Healing Is A Process

MARK 16:17-18 NKJ
17 "And these signs will follow those who believe . . .
18 . . . they will lay hands on the sick, and they will
recover."

A major problem has been thinking that all healing must be
instantaneous.

The truth is that healing is a process involving time.
Sometimes it is speeded up, but not usually.

If you have ever cut your finger or skinned your knee, then you
know how healing normally works.

God made the human body to always heal itself. Unless there is
some lack of nutrition or some hindering force, the human body
will always heal. And God's power can always bring healing,
regardless of any lack or hindrance.

JAMES 5:15 NKJ
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord
will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be
forgiven.

James does not say the sick will always be raised up instantly.
Just that they will be raised. "They will recover."

All healing is a process that happens through time as you
continually improve in health. With God, healing can sometimes
be so speeded up that to us it seems almost instant, but this
is not the normal way God's healing works.

Jesus taught us that God's kingdom works like a seed planted in
the ground which grows and produces over time (Matthew 13:31).

The important thing, and what God's Word promises, is the end
result, not how long it takes.

Many people who have not understood that healing from God is a
process involving time, have given up their faith when they did
not have an instant miracle recovery.

Don't let the devil steal from you, through this wrong
thinking, what Jesus paid for you to have!

The Bible tells us that healing is ours, because Jesus paid for
it (1 Peter 2:24). But the Bible never says we will all receive
healing instantly. Sometimes it can be very quick — and we know
it is a miracle. Other times it can take awhile, but no matter
how long it takes, we have the promise of God that healing is
ours, giving us divine assurance that we will be healthy and
whole!

All the healings of Jesus during His ministry on earth were not
instantaneous, either. Mark 8:22-25 is an account of Jesus
ministering to a blind man. After Jesus laid hands on the blind
man he could "see men like trees, walking." In other words, he
could see, but not very well. Only when Jesus laid hands on him
again did his sight become clear. Although a long period of
time was not involved, it does show a healing that was a
process — not instantaneous.

MARK 8:25 NKJ
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look
up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

Luke 17:12-19 tells of ten lepers who were healed "as they
went." Healing was not manifest while they were in Jesus'
presence, but only after they left Him.

LUKE 17:14 NKJ
14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves
to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were
cleansed.

John 9:6-7 tells of another healing involving some time. And
John 4:52 mentions a time "when he began to get better"
indicating a process of recovery.

JOHN 4:52 ESV
52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and
they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left
him."

So never accept that healing is not God's will just because it
does not happen instantaneously.

(For more on healing see www.healing-book.com).

SAY THIS: Healing happens!

Judging

Are Christians supposed to judge one another?

There are verses that seem to point both ways. First, let's
look at some that tell us not to judge.

MATTHEW 7:1 ESV
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.

LUKE 6:37 ESV
37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you
will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

JOHN 5:22 ESV
22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the
Son,

1 CORINTHIANS 4:5 ESV
5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before
the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden
in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then
each one will receive his commendation from God.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:3 ESV
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged
by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge
myself.

Now let's look at some verses that seem to point the other
direction: that we should judge.

JOHN 7:24 ESV
24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

First Corinthians 5:12 to 6:7 talks about how the church should
judge matters pertaining to this life concerning those in the
church.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:12 ESV
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not
those inside the church whom you are to judge?

1 CORINTHIANS 6:3 ESV
3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more,
then, matters pertaining to this life!

So, how do we interpret these Scriptures that seem to give
different messages about whether we should be judging now?

Sometimes the word we have translated as judgment in the New
Testament simply means to make a decision. As human beings we
cannot escape that responsibility. We have to make decisions.

But other times the word means pronouncing judgment and
condemnation on someone. That is a different matter than simply
deciding whether to fellowship or even partner with someone.

We are to make decisions, or judgments, concerning matters
pertaining to this life. But we are not to pronounce judgment
on people concerning the next life.

SAY THIS: My job is not to condemn, so I will make the proper
judgment decisions and leave all others with the Lord.

How To Have A Great Marriage

It's simple -- but you will need God's help to do it.

JOHN 15:12 NIV
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Love as Jesus loved! Be willing to lay down your life to bless
your spouse. Few would ever want to get rid of a spouse who
truly practices this principle.

The ingredients for having a great marriage are the same as
having any great relationship: communication, honesty,
commitment, kindness, and attention.

If your aim is to bless your spouse and make them happy, it is
very likely they will eventually respond by loving you.

If you are the only one in your marriage practicing this, it
can be difficult. But your only other choice is to treat them
badly in return. How can that produce anything good?

You are God's representative. He put you where you are so He
could express His love through you. God loves your spouse --
whether you think they deserve it or not.

The Bible teaches us to put the interests of others first.

ROMANS 12:10 NIV
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one
another above yourselves.

Which is a higher priority for you: your happiness or your
spouse's happiness?

"But," you say, "I've done all that and they are not
reciprocating. They just take advantage of me."

First, without your efforts your marriage could already be dead
and gone. Second, you will be judged only for what you did in
life -- not what your spouse did. Third, God's law of giving
will eventually work: As you continue to give love -- love will
be returned to you.

Commit yourself to the happiness and well-being of your spouse.
Keep acting on God's Word and showing love to them. Put them
before yourself. God will work on your behalf.

SAY THIS: With God's help, I will have a great marriage.

Praise From God

JOHN 12:43 NLT
43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

If we value what people can do more than we value what God can
do, we will be easily tempted to make wrong choices, just as
the Pharisees and rulers of Israel did.

JOHN 12:42-43 GWN
42 Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn't admit
it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of
the synagogue.
43 They were more concerned about what people thought of them
than about what God thought of them.

What motivates you? Put another way: why do you do what you do?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have God
praise you? It's worth thinking about.

(We're talking about rewards, not acceptance with God or
getting into Heaven. We are not saved and put in right standing
with God on the basis of our good works, but solely as a gift
we receive by God's grace. Neither do we "earn" God's love
which is really an expression of His character. However, it is
still possible to be honored by God. Those who have done the
will of God will be rewarded.)

Most people are motivated by what other people think, or what
they think other people might think. In essence, this is the
fear of man, being mostly concerned about what people will
think, or how they will respond.

If you live for human praise you need to understand that even
if you obtain it, it will not last for long.

It is true that getting praise from God is not something that
can be expected quickly. Enjoying God's praise is evidently
something that happens primarily after this life. At least as
far as being praised publicly.

However, I value that quiet, inner assurance I experience when
I do something I know has pleased God. This is also a form of
"praise from God" encouraging us to do His will, even when
there seems to be no immediate outward results.

SAY THIS: God's approval is more important than people's
approval.

Faith Speaks

MATTHEW 17:20 NASB
20 ... if you have faith ... you shall say to this mountain ...

The action of Bible faith is (primarily) speaking (and standing
on your statement of faith). Jesus said if you had faith -- you
would say!

There is no such thing as just silently believing. What you
believe will come out. If you don't have enough confidence to
say it, you don't really believe it.

LUKE 17:6 NASB
6 And the Lord said, "If you had faith ... you would say to
this mulberry tree ...

MATTHEW 21:21 NASB
21 ... if you have faith, and do not doubt ... if you say to
this mountain . . . it shall happen.

For faith to operate, it must be released through spoken words,
according to Jesus.

What you speak is evidence of your faith. Another way of saying
that is: your speech reveals what you believe.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:13 NASB
13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we also believe,
therefore also we speak;

If you believe, you will therefore speak.

LUKE 6:45 NASB
45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings
forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure
brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which
fills his heart.

MATTHEW 12:34 NASB
34 "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is
good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

You speak what you believe in your heart. Not always, for you
can pretend or lie. But when your guard is down and you speak
spontaneously without thinking, you will say what you believe
in your heart.

ROMANS 10:8 NASB
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth
and in your heart" -- that is, the word of faith which we are
preaching,

Where is the word of faith? In the heart and in the mouth. For
faith to work properly, it must be in both places.

ROMANS 10:10 NASB
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

What you believe in your heart must be expressed through your
mouth for it to produce. Salvation means deliverance. So this
is the way Scripture tells us people can be delivered and set
free: believe in their heart, and say it with their mouth.

SAY THIS: I have faith in God, so I will speak up.

What If Things Don't Seem To Be Working?

GALATIANS 6:9 ESV
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we
will reap, if we do not give up.

What should you do when it seems like God has forgotten you and
you are about to perish?

Act on God's Word! Speak to the mountain! Rejoice in the Lord!
Stand in faith! Continue to thank God! Expect God's help! Don't
ever give in or give up!

Realize God is not the problem. God is perfect. He never fails
and never makes a mistake. God is helping you as much as you
are allowing Him.

You probably do need to change some things. After all, none of
us are perfectly mature yet. We are all learning and growing.

But don't make the mistake of putting yourself down and
accepting the devil's idea that you are so hopeless that
nothing can work out for you.

God will gently guide you in making whatever changes you need
to make. God is there to help you, not to condemn you.

If it does not seem like things are working out, then your
faith is being tested. But God is not testing your faith, it is
the devil. The purpose of this testing is to get you to turn
loose of your faith -- to change what you believe.

So just keep on doing what you know is right. Don't change your
beliefs about God. He is still good. Keep trusting Him. Keep
believing that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him -- that it pays to walk with God (Hebrews 11:6).

We should not be surprised at a fiery trial of faith. The Bible
warned us these things would come.

1 PETER 4:12 ESV
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it
comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were
happening to you.

Jesus said there would be tribulation. He told us we would be
persecuted.

We are also warned that we must "hold fast" to our confession.
We must continue to stand in faith, regardless of what hits us.

HEBREWS 4:14 ESV
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast
our confession.

HEBREWS 10:23 ESV
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

If we always perfectly understood everything that was
happening, there would be no temptation to doubt.

We are still growing and learning so we don't yet understand
everything. But just because we don't understand what is
happening is no reason to doubt God, His Word, and His
goodness.

SAY THIS: Even in the dark, I will still trust God, for He is
good and never fails.

Does Love Always Give?

Love gives! Without giving there is no proof of love.

However, love does not always give what is being requested. For
love seeks the best for the other person. If what is being
requested is not the best, then love will not grant that
request.

LUKE 6:30 NASB
30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away
what is yours, do not demand it back.

This verse tells us to give to everyone who asks something of
us, but it does not say that we have to give them exactly what
they request. We are only instructed to give them something.
This is not a cop-out, but a necessary understanding of truth.

Otherwise, our actions could be compelled by the demands of
people instead of being directed by our Lord Jesus. Luke 6:30
shows the attitude we should have, of always being a giver, but
it should not be made into a law that could bind us and open us
up to exploitation by the devil.

ACTS 3:6 NASB
6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I
do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene -- walk!"

Love always gives, but it does not always give what is
requested. Love always gives something.

Love gives of itself. Love may give time, prayer, attention,
forgiveness, or advice.

If a child sitting at a table loaded with nutritious food
refuses to eat what has been prepared, but instead requests
candy to eat, is it truly love to grant the child's request?

On the other hand, a child asking to please pass the vegetables
is a very different kind of request. One to which a loving
parent would always respond.

To spoil a child by letting them have, and do, everything they
think they want is not love, but the opposite of love.

Just because someone asks for something does not mean you must
give it to them. If it is not good for them, it should not be
given to them.

Can it be love to withhold something needed from someone? Yes,
if other ways of getting their attention have failed, and they
are on a course headed for harm.

If withholding a request has the potential of awakening them,
so they can avert and avoid the danger ahead of them, then
withholding can be an act of love.

If the only way love has of getting the attention of someone
going the wrong way is to withhold help that would only send
them further down the wrong road, then love will withhold help
that seems to be needed.

This is not to suggest that we should only give to perfect
people, for there are none. Only that we can always give, but
are not required by Scripture to give everything that anyone
may happen to request of us.

SAY THIS: I am a giver who is directed by God in my giving.

Repent And Believe The Good News

MARK 1:15 NKJ
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

According to Mark's Gospel, these are the first recorded words
of Jesus Christ after beginning His earthly ministry.

It's important to understand that the word translated "Gospel"
means "good news." Many translations render it that way.

Religious thinking has turned this wonderful announcement of
Jesus into a harsh reprimand used to put people down. This
wrong interpretation is something like "you no-good bunch of
dirty rotten sinners, unless you become perfect I will reject
you."

Nothing could be further from the truth. Truth Himself was
standing before the people joyfully sharing good news of God's
love. He offered truth their lives could be built on, so
regardless of life's storms, they could always enjoy victory
and blessing.

Jesus was not saying "repent" as a rebuke, but as an
encouragement. He was not mad or condemning, but full of joy
and bursting with good news to share.

In modern language what Jesus said was, "Change your thinking
and believe the good news!"

He was telling the people: "Your thinking is not correct. It
does not line up with ultimate reality. It does not work to
your advantage. Your way of thinking and your approach to life
is off the mark, but I see reality clearly and I understand how
everything works. So change your thinking to line up with mine,
so you can enjoy life as I meant for you to do."

Jesus, by one English word -- repent -- is saying that your way
does not work, but My way will work to provide you life in all
its fullness, life as God intended. So, believe the good news I
am telling you, and change your thinking so you can enjoy life.

MARK 1:14 NIV
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God.

The good news Jesus was proclaiming could not have been about
His death and resurrection -- which is certainly good news for
us -- for He had not yet died. Good news does not have to be
limited to one thing, or one time.

The good news Jesus was proclaiming was God's kingdom -- the
rule of God. This is good news because satan is a horrible
master, but God is good and kind. So enjoying the rule of God
and living in His kingdom is a wonderful blessing. Jesus came
proclaiming that was now available for all people. It is
available to you simply by receiving Jesus as your Lord.

The main good news Jesus was proclaiming was that God is good!
God is a wonderful, loving Heavenly Father who loves us beyond
our human comprehension, and you can now choose to live under
His beneficent Kingdom.

The message of Jesus was "Change your thinking about God, and
believe the good news I have to share with you from God and
about God."

We must choose to believe the good news Jesus proclaimed before
it will benefit us.

SAY THIS: I believe the Good News about God being good!

Heaven Is Real

2 CORINTHIANS 5:1 NLT
1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken
down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we
will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God
himself and not by human hands.

If we expect the world to ever believe our message of Good
News, we should not live like this life is all there is.

As Christian believers we should live and die like we believe
the Bible, which clearly reveals this life is not the end.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, when we leave this body we
immediately enter into the realm of ultimate reality with the
Lord.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:8 NLT
8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from
these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the
Lord.

The spiritual realm is actually more real than the physical
realm.

If you care to investigate, you will find there are multitudes
of people who have visited Heaven and returned. Often it is
because of a near-death experience.

Unanimously, their report is that Heaven is too wonderful for
words. They try, but have trouble, expressing the glories and
the joys of Heaven. No one, after experiencing Heaven,
expressed a preference to continue living on earth.

1 PETER 1:4 NLT
4 and we have a priceless inheritance -- an inheritance that is
kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of
change and decay.

Heaven is better -- in every way -- than earth. While we should
be faithful to fulfill our job here on earth and live out our
lives doing the will of God, being His representatives, when it
is time to depart we should not act like unbelievers.

As believers in Jesus Christ we have been delivered from the
fear of death. Death has no sting left for us. Death cannot
hurt us. We should not fear death.

SAY THIS: Heaven is real and I look forward to living there.

Faith Never Quits

True faith in God never gives up or quits, for it knows that
God always has the final word.

Faith in God never quits because God never fails. So we don't
have to give up even when circumstances look impossible.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-10 ESV
8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the
affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly
burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.
But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who
raises the dead.
10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will
deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us
again.

He is the God who raises the dead! Even when it looks like all
hope is gone -- God can bring resurrection!

Even when all reason tells us to give up, we can keep on
trusting God and believing He is working to bring about good.
For God always keeps His Word and brings it to fulfillment.

HEBREWS 10:23 KJV
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

God's Word is always the final reality. So we need to keep
speaking in agreement with God's Word for it is ultimate Truth!
Circumstances can change. Doctors can be wrong. Lawyers can
change their mind. But God never changes! If you keep trusting
God He will not let you down.

GALATIANS 6:9 ESV
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we
will reap, if we do not give up.

When you truly believe something belongs to you, you will not
easily give it up! So when you see in the Bible that God has
already given you something, you should put up a never-ending
fight to keep the devil from stealing it from you.

All that steals, kills, and destroys is from our enemy. Acts
10:38 says all those healed by Jesus were oppressed by the
devil.

The Bible instructs us to resist the devil and all his works.
That means we should never give in to him. Never!

EPHESIANS 4:27 KJV
27 Neither give place to the devil.

JAMES 4:7 ESV
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you.

The devil must back off when we resist him!

1 PETER 5:8-9 ESV
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds
of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood
throughout the world.

Notice that the devil has to seek someone to devour. The devil
cannot devour everyone, only those who will not resist him in
faith.

LUKE 10:19 ESV
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall hurt you.

Nothing will hurt you!

What you are going through may be so scary you can hardly
breathe. Stepping on serpents and scorpions would certainly be
scary! But don't give up no matter what seems to be happening!
You have authority in Christ Jesus over all the power of the
enemy. Use it!

Just like the children of Israel who were thrown to the lions
and thrown into the fire, you will not be hurt, if you keep on
believing!

To never give up on your faith even in the face of horrible
circumstances is not easy, to say the least. But it is
possible! God is your Helper! You can overcome and receive the
blessings promised those who overcome.

SAY THIS: God never quits, so I will never quit believing God's
Word.

God's Family Plan

JOSHUA 24:15b NKJ
15 But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

God's plan is a family plan. His will is for you to believe for
the salvation of all your relatives.

JOSHUA 2:13 NKJ
13 "and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters,
and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death."

JOSHUA 6:23,25 NKJ
23 And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out
Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she
had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them
outside the camp of Israel.
25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household,
and all that she had . . . .

Rahab was a harlot who did not even belong to God's people. But
she asked for all her family to be saved, and they were. We
should stand in faith just as Rahab did and ask for the lives
of all our family members.

God allows all people to choose whether to receive Jesus. But
when you pray for and stand in faith for your loved ones, God
will do everything necessary to bring your family members to a
point where it will be easy for them to choose to receive
Jesus.

God is able to make His case and get the job done!

ACTS 16:31 NLT
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be
saved, along with everyone in your household."

1 TIMOTHY 2:3-4 NKJ
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth.

Whoever we pray for, we know it is God's will to save them.

SAY THIS: Thank you Lord for saving all my family!

Hope Until The End

HEBREWS 6:11 NKJ
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence
to the full assurance of hope until the end,

This verse tells us we should never give up hope, which is a
positive expectation.

No matter how many failures you experience, nor how much time
has passed -- don't quit expecting a positive outcome in the
end.

What is the end? It is when you see your desire manifest -- or
when you see what should be your ultimate desire manifest,
being face-to-face with Jesus Christ.

Till then, keep on having an expectation of a positive outcome.

Look at a couple of other translations of Hebrews 6:11-12

HEBREWS 6:11-12 NJB
11 Our desire is that every one of you should go on showing the
same enthusiasm till the ultimate fulfilment of your hope,
12 never growing careless, but taking as your model those who
by their faith and perseverance are heirs of the promises.

HEBREWS 6:11-12 CJB
11 However, we want each one of you to keep showing the same
diligence right up to the end, when your hope will be realized;
12 so that you will not become sluggish, but will be imitators
of those who by their trust and patience are receiving what has
been promised.

Too many people give up and accept defeat too soon. They are
like a sports team that, just because it is not winning after
the first half of the game, decides to go home and not even
play the rest of the game.

It is always too soon to quit when you know you are going the
right direction. How can you know you are going the right
direction? By following the instructions and guidance of God's
Word, the Bible, and being led by His Spirit. When you are
doing God's will, keep on, no matter what.

SAY THIS: I will continue to have a positive expectation
because God is good and He is faithful.

Laugh At Sickness

NEHEMIAH 8:10b NKJ
10 Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Letting joy flow allows spiritual strength to flow in your
life.

Laughing is a way to allow the joy already in your spirit to
flow. (Your spirit is the part of you that is a born again new
creation in union with Christ.)

Medical science has documented the beneficial effects of
laughter on our health. Experts tell us that every time we
laugh our immune system is boosted.

PROVERBS 17:22 NKJ
22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit
dries the bones.

The devil wants you to become discouraged and disheartened, to
feel like a hopeless, helpless victim.

But sickness, at its worst, is only temporary. It will not last
forever. Jesus defeated sickness and redeemed you from it at
the cost of His own precious blood.

REVELATION 21:4 NKJ
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there
shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be
no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

The price for your healing has been paid by the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.

1 PETER 2:24 NKJ
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness -- by
whose stripes you were healed.

Healing belongs to you, but does not come automatically. It
must be possessed. (See www.healing-book.com for more evidence.)

Real joy is not just a feeling but a life force coming from the
Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22). In the midst of trials the joy
of the Lord will protect you from being defeated and destroyed.
It will strengthen you and lift you up above the troubles.

Sickness tries to make you fear and worry. Laughing is a way to
resist that. Joy can be released through laughter.

Laughing is an expression of joy, victory, and contentment.
Laughter is a language of faith. Faith laughs!

SAY THIS: I will laugh at sickness.

You Cannot Serve Two Masters

LUKE 16:13 CJB
13 No servant can be slave to two masters, for he will either
hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be
loyal to the first. You can't be a slave to both God and
money."

This is a simple yet profound, eternal truth -- always true in
every situation. It is impossible to take orders from two
places at the same time, without giving preference to one.

Jesus did not say it was hard. He said it was impossible. True,
sometimes it can seem possible for a while. But invariably the
time comes when the orders from each side are going to
conflict, forcing a decision.

Who am I really serving? What dictates my actions? Who has
final authority? Will I do what gets me the most money? Or will
I do what God says?

From this verse we see that there will be times when God's
direction will not be the most financially rewarding choice.

Yet far too many who call themselves Christians never even
consider choices which would provide them with less money.

Money is supposed to be our servant, not our master. Instead of
money dictating our decisions, we should tell money what to do.
We should use money instead of letting it use us.

Money is just a tool to accomplish things on earth. Money
should never be your master.

But, unlike what many think, Jesus did not say that you cannot
serve God and have money.

None of this proves Christians should be poor, or that God is
against His people having every need met and even being
prosperous.

It simply means what it says. You can only have one Lord. So
you have to make a choice.

If you are making every decision in life based on your
finances, you need to realize you are not serving God, but
serving money.

You can't be a soldier in two armies at the same time. You may
pretend loyalty to more than one army, but you can only truly
be loyal to one at a time.

LUKE 14:33 ESV
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that
he has cannot be my disciple.

A disciple of Jesus must renounce all other gods -- all that
tries to exert control over their life. Jesus must be Lord.

You cannot be a true disciple of Jesus and allow other things
to control you, dictating what you will do.

Many have misunderstood these things and thought Jesus taught
that His true followers have to be poor. But this is not true
at all.

The issue is not what you have, but what controls you -- whose
orders you obey.

There are people who have nothing, yet are controlled by money.
Every decision they make is decided on the basis of how it
affects their finances. There are also people with substantial
wealth who are completely submitted to God. If God told them,
they would give it all away today.

A soldier has to completely subordinate everything he is and
everything he has to serve in the army. So a soldier "gives up"
all he previously had and enjoyed as he enters active duty.
That does not mean the soldier is without a place to live or
food to eat. But his source of supply is not from his own
resources.

A soldier on active duty has renounced control of his life. In
return, he trusts he will be taken care of.

You must understand that you CANNOT be controlled by money and
by God at the same time.

If you do serve money, you will be trusting in money to provide
for you -- which you will surely regret, for money can fail.
But God never fails!

SAY THIS: No person can truly serve two masters.

Do You Love God?

JOHN 21:17a NKJ
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you
love Me?"

Have you ever asked someone if they loved you? Even if you
never asked, no doubt you have wondered.

When most people hear the question, "Do you love God?" they
feel guilty, thinking they need to do more for God. But they
are getting the cart before the horse.

1 JOHN 4:19 NKJ
19 We love Him because He first loved us.

For us to love someone we must first think they are lovable.
This is the main problem: most people do not realize God is
truly lovable. They have a distorted picture of God, thinking
He is a demanding tyrant who doesn't really care about them.

1 JOHN 4:16 NKJ
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God
in him.

When we know and believe the love God has for us, it is natural
for us to respond to His love by loving Him back.

When you truly know what God is like, you WILL love Him.
Because you love Him and trust Him, you will treasure His words
from the Bible and desire to act on His instructions, which
were given for your welfare.

JOHN 14:23 NKJ
23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will
keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to
him and make Our home with him.

Jesus did not say those who love Him will "always perfectly
obey My word," but will "keep My word." Those who love the Lord
may make mistakes and have failures, but they will not throw
away the precious Words of the One they love.

Our obedience to God's word is not the basis for Him loving us
or accepting us. But it is the key to us walking in victory and
blessing instead of failure.

If you do not love God you have been deceived. You have the
wrong picture of God. You have not discovered the real truth
about what He is like and what He has done.

(To know what God is like, look at Jesus of Nazareth by reading
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament.)

SAY THIS: I love You Father God!

Sickness Is Your Enemy

ACTS 10:38 NKJ
38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

According to Acts 10:38, those healed by Jesus were oppressed
by the devil. It has not changed in our day. Sickness is still
oppression by the devil. That means the devil is behind
sickness, supporting it and encouraging it -- not God.

The purpose of sickness is not to benefit you in any way, but
to steal, kill, and destroy.

Sickness is not the will of God. His Word reveals to us that
sickness is an enemy to be resisted.

Just like the children of Israel who had to possess their
promised land, we have enemies who would keep us from enjoying
God's perfect will, unless we fight them. We must resist what
is not from God (Ephesians 4:27, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9).

Look how Jesus treated sickness. He healed all who came to Him.
Jesus was God's will in action. Never once do we read of Jesus
telling anyone to stay sick for any reason.

Sickness is not from God. There is no sickness in Heaven. God
is not using sickness to teach you anything. Nor is He using
sickness to get your attention. To get your attention God
demonstrated His love for you at Calvary. That should be enough
to get your attention.

The devil is a liar (John 8:44) and a deceiver (Revelation
20:10). Think about that.

Deception requires getting people to accept a lie as the truth.
We know the devil is a liar so we don't expect his followers to
speak truth. So the devil can't effectively use a message
spread by devil worshipers to deceive most people.

To effectively deceive Christians (the ones who as members of
the Body of Christ have authority on earth), the devil has to
use people who will be accepted by Christians.

So his ideal messengers of deception would be Christian
preachers saying things about God that are not true.

If the devil could get enough preachers to say false things,
then nearly everyone could be deceived. Don't think this is
impossible or strange. Remember how Peter spoke satan's idea
right after speaking God's revelation (Matthew 16:16,17,23).

Preachers (being human like the rest of us) have told us a lot
of things that are not true -- things the Bible does not teach.
Things like "God sends sickness to teach us something."

Not so! Sickness comes to destroy us, and the devil is behind
it!

No matter what preachers may tell you, the Word of God is what
we must depend on as the truth. If anyone speaks contrary to
the message of the Bible, we should disregard their message, no
matter who they are.

When Job was sick and afflicted, it says that God turned his
captivity (Job 42:10). It was not God who held Job captive. It
was God who set Job free.

Now Jesus has come to set all the captives free!

Most of us know of someone getting sick and then turning to the
Lord. There are many such stories, but we should not credit the
sickness for them finally making the right decision. They could
have turned to the Lord before they got sick. God was not
"sending" or "using" the sickness to save them. The sickness
came to destroy them, but fortunately they were smart enough to
turn to God during their affliction. (Sadly, there are also
those who have turned away from God because of affliction.)

The truth is that all sickness is an enemy. We should do
everything we can to resist it and not allow it in our midst.

For more Scriptures about healing, see www.healing-book.com.

SAY THIS: All sickness is an enemy to be resisted.

Do All Things Work Together For Good?

Many Christians would instantly say "Yes!" And a quick look at
Romans 8:28 in many Bible translations seems to confirm their
answer.

But is that what Romans 8:28 really means?

ROMANS 8:28 NASB
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are called according
to His purpose.

ROMANS 8:28 NIV
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.

While several translations can give us a different view on this
(like both of those above), it is not necessary for us to judge
translations or learn the meaning of Greek words to realize
some basic facts.

First, if everything that happened was good for us, then God
would never tell us to resist or refrain from anything. (And He
does!)

Therefore, everything is not God's will for us. Neither can we
consider everything to be good.

So this verse cannot be saying that everything that happens is
good, or that it will cause good in our life. Instead, as the
translations above reveal, God is working to cause things to
end up good.

Yes, God is able to bring good out of bad situations. But God
should be given the credit, not the bad things.

If you believe God is working everything out for your good, He
will. But that does not mean God planned or desired bad things
to come into your life.

The Bible teaches that some things are bad. Sin is bad.
Sickness is bad. Poverty is bad. Selfishness is bad. Pride is
bad.

Is God able to turn things around and produce good, even after
bad things have happened? Yes!

God is always working to cause good. But that does not mean
everything that happens is good.

I know this verse is a cornerstone of many people's faith. For
some it is really almost all they believe. This has been their
comfort in times of trouble when they did not understand.

But we need to grow in understanding. Just because we required
a pacifier as a baby does not mean we should always use one.

If all things work for our good, then why would God tell us to
resist the devil, or to refrain from certain activities?

God is working all the time to make things turn out good for us
who belong to Him. But that does not mean everything that comes
along is good for us. No! There are things we should refuse.
There are things we should resist.

Everything is not good and we should not accept everything as
being God's will. The Bible instructs us so we can know God's
will and resist all that is not God's will.

Some may think bad things actually cause good, but that is not
true. We all know stories of people who, in the midst of great
trouble, turned to the Lord. Many use such accounts to claim
that everything works out for good. But that requires you to
ignore the greater number of people who turn away from the Lord
because of trouble.

Some have been told that suffering bad things is God's plan for
them so that somehow others may be helped. But the Bible
teaches that Jesus already suffered all that was required for
people to be blessed.

The final end result for a believer who loves God and trusts
Him is that all things will work out for their good. Even the
bad things that come into their life will turn out to be
stepping-stones to a higher level instead of stumbling-blocks.
But it is dependent on that believer keeping their trust in the
Lord, loving Him, and allowing God to work things out. It is
not automatic.

Note that Romans 8:29 (the next verse) is a continuation of the
same thought. What is being said in Romans 8:28 is only part of
the statement. To get the right understanding, you need the
whole thought. Romans 8:29 starts with "For" or "because."

ROMANS 8:29 NET
29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the
firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

The plan of God is that we become like Jesus. Bad things are
happening on earth because mankind allowed the devil and his
ideas a place here. Those bad things give us an opportunity to
overcome, to walk in love, and to grow into more Christ-
likeness. But bad things do not make us more like Christ. It is
only when we turn to the Lord (even in the midst of trouble)
and allow Him to work in us, that we are transformed into being
more like Him.

Multitudes of people experience bad things in life, who instead
of getting better because of them, get bitter and worse.

So do not take this one short phrase "all things work together
for good" out of context. It does not include everyone, only
those who love God, and it is only true in relation to God's
purpose in making us more like Jesus. And that does not happen
because of bad things, but only when we love God and trust Him
even when bad things happen.

SAY THIS: I love God and trust Him. He is always working to
produce good in my life.

Healing Is Part Of The Gospel

ACTS 14:7-10 KJV
7 And there they preached the gospel.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet,
being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and
perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he
leaped and walked.

Whatever message Paul preached at Lystra, it produced enough
faith in a man who was born a cripple, and had never walked his
whole life, to receive instant healing.

Notice that it was the crippled man who Scripture says had
faith to be healed. Surely it was not because he was born with
faith, or else he would have received his healing sooner. No,
faith only came into him when he heard what Paul preached.
Think of that! The Gospel preached by Paul caused this hearer
to believe he could be healed right then, and he was!

Scripture does not say the man was healed because of Paul, or
Paul's faith. It clearly says this crippled man heard what Paul
spoke. After he heard Paul preach the Gospel, not before, he
had faith to be healed, and he was!

It does not say Paul healed the man. Paul did only three
things: he preached the Gospel, perceived the man had faith to
be healed, and then told the man to act on his faith and stand
up.

The Gospel Paul preached in Lystra caused this man who was
crippled since birth to have faith to be healed.

The question we must ask ourselves is if crippled people are
not getting faith to be healed when they hear the "Gospel"
today, why not? Is it because we are not preaching the same
Gospel Paul preached, but only part of it?

Yes!

We have been misled by centuries of unbelief in the church,
resulting in weak translations of the Bible and weak preaching.

For example, when we read Romans 1:16 in our English
translations, we immediately think of forgiveness of sins --
what we consider salvation. But when Paul wrote this in Greek,
the readers understood it meant deliverance and safety from all
harm. So for them it included their entire being, spirit, soul,
and body.

ROMANS 1:16 NKJ
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the
Jew first and also for the Greek.

When Paul wrote to the Romans, he told them that the Gospel is
the power of God to produce deliverance (which is what
salvation means). Paul was saying that the Gospel he preached
was powerful enough to deliver people. If the Gospel you are
preaching is not delivering people from sin, sickness, and
satan, then it is not being proclaimed fully and accurately.

The true Gospel is the dynamic power of God for total
deliverance for everyone who believes. But the Gospel power
only works to bring deliverance for those who believe. Doubters
and skeptics are not included. Therein lies our big problem
today: we have been taught not to believe.

(For more Scriptures on healing, see www.healing-book.com).

SAY THIS: The Good News about Jesus includes healing!

Magnify God

ACTS 10:46a NKJ
46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

PSALM 34:3 NKJ
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name
together.

In the New Testament, the word translated "magnify" is the
Greek word "megaluno." It means to make great or enlarge.

We certainly cannot make God any greater, but we can perceive
Him as greater in our lives. In other words, what we think of
God can be enlarged.

How can we do this?

What you focus your attention on will seem bigger, because you
are choosing to let it occupy your time and thinking.

Very small objects can block very large ones. A small coin in
front of your eye can block the sun from view. Yet the sun is
infinitely larger than the coin. It's the placement in your
life that determines how big things seem to you.

An airplane in the sky can look very small, though in reality
it is huge. That is only because you are far away from it.

When Scripture talks of magnifying God, we assume it meant they
were praising God and talking of His greatness and goodness.

Does God seem big and capable in your thinking? If not, then
magnify Him!

Do the problems you face seem like giants? Then remove your
attention and focus from the problems -- de-magnify them -- and
focus on the Lord. To shrink the problem, magnify the solution.

The more you think about a problem you are facing, the larger
it can seem. The more you think about God, what He has created,
and all He has done, the smaller the problem will look compared
to God.

God IS greater than any problem or any situation you face. You
just need to realize it and quit letting the problem be your
focus.

Praise God and magnify Him!

SAY THIS: I will magnify God in my life.

Hold Fast What Is Good

1 THESSALONIANS 5:21 KJV
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Sometimes things that should be obvious to us are not. Like, if
what you are doing is not working out, it would be wise to
consider a change.

Too many people are not receiving the blessings God's Word
promises, things the Bible says God desires us to have. But
instead of considering changing things in their life, too often
people fall into the temptation of blaming God and thinking He
is holding out on them.

But that is never true! There is never any fault or problem
with God.

PSALM 84:11 KJV
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give
grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly.

If you are acting on the Word and planting good seeds, don't
let the devil discourage you and cause you to give up too soon.
But if the course of your life is going the wrong direction,
and it is not getting better over time, then it would be wise
to consider your ways -- and make changes.

This is not something that should be done too hastily. Often
the only thing we are doing wrong that keeps God's provision
from manifesting in our life is giving up on our faith too
soon.

Jesus told us the kingdom of God works like a seed (Matthew
13:31, Mark 4:26). A seed takes time to grow. Just because
full-grown blessing is not yet evident in your life is no sign
it is not growing.

If you do need to change, what are the changes you will need to
make? Always it will be following the directions God gave us in
His Word.

If you think you are following the directions in God's Word,
and they are not producing freedom, peace, and wholeness in
your life (over time), then it is very possible you are
somewhat inaccurate in your interpretation and understanding of
the Word. Because acting accurately on God's Word will make you
free.

JOHN 8:31-32 NKJ
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you
abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free."

Don't be discouraged or disheartened. Just abide in God's Word
and always look to Him and He will give you wisdom to know what
to do.

SAY THIS: I hold fast to what is good, and God helps me when
corrections are necessary.

Heaven Is A Happy Place

PSALM 16:11 NKJ
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is
fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Heaven is where God is fully manifest and in His presence there
is fullness of joy. That's why Heaven is a happy place!

FULLNESS OF JOY! We have never yet experienced that, but in
Heaven we will.

REVELATION 21:4 NKJ
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there
shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be
no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

In Heaven there will be nothing that will ever cause
unhappiness. Everything will always be perfect.

LUKE 15:10 NKJ
10 "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Angels are smiling, not frowning. God is not mad. No one in
Heaven is having a bad day. No one is struggling.

ROMANS 14:17 NKJ
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Where God rules everything is right and there is peace and joy!
God Himself is the Source of joy and is Himself full of joy.

ZEPHANIAH 3:17 NKJ
17 The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with
His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

God is not worried or afraid. He rejoices in His work, His
creation. He has confidence in His plan and His ability to
carry it out. In His presence is fullness of joy because He is
full of joy and everything He does produces joy.

PSALM 2:4 NKJ
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold
them in derision.

Bad things may be happening here on earth. But it is not
worrying Heaven or causing discouragement there. Because a
glorious future has been determined and nothing will stop God's
plan.

Jesus of Nazareth came from Heaven and perfectly revealed God
to us in human flesh. He was not a somber man everyone was
afraid to be around. No! Jesus attracted people like children
and sinners. He was known as a friend of sinners. Jesus was no
killjoy. As a perfect man with complete faith in God, it is
very likely that Jesus laughed a lot, rejoicing in God and His
creation.

Even though we still face things on earth that are not perfect,
because Heaven is our true home we should be happy, too!

SAY THIS: Heaven, my eternal home, is a happy place!

You Are Writing A Story

2 CORINTHIANS 3:2B NLT
2 Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can
read it and recognize our good work among you.

Every day by your actions you are "writing" your story.

One purpose of life on earth is to give us each an opportunity
to "write" our own story, which we will be able to share and
enjoy throughout eternity. We are here to learn, and what we
experience and learn will be shared with many.

Humans love stories. Facts and figures can sometimes be boring,
but when anyone tells what happened to them, it usually draws
our attention.

Everyone knows and loves the story of David and Goliath.

We all love a good story. But what does every good story
require? It must involve some problem or difficulty that is
ultimately overcome so there is a happy ending. These are the
stories we love to hear.

The good news is that, because of God's love, your story will
at least have a happy ending. But you can make your story more
interesting by the choices you make now.

As you know, there can be many problems and difficulties in a
story. But how the story finishes is what's most important.

You may be facing some terrible circumstances right now. But
your story is not over. The trouble you are facing now is what
will make your story interesting as it is told in the future.
You can overcome! God is there to help you! You can face
difficulties with God's help and overcome (just like David did
with Goliath.)

So don't judge your story too quickly. Life is not over. Your
story is still being written. Some of the best and most
exciting parts are still to come.

It's too soon for a final judgment.

SAY THIS: My story is going to bring God glory with a happy
ending.

Giving Can Be Worship

PHILIPPIANS 4:18 NIV
18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply
supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts
you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable
sacrifice, pleasing to God.

In the New Testament two verses speak of a fragrant offering to
God. The first (Ephesians 5:2) refers to the sacrifice of
Jesus. The second (Philippians 4:18) refers to giving offerings
to Paul while he was in jail. The wording used in these two
verses reminds us of the Old Testament offerings, especially
the burnt offerings.

Obviously, Father God was pleased with Jesus' sacrifice.
Because of the wording used in Philippians 4:18, we should
understand that God is also very pleased with our giving, which
shows our love for Him and the Gospel.

From the Old Testament we see that God was pleased with the
worship He received through burnt offerings. They were called a
"sweet savour" or a "pleasing aroma." But they had no human
purpose or benefit. They were not used to feed people. The
burnt offering was just burned. It was pure worship of God. Can
you imagine taking a perfectly good animal -- which would be
worth over $1,000 USD today -- and just burning it? Yet God
commanded this to be done in Old Testament times, so it is
evident He approved of it then and even seemingly enjoyed it.

When God asked Solomon to make a request of Him, and Solomon
responded by asking for wisdom, it was the same day Solomon had
already offered one thousand burnt offerings to the Lord (1
Kings 3:4-5). The value was over $1 million USD that had no
purpose except to worship God. No one ate the meat. No one got
any benefit out of all this killing and sacrifice except God.

Imagine you were God and were always giving, always blessing,
always doing good for others. Wouldn't it be nice to have
someone demonstrate by their actions how much they valued you?

Matthew 26:7-10 tells of a woman who poured an alabaster box of
expensive perfume on Jesus. The disciples complained that it
should have been sold for much money and given to the poor, but
Jesus commended her for doing good. Then He said what she did
should be told to the whole world (verse 13).

Worship means demonstrating "worth-ship," or showing how much
we value someone.

Our giving to the Lord can be evidence of our love, proof of
our devotion, and a sign of our commitment to the Lord.

So our giving should not always be only because of the needs of
people, but because of our love for God.

SAY THIS: I will worship God with what He has given me.

You Are Beautiful

ECCLESIASTES 3:11a NKJ
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Everyone is beautiful to God. And the world will eventually see
what God sees in people.

God saw you as so valuable that He judged it was worthwhile to
die for you. The death of the Son of God was a huge price to
pay for you. You are valuable!

You may not be what the current world system calls beautiful.
But you are beautiful to God -- the only Judge who really
matters.

God created you, and as it has been said, "God doesn't make
junk."

EPHESIANS 2:10 NLT
10 For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in
Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us
long ago.

God has a wonderful eternal purpose for you, and He has not
made a mistake in your life.

Your body may be presently imperfect -- or even disfigured. But
you must realize that the body you are now living in is not
you. You live in that body just like you live in a house.

The real you -- who is truly valuable and beautiful to God --
is the inner person. That's who you really are.

1 PETER 3:4 NKJ
4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is
very precious in the sight of God.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16 NKJ
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man
is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

How you see yourself is important. It determines how you will
act. Reality is how God sees things.

When you embrace the truth that God truly loves you, and sees
you as valuable enough to die for, then you will see that other
people are also valuable, and should be treated with love and
respect.

You need to wake up to this reality.

How you look and act now is only temporary. You are being
changed to conform to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
You will be like Jesus! What a thought! God sees your
potential, what you will become, not just where you are now.

You need to get God's perspective which will encourage you. You
cannot even imagine what a beautiful, glorious creature you
will be. God sees you with that potential now, and treats you
accordingly.

Everything God made is very beautiful. Anything that distorts
or mars that beauty is because of the curse brought in by the
devil. The Good News is that Jesus has already paid the price
to redeem us from the curse.

So, we are redeemed from everything that is not beauty. We can
say we are redeemed from being ugly -- inside and out. We are
redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus! Jesus paid the
ultimate price to set you free from the curse and all it
brought. That includes everything ugly.

SAY THIS: God made me beautiful. The blood of Jesus set me free
from ugly.

Help Someone Today

PHILIPPIANS 2:4 NKJ
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but
also for the interests of others.

Every person you see today is a person God loves. (Just like
you and me, they probably don't deserve God's love, but He
loves them anyway.) God would appreciate you helping them -- on
His behalf.

Jesus said that His followers would be known by our love. That
has to mean that people will see our love expressed through
giving help to others.

JOHN 13:35 NKJ
35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you
have love for one another."

The Holy Spirit is a Helper. When we allow Him to indwell us,
we will also become helpers.

JOHN 15:26 NKJ
26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify of Me.

None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help the one in
front of us. Even if it is just giving a smile, a word of
encouragement, or a helping hand.

Here is an amazing fact: Whatever we do give in helping people,
Jesus takes it personally.

MATTHEW 25:40 NKJ
40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say
to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.'

The essence of God's kingdom is unselfish love. Jesus
demonstrated this for us perfectly. Acts 10:38 summarizes His
life by saying He went about doing good.

When God's love in our hearts is released it will result in us
helping someone. That is what the love of God produces.

There is a certain satisfaction in worldly accomplishment. But
it never brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. So many try
(in vain) to achieve more and more success and fame and gather
more and more material things. But that never brings them what
they inwardly crave.

You were created in the image of God, who is love. And until
you become more of a giver instead of a taker, you will not be
happy.

Selfish accomplishment will never give you the inner joy and
fulfillment that you will find in helping others.

You were created in God's image -- to be a blessing -- to be a
helper.

If you want to start feeling better, help others. Unselfishly
helping those in need will bring you joy.

SAY THIS: My purpose is to help people for God.

Healing Belongs To You

ISAIAH 53:4-5 NKJ
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet
we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

This passage in Isaiah foretells the great substitutionary
sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, paying the price to
redeem all mankind from the curse resulting from Adam's
rebellion. As you can clearly see, it includes healing along
with payment for our sins.

In Matthew 8 we have the inspired commentary of the Holy Spirit
Himself, affirming that the passage in Isaiah 53:4-5 includes
physical healing.

MATTHEW 8:16-17 NKJ
16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were
demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and
healed all who were sick,
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the
prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our
sicknesses."

Then Peter, writing to believers in New Covenant times, says we
were (already) healed. That does not mean we are necessarily
possessing healing, but that healing belongs to us.

1 PETER 2:24 NKJ
24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness -- by
whose stripes you were healed.

Just as much as your hands or your feet belong to you, healing
belongs to you. You need not ask permission from God to use
your hands or feet. They belong to you. They were given to you
as a gift. You did not earn them in any way.

It is the same with healing. You could not earn it. It was a
gift from God. Jesus paid for it with His own suffering. By the
wounds He suffered, healing was provided for you.

The normal human response to this great news is usually
something like "If healing belongs to me, then why am I sick?"

Ownership and possession are not the same thing. You can own
something you don't possess.

I am not saying you possess healing, but that it belongs to you
because Jesus paid for it and gave it to you.

So the main reason you may not have received healing is simply
because you did not know it belongs to you.

If you had money in a bank account in your name, but did not
know about it, it would do you no good.

If someone bought a house for you and gave you the legal
ownership papers, it would belong to you. Even if you had never
seen the house and were living in another state, it would still
be yours. Even if someone else was living in the house, it
would still be yours.

But if you wanted to possess that house and enjoy living in it,
you would have to decide to move there. If others occupied it
when you arrived, you would have to evict them. As the owner
the law is on your side, but you have to enforce the law.

Jesus purchased for you the house called "Healing & Health" and
the written Word of God is the legal notice of your ownership.
Where you choose to live now is up to you. Just because this
belongs to you does not mean the Lord will force you to live in
it.

Healing is not a promise in the New Covenant. A promise is
something that has not yet been done. A promise has to do with
the future. But healing is something that has already been
bought and paid for and is now yours through the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.

So we should not approach healing in a passive manner, waiting
on God to do something. What we must realize is that God has
already done something about sickness and disease. Now we are
supposed to do something. We are to resist sickness and
actively receive and possess by faith the healing God has
already given us in Christ.

Provision has been made by God. Now it is our responsibility to
possess it.

Don't think this is strange. This is exactly the way God worked
with the children of Israel in the Old Testament. He told them
that the promised land belonged to them, but it was still
occupied by giants and they had to fight to possess the land.

It will be no different with you. For you to possess all that
God says is yours will require you to fight (1 Timothy 6:12).
But your fight will not be with other people, but with your own
feelings and reasonings.

Just as you accept the Bible as sufficient evidence to believe
that your sins are forgiven and you have a home in Heaven,
regardless of how you may feel, you should do the same with
what the Bible says about healing.

This message is not condemning anyone. We have simply been
ignorant of the truth. We have been destroyed for lack of
knowledge (Hosea 4:6). This is written to help spread the truth
so the Body of Christ can start rising up to possess all that
belongs to us.

It's time we quit approaching healing as beggars asking God to
heal us, and accept that the Bible says God has already given
us healing.

Then we can focus on how to possess what already belongs to us,
instead of begging God to give us something He has already
given to us.

What evidence should we demand of God before we will believe
that Jesus purchased our healing and it now belongs to us?
Should we demand that our bodies exhibit no symptoms of
sickness? Should we demand a signed note from our medical
doctor? Should we demand that God appear to us and tell us that
His written Word is actually true?

Are we unwilling to accept the evidence of God's Word, but
willing to always believe what the symptoms in our bodies tell
us? Are the symptoms in our bodies more reliable than God?

Should we ignore what God has said and trust completely in our
physical senses, and medical doctors, as our supreme authority?

It may be true that sickness is in your physical body, but that
is no proof it has a right to stay there.

We can beg God to heal us, and believe He has when we feel no
more symptoms of sickness in our body. Or, we can believe what
God says in the Bible that healing was obtained for us through
the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and therefore we should resist
the sickness and by faith possess the healing that already
belongs to us.

God's Word has told us what belongs to us. Now we must act on
what we have been told, and resist everything Jesus redeemed us
from.

Can we expect that all Christians will perfectly resist
sickness? Not any more than we can expect them to always resist
sin. But just because we fail to walk in complete victory is no
proof that it is not God's will and available to us.

Scripture uses the same words to tell us Jesus bore our
sicknesses as it does to tell us Jesus bore our sins. We know
we can still sin, but understand that Jesus has set us free
from sin's power so we don't have to sin. We must learn to see
sickness the same way and resist it as we would resist sin.

This article may leave questions in your mind. One article
cannot explain everything. But healing does belong to you. So
decide to quit letting the devil steal health from you and your
loved ones.

For more Scriptures about healing, see www.healing-book.com.

SAY THIS: Healing belongs to me because Jesus paid for it.

Sleep Is A Gift From God

PSALM 127:2 NKJ
2 . . . He gives His beloved sleep.

PROVERBS 3:24 NKJ
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie
down and your sleep will be sweet.

PSALM 3:5 NKJ
5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.

PSALM 4:8 NKJ
8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O
Lord, make me dwell in safety.

We can trust in God and sleep even when we face the storms of
life, just as Jesus and Peter did in the following verses.

MARK 4:38 NKJ
38 But He was . . . asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and
said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

ACTS 12:6 NKJ
6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter
was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers . . .

Jesus Approves Rest

MARK 6:31 NKJ
31 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted
place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going,
and they did not even have time to eat.

MATTHEW 11:28-29 NKJ
28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

While rest is clearly part of God's will for us, we are also
cautioned in Proverbs against sleeping too much. Balance is
important. Different people may require different amounts of
sleep to function at their best. You should seek God for wisdom
in this area.

SAY THIS: God gives me sweet, sound sleep.

Faith Is What You Believe

Nothing more, nothing less.

A common mistake is thinking Hebrews 11:1 is a definition of
faith. It sounds like a definition, but it is not.

HEBREWS 11:1 KJV
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.

This does not define faith but tells us something that faith in
God's Word does. Faith gives substance to our hopes. Faith
provides evidence of things we can't perceive with our physical
senses.

To help understand this, think of someone who has never seen a
dog and has no idea what a dog is. You can tell them, "A dog is
man's best friend." "A dog is a wonderful companion." "A dog
can help protect your property."

These all may be true statements, but they really don't define
a dog. Nor would they enable that person to identify a dog when
they first saw one. Those statements are more like descriptions
of functions that dogs provide.

It is the same with Hebrews 11:1, which does not give us a
definition so we can identify faith, but tells us something
about faith and what it does.

God did not put a definition of faith in the Bible any more
than He put a definition of a dog in the Bible. I suppose He
thought we should know what they both were.

Some preachers complicate it. But the New Testament words for
faith and believe are the same, one is the noun and one is the
verb form of the same word.

Faith is what you believe. It is not something beyond human
knowledge that is difficult to understand. It is super simple.
If you believe something, that is your faith. Faith and belief
are synonymous.

Faith in God and His Word operates on the same principles as
faith in anything else. There are no special rules. It is all a
matter of what you believe.

And where did you get your beliefs? You were not born with
them. Every belief you now have was acquired as a decision you
made at some point in your life. You decided to believe what
you now believe.

Since every belief you have came as a result of a decision you
made, every belief can also be changed by another decision. But
to make such a new decision you need evidence. You cannot just
choose to believe something without any evidence that it is
true.

Concerning faith in God, the only evidence we should need is
His written Word, for God cannot lie.

When you have evidence that a previous belief was wrong, you
can choose to accept that evidence as sufficient to believe.
This is how faith works --in every area of life.

What you believe is a decision you make. No one else can make
it for you.

Faith is very simple. Faith is what you believe. And what you
believe can be changed by a decision you make to accept the
evidence available to you.

So you can go to the Bible and decide to believe it. Then you
will have faith in God, for the Bible is God's written Word.
It's that simple.

You never have to wonder whether you have faith. You know what
you believe.

SAY THIS: Faith is simply what I believe.

God Gave Us Dominion

GENESIS 1:26,28 NKJ
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to
Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the
earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful
and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth."

God made a decision when He created human beings. He chose to
give us dominion on earth.

God had dominion, and He chose to give it to mankind. Notice
that God did not say, "Let him (Adam) have dominion." God said,
"Let them (both Adam and Eve -- and their descendants) have
dominion."

This is something important for us to understand.

PSALM 115:16 NKJ
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; But the earth
He has given to the children of men.

Dominion is the right to make decisions and to rule. Dominion
does not necessarily mean ownership but rulership.

That means what happens on earth is determined by mankind, not
by God. Otherwise, God lied in saying that man has dominion.

God honors the choices made by people. By that I mean He allows
us to have a free will and to make choices. We are not puppets
or robots. Each one of us makes choices and then we must live
with the result of our choices.

A question often asked by many is "Why does God allow bad
things to happen on earth?" What they need to realize is that
humanity allows it. God gave us dominion and with that came
responsibility.

God does not change His mind.

ROMANS 11:29 GWN
29 God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he
calls someone.

PSALM 8:4-6 NKJ
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man
that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You
have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your
hands; You have put all things under his feet,

Some teach that God makes all the decisions concerning life and
death for humans, but God clearly says we are the ones who must
make the choices.

DEUTERONOMY 30:19 NKJ
19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your
descendants may live;

If you don't understand what Adam and Eve had, then you cannot
clearly understand what you have. God never goes back on His
Word. We still have the dominion God gave them because we are
their descendants.

SAY THIS: God gave me dominion that I am responsible to
exercise on earth.

Train Your Children

PROVERBS 22:6 ESV
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old
he will not depart from it.

God's plan is that children be a great blessing in a family.
Sadly, in many homes, the children are holy terrors,
exasperating and exhausting their parents. In every case, it is
the fault of the parent(s).

All young children act exactly as they have been trained by
their parents (or other care givers). As they get older
children have additional influences that may affect their
behavior, such as peers, television, teachers, etc.

Children are smart and train easily. They are much smarter than
a cow or a horse or a dog, who all can be successfully trained
to behave.

Every parent, without exception, trains their children. A few
train them properly -- in the way they should go. But all
parents train.

If you have young children now in your home, they are acting
exactly as you have trained them to act by your past actions.

If you allow your children to disrespect or disobey you, that
is your choice. Don't blame your children. They are just doing
what they have been trained to do.

Most parents tell their children to do right, but few seem to
consistently train their children to actually do right.
Training is much more than teaching, for it requires that the
desired action be done over and over, until acting right
becomes a habit.

Don't be deceived into thinking that letting children have
their own way will promote peace -- yours or theirs. No peace
will be found in a home where the instruction of the Lord is
not followed.

ISAIAH 54:13 NLT
13 I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great
peace.

Children do not know what is best for them. That is why God
gave them parents who are responsible for training them
correctly.

But if you did not achieve perfection in this area, God will
still help you and your children. This is not meant to condemn,
but to encourage. If your children are grown, just keep on
loving them and praying for them.

SAY THIS: God will help me and I will train my children in the
way they should go.