Devotionals for the Heart: Jesus Christ can heal, restore and deliver you

Jesus Christ Can Heal Your Body and Restore Your Health
A devotional by Erica Bryant

And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

—Luke 13:11-13 (ESV)

There is a powerful story tucked in the Gospel of Luke, right between the teachings of Jesus Christ found in chapter 13.

One day, while teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, Jesus noticed a woman who had been afflicted with a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and unable to fully straighten herself. Can you imagine the woman? Hunched over and in deep despair. Her gaze most likely was downcast as feelings of hopelessness weighed heavy on her heart.

However, what’s beautiful is that this woman was in the synagogue. Despite her suffering, she chose to be in a place of worship. As Jesus taught, He saw her. Scripture states, “When Jesus saw her . . .”. It is one hope-filled phrase that changed her life forever. Jesus called her over and said, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” He laid His hands on her, and immediately she could stand up straight and began praising God. From bent over in despair to standing straight in healing and victory, this woman was healed and set on a path of freedom.

While scholars may have different opinions about the specifics of her affliction, it’s clear she suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Many of us can relate to her condition. Perhaps we, too, feel bent over, suffering, and void of hope. Let this story bring you encouragement if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Here are a few important truths to remember as you journey through life:

Truth #1: Jesus sees you. Just as He noticed this woman, Jesus has noticed you. Your pain has not escaped His knowledge. He has seen every moment of your existence, from your greatest triumphs to your deepest hurts. We can find hope and comfort in knowing that we are under His loving care. The Bible says in Psalm 34:15 (ESV), “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.”

Truth #2: Jesus calls you to Himself. Jesus called the woman to Him despite the crowd. He brought her closer into His presence. Jesus is always drawing us closer to Himself. When we answer His call and come closer to Him, He will come closer to us. He desires to have an intimate relationship with us. The Bible says in James 4:8a (ESV), “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” When we draw closer to Him and His heart, we receive the hope, help, and healing we need.

Truth #3: Jesus speaks over our lives. Jesus told the woman she was loosed from her infirmity. His words spoken over her life provided the release that she needed. Jesus is still speaking over our lives today. His Words are Spirit and life-giving. If you are suffering, begin to speak God’s Word over your life. Find truths that speak to your circumstances and speak words of life. Let God’s Word come forth from your lips and receive His healing. The Bible says in Psalm 107:20 (ESV), “He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.”

Truth #4: Jesus has His hands on you. Jesus laid His physical hand on this woman to heal her in that moment. But truthfully, He had His hands on her the entire time. Her whole life led to this divine moment. Just as God has seen every moment in your life, He has always had His hand on you. He didn't leave you in your darkest moment or forsake you in your sins. Instead, He was always there. The Bible says in Isaiah 41:10 (ESV), "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Remember: Circumstances will make us feel bowed down and bent over. We don’t have to stay that way. Trust the Lord, our Healer. He sees you, draws you to His side, speaks words of life over you, and can heal you with His loving touch.

Take some time to think about these questions (listed below) or write them down in your journal. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you can grow and then take steps to live out God’s Word. The questions: Are there areas of your life where you feel “bent over”? How can you draw closer to Jesus in those circumstances? What specific truths from Scripture can you apply to your painful situations? How can you actively seek the Lord's healing and His presence in your life?

Let’s Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for seeing me in my struggles and for always having Your hands on my life. Help me to draw closer to You and embrace the healing You offer. Teach me to speak Your truth over my life, allowing Your words to transform my heart and spirit. I trust You to turn all my pain into praise. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

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Song of Reflection #1: “He Has His Hands on You” by Marvin Sapp. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Healer” by Kari Jobe. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: "Broken But I'm Healed" by Byron Cage. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #4: “The God Who Sees” by Nicole C. Mullen. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #5: “God Loves You” by Jaci Velasquez. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Erica N. Bryant is a passionate Bible teacher, speaker, and author who desires to see believers live in the complete freedom and joy of the Holy Spirit. 

As the founder of Sparrow's Song Ministries, Erica invites a community of believers to get to know God by falling in love with His Word. Through Bible study resources, devotionals, teaching, and mentorship, Sparrow's Song encourages others to grow in intimacy with God and walk daily in the power of His Holy Spirit. She began The Word W.O.R.K.S. campaigns to help believers walk in Wholeness, Obedience, Righteousness, and Kingdom Success.

Erica is a writer with several published works including devotionals for adults and children, topical and textual Bible studies, and Scripture journals. In her debut book, Dwell: Living Life Fully Knowing that the Holy Spirit Lives in You, Erica draws from her own journey of healing from childhood trauma, rejection, and the struggles of fear and anxiety. With honesty and hope, she invites readers to embrace the life-giving truth that God's Spirit resides within them. Erica believes that when you know the Holy Spirit dwells in you, everything changes.

Erica is a passionate speaker who effectively communicates God’s Word with clarity and conviction. She speaks a relevant word to hearers and ministers to their hearts, inspires practical application, and empowers them to grow in faith and purpose.

Erica is a devoted wife and loving mother who actively serves in various roles at Strait Gate Deliverance Center.

Ultimately, she is just a girl in love with God and she is a soldier for Jesus Christ.

Summer Stories: New Duet

Interview with Isabella and Dan, characters in New Duet:

Note from the author: Hello, everyone! I’m Cindy Ervin Huff and I’ve brought along a couple I’d like you to meet. Isabella Wilson and Dan Sweeney are the main characters in my contemporary romance, New Duet.

My book is published through Clean Reads and is garnering 5-star reviews on Amazon.com.

Let me introduce my petite Hispanic heroine, Isabella Wilson. She’s a transplant to my setting in Aurora, Illinois. 

Cindy: Isabella, share with the readers a bit about your background.

Isabella: I was born in Nicaragua and spent time as an orphan on the streets. I can’t recall my mother, but I do recall a sweet voice that made me feel safe. I was six when the Wilson’s adopted me. My sister Ming was adopted from China. She was part of the Wilson family three months before I joined them. There was a mix up with my paperwork, and it looked to my parents like the adoption wasn’t happening. They applied for Ming. And when my paperwork was sorted out, they had two daughters the same year. Ming was three. We spoke a combination of Spanish and Chinese the first year. When I was in junior high, my parents went on a mission trip to Haiti and fell in love with a young teen. They adopted Henri when I was in eighth grade.

He was my age. The three of us always got funny looks from students when my dad’s job moved us to a new school. Ming told everyone she and I were twins. She sounded so sincere, people believed her. She is the humorous one and the most caring. I have two older siblings, Ken and Carla. They are my parent’s natural born children. Carla was a great big sister and Kenny was your typical big brother—a pain. My parents encouraged all of us to follow our dreams. Mine was to be an artist, so I attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Not until I moved to Aurora did I really come into my own as an artist.

Cindy: My wounded warrior hero, Dan Sweeney, is up next. What was your childhood like?

Dan: We didn’t stay in the same house very long. Dad couldn’t keep a job or keep off drugs. Great-Uncle Paul helped my dad recover. Our family stayed in Aurora and started attending church. My sister married, and then my parents were killed by a drunk driver the summer after I graduated from high school. Most of my college funds went to pay their debts. After a year in college, I decided that I’d rather make a career of the army. My sister invited me to stay with her. But we were never that close. After the accident that ended my military career, I came back to Aurora and settled into the house I was rehabbing and started back to college. My best friend Steve and I reconnected. And my service dog Brutus has made my life a lot easier.

Cindy: Tell us a bit about Brutus.

Dan: Even though I tell myself I don’t need a service dog, I do. Brutus keeps my panic attacks at bay reducing my need for meds. He helps me if I fall. Super dog, Brutus knows how to perform tasks beyond my needs, which is at times annoying. He was trained for a boy with severe disabilities who died. Brutus has bonded with me. He seems to know my thoughts. He’s a great companion but his manners around women need work.

Cindy: Isabella, back to you. Why did you move to Aurora?

Isabella: Well, it’s complicated. Much of that story is in the novel. Briefly, as a widow, I needed to start over in a new place. My sister Ming had moved to Aurora a few years earlier at the suggestion of a friend. I moved in with her and started over. It was hard finding my true self again. Exploring the art community in Aurora and with help from some great friends, I found my art muse and grew in my faith.

Cindy: What was your first impression of Aurora?

Isabella: I’m not in Iowa anymore. Although my family moved a lot growing up, the three of us would spend the summer with our grandparents. They lived in a small farming community. I have fond memories. My late husband and I lived in Indiana, but the atmosphere was quite different from Aurora. It has a population over 200,000 and lots of interesting things to see and do. Ming took me on a tour and showed the sights. I loved exploring the downtown on my own. There are museums and art galleries and fun restaurants.

Cindy: Sounds like you have adapted well to your new hometown. Now we’re shifting directions a bit. What is your biggest fear?

Isabella: Not being good enough. When I was first adopted, I felt unworthy of these wonderful people. It took me years before I believed all their words of affirmation. After I married Ron, he reminded me daily how I fell short. His sudden death fed that feeling of unworthiness. It took me a long time to release all the guilt others had put on me, not to mention the guilt I put on myself.

Cindy: Dan, same question for you.

Dan: Not being normal. I know that sounds pretty lame. Being physically lame is awkward. People focus on my prosthetic and treat me different. And as much as I struggle with it, there are things I can’t do well. One being walking up fifty stairs to visit Isabella. It’s humiliating to go down on my backside, so I don’t fall. I refuse to get a handicap sticker even though it makes things harder for me. I guess I’m like Issy in a way. Her remark about feeling unworthy really hits home.

Cindy: How’s your social life, Dan?

Dan: You sound like Steve. He grilled me on it hard one day. He even tried his hand at matchmaking. And I’m not saying anymore, ma’am. Any further reference to my social life is on a need to know basis. Only those who buy New Duet will be upgraded to need-to-know status.

Cindy: Clever, Dan, very clever way not to reveal too much of the plot.

Cindy: Isabella, tell my readers why they’d want to read your story.

Isabella: New Duet is about broken people finding love. A simple statement with a powerful message of hope and renewal. God loves healing broken people. It’s more than a simple love story because life is complicated. But complicated is much easier to unravel with the right person. The book is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and your local bookstore. Just ask the clerk to order it. It’s also available in e-book.

Cindy: Thanks for joining me as a guest on God is Love. Thanks, Alexis, for having us.

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Author Bio:

Cindy Ervin Huff received the Editor’s Choice Award for her debut novel Secrets & Charades, published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Secrets & Charades placed third in the Maxwell Awards and first place for fiction Serious Writers Medal 2018.

Over the past forty years, her byline has appeared in numerous publications. Her latest release a Contemporary Romance New Duet is set in Aurora, Illinois. Healing Hearts, part of The Cowboys novella collection is slated for release in August 2019.

Cindy is the founding member of the Aurora, Illinois chapter of Word Weavers and a member of ACFW. Her blog Jubilee Writer offers writing encouragement to all newbies, especially those starting later in life.

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Book Blurb for New Duet:

Isabella Melinda Wilson has been squeezed into the music ministry model of her controlling husband’s making. Before she can leave him, he leaves her a guilt-ridden widow. 

Her mother-in-law is no comfort and presses the guilt button at every turn. Isabella flees to her sister’s home in search of her own identity and a new beginning. 

Dan Sweeney has one goal. Be as normal as possible. After losing a leg, some fingers and his self-worth, he needs his service dog Brutus to help keep his PTSD at bay. Career-less and clueless about the future, he struggles to put his life back together.

Isabella isn’t looking for a new relationship and Dan feels unworthy of one. Can these two broken people heal into one whole love?

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Buy Cindy's book on Amazon

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Connect with Cindy:

Website - www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/cindyehuff 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/cindyervinhuff/

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Let Love Bloom: A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill

Interview with Jennifer Beckstrand, 

author of A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill:

Alexis: Why did you title your book “A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill”?

Jennifer: All the Huckleberry Hill books have “Huckleberry” in the title. Even though Sam and Elsie are often at odds with each other, it’s definitely a courtship as they learn to trust each other and work together.

Alexis: Who is Sam Sensenig? Describe his looks, personality, and heart. What motivated Sam to take on the parenting role for his younger siblings?

Jennifer: Sam is tall with curly, light brown hair and blue eyes. Even though he’s in his early twenties, he’s got a lot of responsibility at home. His father is dead, his brother is disabled, and his mother is frequently bedridden. Sam feels a profound obligation to care for the farm and his family because he’s the oldest son and everyone relies on him. He’s quick to jump to conclusions and get angry, especially in defense of his brother Wally, who lost his foot and lower leg in an accident several years earlier. There is no one more loyal than Sam, though sometimes his loyalty is misplaced. If he can see past his own mistaken assumptions about the teacher, they might both be able to help Wally—and fall in love.

Alexis: Who is the schoolteacher in this story and why is she bullying Sam’s disabled brother? Who is Elsie Stutzman? Describe her looks, personality, and heart. How has Elsie’s stubborn streak gotten her into trouble in the past and how is it affecting her present?

Jennifer: Elsie Stutzman comes to Wisconsin to teach at the one-room schoolhouse where Sam’s siblings attend school. Elsie is petite, dark-haired, and feisty, and her strong opinions got her in trouble at her last school. Elsie is not one to back down from a fight, especially when one of her students is concerned. Elsie thinks people have coddled Wally for too long, and she’s determined to treat him like any other child. Wally isn’t happy when Elsie expects more of him, and he makes Sam believe that the teacher is bullying him. Sparks fly when Sam confronts the teacher!

Alexis: Sam and Elsie have a clear mutual attraction but are clearly at odds. Is there hope for a budding romance between these two stubborn hearts? Why or why not?

Jennifer: There is definitely hope, as soon as Elsie can convince Sam that she wants what’s best for Wally. When Sam realizes that Elsie is on his side, it doesn’t take long for him to fall head over heels.

Alexis: Who is Mammi and what role does she play in this story?

Jennifer: Mammi is the Pennsylvania Dutch word for grandma. Elsie’s eighty-four-year-old mammi, Anna Helmuth, loves to find matches for her grandchildren, but she certainly has a hard time getting Elsie and Sam together in this book.

Alexis: What do you love most about writing Amish fiction? 

Jennifer: I love the strong faith and enduring family ties of the Amish. They have chosen to live simple lives in order to bring them closer to God. We could all use a little simplification.

Alexis: What makes this story special to your heart?

Jennifer: A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill is a story of hope and faith and not giving up on someone, even if they’re hard to love. I have a friend who was born with half a leg, and her persistence and determination have always been an inspiration to me. It was truly gratifying to write about Wally coming to realize his worth and potential as a human being.

Alexis: What role does your characters’ faith in God play in this story?

Jennifer: Faith in God permeates Amish daily life. Everything that happens is seen as God’s will. Sam has to learn to put his faith in God instead of piling so much on his own shoulders.

Alexis: What was the most challenging part and the most rewarding, of writing this book?

Jennifer: The most challenging was getting Wally’s disability right without stereotyping him. The most rewarding was seeing the final product. Hopefully, this book gives hope to others and encourages them to never give up.

Alexis: What do you want readers to remember most about this story? Why?

Jennifer: I want them to realize the power we each have to affect other people’s lives for the better. And, I want them to thank a teacher. Teachers touch so many lives, but they’re the most underappreciated group in the world.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Jennifer!

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Author Bio:

Jennifer Beckstrand is the RITA-nominated, award-winning Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series and The Honeybee Sisters series for Kensington Books. 

Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth and the Honeybee sisters’ aendi Bitsy. 

Jennifer has published nineteen books. She has a degree in mathematics and a passion for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. 

Jennifer and her husband have been married for thirty-four years. They have six children and six adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

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Book Blurb: 

There's nothing Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s irrepressible eighty-somethings Anna and Felty Helmuth like better than a challenge. And the chance to matchmake their feisty granddaughter is their most delightful task yet…

Elsie Stutzman’s plain-spoken ways got her in trouble once before, so she needs to make a good impression at her new teaching job. But she's not about to let disabled student Wally Sensenig work below his potential. And she definitely won’t put up with his hot-headed older brother sabotaging her efforts, no matter how handsome he is. . .

Sam is nearly at the end of his rope caring for his ailing, widowed mother, working their farm, and raising his siblings. He'll admit Elsie’s ideas are bringing Wally out of his angry shell—but why does she have to be as stubborn as she is pretty? Yet as it turns out, Elsie has taught Sam something about himself as well. And he’ll do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes—and win her heart forever.

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Connect with Jennifer:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferbeckstrandfans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenniferbeckst1/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jennifergbeckst/
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/2I7wcQf
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.beckstrand/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-beckstrand

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