One of the main purposes of this blog is to point out or remind my Christian audience of all the tricks and traps the Devil uses to isolate us and destroy us apart from God. Today I was thinking of a common three-stepped attack that seems to work well against Christians. Using three arguments that I will analyze, Satan can erode away Christian faith, often without repair. The good news is that Satan is not too powerful for God, and God has given us a way of escape. This battle doesn't have to end in defeat!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Woman Jesus Called Daughter, Part 2, Healed and Saved
Today is the conclusion of my sister, Shannon's, devotional on the woman Jesus called "daughter." If you've been following along, these articles are guest posts on Savvy Sheep, and are taken from two notes she shared on facebook which she gave permission to be reprinted here. For those of you just joining us, you might want to go read part 1, which I shared earlier this week. If you've got any questions or comments to share, leave them in the comments section and I can pass them on if you wish. I'll be resuming the regular posting schedule next week. Without further ado...
“In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed” (Luke 8: 48 NIV).
Wait a minute—this woman just went from hiding in corners and crawling in dirty streets to boldly addressing a crowd?! In Jewish culture at the time, women usually weren’t permitted to speak in this way, and certainly not a woman in her circumstances. How could such a change happen so quickly? And she told not only that she had been healed but also what she had been healed from. Her sickness held no shame anymore because it had been transformed into a display of God’s glory. My sins and my old ways are a story I’ll gladly tell so that the difference He has made in me is clear.
“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering,” (Mark 5: 34 NIV).
Notice that Jesus didn’t tell her to wait seven days, bring a sacrifice to the temple, and have the priest make atonement for her (Leviticus 15: 28-30). Perhaps she did anyway, and we’ll never know until we meet her in heaven. But maybe He omitted this to show His authority as the Messiah (Luke 5:24) to heal and to save completely. And maybe He was pointing out that He would soon make atonement for her on the cross. According to the margin notes of my study Bible, the Greek word translated here as healed actually means saved. Hallelujah! Because of His sacrifice He is now our “high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19-- Hebrews 7:28), with the power to declare her—and all who come to Him—cleansed and free not just physically but also spiritually!
Although I’ve heard this story many times, as I read it anew the word stood out to me. What a term to use for someone who was unclean, who had no right to be there, who was penniless and broken! Her circumstances were such that her biological family would probably have denied knowing her. But Jesus called her daughter, perfectly willing to bear the shame of the association. As the Sanctus Real song on the radio goes, "There is no one too lost for Him to love/ No one too low for Him to serve."
Printed in the margin of my study Bible is the fact that this woman was the only person in the four Gospels whom Jesus addressed as daughter.
Why her? Why not someone respectable, someone who didn’t need much “fixing up” when she came to know Him? If you’re acquainted with my Savior, you should know that He loves to turn the misfits into miracles. She is an example for all of us that we can never fall too far for Him to catch us, and that our failings are no obstacle to His strength. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)!
It was the night before Father’s Day when I rediscovered this passage. Maybe you have a great relationship with your dad like I do, or maybe things aren’t going so well. Maybe you never even knew him. Isn’t it comforting to know that you have a heavenly Father too, who is never ashamed to call you His child, and who will never let you down? “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).
I can’t help but realize how much my story resembles hers. Like my sister in this passage and in the kingdom, I came to Jesus not just bleeding but dead in my sins. My soul, not just my hand, was unclean before Him (Isaiah 64: 6). I put my faith in Christ as the Messiah, my Redeemer, who saved and healed me. And although my past gives me so much to be ashamed of, I’m willing to stand center stage so that the whole world will know what His power has done in me.
Are you tired of carrying wounds that won’t heal? Have you tried everything in your own power to feel better? How long will you wait? She waited twelve years for a Healer to come. But now He is come—He’s knocking at the door of your heart and you don’t have to wait another minute. Maybe you feel as if you’ve messed up so badly you aren’t worthy to speak to Him. Guess what? That isn’t possible. He’s always willing to receive you. Come to Him, broken as you are. He is longing to say, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5: 34 NIV).
If you want to receive Christ as your personal Savior, read how at the end of this post.
Healed and Saved
A large crowd followed and pressed around him [Jesus]. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.This note is part 2 of what God is showing me about this passage. I’ve repeated the story here (Mark’s telling rather than Luke’s this time) to get us into the right frame of mind. Read Part 1 first, because I’m continuing from where I left off!
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." -- Mark 5: 24-34 NIV
Bold
“In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed” (Luke 8: 48 NIV).
Wait a minute—this woman just went from hiding in corners and crawling in dirty streets to boldly addressing a crowd?! In Jewish culture at the time, women usually weren’t permitted to speak in this way, and certainly not a woman in her circumstances. How could such a change happen so quickly? And she told not only that she had been healed but also what she had been healed from. Her sickness held no shame anymore because it had been transformed into a display of God’s glory. My sins and my old ways are a story I’ll gladly tell so that the difference He has made in me is clear.
Freed!
“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering,” (Mark 5: 34 NIV).
Notice that Jesus didn’t tell her to wait seven days, bring a sacrifice to the temple, and have the priest make atonement for her (Leviticus 15: 28-30). Perhaps she did anyway, and we’ll never know until we meet her in heaven. But maybe He omitted this to show His authority as the Messiah (Luke 5:24) to heal and to save completely. And maybe He was pointing out that He would soon make atonement for her on the cross. According to the margin notes of my study Bible, the Greek word translated here as healed actually means saved. Hallelujah! Because of His sacrifice He is now our “high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19-- Hebrews 7:28), with the power to declare her—and all who come to Him—cleansed and free not just physically but also spiritually!
Daughter
Although I’ve heard this story many times, as I read it anew the word stood out to me. What a term to use for someone who was unclean, who had no right to be there, who was penniless and broken! Her circumstances were such that her biological family would probably have denied knowing her. But Jesus called her daughter, perfectly willing to bear the shame of the association. As the Sanctus Real song on the radio goes, "There is no one too lost for Him to love/ No one too low for Him to serve."
 |
| From Weed to Rose |
Why her? Why not someone respectable, someone who didn’t need much “fixing up” when she came to know Him? If you’re acquainted with my Savior, you should know that He loves to turn the misfits into miracles. She is an example for all of us that we can never fall too far for Him to catch us, and that our failings are no obstacle to His strength. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)!
It was the night before Father’s Day when I rediscovered this passage. Maybe you have a great relationship with your dad like I do, or maybe things aren’t going so well. Maybe you never even knew him. Isn’t it comforting to know that you have a heavenly Father too, who is never ashamed to call you His child, and who will never let you down? “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).
Sister
I can’t help but realize how much my story resembles hers. Like my sister in this passage and in the kingdom, I came to Jesus not just bleeding but dead in my sins. My soul, not just my hand, was unclean before Him (Isaiah 64: 6). I put my faith in Christ as the Messiah, my Redeemer, who saved and healed me. And although my past gives me so much to be ashamed of, I’m willing to stand center stage so that the whole world will know what His power has done in me.
Are you tired of carrying wounds that won’t heal? Have you tried everything in your own power to feel better? How long will you wait? She waited twelve years for a Healer to come. But now He is come—He’s knocking at the door of your heart and you don’t have to wait another minute. Maybe you feel as if you’ve messed up so badly you aren’t worthy to speak to Him. Guess what? That isn’t possible. He’s always willing to receive you. Come to Him, broken as you are. He is longing to say, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5: 34 NIV).
If you want to receive Christ as your personal Savior, read how at the end of this post.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Woman Jesus Called Daughter, Part 1, A Beautiful Mystery
Today we have a guest writer--my sister, Shannon, who is currently studying to be an electrical engineer (I had to brag on her a bit). This Bible study was originally shared on Facebook, as a result of some of her personal reading about the healing of the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9: 20-22; Luke 8: 42-48). I asked her if it would be okay if I shared it here, and she agreed. She also requested that I somehow include a comment I left on that Facebook note, so I have copied it, with revisions for brevity, and set it apart in italics.
So, without further ado, here is the devotional that my sister shared. Hope you enjoy it! Feel free to leave comments, and if you want, you can address her rather than me (I'll let her know).
God made this passage stand out to me a few weeks ago, and He just won’t leave me alone about it. I’ve heard or read the story many times, but this time the meaning was fresh and new. God’s word is a well so deep that I can always keep drawing from it and never reach the bottom! When I found myself in tears over these six verses for the second night in a row, I knew I had to share what Jesus has been showing me.
This miracle went against everything the Israelites had been taught. A touch like this was supposed to make the clean things unclean. Any other man would have been considered ceremonially unclean until sundown because of the brush of her hand (Leviticus 15: 27). But instead Jesus’ power flowed through her fingers and cleansed her, while He remained clean! This was no ordinary prophet. How could His holiness cover sin and shame? It’s still a beautiful mystery to me.
Facebook comment from Rachel: I think can help a bit on that question, based on a radio sermon I heard one afternoon on a drive to my college campus. She believed so firmly that touching the hem of Jesus' robe would heal her because of an ancient Jewish tradition, and another verse in the Bible. In Numbers 15: 37-39, the Israelites were instructed to put tassels on the hems of their garments. Each tassel must include a blue thread (blue was the symbol of God's divinity and majesty). The tassels were to help them, "remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes," (v. 39). The tassels were to remind them of God's holiness and His commands to them about holiness!
As you pointed out, she was not considered pure or holy by the people because of her issue of blood, so symbolically, she was asking Jesus to make her holy. This shows that she not only believed that Jesus was sent by God and made holy by Him, but also that she believed He was God, and had the power to fulfill her request.
Now, the word for the hem of the garment in Hebrew is often also translated "wings" (also explained on this website). So she literally touched Jesus' "wings" to get her healing. In the Old Testament, God repeatedly says that He wants to hide Israel in the shadow of His wings (that is, to protect them like an eagle does her young). David also says, in the Psalms, that he sought refuge under God's "wings." Another very significant use of the Hebrew word is Malachi 4: 2, a prophecy about the Messiah, that says, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall" (read the full prophecy here). So, by this gesture, she was calling on Jesus as her refuge, and claiming her promised healing from her Messiah.
It was a timid gesture, but it was based on a bold faith. This woman had done her reading! Hope this comment adds to your appreciation of the story.
He already knew who had touched Him! We have to realize at some point that essentially all of the questions Jesus asked in the Bible were rhetorical—He was fully God and fully man, and therefore all-knowing! So why did He ask? Did He want to single her out in her shame? No—He treated her with gentleness and respect. He wanted her to feel worthy again of being seen and known, because she was acknowledged by the Messiah himself!
Notice the disciples’ incredulous reaction. Sometimes I laugh at them for still questioning His reasons after all that they had seen, but then I look in the mirror…. He didn’t rebuke them for their doubts, but allowed them to watch and learn.
I try to put myself in her shoes, and imagine how she must have felt. We have just a few words to describe what she was going through. “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet” (v. 47).
The reader’s first reaction might be that she should have been eager to thank the one who had healed her. But the habits she had formed over twelve years of uncleanness made her shy away from this idea, no matter how her heart may have been overflowing with gratefulness. She wanted to “go unnoticed”—she was used to being invisible.
So, without further ado, here is the devotional that my sister shared. Hope you enjoy it! Feel free to leave comments, and if you want, you can address her rather than me (I'll let her know).
A Beautiful Mystery
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."--Luke 8:42-48
God made this passage stand out to me a few weeks ago, and He just won’t leave me alone about it. I’ve heard or read the story many times, but this time the meaning was fresh and new. God’s word is a well so deep that I can always keep drawing from it and never reach the bottom! When I found myself in tears over these six verses for the second night in a row, I knew I had to share what Jesus has been showing me.
God’s Timing
First, the setup. Jesus was in the middle of performing another miracle! He was on His way to the home of Jairus, the synagogue leader, to heal the man’s daughter (Luke 8: 41, 42). Presumably Jairus and the disciples were in a hurry to reach the house before she died, and from a human point of view, certainly Jairus should have been given precedence over this lowly woman—but God’s timing isn’t like ours. Jesus knew that He would take the time for this poor woman as well, because raising the little girl from the dead was not too hard for Him, and would build more faith than just a healing in those who saw it.Faith
Jesus was moving through a crowd that “almost crushed Him.” The whole town had come out to see what He would do—either out of curiosity or hope for their own healing. As Peter pointed out, dozens of people were pressing in around Him as He passed by. What made this one woman believe that just touching the dusty hem of His robe would heal her (Mark 5:28)? This was the first recorded instance of anyone being healed in this way. Many asked Jesus to touch them and were healed by His hands (Luke 4:40), but who else had this kind of faith? It’s humbling to ask myself…am I just one of the curious crowd, or will I reach out to Him in faith when I need healing?Unclean
According to the Law, the “issue of blood” made the woman, and anything she touched, unclean (Leviticus 15: 25-30). Originally, the unclean could not live inside the camp (Leviticus 13: 45, 46); and later could not enter the temple (2 Chronicles 23: 18, 19). She was used to being shunned, and had been unable to participate in the temple festivals and sacrifices for twelve long years. “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse” (Mark 5:26). Maybe she approached Jesus in the way she did because she felt unworthy to ask His attention, but she was about to receive it anyway.A Beautiful Mystery
“She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering,” (Mark 5: 27-29 NIV).This miracle went against everything the Israelites had been taught. A touch like this was supposed to make the clean things unclean. Any other man would have been considered ceremonially unclean until sundown because of the brush of her hand (Leviticus 15: 27). But instead Jesus’ power flowed through her fingers and cleansed her, while He remained clean! This was no ordinary prophet. How could His holiness cover sin and shame? It’s still a beautiful mystery to me.
Facebook comment from Rachel: I think can help a bit on that question, based on a radio sermon I heard one afternoon on a drive to my college campus. She believed so firmly that touching the hem of Jesus' robe would heal her because of an ancient Jewish tradition, and another verse in the Bible. In Numbers 15: 37-39, the Israelites were instructed to put tassels on the hems of their garments. Each tassel must include a blue thread (blue was the symbol of God's divinity and majesty). The tassels were to help them, "remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes," (v. 39). The tassels were to remind them of God's holiness and His commands to them about holiness!
As you pointed out, she was not considered pure or holy by the people because of her issue of blood, so symbolically, she was asking Jesus to make her holy. This shows that she not only believed that Jesus was sent by God and made holy by Him, but also that she believed He was God, and had the power to fulfill her request.
Now, the word for the hem of the garment in Hebrew is often also translated "wings" (also explained on this website). So she literally touched Jesus' "wings" to get her healing. In the Old Testament, God repeatedly says that He wants to hide Israel in the shadow of His wings (that is, to protect them like an eagle does her young). David also says, in the Psalms, that he sought refuge under God's "wings." Another very significant use of the Hebrew word is Malachi 4: 2, a prophecy about the Messiah, that says, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall" (read the full prophecy here). So, by this gesture, she was calling on Jesus as her refuge, and claiming her promised healing from her Messiah.
It was a timid gesture, but it was based on a bold faith. This woman had done her reading! Hope this comment adds to your appreciation of the story.
Seen and Known
“’Who touched me?’ Jesus asked,” (Luke 8:45).He already knew who had touched Him! We have to realize at some point that essentially all of the questions Jesus asked in the Bible were rhetorical—He was fully God and fully man, and therefore all-knowing! So why did He ask? Did He want to single her out in her shame? No—He treated her with gentleness and respect. He wanted her to feel worthy again of being seen and known, because she was acknowledged by the Messiah himself!
Notice the disciples’ incredulous reaction. Sometimes I laugh at them for still questioning His reasons after all that they had seen, but then I look in the mirror…. He didn’t rebuke them for their doubts, but allowed them to watch and learn.
Invisible
I try to put myself in her shoes, and imagine how she must have felt. We have just a few words to describe what she was going through. “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet” (v. 47). 
The reader’s first reaction might be that she should have been eager to thank the one who had healed her. But the habits she had formed over twelve years of uncleanness made her shy away from this idea, no matter how her heart may have been overflowing with gratefulness. She wanted to “go unnoticed”—she was used to being invisible.
Trembling
Of course—after twelve years of bleeding, she would be physically weak, right? Wrong. She had been instantly healed, not just a little but completely. “Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering” (Mark 5:29). God doesn’t fulfill His promises halfway; He doesn’t pour a scant measure, but opens the floodgates of blessing when we submit to Him. She wasn’t trembling with physical infirmity. She was trembling with emotion.At His Feet
She fell at His feet not out of weakness but in worship. Whether she knew the fullness of who Jesus was or not, she knew that the one who had redeemed her from all her pain deserved all her adoration. What has He redeemed you from? When was the last time you fell at His feet in praise?
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