EXCLUSIVES
Daily
Prayer
Monthly
Rhema Word
Music
Teaching
Online
Articles/Archives
RESOURCES
Bible
Online
Faith's
Checkbook
C.
H. Spurgeon
Other
SPIRIT
Jesus
Life
More Abundant Ezine
Sign up for our exclusive weekly ezine, only
for our friends!
LYDIA'S LEGACY
Who
we are
Link
to Us
Contact
Us
Prayer
Requests
Search this site
|
 ARTICLES
Printer Friendly Version
Pastor Katherine Soto
Iglesia Crusaders de Chicago, © September 17,
2005
The
Woman With The Infirmity
And
there was a woman there who for 18 years had had
an infirmity caused by a spirit
(a demon of sickness). She was bent
completely forward and utterly unable to
straighten herself up or to look upward.
And when Jesus saw her, He called her to
Him and said to her, Woman, you are released from
your infirmity! Then He laid His hands on
her, and instantly she was made straight, and she
recognized and thanked and praised God.
Luke
13:11-13 (Amplified Bible)
Here the bible tells us of a woman who was bent
completely forward unable to straighten herself
up or to look upward. I find it
interesting that when Jesus saw her, instead of
Him going towards her, He called her to
Him. I mean surely He could see her
condition. How hard it must of been for her
to walk with her face to the ground and her
hair falling in her eyes. She must of
bumped into a lot of things during her 18 years
of bondage. I say bondage because in verse
16 Jesus replied to the leader of the synagogue
saying, "Ought not this woman, a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen
years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath
day?
Literally put yourself
in that position as if you were going to touch
your toes. Imagine yourself in that
position for 18 years. Now try to lift your
head and look upward. You cant can
you? Try walking in your home in that
position. Did you bump into anything?
Was breathing easy for you? Try eating
something or better yet try drinking some
water. Could you do it?
Difficult to almost impossible wasn't
it. Satan kept this woman bound and
planed to keep her that way. How
difficult it must of been for her to bath, and do
the simple things we take for granted. She
was completely bent forward. Her breathing
must of been shallow. Yet, Jesus called her
to Him. Why? He desired for her
to walk by faith towards Him and receive her
deliverance! She slowly made her way
towards Him. When she got close to
Him, He said, "Woman you are released
from your infirmity!" He then laid His
hands on her and instantly she became
straight. Another thing I find
interesting is that the bible says she
recognized. What did she recognize? Whom did she
recognize? It means she discerned, she
became fully aware of who Jesus was. The next
line explains the action she took when she
recognized . She thanked and praised
God! Now here is my question to
you. How long will you allow Satan to keep
you bound? How long will you stay bent
completely forward unable to see what life has
for you or the plan that God has for your
life? How long will you be a woman with no
vision? What and who are you bumping
into that's keeping you from straighting
up?
Don't you see a future for yourself?
Why do you walk with your head down? Don't
you know who you are! Satan wants to
keep you in that mind-set that your
in. You have no identity. You don't know
who you are or what your suppose to do.
This woman with the infirmity is not given a
name. You know why? Because she is
like a lot of us. Her name could be Julie,
Tamra, Maria, or she could even have your
name. We all identify with this woman
in one way or another. For years I
walked with my head down thinking I was not as
good as other women. Thinking that I could
not accomplish anything in life. That I
would always be struggling never having
enough. Satan had me bent over! I
couldn't see my future. I had no
vision. But one day, the Lord gave me a
vision. I was driving down Lake Shore Drive
in Chicago, and I had a vision of myself looking
into a fun mirror or circus mirror. You
know the ones where your head looks big and your
arms are long. Your image is all
distorted. I heard the Spirit of God say to
me, "Why do you keep looking at your self in
a circus mirror? The image in the mirror is
distorted. The word distorted means to
twist or pull out of shape. It comes from the
Latin word distorquere "twist apart".
Isn't that interesting. Satan desires to
twist you apart. I repented before
the Lord and asked him to help me see my self the
way he sees me. I began to
speak prophetically to myself. I am a woman
of God! I am a virtuous woman! My
children arise and call me blessed, I began to
read Proverbs 31:10-31 and speak it into my life.
Little did I know that a month later my
husband and I would be ordained as a
pastors. I had no idea! Everything
happened so fast. I am finally able to
stand straight. I finally have vision for
my life, ministry and business. Yes, the
Lord blessed me with my own RELIV International
business! Jesus set me free from the
bondage I was in and now I can finally breath
easy because I know who I am in Him.
Isn't our Heavenly Father good to us?
So straighten up Woman
of God!!!! I dare you to look at yourself
in the mirror straight in the eye, and
speak Proverbs 31;10-31 into your life. You
will receive deliverance and you will recognize
who He is and most of all you will know who you
are. Be blessed in all you
do!
(For Previous Rhema
Teachings, please visit our Articles Page)
|
