Luke 8 records the story of the woman who had
been suffering from constant bleeding for 12 years, for which there
was no cure. As Jesus pressed into the crowd on His way to heal a man's
daughter who was about 12 and dying, this woman approached Jesus from
behind and touched the fringe of His robe. Feeling the healing power
immediately released from him, Jesus asks, "Who touched Me?" Due to the
high volume of people, His disciples couldn't answer that question, and
so again we see Him communicating the deliberate focus on His power
decrease.
Realizing that she could not stay hidden, the
woman began to tremble and fell at her knees in front of Him. The whole
crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him and that she had been
immediately healed upon touching the Masters robe. Jesus' response is
found in Luke 8:48, "Daughter, your faith has made you well… Go in
peace."
The Greek rendered from, "has made you well", actually translates
to, "has made you whole."… Her healing was complete! The Greek is
translated in the same way to meaning, "to save." Saving here suggests
that the woman's faith also lead to spiritual salvation.
This
woman's belief in Jesus and in His ability to heal her, is to be
admired. The point is in what was touched. The text tells us that she
touched only the corner of his garment. This alone is proof that the
slightest contact with Christ heals the body. Charles Spurgeon tells us,
"The faintest communication heals the soul. "
Notice
that her touch of Him was intentional and voluntary. She was not held
against her will, and the touch was not accidental. It was not passive,
but active! And it was done under great difficulty as the crowds
pressed in making a personal encounter with Jesus that much more
difficult yet that much more divine!
This woman
didn't utilize fancy words or arrogant ways to demonstrate her faith.
Her approach of Jesus was as private and personal as was the condition
she'd been suffering with for over a decade.
We must replace profession of lips with confession of life!
- Wendy
In 2 Samuel we see David has sinned against
God by conducting a census of all the tribes of Israel. The nation
hated census' as they meant the meddling in their private affairs, and
usually signified a prelude to taxation or forced military service.
Because of his disobedience, God sent a plague for 3 days on the land.
David was willing to suffer by taking personal responsibility for the
plagues, and was doing what the prophet, Gad, was asking him to do...
build an alter of sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
While Araunah was willing to GIVE him what
he needed, David insisted on paying for it. I believe that David
understood that anything less than exhaustive effort into sincere
sacrifice was dishonorable to God.
We have no real
knowledge of Christianity when our primary concern is to make it cheap
and easy for ourselves.... when serving God and doing good to others
pleases us best only when it costs the least amount of pain and money.
David was a sinner, but he was also described as a "man after God's own heart." He was a sinner, yes, but he never refused to take full ownership of the sin and always demanded his best for his God.
Real sacrifice costs us something. Divine devotion comes with a sacrificial price tag.
And one look around this world demonstrates the lack of the sacrifices we are unwilling to make. The general unwillingness to sacrifice anything for fear of losing ANY amount of self-comfort is astonishing to me. And it breaks my heart. Real love... Christian love... a love spoken not just by words, but by life... is a love that's primary attribute is sacrifice. We cannot fully yield to a loving and grace-giving God without it.
While many... MANY (even in our Christian circles) are satisfied to serve God in the cheapest manner possible, we ought to be committed to serving Him sacrificially.
One
question we should ask ourselves daily is this, "Is my spiritual life
costing me anything?"
Is your spiritual life costing you anything? Christianity that costs us nothing is:
- Unreal. Authentic Christ-following begins and is maintained at the cost of much thought, commitment, and prayer. When it genuinely exists, it stirs the heart to zeal and passion and generosity is naturally poured out as a result. Love of God and sincere devotion to Him is instinctively evidenced in works and gifts.
- Unacceptable to God. God detests unwillingness, lukewarmness, and anything that is contrary to His will.
- Un-fruitfulness. Vain gift-giving and non-sacrificial offerings do not elevate and improve the worshipper.
Deuteronomy 16:16 says, "...all men must appear
before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not
appear before the Lord without a gift for Him."
Our service to God is
evidenced in the way in which we sacrifice!
Service demands sacrifice.
John 4:23 says this, "But the time is coming – indeed it's
here now – when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in
truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way."
The Message translates it, "It's who you are and the way you live that
count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of
truth. That's the kind of people the Father is looking for: those who
are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship."
What
stood out to me the most in this piece of scripture is the fact that the
Father is "looking for" worshippers. He's "seeking". In other words He
doesn't wait for us to come to Him… He seeks us out! He's not a God
who is sitting behind an intimidating audition table waiting for your 14
second rendering of some Broadway number, He's searching you out… He's
scouting and scooping up those with the greatest potential!
Our
God is looking for sincere worshipers. Those who worship from the
heart… from the soul. This is what distinguishes us from the rest.
I
read a few months ago on the recruitment/ scouting process of the NFL, and
how players ultimately land on each team's draft board. Seahawks GM,
John Schneider, who is responsible for reviewing scout picks, says this,
"In the realm of Scouting, the easiest things to do are the evaluations
of the guys… How he plays, what do you think his future holds, how high
his ceiling is, what his basement is. You can do all the work in the
world, you can do every psychological test you possibly can, but at the
end of the day, you don't truly know what's in a man's heart or how he's
going to react in a certain situation. The hardest thing we do is try
to figure out what's in a man's heart." And I believe God is looking for
the same thing in His recruitment of believers. What is in a person's
heart? And I believe His process for evaluating this involves observing
the way a person worships.
Scouts come out and they
find you… but they find you doing the thing most natural to you ("those
were simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship.")
God
is not holding auditions for performers… He's actively scouting for
prospects.
Paul and Silas. Wrongfully accused and
unjustifiably thrown in prison. And not just placed in a cell, but
beaten with rods, secured within an inner dungeon, and shackled together
in stocks.
But... the Bible says in Acts 16:25,
"Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God
and the other prisoners were listening." My commentary says that "The
leg feels not the stocks when the mind is in heaven." And no trouble,
however grievous, should hinder us from praise.
Paul
and Silas were only able to sing in painful circumstances because they
had formed a habit of worship and because of that habit, were able to
remain grateful that God counted them worthy to suffer for His name's
sake! Oh friends, that we would not be discouraged by our sufferings, but that we would indeed count them as JOY. Lessons hard to learn... but utterly necessary!
James 1:2 says this, "...when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy!"
Opportunity = a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal; a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement of success; a favorable, appropriate, or advantageous combination of circumstances.
And so... I can triumph - and YOU can too - in my trials!
The truth is that opportunity is so often neglected. And it is my hope that I will be press through daily and pray for God to allow me to use my opportunity wisely!
The time was midnight, but it was morning in
their souls! Our praise shall not be contingent upon position or
condition! We should count every day and every circumstance, an
opportunity to return to God what belongs to Him - glory, honor, and
praise! The time was midnight, which proves to us that our hour of devotion is not regulated by the time on the clock. ANY time is the RIGHT time to praise!
Our circumstances are no criteria of character. It is quite possible to have good circumstances, yet maintain a bad attitude... just as it is possible to have bad circumstances, yet maintain a positive, prayerful, praise-filled attitude. It's a matter of choice and commitment.
And I think it's also important here to note that doing good doesn't necessarily produce results that are equivilent. It is false to assume that as long as you do good, good will come to you. It's simply un-biblical. This sort of mindset is not compatable with Christlike living. "In this world you WILL have trouble..." (John 16:33), "... but take heart because I have overcome the world."
The outcome is - we overcome!
Praise releases us from the damaging affects
of prolonged pain! It allows us to RE-MEMBER our purpose. When we
remember (recall to mind) God's goodness and His plan, we can re-member
(put back together again) our purpose!
Remember that
joy is portable! We get to say, "OK, devil, you may have brought me
into this mess, but I'm bringing my joy with me." Joy is portable… Even
in the pit!
Praise allows us to re-member our purpose despite the pain!
