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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Lord, You KNOW

"O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me"
(Psalm 139:1)

I love this scripture! I love that my God has searched my heart and that he KNOWS everything that there is to KNOW about me. Because that means that He knows the struggles I have. He knows the heartaches that reside deep down in my soul. He knows when I am weak and He knows when I am faltering in my steps.

The word 'know' in that passage is from the Hebrew word "YADA". It means 'to be known', 'to understand', 'to discern'. It tells me that my LORD knows me to the very depths of my being. And I love that.

God is Omniscient. He knows everything. And because of that knowledge He has of us, He is able to deliver us from ourselves! He can deliver us from our enemies. From our troubles. From our own failings and misery.

My God encircles me and places a hedge about me. He is ever-present in my life. The quietest whisper of help that I can utter will always reach His Holy ears. He hears and He responds. And that is the most beautiful thing to a needy soul.

We serve a God of compassion and a God of love. The height and depth of the knowledge alone overwhelms me. If not for the love of my God, I don't know how I would make it through every day. He has carried me and He has loved me and He has been my everything. 

I pray that He will examine my heart daily and reveal to me any ungodly, unholy thing that I need to confess, repent of and get rid of. My desire is to be like Him, and to love Him, and to serve Him all the days of my life. 

"Those who live in the shelter of the MOST HIGH, 
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty"
(Psalm 91:1)




Sunday, January 5, 2014

..and He healed them

"And the whole multitude sought to touch Him,
for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all."
(Luke 6:19)

As I look at this scripture and the verses proceeding it, I am drawn by several different aspects of it. Jesus had just called his 12 apostles and was about to preach a great sermon that we know as 'The Sermon on the Mount'. But before He did this, He took the time to heal many people in need. Jesus always cared about the well being of people. He was compassionate. Perhaps He was also showing His new apostles the importance of ministering and sharing His love and His power with those around Him.

As I focus on the people that He bestowed healing upon in this passage, the Lord showed me a few important things to ponder on.

1. The people sought Jesus. They were all seekers. They had heard about Him and they were all desperate for a touch. They didn't just stay in their houses and hope that He happened to come by. They were purposed in their hearts about what they needed and desired and they sought Jesus out. 

2. They came to be healed. They came for Jesus to reach out and touch them and make them whole again. They wanted to be cleansed and restored. They desired to be rid of their diseases and evil spirits. They came with a purpose and they came with a plan. And they were determined.

3. Jesus healed all that came to Him for healing! Do you know why I think that He healed them all? Because they believed! They didn't just believe He could, they made an effort to be where He was! They were seeking the one person that they knew could help them and because of their faith in Him, they were rewarded with healing of all their infirmities.

I truly believe that if we were to have that kind of faith in what Jesus could do, we would be healed every time! Oh, we know He can, we just don't believe it for ourselves. We focus too many times on our unworthiness of healing and forget that it has nothing to do with us at all. It is all about His power and His ability. It is about Jesus being able to do all things. Nothing is too hard for Him. 

* A miracle declares "God is Sovereign"

* A miracle denotes God's rule over all creation.

*Miracles are always about God's timing. God's power. And God's purpose.

*Miracles are always streaked and stained with God's touch!

* Miracles are not always explained, but are always embraced.

~~~
When we pray for healing, we do so because we have hope and we believe that it can happen. We don't doubt His ability and power to heal, but we do doubt our ability to be recipients of that healing. We have got to get our mind set in the spiritual realm so we can begin to truly believe that what we are praying for can  happen in our lives! God wants to heal us of our diseases! If He didn't, He wouldn't have given His Son the power to do so! Our worthiness is not in the equation of healing at all. We aren't worthy of anything that Christ does for us.  But He is worthy and He made us worthy through the shedding of His precious blood on the Cross. The Cross that gives us hope. The Cross where His brokenness made us whole. The Cross where His death brought us Life.

I think the true purpose of a miracle is to point to the powerful and mighty work of God and to encourage others to put their trust in Him. 

I am a recipient of the miracle of healing. I have seen my daughters healed. I have seen several grandchildren healed. I have seen my husband healed. And I am in the process of seeing my precious sister healed. 

God is in the miracle business my friends. We just have to seek Him with all of our hearts and eagerly expect a miraculous touch from Him. We have to believe He can. We have to make an effort to be where He is and fall at His feet. And He will reward our faith.

"...and He laid His hands on every one
of them, and healed them"
(Luke 4:40)


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

the One who binds up

Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the One who binds up broken hearts. And shattered spirits. Nothing can soothe a wounded soul like the sweet Hand of Christ. He holds healing in the palm of His Hand and gently bestows it upon the needy of body and spirit.

He dispenses grace so generously to the soul in deep need of restoration. He is ever mindful of our infirmities and graciously and lovingly cares for them. And covers them. 

He understands.

He KNOWS.

We can rest in the knowledge that our LORD knows and that He cares.

He takes our burdens from us and places them upon Himself, freeing us to walk with Him without the heavy load we tend to cling to.

He carries it.

He carries us.

In His compassionate love, He empowers us to release that which binds us, to Him. His mighty hands are so gentle and yet so powerful.

He truly is our refuge. Our strength. Our shelter in life's storms.

Let us strive to make Him our priority this next year. Let's allow Him to bind up and heal those broken parts of our life. And then, let's allow Him to use us mightily for His Kingdom and for His Glory. Forever.