Looking for love in all the wrong places

"Looking for love in all the wrong places." Wasn't that a country song? Well, that was too many beers and moons ago. Thank goodness for Jesus.

We are already almost half way into the month of February and what does that mean? Valentine's Day! This whole month is known for that day...the day of love. Love is a word that has been misused, abused, and thrown around so we wanted to go to the true source of love...God. He is love.

Last night in our student ministry we started a series on love with the first message entitled, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." We had 4 teenagers give their hearts to Jesus Christ!

"And woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."(Mark 5:24-25)

"And woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years..."

In Mark 5 we read about a lady who was bleeding and had been for 12 long, hard years. Now I'm not sure what caused the bleeding but 12 years prior in her life something happened and she was now suffering from that. There is alot of people in life that are "bleeding." It may not show from the outside but they are bleeding from the inside. They are bleeding in their heart or maybe emotionally or mentally but they are bleeding. Maybe they are bleeding from an abusive relationship from a prior marriage. Maybe they are bleeding from the neglect of a mother or father. Maybe they are bleeding from abusive words spoken by someone. Maybe they are bleeding from sexual abuse they've been hiding for years. Maybe it's been a day, maybe it's been a week, or maybe it's been along time...12 years even.

"She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse."

Its says in the verse above that "she had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors...but instead of getting better she got worse." So many times people who are hurting or "bleeding" look for healing or love in all the wrong places. They think a new relationship will heal the pain. They think making money or earning prestige will give them a sense of completion. They think a drug, a pill, or a bottle will take away the pain but instead of getting better they get worse!

" When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."

It's says in the verse above, "when she heard about Jesus." Hallelujah! Do you remember when you first heard of Jesus? Here was a lady that had looked for love and healing in all the wrong places and I believe she had finally gotten sick of it. Doesn't say how but it says, "she heard about Jesus." Maybe someone who had been hurting themselves confronted her and told her, "I know where you can go for love and for healing and He want let you down, His name is Jesus!

It says when she "touched" him "she was freed from her suffering." Let me tell you if you have been "bleeding", hurting, or in bondage you don't have to go looking in all the wrong places! You don't have to go looking in the bar! You don't have to go looking in the club! You don't have to go looking for the pill! You don't have to go looking for a one night stand! You don't have to go looking for some late night web-site for temporary fulfillment! All you have to do is going looking for the King! The Great Physician! The Healer! The lover of your soul!