TWENTY TWENTY-SIX
The Hem of His Garment - July 5, 2026
Reading from Mark 5:25-29
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
The Woman in our text was desperate. She truly desired to be delivered from this wretched disease which had held her bound for twelve years. Every time she would hear of a specialist or an expert in that particular field of medicine, she would make an appointment, only to be disappointed once again. They could not heal her but she had to pay anyway. And before she was even healed, she was broke. In fact, according to the Bible, her condition worsened.
When there was no one left to turn to, Jesus showed up. She’d heard about this man. She’d heard of others being made whole simply by his touch. It all had sounded a little sensational at the time. Perhaps she even laughed about it when she first heard it. But now it was no laughing matter. When her desperation kicked in, it all seemed right. She was ready to believe.
She came up from behind him as he passed through and simply touched the hem of his garment and immediately she was healed.
Today, there are people all around us who scoffed and laughed and mocked Jesus yesterday. But today, their situation has changed and now they are ready to believe. Perhaps they are even desperate and if Jesus would only pass by, they would go to him and reach for his garment by faith.
We Christians are his feet today. We must allow people to see Jesus in us and we must pass by and give them an opportunity to reach out by faith and touch Him.
When I was ready, on April 18th, 1984, Jesus passed by in the person of David Lofty, the man who led me to the Savior. I simply reached out by faith and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was immediately and completely saved. Now I have an obligation to be that Jesus for someone else, and, if you are saved, you do too! ~ js
All Our Sins - July 12, 2026
Reading from 1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Satan forgets our name and calls us by our sin while God forgets our sin and calls us by our name. My sins are plenty and I’ll bet yours are as well. But we have the sublime blessing of knowing that all our sins are under the blood of Calvary. When Jesus Christ died on the cross over two thousand years ago, all my sins were, at that time, still future. I had not yet been born. I had not yet committed any sins, yet, when Jesus died, he died for all the sins of mankind. He did not die only for those who sinned against God up to that point. He died for the sins of those who were yet to be born. He died for future sins, which means he died for my sins- all of them.
Many people believe Jesus died on Calvary for their sins and trust in Him for salvation, but they have a difficult time believing that sins committed after salvation will not condemn them. Many believe they must earn God’s future forgiveness, and so they spend their Christian lives trying to measure up, never realizing the fullness of joy that comes from an understanding of full salvation. Jesus died for past sins, present sins, and future sins. If he didn’t die for future sins, then he didn’t die for any sins. If his precious blood shed 2000 years ago didn’t have the power to wash away all the sins of the world, then it had no power at all.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ satisfied the demands of a holy God. Mankind’s debt has been paid in full. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from ALL sin! No further payment is sufficient or necessary! Hallelujah! ~ js
Mornings With the Master - July 20, 2026
Reading from
Isaiah 26:9
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early…
My dog, Sunday, has a room in the house where she sleeps each night. We have a baby gate on the door that is not nearly tall enough to keep her from jumping over if she so desired, but she never does.
Every morning when I get up, I pass the doorway of her room on my way to the living room where I have my morning devotions and coffee. When she hears me, she comes over to the gate, lays down, tail thumping the ground, hoping that I’ll stop and talk to her or reach down and pet her. I always do. It’s our little ritual. Our day wouldn’t be complete without it.
My Lord spoke to me one day during this little ritual. He spoke in that still, small voice of His and said, “James, are you as eager to see me in the morning as Sunday is to see you? Do you hope to hear my voice and desire to have me place my hand upon you as Sunday hopes to hear your voice and feel your touch? Is your day incomplete if we don’t spend time together?”
I’ve come to cherish the morning hours so I can spend that uninterrupted time with the Lord in His Word. He does speak to me and touch me through his Word, and it is absolutely true that my day does not seem complete without our time together.
Are you able to carve out some time for the Master each day? ~ js
July 26, 2026
"Be Thou Clean"
Reading from Mt. 8:1-3
1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
When we come down off the proverbial spiritual mountain, we are refreshed and spiritually invigorated. It is during those times we believe God is going to use us to do something significant, something that matters, something really big for Him. We begin looking for big opportunities and we miss the obvious. Instead of God placing us in a place or position to win hundreds or someone of significance to Christ, He sends us a homeless man, or a broken-down old derelict, some burned out drug head, or some other “undesirable”. Before we turn our nose up at such vermin, we need to take note that when Jesus came down off the mountain, the first person he encountered was one of the most undesirable individuals you could possibly think of – a leper. Jesus stopped, loved him and healed him. Who are we to judge among humanity who is and who is not worthy of the touch of Christ? May God help us to live and love as Christ did. ~ JS
