Waiting on Jesus, part 14:

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." (Luke 8:48 NASB)

"Go in peace," Jesus said to the woman who had been healed. Peace. What a beautiful thought! The woman had spent the last twelve years dealing with a hemorrhage, unclean as a result, isolated, alone. Her illness had changed her life, her relationships. It had been costly, and not just financially. She must have had twelve years of grief and inner turmoil. In an instant, she was made well. In an instant, Jesus replaced her turmoil with peace. 

The word translated as "peace" is not shalom, as you might expect. Shalom is usually used to indicate a state of "wholeness" or "at one".  The word used here is eirēnē. This word is more indicative of relationships, and signifies harmony in relationships with God and men. It indicates an inner quiet, free of turmoil, dissension, and strife. 

For a woman who had endured twelve very hard years, during which she had been isolated and become impoverished as a result of the disease, there must have been a tendency toward resentment and anger, if not toward God, then toward those around her. "Let it go," He was saying. Jesus was telling her to leave the resentment, anger, dissension behind. She was not only to go healed, she was to go forth in harmony with all around her. She was to go "in peace".  

His instruction to go in peace indicates a responsibility on her part for the peace. Her healing had come through a well-made choice of faith in Jesus and well-done action to reach out to Him. Her peace would come through an ongoing choice for harmony. 

Those three words, go in peace, sound lovely and simple, don't they? They are simple, but they are also filled with the challenge of a lifetime. How often are you tempted toward disharmony, either toward God or man? Choose peace. There may be disagreements with others, and there are times when standing up for right requires unavoidable conflict. Even in the midst of those difficulties, we can have inner peace. We should have inner peace. 

The words of Jesus for the woman who was healed are words we would do well to heed. Is there anger, dissension, resentment in your heart?  Let it go, and go in peace. 

Pray today that we and our loved ones would be so filled with the harmony of peace that it would spill over to all we meet. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/nibbling-on-hay.html

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ISIS has been threatening to behead another journalist, and may well have already done it. Please pray for those in their captivity and their families, those in leadership who need to choose a response to this tyranny, as well as for divine intervention in this situation. 

Nibbling on Hay

The morning routine is almost always the same. Feed in the troughs, horses in the barn to eat, back to the house. Finish writing and quiet time, hay to the hay rack outside the barn, let the horses out. Same routine every day.  When the horses walk out of the barn, there is a big supply of fresh hay in their rack. 

Two of the horses realize the big supply is just outside the door, and they hurry out to start nibbling. Cali, however, moves a little slower. She is more deliberate. Cali has learned that the back right stall is the hay storeroom and that there is almost always a handful or two of fresh hay on the floor outside the door. There's generally a scattering of hay all the way to the hay rack. She wants her share of the hay in the rack, of course, but Cali also wants the little extras along the way. It's odd to me that the other horses seldom make the effort to get that extra hay. They only want the easy bites. Not Cali. She wants to get it all. 

Perhaps we are a little like those horses when it comes to Bible study and quiet time. Most of us want the easy pickings. We read a verse or two, maybe a devotional and a quick prayer, and go about our day. It takes considerably more time to actually study Scripture, make application to our own lives, and spend time in prayer, allowing our Lord to move in us as He sees fit. It takes more time and effort, but it is so much better to "get it all"!  

As you think about your morning routine, consider whether you might benefit from slowing down a bit and gathering a few extra "mouthfuls" of truth and direction. You might be glad you did. 

How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalms 119:103 NASB)

Waiting on Jesus, part 13: Made Whole

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." (Luke 8:48 NASB)

The phrase "has made you well" is a translation of the word sōzō.  This is a lovely term that could also be translated as "made you whole" or "saved you". "Your faith has made you whole." Indeed, that is what faith should do, isn't it? It should bring us to the One who can fix every broken part, every part that is imperfect. It should keep us near to Him until all is restored, made new, made whole.  

For the woman with the hemorrhage, "made whole" was more than a cessation  of her hemorrhage. It included a healing of the isolation of twelve years spent as "unclean".  All the years of loss, frustration, fear, and hurt had left a deep wound, but through her faith, they, too, were made whole. 

Isn't that what God would like to do through our faith?  Isn't that what He will do, if we allow it? Imagine your life "made whole".  What a change He could make if we reached out to Him with faith as the woman did and allowed His power to flow through us! Nothing held back. Nothing off-limits. 

Today, pray that we and our loved ones would stop holding back and give ourselves to the wholeness that only Christ can bring. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/lessons-from-battlefield-part-14-one.html

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Lessons from the Battlefield, part 14: One Heart

The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 30:12 NASB)

Obedience doesn’t always come easy, does it?  God’s chosen people had proved that truth over and over again.  Consistent obedience was impossible for them.  Impossible, that is, unless God Himself helped them.  Scripture tells us that God gave them a heart to obey the king. He gave them "one heart", a unified heart, so that they could not just obey, but obey together, as one. 

Oh, what a difference it would make if we had obedient hearts willing to do whatever our King required of us. 

Imagine what it would be like if the body of Christ had one heart, one unified heart, that was obedient to the Word of God. 

Imagine what our world would be like if those who claim to be Christians had a united, humble, obedient heart ready and willing to do whatever our Servant King commands.

May God give us one heart that beats with His...

To serve as He served

To love as He loved

To obey as He obeyed

So that we could live like the One we say we believe. 

Waiting on Jesus, part 12:

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." (Luke 8:48 NASB)

"Your faith has made you well," He said to the woman. The word translated as "faith" is pistis and indicates a firm conviction of truth. For this woman, her pistis, her faith, in Jesus was so absolute that she could reach out and touch the fringe of His garment with confidence, certain that His power would flow through her, and it did. 

She was not trusting in the power of the fringe. She was trusting in Jesus as the Son of God, Messiah and Savior. In reaching out to Him, she was staking her life, her health, and her eternity on that belief. 

In our culture, there is a temptation to put our trust in ourselves and our ability to be productive.  We want to be "self-made".  Like toddlers, we want to "do it myself".  On the flip side, we also have a tendency to leave government in charge. When the poor have needs, our first thought is of what governmental agency should take responsibility. When we see injustice around the world, we ask not what we should do but what our government will do. 

The faith that transforms lives and brings healing and wholeness is not faith in ourselves nor faith in governmental entities. The faith that transforms is faith in Christ alone. When we reach out to Him in faith, we can be certain His power will flow through us. He will strengthen and empower us. He will make a difference in the world around us. 

In what or whom is our faith?  To what do we cling in times of trouble? In whom have we staked our life as well as our eternity? Be very certain that to which you cling has eternal significance. In Christ alone is our hope and our strength. Be sure He is your source of hope and strength as well. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-part-13.html

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Lessons from the Battlefield, part 13: faithfulness

2 Chronicles 30:9 “If you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive, and will return to this land.  For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”  

 

The temple doors were closed.  The utensils had been offered to idols.  There were no sacrifices and no worship.  The result was that the wrath of God had come against them.  The fathers had fallen by the sword, and the sons, daughters, and wives had been taken into captivity.  

God’s prescription for this mess was that the ones who were still in the land should repent and restore their own fellowship with the Lord.  The result would be that God’s Face of blessings would be turned toward them, and their loved ones in captivity would not only find compassion but be brought home.

​It’s hard to believe that our faithfulness can impact captives who are miles away, but it can.  Not only can it lighten their burden, but also our faithfulness can be instrumental in their deliverance.  Simply doing what we are supposed to do can change the world.  Nothing special or unusual is required, just faithful obedience.

We will have ample opportunity this week to draw close the Lord and we must choose whether to increase our faithfulness or continue in the status quo.  Some of the people we will encounter are struggling with their hurts, their sin, their pasts, and the grief of their hearts.  They are desperate for deliverance. Your faithful obedience and close relationship to Jesus can impact and help to bring about their deliverance. Your obedience may be a vital part of their deliverance.  How willing are you to sacrifice for the welfare of those people God brings your way?  

Waiting on Jesus, part 11: Stuck like glue

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You." (Luke 8:43-45 NASB)

haptō. We've seen this word before. It Is translated here as "touched" but it literally means "to adhere to", "to fasten to", or "to kindle a fire".  It is the word used to describe Jesus' healing touch of the leper in Luke 5, the healing, resuscitative touch of Jesus for the boy who had died in Luke 7, and the touch of the woman with the alabaster vial. This is not just a passing brush on the shoulder. This is a life-changing touch that lights a flame in our hearts and connects us to Jesus, adheres us to Jesus, so that we remain with Him. It is a touch we never forget. 

It is how the woman with the hemmorhage touched Jesus.  haptō. It was a momentary touch, lasting just a few seconds, but it changed her life, and likely all in the crowd who heard her story, forever. For the woman, the fire of His power flowed through her and healed her, but that haptō also adhered her heart to Christ. It set her free to tell of the miraculous intervention of Jesus and the healing power of His touch. 

Have you experienced the haptō touch of Christ? Do you know the fire of His love in your heart? Have you encountered the cleansing and healing that haptō can bring? Are you adhered to Him because of that touch? Reach out to Jesus. In less time than you can imagine, that touch can bring healing, hope, and freedom, changing your life forever. Imagine that! The most amazing thing is that it starts with a single touch. 

Pray today that we and our loved ones would reach out and haptō Jesus, adhering our lives to His and allowing Him to do His work in us. 

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Here's the link to last night's post:  http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/lessons-from-battlefield-part-12.html

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Here's the link to the radical obedience/terrorist prayers for the week: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/08/friday-night-with-friends-radical.html