Health – Missionary Sojourn

Light and Darkness

I am grateful for sight! What a marvelous gift!

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of ~~life~~ light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23

And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
“Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”

Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:
“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,
The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land”
Isaiah 6:9-12

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:4-5

Me: Good morning, Holy Spirt!

Holy Spirt: Good morning, Jon!

Me: I wrote “life” instead of “light” when writing down Matthew 6:22.

Holy Spirit: As you see from John 1:4, there is a sense in which they are equivalent.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:1-5

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
John 1:5-9

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 3:19-21

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 8:12

“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 14:19-21

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

Me: Thank You Holy Spirit for leading me though these scriptures! I love You!

Holy Spirit: You are welcome! I love you!

How We Walk

I am grateful to have found places for all the new barn signs!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Ephesians 5:28-30

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23

Me: Good afternoon, Father!

Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!

Me: Clearly, we can walk “after” the flesh, even if we are “in” Jesus.

Abba: You are slave to whomever you obey (Romans 6). You need your body in this life. You are to be a good steward of it. Your body, contrary to popular opinion, does not belong to you.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Your body: you feed it, exercise it, rest it, and otherwise take care of it that it may serve the purposes I Am giving you to fulfill. Your body is not intended to be in charge. The desires of the flesh know no practical limitation. Driven by unfettered desire, you will overeat because I generously made food to taste good to you. Left to the body’s own choice, work and exercise will fall by the wayside and laziness will assert control. You will be tempted to stay up late, then to sleep in. The body’s desires always seek the most instant gratifications. But I Am calling you to be steward over your body, as I said before.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

[Temperance: ἐγκράτεια (eng-krat’-i-ah) Self-mastery, self-restraint, self-control.]

Please note that though this is, in human terms, called self-control, it is a gift of the Spirit to Christ followers. What does this mean? Remember that statement about yielding from earlier, that came from Romans 6? Your will is in play here. If you decide to yield to My Spirit and follow My word instead of fleshly desires, if you seek the strength to walk in My ways from Me, then you will see freedom from the domination of fleshly desires in My power. The cravings of the body can then be relegated to fulfill the functions they were created to fulfill with full enjoyment. Most get the proverbial cart before the horse and seek to control the flesh in the power of the flesh, using willpower instead of My power. The natural result is that the flesh (that wants no control) will have made you its slave and you will remain locked in a vicious cycle of serving it.

Me: Thank You Father! I love you!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Worn out by your vicious circle?

Not to Worry

A teacher at a Bible Study I attended as a young mother threw me a rope one day. She was teaching on the importance of meditation (devotional contemplation and prayer) when she said this, “If you are a worrier, you will be good at meditation, for worry is simply meditating on the wrong things.”
Rhonda Schrock

N othing to worry about – The Daily Bo Snerdley (thedailybs.com)

I don’t often do this sort of thing, pointing to wisdom not found among the WordPress blogging community. But I was struck by how many practical life-improving nuggets were contained in Rhonda Schrock’s short article. I have quoted one of them above and provided a link to the article.

– Jon

PS. “Bo Snerdley” is a pseudonym used by James Golden, Rush Limbaugh’s long-time call screener. Golden has maintained an incredibly active conservative news and opinion aggregation site. If that is likely to trigger you, you have been forewarned about who is hosting the above link.

Book: Journey Through the Dark Night

Israel and Jennifer Arimborgo serve as missionary pastors in Peru (https://www.arimborgo.org). In her latest book, Journey Through the Dark Night, Jennifer relates what it was like walking a healing journey with one of her young daughters. To any who were aware of this dire situation and were praying with the Arimborgo family at the time, Jennifer’s excellently written book will take you with her at the heart level as she relates the power and goodness of God in that crisis. If you are still drawing breath, I doubt you will maintain a dry eye throughout.

The book, though, will do more than simply relate the tale. You will learn what deep heart-to-heart conversation with God looks like from one who truly knows His heart. You will experience the nature of in-the-trenches spiritual warfare and begin to understand the power of unswerving faith in Jesus our Redeemer in those battles, even while dealing with our own human doubts. All of us can glean deeper conviction from Jennifer that sight into the spiritual realm will reveal critical truths obscured in the natural world. You will, no doubt, find your own heart rising on wings of encouragement and joy in our Creator.

How could I recommend her book strongly enough to do it justice? Find out for yourself. Follow the link in the first line, above.

Follow Jennifer’s mighty blog on WordPress: https://feedingonjesus.com. You won’t be disappointed in that either.

This picture of the back cover is my own well-thumbed copy. Yours will arrive in better condition.

Health and Healing #17

Seventeenth in a series of posts examining how much the Bible has to say about God as Jehovah Rapha, God our Healer.

After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
John 5:1-6

Map John 5 in its entirety.

We have talked a good deal so far about scriptural evidence of God’s unswerving willingness to heal. Indeed, for the born-again in Jesus, I am persuaded that in our spirits, now indwelt (and sealed) by the Holy Spirit, healing from sin and sickness was purchased, on our behalf by the sacrifice of Jesus, two thousand years ago. From God’s side, it is a done deal. Having given His Son, and with Him all things (Romans 8:32, 2 Peter 1:3). What more than “all things pertaining to life and Godliness” would a reasonable person expect? We are called to live in these truths by faith with thanksgiving. (If anyone needs some help with that concept please consider Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 3:11, and Colossians 2:7 for starters.)

Those at the pool are described as impotent by the King James version. (Which is the version I usually use here, primarily because it is in the public domain.) I can appreciate the sense of the sick being made impotent in their calling by some malady. The Greek translated “impotent” is ἀσθενούντων (asthenountōn) meaning weak or feeble, usually translated as “sick”. I mentioned the belief that healing was purchased by Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross. The healings recorded in the Gospels occurred before the cross. In my mind the answer to this puzzle is to not limit the work of the Holy Spirit in operation in the incarnate Christ by linear time. Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead is a unique focal point in the fabric of all time. I am not surprised by a flurry of Divine activity in the temporal vicinity. And there is this:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Hebrews 13:8

Jesus is now returned to the throne, seated at the right hand of the Father. As He walked physically after His incarnation, I am relying on the fact that all His mighty acts were accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit who now indwells all believers. Otherwise, the call to follow Him is an impossible command, for He is God, and I am not. If the Holy Spirit of the Sovereign of the Universe resides inside believers, then the secret to a power-filled life is to learn how to believe wholeheartedly, yield to Him, cooperate fully, and persevere. I believe Jesus’ statement that He can do nothing of Himself except what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19) is highlighting that we should follow His example (of following vs trying to do anything in our own strength).

But back to Bethesda and the multitude of sick folk. Out of all of them, Jesus singled out one man with a question, “Do you want to be made well?” Does that seem like an odd question? Do not all sick people want to be made well?

If one continues reading in John 5, the man proceeds to explain his faith in healing by stepping into the pool first after some angel-induced waves in the water and his own inability to be first. He is at least acknowledging the need for help outside himself.

One cannot pass too many years without encountering someone who honestly doesn’t want to be well. The acquaintance who comes to mind first is one who told me she didn’t want to “lose her disability”. Jesus was asking this man to expand his expectations. Things that have beset us for a long time become ingrained in our self-perception. Mustering faith for something different is a tall order. Success demands a change of attention from the problem to the Solution. Focusing on the problem is a sort of negative “prayer”, always doing more harm than good. Exactly as it was for this man at the pool.

Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?
Matthew 6:27, Living Bible

I have another acquaintance who seldom passes up an opportunity to talk about his “diagnoses”. These are usually mental health related, given by some professional or other in years past. I don’t want to minimize anyone’s difficulties, but it is easy to see that continually emphasizing these issues serves to relieve this person of any sense of responsibility for growth or personal development, trapping him where he is in much the same way that the slave mentality that came out of Egypt with Israel kept them circling the wilderness instead of entering the Promised Land.

I was asking Jesus about the minimal response of the man at the pool, where his desire to be healed was only implicitly stated by his explanation about his inability to get into the water first. Jesus answered me that He works with whatever consent He can get from a person. He really does meet us where we are! That said, Jesus would never heal anyone against their will. He also told me that He doesn’t set up competitions to get in first, clamor for the head spot at the table, or anything like that.

“But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Not of works (being first), lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9, parentheses mine

“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”
Exodus 33:19 (speaking to Moses)

If in our born-again spirits, we are already made whole, what is to be done about the flesh which can still be sick and injured? That is what this series is about. May we all walk in the light of these scriptures and in complete faith in the goodness and mercy of God.

Health and Healing #16 – Love

sixteenth in a series about what the Bible has to say about health and healing. (Originally posted one number shy.) This entry is shared from my personal journal. The focus is mostly on a chapter in 1 John that deals with love. Believe me when I tell you that our ability to have faith for divine healing is directly impacted by our connection to the love of God.

I am grateful for Your endless love! I am grateful for your ample provision! I am grateful for Your presence! I am grateful for Your Healing! I am grateful for the heart-change You enable! I am grateful for the victory You have won over our darkness! I am grateful for Your continual leading! I am grateful for Your goodness! I am grateful that You are the Truth!

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. 8 He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, that he who loves God loves his brother also.
1 John 4:7-21

Me: Good afternoon, Father!

Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!

Me: This passage in 1 John rightly (of course) gives place to Your unimaginable Gift of Jesus who has borne our sin and its consequence, will we only humble ourselves to accept Your Life, including Your power to resist the enemy. How ridiculous to cling to flawed self-will for one second, instead of constantly coming to You through Jesus. You know the propensity of the human heart to ignore what it doesn’t want to see because it is protecting selfish motives. You know how I have indulged those!

Anyway, what I was getting to, is that the Gift of the Savior is icing on a large cake. I am thinking of all the ways that You show Your love, right down to providing air to fill our lungs and food and water to sustain our physical lives. You gave us the written word to help us learn to know the Word. You have sent Your Holy Spirit to indwell us that we would be blessed with Your guidance and power from within. How You bless us!

Abba: There is this: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

Me: Father, one of the things I want to talk with You about in this passage are revealed by these sentences:

If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:12(b)

The corollary is troubling. If we don’t love one another, You don’t dwell in us.

He that loves not, knows not God.
1 John 4:8(a)

And,

If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar.
1 John 4:20(a)

Abba: This is not something a person can work up on their own. All these instances of the word “love” are derived from the Greek agape. Meaning, it is My love. It is in you by My Spirit. I Am the one who perfects it in you (vv 12&13). That is why John can assert that if My agape is not at work in you, then it is sure that I Am not in you.

I Am love. I Am Holy. I hate every corruption and every evil thing. (1 John 4:8, Psalm 45:7, Hebrews 1:9, Psalm 97:10, Amos 5:15, Romans 12:9, Psalm 119:104, Psalm 101:3).

Even the clear statement that identifies absence of My love in one’s life is given in love, that that one might turn to Me and be redeemed!

Love is not OK with the works of the devil who comes to steal and kill and destroy (1 John 3:8). Those who carry out his schemes (even completely willingly) are deceived. I have told you what to do about that.

And he himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to a measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow into him with reference to all things, who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined together and held together by every supporting ligament, according to the working by measure of each single part, the growth of the body makes for the building up of itself in love.

Ephesians 4:11-16

Did you notice Jesus’ compassion in Matthew 14:14 in healing the sick? His love has not changed. If My love is at work in you, as it was at work in Him, will not the same works be accomplished by My love? Did not Jesus tell you as much in John 14:12?

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:12

He went on to say that He would send the Holy Spirit to enable in you the things He calls you to do. John was repeating that promise from Jesus in 1 John 4:13.

Faith works by love.
Galatians 5:6(b)

Me: Thank You Father! Thank You for Your tremendous blessings! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Health and Healing #15 – Praise!

Fifteenth in a series on how much the Bible has to say about healing.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Ps 107:1-2

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 107:8,15, 21 & 31 KJV (the theme of Psalms 107)

Fools* because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.

* see Psalms 14
Psalms 107:17-22

Years ago, when I was much less familiar with the Word of God, and the written word, I attended a worship conference hosted at Christ for the Nations, in Dallas Texas. I was along with the small team accompanying the worship leader of the church I was attending in Frisco Texas. This worship leader knew deep in her heart that true worship was a matter of the heart and that mere musical performance was a wholly inadequate substitute. That was a truth she endeavored to communicate to us in every way she could. I remember, as if it were yesterday, a vision I experienced that day. Our worship leader was on the platform with her guitar, participating in a session with several others. I saw her, for a few seconds, wearing armor that gleamed with an unearthly iridescence that seemed to supply a light of its own. In my spirit, I heard the words that, “Praise is armor of light.” I am sure that on that day, I did not know this passage from Romans 13 by heart:

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Romans 13:10-14

Now, the passage in Romans 13 does not explicitly say that praise is “the armour of light”. But it does say that we are to put it on. Then it goes on to say we are to put on “the Lord Jesus Christ”.

As I have matured, I have come to understand that the message I heard that day was glorious and true as far as it went, but incomplete. “Putting on” the Lord Jesus redeems us at the spiritual level. But we are not to stop there. We are to be completely transformed by the renewing of our minds. And that for a powerful reason:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

We therefore need to be immersed in the word of God, letting it transform all our thinking that has been corrupted by the world, which is still under the dominion of the “prince of the power of the air.”

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:2

We need to be filled with His Holy Spirit who comes to reveal to us all the truth, and empower us to walk in it. Listen as Jesus explains:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
John 16:7-15

And, in our transformation, we need to let our lips give voice to thanksgiving and praise. This blog entry opened with exhortation to such from the Psalms. Also from the Psalms, is this:

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Psalms 8:2, NIV

All sickness and every other evil is birthed according to the designs of the evil one. I used to think, God knows my thoughts, that is enough. But, remember, the enemy is the prince of the power of the air. Resist him and fill the air around you with thanksgiving and praise. His massive ego cannot stand to linger long in that atmosphere, for it is abhorrent to him. And, it will powerfully transform you as you put on the armor of light.

Photo by Emilio Su00e1nchez on Pexels.com

Health and Healing #14 –

Fourteenth in a series of posts concerning how much the Scripture has to say about spiritual healing.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:1-5 (also in Luke 7)

Before we talk about this passage, backtrack with me for a moment to the first verse in the previous chapter. (A few verses in Matthew 10 were mentioned in Health and Healing #2.

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Matthew 10:1
Matthew 10:1

Matthew 10 is the background for the reference to Jesus sending out the twelve for some on-the-job training in preaching the gospel with healing and deliverance attending to attest to the message. Notice from the first verse that this power is Jesus’, and that He gave them this power of His to exercise. “Yes”, some might say, “But these were Jesus disciples”. If you are in a saving relationship with Him and are not discounting His word, so are you, His disciple. Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then you are my disciples indeed”. (John 8:31)

John the Baptist sent a couple of his disciples as he languished in Herod’s prison to question Jesus as to whether, “He was the one to come?” Many during John’s Day, possibly including John, expected the prophesied Messiah to come as a Conquering King, a “Son of David”, to liberate the Israelites from their oppressors − of which there had been many. We might therefore forgive John his gathering doubts, since Jesus was giving no indication of fomenting a governmental takeover. In our own time, who understands that the most serious oppression is spiritual in nature; that even that which seems to come from human sources is empowered by darkness?

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5

Is the societal reimagining of every truth as something twisted from its original design not a sign for any not completely devoid of spiritual discernment?

But I digress. We were speaking of John’s rising doubt enduring unjust imprisonment. (I am biting my tongue about unjust imprisonments ongoing in 2023, since that is off topic for this post.) John was in prison on account of publicly censuring Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. Herod had divorced his Nabatean wife, and married Herodias, also divorced from Herod’s half-brother Philip. John, in the unvarnished style of the Old Testament prophets, publicly proclaimed this arrangement was in violation of the Mosaic law. This very public message garnered the ire of Herodias, who sought to fully retaliate. (Read more in Matthew 14, Mark 6, and Luke 9. See Herod Antipas in britannica.com for some additional historical context, if interested.)

What was Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples? To remind John what he had once known. He told them to tell John again what they were witnessing: all manner of healings, deliverance, and preaching of the Gospel to the poor. Then he made an interesting addition:

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Matthew 11:6

The Greek word translated “offended” is σκανδαλίζω (transliteration: skandalizó). Jesus was sending this message to John: “Don’t be scandalized that what I Am doing is not aligned with your expectations”. We too ought to guard against falling into the trap of setting our expectations above Jesus’ plan, lest we become a judge of Jesus, rather than a disciple.

How do we guard against this disastrous error?

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
John 15:15

We live as friends of Jesus. We listen to Him. We trust Him. We love Him. We do what He asks, not out of compulsion, but from affection.

Healing, whether from physical maladies, or more seriously, the spiritual ones, is IN HIM. The most important thing we can do is draw closer to Him and remain. He has called us to be as inseparable from Himself as He is from the Father. (John 10:30, 14:20, 1 Corinthians 6:17)

Health and Healing #13

Thirteenth in a series demonstrating how much the Bible has to say about the healing purchased for us by Jesus at the cross along with salvation.

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5

It is striking how varied are the ways that healing comes. I believe Jesus took care to make it plain to us that God is Jehovah Rapha (our Healer) lest we get the idea that there is some formula for healing that doesn’t require our vital relationship with Him who IS the Life. (John 17:11 tells us the Father and Son are One.) Did you see what I did there? Vital (adj.) late 14c., “of or manifesting life,” from Latin vitalis “of or belonging to life”. Now there is a subject for meditation! We are in right relationship with Him when we “belong”, by our choice, to Jesus, who is the Life. If we become disconnected from the Life, through inattention because our focus is diverted to the things of earth, we cease walking with Him in the upward way (I Am the Way, John 14:6).

Many of us are driven by various measures of performance and keep mental checklists on how we are doing:

Remembered anniversary -Check.
Made it to church – Check.
Put something in the basket – Check.
Sang on Key – Check.
Volunteered to work in the nursery – Check.
Stayed mostly awake during the sermon – Check.
Encouraged the pastor on a wonderful message – Check.

However admirable any of the things we do may be, they are no substitute for a consistent relationship with Jesus. Even if that sermon contained the very words of God and was ever so helpful, as I hope it did and was, the message came to you secondhand.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.
Proverbs 14:12

There are processes in our physical life that will put an end to us if they stop; heartbeat, respiration, neural transmission would be ultraquick, were they to fail suddenly. Other cessations take longer to produce the terminal result, digestion, hydration, immune functions and sleep come to mind. As His children, God gives us grace that we might choose to turn back to Him from our distractions. Make no mistake, though. He intends we converse with Him like we breathe.

Though manifestation of healing does not adhere to a formula, there are some things always necessary. Faith, overcoming unbelief, recognizing and using our authority in Jesus, and speaking our faith out loud are needful. These flow out of our relationship with Him as we wholeheartedly lean into the Word of Truth. Another word about prayer assistance by the elders mentioned in James 5 – prayer doesn’t save the sick. The prayer of faith saves the sick. Choose your elders wisely.

If you have read at Missionary Sojourn any time at all, you will know that I believe that Jesus bore our sin (and sickness) at the cross and that is a once-and-for-all transaction. That obviously doesn’t mean we can’t or don’t sin or get sick. It means that the state of the believer’s redeemed spirit is unaltered by transgressions of the law which Jesus fulfilled.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13–14

We are not “sealed” by our behavior, but by His limitless, omnipotent Holy Spirit! His sealing is incomparably better than my kitchen vacuum sealer (refer to need for breath, above). BTW- This is not a random silly comment. The word for the Spirit in Ephesians 1:13 is Πνεύματι (Pneumati, the breath of God). We think of breath as a mere vapor, but the breath of God is infinitely substantive protection.

The word “sin” in verse 15 of James 5 is the same Greek word (ἁμαρτίας, pronounced ham-ar-tee’-ahs) translated as “faults” in verse 16.

I know many voices endeavor to help us rationalize otherwise, but one thing sin does in the life of a believer, is give Satan access. You know him. He is the one who comes to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). A Bible teacher that I am fond of is known for saying that sin gives Satan permission to “eat your lunch and pop the bag”. It’s a cute way to drive home this point and help us remember this consequence of our sin. The good news is James 5:16 is telling us how to break that stronghold. I can tell you from hard experience that believing the lie that “keeping habitual sin under wraps is best for all concerned” will ensure that bully Satan comes by for your lunch tomorrow and for as many days following as you protect your sin from the light.

P.S. Romans 6 is a good place to do more study on the subject of sin and believers.]

Health & Healing #12: Redeemed!

Twelfth installment in a series talking about what the Bible reveals about health and healing by spiritual means.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Galatians 3:13

What is the curse of the law? From what have believers been redeemed by Christ?
Deuteronomy 28:15-68 graphically answers this question. For our purposes, let’s take a survey of those parts of the curse that are obviously related to health:

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Deuteronomy 28

The first fifteen verses enumerate the blessing that would accrue to the one who listens to God and does what He says. From verse fifteen on, the consequences of going the other way are detailed as “curses”. It is best to remember that we are looking at forms part of the basis of the Old Covenant and that Moses was preparing the surviving generation of the nation of Israel to pass into the promised land and was giving some final instructions, since he was not going in. The Excerpted below are some of the curses that specifically affect health, since that is the subject of this series.

15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

27 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.

60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the
LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
Deteronomy 28

Some of these words might be unfamiliar to modern readers and it would be hard to be dogmatic about the exact maladies meant. Merriam-Webster defines “botch” as an inflammatory sore. Some non-specificity is not too surprising. The ancient Hebrews wouldn’t have known what you were talking about if you mentioned the flu to them. At least some of these were clearly “terminal” (vv 27 & 60). Verse 66 lets us know the unease (disease) would result in doubt about survival. Verse 61 tells us no sickness is left out of the curse.

David looked forward to redemption in Psalm 103. I take this as one of those “Messianic ” Psalms that project to the work of Jesus in setting us free. The language is majestic, and the worshipful tone can hardly fail to uplift the troubled soul that gazes upwards.

1 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your guilt,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Psalm 103

Let us circle back to our opening passage, since we have looked at some of the curse of the law. The New Covenant in Christ is good news indeed. It ought to make us soar with the eagles to recognize that Jesus has borne all these that, in Him, we might be redeemed from them.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Galatians 3:13

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