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Scripture for the day: Matthew 9:20-22 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
Thought for the day: One day, as Jesus made His was from village to village, calling all who would listen to repentance, a rich young man approached him. “Rabbi, what do I need to do to be saved?” Jesus stopped, engaged the man, and said, “What do you think you need to do? Keep the commandments.”
 “Which ones?”
 When Jesus gave him a small list of important commandments, the man must have smiled. “All of these I have done since I was a child.”
 Jesus looked at him and said, “If you want to be truly saved, sell everything you own, give the money to the poor and follow Me.”
 The man went away, saddened by this impossible demand for he was tremendously wealthy. And Jesus loved the man who had no idea how truly poor he was.
 Time after time the Pharisees and other teachers of the Law asked questions of Jesus in order to trap Him in His own words. They watched His every move, hoping to catch Him engaged in some activity worthy of His arrest and, at the very least, imprisonment. Time after time Jesus confronted them with their own hypocrisy, knowing their evil intent. Sometimes He was angry with them; often He was sad, knowing their attitude was leading to their destruction. Always He loved them.
 Every time the Pharisees challenged Jesus, as they went their way to plot their next assault, Jesus was saddened. You see, Jesus loved the Pharisees, the Saducees, the crowd that screamed, “Crucify Him!” and even the soldiers that nailed His hands and feet to the cross.
 Then there was this woman, a perfect example of the law as outlined in Leviticus, chapter 15. “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity …. She shall be impure” (Lev. 15:25). Twelve years! That’s how long shed been considered unclean by family friends and the community at large. Essentially, this woman was a social outcast. Everything she sat on or otherwise touched, including people, was unclean. Not only had she no business touching even the hem of Jesus’ garment, she was violating the law by simply being in the crowd that surrounded Him. Her desperation was so great that she was willing to risk even stoning to get to her only hope of deliverance.
 That kind of desperation is never ignored by the One who rewards our faith. That kind of faith never fails to receive an answer to its cry for relief. Read again the words of the Savior: “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” 
 What “issue of blood” has kept you in bondage, perhaps for longer even than that experienced by this poor woman whose name isn’t even important enough to mention? Is there something that has kept you from full participation in the community of grace? The solution is simple – let nothing keep you from getting to the feet of the Savior. Exercise your faith by reaching out to touch even the hem of His garment. Are you any less loved than the woman in our story?
Now go take on your world.  -  Bill