PEOPLE WITH A PAST (3) Luke 13:12-17
12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
This woman tried religion, but it couldn’t help her. She tried doctors, but they couldn’t cure her. And the people around her thought her problem would never be solved. Even she did! But not Jesus. His promise is: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will…[relieve and refresh your souls]” (Mt 11:28 AMPC). What a relief; you can give your burden to Jesus. No matter how hard life seems, relief is just a prayer away. Regardless of the obstacles standing in your way, reach out to Jesus. You may have an out-of-wedlock infant cradled in your arms, but keep pressing toward Him. You may have been abused or molested and have never been able to tell anyone, but don’t stop reaching out for Him. You don’t have to tell everyone your whole past. Just know that Jesus is calling you. He knows your past, but He is calling you anyway. He doesn’t see you as you are but as you will be when His grace has wrought a work in your life. Mary Magdalene may have been a prostitute before she met Jesus, but she became one of His closest disciples.
MEDITATE: Matthew, who wrote the first book of the New Testament, was a despised tax collector working for the Romans when he met Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t examine your past in order to decide what He will do with your future. Saul of Tarsus, the murderer of Christians, became Paul the Apostle, author of half the New Testament.
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The good news is, when Jesus saves you, you no longer have a past—you only have a future.- Jentezen