2 Corinthians 1:20-22 “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”.

2 Corinthians  5:5 “Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”.

Luke 13:10-13 “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God”.

Sometimes your dream gets deferred and crippled for so many years that you are bent over and cannot raise yourself up.  For 18 years this woman’s life was over taken by a spirit of infirmity.  It paralyzed every sector of her life and being.  It limited what she was able to do and where she was able to go.  It sapped her strength and shaped her body. She was physically unable to surmount this challenge.  She was bent over and burdened with the weight of the infirmity in both her body and spirit. Yet she was unable to straighten out herself or the situation.  She could not raise herself up.

BUT GOD!!!!

Into this scene steps Jesus the Son of the Almighty God, God himself in human form, teaching about the Kingdom vision of wholeness and abundant life. The woman in her crippled state finds herself in the synagogue which is where she belongs.  The church is for sick people to find healing.   Like all preachers as He preaches Jesus looks around at his congregation and sees this crippled woman.  Jesus does not say ‘after I finish preach I will go and have a one to one with her’.  Jesus knew that this was the proper time and place for her healing, that day was her day of liberation. So he called her forward right then and there and proclaimed to the entire congregation “Woman you are free from your infirmity” and touched her in the way that only Jesus can and she straightened immediately and praised God.

Hallelujah!!  This is not just for Bible times.  Today the Spirit of Jesus Christ is here reading and willing to make your crooked path straight, ready to remove the spirit of infirmity that has characterized and crippled your life so long that it is impossible to recognize you without it.  All God’s promises are Yes in Christ and we say Amen through him. Do you believe that today?  God has sent his Spirit as a deposit to transform and raise us up from our bent over shapes.  This Spirit wants to free us from the spirit of infirmity is living with us.  So God wants to straighten us today.  He wants to anoint us and set us free so that we can praise Him.  Let us not get sidetracked by the previous 18 years but let us hear Jesus as He calls us forward right now.  Let us step forward in faith knowing that Jesus has our best interest at heart and that the rest of our lives begins today, straightened, whole, renewed so that we can praise God for all to see.

PRAYER

Father I come to you in my frailty, seeking you to change my life around.  I have been crippled in my circumstances so long it is hard to believe that it going to change but Lord I believe you so I come forward for your healing word and touch.  I praise you in advance for what you are about to do. In the name of the healing Jesus, Amen.