Sonshine

Malachi 4: 2        NLT

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

Are you enjoying this healing series? Are you getting something out of it? I certainly pray so. I would love to hear from you. Reply and let me know what God is saying to you.

What a happy picture this is. If you are from the country, you probably can see the calves running and jumping in your mind’s eye. They are so fun to watch. Imagine being so carefree that you just romp around in the pasture. Imagine your knees and hips and back feeling so good that you can jump like calves. I wish we could all get such a big revelation of God’s will inside us that healing would spring up from within.

I always think this verse should read, the SON of Righteousness. Jesus is righteousness and he certainly has healing in his wings. Whatsmore, he lives inside us! That is the revelation of revelations. If we ever really get a hold of that truth, we will be unstoppable. We will do all things in his name, and nothing will be impossible to us. However, let’s talk about healing today because everyone of us has something in our bodies that needs addressing.

Are you agreed with me that it is God’s desire and Jesus’ intention that you should be made perfectly whole? Do you think they want you healed, because if you can answer that affirmatively your spirit will be juiced with the power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Look, the Trinity is just waiting on us to get into agreement with them. Then, this force which is resident within us can go into motion healing our bodies right from the cells themselves. Our bodies are comprised mostly of water. Our cells are predominantly water. The Bible often refers to the Holy Spirit as water. In fact, I believe the Holy Spirit is the river of life from Revelation 22: 1, “The angel showed me a river filled with the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb.” My point is that God’s Spirit is the substance of our cells. That holy water transports nutrients into our cells and flushes waste out. It nourishes and hydrates our bodies and carries the very essence of God into every atom of our being. Does that not blow your mind a bit? But see, that is what it means that Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit are living in us. They do not live in the empty places of our body. They are completely intermeshed, intertwined, if you will, with the very fiber of our bodies. That is where healing can take place. God in you. The power that raised Jesus from the dead living in your cells just waiting to go off. The healing force which called Lazarus from the grave is inside each and every one of us. The more we accept this and let our hearts embrace it, the more freedom we give that energy to move within us. We can actively cooperate with what God wants to do in our bodies.

Jesus has healing in his wings, and he wants to share all of his healing ability with each one of us. Bit by bit we are growing and believing. We are stronger and have more belief than when we began this series. Healing is here.

Please email me and tell me your healing story. I know God is healing people who are reading this series because I have already heard some testimonies. Send me more. Your testimony helps other people believe and thus receive their healing. In his name.

Kayaking with God

Revelation 22: 1

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

I was corresponding with a friend of mine last week when this image of the river took on new meaning. Many of you know that I love to kayak; rivers, lakes, the ocean, it doesn’t matter. I like it all. I will say, though, that it makes a great day to paddle down a deep water river. The very thought of it is making me yearn for my boat and a day off.

Last week I wrote in an email, “We need to be in that river just floating along. Dad has taken away our paddles so that we must trust Him for the thrust and steering.” That really spoke to me as I wrote it. I couldn’t get it through my fingertips fast enough. I could see me going down the river without my paddle. It gives a whole new meaning to “up the river without a paddle.” But even as I wrote it I had such a calm and reassured feeling. I mean, I like the effort and motion of paddling but I probably could enjoy riding along with Dad doing all the work too. The feeling that washed over me was very pleasant. There was not even a moment’s hesitation like things are going to go bad for me if I don’t have my paddle.

So obviously this is a metaphor for life. The Holy Spirit is the river and we are supposed to allow him to direct our path which is analogous to steering with the paddle. What if we just floated along going wherever he takes us? Most of us are challenged in this area. Sometimes we paddle so hard that we can’t even perceive the nudging in another direction. The other problem that I have is that God gives me a direction and a paddle and I start paddling really hard trying to accomplish everything in my strength. That is why He doesn’t tell me too much at a time. I think I am serving Him with my effort but that is not what He is asking us for. He wants everything we do to be a partnership endeavor. He isn’t intending to give you tasks which you are to complete in your own strength. You are in the same boat together and He just tells you where you are going. You don’t have to panic when you come to a fork in the river. Just take your paddle out of the water and He will steer the right course.

We work too hard. I believe in hard work and our father most certainly does not applaud laziness. The problem is that we work hard but without Him and His grace. He wants us to get down the river but not by injuring ourselves. That is what the old me always did. He wants us to let the flow of the river, which is the Holy Spirit, propel us. He has not set us a course upstream so when we feel like we are paddling against the current it would serve us to stop and ask Dad if we are even headed on the right course. It is probably that we are working ourselves to death going wrong way. Neither do we have to paddle our boats faster than the Holy Spirit is leading. Even if you get to the right destination if you get there before the Holy Spirit it will do you no good.

Learn to work with the Spirit of God. The Father sent him to us to lead us and help us. We are not meant to accomplish anything in our own strength. Nor are we meant to plot our course on our own. Our Father knows the bends of the river and the best way to go. Let your effort be combined with His grace and direction and you will find that you arrive where you were meant to be and you will get there sooner and without being exhausted. 

Take a five minute mini-vacation right now. Close your eyes. Picture yourself and God together in a canoe or two person kayak going down a beautiful river. Imagine perfect weather with just the slightest breeze blowing across your face. Listen to the sounds of birds and frogs. Let your Father sit in the back and steer and enjoy the river of life.