A LIGHT TO MY PATH

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." 

Psalm 119:105

Imagine a sea captain setting sail without a compass simply because he has traveled those waters before. 

He knows the route, recognizes the landmarks, and feels confident he can find his way. 

 Most of us would hesitate to board that ship. 

 Yet sometimes I wonder if I do something similar in my own faith. 

There have been days when I neglect time in God's Word, assuming I have enough stored away from yesterday to carry me through today. 

Perhaps I'm busy. Perhaps I'm distracted. Perhaps other things quietly move to the top of the list. 

I've experienced both kinds of seasons. There have been times when opening my Bible was as natural as breathing—times when I gladly rearranged my schedule to spend quality time with the Lord before the day began. 

And there have been other seasons when interruptions pulled my attention elsewhere. 

The difference between those seasons is hard to miss. 

There is something about fresh time in God's Word that nourishes the soul. 

It steadies my thoughts, shapes my responses, and reminds me where true hope is found. 

Yesterday's insights are valuable, but they are not today's manna. 

God did not allow the Israelites to gather enough manna for tomorrow. 

Each morning they returned to Him for what they needed that day. 

Perhaps there is a lesson in that. 

None of us knows what waters lie ahead. 

Some days are calm and familiar. 

Others bring winds we never expected. 

But when we regularly turn to God's Word in the quiet moments, we find ourselves naturally reaching for it when the storms arrive. 

And when the waves rise high and fear whispers its threats, we can lift our eyes beyond the tumult and the darkness. 

There, in the distance, the lighthouse still shines. 

Faithful. 

Steady. 

Guiding us home.

"For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end."
— Psalm 48:14

THE ISSUE

H er pain was great. 

 For twelve long years she suffered. 

 Her misery engulfed her. 

Day after day, year after year, she searched for relief. 

She exhausted every avenue of medical knowledge available to her and spent everything she had. 

Yet instead of growing better, she only grew worse. 

 She had an issue. 

 An issue of life-taking blood. 

 His presence was great. 

Wherever He went, crowds gathered. 

Hope followed in His footsteps. 

He possessed all the wisdom of His Father, 

Yet He had not exhausted it. His power knew no limits. 

Soon, He too would have an issue. 

An issue of life-giving blood. 

But for now, He went about doing good—healing the sick, comforting the brokenhearted, feeding the hungry, and proclaiming the kingdom of God. 

Meanwhile, she went about searching. 

She had heard the stories. 

She had heard about the demon-possessed man who had been set free. 

She had heard that even the winds and the waves obeyed Him. 

She had heard of the paralytic who walked again and the leper whose skin was made clean. 

And she believed. 

The stories ignited hope in her weary heart. 

Her faith was not polished faith. It was desperate faith. 

According to Jewish law, she was unclean. 

An outcast. 

Isolated from the normal joys and relationships of life. 

For twelve years she carried not only physical suffering but also the weight of shame. 

Yet she believed one thing: If she could only reach Him... 

If she could only touch the hem of His garment... She would be healed. 

So she pressed through the crowd. 

Weak. 

Worn. 

Desperate. 

Determined. 

Then it happened. 

One touch. 

One moment. 

One act of faith. 

Immediately the flow of blood ceased. 

At the very same instant, Jesus stopped. 

With multitudes pressing around Him, He asked, "Who touched Me?" 

Why did He notice her touch among so many others? 

Perhaps because hers was the touch of desperate faith. 

Many touched Him casually. 

She touched Him with desperate belief-- 

Many brushed against Him. 

She reached for Him with her heart. 

Trembling, she came forward and told Him, "I did."

And then came the words she may have longed to hear all her life: 

"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." 

Daughter. 

Not outcast. 

Not unclean. 

Not forgotten. 

Daughter. 

And in that moment, the woman with an issue found far more than healing. 

She found Him.

_____________________

 

We all have issues. 

Some are visible. Some are hidden. 

Some drain our strength, our joy, our hope, and our peace. 

What is your issue today? 

Have you brought it to Jesus? 

Has it driven you to a desperate faith? 

For often it is at the end of ourselves that we finally reach for the hem of His garment.

LEAVING THE WATER JAR BEHIND

  W  

 hen we read God's Word slowly and prayerfully, there are times when a particular word or phrase seems to rise from the page and settle deeply into our hearts. 

It is often in these seemingly small details that the Holy Spirit speaks most powerfully. 

As I was meditating on the account of the woman at the well in John 4, one brief phrase captured my attention: "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town..." (John 4:28) 

Although I did not realize its significance at first, the more I considered it, the more remarkable it became.

The water jar was the very reason she had come to the well. 

Drawing water was not a minor task she could easily postpone. 

Water was essential for daily life. It was one of the most important responsibilities of her day. 

And yet she left it behind. Why? 

Because she had just encountered Jesus. 

More than that, she had encountered a Savior who knew her completely. 

Jesus revealed things about her life that no stranger could have known. He exposed the hidden and painful chapters of her story. 

He saw her failures, her disappointments, her shame, and her brokenness. 

Yet He did not reject her.

 

He did not condemn her. 

He offered her living water. 

Imagine the awe that must have filled her heart. 

Imagine standing before Someone who knows everything you have ever done and finding not rejection, but mercy. 

Not humiliation, but hope. 

When she returned to the village, her testimony was simple: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.  "Could this be the Messiah?" (John 4:29) 

Those words reveal what had overwhelmed her soul. 

She could not get over the fact that Jesus knew her completely. 

He knew everything. 

And still He welcomed her. 

In that moment, the water jar no longer mattered. 

The task that had seemed so important when she left home suddenly became insignificant compared to what she had discovered. 

Her priorities were transformed by her encounter with Christ. 

She ran back to the village, not carrying water, but carrying good news. 

She had to tell someone. 

She had to tell everyone. 

The woman who had come to the well burdened by her past became one of the first people in Samaria to proclaim the Messiah. 

As I reflected on this passage, I found myself asking a question: 

Have I lost some of that wonder? Do I still stand in awe of the fact that Jesus knows everything about me—and loves me still? 

The woman at the well reminds us that the gospel is not merely information to be understood. 

It is good news so astonishing that it changes our priorities, captures our hearts, and compels us to tell others. 

May we never lose our sense of wonder before the Savior who knows us completely and loves us perfectly. 

And may we, like the woman at the well, be willing to leave our water jars behind when Jesus calls our attention to something infinitely greater.

Tug-O-War

O

h, was I ever embarrassed!

For a split second, a Chick-fil-A employee and I played tug-of-war over a bright red drink carrier.

You see, except for church, I don't get out much anymore. I haven't been to a grocery store in several years, and I can't remember the last time I wandered through a department store.

Truth be told, I actually love being at home, so that's not a complaint.

But the other night, on the way home from the hospital, I stopped to pick up something for my son and me to eat.

When the sweet young Chick-fil-A employee brought out our food and drinks, I thought, "Well, things are certainly coming up in the world!"

Gone were the flimsy cardboard drink holders I remembered from years ago. Instead, she was carrying my drinks in a sturdy, bright red plastic carrier.

As you can see from the picture, I reached for the whole thing.

But she confidently pulled it back toward herself.

Maybe she had been trained for just such an incident.

After she walked away, I had to laugh out loud at my crazy, almost homebound self.

Then the irony of it all struck me.

For a moment, I thought the carrier came with the drinks.

How often do I do the same thing with God's gifts?

How often do I grasp for things God has temporarily placed in my hands and begin to think they belong to me?

My time.

My possessions.

My abilities.

Even the people I love.

Everything I have is a gift from Him, entrusted to me for a season.

The moment I start believing it is mine by right, I have forgotten that I am a steward, not an owner.

Sometimes we reach for something that seems perfectly reasonable.

It even looks good.

Useful.

Better than what we've had before.

Yet God gently but firmly says, "That isn't for you."

We may not understand why at the moment, but He sees the larger purpose.

If God pulls something back, it isn't because He is withholding a blessing.

Maybe it is because what we're reaching for was never intended to be ours in the first place.

As I drove away laughing at myself, I realized that the little red carrier was never mine to begin with. It had simply been placed in my hands for a moment.

Perhaps that is true of far more in my life than I realize.

For a moment, I thought the carrier came with the drinks.

Sometimes I do the same thing with God's gifts.

A DIVINE MEETING-What Happens When We Intercede

W hen we consider what happened on the cross after 4000 years, it's no wonder that the veil was RIPPED from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks split, and some tombs of holy men and women of God emptied forth their dead and these people went walking about. 

 For in the words of Dutch Sheets in Intercessory Prayer, this is where 

 "Mercy met judgment 

 Righteousness met sin 

 Light met darkness 

 Humility met pride 

 Love met hate 

 Life met death 

 A Cursed One on a tree 

met the curse that originated 

from a tree 

 The sting of death met 

the antidote of resurrection." 

 and these meetings were head-on meetings--no mealy little clash of one against the other. 

 Sheets refers to the scripture in Proverbs--

 It is better to meet a she bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly. 

 The Hebrew word paga is used here for the word "meet." 

 It is the same Hebrew word that is used many times for the word "intercession." 

 When we intercede for others or things, there is a meeting--a heavenly clash if you will 

such as a mother bear and the one who comes between her and her cubs. 

Try to imagine just for a moment what that "meeting" would be like. 

 We've all read stories of hikers in Yosemite or Yellowstone who got in the way of just such a mother--I won't go into details but the outcomes usually are very grim--life changing for sure if not life taking. 

 The "meeting" produced an outcome. 

 As Sheets says, "When Jesus cried, 'It is finished,' don't think for one minute that he was talking about death when he spoke that word. 

The Greek word tetelestai, interpreted 'It is finished' was stamped on invoices in that day meaning

 'Paid in Full!.'

 Jesus was shouting 'The debt is paid in full.'"

Jesus has paid the price. All that's needed to be done has been done for us to be more than conquerors.

Now it is up to us to pray the prayers that let these victories be loosed. We are God's hands and feet. He wants to use us. 

Pay very close attention to this scripture--it seems as though I usually dwell on verse 17 the most but look at what it says in verse 18-- 

2 Corinthians 5:17,18 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 

God reconciled himself to us through Jesus 

He has given US the ministry of reconciliation.

When we intercede for people we pray for a "meeting" between God and this person--this meeting provides the opportunity for them to be reconciled. 

Once again, Jesus did all the work--we pray to release His works. 

You've heard of prayer meetings--think of the "she bear" again and that meeting-- Prayer meetings were aptly named. 

Every time I pray and ask God to "meet" with me, I will imagine 

HIS righteousness meeting my sin head on, 

His mercy meeting what judgment I deserve, 

His light meeting satan's darkness that tries to overtake me, 

His humility meeting my pride, 

His love meeting my hate, 

His life meeting my certain death without him. 

I speak of spiritual death here. 

I will never be able to pray "meet with me" again without expecting a collision of the highest sorts, 

A collision that will release the victory that has already been won for us. 

I know sometimes God's answers come right away and sometimes they take years. 

I don't care how long it takes, 

I will pray and not give up 

for the certain victories that I know 

have already been appropriated in heaven. 

I will not give up on any situation in my family. 

I will not give up on the salvation or victorious living of any one of the precious ones for whom I pray. 

I will pray. I will intercede. And there will be a meeting!

Love and faithfulness meet together; 

righteousness and peace kiss each other. Psalm 85:10 

Thank you Lord for sealing the greatest meeting of all with a kiss. 

Through Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our righteousness, we have peace with Him. 

Now His righteousness and my peace can kiss-- 

And it is so sweet-- This sealing of our meeting with a kiss.  

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