It's A Real Change that is Needed

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. As a man thinks, so is he. Our mind is a powerful muscle. Yep I said muscle because we must use it and exercise it. Just as you can sculpt your natural (bodily) muscles and train them to cause you to have a healthier body mass, it is also true for your mind.

The Bible says that we should have the mind of Christ. That his mind should be in us, however you can't do this effectively if you don't allow transformation to take place. You must allow renewal to occur.

So many of us have stinking thinking and that tarnishes our lives and purpose. It blinds us because we are so afraid of the unknown.

What if we just allowed God to be God and asked him to help us think as he thinks. Well.... I use a theory about the scripture about God being slayed even before the foundations of the world. One day, I was depressed about what I had gone through in my life, and God gave me this understanding. With this, it broke my depression instantly. Imagine this: one day God was sitting on his throne and wondered what if.... I created a world. A world that would house free will creatures that would be able to chose a relationship with me or not. He saw this world being created. He saw the events of our choices... He even saw the end of this world. But most importantly he saw his sacrifice on the cross and that it would not matter to some. He saw the hatred, the love, he saw the evil and the good. Think about what you have gone through in life and know that God saw it and when it was all said and done. God's thoughts became a reality and he spoke let there be!

Now some would find this to be disturbing. .. I find it to be comforting. Why? Because it allowed me to see that God had a plan even before I took my first breath. Just as Christ had to bear the cross, his resurrection had been planned. Let that sink in. So let this mind be in you.... The mind of Christ. You are not forgotten, there is a plan for your life and all the things you have endured and experience is a part of his plan. Nothing has taken Jim by surprise. So if we sit still... I promise you his thoughts will rush in and consume you... The healing (Resurrection) you need will emerge. ‪#‎DontCountMeOut2015‬ 

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2015 Living Above Hurt Ministries 

Coming Soon - Dont Count Me Out - Look for it on Amazon and where printed and Ebooks are sold.

While you are waiting.... Why not get a copy of these

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 Through the scripture and the story of the woman with an  issue of blood,  Linda Hillman moves past the obvious, more  common meaning of the text  to a revelatory truth: GOD  would not have us live unbalanced and  incomplete lives. In  her book WILL YOU BE MADE WHOLE, Linda reveals  just how  crucial balance is in every area of your life. Through scripture,  practical principles and faith, Linda shows the reader how to  get back on  track when life derails. In Pastor Hillman’s own  words—“The one thing I  have discovered in my life is that  the pains I have had to endure were not  to take me out of  the game but to polish me for the end result.” Get your  copy today and be made whole!

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In today’s microwave society, we want everything in an instant. And we want it now. Between instant gratification and a sense of entitlement, we often forget that GOD is GOD and HIS will be done. We can’t lag behind HIM and we surely can’t jump ahead of HIM. Linda A. Hillman’s new book, IN THE MEANTIME, addresses this very subject—waiting upon GOD. 

Through vignettes of the Prophet Elijah’s life, Linda reveals GOD’s plan for waiting upon HIM. This concise but rich study provides insight into the character of GOD and how HE takes us through steps of preparation, motivation and confirmation in getting us through our seasons of waiting. The beauty and truth of Linda’s message is that you can have the same glorious breakthrough as Elijah had.

What Was She Thinking?

Let's get into this. As I mentioned, I have written a book about this precious woman, so I had to do months and months of research squeezing every little morsel of enlightenment out of this seemingly stuffed in account. So let's look at it this way, you have Matthew, who was writing to the Jews, Mark, he was giving a second hand account but he was young, so as teenagers do, he just wanted to get the facts out so he could move on to the next thing, and then Luke, who was a physician so he wanted to bring into play the medical mindset.

I find it interesting that Matthew's version of the testimony is the shortest. as I mentioned he was writing to the Jews. So how were women viewed by the Jewish people. We will need to go back to the Old Testament to get a clear understanding. Let's read Genesis 17:11

"And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you."

This was God speaking to Abram. Notice this is before the law of Moses but this covenant clearly excludes a woman from entering a covenant with God directly. In verse 10 of the same chapter it is clear that "Every man child among you shall be circumcised." So here now we see that women could only have a relationship (covenant) with God through the covenant the men in their lives made. She would have to be related to a circumcised male as a wife, daughter or (depending on stage of life) sister.

Oh but there is more, let's read Exodus 19:1-15 - For sake of space I will just paraphrase for you but here we have God speaking to Moses about "the people" however reading it becomes clear that "the people" are the men of Israel because in verse 15 it states "And he said to the people, Be ready by the day after tomorrow; do not go near a woman." Again, women are to have their relationship through the Man of the house and these men would stand before God.  Beginning to see a pattern forming here?

Now it brings me to the issue this woman was having... an issue of blood. In Lev 15:19-30, again for space I will just paraphrase, it talks about the menstrual cycle of a woman. It speaks of  a woman's “regular flow of blood” according to the priestly laws, the menstruating woman will be unclean for the seven days of her period, as well as seven days following her period. Then, upon the eighth day, she must take two doves or young pigeons to the priest to make an offering before God that will atone for her uncleanness. Man, aren't you glad the law was fulfilled in the New testament. :).

Wait, there's more, during her cycle, anything the woman sits or lies upon (basically anything she touches) will be deemed unclean, as well as anyone who touches the woman. This means that the husband of a this woman is forbidden to approach her for intercourse (Lev 18:19) and, get this, “If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly cycle, he along with her has exposed the source of her flow, both of them are to be cut off from their people” (Lev 20:18). OUCH!

Plainly speaking, these Laws mean that every menstruating woman is ceremonially unclean for 14 days out of every month—roughly half of every year. Also, the menstruating woman is defiling to her husband and everyone within close proximity to her during this period of time as well. For women who had physical problems that caused constant menstruation, such as the woman with the issue of blood, she would be ceremonially unclean for her entire life and never able to make “atonement” for her uncleanness. this woman was just out of luck. however, knowing all this she pressed in to touch Jesus.

So think about it, this woman was putting herself in a dire situation to even go and approach Jesus, let alone touch him.

In my next blog, we will explore this a bit more and talk about how to overcome overwhelming circumstances.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2015 Living Above Hurt Ministries 

Get Your Copy Now
Through the scripture and the story of the woman with an issue of blood, Linda Hillman moves past the obvious, more common meaning of the text to a revelatory truth: GOD would not have us live unbalanced and incomplete lives. In her book WILL YOU BE MADE WHOLE, Linda reveals just how crucial balance is in every area of your life. Through scripture,    practical principles and faith, Linda shows the reader how to get back on    track when life derails. In Pastor Hillman’s own words—“The one thing I have discovered in my life is that the pains I have had to endure were not to take me out of the game but to polish me for the end result.” Get    your copy today and be made whole!

Coming Soon! Will You Be Made Whole

Will You Be Made Whole

As Jesus traveled around throughout the country teaching and working miracles a woman with an issue of blood touched His robe.

Facts About Her:

·She was “diseased with an issue of blood twelve years” (Matt. 9:20).She had “suffered many things of many physicians” and had spent “all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5: 26);

· She had heard of Jesus and when she saw He was near she joined in the throng of people following Him as He made His way to Jarius’ house. She said within herself, “If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” (Matt. 9: 21);

· She came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment (Matt 9:20). As soon as she touched Him “the fountain of her blood was dried up” and she “felt in her body that she was healed of that plague” (Mark 5: 29);

· As soon as she touched Him Christ "immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him” (Mark 5:30) stopped and asked “Who touched me?” Everyone around Him denied it and Peter asked him “Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee and sayest thou, Who touched me?” (Luke 8: 45).

· When the woman saw that she was unable to hide from the Lord she “came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” (Luke 8: 47)

· Christ looked on her and told her, “Daughter be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)

Speculations About Her:
Under the Mosaic law a woman with an issue of blood (referring to menstrual orpostpartum bleeding) was considered unclean and was “put apart” for 7 days. During this time anything she lay on or sat on was considered “unclean” meaning that if anyone touched one of those things he would have to wash his clothes and bathe in water to become clean again. Also during this time if any man was sexually intimate with her he was also unclean for 7 days and must adhere to the same sort of “setting apart” as a woman (and actually the guidelines for a man who has an issue of blood, or who was unclean were more strict than for women, see Leviticus 15:1-30).

The Mosaic Law also specified that if a woman had an issue of blood that lasted longer than 7 days that all the days of her issue were considered unclean and she must be treated as such (Leviticus 15: 25). This means that this woman had probably been unclean for 12 years and that she had to live “put apart” from others for all that time. If she had been married her husband probably would have divorced her as she would have been unable to care for her children or for others without making them all unclean. Her unclean status would also have meant that she was probably unable to attend the temple or other worship services.

I did a quick Google search for information about “prolonged menstruation” and I discovered that today this woman probably would have been diagnoses with menorrhagia, which is abnormally heavy and long menstruation that causes enough cramping and blood loss that it makes normal daily activities impossible. The scriptures are right in calling it a “hemorrhage” because the amount of blood lost is significant—enough to fill a maxi pad at least every hour for several weeks (not to mention 12 years!).

According to the Mayo Clinic common causes of menorrhagia are:

• Uterine fibroids, non-cancerous growths of the uterus wall
• Endometrial hyperplasia, a thickened endometrium
• A bleeding disorder, like von Willebrand disease
• Problems with clotting
• Thyroid functioning
• Glandular issues
• Infection
• Ovarian cysts
• Uterine polyps
• Cancer

In the scriptures it say that the woman spent all of her living upon physicians who could not help her. Today physicians are usually able to treat or control menorrhagia with hormone pills but in severe cases hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) and endometrial ablation or resection (which permanently destroys the entire lining of the uterus) are used to treat it. It is incredible that Jesus was able to heal this woman with only a touch.

In our lives we have issues, maybe it’s a physical disease but a dis-ease nonetheless. This story goes to show that no matter what we are going through in life, we can be made whole.