Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Introduction/Day 1

Cindy states on p. 3 that “Forgiveness had to begin in my own heart.”  She reiterates how God shows up in the “middle of our messy lives [taking] a cheap and wounded life from shattered to renewed.”  Sometimes we have days when we feel as if our lives are spinning out of control, it is during these days where we need to hold onto God.  There is a nameless women in the bible who also had many days that were out of control…where she saught to be healed.  Many times I believe unforgiveness is a form of control where we attempt to control our lives including the people and situations around us.  I have a friend that always says.  “I give it to Him, but then I take it back…”  Before we take communion
1 Corinthians 11:28 says “ A person should examine himself first, and in this way let him eat the bread and drink of the cup.”  Perhaps the reason we are asked to do this first is because it is a reminder to give Him all of the control back over our lives.  Man’s control is what originally brought us to sin in the garden and if we are not careful, this idea of having control will carry into unforgiveness which usually never effects “the other person,” but leaves our lives in shambles.  Cindy speaks of people that do this when describing herself when she states she felt as if she had “aged far beyond my years..(p.3). When we give God control, we stop striving and can be used by Him for His purpose.  As you think about the nameless women grabbing onto part of the clothes of Jesus and finding peace and healing, think about grabbing hold of God’s presence as He will give you peace and healing through your storms…Rest in God…  Just like Cindy said “the hard part [is] accepting the fact God is always in control…season after season[even when] we’re rough and frayed” (p.4-5).

As soon as she touched Him Christ "immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him” (Mark 5:30) stopped and asked Who touched me?” Jesus asked.When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

When the woman saw that she was unable to hide from the Lord she “came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” (Luke 8: 47)

Christ looked on her and told her, “Daughter be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)

5 comments:

  1. Hi all....

    ~Jess I enjoyed your post. It is so difficult to give all control to God,including our hurts, unforgiveness, etc. What I really took from the introduction goes along with that. On page 6 Cindy states "He sees our vulnerability but we don't. We have to be forced to see." I know that is so true for me. And it is hard because it is a growing process and growing hurts. But it also feels so good once I have experieced the freedom of handing my vulnerability over to God, letting Him have control and mending my frayed edges. With it comes a strength and renewal that I am so grateful for. The things He is able to do are always so much more incredible then I could have dreamed up.

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    1. Courtney,
      I couldn't agree more, in our weakness we are made whole if we trust in God. So many people try to find other things in this world to replace God. But we must he reminded that we were all made with a God shaped hole...when we seek Him first our vulnerability turns into victory

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  2. Here's a funny about muslin sheets: Years ago a co worker of mine, whose advise I had learned to respect, said that muslin sheets had merits worth noting because it may be true that they lacked refinement when they were new, but when they got older, they were quite soft and comfortable. So I purposely bought a set to experiment, and yes, after years, I quite enjoyed them. That's something to be said about the value of years. Years go by, and we become better able to discern things we weren't able to discern at the beginning of our walk with the Lord. Years go by, and we are able to look back and learn from our mistakes. Years go by, and we have an accumulation of knowledge that we are able to pass on to younger Christians who may be struggling in an area that we have gone through and got to the other side. David said, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread" (Psalm 37:25). That's an awesome thing to be said about the Lord and those who follow Him.

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  3. Great Point Val, Thank God for his faithfulness!

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