THE MASTER’S TOUCH

“And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”

Mark 1:40, 41

King James Version

Bill Gaither wrote a beautiful hymn about Jesus “He Touched Me”.  “ Shackled by a heavy burden, 'Neath a load of guilt and shame. Then the hand of Jesus touched me, And now I am no longer the same.”  Thank God for the touch of our precious Saviour.  

Before Jesus touched me, saved me and gave me a new heart, I was a terrible person.  I hated everybody.  My heart was full of anger, resentment, bitterness and unforgiveness and I really believed that I had a right to feel that way because of the way I had been treated.

I had been beaten, cursed, ridiculed, raped and even told that I didn’t have a right to live.  After hearing these things for most of my life, I really believed I didn’t have a right to live and so I tried to commit suicide.  I’m so glad that God sent someone to help me in time so that I didn’t die.

If you have allowed bitterness, resentment, hatred, and unforgiveness to remain in your heart, you are hurting Jesus and breaking His heart.  Jesus doesn’t want us to live a defeated life.  He wants us to have a life filled with happiness and joy.  We read in the Bible “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Jesus hasn’t been here for over two thousand years and we need to hug others for Jesus.  When is the last time you hugged someone and said “Jesus loves you and I love you”?  You may not be comfortable hugging people but you can hug them with your words of love.  Have you hugged Jesus today?  

Joanne Lowe

September 7, 2019