All posts tagged: Jesus

Unstoppable

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There is so much power available for you in Christ than the enemy can withstand. It would be a travesty for you to go down without a fight. — Walter Bright (@WaltBright) September 10, 2014 The weeks gone by have been unbelievably dark and discouraging. There were times I felt like the sky was literally falling. It brought memories of me driving through the fog heavily resting over San Francisco. The days, however are becoming  a little less gloomy. I can almost see Jesus clearing the dark clouds, one giant sweep at a time. I can also hear Him say, “you’ve come too far to give up now.” Do you know how that makes me feel? I feel like the sky is the limit. I feel like I can do any thing. I feel unstoppable. In the words of Smokey Norful, I feel like: “There is nothing that I can’t do, as long I have you. I can sail on the clouds, make a mountain lay down. I can breathe in the deep blue sea. …

Divine Healing Is an Integral Part of the Gospel

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The ministry of both Jesus and the apostles gives evidence that divine healing was integral to the proclamation of the gospel message. It was an important witness to Jesus as the revelation of the Father, the promised Messiah, and the Savior from sin (see John 10:37,38). The Bible shows a close connection between the healing ministry of Jesus and His saving, forgiving ministry. His power to heal was actually a witness to His authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:5–12). Frequently the gospel writers testify that His healing miracles parallel His preaching of the gospel, both being the purpose of His ministry (Matthew 4:23; 9:35,36). People came from all directions both to hear Him and to be healed (Luke 5:15; 6:17,18). He never turned any away but healed all varieties of sicknesses, diseases, deformities, defects, and injuries (Matthew 15:30,31; 21:14). He also delivered people from demons and the problems they caused (Matthew 4:24). Jesus recognized that sickness is ultimately the result of the fall of humans into sin, and in some instances may be linked to specific sin (John 5:14) or to the activity of Satan (Luke 13:16). …

Divine Healing Is a Gift of God’s Grace for All

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Just as salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), so all God’s blessings and gifts are ours by His grace, or unmerited favor. They cannot be earned or deserved. It should be noted that instead of demanding healing from Jesus, the New Testament records that people came asking for His compassionate ministry. They did not look on healing as their right, but as a gracious privilege extended to them. That we cannot earn God’s blessings, including divine healing, should make us realize the importance of cultivating our life in the Spirit, for the Spirit will “give life to your mortal bodies,” and that is our real hope (Romans 8:11). In fact, even though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). It is this inner renewal that makes us best able to have the faith to receive the gift of divine healing. To the woman healed of her twelve-year-long bleeding, Jesus said, “Your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34). Paul at Lystra, when he saw that …

Divine Healing Will Be Fully Realized When Jesus Returns

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We are living at present between the first and second appearances of Jesus Christ. At His first coming He provided, through His life, death, and resurrection, atonement for sin and its consequences. In this era divine healing, a gift of God’s grace, is seen as a proleptic expression of the complete redemption of the human body. At His second coming what was begun will be brought to completion—salvation from sin and all its effects will be realized. In this period of the “already and not yet” some are healed instantly, some gradually, and others are not healed. The Bible indicates that until Jesus comes we groan because we have not yet received the full redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Only when the dead in Christ rise and we are changed do we receive the new bodies which are like His glorious body (1 Corinthians 15:42–44,51–54). Even followers of Christ groan and travail in pain like the rest of creation, waiting patiently for the fulfillment of our hope (Romans 8:21–25). In that the human body …

Divine Healing Is Provided in the Atonement

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The ministry of the priests under the Law foreshadowed the ministry of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses (astheneia, weakness, sickness, disease, timidity, infirmity)” (Hebrews 4:14,15). The Old Testament priests, through the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices, made atonement for the sins of the people. An examination of the concept of atonement in the Bible shows that in most cases it refers to a ransom price paid for redemption and restoration, which points to the redemption through Christ accomplished by the shedding of His blood in our behalf. The apostle Paul described it this way: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25). The phrase, “sacrifice of atonement,” translates the Greek hilastērion, which can be also translated expiation, propitiation, atonement, or mercy seat. Leviticus 16 records God’s expectations for Israel’s Day of Atonement and the ministry of the high priest sprinkling the blood of a sin offering on the atonement cover (the solid gold lid on top of …

I AM: 7 Incredible Claims of Jesus

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When we look at the life of Jesus, it is hard not to notice his claims. The Pharisee mocked him when he called himself  “light of the world.” His followers left him when he called himself “bread of life.” Crowds denounced him when he talked about himself as the “Good Shepherd.” And when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life” – it cost him his life. When Jews heard those two verbs I am – I am (as translated from the Hebrew), they knew exactly what Jesus meant. It was something more than a metaphor – He was claiming deity. We understand from Exodus 3:14 that this is the same title God the father gave himself. These claims are so powerful and bold that they arrest your attention and cause you to think. I am the Bread of Life John 6:35: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never hunger, whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Manna, the bread that comes from above – fill with the necessary nutrients to sustain life …

When Prayer Invokes Mercy

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What if prayer had another dimension to it than what we have experienced? What if prayer is way out of the box we’ve placed it in? Sometimes, in our particular corner of Christendom we think that our particular tradition and prayer style is the only one God accepts. In fact , for us, other traditions just don’t measure up. I can say beyond the shadow of doubt that our particular way of praying isn’t the only one that has something worthwhile to say about prayer. If we could just step out of our comfort zones, lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance, we would discover a lot of valuable lessons about prayer in other Christian traditions. Today I want to challenge you to venture out of your comfort zones and try a different approach to prayer. I challenge you to try something fresh and out of the box, out of the norm. Something that will deepen and enrich your prayer life. I have been a Christian for many years now, but have only recently attempted to do a 40 day of prayer and consecration leading up …

Rolling Up your sleeves

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1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The idea “of preparing for action” is much like the phrase “rolling up your sleeves.” God is calling us to roll up our sleeves and get to work on the most important thing in life – our faith, our relationship with him. Two thoughts from 1 Peter 1:13 1. Prepare you mind for action. Be Sober. This means to take a serious look at life. There must come a time in the life of every person when he or she must ask the hard or most important questions. What am I doing with my life? Where will I go if I were to die today? What is the meaning of all of this, God, Jesus, this world, church, suffering, my faith and christian life etc…? Am I on the right track? Am I sober? Am I right with God – am I growing as I should – is …