Healing takes
times! If we look at all the damage done in our lives and see the
devastation in the span of a moment our hearts would most likely
break from the pain and anguish. Grace and the presence of God,
manifested over a period of time, brings healing to the troubled
soul. God’s divine methods do not belong in a box or limited to the
special revelation of the Scriptures. He can do the miraculous.
However, in His wisdom, God allows us to participate with Him in the
healing process, so we can share in His glory and the richness of
our relationship with Him.
Sanctification
is the process that describes the way to reach our desired goal.
Sanctification is a life long experience where the Holy Spirit
actively participates every step of the way. No Guts! No Glory!
If we are not willing to work, we won't progress in the process.
Through the presence of God in our life we can overcome any
obstacle, trial, or tribulation. Allowing God to take his rightful
place sets up an intimate bond between a child and our father, who
has provided for every one of our needs throughout eternity.
In order to
become a new person, we need to leave the burdensome past behind and
establish who we are ‘in Christ’. In our new identity we can go
back and be healed of past abuse. God has not given us a spirit of
fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. Before we came to
Christ we could think and reason, but our ability to choose or judge
correctly narrowed through our Adamic nature. Our judgment,
perception, and ability to reason impaired by the abandonment and
abuse issues. If past hurts haunt us, we must resolve the past to
find complete freedom ‘in Christ’.
From birth
till death, emotions play an important part of our life. As we
grow, we form bonds that lead to the richness we can experience in a
balanced life. The highest life, our spiritual life, can flourish
once we know God and accept His will and purpose for our life. The
following verses reveal that God is working to complete His purpose
in our life.
‘For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are
His workmanship, created ‘in Christ’ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’ -- Eph 2:8-10
God is so
faithful Paul wrote this precious promise in Phil 1:6, ‘Being
confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in
you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
We are
precious to God and He takes delight to provide all our needs ‘in
Christ’, when we allow Him to do so. Through the providential care
of God, when we are ‘in Christ’, all of our needs will be met. He
is Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals us. He provides our healing
through Jesus. We can see the provision in Is 53:3-5; ‘He is
despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised,
and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our grief And
carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God,
and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, And by His stripes we are healed.’
The prophet
Isaiah gave a word picture of the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ. From the prophecy concerning the Messiah, we read in
Isaiah 61:1-3; ‘The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the
LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent
Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim
the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our
God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be
called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may
be glorified.’
RENEWING THE MIND
When you
receive God's forgiveness, He transforms the way we perceive grace
and we tend to extend forgiveness to others through His grace
received in a similar fashion. Until our mind is renewed through
God's Word, we view the world through a skewed perspective. We view
every situation through our grid of life experiences. After we come
to a knowledge of God's grace and allow Christ to live through us to
produce the fruit of the Spirit, He reveals the life of Christ
through us. Then we are able to extend grace and forgiveness
without hesitation, knowing God is living through us. Here is what
God's Word says:
God cares for us and
will never leave us, Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will
I leave
you; never will I
forsake you.’ -- He. 13:5
Jesus understands our
personal loss, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted
in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. -- He. 4:15
God will stand with us
and defend us, What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God
is for us, who can be against us? -- Ro. 8:31
God will defend our
actions, Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait
till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in
darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time
each will receive his praise from God. -- 1 Co. 4:5
We will receive our
peace from God, And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds ‘in Christ’
Jesus. -- Phil. 4:7
OBEDIENCE SETS THE
WILL FREE
Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And
a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides
forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free
indeed. -- John 8:34-36
We have
victory ‘in Christ’. We are free from the power of sin but we still
have a battle for the mind. To do God's will we need to accept the
truth and act upon it. God's design is for you to experience rest in
your soul, through reliance on Him.
As we walk in
His life, our soul transforms. The body, soul, and mind God's Word
will transform. The body begins to lose its old stress-induced
symptoms, we have peace of mind, and the emotional damage begins to
heal as we are reparented by God, who is our true Father.
It is our
choice to follow Jesus and be obedient to God's word. This will
result in a life of peace with God's blessings or a life of
continued turmoil because of disobedience and ignorance of his
word. Our sanctification is the result of applying God's word to
our daily life. We do not have to understand His entire word to
receive His blessings. It is very clear that whatever we do in
thought, word, or deed will somehow return to us. In a
dysfunctional family, the damage continues from generation to
generation until God sets the individuals free.
In order for
us to live a balanced life, God has given us the Holy Spirit. When
we receive the Holy Spirit, we begin to manifest the fruit of the
Spirit. This promise of the Holy Spirit is to everyone who comes to
Christ. When we received Christ, we received every thing we needed
because we are in Him and God has given us all things in Him. We
see the Spirit of God's character in Gal 5:22, ‘But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no
law.’
Let this mind
(attitude) be in you that was ‘in Christ’. As we allow God to
transform our mind, He will set free our will, heal our emotions,
and fill us with His truth, knowledge, and wisdom. Our strength is
in Him, if we allow Him to live His life through us, for apart from
Him we can do nothing. In return, He promises to supply all of our
needs and give us the peace that surpasses all understanding, that
will guard our heart and soul. His peace will endure through the
trials and tribulations of life. Christ in us secures eternal hope
that does not fade away.
God assures us
that whatever we do will also come back to us -- good or bad. Jesus
gave us the direction we need to receive abundant life. Paul
promised that we will reap our reward, when God opens the door of
opportunity, if we continue to do good. The following scriptures
are examples of God's intention toward us.
Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will
also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for
in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as
we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who
are of the household of faith. -- Gal 6:7-10
Let this mind be in
you which was also ‘in Christ’ Jesus, Be anxious for nothing, but
in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. -- Phil 2:5-6, 4:7
I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me. And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by
Christ Jesus. -- Phil 4:13,19
OBEDIENCE IS THE
YARDSTICK IN THE BEST OR WORST OF TIMES
God’s Challenge:
Obedience To His Word. This Is The Key To Personal Satisfaction,
Excitement And A Tremendous Sense Of Accomplishment
Are we
spiritual addicts? An addiction is demanding and stimulating, while
true joy comes from knowing and obeying God’s will whether we sense
the anointing form His presence or not. We not only need to be
instinctive or intuitive all the time we need to live in reality or
were in trouble. We need to know God’s Word to walk in the Spirit
and maintain our balance to get the job done. We need to surrender
control of our life and rest in God’s care knowing He is guiding our
path. We need to differentiate between necessity and spiritual
addictions.
Life issues are the most
important. Relationships are everything as far as things of the
family, spirit, growth and creativity relate. Things that have to
be right: location, people, concept, and timing. Then whatever we
are called to do is worth doing. The greatest challenge - we need
to know we are in God’s will so we can maintain our personal
relationships, as well as our mental, emotional, physical and
spiritual health. We need to know God’s will according to His Word
by following the leading God places in our heart. Our confidence in
Him comes from knowing He has given us a Spirit of love, power and a
sound mind, which manifests Himself through the gifts and fruit of
the Holy Spirit.
Faith is a certainty
of God’s love as it is revealed to us through His Word and
experienced in our life. Our faith or trust in God is a gift; which
is given to us from the witness of the moral law that is inherent in
us from the time God created us.
Obedience is the
yardstick of approval with God and a barometer of our spiritual
growth. The value we place on obedience to God is the motivating
force behind our decision making. Knowing our values are truly
based on God’s moral law is a liberating force that can transform
all of our relationships.
The rewards are
invaluable for those who are obedient to trusting God’s laws. He is
a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him and are called according
to His purpose. The joy of the Lord is in doing His will. Knowing
Him is the reward for our efforts in being obedient to His calling.
Our beliefs and
values concerning relationships need to be expressed in order for us
to legitimize their influence upon our daily life. The priority we
give to our relationships will help clarify the decisions we make in
order to fulfill our dreams and visions. By placing a value upon
the characteristics of a healthy relationship we will begin to
understand the motivation of our hearts in the light of God’s truth
and this will empower us to change our behavior.
The whole moral law
of God is summed up in two commands; to love God with all our heart,
mind, soul and body, and to love one another as we love ourselves.
Love is the fulfillment of the law in our relationships. When we
identify the attributes of love we see a clearer picture of our
heavenly Father. With a vision of His characteristics in our heart
we can begin to bring about the changes in us which will directly
influence our relationships through the fruit of the Spirit and
denying the corrupt nature
As my faith in God grows
in the light of trials and tribulations I am more likely to persist
(persevere under trial). As I persevere and succeed more often, I
reinforce my belief system, which becomes self-perpetuating.
Obedience brings self-respect and attracts the same appropriate
behavior from others. Understand that we are largely responsible
for our joy and happiness. Happiness comes from living out our
faith as God intended, and doing so passionately. To trust God and
oneself is to know one is worthy of his love, which is the essence
of a healthy faith.
Our appropriate behavior
allows us to feel better and allows us to live better - to respond
to challenges and opportunities more resourcefully and more
appropriately. Our behavior is inspired by the fact that we know,
‘we are accepted by God!’ Our joy comes from knowing God’s love for
us. We make a conscious choice to serve God. The power to live
obediently comes from actually living in obedience. Thinking and
reasoning scripturally reinforces my awareness of God working in my
life. When I behave appropriately and my life works, then I am more
likely to obey God’s moral laws.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD
One who looks intently
at the perfect law... not
having become a
forgetful hearer but an effectual
doer, this man shall be
blessed in what he does
(James 1:25).
While God has
given us an infallible guide to life, His Word, the Truth, He wants
us to follow, for our freedom can be obscured by our bias and
selfish indulgence. In the twentieth-century Western church I see
at least five major hindrances which affect our understanding and
application of the Word of God.
1. There
is a tendency to make doctrine an end in itself. Christian
maturity is not understanding the principles of the Bible; Christian
maturity is character. If what we come to accept as truth doesn’t
affect our love for God and man, something is radically wrong (1
Tim.1:5). “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” (1 Cor.
8:1).
2. We can
learn a lot about God from scripture and not know Him at all.
Before his conversion, Paul knew the law, but he didn’t recognize
God in Christ when he saw Him. We’re not asked to fall in love with
doctrine. We’re asked to fall in love with the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. We
often encourage memorizing scripture instead of thinking
scripturally. Our model should be, “The Word became flesh, and
dwelt among us” (John 1:14). We are to incarnate the Word of God.
We are to have our lives transformed by it, and our minds renewed
by it.
4. We
often hear the Word and then don’t do it. The will of God is
thwarted by educating people beyond their obedience. Jesus taught:
“if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (John
13:17).
5. Like
the Pharisees, we tend to neglect the commandment of God and hold to
the traditions of men (Mark 7:8). I believe this is one of the
most serious problems affecting our churches today. Many seminary
graduates are called as “new wine” (zealous to serve God according
to the truth of His Word) to “old wineskin” churches (rooted in the
traditions of men), and the results are disastrous for both.
---Lord, Renew Me
Today By Your Word. I Want To Grow In My Love For You, Not Just The
Truth About You.
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