Are You Bleeding?

And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her,“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Luke 8:43-48

Today's reading contains a story that I am sure most of us are very familiar with. It is the story of the lady healed by touching Jesus garment. Let's dig a little deeper into the story and see if we can come away with something useful for us.

This woman had been dealing with this problem for twelve years. For twelve long years, she had bled, probably daily. She was viewed by her town as "unclean". She had spent her entire life savings on doctors who could not fix "her problem". Twelve years of being the outcast. Twelve years of "doctors" taking her money and leaving her with "her problem". I can hear it now, down on the corner of Main and 8th Street, "here comes bloody Betty" or "get out of the way, here comes Flo". It is tough enough when  your problems are private, but when the entire village knows.... shame, disgrace, embarrassment... you get the idea.

One day, Betty hears that Jesus is in town. She has heard about His power to heal and she makes the long walk to Town Square. One more time... go see a man that she hopes will help her. Twelve years of shame, twelve years of dashed hopes, twelve years of ridicule; but still she gets dressed and makes the hike... bleeding as she goes. She quietly sneaks up behind Jesus... enough of the straight on embarrassment. She reaches out her trembling hand for one last time and touches the "fringe of His garment". I can only imagine what that moment of faith took. (think here) I can only imagine the feeling that came over this woman as twelve years of desperation evaporated in a moment. (think here) Freedom!

Jesus recognized that "power had gone out of Him". I don't know what that means, but this I do know... He had the power in Him! Whatever happened, however the power left Him... we know that she was the one that benefited. It is odd, Peter says “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”, but something different happened when this one woman touched Him. He was touched by thousands, maybe tens of thousands; but only in this case are we told that He felt "power" leave Him. Maybe it happened every time someone was healed, but something is different this time.

One last time, this woman must face the public and admit that she was the one that had touched the Master. "And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him". She had to publicly confess "why" she had touched Him. But now the story is different! Instead of "the doctor took my money and left me bleeding", now it's the "Great Physician" has healed me. Now it's, "He paid the price, it was His power that changed me".

When Jesus healed someone, it was instantly and it was fully! Betty got her life back! The corner gossips would have to find a new topic on Monday. But what was it about Betty that made her different? Jesus tells us the answer to the question... it was her faith! "And he said to her,“Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace”. The moment she got up that morning and decided to get dressed and go see Jesus, that was faith. The moment she made her way through the crowd, that was faith. The moment she reached out her hand to touch the Man, that was faith! Jesus honored her faith with His gift of healing. If she had stayed home in bed that morning, she would still be bleeding. She had to demonstrate her faith by her actions!

I am sure you can make the application... if you want healing, come to the Man. If your life is a bloody mess, come to the Man. Do you have twelve years of shame to get rid of, come to the Man. He has the power, you demonstrate the faith and He will honor you with healing. Physically... maybe, if it suits His purposes;  but spiritual, definitely! That is a promise... "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. She got rest; Betty's days of suffering were over and her new life had begun. What are you waiting for? Or as Ananias said to Saul, "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name." (Acts 22:16) Come to Him in faith, confessing your sins and turning from your past life and be immersed to have your sins removed and begin a new life, healed by His blood. (Acts 2: 37-41)

Wherever you are... I know this blog is read all around the world... find a church of Christ and talk to someone about becoming a Christian. Make the walk, demonstrate the faith and be healed by Jesus. His flow of blood is eternal and able to cover every sinner who by faith comes to Him. Do it today. Find freedom today!

What Kind of Soil Are You?

In Matthew 13, we find the Parable of the Sower. And while most Bibles call it that, I prefer to call it the Parable of the Soils. Why?...because the parable is truly focused on the types of soils that the seed encounters. We have a sower, we have seed and we have various types of soil.

Jesus uses parables to convey ideas in terms that help people to relate to His message. In this case, He is speaking to people that understand agriculture and so He talks about seeds and soils. He tells them the parable… “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The four soil types… 1. The hard packed earth of the path 2. Rocky soil. 3. Thorny soil and 4. Good soil. What’s the point Jesus is trying to make? First, that we are all one of these soil types. Maybe we change from time to time, but consistently, day by day, we fall into one of these categories. The sower does his job, he spreads the seed around. The seed does its’ job, it is planted and has the power within it to grow. Really, the only variable in the equation is the soil. The end result is a function of the type of soil; not the ability of the sower or the quality of the seed.

For those that have hearts that are hardened, the seed cannot penetrate and it quickly disappears. The seed that is sown has no chance to grow and it is disposed of immediately. For those that are shallow, the seed might well take hold and spring up quickly, but the depth is not there and soon the plant withers and dies. For those that care more about the world than spiritual matters, it doesn’t take long for work or play to get in the way of the really important things. But there are some, a few, who are good soil. For them, the word of God penetrates and grows and changes who they are and whose they are. We have all seen people like that. We have all admired those that truly allow God to rule in their lives.

Jesus tells us that some will never give God a chance, while others will accept Him, but quickly fall away. The seed is planted and grows, but life gets in the way and one day they just disappear from our churches. Were they never really saved? Jesus says they were. He says the seed was planted, the plant began to grow, but then they "fell away"… listen to Jesus explanation of the parable… “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

You see, the question isn't about the seed or the sower… the real question is what kind of soil am I? What kind of soil are you? The answer to that question has eternal consequences. While this parable deals specifically with a person becoming a Christian, it can be applied to our willingness to hear His word and make changes throughout our lives. Can we change? Sure. The farmer calls it cultivation. The soil has to be worked. Things have to come out and other things have to go in. Weeds have to be pulled and stones have to be removed. It takes effort! But the first thing it takes is recognition of the type of soil you are now. Does God’s Word penetrate your heart and make changes in you? Do you go away on Sunday morning fired up and ready to go, but on Monday you can’t remember what you heard? Are you more focused on worldly success than kingdom success? Take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions. Eternity depends on the answers.

Temptation

(Today's focus - Matthew 4:1-11)

Temptation is a word that needs little explanation. It is like "red", the second you hear the word red... you see the color in your mind. With "temptation", we might all see something different, a doughnut, a fast car, a pretty woman or a handsome man... whatever comes to your mind is "temptation" for you. It is real and it is ongoing. Some days, temptation is easy and on other days, it is difficult. Sometimes we defeat it and other times it defeats us. That is the nature of temptation.

The Scriptures teach that Jesus was tempted just like us. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) The Hebrew writer tells us that Jesus experienced temptation "in every respect" that we do. He tells us that He faced it and beat it.... every time! He was able to deal with the enticement of physical and emotional wants and live rightly before God. Why?... so that He would be able "to sympathize with our weaknesses". Good news... great news!

In Matthew 4:1-11, we have recorded the events that occurred after Jesus' baptism and His 40 day fast. He had just heard the voice of God from heaven announcing to the world that He was God's Son. He had just had the Spirit of God descend from heaven and lighting on Him. As a human, Jesus could have allowed these events to puff Him up and He might have displayed His Deity openly and dramatically. Rather, He goes off by himself to be alone to prepare for His ministry.

It was at this time that Satan chose to confront Jesus and tempt Him. Knowing His physical hunger, he tempted Him with food, but Jesus had an answer from Scripture....“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” He tempted Him to prove His Deity and Jesus responded...“Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Lastly, he tempted Him with earthy wealth, if He would only worship him, to which Jesus replied...“Be gone, Satan! For it is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

John tells us ... Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17) All of our sins, all of our temptations fall into these three categories. All of Jesus' temptations fall into these three categories. That is how the Hebrew writer is able to say clearly that Jesus experienced temptation in "every respect" just like us. He is able to sympathize with our temptations! He understands! Our Savior gets us! Praise God for a Savior that faced down the same temptations we face and came out the other side sinless.

We need to understand this. Jesus loves us and wants us to live pure and holy lives, but He understands our desires and our failings. But He still calls us to change. He still calls us to sinless lives; but when we fall, He is there to lift us up and He says to you and me... "I understand". "I understand"; thank you God for sending your Son in the flesh. Thank you Jesus for facing the same temptations that we face. Thank you for living a sinless life and giving that life for me.