Somebody Touched Jesus

Luke 8:45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

The Lady who touched Jesus was ill, desperate, needy, hopeless, penniless, wasted and disregarded.

She had nothing to lose, so she pressed through the crowd, reached out her hand as far as she could, and touched the hem of the garment of the Healer, the Great Physician. The hem of the garment contained the tallith, the fringes of His prayer shawl.

The Religious leaders were careful to broaden the borders of their garments to appear more spiritual, since those hems represented the law of God. But you don't find anyone trying to touch their hems out of desperation. There was no power there.

But this poor gal received immediate virtue from her touch of the Master's garment. She knew this Rabbi was for real.

Today, our point of contact is simple faith. We can simply reach out in trust toward the Master to receive our deliverance. There is no crowd prohibiting us from drawing near Him. He awaits those who will trust Him. He takes joy in rewarding their faith with virtue and healing.

What is your need today? What is the depth of your desperation? Reach out to Jesus, He's reaching out to you.

Waiting for Him

Luke 8:40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

Jesus was returning from doing some mighty important ministry among the Gadarenes. Now, as He came ashore at Capernaum, the people gladly received Him. They had been expectantly awaiting His return.

Imagine that. The folks had no idea just when He would be back, they just expected that He would return and were so glad to see Him. Things are just so much better when He is near.

My mind turns to today, July whatever, 2012. I don't know just when He is returning to call me home. But, what, with all the crud transpiring down here on earth and all the glory awaiting up yonder, and most of all, just to be with Him, I am patiently working and waiting for Him to return. I will gladly receive Him and expect Him to gladly receive me!

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

When Pigs Fly

Luke 8:32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

These demons would not live high on the hog for long. Headed into the sea was pulled pork and deviled ham. You talk about choppy waters, nobody was going to save their bacon. There would be no futures in pork bellies that day as they hoofed it over the edge of the hogback and spiraled into the water and got themselves into a real pickle and that's no crock.

Th..th..th..th..that's all folks!

Inhospitable Soils

Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

These soils represent the heart of the hearer and the degree of receptiveness to God’s Word.

The Inhospitable Soils:

1. Way Side Soil- packed down from foot traffic. So much is going on that there is not an opportunity for the seed to do its thing. This soil provides enough rich dirt to sprout the seed, but it would soon to be devoured by the fouls or trampled down by the heavy traffic.

2. Rock Hard Soil - Again, there was enough dirt residing on the rock to allow the seed to germinate, but rocks absorb the heat of the day, dissipating any moisture and depleting the plant. Much like the grass of a lawn adjacent to the concrete of the sidewalk and driveway in the heat of the summer, it begins to brown and gives way to weeds.

3. Thorn Laden Soil - Thorns and weeds are part of the Genesis curse which remind us of the ruinous effects of sin. Seed sewn among weeds are always overcome by offensive briars and thistles. Good seed cannot compete with bad seed for needed nutrients. It is unwise, futile and wasteful to sow good seed in such areas.

But praise God for the good ground, a receptive heart which readily receives the seed and provides a suitable environment for germination, growth and harvest.

You may have read today's post with the idea of witnessing to others, but I have challenge for you. Would you please consider your own heart? Already born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, do you continue to provide receptive soil, a willing, ready and hearing heart for the preaching, teaching and study of God's seed for you on an ongoing basis?

Has your heart become as wayside, rock hard or thorn laden? Or does it continue to be good ground, receptive of the truth of God's Word?

Sowers Sow Seed!

Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Some old, half-crazy dude came to visit the church I worked with in Riverside, CA. He was a tract-passer-outer. That's what he did. He went from church to church for a love offering. He would have that church order 10,000 gospel tracts and then he would take someone like me out every day for a few hours to malls and other population centers to get these tracts passed out.

If you do the math, 10,000 divided by 2 is 5,000 per person, passing out the tracts for five days, that's 1,000 per person per day. We probably sowed this seed for about 3 hours each day. So, that's 333 tracts per hour. About 6 per minute, one every ten seconds! We weren't letting any grass grow under our feet (pun intended).

Seed was falling everywhere. I didn't agree with the way we did it, I was just obedient and doing my job. We placed tracts in open car windows, in the back of pick-ups, under windshield wipers and various other places. When I questioned his methods, he told me, "he that soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly, but he that soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully." Well, how could I argue with that? Perhaps some of that seed would fall on good ground.

I contrast this brother's zeal with my sloth when it comes to sowing seed. If the seed is still in the barn, it will do no good whatsoever. Good on him, shame on me!

Sowers sow seed! It doesn't matter if the ground is offended by the offering of the seed. He doesn't concern himself with the local authority's take on where seed should fall and where it is prohibited. He could care less if other seed sowers approve of his sowing or not. He just sows seed, hoping for some type of harvest in due season.

If you are a Christian, guess what? You are to be a seed sower. Make all the excuses you want, try to wiggle your way out of your responsibility, deny that you have the seed sowing gift, but you are commanded by your Lord to sow the seed of the Word of God.

Grab a handful of tracts and start passing them out. Plant, water and God will give the increase because He has promised that His Word would not return to Him void.

The First Missions Givers

Luke 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, 3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

Do you support missions? I hope so. I pray that, above and beyond your tithes, given to take care of the house of God, you are also a blessing to the missionaries. They are the ones who, on your behalf do what Jesus did in verse one: ...he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God:

Paul made a very special promise for those who take care of the missionaries, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19 Now, there's is an unbeatable promise!

So here, we find certain women who were the trail blazers for missions support. They included Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna, among many others. Joanna was a woman who was well to do. Her husband was Herod's steward. I find it interesting that Mary Magdalene had the wherewithal to be a financial blessing. It seems she was out of work, seeing as how Jesus saved her from prostitution. Perhaps she saved up some of her profits for a rainy day and that day had come.

If you are not already heavily involved in giving to missions over and above your tithe, why don't you ask the Lord what He would have you to do on a regular basis to help the missionaries carry out their commission to get the glad tidings to the world? Maybe you cannot go to every corner of the globe, but you can send. Join the ranks of these unsung heroes of the faith who back the soul-winners/church-planters. You will be blessed and the promise of all needs met will be yours. And remember, you cannot out give God! Whatever you give will be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

What are your “’druthers?”

Check your choice:

___ Swimming in peanut butter, extra crunchy with a robe.

___ Swimming in water with a swim suit

___ Sawing with a broken down chain saw, no gas and the chain missing

___ Sawing with a plugged in power saw

___ Duking it out with George Foreman

___ Boxing your shadow on the wall

___ Loving a coiled rattle snake

___ Loving a 3 week old puppy

___ Pushing an out of gas jalopy up hill in the middle of July

___ Riding a Harley down a smooth country highway on a gorgeous Autumn afternoon

___ Living in freedom in the middle of the good old USA

___ Trying to survive under the hand of Communist oppression in N. Korea

___ Trying to spear a crab with a makeshift spear

___ Fishing with a rod and reel and some good bait

___ Cleaning a toilet with a tooth brush

___ Sweeping your tiled floors with a good broom

___ Driving a WWII era tank in the middle of the Sahara Desert

___ Driving a Lamborghini down the Pacific Coast Highway

___ Dwelling in the Cabrini Green Tenements of S. Chicago

___ Dwelling in a luxury condo on a lake in the woods

___ Trying to operate in the power of the flesh

___ Being filled with the Spirit of God

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.