Close Encounter

I want a close encounter with Jesus, don’t you? The concept sounds amazing, but it is a bit allusive. I mean, we can’t touch Jesus or see Him face to face, so how exactly do we encounter Him? All I know is that if I need a revival in my faith, more of His presence will do the trick. Maybe this passage in Mark will give us some perspective.

Mark 7:32-35

³²There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

³³After 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. ³⁴He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!" ). ³⁵At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

I had to stop to ponder this situation. {Sidebar: to get more out of the scripture, don’t just read it, ponder it. Break it down and put yourself in the scene} Just several passages before, Jesus simply touched the sick and lame or spoke healing over them. Why would Jesus pull the deaf man aside and put spit in his ears? Here are some possibilities that I came up with. I actually put myself in the place of the deaf man-take a look:

*Jesus knows this man’s heart and maybe this man doubted His ability to heal
--Jesus knows my heart and knows when I doubt Him, too!

*Jesus wanted a private moment with the man away from the noisy crowd
--Jesus wants a private moment with me away from the TV, internet and blackberry {distractions}

*Jesus knew the power of His touch when He stuck his finger in this man’s ear. He not only touched the deaf man’s ear, Jesus touched the depth of this man’s heart-whatever condition it might be in.
--The Lord doesn’t just go through the motions in my life. He knows when and how to get my attention. Sometimes I need His touch more than anything else.


Can you imagine how sweet a sound the man heard when Jesus said, “Be opened?” This man probably lived the majority of his life, if not all, in silence. What a wonder to experience to tune into Jesus’s gentle, yet powerful voice as the first sound he heard in ages. A voice that was not preaching to a large crowd, but speaking straight to this man’s heart in the most intimate way. He had a close encounter with Jesus.

We don’t know what followed this scene. We don’t know how the man lived out his close encounter. But, we do know how we will react when Jesus pulls us aside from our distractions, touches our hearts and speaks into our life. I don’t know about you, but I want to have a close encounter with Jesus EVERY day. This only happens when I come to Him ready, willing and vulnerable. Jesus knows the depths of your heart and just what kind of encounter with Him you need. Are you willing, ready and vulnerable?

Jesus! Touch our hearts and speak to our soul, “Be open!”

Book Review-Picking Dandelions

I have the privilege of participating in the Blog Tour for Picking Dandelions by Sarah Cunningham.



Sarah's Website: www.sarahcunningham.org

Buy the book here

Video Blog-Darkest Hour

Today's video looks at the darkest hour before Christ's death and a complete separation from God in order to be our perfect sacrifice.

Please let me know of your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Book Review-The Selfless Gene

I am thrilled to be a part of a new program with Thomas Nelson called Booksneeze. It is a blogger review program and I hae access to their new books and get the opportunity to review them. So, this is the first book that I read for them.

The Selfless Gene, by Charles Foster


Here is my review that I posted on Christianbook.com
I have to be honest and say that I really wanted to like this book. It was promoted as a fair and balanced look at two opposing worldviews. But, as I continued to read, my blood pressure elevated with the turn of each page. Rather than have a fair and balanced approach looking at both evolution and creationism (or intelligent design), the author tries to convince the reader that both worldviews can conincide with each other and meet in the middle. To top it off, the creationist point of view comes off as ignorant and back woods-very offensive. While the author does not completely lift up evolution as final truth, he does show the pitfalls in this worldview. But, this does not make up for the fact that there is no way possible to work with both views and take both intelligent design and evolution and meld both into your own personal worldview. I can't say that I recommend this book.

**Disclosure: I received a free copy of The Selfless Gene as part of a blogger review program with Thomas Nelson

Video Blog-We Just Can't forget

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on my VLOG. Please leave a comment and share your heart!

Video Blog-NonTwitter Weekend

Ok, let me just answer a few obvious questions before we watch the video:

1. Yes, I know I need to get my roots done. A.S.A.P.

2. Sorry about the cough at the end...

3. Yes, I am in workout clothes. My back doctor cleared me for workouts-off do do a Pilates workout.

Would love to hear what you are challenged to do when the Lord speaks to you about gods/idols and obedience to HIM alone.

Video Blog-Blessed is He!

Question:

Do you celebrate Palm Sunday every day of the year? Not just Easter season?