Hi Brian! The word for this week is "stretch". We find it in these verses in the New Testament: Matthew 12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. KJV Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. KJV Luke 6:10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. KJV John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. KJV 2 Corinthians 10:14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: KJV
In the four Gospels the Greek word is "ekteino". Strong's Concordance says: to extend. This is a compound word with the first part (ek or ex) meaning 'denoting origin' (the point from which action or motion proceeds); and the second part (teino) means to stretch. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to stretch out, stretch forth. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says: In the NT the term is always used for stretching out the hand. In 2 Corinthians we see the Greek word "huperekteino". Strong's Concordance says: to extend inordinately. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: to extend beyond the prescribed bounds, stretch out beyond measure, stretch out overmuch. The Theological Dictionary says: to overextend. In the first examples, JESUS required each of them to do something, reach out for something, when they had a need. We must make the first step toward Him in every situation and them allow Him to direct the next step! Sometimes we can make a faith stand on the promises in the Word. Sometimes we need to pray the prayer of agreement with another believer. Sometimes we will need to have hands laid on us. HE is always the Source we need to 'stretch out' toward. And HE ALWAYS has the answer! The last example is sort of an advisory to NOT over extend ourselves. To not go beyond our area of expertise, but to allow others to shine in their roles. To not take on more than we are able to do well. To not go beyond what He has called us to, even if others may think otherwise! In all of these examples, relying on Holy Spirit is the key! He will never fail and the Word will never fail, so relying on them both, WE will never fail! Here is Hillsong with one of my favorite songs called "Your Word":
