Stress Center Peer Support

Greetings everyone!

When this man came to Jesus, he was "full of leprosy," Its deadly poison permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin-- deep-rooted, deadly, impossible to be cleansed by human power. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores."--Isaiah 1:5,6. But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence was healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean," shall hear the answer, "I will; be thou clean."

Jesus wants to cleanse and make us whole. This is the miracle of life we have in Him. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9.

We can go through the most devastating things this sinful world has to offer and still be whole in Christ. Your mind may even be clouded with pain right now, but do not try to think. Simply know that Jesus loves you and understands your weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms. O my friends let Jesus touch you this day in the way that is needed. He will not let you down, but will lift you up and out of your pit of despair.

The song “He Touched Me” came to mind and I would like to share that with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...i4Mc&feature=related

Have a blessed day!
GIL

Good morning Gil!

Thank you for sharing these words of wisdom and healing. I think that song touched you to write such words of encouragement.
God bless you brother!

I would like to share a song, and a poem to help us overcome our doubts; though we may often feel we are unworthy He is faithful to Take Us Just As We Are

Hymn II: Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast

Come, sinners, to the gospel feast,
Let every soul be Jesu's guest;
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bidden all mankind.

Sent by my Lord, on you I call,
The invitation is to ALL:
Come, all the world; come, sinner, thou!
All things in Christ are ready now.

Come, all ye souls by sin opprest,
Ye restless wanderers after rest,
Ye poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.

Come, and partake the gospel feast;
Be saved from sin; in Jesus rest;
O taste the goodness of your God,
And eat his flesh, and drink his blood!

Ye vagrant souls, on you I call;
(O that my voice could reach you all!)
Ye all may now be justified,
Ye all may live, for Christ hath died.

My message as from God receive,
Ye all may come to Christ, and live;
O let his love your hearts constrain,
Nor suffer him to die in vain!

His love is mighty to compel;
His conquering love consent to feel,
Yield to his love's resistless power,
And fight against your God no more.

See him set forth before your eyes,
That precious, bleeding sacrifice!
His offered benefits embrace,
And freely now be saved by grace.

This is the time; no more delay!
This is the acceptable day,
Come in, this moment, at his call,
And live for him who died for all.

John Wesley

Finally; today's Devotional reading and reflection from the Blue Letter Bible:

Today's Promise from the Bible
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Reflection

How unimaginable is the glory of God and the wealth of riches He bestows upon His Bride! Despite man's incredible faculty for fantasy, even at his loftiest and most creative, he cannot even begin to conceive the extent of pleasure and glory for which God has prepared for His people. Rejoice, you redeemed, in the promise of His kingdom eternal!

You can open to this page every day and receive a short encouragement devotional that will take you all of 2 minutes to read aloud and ponder; by simply visiting and reading a new devotional everyday.

http://promises.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm?doy=62

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gman5256:
I think that song touched you to write such words of encouragement.

Good morning to you Gman,

That is an inspiring song, but actually it was the other way around. What I was reading and meditating on allowed me to think of this song. I hadn’t even heard it in quite a while. I looked it up on youtube and selected the one that I thought sounded best. I was doing some reading about the woman with the issue of blood that reached out for the hem of Christ’s garment by faith. So, as I was giving thought to the “touch of faith,” I also was thinking of the “touch of Jesus” as with the story of the man with leprosy. Both cases were about the healing touch of Jesus. The women showed her faith by silently reaching out to touch Jesus, “For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be made whole,” while the man showed his faith by asking Jesus to cleanse him, “Lord, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” The idea of being cleansed and made whole comes out of these two incidents. As I shared earlier in another post the centurion showed his faith by wanting Jesus to speak the word only to have his servant healed. Whether we are touched by the hand of Jesus or by His words, or by His presence, they are all one of the same and if we are touched by Jesus we are touched indeed. If by faith we want to be touched by Jesus we will never be the same.

Thanks for sharing a song in return. It made me think of the calm assurance we can have in Christ. Amen!

Have a wonderful day!
GIL