There is an account found in three out of the four gospels. It is the story of a woman who endured a discharge of blood for twelve years. One thing we must understand is that a condition such as this rendered the woman “unclean.” She would have been a lonely woman, devoid of touch or much companionship at all. Come with me for a moment and imagine…. You are this woman. You cannot touch others, and others cannot touch you. You’re outcasted. Desperate, you spend all your financial resources going to doctors. One after another. But they’re no help. Instead of seeing improvement, you only worsen. Can you relate to this woman in any way? Quite possibly, in some area of your life, you need help. You seek help––help that promises a solution to your problem––only to find yourself right where you began, or perhaps even behind a step or…
Archive for the ‘Healing’ Category
Stories are never one sided. There are multiple perspectives to each story, and I believe it’s important to understand each perspective in order to gain greater understanding of the story itself. A while back, I asked Anthony, the man who murdered my dad, if he would be interested in sharing his testimony on my blog, and he agreed. He told me in the letter including his testimony, “I chose to concentrate on our journey because, well, it’s been the most important event in my life since coming to Jesus.” I would have to agree. Our journey toward forgiveness impacted me and my life in more ways than I can count. Second to coming to Christ, it was the single most defining moment of my life. But enough about me. Here is Anthony’s story. … I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior on Father’s Day in 1996. Changes started happening. I…
I’m reading several books right now. I do that. In fact, oftentimes I read four to five books at a time. Admittedly this isn’t the best way to go about reading, but it works for me––most of the time. Anyway, I think Jesus has been trying to get my attention. The story of the sinful woman being forgiven by Jesus found in Luke 7 was presented in two different books I’m reading within days of each other. Both accounts painted the scene with vivid color. Flesh was given to these individuals as they came alive before my eyes. The authors explored the tension held in the room, the feelings of those in attendance, and all of the cultural intricacies at play––all drawn from biblical and historical sources. Here’s this woman. This prostitute. She sees Jesus, dining with a Pharisee. Overtaken by emotion, she enters into the room and approaches Jesus,…
For almost a decade, revealing the story of my dad’s death to others proved to be difficult. In fact, after a number of years, I began calling it the “dad bomb.” I knew that if you stayed in my life long enough that the bomb would have to be dropped––at some point, I had to reveal the truth. It usually came up when asked about my parents. My dad would come into question, and I’d have to tell them. “Well,” I would say reluctantly, knowing where this would lead, “my dad died when I was twenty.” To which they would reply, “Oh, I’m so sorry!” Then the look on their face begged the question before it was asked. Some had enough nerve to ask the question right away. Others, however, waited, at times months, to get around to the inevitable question, but I knew it was coming, “So, how did…
Today, I have the honor to be guest blogging for RedLikeBlood.com. Join me there to read about the moment I was given the grace needed to forgive Anthony in my latest post entitled, Freedom Through Grace. If you’re visiting from RedLikeBlood.com, welcome! I hope you’ll take a moment, read, and stay a while… Red Like Blood is a book written by Joe Coffey and Bob Bevington, two men who have both experienced the amazing power of God’s grace in their lives, as I have. I, for one, will be reading their book. Here’s a little synopsis: …the grace of God is much more than sweet. It is also explosive, pervasive, powerful, relentless, amazing, devastating, raw, and beautiful. Grace is deadly serious stuff. Many of our encounters with grace—the real, true grace by which God changes us one step at a time—are much more like confrontations. These confrontations are jarring. They shake us…
I met a beautiful, godly woman while in North Carolina this summer at the She Speaks Conference named Melanie. She describes herself to be a southern girl, and she’s a sweet one at that. I feel so blessed that our paths crossed. Melanie ministers to women on her blog, Only a Breath, and she has graciously offered to have me guest blog for her today. Join me there today, if you’d like. And if you’re visiting from Only a Breath, welcome! Take a moment, read, and stay a while… Blessings!
I am well aware of the fact that we’ve been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff so far. But I’d like to encourage you to hang in there. Don’t let the weightiness of these difficult topics deter you from the blessings that awaits you on the other side of forgiveness. To be completely honest, healing is hard work. It’s painful. It requires you to go to the hard places––to the deepest darkest crevices of your soul––and to allow Jesus to mine out that darkness and replace it with His light. This is no easy feat. It hurts, but beauty is left behind when we allow Jesus full and complete access to our wounds, our walls, our pain. Oh, how I love our God! As mentioned before, I am no expert, and I too, find myself struggling with forgiveness from time to time, but the Lord has taught me much on…