February 23, 2009 by admin.

Is there something that you have experienced every day of your life since 1997?

1998?…1999?…2000?…2001?…2002?…2003?…2004?…2005?..2006?…2007?…2008?…since January 1, 2009?

What about pain? The woman that was healed in Mark 5:21-32 bled for that long. Aside from the likely pain that accompanied her every day for those 12 years, the ceremonial laws that she lived under declared her unclean from day one. That means that for twelve years, this woman was not allowed to: touch her husband (if she had one before she began bleeding), touch her children (if she had any), hug her friends, sleep in the same bed as anyone, sit in the same seats as anyone, worship in the synagogue, touch any food that anyone would be touching…you get the point. Her relationships had to have suffered. Not to mention that the stigma of being unclean in her culture was worse than the stigma attached to AIDS in our culture.

Among all of this, what really gets me is the timing of all of this. Imagine that for 12 years you’ve been dealing with this pain. Now, you hear of this Jesus who has been travelling around performing miracles – including healing! You want to meet him, to be touched by him, to be healed. You also know the risks. He’s become popular, so wherever he is, you’ve heard a lot of people crowd around him. You have one chance to find the right opening, avoid touching anyone else, maybe just barely touch the edge of his cloak, and get out of there before anyone notices that you dared to make a man unclean.  All the pain, frustration, fear, doubt, tears, anger, and hopelessness of 12 years culminates in this one opportunity for it all to end, or for one big embarrassment. She believed. She was healed. She was freed.

The timing of Jairus’ situation did not lose its impact for me either. Imagine being in his situation. You take the risk of missing your daughter’s last breath so you can find the one man who can make her breath again. Feel the urgency of his situation. Amazingly, you find him in time. Jesus agrees to come with you, and then… an unclean woman interrupts the whole convoy, captivates the attention of the healer, and then has to explain everything.

How does 12 years pass in our eyes? For the woman, it crept by moment by painful moment. For Jairus, it flew too quickly as his precious daughter went from a small baby to the young girl that was now dead. To God, Peter says a day is like a thousand years; and on that day in Galilee everything swirled around in a dance with the Great Physician.

Have you been struggling with something that God just won’t deliver you from? Is there something that binds you with a pressing urgency that you can’t fix?

Jesus knows your need. No matter what your circumstance or your social status is, Jesus has the power to say to you, time after time: “Go in peace, and be freed from your suffering.” Will you take the risk of believing in him?

Discuss: Name a time when God met your need. Was it after a long time of waiting? Was it immediately after you asked?

Posted in Jairus' Daughter, Mark Chapter 5, God | Print | 2832 Comments »

February 16, 2009 by admin.

It is a dark and balmy night in the Saharan Desert regions of Africa. Off in the distance a wise, albeit eccentric, sage is cackling and singing some jibberish. There, in the night sky, a glowing cloud resembling his father echoes, “remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king.”

And then, Mufasa fades away into the sky, and Simba is left alone.

Listening to the message yesterday, I couldn’t help but remember this scene from The Lion King as we read James 1:23-24, which says “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” James reveals to us that when we do not live out our faith in obedience to God, we are actively forgetting who we are.

What is our identity, through the word of truth? “That we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” God’s very best. That’s a comfort isn’t it?

James doesn’t end there. He then explains that while God thinks very highly of us, there’s a certain righteous life that he desires for us, as His sons and daughters. Here’s a short list from the verses we covered (James 1:13-27) this past Lord’s Day of characteristics that God is working to produce in us:

• Quick to listen
• Slow to speak
• Slow to get angry
• Word-doers (not just hearers only)
• Control of our tongues
• Care for orphans
• Care for widows
• Turning away from the influences in our lives that draw us toward sin. 

If we can be real for a moment, I think many of us would agree that that short list suddenly becomes very tall when we actually try to live it. As Curt pointed out, James provides us with a way to acheive this goal (verse 25): “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.”

Instead of living a performance-based relationship with God, where you’re checking off your religious list - allow the Holy Spirit to shape you through the mirror James talks about.

Look into that mirror of God’s word, and be reminded of who Christ is - of his abundant life for you. Remember the escape routes He provides when temptations come.

Remember who you are.

Follow up question: is the fact that God has provided you with a way out of every single temptation a source of comfort and encouragement, or of guilt and discouragement? Discuss.

Posted in God, James Chapter 1, Faith In Motion | Print | 1082 Comments »

February 11, 2009 by admin.

Welcome to our blog!

This space will be used for wholesome, edifying discussion on topics that impact our faith and lives.

Initially, posts will be focused on discussing the latest sermon and the Scripture passages involved. Once we become comfortable with the format and routine, we may branch out into other topics related to the Christian faith.

 Feel free to comment, and let us know that you stopped by.

God bless!

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | 1600 Comments »