Who killed Jesus?

On April 15, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

 

Acts 2: 23         NLV

“With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him.”

It is fascinating how much resentment and anger people carry towards others in this matter, and how much recrimination goes with it. However, the legal maneuvering of Jesus’ trials and conviction is quite interesting to study and there are some interesting things that come from it.

For example, it is interesting to me that it took the ruling authorities of both the Jews and the Romans to crucify Jesus. Here is my take on this, both the Romans and the Jews were complicit in the death of Jesus. This was so neither future generations of Gentiles nor future Jews could feign innocence. The blood that saved was for everyone, but it is also true that everyone is responsible for that precious blood having to be spilled. The uncomfortable truth is that the person responsible for crucifying Jesus is staring back at me in the mirror. This is the truth that breaks our hearts, but it is also the truth which sets us free, because it was for our sins that Jesus determined to go to the cross. He saw the prize and considered it worth the price. Jesus looked into the future and saw you and saw me and then turned his face towards Calvary. That is amazing.  It is beyond words. Thank you, Jesus, and thank you Father. We will never be able to thank them enough.

Let us allow this epiphany to swell and grow because there is another important fact we must acknowledge. The truth is that no one killed Jesus, no one could. Remember that when they went to arrest him that all he did was speak, and they were all knocked off their feet. He had to wait for them to regain their feet and their senses before they could arrest him (see John 18). Also, read in the eighth chapter of John where people picked up stones to stone Jesus, but he disappeared from right in front of them. Most importantly, consider this from Jesus himself, “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again, for this is what my Father has commanded,” (John 10: 18). This is the big truth, the glowing reality.

It was for this season that Jesus came to earth. Without regard to what the Jews did, or what the Romans did, the die was cast as soon as Jesus came to earth. Early in his ministry Jesus, “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead” (Mark 8: 31) and yet they were surprised when the time came for him to go to the cross. They couldn’t hear the truth and sometimes, neither can we. When we read that he had to go to the cross, we still wish it wasn’t so and entertain denial in our own minds even though we know what happened. The truth is sometimes a bitter pill, but ultimately it heals and sets free. And this is that castor oil; if you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have still chosen the cross. You are that important to him. It was his choice to be the perfect sacrifice so that we could spend eternity with him and with our Father and his.

The beauty of Easter is not only that he is alive. That is, obviously, fabulous news. It is life to us. But this Easter, I thank God that he gave His only child and I gratefully worship Jesus for his sacrificial choice. He chose the cross so that I might live. I find that amazing and worth celebrating.

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Deliberate Faith

On April 14, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 8: 46            NLV

But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”

Come on, somebody shout! Man, I don’t know if I can write today’s Word of the Day because I am so excited about this. What is Jesus saying here?

Do you know this story? There was a woman who, for twelve years, suffered with a hemorrhage and none of the physicians were able to help her. However, having heard about Jesus she kept saying to herself, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well,” (Mark 5: 28). So, although there was a large crowd around him, pressing in on every side, this woman determined that she would touch him and she believed that as soon as she touched even the hem of his garment, she would be healed. She, therefore, pressed her way through the crowd and managed to touch the fringe of his garment. As soon as she did, the hemorrhage dried up and she was healed. Jesus said he felt power go out from him and wanted to know who touched him. His disciples scoffed remarking about the crowd that swamped them. No, Jesus told them, this was different, “Someone deliberately touched me.”

So, what was it about this woman that caused her to be healed? The scriptures record Jesus as saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well,” (Luke 8: 48). There is a huge revelation in this story if we can mine it out of here, because if we understand what happened here, we can reproduce the result over and over again for ourselves.

First, we need to understand that Jesus didn’t heal her. Don’t believe me? What did he say? “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” So, it was her faith. Second question, what was her faith in, or perhaps whom? She had heard about Jesus and how he was going about healing people so she, apparently, had faith that there was healing power on him or in him. But look, she didn’t need him to pray for her, lay his hands on her or even be aware of her presence. She had a point of contact built up in her mind. It would have still worked if she said, “If I can get within three feet of him, I will be healed.” It was a point at which her faith was released. Just look at the Roman soldier. Jesus didn’t have to go to his house for the man’s servant to be healed. He just asked that Jesus speak the word. That soldier’s point of faith was in Jesus’ word. Jesus replied to him, “‘Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment,” (Matthew 8: 13).

Alright, think about this. 1 Peter 2: 24 reads, “By His wounds you were healed,” but Jesus had not been wounded and striped yet. Come on, let that preach to you! What is going on here?

Did we not see verse upon verse from the Old Testament about healing? Jesus is the incarnation of the Word and he never deviated from the Father’s intent. Yahweh had healing in His wings thousands of years before Jesus graced the earth. What does that mean to us? What difference does it make?

The point is that God always had healing available to us. Jesus came to earth teaching and demonstrating. He was here to teach us how to walk in the earth, not to make it harder but to make it easier for us to gain everything the Father has for us. I am telling you that this river of blessing and healing is running through you and imprinted on your DNA. The woman in the story had simply made up her mind that she was going to get healed and Katie, bar the door, because she didn’t care who was between her and Jesus. She intended to touch him and be healed. Jesus said someone touched him deliberately. He was being bumped and crowded on every side, but he recognized when determination reached out to him and drew on the healing power of God. He felt it. Glory to God. That woman has the same Father we have. She was less entitled to healing than we are, yet it worked for her. I think we just need to be more stubborn and more determined. I am making up my mind today that I am going to be healed. I am not going to accept brokenness, injury or sickness in this body, which is, after all, the temple of God. How about you?

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The River of God

On April 13, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ezekiel 47: 9             NIV

So where the river flows everything will live.

First, let me say that this little snippet from Ezekiel 47 does the chapter, and you, a disservice. I really do think you will enjoy reading the beginning of the chapter down through at least verse nine. As you read through this story you will discover that the river of God brings health and healing to everything it touches. What an awesome reality!

When I read about water in the Bible, I always relate it right back to the Holy Spirit. In John 7: 38 – 39 Jesus told us that the river of “Living Water” is the Holy Spirit. Further, he taught that river could flow right from within us. It is actually a huge revelation, but one that has gone a bit unnoticed. Let’s be clear, though, if you believe Jesus, believe his words and teachings, then you have this river of living water flowing within you. That river brings healing. When we cooperate with Jesus and the Spirit then we, literally, have living water flowing through our veins and that flow is ministering healing to every cell it touches. Think of that! Does it bring you hope?

Everything Jesus is and has done works together for our good. You believe that, don’t you? I think we all do. How, though, do we get his goodness to work for us? When we look at the world around us, it is hard to believe. When you watch the evening news, it becomes really hard to believe. What we need is more of the “Good News,” that is, more of the Bible. Most of us read and watch more of the world news than the Word news and that is tough on our spirits. It beats us down. The Word builds us up.

If you haven’t done anything with these Bible verses up until now, maybe today offers a fresh opportunity to think about writing them out on your own piece of paper or creating a deck of 3 X 5 cards.

There is a river of life, and it heals and blesses everything it touches. Jump in it. Dangle your feet in the water. Let’s get immersed and in immersion find healing and blessing. Let the river of life, the river of God, flow over you and anoint you with Christ’s goodness. Amen.

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Truth about Words

On April 12, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 16: 24             GW

Pleasant words are like honey from a honeycomb – sweet to the spirit and healthy for the body.

Early in this series we discussed the enormous impact words have on our health. This verse teaches us that there is a direct correlation between pleasant words and healthy bodies. I do not think this truth can be overstated or repeated too often. Today, I present you with proof of the influence words have over us, our bodies and our health.

Masaru Emoto conducted experiments with water and language. He spoke kind words over some water samples and unkind words over others. Then he looked at the ice crystals under a microscope. The results are astounding! Look at the pictures below and the associated word.

I know the captions are a bit difficult to read.  The first one is “Eternal.”  Beside it is “Peace.”  The second row is “Love and Gratitude” and “You disgust me.”

Emoto conducted his experiments with many different words, but the result was uniform. Nice words yielded pretty crystals. Ugly words, well, they produced ugly crystals.  Observe how much the “You disgust Me” crystal looks like sickness.

I think there are at least two implications for us. First, our bodies are composed primarily of water. Therefore, what we say in the presence of our bodies is having a profound impact on the water within us. We are creating our own Eden within, or a cesspool. This is such a substantial truth that  we all need to grasp this with vigor. What are you saying about yourself? Your body hears it AND responds. You may think not, but just look at the pictures again. It really is profound.

Second, are you praying over your food? Are you speaking kindnesses as you partake of your meals? Does your family squabble and fuss at the table? Or, are you going to lunch with someone and complaining about your boss the whole time? Guess who is harmed by those harsh words.

This is the real deal. You can create what you desire. Pray over your food with words of grace and thanksgiving. Speak kindly over the water you drink. Would it hurt to pray over your water? Why shouldn’t we thank God for providing it? And when you talk about your body, speak kindness. Even if all is not working perfectly, the kind words are more likely to breed the result you wish than the negative ones.

One finally thought. We certainly preach to mind what you say because we believe words are power containers and that they matter. Some people think the “word” preachers go too far and that what you say doesn’t have that great an impact. Here is my retort. Your body and the water in your body does not know if you are serious or just using a stupid idiom like, “I was scared to death,” or “I am sick and tired of such and such.” Negative words are negative words. Period. They do you no good and they can cause you great harm. Let’s speak kindly about ourselves, our bodies and others. Okay?

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Were Therefore, Are

On April 11, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Peter 2: 24

For by His wounds you were healed.

Does this sound familiar to you? The great prophet Isaiah foresaw the wounds Jesus would bear on his body that would redeem our every sickness and disease. We looked at Isaiah 53: 4 – 5 on March 2nd. If you would like to review, click here.

It seems obvious that Peter understood the prophecy from Isaiah and just as clear that it was fulfilled in Jesus. Isn’t it interesting that Peter wrote that our wounds were healed? Isaiah, many years before Jesus came to earth, wrote, “we are healed.” So here is an interesting question, do you think Isaiah, relying on the wounds of Jesus, could receive his healing then, hundreds of years before the scourging that paid for our healing? I would love to hear your thoughts.

It’s clear that by the time we get to Peter, we are talking about past events and that we were healed. Neither author wrote that we “will” be healed. Isaiah wrote that we are healed, Peter that we were. There is no bargain in either’s proclamation. Neither one made our healing conditional. If we were to take Peter at his word, it would mean our healing is a done deal. It was a past tense event when he wrote 2000 years ago. It is certainly a past event now. We were healed so we are healed.

“But I have this malady and that disease.” I understand that, but between “You were healed” & “I feel sick” which represents the truth? Are you sick or are you healed? The two statements are contradictory. You cannot be both. So, which is it? Is your experience bigger than your belief? This is not judgmental. It’s about growing into this reality.

We all read these healing verses, agree with them and get excited but then, when faced with a cut, bruise or more serious situation, the healing truth does not spring to our minds. It is a matter of habit, right? You have experience with getting sick, going to the doctor, getting a prescription and then getting better. You likely have less experience with hurting yourself, praying and being healed in that moment; and then, even less experience with getting sick, praying and manifesting healing. So, because we have not been taught, trained and then experienced the healing power of Jesus, it really is not within the realm of our belief system. How do we change that? How does God get His healing to be your reality? We will continue to seek this answer as we begin to wrap up this series.

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Poisoned Stew

On April 8, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Kings 4: 38 – 41         NLV

Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put a large pot on the fire, and make some stew for the rest of the group.” One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!” So they would not eat it. Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.” And then it did not harm them.

How can one not love this story? When I read this story is when I decided to pray over my food. It seems the blessing of God can take poisoned food and turn it into something nutritious and delicious.

How many toxins and poisons are in and on our food these days. Frankly, we have a bigger problem than those guys did because much of our food has been sprayed with poison and we can’t always get it all off simply by washing. So, we sure better be praying over our food.

It would be great if we could all afford to buy everything from the organic food section. It would be even better if all our food just was organic, but we live in an age where that is not always possible. Sometimes there isn’t even an organic option. So, we all do the best we can to get food that is clean and made as God intended it.

One thing that intrigues me about this story is Elisha’s response. He didn’t just pray over the stew which is what I would have expected. Why did he throw flour in the pot? What would you have done? I wouldn’t have thought about adding flour. Do you think, as I do, that Elisha heard from God? Did he inquire of God and flour was the answer God gave him? I think so. It does not seem that Elisha panicked, and he didn’t overreact. I would have turned the pot over and started over, but that’s me thinking in my own wisdom instead of God’s.

Look, there is a lot we don’t know about our food supply these days. We trust our grocery store to sell us good products but guess what. There is a lot they don’t know. It’s best we place our trust in the Lord and follow His advice. Now you might understand why I pray as I grocery shop. It’s a mine field in there.

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Healing Shepherd

On April 7, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This verse may surprise you. Yes, we are still talking about divine health and healing here. Please, go back and read it again. What part of this psalm is not about divine health? This is the perfect picture of God with us. In other words, it is the exact image of Immanuel, Jesus. He is the shepherd. If we follow him, we shall have no want, nor any need. He leads us to the perfect food (pasture) and perfect water. He leads his sheep to the very best so that they may be in perfect health.

He restores our soul which means that he heals our emotions, redeems our thoughts and beliefs and transforms our minds. Is that not absolutely about healing? Of course, it relates to emotional healing but guess what, much of our physical health and well-being is tied to the stress and emotional discomfort in our lives. And, of course, the “paths of righteousness” are as simple as his footprints. In other words, he leads us in “his way” so that we avoid stress, trouble and live in the blessing.

The next stanza talks about walking through the valley of the shadow of death. How is that not about health and healing. We talk through that stinking valley every day. Sometimes it feels like death is trying to get its steely fingers on us. The thing is, though, if we will mind Jesus and listen to his counsel, he will navigate the mine field for us. It really is that simple. I am not suggesting blind courage where we profess our faith and then run through the shadows of death. I am talking about following the shepherd because he knows the way and he will protect us every step of the way. His rod and his staff guide us. My faith is anchored in following him and yours can be too.

He prepares a table for us. Surely by now we understand that an enormous amount of our health is tied to our diet which also includes our drinks. When he prepares my table, he doesn’t put soft drinks on it. That is my doing and even though I enjoy sodas, they do not serve my health. Who is your enemy? That is a pretty simple question, but also think about who his agents are. Who is putting food on your table? Is it the food and drink which will encourage health and healing in your body?

The last stanza, I shall dwell with the Lord all the days of my life and even through eternity. When we dwell with the Lord, when we have that revelation of God with us every moment, then, we constantly are in the path of healing. God with me means He is constantly teaching me, leading me to new technologies, new products and even new ways to think about health and medicine. I think I told you that my good friend has introduced what I call Eden water. It is new to me, but it is helping my health. What if I had not been in the flow of God and had not received His blessing. What if I had not been listening or was closed minded. I would have missed the blessing. I have also been doing physical therapy for my knees. Is this divine healing? Absolutely! My Father provided that for me and, again, it is helping my knees. I want health, so I am inspired to seek the Father and listen to Him. The fact that He lives with me, makes it a bunch easier.

So, there you are. The 23rd psalm. You’ve known it all your life, but did you know it? That dear shepherd is leading you to paths of his own wisdom and knowledge for your health and well-being. I have to think that is some really great news.

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