Red Letters

How are you while waiting? Are you frustrated and lost? Or are you joyful and hopeful? Are your actions glorifying the Lord? Every delays and waiting's are part of His unimaginable ways. Every process has its beginnings. You don't get success instantly! Realize the hardship, cheer up, and know that God is worth it.
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See whole post here:
https://bibleredlettersph.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/attitude-while-waiting/

"After He took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put His fingers into the man's ears. Then He spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means "Be opened!"). At this the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak." -- Mark 7:33-35

This passage is maybe one of the weirdest things that Jesus did. Yes, He healed a person, but He did it in such a fashion that would raise eyebrows. When He raised the girl from the dead, He just spoke "Little girl, get up!" (Mark 5:41). When He healed the centurion's servant, He actually just talked to the centurion and the crowd, and they found the servant healed. And when He healed the bleeding woman, the woman just touched His clothes.

But this passage (along with the blind man in Bethsaida, Mark 8 ) saw Jesus more involved. He first placed His fingers in the ears, then touched His tongue with a spit-covered finger, sighed, and said (to the man) "Ephphatha!" which means "Be opened!". Looking from outside, the fingers in the man's ear probably felt uncomfortable and the finger with spit is unsanitary and too intimate.

That's what this is: Intimacy.

Now, those observations are from an outside point of view. Think about the man who was deaf and could hardly speak (some say he was mute, well there's a bit of difference). He must have looked for other healers and was never healed. He lived in a gentile region with gentile beliefs - it could be that his situation was looked upon as a curse from the gods, something that might be contagious, or even downright demonic. His deafness and muteness are a source of not insignificant insecurity, especially in that culture. People probably avoid his ears, don't look at them, maybe avoid the man altogether because of them.

Then comes Jesus. He's never known Jesus. He can't hear, and at the time, they were probably isolated from society. When people (family and friends most likely) brought him to Jesus, he was confused and felt a little more than the usual anxiety. Who is this stranger?

Jesus placed his fingers on his ear and touched his mouth with fingers covered in spit. Jesus here is meeting the man. He is communicating to the man, "I know you." Who else would touch the man's ear? Who else would touch his mouth? Jesus is touching the most hurtful, embarrassing part of his life in the most intimate way possible. Then Jesus heals him.

When you open up your insecurities to people, doesn't it hurt when they avoid and try not to talk about it? Doesn't it hurt when they look at you with pity, yet do nothing about it because they don't want to deal with it? Doesn't it hurt when they ignore it?

Jesus touches your insecurities in the most intimate way possible. He doesn't just "know" you intellectually, He feels you by experiencing your hurt. The way Jesus dealt with the man is a picture of the cross. On the cross, Jesus knows you. He knows your sins, your shame, and your deep-seated emotions, those deeply buried insecurities you fear people might find out.

And in the cross, He heals you.

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This post is heavily inspired by Mike Winger's Video:
The Spit Healing of Jesus: The Mark Series part 25 (Mark 7:31-37)
link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35_3uD7XbVc&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF&index=25

Father, You are the rest to my unquiet heart. You are the peace when my thoughts wage war. You are the comfort to my anxious heart.

Teach me to be still and to trust you in times such as this. May I learn your ways and take joy in times of storms knowing that I am held by the Hands of my Captain, my Savior.

Teach me to be still when I am showered with favor and blessings. I pray that I will celebrate these wonderful blessings with you.

Teach me to listen and to be sensitive in your work over any circumstance in every season of my life.

Teach me to trust you. In the stillness, may I know you more, my God, my Father. AMEN.

When Jesus and His disciples were on the boat to cross to the other side of the sea, a fierce storm came and waves were so high that the boat was about to be swamped. The disciples, with fear and trembling, woke Jesus up! He rebuked the wind and it became perfectly still. Perfectly calm.

Likewise, when we experience troubles, the natural reaction for that stimulus is to feel anxious, worried, or restless. When we experience triumphs, we feel excited and over the moon! It is normal to feel that way because we are built-in with emotions. However, we can choose a better way to respond to circumstances in our lives. God encourages us to BE STILL.

When Jesus was praised by the people as they witnessed how He made miracles, never was He overcome by people's applause and admiration. When he was scorned, beaten, and mocked, never did He raise a hand of revenge. When He was questioned before Pilate, He remained to be STILL.

When we are struggling with fear, anxiety, and tragic circumstances, we tend to panic. We lose the chance to hear God in the stillness. When our lives are overflowed with blessings and favor, we tend to yell with excitement. We lose the chance to hear God in the stillness. God, in His sovereignty, commands us to BE STILL.

It is in the stillness we can know and see who God really is. Then we begin to see that He is far and above the storms of our lives.

It is in the stillness we can distinguish what matters more. Then we would know that the blessings might give us pleasure, but there is a different kind of joy we experience when we focus on the Giver of the blessings.

This only means that the supernatural happens in stillness. When the disciples witnessed how Jesus calmed and stilled the storm, they exclaimed, "Truly, you are the Son of God!"

Today, be still and deeply know that He is God.

You don't have to count to 100 just so you can sleep tonight. You can unload all your worries to God because He cares for you. Rest well, tired soul.

Oftentimes, we only want to go to God when everything is going well and we are whole. When we commit mistakes and experience failures, our first reaction is to run away as far as we can from Him and wait until we feel ready to go back to Him again.

But we don't have to try so hard to fix ourselves. We don't have to put our own selves back together. We don't have to do it all on our own.

In our brokenness, in our pain, in our failures...
Even though we feel like we don't have any right to draw near to God...
Even though we feel so guilty that we can't face Him...
Even though all that we could offer Him are our losses, defeats, and shortcomings...

His invitation to you is to allow Him to be with you in your brokenness. He is close to the brokenhearted. He alone makes broken hearts and broken lives brand new.

To the ones who feel like God doesn’t understand:

He sees you...
He hears your silent cries...
He understands your fears and doubts...

It takes a lot of faith to believe that He is with you through it all.
He feels so far away.
It seems like He doesn't care.
It feels like He has deserted you.

Pause and take a deep breath.
Trace the path you've been walking on.
Maybe you will see with brand new eyes that God is with you.

And because He is, you can carry on. ❤️

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
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Let this amazing Hymn by Annie Johnson Flint encourage you today. No matter what you are going through, God's grace will always be greater.

Lyrics taken from: https://hymnary.org/text/he_giveth_more_grace_as_our_burdens

Hardships will always be there. There are times when you feel that things are not going anywhere. You start to fall and think that you will never make it. But then He's there, watching you and ready to catch you. It is His desire to guide you. It is His desire to let you grow. It is only temporary; this is only our temporary home. What's waiting ahead is worth the delays, the hardships and the tears. It is His promise that we are bound for something greater. Never give up on prayer! He is patiently watching you while you wait. The source will always supply, give back to Him after having it.
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See full blog here:
https://bibleredlettersph.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/attitude-while-waiting/

By the River

Such a feeling of hope and freshness
Soothes the spirit, cures the sadness
As you embrace the waters by the river
Remember the love of your mother and father.

The current flow can be wild and strong
Ensure your foothold like a brave metal song
The current flow can be weak and loose
Swim around, put the steady waters into good use.

The river gives life to its surrounding lands
From the deep springs to the open sands
That every tree will thrive and not wither
When it is deeply rooted by the river.

God is the river: Comforter, Guide, Life-source
Those who follow Him are trees by the river
As in Psalm 1:3 (here, in Amplified Version)
“And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].”
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See blog here:
https://bibleredlettersph.wordpress.com/2020/11/17/by-the-river/

How are you while waiting? Are you frustrated and lost? Or are you joyful and hopeful? Are your actions glorifying the Lord? Every delay and waiting are part of His unimaginable ways. Every process has its beginnings. You don't get success instantly! Realize the hardship, cheer up, and know that God is worth it.
--
Check out our blog here at:
https://bibleredlettersph.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/attitude-while-waiting/