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.






 

The Work of the Spirit

Now we come to a topic that people will discuss and debate until He returns. We have for two thousand years, so why stop now. What is the work of the Holy Spirit? What does He do in our lives or does He do anything? Is His work different for us now than it was during the first century church experience? What does the Bible have to say on the subject? Isn't that what all "truth seekers" want to know?
    We have already talked about His involvement in the creation. But, reread Genesis 1 and understand that His work has been ongoing from the creation of this world and everything in it. Other verses that you might want to check into are Psalm 104:30, Job 26:13 and Psalm 33:6. His involvement in the creation of humans is recorded in Genesis 1:26-27 and Job 33:4. So, we learn from these verses that he Spirit was at work form the beginning, but we also see that He continued to work as God began to reveal His plan for the redemption of man.
    The Spirit was at work in the revelation of God in the Old Testament. Peter tells us "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someones own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21)  and "of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ". (1 Peter 1:10-11) Clearly, the Spirit was busy in Old Testament times communicating through the prophets. 
    In New Testament times, He was busy guiding the apostles into all truth (John 16:12-13). We are told that all scripture is God-breathed in  2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." God breathed - the breath of God, in Greek "pneuma" meaning the Spirit of God. He was there giving breath to God's words and leading the prophets and the apostles to write down His revelation for man.
    When Jesus made his appearance as a man, it was the Spirit that gave confirmation to His identity. Many claimed and still claim to be the Messiah, but only one, Jesus had the Spirit there to give confirmation to who He was. He gave the Spirit the credit for His ability to work miracles in Hebrews 2:3-4 and Acts 10:38. The Spirit was given to Him during His human existence to allow Him to do works that would confirm Him as the one and only Son of God. And when He left this earth and gave the apostles their commission (Matthew 28:18), the Spirit was there giving them the ability to perform miracles to confirm their words. (Hebrews 2:3-4 and Romans 15:19) The Spirit was busy confirming Jesus as the Son and the apostles as His spokespersons.
    Now we get to some good stuff... He was and is involved in our regeneration and our sanctification. In regeneration as the word was preached and obeyed. Acts 2 is a great place to see both the preaching and the obedience of people who heard the word preached. Peter taught them that Jesus was the Son of God and that it was their sins that had put Him on the cross. The people heard and those that accepted his message wanted to know what to do. He gave them the Gospel to be obeyed in Acts 2:38 and those that heard and believed, obeyed and 3000 souls were saved that day. In sanctification, He is involved in both our initial setting apart and our ongoing growing into His likeness. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor 6:11) After our conversion, we are ongingly set apart through the work of the Spirit...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man (Eph 3:16)  He is busy working in us to accomplish our sanctification. I don't understand all I know about that, so somethings I just accept that I cannot fully understand.  
I am sure there are questions about His ongoing work in the area of miracles and revelation, and we will get to that shortly. But for now, we see that He was busy working in those areas during the time that our Bibles were being written and that He is continuing to be involved in our conversion and our growth. Stay tuned for more discussion.....

   

Is the Holy Spirit.... God?

Last week we looked at the scriptures that deal with the Spirit having a personality, that is traits that make Him a "person". (not a human, but an individual) These established that the Spirit is an individual being that possesses individual characteristics. The question for us to pursue this week is what kind of person is He? The answer to that is found in the Bible and can be discovered through some study. I will not attempt to fully dive into this subject in a short blog.

The Spirit is a "divine being", that is He is deity. His personal attributes demonstrate His divine nature. The Spirit is "omniscient", that is that He knows everything! These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Cor 2:10-11) The Spirit searches all things and knows all things because He knows the thoughts of God!

The Spirit is "omnipresent", that is He is everywhere! Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10) The Psalmist makes it clear that we cannot escape His presence. The Spirit of God is everywhere, all the time!

He is "eternal" in nature. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14) The Spirit has existed from the beginning and exists through eternity. (read Genesis 1)

His "works" demonstrate His divine nature as well. The Spirit was involved in the "creation" of the world. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Gen 1:2) When God was busy creating the world, the Spirit was there doing His part. Creating worlds surely falls under the purview of Deity.

He was involved in the working of "miracles". But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matt 12:28) When challenged by the religious elite of His day, Jesus gave the Spirit of God credit for the miracles that He worked while on Earth. Undoubtedly, if the Spirit is the power behind Jesus' miracles, He must be divine. 

He was involved in the "redemption" of man.  How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. I don't claim to understand how all that works, but Jesus offered Himself for us... through the Spirit. The Spirit was at work in the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Our redemption through Jesus must include the work of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, He is involved in our "regeneration", our becoming a new creation, a new person before our God. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-6) He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit; sounds a lot like Acts 2:38 and John 3:1-9. Somehow, someway the Spirit makes us new before God. We stand cleansed and new, without spot or blemish through the working of the Holy Spirit. Good news? Great news!

In our class this Wednesday night, we will explore this in depth and even get into the different concepts of God. Should be exciting! See you there.

Use The Force Luke!

I well remember Obiwan telling Luke Skywalker to "use the Force". The "Force" was some power that would enable Luke to do things that he otherwise was unable to do. If he could tap into the "Force", he could lift great weight, defeat great opposition and beat a droid while blindfolded. I thought the "Force" was pretty cool and will admit to trying to use the "Force" on occasion, usually on my children.
Some people hold that the Holy Spirit is like that, some impersonal force that emanates from God. But, is that what the Bible teaches? Mr. Lucas had his ideas of the "Force", but the Bible holds the truth of the matter when it relates to the Spirit of God. Let's take a look!

First, the Spirit speaks! He is able to communicate and has the ability to speak ... hold on, don't jump to conclusions. "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons". (1 Timothy 4:1) The Spirit spoke and His words were recorded for us and His words still speak to us today. He spoke directly to people, Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” (Acts 8:29) There are many other places in Scripture where the Spirits speaking is recorded. He is able to communicate.

Secondly, the Spirit teaches! But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26) He was to teach the Apostles and bring things to their remembrance. He is able to instruct.

Thirdly, He possesses a mind! Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:27) What does that mean... I am not sure. However, the idea of Him having a mind would indicate the ability to think and reason and know and understand.

Fourthly, He has knowledge! Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11) This verse indicates that the Spirit of God knows the things of God. He has a mind and it is filled with knowledge.

Fifthly, He possesses affection! Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me (Romans 15:30) Love is part of His nature (no surprise there!).

This Wednesday night we are going to dig in deeper to see how the Spirit possesses personality. He is much like us in that way. He thinks, He speaks, He teaches, He has knowledge and He loves. We should not be surprised by any of this... we are made in His image! We should share many things with Him in our own personalities.  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness (Genesis 1:26).
 
The Spirit of God is not some impersonal force that enables us to do great things; rather, He is a being that possesses personality and thinks and feels and can even be hurt by our actions. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? As we continue in our study, let's begin to think about Him in that way; a living, feeling, thinking, loving being.  

The Spirit of God... Front and Center

The Holy Spirit is as old as God. He is infinite and has no beginning or end. We can't comprehend that. As humans we are time focused and we are not able to understand timelessness. Sure we can talk about it, but we run out of ideas pretty quickly. What does it mean that He had no beginning? What does it mean that He has no end?

Our introduction to the Spirit of God is "in the beginning", right there in Genesis 1:1 and He is mentioned no less than 88 times in the Old Testament, some say many more. But either way, He is there to greet us at the very beginning of the revelation of God. He is part of the story and continues throughout the Bible. He is there at the beginning of the New Testament as well. Matthew found it just as easy to talk about the Holy Spirit of God as did Moses. He tells us in Matthew 1:18 that Mary was found to with child of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't even slow down as if what he said was beyond belief or even unexpected. He was there during the creation (Gen 1:1), He was there bringing life (Gen 1:26-27) to humans and He was there bring eternal life to us (Matt 1:18).

The Spirit is mentioned 264 times in the New Testament. It is as if the writers expect us to understand that He is part in the Biblical story. The book of Acts has 57 references to the Spirit; which has caused some to call it the "Acts of the Holy Spirit". To understand the Bible, it is necessary to have an understanding of the Spirit and who He is and what He does. Imagine if we thought it was unnecessary to know Jesus... it is just as ludicrous to think that it is unimportant to know the Spirit. He is everywhere in scripture and His actions are front and center.

He was deeply involved in the life of Christ. He was there for His conception. (Matthew 1:18) I don't know! I am sure you asking questions...  He was there for His baptism (Luke 3:21-22). He was there when He was tempted (Luke 4:1ff). And He was there throughout His ministry (Luke 4:14-21; Matt 12:28). If we are to understand and know our Savior, we must certainly come to understand and know the Spirit as He was so prominent in the life of Jesus.

In closing, it is important for us to consider His prominence in our lives as well. He convicts us of sin (John 16:7,8) and we are born again of the Spirit (John 3:5-8). We are renewed by the Spirit (Titus 3:4-6) and we live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We are to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:25) and we are to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). He makes intercession for us (Romans 8:26-27) and He strengthens us (Ephesians 3:16). That sounds like pretty important stuff to understand. As we continue through our study we will dig deeper to gain understanding about each of these areas that the Spirit works and impacts our lives.

Suffice it to say, we have a long way to go in our study and in growing our relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. If you are already there, I look forward to hearing and learning from you! If you are on this journey with me, thanks for coming along for the ride. Wherever you are, whatever you know; I look forward to gaining understanding from you as we study along together. May God richly bless you in your desire to grow closer to Him.