Hey God, wanna hang for awhile?

Up until now, I’ve focused on getting Christians “refocused” on God, and not the church. Lastly, we talked about worshipping. Now that we’re back to basics, let’s take God outside of church and apply Him in our daily lives. God is a 24/7 God who doesn’t close shop on holidays even. So we need to quit making Him a Sunday God and let Him become an Everyday God.

In Genesis, God used to walk daily with Adam and Eve (chap 3 verse 8). They were used to Him being with them. Unfortunately, after they sinned, they were no longer able to be in His presence as they were before. I don’t know if they were ever able to touch God, but while Jesus walked on earth, the people living where He traveled were able to.

I love bluegrass music. Always have. Always will. One of my favorite bluegrass artists was Harvest Bluegrass. Sadly, they are no longer together as a group. One of my favorite songs that they sang was, “Have you ever touched Jesus?”

I thought about it long and hard. Have I ever physically touched Him? Nope, sadly not. I wasn’t on earth when He walked here as a man. Have I touched Him spiritually? Yes, many times. And He has touched me. In thinking about this, it brought back a bible story that I want to share.

Mark 5: 25-34

²⁵And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. ²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
³⁰At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
³¹"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
³²But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

When she drew the power from him, it was like what happens sometimes when we’re inside a building, the overhead lights are on, and all of a sudden the lights dim a bit, (though they still work) because the a/c or heater unit has just came on and it needed a good bit of power or strength to get it going again. That is probably how it felt to Jesus, it didn’t drain him completely, but enough to make his “lights” dim for a second.

Have you ever reached out to Jesus? When do you tend to reach out to Jesus? When everything has gone wrong and you can see no other way to make it in this world? Jesus has promised to give us strength just as Paul reminds us in (2 Cor. 12:9).

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

What does it feel like when you reach out to touch Jesus? Sometimes in my praying I get the “warm fuzzies.” I think this is that connection with the current flowing from the Holy Spirit that I need to feel to know that He is there for me.

But do you ever reach out to Jesus at any other time? Remember when you were a child and you just wanted to feel your parents loving arms, or a simple touch from their hand, just to remind you that they are there watching for when something does go wrong. Or just to climb on their laps and snuggle, maybe a peck on the cheek to say “I Love You”. When was the last time you climbed up on Jesus’ lap and simply snuggled and said, “I Love You”. You say “But that is impossible, Jesus is not here for me to do such a thing.” I say to you “You’re Wrong”! Find you a corner, a quiet room, maybe just wrap up in a blanket if it’s a little damp or cool, and just start praying, not some righteous words, but really praying.

How do I do that? By simply just talking. Imagine yourself in His arms, looking up at His face, and just simply talk to Him. Tell Him about your day, or what ever is on your mind at the time, and allow Him to listen to your fears, your joys, your concerns. That is how we need to “touch Jesus” more often.