Feeling the Nudge

O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
    if you save me, I will be truly saved.
    My praises are for you alone!

Jeremiah 17:14 

 

Have you ever needed to be saved from something?  I admit that I have made some really bad choices in my life that left me in a position where I REALLY needed to be saved....from myself.  I have done things in my life from which I needed to be healed, so I didn't do them again.  And guess what?  The more I prayed about it, God did save me and heal me by nudging me in the right direction a little at a time.  How else can you learn if you aren't allowed to endure the pain while you were being saved and healed?

 

When I was younger, I had the distinction of fall UP a tree and injuring my back.  Now aside from attempting to explain it to the hospital intake person who would have to explain it to my insurance company, the ER visit was none too pleasant.  Extremely painful, as a matter of fact.  But that was nothing compared to the recovery where every muscle in my back cramped every time I would try to move.  As painful as the recovery was with my body hating me every moment of every day, the day I was able to stand up and walk without pain.....was the MOST memorable day!  

 

When I was in the Army and we had to hump our fully loaded field packs uphill for miles upon miles was exhausting and draining.  Yet, when we got back to the barracks and were told to drop our rucks....the relief from that burden was INCREDIBLE!

 

God works with us in our lives to help us, heal us, and save us.  He uses our pain and burdens to nudge us in the right direction, and we know He has accomplished that goal in us when the pain and burden are finally lifted.  The key is keep talking with Him and listening.  God is patient and will keep nudging us to get us to the place He has planned for us.

 

Don't fear the nudging.  Don't hate the nudging.  Accept that it is part of God's way of saving us and healing us.

What Do You Need?

Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Matthew 9:20-22 

Please allow me to be honest, I am exhausted and frustrated with no end in sight as yet.  I won't go into all the details of the causes because they are a culmination of many incidences that, would not normally bother me in and of themselves, as a group they feel overwhelming. It was as if I was in the Army again with shovel in hand and my First Sergeant yelling at me to "SUCK IT UP! SOMEONE has to dig the pit so all can enjoy the latrine!" Ever have that kind of Job life sequences when everything seems to go wrong no matter how hard you try?

I felt like giving up; escaping to a place where there would be a chance to recoup and think and take each storm on one at a time.

Whilst studying this morning, I had music playing in the background, as per usual, when my mind latched on to a song by Mike & The Mechanics, "All I Need Is A Miracle."  Like a lightning bolt, it hit me, that was my heart's prayer to God.  I need a miracle to make it through this string of raging storms.

The same was true of this woman who had suffered for TWELVE YEARS!  She had run out of options. she had run out of doctors. She needed a miracle!   And Jesus was in town.  She knew that if she could get just close enough to just touch a string of the hem of his robe, that would be enough.  

Somehow, through sheer determination or God pulling her along, she managed to touch the robe of Jesus and was healed.  God is the God of miracles! And sometimes I forget that.

Moments

Then they came to the city of Jericho. When He was leaving the city with His followers and many people, a blind man was sitting by the road. He was asking people for food or money as they passed by. His name was Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. He heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He began to speak with a loud voice, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!” Many people spoke sharp words to the blind man telling him not to call out like that. But he spoke all the more. He said, “Son of David, take pity on me.” Jesus stopped and told them to call the blind man. They called to him and said, “Take hope! Stand up, He is calling for you!” As he jumped up, he threw off his coat and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Lord, I want to see!” Jesus said, “Go! Your faith has healed you.” At once he could see and he followed Jesus down the road.

~Mark 10:46-52 

Moments.  Think about this!  Our lives are made up of moments.  Every photograph we take is merely a moment in time.  Every memory is of a moment in time.  

      * I don't remember being born; 

      * I can barely remember this morning;  

      * I do remember the moment my daughter was born. 

      * I have lots of pictures of friends and moments spent with them.

      * I remember the face of my first girlfriend (3rd grade. She gave me a baseball sized wad of Plasti-Tack and that won me over).

I recently took time to look back through my high school yearbook from my senior year.  WOW! And we thought we were on the cutting edge of awesome.  Then I started reading the comments people wrote in my yearbook....many of them were the cliche: "Have a great summer" and "Don't ever change" written by people in a hurry and who didn't know me all that well (or found me annoying but wanted to appear to be nice).  But then there were the people who wrote about specific moments in our friendship. Like when we rode innertubes down the Saluda River, or when we pulled a prank that backfired and ended up squishing into the midnight movies because we were soaked from head to toe.  And then there were some that we won't discuss.

But each represents a moment in life.  A memory.  I am convinced that, while we live in a continuum, our minds work on a stream of moments.  

Think about Jesus' ministry.  The writers of the Gospels captured moments in Jesus' life.  Look at today's passage...Bartimaeus was blind.  During this time in history, if you were different from everyone else, you were thought to be cursed by God.  Bart was blind, so he must have been cursed by God and he lived each day going through the same motions of the only job available to him which was begging.  Then Jesus comes along.  Bart hears the crowds of people and probably believes that a lot of people in a group could mean he could get a little extra from begging.

THEN Bart hears someone in the crowd say that Jesus is in the crowd.  So Bart has a quick decision to make, he can continue to live his life as a blind beggar or he can seize the moment and see if Jesus really can help him.  So Bart takes his moment and starts to yell at the top of his lungs calling for Jesus to take pity on him and help him.  Now, some of the crowd want Bart to shut up and not interfere with this great teacher, because Jesus has "more important" things to attend to than a God-cursed-blind-beggar. BUT Jesus stops!  He tells those close to Bart to bring him over, which they do.  Then Jesus asks Bart what he wants.  

Again, Bart has a choice to make.  Again, Bart seizes the moment and tells Jesus that he wants to see.  Jesus, in that moment, heals Bart and in that moment removes Bart excuse to continue expecting others to care for him.  In a moment! 

Our lives are made up of moments! Bart seized his and made it count.  Will You? 

Money, Money Money, Money!

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

  Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44

I have heard this story many many times throughout my time on this earth.  I have heard it told to support the idea that it's not how much you give to the church...it's about why you give to the church.  I have heard it told to support the idea that giving is not optional (guilt, guilt, guilt).  I have heard it told to support the idea that "We have staff to support, programs to fund, buildings to build/renovate, and so many other projects that need funding."  Then we find out that these well meant funds include a right healthy staff raise, perhaps a new car for the pastor (that is far better than anyone else in the congregation has), and the programs being funded aren't helping anyone locally.

We use this story to suit our own greed.  We use this story to encourage giving. We use this story to do many things.  But the thing I want you to understand is when is Enough truly Enough?  Jesus never said that we were not to give.  Jesus did teach against greed and doing things just for the purpose of being showy (drawing attention to how "holy and righteous" you think you are).

Now, those two copper coins were just enough to buy about one sandwich worth of day old bread.  That was ALL this woman had!  But the truth of this story is not about money!    Do you REALLY think God has any desire for your money?  If God needs something funded, He will provide the money.  

The true meaning of this story is about the heart. God wants us to be so reliant on Him that we do not fear!   He wants us to love and trust Him so much that should we lose EVERYTHING...we will trust Him to provide what we need.  And God usually provides for our needs in such unexpected ways that we can't help but know it was God who provided.  God also wants us to love and trust Him so much that we aren't afraid to be the source of help for someone who is truly in need.  Think about it!

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere!

For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1

A couple of years ago, for all my Parrotheads, Jimmy Buffett did a little ditty called "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere."  The point of the song is exactly what Solomon is reminding us in  today's Scripture!  There is a time for everything, and that means the time is always NOW!  Think about this message! 

This means:

     *  the time to do what is right is NOW!

     *  the time to tell your loved ones that you love them is NOW!

     *  the time to do your best at work is NOW!

     *  the time to make those positive changes is NOW!

     *  the time to stop procrastinating is NOW!

     *  the time to make things right with someone you are on the outs with....is NOW!

     *  the time to be that good friend is NOW!

     *  the time to step up and PARENT is NOW!

     *  the time to stop cutting corners is NOW!

     *  the time to remember that you are God's chosen child and act like it, is NOW!

     *  the time to stand on your own two feet is NOW!

The time to do the best things for yourself and for those you care about....is NOW!  Make those changes! Mend those relationships! Take those steps! Do it NOW!  After all....It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere!

                            

5 O'Clock

Ever Feel Overwhelmed?

 "Little children, you are from God and have overcome the world, 

for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

~1 John 4:4

What happens when you have something out of the ordinary happen?  Let's say you are struggling to make it from paycheck to paycheck and one your way to work smoke starts gushing from under the hood of the car.  While you are standing on the side of the road wondering if your day could possibly get any worse, the rain starts and your umbrella is at work.  When you finally manage to get a ride home, you walk in drenched and dripping all over the floor when your child decides this would be the best possible time to start throwing up. You know the day, the one where if you don't drink, you seriously consider taking up drinking as an occupation.

Think about this for a moment:  Our enemy's job is to make us ineffective, since he cannot take God's children from God's hand.  And one of the ways he makes us ineffective is to overwhelm us.  Sun Tzu, who wrote "The Art of War", stated: “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”  So you see, if our enemy can overwhelm us, we take our focus off of God, and even doubt God, and we do not even consider the enemy's true intent.

My prayer is that, when (not if) the storms begin to rage, we will learn to cling to the God who speaks the storms into submission and calms the raging seas.