“When Jesus came down from the hill, great crowds followed him. Then a man with a skin disease came to Jesus. The man bowed down before him and said, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” And immediately the man was healed from his disease.” Matthew 8:1-3

I wonder … about the man who felt Jesus’ compassionate touch. He makes one appearance, has one request, and receives one touch. But that one touch changed his life forever …

I wonder about this man because in New Testament times leprosy was the most dreaded disease. The condition rendered the body a mass of ulcers and decay. Fingers would curl and gnarl. Blotches of skin would discolor and stink. Certain types of leprosy would numb nerve endings, leading to a loss of fingers, toes, even a whole foot or hand. Leprosy was death by inches.

The social consequences were as severe as the physical. Considered contagious, the leper was quarantined, banished to a leper colony.

In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear …

The touch did not heal the disease, you know. Matthew is careful to mention that it was the pronouncement and not the touch of Christ that cured the condition. “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease” (Matthew 8:3)

The infection was banished by a word from Jesus.

The loneliness, however, was treated by a touch from Jesus.

Jesus touched the untouchables of the world.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/06/27/ml_untouchables/

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Max Lucado
From: His Name is Jesus
Copyright (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2009) Max Lucado
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

“Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results” (James 5:16).

“I can take my telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space,” said the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton , “but I can lay it aside and go into my room, shut the door, get down on my knees in earnest prayer, and see more of heaven and get closer to God than I can assisted by all the telescopes and material agencies on earth.”

Among many other things, the carnal Christian is characterized by a poor prayer life. The spiritual Christian, on the other hand, is characterized by an effective fruitful prayer life.

Prayer is simply communicating with God by listening as well as talking. The acrostic ACTS is helpful in recalling the various components of effective prayer, though the order is not necessarily rigid.

“A” is for adoration – worship of God, first for who He is; and second for all of His benefits. He alone is worthy of our adoration and praise.

“C” stands for confession. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Sometimes this component should take priority, especially for the unbeliever and the disobedient believer, because God does not hear the prayers of the disobedient until they confess. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalms 66:18, KJV).

“T” is for thanksgiving – gratitude to God for His blessings.

“S” represents supplication – expressing our petitions to God for individuals and specific things and events.

Bible Reading: James 5:13-18

Today’s Action Point:  I will claim great power and wonderful results for supernatural living by a righteous life and by giving priority to prayer. I will remember to bring my adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication to God throughout the day.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/05/15/bb_power/

“He personally carried the load of our sins in His own body when He died on the cross, so that we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on. For his wounds have healed ours!”
1 Peter 2:24

Following one of my messages a young woman in her early 20′s asked for counsel. She was weighted down with her guilt and sin. In fact, she was so distraught that she would not look me in the eye. All the while I was counseling her she was under such deep conviction that all I could see was the top of her head.

I asked, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” She nodded in the affirmative. “Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins?” Again she responded affirmatively. “Would you like to invite Him into your life and ask Him to cleanse you with His precious blood, which He shed on the cross for your sins, and make you a new creature in Christ?“ Again, she nodded. Together we knelt in prayer and through her sobs she surrendered to Christ, acknowledging the wickedness and filth of a life of gross immorality. She confessed to God her disobedience of her father and mother whose hearts had been broken by her prodigal ways.

After some time on our knees it was obvious that God had touched her, had forgiven and cleansed her. The sobbing had passed and now she was at peace. The Spirit within me bore witness that she had become a new creature in Christ. As we stood to our feet, she looked at me with her eyes still glistening with tears and her face radiant with joy. She now knew the reality of our promise for today. Jesus had taken the load of her sins on His own body and she was cleansed. With His wounds He had healed her and now she could live a life for the glory of God.

Who, but Jesus, could work such a miracle? Is it any wonder that those who know Him in this way want, like apostle Paul, to tell everyone who will listen about Him? He alone can forgive our sin and liberate us from the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom.

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2:21-25 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

Today’s Action Point: With great joy and deep gratitude I will praise the Lord that He has taken upon Himself the load of my sin and through His death on the cross has paid the penalty which I could never have paid through my own effort. As an expression of my gratitude and through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I commit myself to live a good life, a supernatural life that will glorify my God and Savior.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/04/24/bb_finished/

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.� Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

The Bible says, referring to Christ’s death on the cross:
Jesus “was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.�

When Barb Boswell suffered through breast cancer, she felt pierced too.
After her painful ordeal, God reminded her that Christ was pierced on her behalf.
It was Good Friday, the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus.

Oh dear one, God used both piercings for His glory. 
Through faith we know Christ rose again.  His suffering was for you, to make a way to God.
For Barb, cancer was a life-changing experience, which God has used.
She now reaches out to other cancer survivors with the story of God’s love and grace.

Take a few minutes to read Isaiah chapter 53. 
It will put all your sufferings, all your “piercings� into perspective.

Every Time I Turn Around, I Catch a Glimpse of God! By Barb Boswell www.barbboswell.com

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/04/07/vb_pierced/

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