Being the Church

I'm not really one to give my opinions about items in the news. It leads to nowhere but debates, and worse......

But I cannot overlook this item I read in the Telegraph.

Article in The Telegraph

We obviously only have the newspaper report to go on, so I won't speculate too much into the details of the case as we don't know both sides. Basically the article details that a nurse, who is a Christian, worked with a muslim lady. They appear to have a friendship, and regularly discuss in a friendly and amicable way, their respective faiths. The muslim lady was having a difficult period in her life, with health issues, and out of friendship and concern, the Christian asked if she could pray for her. She placed a hand on her knee, and asked permission to do this too, and said a very simple, very short prayer, asking God for healing and peace. It appears from the article that the offer of prayer was accepted and welcomed at the time.   The Christian nurse, however has been suspended from her job, and seems to be facing quite a lot of religious prejudice.

My first thoughts when reading the article were, What sort of a world do we live in where we can't reach out to a friend, a colleague, and offer to pray for them if they are in distress? Even people with no faith or religion can receive comfort in prayer. Regardless of your religious beliefs, the very offer shows that the person is reaching out in empathy and concern at your situation.

But I'm not writing this to have any kind of rant at the state of the world we live in.  I am writing this, because by the time I had read the whole article, I was encouraged by this Christian lady. We should be championing her for her faith and courage to reach out to someone in their time of need. As a Christian myself, I would find it difficult to ask my non Christian friends if I could pray for them. Of course I would pray in the privacy of my own home, but to actually sit and pray with someone takes boldness. She put her faith into action and did something which I am so encouraged by. Reaching out to someone when they are having a difficult time, having health issues, and saying, I'd like to pray because I believe my God can help you (which incidentally is the same God as the muslims worship!!).

This is not the norm anymore. People don't do this, and when one person does, this is what happens. Of course, this lady is in a difficult situation herself now. But we are called to pray for the sick! Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, set the captives free, open blind eyes and deaf ears. He walked on water; He disappeared inexplicably through a huge crowd of people; He blessed food and it multiplied in His hands. He said we would do GREATER things. But as Christians, are we doing greater things? Are we doing the very basics of even praying for people? Are we encouraging people? Are we reaching out to a lost world? Apparently not because when someone steps out in an act of true Christianity, it is so alien that the world takes offence to it. As the body of Christ we should all be encouraged that this lady is so full of Christ that her first thought is to pray with her colleague and friend. She had the respect to ask permission, and of course, she probably wouldn't have prayed if permission had been declined. From the article, it seems that this lady has acted with humility and respect which you would expect. We should be living out our faith like this lady.

I'm obviously not saying to go out and start laying hands on random people who don't want it, but let's take this example and champion her and thank God that there are people out there who are demonstrative in their faith. If we have the fruit of the spirit, then we will be operating in goodness, gentleness etc.

It's unfortunate that this situation has turned out like it has for this lady, and that she has had to take her employers to a tribunal. But I am praying for her, and believing that good will come out of this situation. Not just for her personal situation, but that it will encourage Christians to be light and salt in the world. We're not supposed to blend in with the world. We are called to be more than conquerors, to be light in the darkness, to do the things that Jesus did, and more. We are called to be the Church - the Bride of Christ, an unstoppable force that makes evil quake in its boots and run and hide. we are to tear down walls, break stronghold, break the chains that enslave people and to proclaim the most wonderful news anyone could ever wish to hear: that the Creator of this world loves them. Deeply. Unconditionally. With an eternal love, the likes of which we will need all eternity to understand and know in its fullness.
If you look at the apostles in Acts, you will see that they were very hands on in practical help to the people who needed help - the widows and the people with nothing. They acted on their faith, healing the sick, praying and praising God, knowing that they could get thrown in jail or worse. They didn't let society dictate to them how to live; they lived instead as God has called them to live. As Christians, we should look peculiar to the world for we are not of the world. If we look exactly the same as the world do, hiding the light of the World within us under a bushel then we have faith without works. James says faith without works is dead.
Let's take our lead from this daughter of God and say well done. Well done for not being afraid to be who God created you to be. For reaching out to someone in need and doing the most powerful thing we can do for someone - praying with them. For practically outworking her faith! I truly pray that I myself will have the courage to be who I really am and let my faith outwork itself to reach out to the people in my world.

Pray with me for this lady:
Heavenly Father, we thank you that this lady had the faith and boldness to ask her friend if she could pray. We thank you for her, and her heart towards you. We ask now that justice will rule in the tribunal proceedings and that all that has been lost from her will be restored seven times. We pray in the name of Jesus that she will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and that your peace will envelop her at this time. We pray that she will continue to act with love and humility, displaying Your love and grace throughout this time. We also pray that this situation, will be turned around for greater good. That people will be encouraged by this lady's faith and boldness. We pray that Your church would arise in boldness and strength to offer comfort to the broken and to display and proclaim Your mighty Name and to display Your limitless, unconditional love to the world, no matter what the cost. Amen

Touch the hem

Mark 5:25-34 (Amplified Bible)

25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse. She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment, For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health. And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment. And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? And the disciples kept saying to Him, You see the crowd pressing hard around You from all sides, and You ask, Who touched Me? Still He kept looking around to see her who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done for her, though alarmed and frightened and trembling, fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed from your [distressing bodily] disease. 

There's so much in this passage; I love this about the Bible. So much beauty and nuggets lying layer after layer bringing more revelation and blessing.

First of all is to note that twelve years is a long long time to be suffering with, what we interpret, as a menstrual bleed. I can't even imagine how she felt in her physical body from the side effects of constantly loosing blood. She must have been anaemic, constantly tired and who knows what else.

Notwithstanding the fact that as a menstruating woman, she'd have been seen as unclean in the Jewish faith and wasn't technically allowed out in the public domain. A very lonely existence, she probably had little contact with people. But not only that, she'd put her hope and faith in the doctors of the day, and not only had they failed to make her better, but she'd got worse! She also had no cash left as they didn't have the NHS then and all the physicians had taken money even though they had made her condition worse. Sounds like a nightmare!  She spent all she had, not only in money, but probably she'd spent all of her hope and strength too. I expect she was resigned to the fact that she would not be getting better.

But something renewed her hope. Some reports of this Jesus, some testimonies perhaps, from someone who had also lost hope, but who was now well and healed, had reached her and had spurred her into doing something audacious. She went out in public. She not only went out in public, she touched someone! I imagine she felt that the most she could do was touch just the very edge of his garment. "I won't touch Him" she may have thought, " That would be too much. I shouldn't be out, I am unclean. But maybe if I just touched the very edge of his garment, I just know I will be well". What a step of faith! She may have heard a testimony of a leper, another unclean person, who testified that Jesus TOUCHED him because Jesus touched the lepers. At the reports of Jesus, whatever it was she heard, it gave her the determination to step out and caused her whole life to be changed.
Imagine if you were that person who told her of Jesus! Imagine how blessed that person must have felt, knowing their testimony changed this woman's life! She even made it into the Bible, recorded in Mark's and Luke's gospel because of her faith. You just don't know what your testimony could encourage someone to do.....it could encourage someone to just dare to touch the hem of His garment, and have an encounter with the Messiah! Wow, that's a Selah moment.

So out she goes, spurred on by the hope that's been kindled in her heart. She finds out where Jesus is, and there's a crowd. A big crowd.She's scared. She keeps saying to herself "If I just touch His garment, just his hem. I just need to touch His garment, just the fringe and I'll be well". It was in her heart, it was all that she could think, she had to hold on to that hope. What she was doing was against everything she's learnt as a young Jewish girl, but she's got to do it.  Maybe it's a good thing, there's a big crowd: she won't be noticed. She'll slip up behind Him and not even be seen, how could she? There's thousands of people: bingo! And here goes, she reaches out, touches just the fringe of his garment, and wow! she feels it. She's healed. It's immediate! She must be so relieved, so elated, she did it, and she got her healing.

But hold on, Jesus has stopped walking. He was on His way to heal a sick child, unbeknownst to her, and His disciples are saying, Hey Jesus, what you doing Man?? (Clearly I'm paraphrasing a bit). Jesus is asking who touched Him. She is frightened now. He knows she touched Him. Is He angry because she was unclean? His disciples are asking Him what is He talking about; hundreds of people are touching Him. And they are.....there's a huge crowd, He's pressing through the crowd to get to the sick girl and the crowd are just following, all around. But although they're round about Jesus, they haven't touched Him like she has. She has reached out in desperation, with faith, with a hope, with a purpose. Whereas everyone else is hanging around perhaps hoping to see a miracle or sign, or to hear Him speak as they've never heard anyone like this before. There were probably other sick people there, but only she got healed in that crowd because she was the only one to step out in faith. To reach out to Jesus.

Of course, we see He isn't angry, He doesn't rebuke her. He knew someone had reached out to Him in faith. He wanted to see who it was. He wanted them to know that their faith was pleasing to Him. He would be more than happy to heal any who came to Him. But this person had not needed Him to touch them, they just had enough faith in Him to just touch his garment. That is what Jesus wants to celebrate and He wants her to know that she needn't be afraid of what she's done. He blesses her by telling her to go in peace. He calls her daughter. What an amazing thing! He doesn't say " You unclean woman! How dare you touch me". He doesn't say, " You disobeyed the law of Moses". He doesn't rebuke her at all. He knew this person needed not just the healing she received. She'd spent 12 years being spurned by society for being unclean.

Whenever you reach out to Jesus, even just to touch them hem of His garment, He will never let that step of faith go unnoticed. He will call you His child, and bless you and speak restoration upon your life. He will grant you peace from your fears and anxieties and assure you that no matter what the world says about you, He sees you as His daughter, or His son. She not only got her healing, she got accepted.
Jesus was on His way to a very sick child, but He always has time for those who reach out to touch the hem of His garment in faith. Don't think that because there's people in this world with bigger problems than yours, that He can't, or won't take the time to reach out to those who seek Him. He's big enough and powerful enough to give you healing right where you are, to speak to you, to love you, and still meet the needs of others who are waiting on Him. He's a big God, and He's waiting for you, even in your desperate situation where all you can do is touch the hem of His garment.
Be blessed