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Give Thanks

On a crisp, clear “up north” night we sat around a bonfire.  But quickly our gaze turned from flames of the fire to the brilliance of the star studded sky.  As our eyes looked upward, we were mesmerized by its majesty; we were filled with wonder at the omnipotence of our God who spoke these stars into being.

Although the number of stars we could see with our naked eyes were too numerous to count, they were but a minute number of stars that fill our galaxy.  Scientists tell us the Milky Way consists of 100-300 billion stars.  Even further confounding is the fact that our galaxy is but one of over 100 billion galaxies in our universe.  Our God is an incredible star-Maker, planet Creator!

And, it is this awesome and powerful God who calls out to us with an extraordinary invitation:

“Draw near to me and I will draw near to you!” James 4:8

How incredible it is that the loving desire of our omnipotent God is for us to have an intimate, personal relationship with Him – a relationship where we have the privilege to call on His name, knowing that He hears and answers us.

When we truly reflect on how blessed we are by God’s great love for us, I think we can relate to the words David wrote in Psalm 8:

milkyway“I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,

your handmade sky-jewelry,

Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

Why do you bother with us?

Why take a second look our way?”  vs. 3-4

 

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His Touch

Leprosy.

It had ravaged his body, leaving behind deformed fingers, toes, ears, and nose.  He watched with despair as His appearance became unearthly.  But, the physical misery of leprosy was surpassed by the extreme social ostracism this disease incurred.  Because it was believed that leprosy was contagious through touch, he had become a social outcast.

 No longer permitted to embrace those he loved.

No longer welcome to join family celebrations.

No longer allowed to worship in the temple or enter the synagogue.

No longer able to earn a living, reduced to a life of a beggar.

His identity had been changed – from blessed to “unclean.”  He was not quarantined for 21 days, he was quarantined for life.  What years remained would mean living a rejected, lonely, desolate life.

No cure.

No mercy.

No hope.

But one day hopelessness was replaced with a glimmer of hope.  A man named Jesus was nearby and rumors had proven true; He was a healer.     Three of the four gospels document the healing of this leper, and in each account, whether it is in Matthew, Mark or Luke, the details are the same:

 The leper knelt before Jesus and begged to be healed, to be made “clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

Jesus then declared, “Be clean.” (Be healed.)”

And the leper was healed.

As I was reading yet again the concise account of the leper’s healing, I was struck by one these recurring details, one in particular:  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

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