Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Sin’ Category

WHOSE REPORT DO YOU BELIEVE?

Posted in Faith, Gospel, Jesus, Salvation, Sin, The Father on July 20, 2021|

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

Isaiah53:1NASB2020

Jesus is a historical figure and documented in various religions. He is described as a great teacher, prophet, the Son of God, the Messiah, Emmanuel, the list goes on. Whose report do you believe? In Isaiah 53 we have an extensive prophesy about Jesus. Isaiah starts off the chapter by asking “Who has believed our report? Knowing the truth about Jesus is by faith. To understand Isaiah 53 you must have eyes of faith to see what God is revealing.

There are many who do not understand nor believe the purpose of Jesus. I grew up believing although Jesus died on the cross and rose again, I did not need Him to talk to the Father. I was quite offended by the people who showed me the gospel that I needed Jesus to have a relationship with the Father. Isaiah is rich with prophesy about Jesus and God’s purpose in sending Jesus. Jesus is the gospel message. You cannot have a relationship with the Father apart from Jesus. We will explore the revelation that Isaiah gives about Jesus. It will take faith to be able to see and understand the truth about Jesus. Do you believe in the Lord’s report?

Read Full Post »

Heal Our Land

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Peace, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father, The Righteous, The Word, Unity on November 9, 2018|

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19 NASB

jon-tyson-403392-unsplash

In my last blog, I discussed that when we see pestilence in the land, we are told what we are to do by God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God asks us to do the following:

HUMBLE OURSELVES

As Christians we should not think so highly of ourselves.  We should not look down on others and think we are better than they are. We must remember the only thing that saved us is Jesus Christ.  Our salvation has nothing to do with any work we did.  We have been adopted as God’s children because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We are able to walk in holiness because of the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is a gift.

We should not put all the blame on the wicked.  We must be willing to have our own hearts examined by God to see if there is any wicked way in us, confess our sins, and received God’s forgiveness.  We must be willing to own up to our own sin and stop pointing the finger at others.

PRAY

We don’t pray the way we should.  We don’t pray corporately and we don’t pray for our nation.  We may throw a prayer up every now and then but we are not strategic in our prayers.  I remember years ago there was an event where men went to Washington DC, repented of their sins, prayed and asked God to help them be better fathers, husbands, sons and men of God.  Today when we see tragedy in our land we look to blame someone or something else.  Now we are beginning to accept these events as a way of life.  We are supposed to pray effective prayers and effective prayers involve us opening our hearts and minds to God’s will and purpose and being ready to obey His word. Often time we use “thoughts and prayers” as an excuse not to really seek the face of God in prayer.

SEEK GOD’S FACE

It takes time to seek God’s face.  In order to come before God we have to deal with our own hearts.  This is not an easy thing to do.  It takes humility and prayer.  We can’t seek God’s face with a spirit of pride or entitlement.  If our land is suffering we are seeking Him to help us and we have to be in a posture of humility and trust.  We don’t seek God’s face to just see if we like His plan, but we seek Him so that we will obey Him.  God knows our heart so if we are to truly seek Him then our heart must be right with God.

REPENT (Turn from Our Wicked Ways)

We are told to turn from our wicked ways.  This is the most profound request in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  We are God’s people and He is asking us to turn from our wicked ways.  Notice God did not say to confess our sins.  He is telling us to turn away from wickedness.  This is what repentance entails.  Repentance is not a feeling of that we are sorry for what we did.  Repentance is a willingness to turn away from the thing that separates us from God.  In this case God is asking us to turn away from wickedness and to turn to Him.  We surrender our will and agree to follow His will for our lives.  All Christians have given their life to Christ and called upon His name for salvation.  Not all Christians have surrendered their will for God’s will.  Many of us still want to live in both the world and be accepted into God’s kingdom.  We cannot serve two masters and to serve God may cause us to lose favor with men.  God promised in Isaiah 1:19 that if we are willing and obedient we will have the best of the land.  So we must turn our will toward Holiness and obey God’s word pertaining to our nation.  The ultimate commission we have been given is to love and to share the good news of the gospel.  If we do this we will see things change in our nation.  First we must repent of our own hatred, fear, the lies we tell and believe.

By meeting these conditions God has promised to heal our land.  We do not fight against people but we fight against the principalities of this world.  People are not our enemy, Satan is the enemy.  We must surrender ourselves to God’s hands to see our land healed.  We have to be the ones to cry out to God and repent of our wicked ways.  Then God will be attentive to our prayers made to Him.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NASB

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Read Full Post »

#MeToo: There is Nothing New Under the Sun

Posted in Justice, Law, Sin on October 1, 2018|

That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1:9 NASB

There was a young lady who was a Christian, she came from a loving Christian family and she loved the Lord.  She was so full of joy and destined to do great things for God.  A time came when she left her family and went to a church conference.  There she met so many people just like her.  She made so many new friends and was so grateful for this opportunity.  Then one day the unthinkable happened.  A leader from the church raped her.  She was horrified and ashamed.  How could this happen to her?  She told her family and people from the church were notified.  She was told that they will take care of the situation but to keep it silent.  She was asked not to go to the police but to let the church handle it.  Her rapist denied the allegation and the church sided with him so that nothing would come to light.  He was asked to step down, take a leave of absence and get counseling.  The young lady’s family tried to protect her and promised that one day she would heal.  She was told to forgive and move on. She was mortified and left the area.  She ended up leaving the church all together and questions her faith and even the things she was taught about God. She had been betrayed by the institution she grew up in all her life.  She had nowhere to turn.

In October 2017 the hashtag #MeToo went viral.  It gained popularity amongst celebrities and many women who began to share their stories of sexual assault.  It became popular after the stories broke about Harvey Weinstein, a powerful Hollywood producer.  Stories came out from multiple women about the culture he created and was able to continue for so many years.  As more women came out other stories surfaced about men in Hollywood and the media.  Many of these stories happened many years prior and more women had the courage to tell their story.  Even though the spotlight was on celebrities and powerful media personalities, many women who are not in the spotlight began to share their stories.

Of course there has been a backlash because many men’s careers have been ended.  Some feel it is very unfair because they are found guilty before the evidence has been shown.  Also, people have asked why these women have come forward now.  Why not when it happened?

The church is not immune to the #MeToo movement.  There are so many stories like the young lady in this article.  Our culture in the church is to cover up, and tell these women to forgive and move on.  We often protect the abusers to keep up some kind of appearance.  Instead we are losing a generation of young people who want nothing to do with church or our God.  As a church we must do better.  We can’t ignore their cries for justice.  It is not just a Hollywood thing or a problem with those organizations outside the church.  This movement should give us pause and examine ourselves and allow the truth to come out.

I am quite disturbed that even in the national arena we are still publicly supporting the accused and doubting the victims.  We question the victims’ motives, and assume they are liars out to get even or wanted to get paid.  We fail to see that the norm is women being abused and the abusers never having to give an account for what they have done.

For many of these women their lives are destroyed.  They must live with the shame, guilt and doubt of what has happened.  Their view of the world is tainted and they are never the same.  So much of their livelihood is lost and they watch their abusers continue to live a carefree life.

What is interesting is this is not new.  We can find stories in the bible about the same issue.  We see that even culturally men have been believed over women.  Women have been dragged out to be stoned and accused of adultery and the men are hidden.  Think of the woman that the Pharisees dragged to Jesus and said she was caught in adultery.  They wanted to trap Jesus’ so they used this woman and humiliated her but nowhere are we told about the man that was with her.

Even though society and culture have blamed women in these situations, God has not.  So let us look at what the Bible says.

In 2 Samuel 13 we are told the story of King David’s daughter Tamar.  She was a virgin.  She wore a beautiful robe which was a sign of her virginity.  Amnon was King David’s first born.  Amnon was obsessed with Tamar his sister.  She was his half-sister since they had different mothers.  Amnon was so in love with Tamar that it made him sick.  One day he conspired to have King David send Tamar to his room to make him a cake because he was “ill” in bed.  Tamar came and baked him the cakes, then he asked her to feed him the cakes.  When she went to his side he ordered everyone out of the room and he grabbed her and Tamar protested and asked him not to do the thing he wanted to do to her.  She told him to ask the King to give her to him in marriage.  Amnon didn’t listen and he raped Tamar.  After raping her, he hated her more than he loved her.  He told her to go away and she once again protested and said if he sent her away that would be worse than the rape itself(Deut. 22:28-29 states that if a man raped a virgin he was supposed to marry her.)  Nevertheless Amnon sent Tamar away; she ripped her robe and put ashes on her forehead.  She ended staying at her Brother Absalom’s home as a desolate woman.  King David, her father, learned of the rape and did nothing.  Her brother Absalom full of hatred and revenge killed Amnon two years later.

History continues to repeat itself.  Victims or sexual assault are cast to the side.  They are left with the guilt, shame and rejection by society to carry with them for years to come.  In that moment of terror their lives are forever changed.  King David failed Tamar and as a result also lost his sons to their own sins.

However, God is different.  He knows the cries of his daughters and he holds the men accountable.  God held David accountable for his affair with Bathsheba.  Judah realized he was less honorable than his daughter-in-law Tamar by not keeping his promise to her and lying with her because he assumed she was a prostitute since her face was covered by a veil.  Men have constantly allowed their lusts to get them in sinful situations that God holds them accountable to.

As we wonder why the #MeToo movement continues to gain traction, we cannot ignore that God is revealing things that have been done in darkness for so long and is now coming to light.  The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, so when sin is exposed we are told to repent.  This is an area the church needs to repent and individuals.  We serve a redemptive and loving God.  So when things like this are exposed He gives an opportunity for us to tell our truth and be redeemed from the guilt and shame.  This also includes the accused.  Jesus died for our sins and His blood was shed to cover those sins.  However, we must acknowledge what we have done.  We have to stop deflecting or ignoring what is going on.  God is calling us to turn from our wicked ways.  There also may be a consequence for our sin but we cannot blame the victims or God.  There is the risk of losing a career, a promotion, and favor with others.  However, we must be willing to purge the evil that is amongst us and in our house.  As a church we have to begin with us.  We cannot be light for these victims if we do not deal with this issue in the church.  We have to do better in loving, protecting, and acknowledging what is going on.  The abusers must be held accountable.

I don’t know what would have happened David’s family, if he had acted on Tamar’s behalf.  At the very least he could have restored her status in his household and kingdom.  He knew that God is a redeemer and God could have redeemed his daughter.  David also knew the law and his son Amnon may still have had to die because of his sin, but since David chose not to deal with this issue his other son did and it resulted in such heartache for David.

One day as leaders we will stand before God and give an account for how we cared for His sheep.  We must give an account for any that stumbled in their faith because of issues we decided to ignore.  My hope is that more women will come forward and tell their stories, which we will believe them and God will restore all that they have lost.  We have to change the culture and not tolerate this behavior.  If we take care to do it in the church then we will have the authority to impact other areas of society.  Pay attention to what God is doing because He knows our hearts and he hears the cries for justice.  We reap what we sow.

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. Ecclesiastes 4:1 NASB

Read Full Post »

FALLACY OF CHRISTIAN POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Posted in Faith, government, Jesus, Law, Love, Peace, Salvation, Sin, The Body, The Father, The Righteous on April 7, 2018|

IMG_7921

 

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4: 20 NASB

For over two years the Media has defined what it means to be Christian by people’s political and religious beliefs.  Rarely, are we depicted as Disciples of Christ.  Instead many articles and debates question who are the real Christians?  Some have defined Christianity based on political and religious; if you are a true Christian you must ascribe to certain political and religious traditions.

I was struck this week by a question posed on a radio station on whether or not Christians who support President Trump are really Christians.  Can Christians be characterized by their support or criticism of a leader or political party in lieu of their faith?  There are many that argue they can because certain political and religious ideals are rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ.  I found this interesting because our salvation and adoption as God’s children cannot be secured through the law or our adaption to world systems.

Those of us who identify ourselves as Christian believe in Jesus Christ, that He died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and is alive today at the right hand of God our Father.   We know “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  Romans 10: 9-10 (NASB)

Unfortunately, in the height of political debates and a politically charge environment we have succumb to defining Christianity through a political lens.  We have this delusion that the party we belong to or the leaders we show allegiance to has some impact on our entrance into the Kingdom of God; or defines us as a disciple of Christ.  This is just absurd, because you are trying to judge something that is spiritually rooted in God with something rooted in mankind.

Our salvation is not obtained by any work we do or what others have done.  We cannot stand before God and claim that because we ascribe to a set of political and religious ideologies we are proven to be the Children of God.  The only reason we can stand before God blameless, is because Jesus Christ died for our sins.  He took our sin and punishment.  We were graciously given Jesus’ righteousness in exchange and have been reconciled to the Father.  There is no work we have done to earn our salvation, so we have no right to boast in our political and religious beliefs.  The law cannot save us, so it is ridiculous to think adhering to certain religious and political beliefs and laws (defined by men) can save us.

The bible is clear that we can identify Christians (the Children of God) by the love that we have for one another.  Jesus even said we would know people by their fruit.  So if a person claims to love God but hates his brother he is a liar and Christ is not in him.  If one claims to follow Jesus but is full of hatred they are not Jesus’ disciple.  Whatever comes out of the mouth reveals what is in the heart.  Whether we are ruled by love or hate speaks more to our faith in Jesus Christ than anything else, including our political party affiliation or religious sect.

Politics and religion will always reveal hypocrisy in man.  Often time these belief systems run contrary to the person’s own behavior.  Also, it is mostly used to sit in judgment of others and think too highly of ourselves.  Boasting about our political and religious ideologies is rooted in pride and God hates pride.  We are taught in scripture to hold our brother in higher esteem than ourselves.

Christianity is defined by humility.  Jesus Christ, who is God, became man and walked amongst us.  He took our sin and became the perfect sacrifice and died so that we might live.  It is through Jesus’ resurrection that we have eternal life and power.  There is no other name in heaven or on the earth that is greater than Jesus.  Jesus is the only one who is deemed the Savior of mankind.

Our faith is not evident through our political and religious symbols and allegiance.  Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another.  We may disagree on the political and religious battlefield but even in our disagreement we are called to love.

 

For those that want to know how to spot a Christian, check their fruit (character).  Jesus said you will know us by our fruit.  If these things (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, see Galatians 5:22-23) are not evident in a person’s character,  then the Spirit of God is not in them and they are not known by Jesus.

21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 NASB

Read Full Post »

A Cry for Justice

Posted in God's Glory, Peace, Prayer, Satan, Sin on December 21, 2012|

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. Proverbs 21:15

When tragedy strikes we spend time trying to understand the events and then at some point we try to accept what has happened and hopefully move on sometime in the future. Many question where God is and why do such horrible things happen to good people especially innocent ones like children.  Somehow we have to come to accept the tragic events that take place and live with the reality of what has happened and just hope it doesn’t happen again.  We pray for the comfort of those that have lost their loved ones and pray it doesn’t happen again.  But how can we cope?  How can we move on when a senseless tragic act has taken place?

Last Friday was such an event.  In Newtown, CT an armed gunman went in killing 26 people at the school including 20 children.  He killed his mother and at the end killed himself.  Those that are involved are gone.  So who do we hold accountable?  How can justice be served?  Do we just accept what has happened and try to move on?  This community, this town, the families, even our nation will never be the same.

What aches in the hearts of these families and each of us is a cry for justice.  We want justice for every life that was lost and every one that was terrorized by these events.  It gives us no comfort in knowing the gunman is dead.  He will never have to face the grief of the families or feel the shame of what he has done.  The families need justice, we cry for justice.

God is a lover of justice.  He is just.  He does not look the other way, or ignore our plights.  We must cry out to God for justice.  We must ask God to restore and repay to these families, community, and others everything that they lost.  We cannot be satisfied with simply accepting what has happened and move on.  Deep down we want justice; we will never be satisfied until justice is served.

That has been my cry to God this past week for justice.  I know God will comfort those families and I will hold them in prayer.  But I want to see justice given to them.  I want the enemy of this earth to pay back everything that was stolen from Newtown including the innocence that was lost last Friday.

I trust God knows what justice is and what justice looks like.  I really don’t know but God does so I ask for justice.  God please give us justice.

Even though this act was committed by one man, we know that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.  Jesus described the devil as one that kills, steals and destroys.  Satan is the father of evil and he has shown that nothing is sacred including our children.  Evil visited Newtown last Friday disguised in the form of a lone gunman, but evil none the less murdered those children and adults last Friday.  So we ask God for justice to put an end to the tactics and role of the enemy.  That evil not have the final say in these peoples’ lives but that in the end justice and love will prevail.  We will not bow down to fear and evil but we celebrate the love, unity and peace that are within us and from God.

So God please give us justice – vengeance belongs to you.

Read Full Post »

No, Not Even One

Posted in Heaven, Jesus, Knowing God, Salvation, Satan, Sin, The Father on May 30, 2012|

“There is none righteous, not even one;

There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God;

All have turned aside, together they have become useless;

There is none who does good,

There is not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12

 

I grew up being told that “good” people go to heaven.  You have to hope that your good deeds outweigh the bad.  I was also told that certain sins would guarantee you hell.  There are many that believe this not knowing what their future holds; but hoping that they will see heaven when they die.

Salvation is not about escaping hell and going to heaven.  That was never God’s purpose to begin with.  When Adam sinned and man fell; and our relationship with God was lost.  God is our creator and sin separates us from a relationship with Him.

It wasn’t enough that our sins were restored but our relationship be restored with our Father.  The problem is we do not desire a relationship with God.  It is not in our sinful nature to seek after God or to do good.  The sinful nature is evil and this is the truth we have to come to realize before we can truly understand and embrace the message of the cross.  There is no one who is righteous, no not one.

Salvation is about saving one’s soul that is dead in sin.  A dead soul cannot respond to God.  A person must be “made alive” in Christ to begin to seek and want God.  Jesus didn’t come to just wash our sins away but to restore our relationship and fellowship with the Father our creator.

So salvation deals with more than the question of heaven or hell but it deals with the radical transformation of the human condition and heart.  God knows this.  God knows our hearts; if we are left to our own choices and understanding would never choose Him.  So God designed a plan not to just save us but to make us a “new” creation that would seek after Him for a real relationship and intimacy that God intended to have with man from the very beginning.

If the only reason you believe Jesus is to escape hell then you missed the message and the purpose of the gospel; for even the demons believe and they tremble (James 2:19).

Read Full Post »

Jesus Died for the Ungodly

Posted in Crucified, Grace, Jesus, Law, Love, Salvation, Sin, The Righteous on November 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:6-9

When man fell into sin we did what our evil hearts desired, we were enemies of God.  The Law showed us just how sinful and wicked we were.  Who would die for a wicked man?  When the wicked are punished and get what they deserve we rejoice.  We cry out for justice and rejoice when justice is served.  Yet Jesus came for the wicked, for us.  Jesus died for us sinners.  When we were still enemies of God, He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins.  God chose to show mercy over judgment.

Jesus was sinless yet took on our sins and died.  God did this to demonstrate His love toward us.  We deserve to be judged for our sin, but God gave us His son.  He chose to show us mercy and grace through Jesus.

If you ever doubt God’s love for you take a look at Jesus and remember what He did for you.  He suffered for you.  He died for you, and He has called you to Himself.  Scarcely, will someone die for a righteous man, but Jesus died for the ungodly – us sinners.  Know that you are loved and God’s gift to you is His Son Jesus Christ.

Read Full Post »

Which is Easier: Forgiveness or Healing?

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Prayer, Salvation, Sin, The Father on November 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

2And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home.  Matthew 9: 2-7

For the past several weeks I have been meditating on the following quote by John G. Lake:

“It does not take a bit more faith to be healed from your sickness than it does to be saved from your sins. The only difference is that in your own consciousness, you knew there was no place to get forgiveness except from God.”

When Jesus was on earth many witnessed Him heal the sick, but many did not understand the authority He had to forgive people of their sins.  So Jesus asked the question “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?  Jesus had the authority and power to do both.  Today as Christians we know because of Jesus that salvation is available to all mankind; we just have to believe.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  That same grace that saves us also heals us.

However, today many Christians do not view healing the way they do salvation.  We know that the only one that can save us is Jesus.  We cannot obtain salvation by another person or any work on our part.  We have faith in God that He will forgive us of our sins and make us righteous in His sight.  When it comes to healing we are not so sure because we view sickness and disease as a part of life.  Some may even believe that sickness and disease is used by God to strengthen our faith or test us.  This is not the case.

Sin, sickness and death do not reside in Heaven.  They are not a part of the nature of God.  Just like God does not use sin to tempt us or to test our faith; He will not use sickness and disease to “teach” us.  God is a life giver; salvation and healing are His nature.

Many who are sick will say God’s grace is sufficient.  They believe that God will see them through their ordeal.  If healing is God’s will, He will heal.  If it is not God’s will to heal, at least there is salvation the ultimate in healing. God’s grace is sufficient to heal us physically just as it is sufficient to save us from sin and death.  Too often we look for other means of healing besides turning to God the way we do for salvation and forgiveness.

Sickness and disease are precursors to death.  They are a part of death not life.  They are Satan’s tools, his curse.  Jesus said that Satan only comes to kill, steal and destroy; Jesus came so that we may have life (John 10:10).  Jesus died and rose again so that we might have life, a life in Him.  A life that is free from sin and sickness.  We have a right to divine healing as we have a right to salvation.

We should look at sickness and disease the way we look at sin.  It is not the will of God because God hates sin.  He hates sickness, disease and death.  We are no longer a part of the curse that resulted from the fall of Adam but we are part of the new life and freedom that is found in Jesus.  Jesus died and set us free from sin, sickness, and death.  Sickness and disease binds us, it prevents us from being free, just like sin.  So it is always God will to heal just as it is always His will to save.

We run to God for forgiveness when we sin.  We know that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins (1 john 1:9).  No one can forgive us like God.  However, when we are sick we pray for healing but we don’t have the same expectancy that we have with forgiveness.  Sometimes we doubt the willingness of God to heal, or we think He wants us to go “through the situation” before we experience divine healing.  We may also think that God wants us to fend for ourselves and find our own means and methods for healing.

I believed this for a long time.  When I was sick in 2009 I had tumors in my lungs and believed that God would see me through my chemotherapy treatment.  I was confident from the doctors’ report that the chemotherapy would work and God would never leave me nor forsake me.  I thought by going through this ordeal my faith would be stronger and I would be a much stronger person for having endured this fight.  To be honest I didn’t have faith for a supernatural healing, I believed God’s plan was for me endure this ordeal.  I read the reports and understood the statistics.  I had an 80% chance of survival and an 80% chance the chemotherapy would cure me. 

The chemotherapy made things worse.  I ended up in the hospital and the doctors couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting better.  They were very concerned that the chemotherapy drugs were actually doing more harm than good.  So they made the decision to stop the treatment and “wait and see” if I would get better.  It was in that moment I knew that only God could heal me 100%, the doctors tried but I needed a miracle and God answered my prayers.  God did not delay. The worse day in the hospital was the same day the doctors brought my report of healing.  My numbers had dropped dramatically and they were so relieved that the worse had not happened.  So they monitored me for another year and a half to ensure the tumors did not return.  Today I still walk in my total healing.

Divine healing is our inheritance.  It is the will of God to always heal.  As John G. Lake says it really doesn’t take more faith to believe in healing than it does for salvation.  We just have to know in our conscious that the only place we can go for divine healing is God.  God is concerned about our physical healing as much as He is concerned about our spiritual healing and renewal.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5: 14-16

Read Full Post »

These Signs Shall Follow

Posted in Crucified, God's Glory, Healing, Jesus, Prayer, Salvation, Satan, Sin, Teaching, The Father, The Holy Spirit, The Righteous, The Word on April 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

19So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

 20And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16: 19-20

 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,

 4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.  Hebrews 2: 3-4

Today is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter.  As Christians we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ during this time.  Usually on Easter weekend, churches have the largest attendance of the year.  So many churches preach the gospel message hoping that many will give their life to Christ.

When Jesus commissioned the disciples after His resurrection, He told them that when they went out to preach the gospel, signs and wonders would follow them.  They would be able to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and they would be healed.  We are also told in the above scriptures that God confirms the message of salvation by both signs and wonders and various miracles.  We cannot have the gospel preached without evidence of signs, wonders and miracles.  Otherwise we are simply preaching a message with no power behind it.

We should not only anticipate a great soul harvest this weekend, but we should expect to see it all including signs, wonders and miracles.  Their purpose is to confirm the gospel message and point people to Jesus.  So we should expect to see miracles, healings take place, deliverance from demons, etc.  Of course the greatest miracle of all is when a person is saved – that person was once dead in their sin and is made alive in Christ.

So let’s invite the lost, the sick and shut in, the hopeless, the downtrodden, those bound, etc.; and expect God to show up and deliver them all.  Let our prayer be that God will confirm His covenant, made through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by the miracles, signs and wonders that will point all men to Jesus.

Read Full Post »

Healing is Guaranteed!

Posted in Healing, Jesus, Knowing God, Love, Sin, The Father, The Righteous on March 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 19Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

 20“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.

 21“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life; even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. John 5:19-21

I recently came across some articles that said healing was not guaranteed in the atonement of Jesus Christ.  It is argued that we will suffer and have trouble in this life so we can’t be always guaranteed healing in our life on earth.  So for a few days I pondered this thought “Does God always heal?”  I then began to study the scriptures of what Jesus did while on earth.  Every person that came to Jesus for healing was healed.  The only time Jesus could not heal was where there was unbelief.

Jesus said He only did what He saw His Father doing.  Jesus healed everyone that came to Him.  There is no record in scripture of Jesus refusing to heal someone.  Jesus healed and He forgave people’s sins.  Think about this – we have hope in Jesus; we know that salvation is found in Jesus.  His death and resurrection has made a way for us who believe to have eternal life.  Salvation is the ultimate miracle – someone whose soul is dead is made alive when they accept Jesus.  Salvation is a gift from God.  Salvation cannot be earned.  If we call upon the name of the Lord we shall be saved.

So why does this not pertain to healing?  If God healed then doesn’t He heal today?  Jesus said that “the Father raises the dead and gives them life.”  God is our creator; we live and have our being because of Him.  God is a life giver.  Death cannot exist in the presence of God.  Everything that God touches comes to life, and when God speaks, He speaks life. 

Healing is guaranteed because of the very nature of God is life.  Sickness and death do not exist in God, life does.  This is why we know that God is the Healer, why everyone who came in contact with Jesus was healed.  Yes God always heals for those that ask and believe.  We receive healing by faith just like we receive salvation by faith.

Yes we will have trials and tribulations in this world, and many troubles.  Even Jesus was hated and despised by men, persecuted and killed.  However, every believer has the promise of eternal life in Jesus, sickness and death has no power for those in Christ.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »