2022-06-27
John 10:10 NKJV
Have the experiences you have been through made you a different person from the one God intended you to be? Have the people, pursuits, and pleasures you chose resulted in a feeling of hopelessness about your future? When you lose your sense of worth, it’s hard to believe God could love you – but He does. He knows that hidden inside you is a person who can do great things for Him. That’s why He is stirring your heart and letting you know He is moving in your life. So respond to Him in faith. Dare to believe that He can make you “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).
Shift your confidence from your own weakness to His power. Trust in Him rather than in yourself. Whether your wounds were self-inflicted or caused by others, Jesus will heal you and raise you up again. You say, “But you don’t know the things I have done, and the people I have hurt.” Jesus does. And He wants to straighten out the crooked places in your heart and make you whole. But you must allow Him access to every area of your life. When He comes into your heart, you will never be the same broken person again.
David’s sins became a national scandal. But when God forgave and restored him, he wrote: “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” (Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV). Notice the potential benefits of committing your life to Christ: forgiveness, healing, freedom from destructive habits, mercy, and satisfaction.
Soul food: Hosea 11-14; Matt 21:33-46; Ps 17; Pro 14:13-16
2022-02-26
Jeremiah 31:18 KJV
The Bible tells us: “Isaac’s servants dug…a well…But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So…they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also….And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called it…Rehoboth, because he said, ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land'” (Genesis 26:19-22 NKJV).
What a great example of practicing forgiveness. During a drought, Isaac dug wells and his enemies moved in and claimed them. It wasn’t fair, but instead of retaliating, he moved on and dug new wells – and God blessed him greatly. The truth is this: God will fill the emptiness in your life when you forgive those who have hurt you.
Let’s face it; as long as we share this planet with other imperfect human beings, they will hurt us. There is no way to avoid it. And when the hurt goes deep, it can be hard to forgive. Does that mean you should go around pretending that nothing is wrong, and denying how you feel? No, the first step toward healing is acknowledging your feelings. And Jesus gives us the second step: “Pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28 NIV).
When you do that, something unexpected happens. Your heart softens and you start to see the offender through God’s eyes instead of your own raw emotions. “But I don’t want to forgive them!” you say. Then here is step three. Acknowledge your unwillingness to forgive and ask God to make you willing. Pray, “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.”
Soul food: Exo 4-6; Luke 12:1-12; Ps 58; Pro 6:12-15
2020-10-17
Psalm 126:2 NLT
God created every human emotion you feel. He designed you to cry when you are sad and laugh when you are happy: “For everything there is a season…A time to cry and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NLT). Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11 KJV).
Question: How often do you laugh? Doctors say laughter has incredible healing effects on your body. It also has incredible healing effects on your mind and soul. Stop and think about the days you laughed, even though you really didn’t have anything to laugh about. You were far from God and bound by sinful habits, but He set you free, didn’t He?
In the Old Testament we read: “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter…sang for joy…And the other nations said, ‘What amazing things the Lord has done for them.’ Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” (Psalm 126:1-3 NLT).
If God has set you free, then you truly have something to laugh about. Stop being so “heavy” about everything! Expecting perfection from yourself; your slow growth in God; your deficient prayer life; your failure to memorize more Scripture verses; your fear of sharing your faith with others, etc.
We carry around such heavy burdens. If you’re “laughter impaired” you may have to work at it. It’s easy to find plenty to worry about, but to be happy, you sometimes need to work at it a little. So the word for you today is – laugh more!
Soul food: 2 Sam 14:21-17:13; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
2020-02-02
Exodus 15:26 NIV
Why isn’t every sick person who is prayed over healed? We don’t know, and God doesn’t tell us. We know that doubt and unbelief can hinder His miracle-working power in our lives. When Jesus returned to His hometown to those who knew Him best, we read: “He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:58 NIV). But there are aspects of healing we will never fully understand. Paul writes, “I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20 NIV). Why would Paul, who had raised the dead, leave a friend sick instead of praying and seeing him healed? There are many things about God we don’t know, but here’s one thing we do know: “I am the Lord, who heals you.” And since He said, “I am the Lord, and I do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NLT), and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV), we can go to Him for healing based on His Word. One of the last statements Jesus made before leaving earth was: “These signs will follow those who believe…They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV). Do you believe God still heals people today? If you do, then obey this Scripture: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14-15 NKJV). The word for you today is: Don’t give up – believe God for your healing.
Soul food: Luke 6:27-36; Exo 23:1-9; Rom 12:14-21
Exodus 15:26 NIV
Why isn’t every sick person we pray for healed? We don’t know, and God doesn’t always tell us. Paul writes, ‘I left Trophimus sick in Miletus’ (2 Timothy 4:20 NIV). Why would Paul, who had raised the dead, leave a friend sick instead of praying and seeing him healed? Perhaps he did pray, but God chose not to heal Trophimus, at least at that time. There are aspects of healing we’ll never fully understand, and there are many things about God we don’t know, but here’s one thing we do know about Him: ‘I am the Lord, who heals you.’ And since He said, ‘I am the Lord, and I do not change’ (Malachi 3:6 NLT), and ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrews 13:8 NIV), we can go to Him for healing based on His Word. One of the last statements Jesus made before leaving earth was: ‘These signs will follow those who believe…They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover’ (Mark 16:17-18 NKJV). Do we believe God still heals people today? Or have we become disappointed and disillusioned because we haven’t seen God move in miraculous ways when we’ve prayed? If we’re struggling to believe, we need to ask God to increase our faith and then we need to start praying expectantly again. Let’s obey this verse: ‘Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord’ (James 5:14 NIV). We may be finding it hard to keep praying when we’re not seeing anything happen. We can wonder if God really is as good as He says He is. But let’s not give up. Let’s persistently, expectantly pray for those we know who are ill.
Luke 6:27-36; Exo 23:1-9; Rom 12:14-21
