Tag Archives: problem

Lent, pt. 18

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And with a final burst of strength, she extends her arm with fingers grasping until, finally, they close on cloth. The hem of His garment.

hem3

Instantly, she feels whole. Healed. Yes, the pursuit has wrought victory over pain!

Her faith was champion! She pursued and was now devoted.

What a story! It would be great if we all had success stories like this woman. After so much toil and suffering, the end of that season came and she was healed!

There was Pain for 12 years. Lent, pt 14

This led to Desperation. 

But, because she did not go to Jesus first, a Problem arose. Lent, pt. 15

And she became Disillusioned.

People were in her way. Lent, pt. 16

They were potential Distractions.

Nothing would stop her Pursuit. Lent, pt. 17

Her Determination was strong.

As we finish her story, Jesus speaks and this woman is healed.

What was the Product of this journey? Now, fully healed, she was Devoted to Jesus.

Sure, she may have been frightened because she did not ask permission or even speak to Jesus. She just reached out and grabbed his robe!

All of her fears or misgivings were dismissed after speaking with the Lord.

She became a devoted follower of Jesus. At least I think she did. The bible does not give us her story after this encounter. So dream with me…

When Jesus performed other miracles, she would be in the background affirming that Jesus is really doing this and it is not some magic trick.

Was she at the scene during one of the miraculous feedings? Can you imagine her sharing some bread with a friend and explaining her own healing?

Or, she was witnessing the death of her Lord. As he hung on the cross, she would urge those around her that this man is innocent. He is God! He healed me!

Sure, those are just speculations on my part but it is fun to think about the future when we see the present.

What is Jesus doing right now.? Will your future be affected by your present?

Simply put, are you devoted to Him?

I hope my words can spur you on to devotion.

Whatever phase (pain, problem, people, pursuit, or product) you are in, keep moving! Don’t let the devil win. Jesus already won. Just live it out.

As devoted followers of Jesus, we can change our world. After all, Jesus changed us first!

devoted

 

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. 

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!