On The Way To a Miracle...

“…a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man…fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him…because his only daughter…was dying….And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years…came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped…Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet…Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace’…When he arrived at the house…Jesus said, ‘She is not dead but asleep’…But he took her by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.” Luke 8:40-58

Where do I begin? So much happened…so many people…so many needs. Jesus was walking in the town with a following so thick the Bible reports that he was being crushed. ‘As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.’ Luke 8:42. If you have ever been to a concert you know this feeling. Efforts are futile while trying to move in one direction only to feel the wall of people pressing against you. For Jesus, the wall of people were no doubt those who required some type of healing. They had come with urgency, hopelessness and last resort hope. Is anyone feeling this way today?

Jesus was on his way to heal a man’s only daughter whom was believed to be dead. There was no sense of urgency on the part of Christ for He already knew that she would live. As He was moving through the crowds to accomplish one miracle the slender hand of woman whom had been infirmed for twelve years inconspicuously reached out and touched the border of His garment. My commentary states, ‘She sensed that there was power in Jesus to heal her, so she eased her way through the crowd to where He was. Stooping down, she touched the border of His garment, the hem or fringe that formed the lower border of a Jew’s robe.’ p. 1399. Jesus stopped in His tracks realizing that healing power had left Him. He asks, ‘Who touched Me?’ Christ knew who touched Him but wanted the woman to publicly receive the healing and publicly testify to the miracle. Can you imagine having a life consuming need for twelve years only to be healed in an instant? There are no expiration dates on prayers or miracles!

When we ‘stoop down (prayer) and touch the border of belief’ we align ourselves for the miracle. He will stop on His way to another miracle and acknowledge our faith. Jesus Christ always knows when we have reached out for Him and believed. When our belief touches the power of God, miraculous things occur. Neither our needs nor our faith will go unnoticed. The crushing needs of His children will not be hidden from Him. He can handle all of our needs.

Go ahead...stoop down, reach out, touch and believe!

All Ashore

“When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man…For a long time this man had not…but had lived in tombs…For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained…the man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him… ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’” Luke 8:26-39

This was an encounter between good and evil, perfection and imperfection, Christ and Satan. This is the story of sin in heart of man. We all have it, we all live among it and we all struggle within our own sin. We all have an appetite of sin for which we have struggled many times throughout our life. We each know within us our appetite of sin which reappears without notice, and ‘seizes us’ over and over again. It is the habitual practice for which Satan uses time and time again due to its success. Our sins live in those private and shameful places in our hearts.

But then Christ docks on our shore of sin and steps out of the boat. He faces our sin head on as He exposes, commands and convicts. Satan knows that God is greater than our sin and that He will not be satisfied until our surrender and repentance.

Our sins wrap their chains around us and before we know it we are firmly bound by them. We live in shame and fear of the exposure of these sins. We relegate ourselves to tombs fearful of letting anyone too close. We can be assured that as long as we live in our unconfessed sin, much like this man, ‘we will have not.’ We will be without the peace and contentment that is offered through the cleansing of our heart. We will be without the joy that is found in Him. We will be without a song in our heart testifying of Christ’s great and marvelous forgiveness and deliverance. We will live in tombs!

It is guaranteed that Christ will step ashore on all of our little islands. Meet Him at the water’s edge and welcome Him on your knees. Then return home to that place where shame and fear no longer reside and tell how much God has done for you!

Sowing Seeds

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” Luke 8:5-8

This was a parable Jesus told when explaining the results of hearing the Word. The seed represents the knowledge and faith we have in what has been presented to us through His Word. The seed along the path represents those whom have heard God’s word but didn’t receive it as their way of life. Those among the rock actually heard and received God’s word but didn’t penetrate the truths more deeply through meditation upon the Word and had no roots when times of testing came. The seeds that feel among thorns heard, received and studied but allowed their faith to co-exist with the worries, riches and pleasures of the world. The most successful and victorious seedlings took root in ‘good soil.’ These are the ones with active and progressive faith that is never satisfied with the level of knowledge they already possess in the Word. They are always planting, sowing, watering and preparing.

When we were planting grass last year it wasn’t until later that I saw the spots that we had missed or failed to water. It was too late for that season but thankfully we can always re-sow. This is much like our faith as it is a living and changing element of our Christian walk. During the time of my daughter’s active addiction my seed of faith certainly lived among the rocks and thorns. I worried myself sick and despaired beyond any comforts. I turned to secret spending and fleeting joys of the world only to find that my faith was without any root. It was only through making a decision to sow elsewhere that I was able to prepare my faith for the times of testing down the road. I planted in good soil being the foundation of the Word. Daily, I watered and pulled weeds. I submitted to God His plan for the growth apart from my own ideas on how to farm. When the season of testing came through my family’s medical illnesses I saw the yield that God’s seed provided. I am experiencing the divine growth and blossoming peace of His garden.

We will all sow but where will it land?

Redefining Family

“Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him. ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’” Luke 8:19-21

I love God’s timing as He determines from which passage I will be inspired each day. This is very appropriate as we just celebrated Father’s Day yesterday. When I first read this my ‘mother heart’ was hurt for the thought of Mary being relegated to the same position as many other people. I searched my commentary to see what on earth Jesus meant by this and was completely blessed by the motivation of His heart. “The answer of the Lord was that real relationship with Him does not depend on natural ties, but on obedience to the word of God. No crowd can prevent His spiritual family from having audience with him.” Believer’s Bible Comm. “Jesus was not rejecting as much as redefining His family. His statement reflected inclusion more than exclusion.” Beth Moore, “Jesus – The One and Only.”

As parents, we love to think that only we can give our children that perfect recipe of love, encouragement, discipline and nurturing. There are many people who want fellowship with family but are excluded based on the will of the other. Christ brings good news regarding fellowship with Him. He will always be available, approachable and attainable through our pursuit of His word. Many people lack a positive experience with a parent and are left on the outside looking in much like Jesus’ family. Feelings of abandonment and neglect crowd the thoughts and feelings only to distort relationship and fellowship. Through Christ, He shows us the importance of fellowship with Him and all that He provides. He reprioritizes what relationships should guide our lives. He heals and mends the wounded and injured giving them a new prospective of family – His family. A family that always seeks, loves, and passionately pursues. His invitation is for all and He will not rest until He has offered a place in the spiritual Family. He will only invite...He will not force.

Our family knows first hand the pain of a child with a broken relationship with a biological parent. God has healed her and redefined her family and she now knows the complete and absolute truth of who her fathers are – both earthly and spiritually speaking.

Father, show yourself as the Father who loves, comforts and resurrects the heart of the abandoned. Fill that empty place in their hearts and make them complete in You. In your complete and perfect love, Amen.

Master, Say On...

“When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself…Jesus answered him, ‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’ ‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said.” Luke 7:39-40

This exchange haunts me from time to time as I find myself thinking ‘unlovely thoughts’ as my grandmother used to say. This verse states that the Pharisee had certain thoughts regarding his opinion. Christ immediately responded with a desire to disclose something to Simon. I love the KJV of these sentences. It states, ‘Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee.’ Simon’s response was ‘Master, say on.’ Simon had no idea that Jesus had known his thoughts and was about to rebuke him through a parable of satisfying the debts of two debtors. (Luke 7:41-48)

Many times our thoughts are equally condemning, judgmental and unforgiving and I shudder to think that Christ hears them. Christ reads our hearts and mind continuously as it reveals motivation, trust and belief. I believe His concern for the motivation of our heart is much greater the work of our hands. Remember the Pharisee as He invited Christ in for external appearance but missed the lesson of internal acceptance. His deeds were surface and his heart was shallow.

We must renew our thinking and purify our hearts. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world…” (condemnation of others, being judgmental and unforgiving) “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

One day while babysitting for my granddaughter, Kherington I was fussing (that is what southern women do!) at their cat. She looks up at me and with her long southern drawl says, ‘Be niiice, Memmy!’ I suddenly felt convicted of my tongue and aware of my attitude as an example…and that was just an 18 month old! “For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 Imagine how I feel when I remember that Christ knows every attitude, thought and motivation. ‘Brenda, I have somewhat to say to thee.’ After some of my thoughts I am not sure if I would invite the Master to ‘say on!’

We must ‘take every thought captive to make it obedient of Christ.’ 2 Co. 10:5

Hosting Jesus...

“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.’” Luke 7:36-39

Tradition in ancient times was to anoint the forehead of a guest that has come to a person’s home. This was done as a general custom of welcome as well as to give the person who might have traveled some distance a nice smell. The fragrant smell would cover any unsavory smell of the person from the journey. It was also the custom to wash the feet of a guest since back then most of the roads and paths were dirt and would have been very dusty. We are told in this passage that Jesus was invited by the Pharisee, but notice that the host didn’t even display the obligatory offerings as custom in those times. It was the woman, the sinner, who displayed hospitality and humility.

We invite Christ in for fellowship on Sundays much like the Pharisee. We prepare for our time with Him that morning as we prepare for church. We walk through the doors and approach our fellowship time with Him with obligatory worship, worship that is contained within the walls of the church with no sincere ‘washing or pouring of perfume’. Then we depart and during the week we judge, we ignore our Guest and we scoff at others. We become indifferent towards the work of God and our part in ‘hosting Jesus’. There is much to learn from our sinful woman in our study. Notice her process and the example of how we should fellowship with Christ.

She approached – Come to Him with a heart of repentance

She wept – Come to Him with a heart of humility

She dried – Come to Him with a heart of service

She kissed – Come to Him with a heart of love and testimony

She poured – Come to Him with heart of sacrifice

God meets us where we are, not where we think we are going. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Greater Than...Less Than

“That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

This was John the Baptist’s realization as he faced death at the end of his ministry. His public ministry had only lasted one year only to end in martyrdom. He realized that he had accomplished what he was born to accomplish and now the time had come to relinquish his duties. How that must have been bitter sweet for him. It couldn’t have been easy to realize that his part in the crucial work of the Kingdom was over. Jesus’ ministry was emerging and growing in strength, power and sustenance. To emerge is to ‘appear out of or from behind something’. The ministry of Christ came out of the forerunner’s ministry of prophesy and revelation. The establishment of Christ’s ministry ended the important work of John but the fruit of his ministry still lives today. “The entire object of John’s ministry is summarized in the verse above. He labored ceaselessly to point men and women to the Lord, and to make them realize His true worth.” Believer’s Bible Commentary, p. 1481.


When Beth was dying of cancer we started a website called Caringbridge where people would sign in and encourage both Beth and the family. Each morning I posted devotions and updates which quickly became a ministry for which I loved. When Beth died the website was deactivated…the ministry was over…the doors had closed. While the reason for the ministry was not joyful, the service of the ministry was. It pointed to Christ as a means and provision through suffering.

All service is a form of ministry. When my father-in-law came to live with us this became a ministry of service. It is a very private and excruciating service that only God sees but the ministry must be something I need to develop and grow. I must remember that as I serve my father-in-law I serve Christ. When focusing on Christ and less on me, my service seems joyful and peaceful. When I focus on the negative and ‘rehearse my woes’, peace eludes me.

We all are called to service in different ministries whether public or private, joyful or sorrowful. The message is the same: More of Christ and less of us.