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"...but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak..."
This reminded June of something she read recently. In reading about the crowds that surrounded, followed Jesus, and faces of the people, those wishing to see him, find him, be healed by him, along with the effort taken on the part of the girl in the passage cited above, June recalled this:
" What a congregation that was, packed in tight, squeezed together like sardines! I myself was pressed against a stone pillar, and scarcely able to breathe. Not that I wanted to particularly. So many grey, hungry faces, all luminous, like an El Greco painting; and all singing. They sang about how there was no help except in You, nowhere to turn except to You; nothing, nothing, that could possibly bring any comfort except You. I could have touched You then, You were so near..."
...Causing June to think how what is related in the gospels is literally lived and experienced, oftentimes unknowingly, by individuals daily.
Behind in Posting, but still up to date in reading.
Chapter 6-
As Jesus talked about the blessings, the love we should show our enemies, fruit from good and bad trees and how wise it is to put His words into practice, a certain sadness came over me.
It's hard to put into words except that it was similar to that feeling I had when my parents would tell me, 'We're not mad at you, we're just disappointed.' Now granted they had every right, this isn't about feeling inferior by my parents, they tell me they are proud of me, but as a teenager I remember this feeling. This immense 'I've let someone down who really loves me and believes in me.'
That's sorta how this chapter (and 7 too for that matter) made me feel.
Jesus came and lived and died for us...for me! He didn't have to but He wanted to. And how do I thank Him? You don't want to know!
Chapter 7- For me, the Lord really spoke to me about faith. About truly trusting Him....the way the centurian did...and the woman who had lived the sinful life. Jesus is enough. He is able. And He is willing! They didn't have to do anything but TRUST and BELIEVE. That's it! It was their submission...their recognizing who Christ was....that was all it took. And that's all it takes for me too.
Don't look for a 'magic' prayer mantra. Don't try and 'work' my way into God's graces. Don't try and 'unlock' some kind of psychological state of understanding.
it's about a man. A God-man as Max Lucado says.
It's about Jesus.
Complete submission.
Complete trust.
Help me Lord, where I fail.
(8 forthcoming, wanted to get these down before I moved on!)
Chapter 8:16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light."
That is what I need to apply to my life.
Chapter 8:48 "Then He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
Faith. It is so simple. And again, He tells someone to go in peace. I rarely "go in peace". I agonize over the most simple things when it comes to living for Him. I need to learn to go in peace.
Chapter 8:16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light."
That is what I need to apply to my life.
Mine is coming from that portion too....but I can't quite get the words just yet.
Let me try:
"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." Luke 8:16-18
Let me try to reduce this to words. There's something here I've never noticed/considered before.
To me, this passage has always been about sharing your faith. Sharing your relationship with the Lord. Being a light.
But look at what it says:
1-No one lights a light and hides it.
2-Instead, they put it somewhere where the light can be see by many.
3-For there is nothing that is hidden that won't be revealed. Nothing concealed that won't be brought into the open.
And then here's the interesting part:
Jesus doesn't say, 'So consider carefully what you say', He says 'consider carefully how you listen.'
I'm not exactly sure how to process that. But I am CERTAIN it's what He wanted me to see and apply today.
So even though I don't fully understand the details of the application, I am determined to make sure I consider carefully how I listen.
Maybe I'll post more later if more thoughts come to mind.
Such great threads...I wish I could have joined at the beginning of this all. One day I will take the time...am reading in Corinthians now...I'm sure you all will catch me...my brain doesn't work (in detail) in more than one chapter...lol
But I do read every word spoken in these threads...so in a way, I am still learning everyday from others. These threads will be a blessing if I ever get to the end of the NT and decide to start over. Thank you.
v. 62 Jesus said "Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God."
What a powerful verse. When we commit to God we need to commit full heartedly. Not start the "plowing of the field" and keep looking to our ways prior. Because if we continue to look back, that is showing lack of faith and commitment to God. I do not want to be on the fence any more in my life. I want to be over the fence in the field working the plow, and planting the seeds of the Lord. In reality it would be so much easier to jump the fence in the other direction and continue in the old ways. But what a unfullfilling life that was.
v. 23 "If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. they must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me.
Give up the fence...thats what it means to me. In the beginning of my walk i use to be the one in the car that would be listening to Christian music, pull up to a red light and turn it down so noone would hear it and think i was "weird" Or if someone said something about church, i sat there quiet. And today in my walk i want everyone to know what i am about. I want others to know how great life is when we turn it over to the Lord. Now instead of turning down that radio...i turn it up. Now when someone talks about church..i tell them about my church. I want the TRUE LIFE...
Blessings
vv.46-50
Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.
Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he is not against us is on our side."
Thank you, Lord Jesus, that You, " perceiving the thought of their (our, my) heart." And have said unto us, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great." and "Do not forbid him, for he is not against us is on our side."
With all my my heart I believe Satan knows how to weaken our testimony.... trying to plant the seeds of pride.
Instead of humbling ourselves (myself) as a child and become least among the brethren.
What power of God's love we would see in the spreading of the gospel to a lost world, then worrying if our brother or sister is doing all that we (I) think and perceive what should be done in our servant hood, worshiping, the Lord .....
Lord, help my heart and lips not to speak or think of things that have no eternal value.....
I don't want that pride which tries to control within my flesh to win out and destroy that brother or sister in You and especially the seekers of Your truth.
Such wonderful posts this morning. I thank God for you guys. All of you guys.
Chapter 9:
For me this morning one phrase stood out and it spoke to me about disbelief. About trying to do things our way. Trying to be 'our own god', so to speak.
It concerned Herod.
Herod was an unrepentant sinner. so much so that when confronted about it, he had his accuser imprisoned. And so easily manipulated that when his wife tricked him into a promise, it resulted in him ordering the execution of John the Baptist (we've talk about this in Matthew and Mark's thread).
Herod denied his own sin in his life, tried to silence the 'conviction' and even executed the 'convictor', if you will.
So when I read this, it has just kinda stuck with me:
Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.Luke 9:7-9
How Herod's guilt must have followed him through life. Even after this, when he heard all that was going on with Jesus and His disciples, "he tried to see Him". But Herod didn't really want to see Jesus did he?
Do I?
Isn't it much easier for me to just do what feels good? Do what feels right? I don't really want to know what God has to say about it, do I? I'd rather do it my way and shut you up if you tell me I'm sinning or what I am doing/thinking is wrong.
Herod's an example for me. That what God says about a subject....any subject...is my standard. So Lord, even though I've tried to behead my sin and conviction, I want to see you. Show me what you will about my life right now and where I need to come to agree with you about any issue not in line with your view.
Reading through Chapter Nine, I found an interesting passage that could definitely be thought of as something to apply to one's life.
3He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."
While Jesus appears to be telling his disciples to go on a journey to spread the words of his teachings, he also told them to cure diseases and cast out demons in the towns and villages they came across but, more importantly it seems to me, he told them to take nothing for the journey.
This seems to me to be a wonderful operation in terms of what we would often call selflessness in today's world. It seems that all too often we hear about pilfering and theft from within corrupted governments, corporations, churches, and sometimes even charities.
The true nature of giving seems as though it's not giving if you're expecting something in return or doing it for reasons that deal with a selfish cause or hidden agenda to glean personal rewards for what can often be misconstrued as altruism.
I think that understanding this could and should help us to be cognizant of the fact that those who come in the name of 'Good' and to help may not always be there strictly to help out of the kindness of their own hearts but can often use the situation as a bit of leverage to fulfill their own selfish desires and, in so doing, make themselves look 'Good' in the process.
It should also lead me to think that when one sets out upon a journey to feed the hungry, heal the sick, or donate to charities that we should do it not in concern for our own well-being or as though we are forcing ourselves to do it but out of the genuine kindness and concern of one's own heart.
It is my opinion that those who are humble in their givings and charities are often the bearers of true selflessness. After all, if we prominently brag and go on in a showy display about how much 'Good' we are doing does it not seem as though it's merely an advertisement to glean something beneficial of others miserable situation?
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Chapter 9
