Lean in! Touch Jesus! Be healed!

Got a need that is crushing the life out of you? Carrying a burden that makes every step a weary one?  So did the little woman who pushed her way through the crowd to find Jesus.  Her illness left her weak physically and she was emotionally alone, too, for those around her considered her ‘unclean’ because of it.  For years she had tried one ‘cure’ after another.  Hope was just a word in the dictionary - until someone told her about Someone who had answers. She was fearful but willing to take a risk, yet again. She spotted Him. It was easy to knew Who He was, there at the center of attention. She leaned in with the thought, "If I can just touch Him, even the hem of His robe, I'll be healed."  

Just as she did, He turned! He sensed her faith, though she was unseen. He wanted to speak with her, to complete the work so He asked, "Who touched me?" "When the woman realized that she couldn't remain hidden, she knelt trembling before him. In front of all the people, she blurted out her story-why she touched him and how at that same moment she was healed. Jesus said, "Daughter, you took a risk trusting me, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed!" (Luke 8:47-48, The Message)

Does something in your life weaken you, break your spirit, drag you down?  
Have you nearly lost hope, resigned to your ‘fate?’  

There is One who can restore you, make you whole. 
Will you lean in to touch Him?Press in to touch the Lord Jesus Christ.

How can I do that, you may be asking? I cannot walk down to the town square and find Him in a crowd.  But, He is still among us.  Make time to be in worship; not ‘church’ but worship.  That can happen on an early morning walk, in a quiet late evening time with an open Bible, as you’re driving to work with tears running down your face.  We need to push through the distractions that keep us from Him. We need to deal honestly and with the temptations that would replace Him.  

Yes, use the aid of corporate worship in a place your mind associates with ‘the holy.’  Go to church. Do not excuse yourself with the excuse that you have so much to do. Go early and sit quietly as you wait on Him! 
Do not abandon times of mediation in which you absorb a passage from His Word.

Make a time each day that is His time.  “Jerry, do you know the kind of life I have? Do you know that there are kids in my house?”  I hear you. So, you will have to be intentional and creative to make a time, but lean in and touch Him!

Lean in!  Here is a word from the Word. 

"Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my body is in agony. I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?" (Psalm 6:2-3, NLT)

"The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer." (Psalm 6:9, NLT)

___________

Breathe

This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your holy Presence living in me.
This is my daily bread,
This is my daily bread,
Your very word spoken to me.

And I I'm desperate for You!
And I I'm lost without You!

Marie Barnett
© 1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)
CCLI License # 810055

Lord, I don't want to be like Tupperware

But, I want to be a beautiful jar!

Jeremiah, sent by God with sermons of correction, received a message in the strangest of places.  “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.” So I went to the potter’s house…  Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. Then God’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” God’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel." (Jeremiah 18:1-6, The Message)

We are like clay in the Lord’s hands! He makes us into a jar that is fitting for His plans. We get that part of the picture, don’t we?  Stretching the metaphor, Jeremiah gave ‘life’ to the clay.  We can resist the work of the Potter! We can remove ourselves from His wheel, seeking our own destiny.  In Jeremiah’s message there are two truths that are parallel rails in life –
God is supreme; and
God does what He wills to do.

Those two facts seem to be contradictions by our reasoning, don’t they?  The consistent truth in Scripture is that the Lord is sovereign (accountable only to Himself) and that human beings are given the gift of freedom to accept or reject Him.  

In obedience we find peace and life. Of the willful clay in Jeremiah’s revelation, God said, "if they don’t cooperate and won’t listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them.  …  Straighten out your lives.’ “But they’ll just say, ‘Why should we? What’s the point? We’ll live just the way we’ve always lived, doom or no doom.’ ” (Jeremiah 18:10-12, The Message)

What kind of ‘clay’ are you, Christian? 
Do you rejoice to be used of God? Will you find joy in whatever He does, be faithful to His purpose no matter where He chooses to use you? Or will you complain about how God is shaping you, resisting His efforts to mold your life?

In His will, some of us are like beautiful flower vases, displaying His glory, richly gifted. And, some of us are like Tupperware™ containers, very useful, but ordinary and unnoticed. What we do and where we serve is His choice!  He gives us the freedom to accept or reject, reminding us that regardless of our station or service, we will know joy and fulfillment if we, unlike the people of ancient Judah, will say, “Yes, Lord, here I am. Use me.”

This passage asks us to learn obedience, with trust in Him.  It is not easy! "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" (Romans 9:20-21, NIV)

Even as I read these words and write of the choice God gives us, I know first-hand the difficulty of submission to Him. Living in a time when it appears that He will take my wife, my beloved from me, I want to question Him.  To what purpose would He take the one I love dearly, my partner in life and ministry, my friend and confidante?  My prayer, with many tears, is that I will remain faithful, fit for the Master’s use, until that Day when understanding comes.

Perhaps, you like me, are being shaped in ways that are hard.  Listen! Trust! Wait! Love! Keep faith! 

The word from the Word is rich in comfort for we who are clay.  Lord, make this word a living Word to our hearts today. "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." (2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NLT)

___________

The Potter's Hand

Beautiful Lord, wonderful Savior,
I know, for sure, all of my days are
Held in Your hand crafted into
Your perfect plan.

You gently call me into Your presence,
Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit,
Teach me, dear Lord, to live all of my life
Through Your eyes.

I'm captured by Your holy calling,
Set me apart, I know You're drawing
Me to Yourself.
Lead me, Lord, I pray.

Take me, mold me,
Use me, fill me;
I give my life
To the Potter's hand!
Call me, guide me,
Lead me, walk beside me;
I give my life
To the Potter's hand!

Darlene Zschech© 1997 Wondrous Worship (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

I am not waiting to be rescued!

About 10 pm last night I turned off the television after watching several earnest people offer to ‘fix’ America if they are elected to the Presidency of this great nation. There were a few interesting ideas but mostly it was a rewarming of things I have heard from politicians for most of my adult life. No single choice is going to restore economic prosperity, make our streets safer, help students with huge bills for higher education, make Social Security solvent again, or answer the riddles of illegal immigration.  Don’t stop reading just yet. This is not a political blog.

As I prayed before going to sleep, the Spirit whispered in my heart, “Jerry, are you part of the solution?” America’s problems are not just coming from Washington, DC and they are certainly not just political. America’s greatest need is a spiritual one.  Where Self rules unchallenged, there will be problems.  Where the Spirit defeats Self and Sin, there will be life that is rich in the best things – love, joy, peace – which are better than economic prosperity!

Spiritual renewal starts with me.  Transformation begins when I humble myself before the Lord and deal with my own sins. Easy? Not at all. Does it make everything better in a day? You surely know the answer to that.  But, a person who is filled with God’s Spirit, who loves, who lives with contentment, who walks in steady faithfulness, who keeps his word, honors his covenants, and encourages his neighbor makes a difference.  This great passage says we become a fragrance spreading through the world we live in.  "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God." (2 Corinthians 2:14-17, NIV)

Let’s not wait to be rescued!  Let’s stop lusting for things that will only soothe our troubled hearts for a short time. Let’s ask God for wisdom and power – and become part of the answer.  Wait! Do not heave that sigh and slip into resigned apathy as you defeat yourself by thinking – “What difference can I make?”  All the talk of BIG solutions and CHANGING THE WORLD can hide the fact that you and I matter in the scheme of things. If our love for Jesus helps us to make just a few lives better it is important.  One person made a decision about 75 years ago that changed the course of my life.  When my Granddaddy heard the Gospel preached by a young woman evangelist in a tent revival in Truesdale, IA, sometime around 1940, he became a follower of Christ.  He had no idea that his choice was would be a world-changing one. But, from that one humble change came a trickle that became a stream and is now a river of influence for the Kingdom of God!  Uncounted thousands of people have heard about Jesus because my Grandpa knelt and made a decision for Him!

The life of the Spirit goes deep. He causes us to love, moves us to serve, gives us generous hearts, and lifts our vision to a life that is built around things far more significant than sex, food, power, and money!  Here is a word from the Word. Meditate on it and be part of God’s answer today, right where you live. "Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (John 7:37-38, The Message)

_______

Enough

You're my supply, my breath of life,

Still more awesome than I know.

You're my reward, worth living for,

Still more awesome than I know,

And…

All of You is more than enough for all of me;

For ev'ry thirst and ev'ry need.

You satisfy me with Your love

And all I have in You is more than enough!

You're my sacrifice of greatest price,

Still more awesome than I know.

You're my coming King ,You are ev'rything,

Still more awesome than I know.

More than all I want,
more than all I need.

You are more than enough for me.

More than all I know,

more than all I can say,

You are more than enough!

Chris Tomlin | Louie Giglio

© 2002 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055