Initiate meaningful conversation with your family no matter how long the commute with Joe White's age appropriate short talks on scripture, parenting, culture, and community.
Episodes
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
Tuesday Dec 03, 2019
" I remember we were doing a crusade at Oklahoma university and you know, a couple of thousand kids show up and one girl comes to the cross and gives her life to Christ and Jesus gives her the healing touch. And she said to me afterwards in the letter, she said, you know what? She said, my body has always been my god. My body is my god."
Family Discussions:
- What is your need that enables you relate to some of these healing touches of Jesus that I've talked to you about today?
- How can your family be more bonded around the need for his healing touch?
- Jesus' last words when he said, don't be afraid. Only believe. How do those reassuring words speak to your heart today?
- How do you need to see it?
Transcription:
00:14 This devotional today is fantastic because it comes from the words of a fantastic man. The most fantastic man who ever lived and obviously the most fantastic book that was ever written. Imagine when you look at this book, you're looking literally at the Word of God. The Word that God breathed out of his mouth. That's what scripture he is. We're in the life of Jesus. Of course, we're in Mark chapter five, and today we're going to start with verse 35 and go to verse 36. It was a amazing day in the life of Christ, but it's going to have something amazing to say to you as well. Verse 35 said this "while he was still speaking that came from the house of the synagogue official saying, your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher anymore? But Jesus overhearing what was being spoken said that the synagogue official do not be afraid any longer. Only believe."
01:09 And so Jesus goes to the little girl whose name was Taletha and he gives her his healing touch and the healing word, he says politely, little girl arise and she arose and live happily ever after, I presume. Pretty neat to read about that girl and what Jesus did with that girl. But you know what? I see Jesus' healing touch literally every day. Had some little friends in the world of gymnastics and you know, everything about gymnastics is being tiny and being little and being slender and being thin. And all the magazines that these little friends read were you know, the teenage girl magazines and you've gotta be tiny. You gotta be slender and you gotta be slim. And so they became, you know, got an eating disorder and became, you know, anorexic and literally. If something wouldn't have happened, would've probably died from starvation as many young girls and even guys do today from watching this stuff too much. But they begin to give each other the healing touch of God and watching those friends cling to each other and begin to give their eating disorder to God and beginning to give their bodies to God.
02:21 I remember we were doing a crusade at Oklahoma university and you know, a couple of thousand kids show up and one girl comes to the cross and gives her life to Christ and Jesus gives her the healing touch. And she said to me afterwards in the letter, she said, you know what? She said, my body has always been my god. My body is my god. But she said, tonight, I begin to see myself in the image of Christ. That's why I love to go to the campuses. I remember at Texas A&M, there were some 6,000 students who showed up for the crusade and afterwards probably three or 4,000 kids came up to the cross. But I'll never forget one girl who had a man she hated and she was living her life in vengeance and bitterness because he killed her had. But that night, that girl brought that hatred to the cross, believe it or not, and she forgave the guy.
03:12 I remember an NFL linebacker came to an event in Michigan. They were probably a couple of thousand guys that came down to that cross that day in this great Coliseum. And this one guy had hated his dad for 35 years. All the way through the national football league and all the way through college football. He's one of the best in the game, but he hated his dad because his daddy abused him when he was a little boy. But there in front of the cross, he forgave his dad. I remember hugging this guy, just the tears as he wept and wept in my arms as he was able to say, I love you daddy. I forgive you daddy.
03:46 You know, one of the, one of the greatest football players who ever played the game was in prison because of some, some crimes and stuff he'd gotten into. But they're in the prison, an NFL coach who loved Jesus came into the prison and gave that guy the healing touch of Jesus. The guy's back on the field. He got out of prison and he's a completely different person. So the healing touch didn't just happen 2000 years ago, but the healing touch is happening. In fact, it's happening. It's happening in your home.
04:21 So here's the questions today. What is your need that enables you relate to some of these healing touches of Jesus that I've talked to you about today? And how can your family, you know, your husband, your wife, your mom, your dad, your grandpa, your, your child? How can your family be more bonded around the need for his healing touch? Because the homes, the best place for it. And then Jesus' last words when he said, don't be afraid. Only believe. How do those reassuring words speak to your heart today? And how do you need to see it? And here's the lifeline for today. Christ uses afflictions to get us on our knees and unite it around the cross. When healing comes, stay there and give him the glory for the rest of your life.