April 2012
Welcome. It is such a privilege to encourage you, whether to be saved, or to grow as a believer in God's love.
We're all growing...
None of us have arrived at complete spiritual maturity. I find that many come to Christ, but have no idea how to grow due to lack of discipleship. The Apostle Peter writes:
"Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual
milk so that you will grow into a full experience of
salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you
have had a taste of the Lord's kindness."1
We can live a Godly life because we have tasted of God's kindness. We have hurts, frustrations, and insecuritites that we can only overcome by growing in our experience of God's love.
Love Is All You Need...
Several years ago, I wrote an article titled "Love Is All You Need," sparked by the name of a song written in the 60's by The Beatles. They may have been singing of brotherly love or erotic love, but it is God's love that fulfills our every need. The Apostle John states:
"This is real love -- not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son as
a sacrifice to take away our sins."2
The Apostle Paul expands on this:
"Since He [God] did not spare even His
own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't
He also give us everything else?"3
Paul is asking, since God sent Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin; won't He give us "everything else" that goes along with it? Wasn't "everything else" included in the salvation package?
Salvation includes mental, emotional, and physical healing. As newborn babes in Christ, we continue to grow into a full experience of salvation through believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths.
"For it is by believing in your heart that you
are made right with God, and it is by confessing
with your mouth that you are saved."4
Experiencing Full Salvation
You may be satisfied by the fact that Jesus rescued you from the everlasting punisment for sin, but I'm not. I have experienced mental, emotional, and physical healing, and so can you. Like the Psalmist David, we must believe in the full experience of salvation by confessing it, even singing of it like him, saying:
"Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me,
Bless His holy name!"
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And forget not all His benefits:Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness
and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like
the eagles's."5
Through all the struggles of life, the Psalmist had learned to praise God for not only forgiveness, but for mental, emotional, and physical healing. As a result, he experienced all the benefits and his youth was renewed like the eagle's.
Believing and Confessing
Faith is acting on what you believe. What you believe comes out of your mouth. If you are walking by faith, not by sight,6 you will be talking about your salvation and healing, instead of your hurt, frustration, insecurity, and sickness. For instance, say:
"Jesus took my infirmitites and bore my sickness."7
The Apostle Peter wrote:
"Jesus took my sins in His own body
on the cross, that I...might live for
righteousness--by whose stripes
I am healed."8
In this verse (1 Peter 2:24), Peter is quoting from Isaiah 53:5, which ends by saying "and by His stripes we were healed." I must note that the word "striptes" in the Hebrew of Isaiah 53:5 is singular not plural. Also, in this verse (1 Peter 2:24), the Greek word translated into English as "stripes" is singular. We need to understand that our salvation and the benefits associated with it, including our healing do not come from Jesus' sufferings, but from one ultimate wound -- inflicted by God, the Father (Isaiah 53:10) -- resulting in His death. This is love -- that God the Father sacrificed His Son for us -- for our benefit.
The blood of Christ is always associated with His death. It is therefore extremely important that you meditate upon Scriptures concerning the blood of Jesus, and the Names of God so that you can believe and confess them over your life. These can be found in the study charts on this website.
As Priests, we overcome all the negative voices of this world by the blood of the Lamb [Jesus], and by the word of our testimony about the blood.9 Because of Christ's redeeming blood, we have eight (8) redemptive names of God in Christ. He is our Shepherd, Provider, Peace, Healer, Righteousness, Present, Victor, and Sanctifier, plus so much more.
A Prayer for you...
Heavenly Father, give me spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might grow in the knowledge of You. I pray for the full experience of salvation; that I will understand the incredible greatness of Your power for us who believe You. In Jesus Name, I proclaim healing -- spirit, soul, and body. Amen.10
Scripture References:
1) 1 Pet. 2:12
2) 1 John 4:10
3) Rom. 8:32
4) Rom. 10:10
5) Psa. 103:1-5 NKJV
6) 2 Cor. 5:7
7) Matt. 8:17
8) 1 Pet. 2:24
9) Rev. 1:5, 6; Rev. 12:11
10) 1 Thess. 5:23
Acknowledgement: A special thanks to Sherry for transcribing this months view!