Month: December 2019

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:20-22 (day two)

And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak;  for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.”  But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.

You are not going to sneak up on Jesus. This woman, who was ceremonially unclean, had many reasons to not be seen. Her presence likely caused a commotion, but amid the bustle of the crowd she saw her opportunity and she took it. If only she could get near him and touch the hem of his cloak. But Jesus doesn’t work like that. You are not going to surprise Jesus. He knows you and your afflictions far better than you do, so come to him openly and receive what this woman found: freedom from her condition, and a new-found faith that healed her soul. Come into His light, and receive the healing that only he can offer. Let the promise of the new year lived by His Spirit bring the healing.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day seven) 

“a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him”

Outsiders, gentiles, and the neglected are the type of stories we are used to hearing when Jesus is healing people. This story is different. Here we find an insider, a jew, and a highly respected individual coming to Jesus. He doesn’t lack faith. He doesn’t hide his belief that Jesus can heal his daughter. He bows before Jesus and asks Him to lay hands on his dying daughter knowing that she would be healed. Even this man’s family and friends laughed at Jesus when He told them the girl was sleeping. This man didn’t care what people thought. I imagine the people laughed at him when he left to go get Jesus. I imagine he probably lost some clout in the synagogue. He didn’t care about these things. He knew there was only One who could change this outcome. This man put his faith in Jesus. Where is your faith?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day six) 

Matthew 8:24, “And they laughed at him.”

I suppose they didn’t know any better at the time, but they were laughing at the Son of Man who had calmed the storm. Regardless, this miracle, in particular,  points to the coming Kingdom of God, reminding us that its coming will not be pleasant for all.

Every miracle is a call to repentance and surrender, but for those who delay or refuse will only face judgment when Jesus comes into His Kingdom.

With the resurrection of this little girl, I imagine many of Jesus’ scoffers were silenced. Many of them likely believed, but for some their laughter was a sign of judgment to come.

God is not to be mocked.-Paul, Galatians 6:7

Seek the Lord while he may be found. –Isaiah the Prophet, Isaiah 55:6

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day five)

 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.

Jesus teaches an amazing lesson in this text.  Faith overcomes fear. Fear is still there, it just doesn’t have the priority and influence over her heart and desire to “get near and touch Jesus”.  It’s all through scripture.  God constantly reminds His faith-filled followers to be brave, be strong, have courage, do not fear.  When fear overtakes faith, to God it looks like we don’t trust Him.

“To turn from him out of fear… is to discount all that God promises to be for those who fear him. It is a great insult. And in such an insult God can take no pleasure. On the other hand, when we hear God’s promises and trust him with courage… then he is greatly honored. And in that he has much pleasure. – John Piper

When we look and think of the present and future through the lens of the gospel, we are reminded of God’s love, power, and faithfulness. Then faith rightly  overcomes fear and God is pleased.  Strengthen your faith today-  Look, listen, and think through the lens of the Gospel- God’s promises and power.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day four)

It is Christmas morning as I write this blog post…a day when the birth of Christ is foremost in our minds and hearts.  The question is, “will I remember Him so readily the rest of the year?”  The miracles we have studied this week and the past several weeks have shared a common denominator…Jesus has attributed the miracle to faith.  When a need arises, often my first thoughts are…”how can I solve this need?”  If Christ is foremost in my mind, I would go to Him just as Jairus, the Synagogue official did.  Maybe the ‘miracles’ we see in Scripture would be common-place in our lives if we walked by faith.  “Only believe”…that’s what Jesus said.  Only believe and you will see the power of God work in your life.  Only believe and people will be drawn to Christ because they saw Him at work in you.  Only believe and you will be walking in obedience.  Only believe!

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:18-19; 23-26 (day three)

“The girl has not died, but is asleep.”

Jesus does not use a euphemism here. As far as we can tell, he does not aim to downplay or dress up death. Jesus talks this way because in the presence of God, death does not possess finality. Jesus raises this girl to life to show everyone who’s looking that this girl’s ultimate future is life again in the body. Now, she would certainly die again in this age, but neither she nor her family would look at death In the same way anymore, because Christ altered what death had the power to do to the human race. For all who count on Christ, death has become sleep for the body, and most of your days are yet to come. That’s exactly the kind of reality everyone longs for, whether or not they’ve ever articulated it.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 9:20-22 (day two)

And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; ²¹ for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” ²² But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.

“When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭

The shepherds knew little of who this child was or would be. They had an angelic visitation that told of his birth, and they went to be near this child…and their lives were changed.

The ailing woman knew enough about Jesus that she, too, desired to be near him, and her faith in him made her well.

This is the heart of the gospel. Get near Jesus. You will be changed. Merry Christmas.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:23-27 and Matthew 1:18-25 (day seven)

In Matthew 1, we see an angel speak to Joseph with the words, “Do not be afraid.” In Matthew 8, we see Jesus speak to his disciples on the boat saying, “Why are you afraid?” The angel and Jesus both understood something that Joseph and the disciples were having trouble seeing in their moments of despair: God is always in control. God always has a plan.

Fear is our inherent response to losing control over a situation. As humans, we like to be the one who holds the reins. That is why faith becomes so difficult for some people. Faith means that you may not see the means to the end, but you must hand the reins over to someone who does. What we need to realize is that God had the reins the whole time. He was in the boat. He was working in Joseph’s life. He had a plan. He was in control. Stepping out in faith may seem to be a blind move, but it is actually the most perceptive decision we can make. What step of faith do you need to take?