Pressing in

Read Mark 5: 24-34


Ever feel like you have to fight the masses to get a word in edge-wise? Ever feel like you are always last, always unheard, always forgotten?
I think the woman in Mark 5 :27 felt that way. Yet, she knew she had to get through. She felt ostracized for many years because of illness. No one cared about her for fear of getting sick themselves. She heard about Jesus but had yet to see him. She told herself if she saw Him she would press toward Him for healing. She had to.
So the day arrived. He came.
Verses 27-29: When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
Do you think maybe she hesitated? She saw the crowd around Him and thought (maybe) "I am not good enough to get through to Him. People need Him more than I do."
At the same time a man came for healing for his young dying daughter. Had she, this woman, thought about turning and saying "Just forget it."?
Have you?
Have you neglected asking God for something because you feel it is not important enough? Or because you feel unimportant yourself?
Here's the thing. When Jesus comes your way there is no time for hesitation. You go. You press. You push onward toward Him with such vigilance that He will sense -- He will KNOW your heart's desire. Whatever you are keeping from Jesus, He already knows. He will answer you only if you press. Press in, friend. PRESS.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark5:24-34&version=NIV

Refresh fear

I am re-sharing a devotion I did for The Hummingbird online devotional in 2011. This one spoke to me again since the Connecticut massacre...the fear that envelops us as parents. THis past week one of our little triplets had an MRI on her brain. Praise the Lord she is fine. I felt the howling wind, but the storm was calmed. So here is a refresher on fear...

READ -Matthew 14:13-36

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” –Matt 13:30

            Howling wind beat against the mobile home and the windows of my bedroom seemed as though they were going to pop out toward me as I lay shaking in my bed. I hated storms. I hated the wind even more. From birth until age 15 I lived inside a trailer with my parents and younger sister. The wind storms that blew on top of our hill nestled against the mountain terrified me. I convinced myself a tornado would spiral into our yard and sweep us away. I hated “The Wizard of Oz”’s opening scene of Dorothy running from the twister. I slept on the floor of my parents’ bedroom during thunderstorms.

                Fear had enveloped me.

                I recalled praying with all intensity as I sweated through the night clenching my fists for the Lord to please, please make it stop. Some even laugh when I tell them how fearful I was even up until age 15, the year I was saved. We moved into a sturdier home six months before I was 16. I felt safe. There was a basement below and the wind didn’t seem as loud. Even though actual wind no longer scares me, I sometimes let storms of life distract me from the horizon. So did Peter. Jesus asked him “Why did you doubt?”Good question.

                Reach out in the storm and take his hand. You may get wet, but you won’t be swept away from His embrace.
 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A13-36&version=NIV

Spring rains in December

So here it is December and it's pretty warm. The weather man says it could reach 70 degrees. Wow. It feels like spring. A cold front will bring rain later on.
Aw, the rain.
Our family is in the middle of a cloud of rain right now; it hovers like the fog we had this morning. Not really raining, but no sun peeking through either. Will there be a storm? If so, will it be tsunami-size? Or will the sun break through and have mercy on us?

In Deuteronomy 11 we are commanded to love and honor God. Verses 13-15 speak to me so clearly as I wait in the mist and fog...
 ^"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—  then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.  I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied."
The rains are meant to help us grow. As we sit in this mist and gray we are growing...as the showers begin when I feel tears of anguish and fear, I am growing as I draw nearer to Him. I must obey and not seek answers on my own. Just trust. This is a life-changing thing -- to just trust. And the verses go on to warn me -- and you -- if you can relate to this -- that when we choose to try to run from the fog and rain and build up dams of emotion by seeking other means of escaping God's rain . When we do this we are looking for trouble.
 Verse 16 says --^" Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them." This could be the many ways we seek to cover up our pain -- whether it's a drink or a smoke or food or the internet. For me, when I am depressed I hide in sleep. I want to hide in a dark room, go to sleep and forget it all. But God wakes me often and reminds me I need to draw to Him -- talk to HIM.
Wherever you are with the weather in your world, obey and trust God. Take this time to let HIM be your umbrella and your shelter. He will bring the Son.
Read Deuteronomy Chapter 11 : http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2011&version=NIV