Dying

I have started Matthew again this week in my personal reading time.  FIGHT Bible study is doing Hebrews.  Both are great books for new readers to pick up and read easily, so maybe choose to start a book tonight in one of those places!  Get reading!

Before I talk about something I read in Matthew last night, I want to encourage you to start dating the books you read.  I know at times, God asks us to read a part of this or that (I have recommended that you date the verses He speaks through before in this blog), but when He has you work through an entire book, I encourage you to start putting the date and year you read it by the title.  This will allow you to see how often you have read a book and over a lifetime it will show you how God’s word is so ALIVE every time you have read it, for the time that you read it.  I just started that recently and I know it will be just as encouraging as dating my verses have been.  Faith. Grows. 

 

Matthew 4:24

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁴ Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

Jesus healed them all. 

I thought to myself, all?  He healed all?  He healed all these physical/mental illnesses that were brought to him?  No matter who they were?  No matter what the deal was or what had happened?  No matter what they did?  He healed these people that had faith if they just got to Jesus, they could be healed?

Yea.  He did.

What was I so shocked about… isn’t that exactly who Jesus is?  He heals us.  Instead, I want to think like a human and say, “whoa, what are their stories?  What were their lives like?  What were they saying about Jesus,” blahhhhh.  That aint Jesus’ way.

He will always Save a person from their sins if they become His follower. And, there is no sin “too big.”  Isn’t it strange that in order to be healed by Christ we must die?  All of those persons had to put themselves aside (die to self control) and realize, “I can’t do it, but this Jesus can.”

Dying to oneself and picking up your cross daily (Matt 10:38, Luke 9:23, Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34), so that you are not the central theme of your life (Salvation, just in case you weren’t sure what Salvation was… it is not a thing you say and go on living any way you want.  You give your life to the leadership of Christ…and you become new 1 Corin 5:17.  It is not something done with your mouth; it is something you do with your heart.  It’s making the choice, in Christ, to turn away from our self-centeredness and self-control to Christ’s direction and control.) 

When you are in Christ, yes, you are healed by being Saved and getting to go to heaven.  But as for this life here, you are healed, as well, to anything that was controlling you before and whatever is about to come your way walking through this life.  God can completely physically heal us of anything, if He chooses. However, maybe you are not physically healed of your disease, but you ARE healed by the freedom you have that it does not control your life anymore.  You have died to its control and are healed of its controlling power of who you are and your emotions. 

The same goes for anything else that controls you.  Outbursts of anger, jealousy, sexual immorality, getting drunk, being selfish, purity, quarreling, division, dissension, envy, etc (Gal 5:19 sins) can all be healed.  ONE IS NO WORSE than the other. 

You are healed.  Faith in Christ is the only power that can do that.  We have the Holy Spirit as Christians, this allows this power to take charge.  Choose today to stop saying that your family yelled, so you are a yeller <---most common one I hear (or change it to whatever you use to condone your behavior)…  that is a lie of the devil that that is who you are.  NOT JUST SINS, but you WHO YOU are changed, too.  You entered a new family when you came to Christ.  You were healed of _____ and you can take ownership if you have Faith in Christ to heal you.

The only thing those people did in Matthew was…believe. 

Action follows belief. 

God's Love

This will be quick, I just want to share something with the world tonight.

I was in the USA this past week because a friend of mine raised some moola with a garage sale and then paid the rest of the flight out of pocket.  That was just the very beginning of many blessings from God.

I had an incredibly blessed week, not a regular people are nice week, but a mind-blowing week of Jesus showing me specifically how He is very involved in my life.  Before I left someone randomly emailed me asking if I needed anything.  Sounds like no big deal but it was huge.  I had been praying for that very thing.  I waited, was obedient, and then my faith sky rocketed when He answered His way. I told her "thanks for being obedient, God kept telling me to wait for the person to contact me and here you are."  Several times, people would repeat something I said to God in prayer.  I prayed for some extra money for shirts and a friend said verbatim "God is telling me to give you this because you want to buy t-shirts or something."  I cried.  My pedicure lady cried. My friend started to cry.  My other friends said "knock it off!"  (I love you girls).  I prayed for money to pay for my extra luggage to go back.  2 separate people slipped me the EXACT amount I needed.  There were also many times on my trip that God said "do not accept this or that," I obeyed making sure to only receive what He wanted me to have.  America is a great place and you can be sucked back into the "I need's" very quickly.

Mid week, He prompted someone to pay for part of my sneakers that I needed.  A friend's sister said, "You are so emotional!" as I cried yet another answered prayer.  I thought, "No, I am not."  BUT I totally am!  How do you not cry when the God of the universe whispers, "this is from Me."  The funny thing is that if you ask my friends what kind of emotional person I am, they would say "very controlled, straight forward, not easily swayed" but the Holy Spirit makes me teary-eyed every single time. I told her, "you did not choose to do that, God prompted you to do that because I prayed to Him for it."  I think we were both just as shocked.

This tops it off.  This morning, I felt God prompt me to give money to 2 great causes.  I was hesitant, just being honest.  God still asks me to give offerings above my tithes to my churches, of course.  I must admit, sometimes, it is hard to part with money when you live off donations.  With hesitation and talking it over with God, I was half obedient.  (I didn't want to write that part because I was embarrassed, but obviously I felt convicted about it, so here you go).  I was thinking maybe I will wait on the other and see if God reallllyyyyy is asking me to do that.  Then, I crawled into bed a few minutes ago and opened an email from my church that shows God replaced the money He asked me to give up (to help someone else)...  Not only that, but MORE than replaced it (with random donors).

It never gets old and it always floors me.  Floors me so much I had to get out of bed and share this with you all and...to make that other donation to the other person.

My heart is so filled with joy.  The kind that I do not understand.  The kind that will often make me smile and only I know why.  Millions of things going around me (some bad and some great) and there is this love that fills me that is ineffable.  Constant calmness and feeling of awesomeness that flows inside. 

I was jogging tonight and praying.  Out of my mouth flowed "God, I LOVE your love."  I laughed afterwards. Sometimes I ramble in prayer and this was one of those moments, but I paused in that feeling.  I do.  I love it.  It is the reason I am obsessive about Jesus.  His love is so consuming;  consumes my body and consumes my mind.

To all of you that take care of me month after month, thank you for being obedient!  Which allows me to be obedient as well.  Heather Linn, thank you so much for taking me in every time I am home and blessing me mucho.  My last day in America was spent with some of my favorite people screaming "Gimme the Beat Boys" as we drove to the airport.  Although I miss them terribly at times, I would give up my very life to follow Christ and be filled with that LOVE.  Doesn't matter where I go in this world, I never go alone anywhere, and there is always joy inside me. :)  I found it.  Have you?

Love from the DR.