Granddaughter

Okay, I'm finally giving in to one of the desires of my heart: Sharing pictures of our precious little granddaughter. At the start of this blog, I told myself I would not use this as a forum to brag about the darling little one, but I can't stand it! I have to share some of the recent photos our daughter sent.



Maybe I have to do this because we're in Michigan and they're in Colorado, and I need to take advantage of every opportunity to make some connection. I like to read people's blogs, but now that I'm putting these photos in, I realize pictures are much more fun to look at than articles are to read, unless they're really great articles -- and those are rare.


So please be blessed by the beauty and innocence of this little one we call our own, Elena Josephine, first child of our oldest, precious daughter Kate and her wonderful husband, Josh, who is certainly a gift from the Lord. His birthday is tomorrow --HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH!



Take a minute to remember all the little ones in your life. Pray for them and believe with me that God is raising up a great end-time army to bring His glorious Kingdom in greater measure through young people and little ones such as these.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127:3-5).



And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself'?" (Matthew 21:16).



Jesus said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them (Mark 10:14-16).

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Parenting, Grandchildren, Children, Praise

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG (say “whizzywig”) is computer jargon for “What you see is what you get.” Due to differing capabilities of computers and computer software, what you see on your computer monitor is not always what you will get when you print out your final product. A program is characterized by WYSIWYG if what you print out is exactly like what you see on your screen. In the older days, most programs couldn’t provide WYSIWYG, but nowadays many do.

In spiritual terms, we could say that WYSIWYG usually holds true in life – What we spend our time looking at, or focusing on, is what we get and what we become in life. Did you ever stop and take inventory of what you spend your time thinking about during the waking hours? If your thoughts are consumed by something, your life will become motivated, controlled, by that thing.

Seems like a good reason to master our thought lives, doesn’t it?

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me (Psalm 101:3).

My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me (Psalm 101:6).

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law (Psalm 119:18).

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways (Psalm 119:37).

For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord; in You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless (Psalm 141:8).

Like a swallow, like a crane, so I twitter; I moan like a dove; my eyes look wistfully to the heights; O Lord, I am oppressed, be my security (Isaiah 38:14).

But at the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation (Daniel 4:34).

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Col. 3:1-2).

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).

What are you looking at?

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Faith, Worship

Transforming Habits

We talked in Sunday School class about the percentages of different kinds of content that is stored within our minds. Psychologists tell us that nine-tenths of human thought processes occur in the subconscious part of our minds. Also, everything we have experienced is stored somewhere in our subconscious minds – for the rest of our lives. Information and experience enters our beings through physical senses into the mind, by way of every kind of experience. By the time we are middle-aged, imagine how much stuff is stored away in our subconscious minds! If it were all written down, it probably couldn’t be contained in several dozen large filing cabinets.


But here’s the problem: How much of what is within our subconscious is negative, or anti-God in nature and origin? And how much of it is from God and like Him in its nature? I wouldn’t hesitate to guess that 90% or more of what has been stored in my mind since my birth is possibly NOT God-breathed and does NOT move me toward God. What do you think?

If you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, it doesn’t automatically follow that you will become a mature follower of Jesus (especially in view of all this negativity -- darkness that has filled our lives). God doesn’t just make us mature in Christ without our participation. There are things we must do. Becoming more like Christ and more filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit all happens in part by us purposely involving ourselves in what could be called spiritual disciplines. No doubt you already participate in any number of these on a daily basis.

My challenge to myself, and to you, should you choose to accept it, Mr. Phelps, is to increase the amount of these spiritual disciplines in your life. If you pray and read your Bible daily, and fellowship regularly at church, what else could you add to those habits that would increase the amount of God-related things that are filling you up? It’s clear from Scripture that there is great need for the things of this world system that have resided within us to be replaced with the things of God:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

The following are some examples of habits that would help us renew our minds and be more full of the things of God:

Read one chapter of Proverbs every day.

Read 5 Psalms before bedtime each night, and Psalm 119 on the 31st of each month. You will be reading the entire book of Psalms once each month.

Instead of listening to the radio or music in the car, spend time praying and/or praising God.

If you use a treadmill or some other daily physical exercise, if possible, use that time to memorize Scripture.

Stick notes with Bible verses on your refrigerator, the mirror where you brush your teeth, in your car, etc., to work on memorizing more Scripture.

Fast one day a week – for 24 hours or until the evening meal.

Read one faith-building book every month.

Start a journal – a prayer journal, record meaningful insights from God’s Word, or observations of your own growth in the Spirit.

Pray in the Spirit 15-30 minutes a day, in addition to your regular prayer time.

Pick up Bible study workbooks from the local Christian bookstore and engage regularly in personal Bible study.

Find a private place or, if possible, go to your church, and pray on your lunch hour once a week.

Get together with a few close friends on a scheduled basis for informal prayer meetings.

A complete list of good spiritual habits would be endless! Let the Holy Spirit get creative with you. Ask Him what new habits you could introduce into your life that will help you to be transformed. Ideally, we could reduce or eliminate some worldly activities that are not building us up spiritually. For instance, if you watch 8 hours of television every week, pick one of those hours and replace it with one of these God-related activities.

Write a comment and share something that has helped you, or that you have heard from someone else. Happy habit-forming – and be transformed!
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Worship

All I Need

All I Need Is You

Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear You speak
Won't let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
Got every reason to be here again
Father's love that draws me in
And all my eyes wanna see is a glimpse of You

All I need is You...
All I need is You Lord...
Is You Lord

One more day and it's not the same
Your Spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Savior once again
Where would my soul be without your Son
Gave his life to save the earth
Rest in the thought that You're watching over me

All I need is You...
All I need is You Lord...
Is You Lord

You hold the universe
You hold everyone on earth
You hold the universe
You hold...You hold...

by Marty Sampson, Hillsong Publishing
from Hillsong United, "Look to You"
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Worship

Rest In You

REST IN YOU

Your faithfulness endures always,
Where mountains fall and reason fails...
And You calm the raging seas,
And You calm the storms in me -- again.

All I know is - I find rest in You.

My heart will praise throughout the night,
Where singing seems a sacrifice...
And You calm the raging seas,
And You calm the storms in me -- again.

All I know is - I find rest in You.

Your grace is all I need.
Your grace is all I need.

by Mia Fieldes, Hillsong Publishing, 2004
from Hillsong United CD, "Look to You"
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Worship

Holy Hover

Our pastor taught us one day about the hovering of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the coolest pictures of God I have ever seen. It’s illustrated in the very first chapter of the Bible:

The earth was formless and void [a waste and emptiness], and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving upon [hovering over] the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2).

Pastor Curt explained that the Presence of God, by His Spirit, hovers over things to prepare them for the creative works of God. This word "hover" has the meaning of "brooding," which means to hover over or carefully watch over something so as to "hatch" or produce offspring.

God’s Spirit was hovering over the face of waste and emptiness – a chaotic mess – so as to produce or create something. And He did it:

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).

By His word, He created light. This whole picture is a beautiful concept. Where it really gets good is when it happens in my life. God’s power happens, and it makes a difference. It can be the difference between life and death.

A sure way to build your faith, or to be more Spirit-controlled, to grow more fruit of the Spirit in your life, to become stronger in every area of your walk with God, is to put yourself under the hovering of the Holy Spirit. This should be happening in the prayer closet of every believer, every day.



Do you have an area or a circumstance in your life that smacks of chaos, formlessness, void, emptiness, or waste? You need the brooding, the hovering of the Holy Spirit, because He is willing and waiting to speak His creative Word into your life.

Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' By this he meant the Spirit..." (John 7:37-39a).

See what 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says:

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

I would like to challenge you to try an experiment in prayer. Shut yourself in your "prayer closet" for 30 minutes, and set yourself under the hovering, brooding presence of the Spirit of God. Just ask Him, "Lord, hover over me, and do your work in me. You alone know exactly what I need. Thank you." Then fix your eyes on Jesus and allow him to move over your life by His Spirit. Try it. You may not get a tangible result right away, but if you give God room to work, He will be able to do amazing things in your life and in every situation you find yourself in.

Notice what Jesus said to the Pharisees, who were challenging him:

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. . . .Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word" (John 8:37).

Do you have room for God’s creative word in your life? Give Him some room.
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity

More on Faith (Part 5)

Faith and the Holy Spirit

Faith is fed by our interaction with the Word of God. This must include the written Word (the Bible) and the living Word – Jesus, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. It occurred to me that the Devil has the entire Bible memorized – forward and backward – in every known language – and probably some unknown languages! He can fire Scripture at people faster than they can think. But having that “knowledge” hasn’t caused Satan to change. That is because Satan has no faith in God, and he is opposed to the Spirit of God.

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:2).
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:4-6).

The written word by itself – apart from the Spirit of God – can bring death, not life! An imbalanced emphasis on the written word of God leads to legalism. This is mainly what the book of Galatians is about. This is why Paul told Timothy:

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

God doesn’t want us beating people – or ourselves – over the head with the Bible. That kind of thing is portrayed in Hollywood’s maligning parodies of Christians.

Don’t misunderstand – Scripture memory is one of the best habits we can develop. But in order for the word to have power in our lives, it has to be quickened, or made alive, by the Spirit of God working within our spirits. God does this work, but it requires cooperation on our part.

Jesus told the woman at the well that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth. We need great infusions into our lives of both the truth of God’s word and the life of the Holy Spirit. This reminds me of something else the Bible teaches us: We are to speak the truth in love.

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ (Ephesians. 4:15).

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

God is Love. God is Spirit. God is Truth. They can’t be separated. So I need to spend time with the Lord cultivating ALL of these things in my life so that my faith will grow.
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity,Faith

What Am I Doing About It? (Part 4)

More on Faith

If the big deal is the One in Whom I put my faith, and faith involves looking upon that One, the logical response is for me to get a really, really good look at God! Thus the title of Tozer’s chapter on faith, “The Gaze of the Soul.”

Notice that when the Israelites looked at the bronze serpent that was lifted up on a pole, in order to receive healing they didn’t have to beat up any snakes. They had to LOOK at what was lifted up. There are times when we have to stand in the face of the enemy, but that’s another subject for another blog discussion.

We already know that we need faith in order to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and we all want more faith. Now here’s a puzzle: If faith comes by hearing the word of God, it would seem that the more of the word I have memorized, the more faith I will have. But I see that this is not necessarily true. I’ve been a disciple of Jesus since I was 12. But it wasn’t until just a few months ago that I discovered this truth about faith:

It’s not enough to believe that the word of God is true. I must give my attention to it. This is the gazing of the soul. Here is where the discipline of building good habits with God’s word begins. It’s about renewing our minds. And it doesn’t mean just putting verses into my head.

Last fall our 18-year-old son suddenly became very ill and was hospitalized. It took them five days to figure out what was wrong with him. He had temperature spikes to 104 and an infected liver, among other things. I knew I needed faith to help me deal with this situation. So I brought a CD with Scriptures about healing to play while I waited with our son in the hospital room.

The Scriptures were being spoken in the background. Several of these Scriptures I know by heart. In my mind were these thoughts: I wonder what his temperature is? When is the doctor going to come in? Is he still dehydrated? Where is the nurse with some fresh water? The hepatitis A antigen came back negative. I wonder when the B and C are going to come back? I wonder what the infectious disease specialist will have to say? etc., etc., etc. I was giving my attention to the illness – to the problem.

Then the voice on the CD said, “It’s not enough to believe the word of God is true; you must give your attention to it.” The locomotive of my thoughts suddenly crashed into a cement wall. I immediately began to intently listen to every word of God that was being spoken, and I deliberately meditated on what it said, turning over in my mind what each statement meant. Because these truths in God’s word are so wonderful, I started to thank Him for Who He is and what He promises in His word. When a particular word especially gripped my heart, I prayed in the Spirit and became more deeply focused on the Savior. By the end of the CD, I could literally feel the faith that had grown within me.

Our son has a call of God on his life to full-time ministry, and he’s pursuing that. As I’ve prayed for him over the years, the Lord has assured me that this will be fulfilled in his life. After this focusing my attention on God’s word, I was reminded of that truth, and I knew, with no hint of doubting, that if the doctors came in and told me our son had a terminal illness, I would not believe it. I didn’t just know this because it’s something I heard. I knew it deep within my spirit, the same way that I know deep within my spirit that I am a child of God – nothing can ever shake that knowledge from me. That is faith -- the ASSURANCE of things hoped for


So I discovered that, to have faith about something, I need to find the particular word that God has to say about that thing, and I need to meditate on it for periods of time. The word has to get deeply imbedded enough in my spirit so that it becomes faith. It’s simple – but it’s not necessarily easy. It’s only easy when we actually do it. By the way, our son had an Epstein-Barr viral infection which attacked his liver. He is now fully recovered.

I don’t have to “work up” faith or be “educated” in how to have faith. I need to fix my eyes on God, the object of my faith, and intently listen to and meditate on the word He gives me for my situation. Faith is built. If I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, I’m on the firm foundation. For the rest of my life, I want to focus on Him, and my faith will be built. Two things help me do this: The Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity,Faith

What Am I Doing About It? (Part 3)

Faith

There are two questions about faith I'd like to tackle: What is faith, and how do I get more of it? I found in Vine’s Expository Dictionary that the word for “faith” used in the New Testament has three components:

1. Being fully persuaded of God’s revelation of truth
2. Complete surrender to t hat truth
3. Behavior that is inspired by such surrender

2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” The Amplified version puts it this way: “We regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by a conviction or belief in Who God is.”

Having faith starts with believing that something is true, but it’s much more than that. Faith of some kind is always at work in a person’s life. Every person lives by what he or she believes. I may say that I believe something, but do I really live like I believe it?

Many volumes have been written about faith. Every believer I know would like to have more of it. The Bible tells us how we get faith: Romans 12:3 says that God has allotted to each person a measure of faith. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So we get faith from God. He gives us faith to begin with, and we can add to it, or make it grow, by taking in more and more of His word. How does this happen?

In The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer has one of the best explanations of faith I have seen, in his chapter called, “The Gaze of the Soul.” He reminds us of the story of the Israelites in Numbers 21, when they had disobeyed God and fiery serpents were sent among them. They were being bitten and they were dying. God had Moses make a serpent of brass and lift it up high on a pole. And the Lord said to Moses, "And it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." In the 3rd chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

Tozer points out that from the comparison of these two Scriptures, Jesus showed us that believing and looking are interchangeable terms. So believing on God, or having faith in God, would be the same thing as looking on God. See how this relates to Hebrews 12:1, which instructs us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.”

The following is a quote from the chapter I mentioned in Tozer's book:

Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, “I will set my throne above the throne of God.” Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line.

So the big deal is not MY FAITH; the big deal is THE ONE in Whom I put my faith. It’s about getting my focus right. The Word of God and His Holy Spirit working in me help me to increase in faith. Next time let’s look a bit at how this happens.

So What Am I Doing About It? (Part 2)

Diligence

From the Scriptures it is clear that God has done everything necessary for His part so that I can know Him. The ball is in my court. I must start where I am. If I know that I should want to know Him, but I’m not sure if I really want to, then I should ask Him for the “want-to” and He will give it to me. He takes me just as I am. When I take a step toward Him, He will meet me.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a).

Another word for diligence is endurance:

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised (Hebrews 10:35-36).

Recently I was reading in Hebrews, and this Scripture passage became a revelation word to me. I said, “Okay, Lord, I need endurance. How do I get it?”

The answer is that endurance is not something I get. It’s something I do! The way I approach goals: Step by step, one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. If I take one step toward God, I’m one step closer.

I must discipline myself to seek Him. That’s where I start. It’s communion with my heavenly Father that will cultivate my desire to know Him more. Following through with a simple discipline will give birth to more desire, inspiring me to add to my discipline, which in turn will increase my desire for Him again.

Seek the Lord continually in prayer, especially praying in the Spirit. Constantly search His Word to get understanding about Who He is and how He operates, and what He expects of us. Meditate on His Word. Praise and worship Him by listening to His music, making songs in your heart, and giving thanks to Him all day long. It is my goal to set these things in my heart, step by step, line upon line, precept upon precept, until they become life-controlling habits.

Now if I make a commitment to the Lord, in regard to Bible reading or prayer time, and I fall short of it, is He angry with me? Think of a child or a grandchild learning to walk.



Do I get angry with that little one when she falls? I don’t think so! I encourage her, clapping my hands, with all kinds of happy noises, saying, “Come on, come on, sweetheart, you can do it!!”

That’s how God is with me. And because of His great love for me, His attitude toward me that always says, “Come,” I will set my face like flint, and I will keep pursuing Him, until my discipline becomes the sheer delight of walking in the Spirit, abiding in Christ.

Jesus said,
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

He was repeating what His Father had said to Moses and the children of Israel:

"My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14).

Do I want His rest? Do I want His presence to go with me? You betcha! I’m on my way. How about you? On Monday we’ll talk a little bit about faith.

So What Am I Doing About It?

Now let me answer the question: What am I doing about wanting to know God more?

The one thing I need is hunger – thirst – desire – for God. Jesus said:

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6.

Righteousness is right standing, or being in right position, with God. As we know from God’s Word, this was already accomplished for me through Jesus’ vicarious atonement on the cross. I can’t get it by myself. By freely receiving forgiveness from God, because my debt of sin was paid in full by the awful price of Jesus’ death, I am now positionally right with God. But that’s only the beginning of an incredible journey in a fulfilling relationship that God has always wanted to have with me.

Once I’m in right standing – rightly related – to God, as I get to know Him more personally, there will be hungering and thirsting on my part to enter into deeper levels of relationship with Him.

God has commanded me to seek Him, because He knows that when I find Him I will discover the answers to all my questions and real fulfillment of all the deepest longings of my heart.

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, "Seek Me that you may live" (Amos 5:4).

And Jesus said,

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

God promises that I will find Him:

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

But notice that it requires diligence (seeking with all my heart) and faith:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

So how do I get diligence? How do I get faith? These are two of the mountaintops I need to scale on this journey. Next time we’ll talk about getting diligence.

Do I Really Want to Know God?

In our Sunday School class we've been talking about the possibilities of God's healing power working in our lives. In a broader sense, we're on a quest to expand our personal relationships with God so that His life and power can flow through us, like channels, filling us up and making us whole, then pouring through us to spark life-change in people we interact with.

This morning I read a chapter from A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God. He poses a question that I have asked the Lord for quite some time:

Why do some persons "find" God in a way that others do not? Why does God manifest His presence to some and let multitudes of others struggle along in the half-light of imperfect Christian experience?

Then he answers the question:

Of course, the will of God is the same for all. He has no favorites within His household. All He has ever done for any of His children He will do for all of His children. The difference lies not with God but with us.

I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which [those who experience His manifest presence possess is] spiritual receptivity. Something in them is open to heaven, something which urges them Godward. Without attempting anything like a profound analysis, I shall say simply that they have spiritual awareness and that they go on to cultivate it until it becomes the biggest thing in their lives. They differ from the average person in that when they feel the inward longing they do something about it. They acquire the lifelong habit of spiritual response. They are not disobedient to the heavenly vision. As David put it neatly, "When you said, 'Seek my face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek'"(Psalm 27:8).

I do want to know the Lord. At this point in my life, I can truly say that I want to know Him more than I want to know anything else. Now I have a new question: "What am I doing about it?"

First Post

In the Press -- What does that mean? It's from my favorite account of a healing work by Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark.

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, "If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole." And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, "Who touched my clothes?" And his disciples said unto him, "Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." (Mark 5:25-34)

I love the wording of the King James version in this account. I can identify with this woman. She had an issue! Boy, do I have issues! But then she heard about a Man. This woman was "in the press." She knew that she had to press her way through to touch Jesus, and her issue would be resolved. It most certainly was. I know this Man. He's been transforming my life, resolving my issues, since the day I met Him.

The Apostle Paul was in the press:

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12)

Jesus was pressed to death -- pressed by all kinds of people with all kinds of motives, by Satan himself, but most resolutely by the deliberate and complete submission of his own will in obedience to the will of the Father. Interestingly, the word "Gethsemane" means "olive press." In Jesus' day, the olive press contained a huge disk-shaped stone, weighing thousands of pounds, that was used to crush olives to produce oil. Jesus was crushed for us. First His blood, then the oil of His Spirit, were poured out for us. And now He presses on, victorious, our overwhelming conqueror. Praise Him for His peseverance and for His incredible love for us!

Pressing on. That's what I want to do. The purpose of this blog site is to be a window of encouragement for believers to keep pressing on, and never give up. If you have any questions about God, any testimonies of His moves in your life, or any encouraging words, please share them with us. We're in this together -- In the Press!