place today. Thank You for Your Sonshine that warms me no matter the time, place or situation. I love You.

But, When God…

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace,  Galatians 1:13-15 NIV

Paul reminds his readers what kind of a Jew he was, devout and passionate to the extreme. He was jealous for the Jewish law and traditions. But when God….. When God revealed Himself to Paul, Paul became a meek and mild, laid back follower of Jesus Christ. NOT!!!  Most of the books in the New Testament tell us about Paul’s intensity for Jesus and the Gentiles. When Jesus redeemed Paul, he changed his heart and the very core of who Paul was, but he did not change Paul’s quirks, intelligence, curiosity or passion for a cause. He created Paul with those characteristics and they were the very things that made Paul, Paul. He did change Paul’s perspective; He redeemed Paul’s distinguishing characteristics. He took the old Paul, enveloped Him in love and then set him free to be himself with love for Jesus as his newest distinguishing characteristic.

When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, it was so easy for me to think that I needed to be like Mary, Sarah, or Ruth, or other great women of the Bible. I thought I needed to act just like the best, brightest and most popular Christian woman in my life at the time (often, my pastor’s wife). It took a long time for me to realize that God made me exactly the way He wanted me to be, with all the quirks and idiosyncrasies that made me, me! But He certainly intended that His love would shine through those traits, and that I would grow in my love for Him and the expression of that love to others.

Thank You, Jesus, for my “But when God” moment. I praise You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, with all my uniqueness and peculiarities. Purify my heart and personality to reflect Your love and holiness, I pray.