I’m Listening –Very Carefully

8:18 “So pay attention to how you hear.” It is not just a matter of listening. We are supposed to listen, learn, and follow. Jesus said if you will do this, “more understanding will be given.” Are you listening?

How about you? Don’t just read your Bible, pray, and think about God today. Listen to what he is trying to tell you. Follow where he is leading. The efforts that you make will be blessed.

Who Touched Me?

8:45 “Who touched me?” Every time I read that verse, I think of my kids in the back seat of our car on a long trip. I’m sure the disciples were curious about Jesus’ question because the “whole crowd is touching you.” But I love the NLT when it says, “Someone deliberately touch me…” Deliberately. That is what I want to do. I don’t want to touch Jesus casually like many in the crowd. I want to deliberately touch him and be blessed by the “power” (vs. 46) that comes from touching him.

How about you? What are your intentions today concerning your relationship with Jesus? Go ahead. Take some intentional steps and see how God blesses ‘the touch’.

Where is Your Faith?

8:25 “Where is your faith?” Interesting question. The disciples faced a situation where their faith, their trust in God had vanished. At what point or how bad must a situation become for me to lose my faith? The response from Jesus seems to be we should always have faith. There is never a situation where you can’t trust God to take care of you. God is amazing. You can trust him.

How about you? Where is your faith?

Go in Peace

7:50 “Go in peace.” Peace was often a message that Jesus preached as well as a blessing that he gave people after touching their lives. Peace is also something that seems to escape us a lot. What is the problem? One of the things that keep me from peace is focus. I lack peace because I am focusing on my problems – what is not right in my world. This woman was given peace because she expressed her love for Jesus, received forgiveness, and had faith/trust in him. I want to spend today focused on these things.

How about you? How are you doing with peace? Would you like to join me today in spending less time thinking about your problems and more time on your love for the Lord, his forgiveness and salvation, and how you can trust him? Sound like a good idea to me.

Who Did You Kiss Today?

7:38 “she kept kissing his feet” Why? It is very simple. She was expressing her love for her Lord. We all know it is important to express our love to Jesus. The question is how are we going to do it? For this woman, showing her love for him was very natural because – are you ready for this – she really loved him a lot.

How about you? How will you show the Lord TODAY that you love him? The more you think about what he has done for you, the easier it is.

What Kind of Woman?

7:39 Simon said, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” What kind of woman? Interesting categorization. Don’t we all do it? We put people in categories. We label them. We ‘understand’ what kind of people they are. Based on what? Our perspective. So we have our own categories that we place different ‘kinds’ of people in. Notice Jesus put here in a different category. Jesus said she is the kind who loves me more (42-44), is forgiven (48), and has faith (50). WOW! I think Simon miss labeled.

How about you? Are any of your co-workers the ‘sinner’ kind? Are any of your co-workers the kind who is looking for love, forgiveness, and something to believe in. What kind of person is this?

Reverse Influence

7:14-15 “Then Jesus walked over to the coffin and touched it…then the dead boy sat up”. Touching a ‘coffin’ brought a day of uncleanness (Numb 19:21-22) and touching a dead body brought a week of uncleanness (Numb 19:11-20). However, in this story the holiness or cleanness of Jesus reversed the uncleanness of the coffin and dead body. The boy was raised from the dead. Sometimes I’m afraid to ‘touch’ the world because I don’t want to be ‘unclean’. However, with the power of God, he wants what he has made clean in me to influence/change what is unclean in others. The power is God’s but I am the tool.

How about you? Afraid to ‘touch’ those people at work? Maybe all they need is a little salt of Christ (Matthew 5:13). Remember, the power of God resides in you. We all know some ‘dead’ people that need raised in Christ.