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Tag: newness

A New Thing.

September 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Pastor Maria Braga

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” –Isiah 43:19.

The Bible is filled with countless examples of God’s incredible changes in His people’s lives as He led them. He continues to change us and lead us today. The “new thing “the prophet Isaiah talks about in today’s Scripture is not a one-time event. It’s a continuous work of God in each generation. A work that is impossible for man to do—but not for God. This evidence of God’s ongoing work should reassure and fill us with hope.

The prophet Isaiah received this Word from the Lord and passed it onto us, believers, so we would know that Abba Father is creative and Omnipresent in every season of our lives and every generation. God Himself points to this Truth in Isaiah 43:19: “Behold, I will do a new thing.” 

All God does in the life of the believer is for growth.

To bring His child closer to Him and to build His child up in the Spirit.

God, in His Omnipotence, knows what His plan is for each of us.

And He knows exactly how to execute the individual plan He created for each of His children.

Often, in our humanity, we can’t comprehend God’s plan because of our spiritual limitations, but in His Omniscience, God’s plan is so perfect. All we need to do is trust that the new thing He is doing is awesome! Because God is more than awesome! He is Powerfully All-Knowing, and He is always present. God is Spirit, and the things of the Spirit are not always clear to us. For the believer, we must accept spiritual Truths by faith. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” –Hebrews 11:1.

God is in control.

In our humanity, we get thrown off because our timing does not align with God’s timing; we want it when we want it, and we want it now! But Abba Father teaches us to trust Him with all things. In His Omnipresence, He is always beside us, and things come to our understanding in His perfect timing! “God will provide your need at the right time. At the right time, God will deliver you. At the right time, God will rescue you.” –Psalm 31:15.

We must understand that the right time is God’s time, not ours.

“Now it springs up (forth); do you not perceive it? (Recognize it?)” –Isaiah 43:19.

God’smaking a way through the desert and providing water out of nowhere for the Israelites to drink is a miracle that transcends their passage through the Red Sea and many other miracles we see throughout Exodus; it lands at God’s faithfulness to His people today. God is still doing a “new thing” for and in His people. Maybe in the prophet’s mind, this may have been the “new thing” he saw—a symbol of Israel’s deliverance.  

Today, God continues doing this new thing in our personal lives, church community, and within the hearts of all those who call on Him.

God never stops working.

 In Numbers Ten, we learn that the people of Israel only moved when the Lord moved. They followed His lead and rested whenever the cloud rested. But today’s culture encourages us to move on our own, independent from the Lord.

God knows our weaknesses like He knew the weakness of His people then. He knows how far we can go without Him, so God gently realigns us when we persist on going it alone. God is always right and always knows what is best for us. We must train ourselves to obey Him quickly when He speaks, especially through His written Word.

” Do you not perceive it?”

God calls our attention to what is happening and what is passing us by, similar to how He called Isaiah’s attention to what was about to happen, yet we sometimes don’t see it. We may pay attention to natural things and quickly understand them, but not so much with spiritual matters. At times, our miracle is in God answering our prayer.

We cry out, ask, call intercessors, plead, and even lose hope in difficulties.

Then, suddenly, God answers our prayers and cries, yet when we receive them—receive our healing, we sometimes act as though we are entitled. We don’t even take the time to say, “Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayer. For healing my body.” This ungrateful attitude must hurt God’s heart! Things are well now; I am all set. Just like the Israelites, we quickly forget what God has done and does for us.

Let’s be attentive and grateful for all God does for us. Our gratitude for His answering our prayers should make us feel appreciative and humble before the One who helps us. There’s a story in the Bible about ten lepers that Jesus healed, but only one returned to say thank you. “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.” –Luke 17:15-17.

We must not forget to bless God for healing us and answering our prayers. Our thanksgiving is giving God the glory He deserves!

Since 2022, I have been crying out to God to heal me of breast cancer. I have my church praying, my family, friends, and others. I could be in heaven today, but God did heal me and is allowing me an extended life. I am so joyful and thankful for all He’s done for me through answered prayer.

I look forward to the “new thing” He is about to do in the seasons that lay before me. I believe the best is yet to come because God always does what He says He’ll do.

Look at the last part of this verse in Isaiah 43:19: “I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

I never want to forget the wilderness that Abba has brought me through, as He’s taking me to the “new thing” He has for me. From now on, I choose to worship Him with greater devotion and a more thankful attitude. And I will wait for His lead. Going when He says go and stopping when He says stop. After all, He is opening streams in the deserts I know not of. It is His work, and I will follow Jesus to these streams to serve and bless His name.

Today, Father, we come before Your Throne with a grateful heart. We ask for faith to believe every Word You say. Forgive us for going our own way at times, and teach us to listen to Your voice as You lead us into the “new thing” You have for our futures. We are ready to receive Your salvation, healing, and the power needed to live for You and bring glory to You alone. We love You and praise You, Jesus. Amen.

If you are looking for a “new thing” to happen in your life, start by asking Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior. The Word of God promises, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

New Again…

January 16, 2021 /
Kendra Santilli

I love the beginning of the New Year. It’s right on the heels of Christmas; people are still filled with joy and cheer. The New Year brings hope for dreams deferred and vision for the endless possibilities that lie ahead. If you’re like me, you typically start the New Year with unwavering confidence to achieve your goals; that confidence slowly waning, however, as the business of life catches up to you and procrastination sets in and begins to whisper,  “do it tomorrow.” This year is different, however! I have purposed to read the Bible cover to cover in one year. I am doing it with all the gusto in the world, and so far, so good!

As in the past, I was encouraged right from the get-go as I read through the creation story. As Genesis has it, God created the whole earth in 7 days. On day 1, God introduced light to the earth and separated the light from the darkness. On Day 2, He separated the ocean and the clouds and called it the sky. Then, on Day 3, God separated the waters, creating dry land and sea. He also created all plant life on this same day! Then, on day 4, God made the galaxies. He put the stars and the moon above to reflect their light. And on Day 5, God created birds and sea creatures. Day Six sees God creating all the animals that would populate the land and mankind, the crown jewel of God’s creation. And, then, finally, on day 7, God rested and called that day Holy.

One may ask, why am I so encouraged by this oh so familiar story? My answer, in rereading Genesis 1, I was filled with fresh hope and expectation for what lies ahead of me! In the beginning, we see that God had to create the perfect environment for us before placing us in it. Without God having created the proper environment, we would not have survived. We would have lacked the necessary plants, fruit, oxygen from the trees, water to drink, and a place to lay our heads. God knew what we needed to survive and thrive here. For the first time rereading through Genesis, I realized that this account of creation gives us so much insight into the heart of God’s desire to restore us to Himself. Is it any wonder then that God chose to place it right at the beginning of His Word!

Not long after creation, we witness man’s fall; that instant, we became separated from God because of sin. We were created to walk with God here on earth and live as His sons and daughters always, but sin separated us from remaining in God’s presence. Remember, God is perfect and sinless. He can not coexist with sin and the darkness that comes with it. That same darkness that gained entrance to our hearts through our sin. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” –1 John 1:5. So, because of man’s sin, God was no longer able to walk with man in the garden. Yet, right away, soon after man sinned, God sought to restore our relationship with Him. Starting with Genesis 3:15 and running throughout the rest of the Bible, we read the chronicles of the beautiful story of God setting out to restore His relationship with mankind through His Son, Jesus. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself” –Luke 24:27. And, as we read the New Testament, we see that Jesus indeed came to restore our sonship to the Father by covering us with His perfect Righteousness—reconciling us once again to the Father.

The Bible assures us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

For the believer, creation didn’t end when time began. Instead, re-creation happens within us every day. Coming to know God is so much more than just a declaration we make with our mouths; it is a covenant, an agreement we make with God by which, because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God adopts us back into His family. We quite literally become a new creation! To understand what this means, we have to appreciate the beauty of the creation story. I see the events of creation mirrored in our souls. Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the dark void, He also hovers over the waters of our hearts, searching for what is needed, or needing to be removed, that we might more fully become this new creation. Firstly, He starts by introducing the light of salvation, His light, into the darkest places of our being. He then separates our darkness, our sin, from the light that He birthed in us, illuminating our potential, our purpose. He then begins to create a receptive environment conducive to growth within us. This “receptiveness” within us happens, is made as we read our Word and spend time with Him in prayer. God creates an environment within us that is worthy of His dwelling within. And as we journey through our walk with Him, we begin to eat of the fruit of His Spirit. We love others like we never knew we could, outside of Him. We begin to see an increase of joy and peace in our lives as He makes our hearts His home. We grow in patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” –Galatians 5:22.

And all of this starts with our salvation! That’s amazing to me. More, that we continue to grow in Him, in the knowledge of Him, in relationship with Him, throughout our lives. You see, with God, we’re ALWAYS becoming something new! And, if we open our ears to Him, He is eternally faithful to show us those things in us that must be renewed or removed: roots of jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger. We are never perfect, but with God, we can rest assured that He has begun a good work in us that only He can bring to completion. “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” –Philippians 1:6.

If you don’t know God in this personal way, I want to encourage you that God still sees you and knows you by name. “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me” –Genesis 16:13. Equally, He knows you in ways you don’t even know yourself!

As I read through Genesis, I see how Abram was of a pagan upbringing, but God called him out from the life he had always know and gave him a new beginning, a new name. He went from Abram to Abraham, which means in Hebrew, “father of a multitude.” Abraham became mighty a man of God. And we see Jacob, who was deceptive, his very name meaning “trickster” Yet after an encounter with the Living God, he received a new name, forever know now as Israel instead. Moses also grew up in Egypt’s pagan culture, never having known God personally, until that is, God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush. Moses would forever know Him as the Great “I Am.” He, too, was changed by God. A former prince of Egypt turned Midian shepherd and then to a man God used to free the Israelites from their Egyptian captors. These are but a few examples of God calling what many may call “unlikely people,” those we’d never expect God would use, those who didn’t know Him, yet God made Himself available to them nonetheless, just like He can with you and me.

And, child of God, know this, God’s not finished with you yet! He continues to make you new as you continue to walk ever-closely with Him. Wherever you are in life, I invite you to ask God to make you new, again. He is faithful to forgive you and make you whole.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God… I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” –2 Corinthians 5:21; 6:2b.

Christmas Greetings!

December 25, 2020 /
MaryEllen Montville, Kendra Santilli, Stephanie Montilla

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:18-19.

Christmas Greetings, Sonsofthesea family! Kendra, Stephanie, and I wish you and your family abundant blessings today—and the whole week through. Soon the New Year will be upon us with its offerings of renewed hope, growth, and the opportunity to walk more closely with our Lord. With that, we’re praying even now; you begin to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting as to what it is He desires from you in this new season. What is God asking you to release, making room then to receive the “new thing” He’s chosen to bring into your life? Will you allow the Good Gardner to prune away those areas in your life that drain your focus and strength, making your branches healthier, more fruitful? We here at Sonsofthesea are locking arms with you, believing for God’s very best to manifest in and through you in this new season. But for today, from our hearts and homes to yours, “O Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”

“Birth Days…” Ps.139:13-16

February 12, 2017 /

“…For you formed my inward part you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:13-16).

 

Why were you born? Why are you here—now? Have you ever asked yourself those questions?

Have you ever felt like some giant cosmic accident? A mistake even?

If so, please understand that what you are thinking or feeling is a lie spoken to you from the enemy of your soul. “Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Today’s Scripture clearly—emphatically, states that even as you were being made, God saw. He was there. He was your witness. More, He had predestined you—your birth. Everything about you was planned, unique, and, intentional. Regardless of how you may have been conceived, your birth—your life, was ordained by God…

And, as we see in 1 Peter, the enemy of your soul will do everything in his power to devour the Truth of God—and that Truth is found in verse 14, “…You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Imperfectly perfect, just as you are.

Whether you were wanted by those who were supposed to want you—or not. Loved by those who were meant—intended, to model to you what love was supposed to look,feel—taste like. Or not.

If you had a birthday—you are wanted. Needed—by God…

Intended and intentional.

Maybe you were born as the result of rape—or a so-called, “unplanned pregnancy.” Maybe you look at your life—one seemingly endless string of bad decisions after another—and see no point to it?

But the simple fact that you are here—were born at all, emphatically speaks volumes. It states you are not an accident. Not some pointless person meant to aimlessly wander—purposeless.

Listen to what your Creator says of you: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).

Gianna Jessen was not supposed to live. Her mother was advised to abort her—even though it was late in the pregnancy. A saline abortion—intended to burn a child alive, both internally and externally, while still in their mother’s womb. Causing it to be delivered dead. That is what was inflicted on Genna’s tiny body…

But, Gianna survived—after 18 hours of being burned alive in her mother’s womb she was delivered alive. And she considers her Cerebral Palsy, the result of the botched abortion she survived, a gift.

“But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]” (Matt.5:44-45).

Thankfully, the abortion doctor wasn’t present at that time or she would most certainly had been left to die—or worse, been suffocated or strangled. But the nurse on duty called an ambulance—and though she was not expected to live—she did. You can listen to Gianna’s amazing testimony in full on You Tube…

But first, please listen to God’s Words for Gianna—for you and me.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5).

Perhaps your story wasn’t as factually life-threatening as Gianna’s was. Perhaps you being burned alive was the result of the corrosive, demeaning words spat at you daily? Maybe someone tried to end you with brutal careless fists that assailed you, body, mind, and soul—without cause. Or, perhaps you were starved to death—through withholding. Lovelessness, carelessness, hopelessness, the three-course meal you were fed—daily. When you were fed at all.

Pain causing pain. Brokenness replicating itself…

And so, you ask, “How can this be intended for anyone?” Is this why I was born?

It isn’t. And it wasn’t. Your pain is the result of the sin-stained world you live in. From birth, you are surrounded by those who both made and make decisions for you daily. And, as the expression goes, Hurt people hurt people.

Please, understand, I am not condoning nor making excuses for what you may have endured. It was wrong. I’m just asking you to allow me to help redirect your focus. Because thankfully, ultimately, you have a Creator—a Savior, who has the final Word. The last say over everything that has been undeservedly done to you.

If you allow Him to…

And, thankfully, you may have the implausible opportunity to have yet another birthday! A “do-over” day. The chance to have every pain, every scar, everything that has held you back—or down, removed from you!

Nothing magic. Rather Restoration. Wholeness. Oneness.

More, every sin you have ever committed, everything that has separated you from God, forgiven.

That’s Good News!

Listen to how Jesus explains it to a man called Nicodemus: Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:3-6).

Two births? Yes. And both are—or certainly can be, painful!

Even a man, who can never experience this type of pain first hand—can imagine it. Take it in…

He can be a witness to births pain.

He sees it with his eyes. Hears it’s screams with his ears. Birth pains become real to a man—evident, even though he will never experience them firsthand.

Or will he?

Think the second birth here. Our second birthday has the potential to manifest a pain all its own…

Just as our physical birth was painful—so it may be also with our rebirth. Birthing is a painful, messy business—however, “A woman, when she is in labor, has pain because her time [to give birth] has come; but when she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of her joy that a child has come into the world” (John 16:21).

The maternal death rate in the United States has risen since the year 2000. In 2014 24 mothers died per every 100,000 live births.

How many of us will die twice? Both the physical as well as a spiritual death?

There are no statistics to quote for this…

So, in place of these nonexistent statistics, I offer you the infallible Word of God. A plausible Scriptural account for these—dual deaths. “The pains of childbirth come on him; But he is not a wise son, For it is not the time to delay [his chance at a new birth] as the womb opens [but he ignores the opportunity to change]” (Hosea 13:13).

Plain speak—We bring ruin on ourselves by putting off—side-stepping, our opportunity for a new birth day through the repentance of our sins. Like a child whose mother doesn’t have the strength to bring it forth, and it stays so long in the passage of the womb that it runs the risk of death, so too do we when we refuse—ignore, the free gift offered us of being born again…

Perhaps the way you entered this world the first time was less than ideal. And perhaps your life has been a little more than a repetitive reflection of the circumstances that conspired to end you before you ever began…

But let me ask you, is the pain your experiencing right now labor pangs?

Are you becoming aware, full of God attempting to birth you afresh?

Are you feeling God’s Word spoken to Nicodemus being stirred up inside your belly? “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again” (J0hn. 3:3).

If so, squat where your standing, bite down and start pushing…

Birthing is a messy business, but oh the joy when the child is delivered!

Birth Days—is today yours?

 

 

“She Didn’t Want to Do It.” Lk. 8:46-48

January 22, 2017 /

“And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace”(Luke 8:47-48).

Our Scripture today concerns a woman who was desperate. The Bible tells us that for 12 years she had dealt with a physical issue that had not only ravaged her body, depleted her resources—more, it had caused her to live in fear, shame, and, isolation.

So, let me ask you, as we step into the closing weeks of this New Year—what “dis-ease”, are you carrying into this new season from times long passed? And what, if anything, has you in a state of desperate abandon for your right-now miracle?

You see for her, this woman with no name, it was a physical healing she was after—it’s what forced her fear right out her front door! She had been bleeding for 12 years. 12 years! And in those years of chasing after a cure, she had spent all that she had…

Now, broke, and still bleeding, she heard some commotion near her home. A crowd was gathering in the village. She Peeked out through the crack in her gate she saw Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. He was on his knees before this new Rabbi, this Jesus. She’d overheard others speak of His miraculous healings…

What if He could…No! I couldn’t possibly. The law forbids it! He’s a rabbi, a Holy man—and the crowd, all those people, I’d be stoned!

These tempestuous thoughts were chasing each other around in her mind. Yet, in her belly—in that place of her knowing, there was a calm…

She began to recognized her need to take a step of faith. It was like something was beckoning her to come…

Is it possible that this Jesus may be her only hope?

If we’re willing to be honest, I’m certain we’ve all experienced living in that kind of tension. In the fear of having our issue—that thing that shames us, brought out into the open. Yet our want for freedom pushes us to the very brink of that fear. Leaving us teetering.

We may know what needs to be done, what must be done in order that we be healed…

Yet, we’re frightened. Because the first step required to receive our healing is confession. It’s bringing that thing, that issue, shaking and sniveling out of its comfortable darkness, out of its hiding place—and exposing it to the Light of the World…

You see, the law had kept this woman bound in fear and shame. To touch a woman such as herself made one ceremonially unclean until the sun went down. She was a thing to be avoided, shunned at all cost. She was defiled. “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean” (Lev. 15:25).

Seeing herself as such, how could she go out among normal people to see this Jesus? What if she touched someone—what if someone touched her? The shame of it…

Can you relate?

Have you ever felt like this woman?

Are you feeling like her today? Afraid? Uncertain? Ashamed? Isolated? Alone?

Are you, like her, frightened of being found out? Of having your issue exposed? How long have you been hiding your shame?

For her, it was twelve years. It may well have been a life time. It  certainly felt that way…

She had tried everything she could think of, to handle her business on her own. She saw anyone she thought might heal her—help her. But nothing. Twelve years had passed and she was still bleeding.

Now what she saw as her last chance to get her healing was standing only feet away. It was this Jesus…

She knew that if she could just touch His clothes—no, just the tassels of His outer garment as they slid past her fingers in the dust, everything would be okay—she’d be healed.

I’ll just slip into the crowd unnoticed. I’ll stoop down low enough to the ground to just touch His tassel as He passes by—He’ll never even know I was there! And hopefully, neither will anyone else. I’ll just stay real low to the ground and …

Shame will do that to us. It steals our dignity. It causes us to feel unworthy to even go before the only One who is truly able to heal us—save us, free us from our sin, wrong thinking, and, shame.

But Jesus was having no part of her worldly way of thinking! He was not interested in playing hide and seek. He was not going to allow this woman to live her life isolated any longer…

He was interest in healing far more than her mere issue of blood… “Who touched me?” Jesus asked (Lk. 8:45).

Her worst nightmare had just been realized. He had singled her out! Oh no, no, please, no, Lord I did not mean to... “And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him…” (Lk. 8:47).

Why? Why would Jesus call her out? Surely, being God—He knew who it was who had touched Him and why…

So why call her out in front of the very people she was so ashamed and afraid to be seen by? To touch…

Was He trying to shame her? Was He going to publicly rebuke her?

No. Quite the contrary…

Our first clue to Jesus’ motives in calling her out comes through His choice of words. He called her daughter. It’s a relational title. A title that infers privilege. A daughter has unfettered access to her dad—she shares an intimacy and bond with him that is not shared with just anyone…

Secondly, He declared her healed. Again, let’s look at His choice of words…

He uses the expression Shalom—which encapsulates; renewal, completeness, and, a blessing for peace…

Jesus knew that for His daughter to be truly healed—soul healed, she, as well as those around her, needed to hear Him openly declare her to be healed. From the root of  her need, not merely from her symptoms.

His words restored her, made her touchable once again, worthy of love, worthy of all the rights and honors a father confers, lovingly, upon his daughter…

In bringing her issue out into the open Jesus not only healed her physically, He released a life that had wasted away in a prison of religious isolation. She had skulked through 12 long years of shame—of others thoughtlessness disregard…

Jesus gave her, and indirectly those around her, permission to once again live communally, openly, equally. To live a life made whole. “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Lk. 8:48).

She didn’t want to do it—take that first frightening step into the all revealing light of Christ. That Light that would bring illumination to her secrets, and expose her hidden fears.

Overcoming shame, and the fear that often accompanies it, requires us to muster the courage to fall—to humble ourselves, at Jesus’ feet and confess openly to Him our “issue”…

We must be brave enough to finally walk away from—reject, both our own human thoughts and vain imaginings, as well as those imposed on us by others…

We must leave behind those ideas that caused us to close ourselves off from Jesus—and simply accept Him at His Word.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa.53:4-5).

 

He wasn’t interested in simply stopping her bleeding. Nor is He interested in just stopping yours. He wanted her restored to Him. And He wants that same restoration for you as well.

Now, and for all eternity.

It’s why He came into the world. Why He stepped across time and eternity to bring heaven to earth…

Why He would not walk away from such a pitiless death. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour” (Jn. 12:27).

Won’t you, like the woman found in today’s Scripture, bring your issue to Jesus? Why squander another year of your life carting around something you weren’t created to carry…?

Give it to Jesus today. Receive His power in exchange for your weakness. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me” (Jn. 8:45-46).

 

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