Contending

Touch of Faith

by Simon Dewey

As Jesus was on his way,
the crowds almost crushed him.
And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding
for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
She came up behind him
and touched the edge of his cloak,
and immediately her bleeding stopped.

- Luke 8:43-44

...God, who gives life to the dead
and calls those things which do not exist
as though they did...

- Romans 4:17

In just a couple of hours from now, the month of April comes to an end.

After looking back at the past four weeks, I have thought of the best name to give this month.

Contending.

This is where I am today.

Many changes have taken place deep inside of me. I'm not the same person that I was thirty days ago.

Putting words to a profound experience is never easy. All I know is that I have been given a new perspective from which to view my life, and with it, the invitation to live at a higher dimension.

This month taught me to never take my faith for granted. Not for a single moment. It is easy to slide... to forget... to become complacent... to be presumptuous.

This month I am deciding to watch more carefully the attitudes that form in my heart.

I am asking the Father to help me guard against that old enemy, the same one that brought about the downfall of Adam and Eve - pride... and its many subtle forms, such as self-righteousness and a judgmental spirit.

I'm not forgetting that my heavenly Father is watching over me. Nothing will separate me from His love. But this month I was reminded that I need to contend for my faith. To contend for my destiny and that of my family.

Quoted below are two Bible passages that best sum this up.

...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act
in order to fulfill his good purpose.
- Philippians 2:12, 13

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet
to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 3:13, 14

I want my faith to grow several notches higher.

Watch where my pace has slackened...

Take a spiritual inventory... determine what has caused me to lag behind.

Ask Jesus to blow His wind upon my heart, fan the embers into a blaze...

Heed God's call for a deeper intimacy with Him.


I am fighting for my faith... taking charge... manning my post of prayer... of worship.

Let me take the focus off me... my circumstances... my pain... or even the wrong things people have said, or done, or failed to do...

If needed, to forgive again... release anyone who has offended or disappointed me... let go of another hardened layer of unforgiveness.

At a practical level, take steps needed to unclutter. Get rid of the excess baggage of my life...

Let everything, if possible, go through a sifting process, so that only the essential will remain.

Simplify.

De-accumulate.

Take back spiritual territory I may have lost by default.

It is all part of the contending.



Many years ago, I pleaded with God about an area in my life that needs healing. His clear word to me was the story of the woman who suffered for many years with an issue of blood. She was considered ceremonially unclean because of her condition. Her finances were depleted from seeking medical help for years, to no avail. Luke documents the story in Luke 8:43-44, quoted above.

This woman knew the hope of her healing was found in Jesus alone. Jesus is her last recourse. She elbows her way into the crowd... pushes her way in. She was desperate... if she could come near and touch the hem of His cloak... she knew she would be healed.

Her was a "pushy" but quiet kind of faith. She was a contender. And she won.

She received her healing.

Jesus did not turn her away empty. Instead, He affirmed her, saying: Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.


This is where I'm at.

I am holding on to this Scripture...

I want to dine at God's table, feast on His word heartily. Let His word nourish me...

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. - Hebrews 4:7

Pushing my way in...

Making every effort...

Approaching God's throne of grace with boldness and confidence.

Yes, I am determined to push my way through the crowd... in a quiet kind of way. Not prideful. Without blowing trumpets. But confident.

I will press on.

Touch the hem of His garment. And receive power.

By the grace of God, I desire to do what needs to be done for my faith to grow deeper... to cooperate with Him in transforming me from one level of growth to another.

Being transformed into the image of Christ... from glory to glory.


Higher Ground
lyrics by Johnson Oatman Jr

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s table land,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till Heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Below is a beautiful version of this hymn, sung by Michael Chauncey.

The month in pictures:

April is summertime in our country. It is the month when flowers bloom, and schoolchildren are on a school break.

This was a month that I celebrated the love of family and friends.

It also gave me another opportunity to conduct more Ancient Paths seminars where we once again experienced God's healing breakthroughs.

Above all, it was the month we celebrated the Passover, and remembered the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remembering Ernie... Eight stones left at his grave, one for every member of our family.

The yellowbell vine over our front gate has grown back and is in full bloom!

Beautiful orchids at my friend Ang's home.

Last Sunday in church with my best friend Melanie, just a few days before she went back home to Virginia.

Farewell dinner for Melanie...

Dear friends Delbert and Lora Hooge, founders of the School of Tomorrow schools here in our country. We became good friends while I was the school principal and ministry head of our church school for eighteen years! They were in Bacolod City for a few days this month, and this picture was taken during breakfast one morning, just touching base.

This is a dear friend of mine, Lourdes. She and I go to Felizia's once in a while to celebrate our friendship over a classic margarita or two!

After the Ancient Paths Level Two Seminar last April 9. See all those beautiful smiling faces!

Our Passover meal as a family.

Pictures of our Resurrection Sunday lunch together as a family:

Obedient One was with us during Holy Week.

My sister in law Faith who resides in L.A. with her husband Jun (Ernie's younger brother) spent Holy Week in the Philippines. I love Faith... she has always made me feel so special. Even though she lives miles away, she reaches out to me and my family. Below are some pictures of our time together with her.

My first born son with his first born son, Matthew.

Faith with First Born, God given and Matthew.



Faith with Worshiper, Chosen One, and their baby Elijah.





Faith together with Leila, Ernie's youngest sister.