She Could Not Go Unnoticed
Women Impacted by Jesus – part 9
Have you ever tried to accomplish something without drawing attention to yourself? Perhaps you’ve arrived late at a meeting and tried to slip in quietly using the back door only to discover that you’ve entered through the front door and everyone is looking at you! In Luke 8:43-48, we read of a woman who had a similar experience. Seeking healing, this woman comes up behind Jesus and touches the edge of His robe. She doesn’t seek an audience with Jesus. She simply wants to receive healing without interrupting His journey.“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.”(Luke 8:47)
Sit for a moment and imagine this woman’s trembling testimony. Why is she trembling? She has been discovered. She has taken something from Jesus without asking. Now in the spotlight, she tells why she touched Jesus and reports that she has been instantly healed. Having confessed, she awaits His response.
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)
Listen to the tone of Jesus’ statement. Accepting. Affirming. Lifegiving. Gentle. There is no condemnation. May you hear the voice of Jesus speaking into your life in like manner.
Consider the content of His statement:
Daughter. This is an invitation to relationship. This is a declaration of belonging. Jesus gives this woman the assurance that she is accepted, she is adopted, and she has Someone who will lovingly see to her needs. Jesus does not want us to receive from Him without relationship. We don’t need to sneak around and “steal” from His supply of resources. We are daughters loved perfectly by our heavenly Father. Approach Him. Ask and receive.
Your faith has healed you. This is both a commendation and a confirmation. Jesus recognizes the faith that motivated this woman’s actions and confirms that she is indeed healed. Healed physically. Healed relationally. Healed emotionally. Jesus’ healing is a complete healing.
Go in peace. This woman is commissioned to move forward in the knowledge that she is loved, accepted, adopted, healed. What caused her fear, being discovered, became the source of her new-found peace. Her life was transformed by an encounter with Christ.
Take some time during this season of Lent to contemplate Jesus’ willingness to give you healing, His desire for relationship with you, and His commission to “go in peace.” Approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, coming through the front door, not sneaking in through the back. There you will receive mercy and find grace to help in your time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
More…of Jesus!!!
About a month ago, I decided to make some homemade bread pudding with peaches and raisins for my 97-year old father who now lives in a nursing home. He used to request that I make it for him when I was a teenage girl. He is blind now, so I usually visit him on Saturday mornings to feed him breakfast. When I arrived, he had already been fed scrambled eggs and juice. So, I mentioned that I brought his favorite – bread pudding. So, he tried a bite. Then, every time I would be ready to put the spoon down, he would emphatically say “… more” and open his mouth for the next bite. It seemed Dad just couldn’t get enough of his favorite – bread pudding!!
Have you ever felt like you can’t get enough of Jesus? The songwriter, Eliza Hewitt, put it this way, “More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show, More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me.” (full lyrics) Another songwriter, Annie Flint, so aptly penned it, “He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.”
Can we ever have enough of a GOOD THING? Can we ever have enough of JESUS?
Editorial Note: Both Eliza Hewitt and Annie Flint wrote hymns lying in beds, overwhelmed with pain.
Hear more about these incredible women at:
“Ravi Zacharias about Annie Flint, He Giveth More Grace” youtube video
“Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, Songs from a Bed of Pain” Christianity.com article
She Loved Much
Women Impacted by Jesus – part 7
We are traveling together through the gospel of Luke, reflecting on women who received “more” through the life-transforming work of Jesus.
Today we find ourselves in the home of Simon the Pharisee. Jesus has been invited to have dinner with Simon and some other guests. One uninvited guest appears – a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town. She came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 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. [Luke 7:37b-38]
Simon saw her sin; Jesus saw her faith.
Jesus defends and affirms her
Jesus turns toward the woman and speaks to Simon. That simple gesture of turning toward her should not be overlooked. Jesus then affirms the woman’s acts of devotion by declaring three times, “You did not…but she did,”and makes this summary statement: “She loved much.”
Jesus forgives her
Speaking to Simon, Jesus says, “I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven.” Then, speaking to the woman, Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.”These are the first words Jesus speaks directly to her. They are life-giving, burden-releasing words.
Jesus reassures and commissions her
The account concludes with these words spoken by Jesus to the woman: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Jesus gives her a fresh start.
As we walk through 2018, may Jesus be able to say of each of us, “She loved much.” Have faith. Show love. Scripture teaches us the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. [Galatians 5:6b]
May we love Him much and go in His peace.
God Has Come to Help His People
Women Impacted by Jesus – part 6
We are traveling together through the gospel of Luke, reflecting on women who received “more” through the life-transforming work of Jesus.
Jesus is traveling in ministry, bringing evidence of the kingdom of God to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear. In Luke 7, we read this account: Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out–the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. [Luke 7:11-17 NIV]
Jesus saw the widow of Nain and felt the magnitude of her loss. She had no husband to protect her and now no son to provide for her. Compassion begins with having eyes to see individuals and their unique circumstances. If we desire to be like Jesus, we must slow down, look around, and be willing to enter into the lives of others.
Jesus then demonstrated both the power and the heart of the Kingdom of God. He raised the young man to life and gave him back to his mother. Both actions inspire worship in my spirit. The power to raise the dead to life! And the tender giving back of that which had been lost.
Lord, You are good and your mercies are new every morning!
Drawing upon the resources of the Kingdom, what can we give back to those who have experienced loss? Can we restore dignity, hope, and relationship to others through our time, attention and God-given grace? We are now the sent ones, traveling through our lives with Spirit-anointing. May we be good stewards of this equipping.
Finally, in this Advent season I am reminded that God, too, had an “only son” Who was given, Who died, was brought back to life, and given back to us. May we all rejoice in the joy of our salvation!
God bless.