Tag Archives: Jesus

Lent, pt. 16

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Lent, pt. 14 was about Pain leading to Desperation.

Lent, pt. 15 dealt with the Problem and how it leads to Disillusionment.

This post, Lent, pt. 16, will show us how People can be a Distraction.

Our main character, the woman, was in Pain which led to the Problem.

Verse 27, in Mark 5, notes a turning point for this woman.

“When she heard about Jesus…”

Was it a neighbor? Perhaps Jesus was in her town and she heard the crowd.

How she heard of Jesus is does not really matter. The fact that she did hear of Him is of utmost importance.

Have you heard about Jesus? What an awesome and life-changing story!!!

Read the gospels. They give eye-witness accounts of His life.

Just reading about the life of Jesus could bring change in your own life. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

This woman still had the crowd in front of her. She had People to go through.

The People in this story are the Distractions of life.

Distractions could be:

  • temptations
  • work
  • hobbies
  • laundry
  • spouse
  • relationships
  • church
  • etc.

Just about anything could be a distraction.

If the devil is a magician, he is waving his left hand so we cannot see his right hand doing something else.

I believe that distraction is the biggest tool of Satan. That’s why I listed good things on that list along with the negative things.

If we get distracted, we are not as focused on God. If that happens, the door is now open for greater sin to come into our lives.

The woman in our story was focused though.

“…she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,…”

Meditate on those words. What type of struggle or pain did this woman endure to get to Jesus only to touch is robe?

What will you endure to get to Jesus?

woman with bleeding

Remember, she was desperate.

If you are desperate due to pain, don’t let it become a problem which will disillusion you. Fight your way through the people, which are distractions, until you get to Jesus.

And that is what I want to speak on tomorrow.

What do you call fighting the crowd until you see Jesus? Pursuit. 

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Lent, pt. 15

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We read yesterday how the woman, who was subject to bleeding, was in Pain.

In that pain, she was driven to desperation.

However, she soon had a Problem.

Reading Mark 5:25-34 can, again, give context.

If Pain=Desperation, then Problem=Disillusionment.

Here is what I mean.

Before she found Jesus, she tried normal methods to get healing.

Doctors, medicine, etc. But none of that was not working. In fact, she was getting worse.

This disillusionment with the world’s system can sneak up on us. This is what it might look like in today’s day:

     Going to the casino because you can’t make rent this month.

     Hiring a prostitute because you can’t find a wife.

     Leaving a job because you were treated unfairly.

     Breaking up with your boyfriend because of trust issues.

     There maybe more in your life. We all can have problems.

These circumstances become problems because we don’t go to Jesus first. 

The text says that the woman was going to doctors and getting worse before she ever heard of Jesus. She was disillusioned.

But thanks be to God because we have heard of Jesus.

Ironically, He may choose to use the very problems in our lives to bring about healing.

A doctor could do surgery.

An angry spouse could have a change of heart.

You could get a raise at work.

Life with Jesus does not exclude problems. Life with Jesus gives hope through problems.

It is okay to let you Pain push you towards Desperation.

But please don’t let your Problems bring about Disillusionment.

Tomorrow, you can come back to see what part the People will play in our narrative.

 

Lent, pt. 14

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To say that I am excited about this post would be an understatement.

excited

For me, this passage has been illuminated by God and I hope, in turn, that I can share that with you all.

To read the passage, go back and read Lent, pt. 13 please. That will set the stage.

To read all of Mark 5 and get the greater context, click here.

We have a woman. She is part of a large crowd and she has been subject to bleeding for twelve years. Quite an introduction!

She is in Pain. And, apparently, getting worse. For twelve years, she has been hurting. Exactly what this disease or sickness is, the bible is not clear. No matter, all we need to know is that she is pain. And again, a lot of it.

This woman’s pain is physical. But pain could also be mental, emotional, relational, or even spiritual.

Are you in pain today?

This woman’s pain pushed her to desperation. It took years for her to do something. And look what it got her. More on that in later posts.

All desperate people have something in common. They all do something.

***Are you desperate? Has your pain pushed you to a state of desperation?***

If so, what are you doing about it?

Truth is, we don’t need to wait twelve years to do something.

We can act today.

I am telling you that Jesus is right next to you. He is ready to speak or to listen. Whatever you need, He already knows it.

Tomorrow, we will take a look at what she did and why it was a Problem.

Lent, pt. 13

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As I mentioned yesterday, I want to share some thoughts on Mark 5.

Here are the verses:

“A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”” NIV Mark 5:24b-34

This is a somewhat familiar story. It might not rank with the feeding of the 5000 or David and Goliath, but it still has great meaning and potential for you and me.

This passage is multi-faceted so it will take a few days to get through it.

To start with, there is an overall aspect that is most important.

For the woman in the story, her goal was to get to Jesus.

Let that sink in.

Jesus was the goal.

For us, during this Lent season, Jesus should be our goal.

Whatever the pain, people, or problems that we encounter, Jesus is our aim.

As you sleep tonight, dream of that goal. That glorious goal of someday being with Jesus.

Ah, what a glorious day indeed.

See you tomorrow!

 

Lent, pt. 8

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God gave me a sign today.

I wait tables at the Olive Garden a few days a week.

og

I wouldn’t say it is rare but I don’t see people praying for their meals very often.

Today was different. It was a lady in her early thirties and, perhaps, her mother or even grandmother. Please forgive me if I am way off on these estimates.

After I had set down their salad, they bowed their heads and prayed. I was at another table so I don’t think they saw me.

Until I asked them permission to use their example in this blog.

Little did they know that earlier today, I had been thinking about the following verse:

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” NIV, Matthew 6:6 

Click here for the entire chapter.

There is much focus on the outward appearance when it comes to Lent.

What are you giving up?

Are you praying more?

Did you attend church/mass this week?

Those things are good so please keep doing them if you have started.

But don’t announce it.

By all means, keep praying at restaurants. These things speak volumes.

What I am saying is that being with Jesus will have a natural effect.

Spend time with Jesus and let him seep out of you.

Overflow with the Spirit because you have let him fill you.

Actions speak louder than words but silence shouts the loudest.

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” NIV, Acts 4:13

How loud are you talking?