October 14, 2012 … He Touched Me!

Chronological Bible Reading Plan - Day 288

Blogger’s Note: Perhaps to prepare your heart, if you’re reading along with me, you will to touched by a couple of wonderful songs … the first by a gospel quartet singing the Bill Gaither classic, He Touched Me  - linked here; … and the lovely and poignant One Touch by Nicole C Mullen - linked here. 

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Mark, Chapter 4-5 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage: Mark 4: 35-41 : [NLT] … {How well do we know Jesus? These men, Jesus’ inner 12 disciples, had been with Jesus for quite some time, … up-close-and-personal, observing Him perform all kinds of miracles. But this story of a storm revealed a depth of power that they’d never seen before in Jesus; and it filled them with awe … really, a type of fear. Perhaps we need more of that type of the fear of God in our attitude toward Christ. Perhaps that’s why He allows storms to come into our lives.} … 35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 He was already in the boat, so they started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 3 But soon a fierce storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are going to drown?” 39When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, “Quiet down!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 And he asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?” 41 And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?” 
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Highlight Passage: Mark 5:21; 25-32 : [NLT] … {Have you ever had something in your life which had – or has – you bleeding in physical or emotional weakness? Well, in your faith, perhaps you need a touch from The Savior to bring you strength or wholeness. Well, this is a story of one who needed God’s touch; and she did all she could to seek out Jesus; and He did what only He can do to provide His healing/restoring power.} … 21 When Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. … 
25 And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel that she had been healed! 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 His disciples said to him, “All this crowd is pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed.” ============

Cross Reference Passage: Psalm 33: 8-9 : [NLT] … {Do we really think of Jesus the way the psalmist depicts Him? } … 8 Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of Him. 9 For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command. 

My Journal for Today: For anyone reading along with me today, I don’t know where you are today in your life. Perhaps you’re like the disciples in Mark 4, … engulfed in a storm, … maybe even a life-threatening storm, … physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual. Perhaps you’re overwhelmed by some life circumstance, like the bleeding woman in Mark 5, … overtaken by weakness, … needing a touch from the Savior to give you strength … maybe even life itself.

Well, today, I was given the blessing, in my chronological reading assignment, to be reminded of two of my favorite Jesus stories, … historical episodes in the life of Jesus, chronicled by John Mark in today’s reading, which really speak to my own personal testimony.

There was a time in my life when I recognized that I was overpowered by my own spiritual weakness. I had gone through two decades of decadence in my life, from which God allowed me to see just how weak of spirit I was. And just like the woman in the Mark 5 story, I finally knew I needed something beyond my self to save me. But unlike the bleeding woman, I didn’t recognize that I needed Jesus, The Christ. In spite of my hardened disbelief, in much more blindness than the frightful disciples in the boat in Mark 4, I didn’t have a clue where to look for a healing touch or salvation from my storm. So, I groped in the darkness of my life, until Jesus awoke for me life and brought me to a place, like He did with His disciples in the boat and for the woman seeking just a touch of His garment, where I could only look to Him for help. And I did; and He touched me … with His healing/saving grace; and now I live, having received His saving power … doing all I can, to use the power Jesus gives me everyday, no matter how depleted I feel, to live for Him.

I pray He has touched you as He has me.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, as the Gaither group sings, “You touched me and made me whole.” Amen