faith

Passing Through the Notch

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Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me Psalm 23:4 NRSV

Coming home from work I used to drive through a notch

KIMG0848in the hills called Sugar Hollow. The interesting thing about the place was that in late afternoon the angle of the surrounding hills blocked out most of the sun when it was low on the horizon. You would drive out of bright sunshine into a sort of twilight for a few miles. Then after a few long minutes suddenly the shadows lifted and the sun came shone again as you passed through to the other side.

That passing through may be what you are experiencing today. Maybe everything seemed pretty normal in your life till unexpectedly the boss called you into the office or the doctor called about those test results. The bright sunshine of your day in a moment changed to a shadowy path. If you are at all like me it feels at those moments that even the most familiar of lP1020256and-marks seem strangely different in darkness. That is the time to remind ourselves to hang on and keep going. We do not need to panic. Jesus has promised to be with us always. Whatever deep river, hot fire or dark valley that lies ahead is temporary. Just past the shadows of the notch we are passing through, His road will lead us into sunshine and all the way home!

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What Does He See?

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What does God see when He looks at our heart? Does He see a cluttered heart, brimming with activities but with little time for Him?

Does He catch us off guard while we are manipulating our situation and those around us to reach our goals.

Will He notice a secret sin that we have hidden from every other eye but His. And all the while we have struggled to look good on the outside we are missing His offer to cleanse us on the inside by the blood of Jesus Christ.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7 NKJV

Point of Contact

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And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. Matthew 9:20 NJKVP1040067

There was only one hem on the garment of Christ. In fact when the soldiers went to divide his clothing they gambled for His outer garment because it was all on piece. The only hem available for the woman to touch was at the very lowest point of the robe of Jesus Christ. Like this woman in the crowd our own needs may have dominated our focus for years. Friends, family, and even her ability to enter a place or worship all were affected by her need until that day as Jesus was passing by in the crowd. We are not told if she had listened to Jesus’ words herself or if she had simply believed what others had told her about him. What we do know is that the message she had heard about Jesus Christ was enough for her to determine that she would do anything to get to Him. The power of her need for that one single moment had no ability to prevent her from pressing through the crowd in order to fall to her knees and reach up and touch the hem of His robe. The good news for us is that our invisible God gives us a visible point of contact in the lowest of places. When we are willing and hearts are humbled He may pass by to give us a visible connection to His invisible power and grace!

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 NJKV