Study from God’s Word… See the various passages from the tree synoptic Gospel accounts of Jesus performing healing and resurrection miracles in The Daily Bible in Chronological Order … Passage for Reflection: Mark 5: 30 … NIV At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
My Journal for Today: Don’t you just love reading and meditating on the various accounts by the four Gospel writers about the miracles performed by Jesus, ... like the one in today’s text where the bleeding woman merely touched Jesus’ garment, and because of her faith the very power of the Holy Spirit came from Jesus to heal the woman.
I agree with LaGard Smith in his devotional entry for today that several questions enigmatically arise from this story; and theologians have likely devoted a lot of interpretation hours and writing about why Jesus didn’t know who the woman was or about whether it was the touching of Jesus which healed the woman or was it merely her faith? I’ll leave all that theological speculation to the scholars; but I personally identify with this women who was desperately seeking the power of God for healing. I also identify with other stories of how Jesus touched the lives of others and their lives where changed forever.
You see, my friend, I reached out to receive the power of God through Jesus a little over 25 years ago in my life when I finally was led to realize that I was bleeding spiritually, ... that I was spiritually blind, ... and that I was dead in myself. And like the stories of God healing the bleeding woman because of her faith, and the sight restored of a number of people being touched by Jesus, and the life of even the dead being restored by Christ because of the faith of their loved ones, my life was restored from spiritual death to life, ... my spiritual blindness was given sight, and my bleeding spiritual weakness was given strength when my brokenness allowed me to come to a place of seeking out the loving, healing, and restoring power of God through my faith in The Christ.
So, these biblical stories of historical witnesses to the power of God working in/through Jesus, The Messiah, have great personal meaning for me. For I was that woman who desperately reached out to experience the power of God. I was the blind man who allowed Jesus to give me sight. And I was that little girl who was given life when loved ones prayed in faith that Jesus give me spiritual life when I was a walking dead man.
And I finally came to recognize that no earthy force, no religion, and no self-directed choice was going to bring me the power I sought from God to heal and restore me. No, just like the bleeding woman or the blind man, I was given the opportunity to reach out in faith to Christ and seek His healing/restoring power. And my spiritual blindness and bleeding were healed. And God saw fit, through my own faith and the faith of others who had been praying for me for years to come to spiritual life from my own self-imposed deadness, I was graciously given eternal life. Just like the bleeding woman who was given the power of God, I am one who can attest personally to the power God which is there for any and all who come humbly and sincerely seeking His redemptive power.
I pray that any who read here can be - and are - witnesses to the power of God being imparted to heal and restore the bleeding, the blind, and the blatantly dead.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You raised me from the dead to life. You gave me sight from my blindness. And You gave me power to overcome my weakness. And, in You, I live, move, and have my being. Amen and amen!
Showing posts with label healed by faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healed by faith. Show all posts
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, June 03, 2010
2010 – June 03 – Too Little Faith from the Faithful
Study from God’s Word… 1Kings 15: 8-11 [2Chron. 14: 1-5]; 2Chron. 14: 6-8; 1Kgs 14: 19-20 [2Chron. 13: 20]; 1Kgs 15: 25-26; 1Kgs 15: 31, 27-30; 1Kgs 25: 33-34; 2Chron 14: 9-15; 2Chron 15: 1-7; 1Kgs 15: 12, 14, 15 [2Chron 15: 8, 17-18]; 2Chron 15: 19; 2Chron 15: 9-15; 1Kgs 15: 13 [2Chron 15: 16]; 1Kgs 15: 16-17, 32 [2Chron 16: 1]; 1Kgs 15: 18-21 [2Chron 16: 2-5]; 1Kgs 15: 22 [2Chron 16: 6]; 2Chron 16: 7-10; 1Kgs 16: 7, 1-4; 1Kgs 16: 5-6, 8, 14; 1Kgs 16: 9-10; 1Kgs 16: 15; 1Kgs 16: 11-13, 20; 1Kgs 16: 15-19; 1Kgs 16: 21, 31, 22-29; 1Kgs 21: 25-26, 34; 1Kgs 15: 23b [2Chron 16: 12]-14; 1Kgs 15: 23-24 [2Chron 16: 11, 13]; 1Kgs 15: 23-24 [2Chron 16: 11, 13-14]; 1Kgs 22: 43, 46-47 [2Chron 20: 32-33]; 2Chron 17: 2-19; 1Kgs 22: 44 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Chronicles 16: 12 … NIV 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.
My Journal for Today: Reading through the Passages edited by Dr. Smith today, we see the faithful in the divided Hebrew peoples being pitted against the faithless. It is a stark contrast, where, in the North the tribes of Israel did not follow the ways of God; and in the South, the tribes under two primary kings of Judah, Asa and his son, Jehoshaphat, basically followed the ways of God, even having God’s Law taught throughout the land. And God, true to His promise, blessed the people of Judah in the South and cursed those who were disobedient in the North. The application of that should have obvious application for all of us today, shouldn’t it?
But in today’s highlighted passage, and Dr. Smith’s devotional, we see that even the faithful can wane in their faith, trusting more in man than God. And this is illustrated by an illness of his feet incurred by Asa, one of those “good kings” in Judah; and Asa had been a man who pursued, by faith, God’s ways through God’s word. But in this one instance, when his foot ailment became too bothersome, he did what many of us believers would do; … he went to the doctors for help. But we read that he put all of his trust in the physicians for his healing; and if you read on in 1st Kings, you see that Asa died a couple of years later, apparently related to the disease in his feet (though that is not totally clear in Scripture). The question arises, … did Asa, this man of faith, die prematurely because he was unable or unwilling to take His health issues to God as well as to man (i.e., the physicians).
And Dr. Smith asks the very revealing and probing self examination question at the end of today’s devotional: ”When illness comes my way, do I ever make an appointment with the Great Physician?” Do we rely too heavily on earthly doctors when we’re sick, shying away from Peter’s exhortation (in 1st Peter 5: 7) to cast ALL our cares on God, Who truly cares for us; or ignoring Paul’s directive (in Phil. 4: 6-7) to cast aside anxiety and take our concerns to our infinitely faithful God, seeking His peace for the direction [or healing] we’re pursuing.
I’m an Elder in our church; and each week we have the privilege to be available to follow, in faith, the directions provided for healing prayer in James 5: 13-16 - linked. And when some from our flock come forward, in faith, as described in this exhortation from God through James, we are so privileged to pray for our brothers/sisters in Christ for healing. And we do so with expectation, because of God’s promises in His word. Now, we don’t know how or when the healing will take place; but if someone has come forward – in faith – having confessed their sins [see 1st John 1: 9], and carrying out the dictates of God’s word; and we Elders pray – in faith – expecting God to intervene, we KNOW that God’s healing will take place. As I said, we just don’t know how or when. And yes, the healing could be by God taking the person to be with Jehovah-Rapha, the God Who heals, by heavenly interdiction.
As Dr. Smith puts it today, “It is amazing how many people of faith, like Asa, minimize the power of God to work directly in the healing process.” So, the next time you are downed by health concerns, I hope you’ll realize that God cares for even small health challenges, like maybe a tension headache. But when ill health is overwhelming, consider a source of healing way above man’s expert and educated healing processes. Jehovah-Rapha is waiting to use doctors and earthly healing techniques; and if He so chooses, He can bypass all of that and just do it all Himself. And we Elders in our church have seen that happen on many occasions. But you may ask, “Does it always happen?” And I’d have to say honestly, “No.” But I know that bypassing God as the Great Physician and having faith only in worldly doctors is short-circuiting God, by lack of faith, the greatest source of healing we have available to us; and that’s just plain pride-filled foolishness.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m convicted by my own shoulder pain today to do what I’m so privileged to do for others and that’s to take my own healing to You in prayer; and my prayer of surrender and submission is directed there today. Thank You, Lord. You are my Jehovah Rapha. Amen
My Journal for Today: Reading through the Passages edited by Dr. Smith today, we see the faithful in the divided Hebrew peoples being pitted against the faithless. It is a stark contrast, where, in the North the tribes of Israel did not follow the ways of God; and in the South, the tribes under two primary kings of Judah, Asa and his son, Jehoshaphat, basically followed the ways of God, even having God’s Law taught throughout the land. And God, true to His promise, blessed the people of Judah in the South and cursed those who were disobedient in the North. The application of that should have obvious application for all of us today, shouldn’t it?
But in today’s highlighted passage, and Dr. Smith’s devotional, we see that even the faithful can wane in their faith, trusting more in man than God. And this is illustrated by an illness of his feet incurred by Asa, one of those “good kings” in Judah; and Asa had been a man who pursued, by faith, God’s ways through God’s word. But in this one instance, when his foot ailment became too bothersome, he did what many of us believers would do; … he went to the doctors for help. But we read that he put all of his trust in the physicians for his healing; and if you read on in 1st Kings, you see that Asa died a couple of years later, apparently related to the disease in his feet (though that is not totally clear in Scripture). The question arises, … did Asa, this man of faith, die prematurely because he was unable or unwilling to take His health issues to God as well as to man (i.e., the physicians).
And Dr. Smith asks the very revealing and probing self examination question at the end of today’s devotional: ”When illness comes my way, do I ever make an appointment with the Great Physician?” Do we rely too heavily on earthly doctors when we’re sick, shying away from Peter’s exhortation (in 1st Peter 5: 7) to cast ALL our cares on God, Who truly cares for us; or ignoring Paul’s directive (in Phil. 4: 6-7) to cast aside anxiety and take our concerns to our infinitely faithful God, seeking His peace for the direction [or healing] we’re pursuing.
I’m an Elder in our church; and each week we have the privilege to be available to follow, in faith, the directions provided for healing prayer in James 5: 13-16 - linked. And when some from our flock come forward, in faith, as described in this exhortation from God through James, we are so privileged to pray for our brothers/sisters in Christ for healing. And we do so with expectation, because of God’s promises in His word. Now, we don’t know how or when the healing will take place; but if someone has come forward – in faith – having confessed their sins [see 1st John 1: 9], and carrying out the dictates of God’s word; and we Elders pray – in faith – expecting God to intervene, we KNOW that God’s healing will take place. As I said, we just don’t know how or when. And yes, the healing could be by God taking the person to be with Jehovah-Rapha, the God Who heals, by heavenly interdiction.
As Dr. Smith puts it today, “It is amazing how many people of faith, like Asa, minimize the power of God to work directly in the healing process.” So, the next time you are downed by health concerns, I hope you’ll realize that God cares for even small health challenges, like maybe a tension headache. But when ill health is overwhelming, consider a source of healing way above man’s expert and educated healing processes. Jehovah-Rapha is waiting to use doctors and earthly healing techniques; and if He so chooses, He can bypass all of that and just do it all Himself. And we Elders in our church have seen that happen on many occasions. But you may ask, “Does it always happen?” And I’d have to say honestly, “No.” But I know that bypassing God as the Great Physician and having faith only in worldly doctors is short-circuiting God, by lack of faith, the greatest source of healing we have available to us; and that’s just plain pride-filled foolishness.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m convicted by my own shoulder pain today to do what I’m so privileged to do for others and that’s to take my own healing to You in prayer; and my prayer of surrender and submission is directed there today. Thank You, Lord. You are my Jehovah Rapha. Amen
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