(April 5)
Last night I got home from work, turned on the TV and nothing was on so I scanned through the channels and Dr. Phil said he was going to be talking to a woman who had lost 100+ pounds after weight loss surgery...so I cued in and watched it.
It was amazing...it was as though I was sitting there talking to him...I could SOOOO relate to what she was saying. She said she felt she had "lost her identity"...and that's what I have been telling my husband for about 6 months now.
It's sorta like an orange once you've taken off the rind...the rind protects the "inner self" but once it's removed the "inner self" is exposed....and it takes on a new look (this is my analogy here). Vunerability is a definite...not sure of what to expect...and then the separating of the orange segments...and the individuality begins. Each segment of that orange represents something in us...fear of rejection, fear of "what if", who am I, what am I supposed to be doing, where do I go from here, failure, set-backs, etc.
However if we take those segments and turn them over to God, He will take care of them...He has a plan for each of us and His ways are higher than our ways...He loves us and protects us...He IS, He WAS, He ALWAYS WILL BE. We have to trust Him wholly, knowing that whatever we are going through He is our Guide, our Protector and our Father.
I struggle with handing it all over to Him and leaving it there..."Here God, take this...and this...oh, wait a minute I can do that one." I need to learn to leave it at the foot of the cross and rely on God to see me through.
Father, I come to you today, bearing this open flesh, giving it over to you to heal, to guide, to protect. I know that I must rely on You to see me through no matter what. Help me to leave my "stuff" at the foot of the cross and live the life you have set out for me. Show me where You want me to go, how You want me to serve. Give me Your peace that only You can provide. Amen!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
God's Love
I didn't want to go to church last night but glad that I did...have a really AWESOME discussion on God's love. :)
It stemmed on the healing of the woman who bled for 12 years. She was UNCLEAN in all measures of her life. EVERYTHING she touched would have been considered unclean. This means her home, her family (children/husband), food, clothing...EVERYTHING! She would have been 100% ostracized! She could never TOUCH anyone, anything. She couldn't hold her husband (if she were married - this is not one of the facts given us), never hug and love on her kids. It would have been worse than being a leper because at least they had other lepers to be with.
Some scholars believe she could have walked as many as 30 miles to get to Capernaum. Anyone she came into contact that day (including Jesus) would be ceremonially unclean for SEVEN days! Yet here she is...in a HUGE crowd...with HOPE in her heart that all she had to do was touch the very HEM of his garment to be healed! Jesus would have been UNCLEAN just because of this!
When He felt the power leave Him he asked, "Who touched me?" This made his disciples question Him as He was SURROUNDED by the crowd...yet He knew someone had tapped into His power...felt the drain. He knew yet He asked. She dropped to her knees and told him the WHOLE STORY. Did He judge her? Did He shun her? NO! He said, "DAUGHTER"! This is the ONLY reference in the entire bible where Jesus called a woman "DAUGHTER" face-to-face! Here was a woman; scorned, abandoned, physically exhausted, mentally scourged...yet He called her DAUGHTER! He cleansed her from the inside out and set her FREE! How awesome is that!
What "ailment" are you hanging onto? What can God heal in you today? Fall to your knees and tell Him the whole story. Let Him hear from your lips out loud what is bothering you. By giving it to Him OUT LOUD it removes Satan's power to control. Satan is NOT able to know our thoughts...he is NOT on the same plain as God...he is an angel, not an equal. Sure, he can influence our thoughts but HE DOES NOT KNOW THEM! He knows our weaknesses, he looks for cracks in our armor in which he can plant seeds of doubt.
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
It stemmed on the healing of the woman who bled for 12 years. She was UNCLEAN in all measures of her life. EVERYTHING she touched would have been considered unclean. This means her home, her family (children/husband), food, clothing...EVERYTHING! She would have been 100% ostracized! She could never TOUCH anyone, anything. She couldn't hold her husband (if she were married - this is not one of the facts given us), never hug and love on her kids. It would have been worse than being a leper because at least they had other lepers to be with.
Some scholars believe she could have walked as many as 30 miles to get to Capernaum. Anyone she came into contact that day (including Jesus) would be ceremonially unclean for SEVEN days! Yet here she is...in a HUGE crowd...with HOPE in her heart that all she had to do was touch the very HEM of his garment to be healed! Jesus would have been UNCLEAN just because of this!
When He felt the power leave Him he asked, "Who touched me?" This made his disciples question Him as He was SURROUNDED by the crowd...yet He knew someone had tapped into His power...felt the drain. He knew yet He asked. She dropped to her knees and told him the WHOLE STORY. Did He judge her? Did He shun her? NO! He said, "DAUGHTER"! This is the ONLY reference in the entire bible where Jesus called a woman "DAUGHTER" face-to-face! Here was a woman; scorned, abandoned, physically exhausted, mentally scourged...yet He called her DAUGHTER! He cleansed her from the inside out and set her FREE! How awesome is that!
What "ailment" are you hanging onto? What can God heal in you today? Fall to your knees and tell Him the whole story. Let Him hear from your lips out loud what is bothering you. By giving it to Him OUT LOUD it removes Satan's power to control. Satan is NOT able to know our thoughts...he is NOT on the same plain as God...he is an angel, not an equal. Sure, he can influence our thoughts but HE DOES NOT KNOW THEM! He knows our weaknesses, he looks for cracks in our armor in which he can plant seeds of doubt.
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
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