Just A Touch

Luke 8:42-48

Have you ever struggled, dealing with a physical or mental condition for about a week or two? I can only imagine, whatever it was you dealt with brought only misery and headaches, while you prayed fervently for God to relieve you of your condition, and bring healing to your body, and peace to your mind. The moment your issue was fully removed, I’m apt to believe you felt a sense of joy, the likes of which you haven’t felt in a long time. Now, take a moment to revisit that temporary condition, and imagine suffering with it for 12 years! Yeah, 12 looooooong years. This was the case with the woman in our text.

For 12 years, the Bible mentions this woman had an issue of blood, that could not be resolved by conventional means. After spending all her money on medical treatments with multiple physicians, the woman’s condition only grew worse! I can’t even begin to fathom how this woman felt, while going through a seemingly endless season of suffering. After placing all her trust in those who were trained to study and understand the human body, the woman’s faith in physicians had no doubt run out.

One day, the woman who had a suffered a physical ailment for over 4,000 days, heard about Jesus. The Scriptures aren’t descriptive on what she heard, or who she heard it from, but whatever she was told, was enough to move her to seek this Jesus.

Jesus had just returned from casting a legion of devils from a man on the other side of the sea, and was greeted by a great crowd of people, who were awaiting His return. As the crowd continued to swell around Jesus, the woman with the issue of blood arrived, then pressed her way through to get to Jesus. She said, “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.” That’s what you call faith in action. The woman had no other options to turn to, because everyone and everything she tried failed. But, the instant she touched the border of Jesus’ garment, the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Twelve dreadful years of excruciating pain and suffering, was gone in an instant! Not only was the woman astonished, but the Son of God literally felt virtue leave His body, after the woman’s touch. It was the woman’s faith that made her whole, and Jesus was pleased to see another body and soul healed by the power of God.

While we may not have a similar condition as the woman in our lesson, we too struggle with other things that seem to weigh us down. The power of God is still relevant today, as it was during the time when Jesus walked the earth, but the key to overcoming our struggles is, placing all our faith, trust, and confidence in the power of God, knowing that He alone can deliver us, and free us from all that we may experience in our earthly bodies.

Foolish Gospel

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Men who refuse to believe in God, consider the Gospel message foolishness. Also, what these same men believe in, will determine their overall perspective on life. A fool is incapable of retaining the knowledge of God in their hearts, because they lack the desire to understand the reality of God’s sovereignty, and prefer to remain free of holy standards. Men reject God, because they enjoy the mental freedom to live as they please, but their ignorance will inevitably be their demise (if they die in their sinful state).

Jesus commissioned His disciples to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15-16). God often gets blamed for man’s downfall, but when people willingly reject His free gift of salvation, they set themselves up for a life of shame and misery.

In our text, the apostle Paul expounded on the fact that God’s foolishness is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. In other words, the message of the death of Christ for man’s sins sounds foolish to all who don’t believe, but Jesus arose from the grave, and His resurrection revealed His power over death, and that same power will save those who believe, from eternal death. The simplicity of this fact causes many to refuse to accept God, but if they come out of their state of pride and rebellion, God will allow for them to receive His wisdom, that will enable them to grow in knowledge and understanding of His wonderful, powerful, and saving Word!

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Dust In The Wind

Matthew 6:16-21

Fasting, is a spiritual tool that has been utilized for centuries by men and women of God, that has helped to strengthen their focus on the Lord’s will for their lives. The traditional fasting method involved putting aside natural food for a time period, so that one could fine tune their spiritual hunger for the things of God. Fasting according to Scripture, has ALWAYS yielded amazing benefits to those who endured, but to those who took it lightly, they had far different rewards. God’s desire for His people is, that we maintain focus on pleasing Him, but when we do things to gain the attention of men, God will withhold what He had planned to bestow upon us, until we rectify our approach.

Another benefit associated with fasting is, it helps the believer concentrate more on the value of eternal treasures, rather than earthly ones. Have you ever considered the fact that all the things you deem valuable, and keep stored in special places in your home or somewhere else, will someday be either stolen, or corrupted by natural decay? Yeah, those 200 dollar autographed Jordans, or Lebrons, that are kept in a glass case in your trophy room, won’t be worth a hill of beans, sooner or later. Men today place value in cars, clothes, jewelry, money, precious stones, animal skins, and all types of carnal things, that will soon lose all its value. Knowing that our earthly treasures will someday be blown away in the winds, should provoke men to invest in heavenly treasures instead.

There’s a scene in Marvel’s Avengers Infinity War movie, where Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Peter Parker (Spiderman), shared a moment of sad embrace. A few seconds after Thanos snapped his fingers, Tony found himself holding on to the ashes of the young Peter, as he had been snapped out of existence. In a similar fashion, all the things we hold on to in this life, that have no spiritual value, will be turned to ashes, so why devote so much time into storing them up? Rather than selfishly accumulate mounds of earthly treasures, I suggest we do things in this life that will add to our heavenly rewards. For example, love your neighbors and your enemies. Do good to all men. Take care of, and provide for the poor and needy. Share your experiences and knowledge with the younger generation. Always invest your time into doing things that please God. This way, there will be no doubt He’ll have heaps of treasures awaiting you in the future.

Walk in love,

Ell