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The Epileptic Son
One of the flaws of western thinking is that it has moved away from simple Bible truths. It considers that it has “higher” or “more modern” ways of evaluating scripture than what scripture plainly says. Anything it does not like it calls “medieval” “old fashioned” “ancient” “religious” or any other kind of denigrating term. In this philosophy’s mind, the “trendy” or “socially correct” or “politically correct” don’t believe such things. Unfortunately, such people miss out due to unbelief.
Instead of believing the Bible that man has a spirit and soul, the mind is considered to be so many chemical reactions, and not something that connects to the spirit and soul.
When it comes to healing, disease is evaluated in terms of what science has figured out, and if science so-called, has not figured it out, then in the minds of those who do not believe the Bible, then any other explanation is not possible. They may say “we have no answer” or “we have done all that we know how to do”. The Bible offers more answers and more hope.
In the Bible, we see that not all healings were germ-related. Here are some examples.
Mark 9:14 Coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them, and scribes questioning them. 15 Immediately all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, greeted him. 16 He asked the scribes, “What are you asking them?”
17 One of the multitude answered, “Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit; 18 and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”
19 He answered him, “Unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me.”
20 They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at the mouth.
21 He asked his father, “How long has it been since this has come to him?”
He said, “From childhood. 22 Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “I believe. Help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!”
26 After crying out and convulsing him greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead, so much that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.
28 When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 29 He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:14
14 When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
17 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”
20 He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 8:16 When evening came, they brought to him many possessed with demons. He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Matthew 8:28 When he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesenes, two people possessed by demons met him there, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that nobody could pass that way. 29 Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. 31 The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.”
32 He said to them, “Go!”
They came out, and went into the herd of pigs; and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. 33 Those who fed them fled and went away into the city and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. 34 Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
HYMN OF ST. PATRICK, BREASTPLATE, 433 A.D.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Witch at Endor
In today’s secular culture, there are books, movies, and even children’s cartoons that promote witchcraft. Sometimes this is dressed up in a “friendly” way but at times these things look like demons from hell.
Opening doors to witchcraft opens doors to demonic spirits to play with or influence a life and can only lead to trouble. Some people seem to be unable to connect the dots of cause and effect, of disobeying the commandments of God and the consequences.
For their own well being, childen and parents need to resist peer pressure to participate in witchcraft. If neighborhood friends like to watch those kinds of videos, tell them about Christian alternatives such as Pureflix, VeggieTales, Yippie, or Superbook. Or have the Christian alternative at your house and invite the neighborhood kids to watch at your home.
Leviticus 19:26 “‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
Leviticus 19:31 “‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me;
I Samuel 28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. Saul had sent away those who had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land. 4 The Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of Yahweh, Yahweh didn’t answer him by dreams, by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.”
His servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who has a familiar spirit at Endor.”
8 Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. Then he said, “Please consult for me by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomever I shall name to you.”
9 The woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who have familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
10 Saul swore to her by Yahweh, saying, “As Yahweh lives, no punishment will happen to you for this thing.”
11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up to you?”
He said, “Bring Samuel up for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”
13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”
The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.”
14 He said to her, “What does he look like?”
She said, “An old man comes up. He is covered with a robe.” Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and showed respect.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up?”
Saul answered, “I am very distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more, by prophets, or by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17 Yahweh has done to you as he spoke by me. Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, even to David. 18 Because you didn’t obey Yahweh’s voice, and didn’t execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. 19 Moreover Yahweh will deliver Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Yahweh will deliver the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
I Corinthians 4:4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
Ephesians 4:30 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Here is the story of Saul and the witch of Endor in a children’s cartoon.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Wisdom and Knowledge in the Bible
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about wisdom and knowledge in the Bible.
There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. Therefore, every day you can read one chapter of Proverbs and learn a lot about wisdom and knowledge.
Here is Chapter 1 of Proverbs.
Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
2 to know wisdom and instruction;
to discern the words of understanding;
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young man:
5 that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning;
that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
6 to understand a proverb and parables,
the words and riddles of the wise.7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;
but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, listen to your father’s instruction,
and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:
9 for they will be a garland to grace your head,
and chains around your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
don’t consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us.
Let’s lie in wait for blood.
Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
12 Let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol,
and whole, like those who go down into the pit.
13 We’ll find all valuable wealth.
We’ll fill our houses with plunder.
14 You shall cast your lot among us.
We’ll all have one purse.”
15 My son, don’t walk on the path with them.
Keep your foot from their path,
16 for their feet run to evil.
They hurry to shed blood.
17 For the net is spread in vain in the sight of any bird;
18 but these lay in wait for their own blood.
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain.
It takes away the life of its owners.
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street.
She utters her voice in the public squares.
21 She calls at the head of noisy places.
At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery,
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn at my reproof.
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you.
I will make known my words to you.
24 Because I have called, and you have refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;
25 but you have ignored all my counsel,
and wanted none of my reproof;
26 I also will laugh at your disaster.
I will mock when calamity overtakes you,
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come on you.
28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer.
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me,
29 because they hated knowledge,
and didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh.
30 They wanted none of my counsel.
They despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way,
and be filled with their own schemes.
32 For the backsliding of the simple will kill them.
The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell securely,
and will be at ease, without fear of harm.”
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Washing of Water by the Word
In reference to the Church, the Apostle Paul talks about the importance of the word of God.
Ephesians 5:26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word ,
Jesus prayed this as part of a longer prayer.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
When Jesus defeated satan at the temptations of Christ, it was through the Word of God.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Repost: DRUNK BEGGAR ENTERS A CHURCH AND ASK TO SING (ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
My God, how much talent is currently lying amidst the needles and bottles of the world?!
Truly the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
This will have you on your feet praising the Lord with hands upraised and in tears.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Male and Female He Created Them
Genesis 5:2 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in God’s likeness. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them.
It shouldn’t be necessary to write a post on this, but I saw this article about how a transgender person regretted the choice and is suffering for the rest of this person’s life, so decided to post on it as it may help someone else avoid the same trap.
You can read the article at Natural News by clicking the link below.
Former transgenders speak out against the exploitation and abuse of teens by LGBT groomers
Quote: Lgbtcos said because of how severely the transgender “therapy” destroyed her body, she now has to take weekly injections and diabetes medication. She will also suffer from persistent pain and lack of energy, as well as “who knows what else,” for the rest of her life.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
So What Happens When You Don’t Tithe?
One thing that various people have said, and I agree, is that if you don’t tithe the money goes to taking care of some problem you probably wouldn’t have had if you would have tithed.
That could include a flat tire, a broken down dryer, legal fees, hospital bills, unexpected expenses.
Tithing has definite promises attached to it.
Malachi 3:5 I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies. 6 “For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. 12 “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
13 “Your words have been stout against me,” says Yahweh. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Armies? 15 Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape.’ 16 Then those who feared Yahweh spoke one with another; and Yahweh listened, and heard, and a book of memory was written before him, for those who feared Yahweh, and who honored his name. 17 They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him. 18 Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Heart, The Word, The Sword, and Faith
This is an attempt to dig a little deeper into how to use the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit and its relationship to faith and the heart. This can only be the at best a short outline, but hopefully, will be useful.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
Before the fall, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening.
They had heard things like this from God.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
Genesis 2:16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
The serpent came along, sowed doubt, Adam and Eve disobeyed, and the Fall of mankind in the Garden occurred. You can read the whole account in the first few chapters of Genesis. No matter what the topic, the serpent sows doubt as to the truth of God’s Word.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
Fast fowarding to today.
Jesus came to undo what happened in the Garden. He did undo what happened in the Garden.
There is one important key. Even though Jesus Christ offers a complete salvation, it has to be individually asked for, received, and applied.
There are a lot of examples that could be given to help illustrate the point. Here’s one. If you have a car, and a key to the car, but you don’t put the key into the ignition, and turn the key, neither the key nor the car will do you any good. I know, now there are some keyless cars, but walk back in time a little for the application.
So this brings us to the Word of God, how to use it as a key, or as the Bible says, as the Sword of the Spirit.
The Word of God does several things. It builds faith because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God preached in a church, a podcast, or wherever it is preached. It also builds faith when you say the Word of God out of your own mouth to yourself…in your home, getting ready for work, washing dishes, walking by the way…the Word of God out of your mouth goes into your ears and hearing the Word of God builds faith.
But how do you use the Word on a regular basis when problems come? This is where the rubber meets the road.
Now this only applies to believers, because only they have access to the promises of God. You have to be born again to have access to the promises of God through Jesus Christ.
For the Word of God to work in your life as an effective tool, as the Sword of the Spirit against lies, you have to settle that there is one truth about any situation.
That is the Word of God.
The Word of God covers all sorts of situations. There are all sorts of promises of every kind from health to provision to emotional healing to deliverance to family and more. You have to find the ones that apply to what you are dealing with and then, you have to count on it as the final word.
Think about Adam and Eve in the garden. It really wasn’t hard for them to believe that God was good. God had created a beautiful garden. It wasn’t hard to believe that their needs were supplied. The Lord God had told them they could eat of any tree of the garden. It wasn’t hard to believe that they were healthy. They were created perfect, in the image of God, in the prime of life. There was neither sin, sickness, nor death prior to the fall. All was perfect.
So in a sense Adam and Eve did not have the same challenge of faith that we have. Everything around them was beautiful and perfect. Nevertheless, in spite of that perfection, the serpent still lied to them, they believed the lie, disobeyed, and they fell.
Due to the fall, sin, sickness and death entered the world.
When Jesus came, He restored the ability for mankind to partake of the promises of God. However, it is not automatic. And this is where the Word has to become food, faith, a sword, and an examiner of the heart. And now, in a sense, we have to do the reverse. We are in the midst of a fallen world. Jesus holds out the promises of God to us, the perfect promises of God, and we have to believe in spite of what we see, hear, or feel. It’s a different kind of challenge.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
When you read the Word of God, what do you believe? Do you believe what you are reading? Or do you doubt? Because it is faith that inherits the promises.
Sometimes the Bible is used in a “that’s nice” type of sense, but not as a sword to win a battle. In other words, you read the Bible, you’re drinking your coffee, that sounds nice, it makes you feel better, and that’s good.
But you may still have a battle to win.
Sometimes we don’t always feel good.
In the battles of life, when you don’t feel on top of things you need to use the Bible, the Word of God as a sword. Jesus used “it is written” to defeat satan and we must also.
How do we do this?
First of all, when you read the Bible, or when you go to church, take note of those verses that are particularly meaningful to you in a situation you are going through. Whenever you notice something, you may not need it right then, but the Holy Spirit might be pointing it out to you for the future. Take note of it. Make your own personal notebook of promises unique to your situation. You have to have a promise to offset the problem. Find the promises that are meaningful to you for the problems that you are facing.
Finally, in your heart, at the very bottom of any situation, which is actually in the bottom of your heart as to what you believe and choose, it is what you believe, what you choose to believe, it is in the heart where you have to decide, what is true? Are my feelings true? Is my circumstance true? Is the Word of God true?
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
for out of it is the wellspring of life.Proverbs 4:23 Above every charge keep thy heart, For out of it [are] the outgoings of life. (Young’s)
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (KJV)
Proverbs 4:23 (multiple verisions for comparison)
The heart, and what you believe in your heart, is the “heart” of the issue for out of the heart flow thoughts, words, and actions.
It may be true that there are clouds in the sky. It is also true the the sun is shining behind the clouds and that the clouds may be moved away by the wind. Circumstances can change. God’s Word is immoveable.
So yes, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. But being born again does not automatically renew our minds.
The Apostle Paul says this in the book of Romans.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 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.
So even if your spirit is born again, you can still have lies come to your mind.
Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
You can be newly born as a new creation in Christ, but if you continue to speak the lies of the past and things contrary to the Word of God, it will lead you astray. This is why it is imperative to understand these issues of the mind and heart at the beginning. Like Jonah, there can always be a course correction, but it is easier not go get off course in the first place.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and faith is related to our believing and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (KJV)
Matthew 9:29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
To receive, we have to remain stable in believing the Word of God. Stable. Steadfast. Immoveable. Without doubting.
James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 7 For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Do we need to do anything else? Maybe. This is where prayer is more than asking God to solve a problem, but asking and listening for guidance. Some people keep prayer diaries or write things down. They can look things over later. Certain scriptures or directions may be repeated as time progresses. Also, if you write things down that are distracting your mind, like, “I have to remember to pay that bill today”, it will clear your mind so you can keep your mind centered on prayer and hearing God. Then you can deal with those issues later.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
The only way we can know if we have “done all’ is to keep seeking God for any particular guidance in any particular situation. For example, if you are dealing with a financial issue, consider if you have been tithing on a regular basis. For finances, that would be one thing to do as part of “having done all”.
But if you feel you are the point where the “having done all” is covered, then stand. Stand knowing the Word of God is the final authority and as you use it the way Jesus did, saying “it is written”, as the Sword of the Spirit as it talks of in Ephesians, then faith is built and faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Matthew 4: But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’”
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
A scripture I like to remember to stay focused on the promises of God is this one. In other words, don’t look at the circumstance or how you feel.
Jonah 2:8 Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Remember what was said earlier about finding promises that are meaningful to you? Or another way to say that is to find those verses that keep you on track so you stay focused on the Word of God. Depending on the circumstance, the verses could be different, but the principle is the same. Ultimately, you have to know that the Word of God is the final authority and settle that in your heart.
Here is an example of using the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit. (This is a true example.)
Not too long ago I was suddenly feeling quite unwell, which is unusual as I walk in divine health. I felt badly enough that I was going to call a prayer line, also unusual as I usually prefer to deal with things myself. I had a prayer line number written on a piece of paper on a window sill because I had been told once to write it down, so I had. I stood up, picked the piece of paper up, and I felt so badly it slipped out of my hand and drifted onto the table as I sat back down in the chair. No longer having the number in hand and not really having the motivation to pick it up since I felt so badly, I simply started quoting the Word of God. It is written, “by Jesus stripes I am healed.” I watched the time. I was positive that Jesus already paid for healing at the cross. It was not a matter of questioning (as is sometimes done), well, maybe God will grant my prayer today, maybe not. No, healing is a done deal but we do have to resist the lies of satan otherwise. Satan is a defeated foe and it can take a bit of time to win the battle. Lazurus was dead four days before Jesus came on the scene. Jesus resurrected in three days. The disciples dealt with the storm for a while before Jesus stilled it. Times differ with different problems. So I just continued to say, “by Jesus’s stripes I am healed”. The fact of the matter is, for a while there I couldn’t have done much else since I didn’t feel well and it was a bit hard to begin speaking. You know, sometimes it is hard to speak when you are not feeling well. But I continued. And somewhere between 12 and 18 minutes I began to feel better and within 18 minutes it was over. I felt well and went on and did whatever had to be done that day. But that was from a situation of feeling so bad that I was ready to call a prayer line and then didn’t because I was so weak that the number fell out of my hand to being up and about.
And it doesn’t have to be healing. Problems come in sorts of sizes and disguises. You have to have find the Word of God to deal with the problem. You have to find the Word of God or promise of God unique to your problem. You have to be a believer who is born again to be able to access the promises of God. You have to decide that “Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in heaven,” and that “You have magnified your Word about your name”. You have to decide all this and settle it in your heart, and stand with “it is written”, for God watches over his Word to perform it.
For a while what you feel or what it looks like may not match what you think the promises says. But faith comes by hearing and faith is the substance of things hoped for and if you know the Word of God is the final truth about any situation, sooner or later, the Word of God becomes the hammer that breaks in pieces the rock of a situation.
Am I saying that all healing is that quick? No.
Is it easy? No.
Some things are easier than others, but it is not necessarily easy.
Jesus likened the soil of the heart to various types producing 30, 60, or 100-fold. Even in the same person, a person may receive answers in one area easier than in other areas. We have to keep working on the soil of our hearts in all areas by the washing of the water of the Word and the hearing of the Word. It does both.
There are times in the Bible where people were healed immediately, where Jesus prayed for someone twice, where “as they went their way they were healed”, and where they were healed by speaking the Word.
This goes back to the discussion of “having done all, stand.” So how do you know if you have done all?
Practice. Keep praying. Keep reading the Bible. Keep going to church. Keep listening to sermons. Keep applying the things you learn. Tithe. Keep listening for God’s answers to problems as you pray.
It’s like learning to ride a bike. A person can try to tell you how fast to pedal, to sit up straight, and try to walk with you while you get going learning to ride. And you might try a few times and fall down. But after a while you get a sense what you need to do to keep riding the bike.
With faith, you will get a sense of if there is something you need to do or how to approach it. You gain experience.
Then there are other ways to deal with sickness. It is how the Spirit of God leads you.
James 5:13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. 14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, 15 and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
As stated in the very beginning, this can only touch on this very large topic. But hopefully, it is helpful.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Body of Christ
The Apostle Paul speaks in the New Testament and says this:
I Corinthians 12: 12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body,” it is not therefore not part of the body. 16 If the ear would say, “Because I’m not the eye, I’m not part of the body,” it’s not therefore not part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now they are many members, but one body. 21 The eye can’t tell the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.” 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 Those parts of the body which we think to be less honorable, on those we bestow more abundant honor; and our unpresentable parts have more abundant propriety; 24 whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God composed the body together, giving more abundant honor to the inferior part, 25 that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. When one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Let’s think about the human body. Each type of cell is shaped different according to its function. A muscle cell is shaped differently than a brain cell. A blood cell is shaped differently than a muscle cell.
Each organ has a different function. The kidneys accomplish something different than the heart.
Each part of the body has a different function. A hand operates differently than a foot. An ear operates differently than the eye.
All those parts of the body that belong to a certain function of the body will be similar. But in some respect, they will be different. Think about how many individual parts make up an eye, or an ear, or a hand, or a foot.
Some parts are so different, that if they met at a meeting (speaking metaphorically of course), an eye would probably exclaim to a tongue, “Why do you look like that, why do you do what you do, you are not like us!”
God is so big, his purposes so large, that each part of the body has a different purpose and call.
Each must be focused on what God has called it to do.
There is probably one part of the body that relates more frequently to other parts. That would be the blood. The blood cells circulate around bringing oxygen and nutrition to the other cells. They also remove waste.
There are some cells and parts of the body that, while different, are closely related. For example, there is a place where the muscles attach to the bone. They are closely related, but different in function at the same time.
Consider the immune system, how it functions. It is quite complex, has multiple parts and if one of the parts is not working, the whole system will not be as effective. Or, what if one of the parts of the immune system, decided it wanted to try to be a different part than that which it was created to be? It wouldn’t work out.
And while the body is one, there may be some parts of the body that never ever connect with another part of the body. For example, a lifetime could go by and say, a toenail might never have any reason to deal with, say, the hair.
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face though they come from the ends of the earth!
Rudyard Kipling
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
And the Lord God Planted a Garden
The Old Testament people were primarily farmers, or kept sheep and cattle. Farming is mentioned often.
Genesis 2:15 Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
Genesis 26:12 Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. Yahweh blessed him.
Jesus used gardening as a basis for one of his famous parables.
Luke 8:5 “The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.6 Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.7 Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it.8 Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
In view of the fact that gardening season is approaching, here is an article that some of you who are considering having gardens this year might enjoy reading.
Prioritizing Your Goals: 3 Steps for a Successful Garden
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.