This Christmas is one of reflection for me. Is my life perfect? Is my life at 32 like I thought it would be? The answer is no. Do I think that God loves me any less because I've not met my own expectations of what I should be? To be honest, sometimes I think that He should be. You know what I hear Him say when I think these things... He says "What about My expectations for you? What about I want Karen to be for me?" Then I am pushed into a deeper analysis of my life. The "things" that I want for my life may not be what God is looking for.
God has asked me to be faithful. To lean not unto my own understanding but His alone. God has instructed me to ask Him for my desires... Him alone... not seeking the news, latest gossip column, or the latest self-help rhetoric. I tell God "but, God, you don't understand what I'm going through... bills are sometimes unpaid, I struggle with being a good mom, and I stress about work." God says to me: "Karen, Jesus endured all that a human can endure on earth. There was a reason that He was ridiculed, rejected, beaten, and died for you. Through My Son's experience on earth, I experienced all that there is. I know your struggles! I sent my son to show you that you can overcome any trial that comes your way!"
I'm inspired this Christmas because of the birth of Jesus!... I'm inspired daily because of the birth of Jesus! I know I can overcome all of my trials because with God nothing is impossible!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
True Healing
There are days that I think about the miracles written about in the Bible and compare them to my own life. I think about the blind, crippled, and sick that were healed with just a touch from Jesus. We do not read too much of those who went to Christ with a complaint of "I'm just a little blue today." But, what if... what if it was reported about those who only asked Jesus for wisdom and insight into their problems? What if people asked Christ to heal the simplest of ailments?
I have some physical pains that strike at a moments notice. They are pains I've dealt with most of my adult life. It wasn't until a few years ago, that I took a leap of faith and started to pray once this pain arose. It sometimes would occur at a moment when I had no access to ibuprofen or acetaminophen. I would be in a public place knowing that I would be crippled by this pain for at least an hour or so and there was no way to get relief. One day, as I felt the pain start, I decided to pray and ask God to intervene over my body and take away the pain (as I was reminded "ask and ye shall receive"). I can testify that the pain never reached a level like it did before.
I reveal this story to point out this: "God will take care of the smallest situations if you will just ask." Does God answer the prayer the way we want him to? Not always; but He will answer.
Let's now look at the "ultimate healing:" Eternal Life. When I say that God will not always answer our prayers like we want Him too, I refer to the fact that God sometimes has an ultimate purpose for that "pain" in our lives. Maybe that "pain" helps build our testimony so that we may witness to/encourage others who are going through something similar but have no hope. Maybe there's a reason you have cancer... a handicap... an addiction... stress. Maybe your "pain" is apart of a bigger plan that you can't see. It is refreshing to know that God knows why you're going through your "pain." There is always a bigger picture. The trials and "pains" that we experience are to prepare us for our eternal lives.
God waits on us to reach out to him. God waits to heal us from our "pain" until we ask Him. Have you asked God to heal you from your "pain?"
Matthew 7:
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=7&verse=7&end_verse=9&version=31&context=context).
Malachi 4:
1 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.
4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=46&chapter=4&version=31).
I have some physical pains that strike at a moments notice. They are pains I've dealt with most of my adult life. It wasn't until a few years ago, that I took a leap of faith and started to pray once this pain arose. It sometimes would occur at a moment when I had no access to ibuprofen or acetaminophen. I would be in a public place knowing that I would be crippled by this pain for at least an hour or so and there was no way to get relief. One day, as I felt the pain start, I decided to pray and ask God to intervene over my body and take away the pain (as I was reminded "ask and ye shall receive"). I can testify that the pain never reached a level like it did before.
I reveal this story to point out this: "God will take care of the smallest situations if you will just ask." Does God answer the prayer the way we want him to? Not always; but He will answer.
Let's now look at the "ultimate healing:" Eternal Life. When I say that God will not always answer our prayers like we want Him too, I refer to the fact that God sometimes has an ultimate purpose for that "pain" in our lives. Maybe that "pain" helps build our testimony so that we may witness to/encourage others who are going through something similar but have no hope. Maybe there's a reason you have cancer... a handicap... an addiction... stress. Maybe your "pain" is apart of a bigger plan that you can't see. It is refreshing to know that God knows why you're going through your "pain." There is always a bigger picture. The trials and "pains" that we experience are to prepare us for our eternal lives.
God waits on us to reach out to him. God waits to heal us from our "pain" until we ask Him. Have you asked God to heal you from your "pain?"
Matthew 7:
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=7&verse=7&end_verse=9&version=31&context=context).
Malachi 4:
1 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.
4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=46&chapter=4&version=31).
Removing The Scales
The definition of "scale" that I want to discuss is: "any thin, platelike piece, lamina, or flake that peels off from a surface, as from the skin" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scales). When a "scale" falls off of a scab or sore, it reveals fresh, new skin. The new skin is tender, and sometimes fragile. Ointment or medicine can be applied to the skin to minimize scaring. I want to relate this situation to our relationship with Christ.
First, let's look at scenarios where Jesus healed the blind. One case is where Bartimaeus is healed.
Mark 10:49-52: Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=10&version=31).
Jesus simply asked the blind man what he wanted. Without hesitation the blind man told Jesus exactly what he wanted. Do we "see" the importance of the blind man's faith? He told Jesus what he wanted with great faith that Jesus could heal him. He asked and then he received. After his healing, the blind man followed Jesus.
Next, we see how Jesus heals a man who was born blind.
John 9:1-9: As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%209%20;&version=31;).
Now, the first point I want to make in regards to the above passage, is that Jesus dispelled the myth, that if someone was born with an imperfect body that their parents must have sinned against God. Second, Christ, put a "mud mask" on this man's eyes, and when it was washed off (like scales falling off a wound), the man could see. Last, take a look at how others did not recognize the man after his eyes had been open. Can any of you recall a time in your walk with God, after you made a commitment to follow Him, that some of your friends did not recognize your new behavior, new "look," or new personality?
Next, let's look at Paul's transformation and what happened when his sight was restored to him.
Acts 19:17-19: Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=51&chapter=9&verse=17&end_verse=19&version=31&context=context).
It wasn't until Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit that his "eyes were open." I use quotes here to explain how it wasn't just Paul's physical eyesight that was restored to him. Paul's spiritual eyes were open. Paul could now "see" Jesus with his heart and soul. Paul followed his spiritual transformation with baptism.
In all three cases presented above, we can see where there was not only a physical healing, but a spiritual healing as well. When these men had humbled themselves to Christ and asked for God to heal them, they were healed physically and spiritually. Jesus shared with the disciples of their inability to "see" when they realized that they were without bread. Jesus asked them "Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? (Mark 8:17-18, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%208%20;&version=31).
Jesus was talking about their little faith and lack of spiritual wisdom. They had eyes, but could not see what Jesus was doing through his teachings and miracles. Jesus performed physical miracles to save people spiritually. He told them that because their hearts were still "hardened" (or unwilling to truly believe that He was the Messiah) they could not "see" His true purpose on earth, nor the Truth that He was presenting to them. Sometimes we as Christians cannot see "Truth" because we're too busy living out our traditions or popular beliefs of the day. We are blinded by religious rules or cultural traditions.
Last year, the scales on my eyes fell after I began my investigation into "Truth." I wanted to know what it was that God wanted me to do. After much research into God's Word, I found that there were traditions that I was keeping that were not in accordance to God's Laws. I took a leap of faith one Saturday, and decided to keep Sabbath instead of "The Lord's Day," Sunday. I can honestly say that my spiritual life has never been the same. You see, the scales of tradition that were covering my eyes, fell off. Because I took the faith of a child and decided to live according to God's Laws, I've been able to "see" things in God's Holy Word that I was not able to "see" before. There are many arguments about how we are now covered by grace and no longer under the Law, but I can tell you this… that Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. The only commandment that most protestant Christians disagree with (that is, that it is "nailed to the cross") is the 4th commandment. But, if you ask are killing, adultery, coveting, and idol worship nailed to the cross also? Most will say no.
It was by faith, that my eyesight was restored. When the scales fell off of my eyes, it revealed a fresh new look into my walk with God. My life, like Paul's was changed when my sight was restored.
First, let's look at scenarios where Jesus healed the blind. One case is where Bartimaeus is healed.
Mark 10:49-52: Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=10&version=31).
Jesus simply asked the blind man what he wanted. Without hesitation the blind man told Jesus exactly what he wanted. Do we "see" the importance of the blind man's faith? He told Jesus what he wanted with great faith that Jesus could heal him. He asked and then he received. After his healing, the blind man followed Jesus.
Next, we see how Jesus heals a man who was born blind.
John 9:1-9: As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man" (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%209%20;&version=31;).
Now, the first point I want to make in regards to the above passage, is that Jesus dispelled the myth, that if someone was born with an imperfect body that their parents must have sinned against God. Second, Christ, put a "mud mask" on this man's eyes, and when it was washed off (like scales falling off a wound), the man could see. Last, take a look at how others did not recognize the man after his eyes had been open. Can any of you recall a time in your walk with God, after you made a commitment to follow Him, that some of your friends did not recognize your new behavior, new "look," or new personality?
Next, let's look at Paul's transformation and what happened when his sight was restored to him.
Acts 19:17-19: Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=51&chapter=9&verse=17&end_verse=19&version=31&context=context).
It wasn't until Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit that his "eyes were open." I use quotes here to explain how it wasn't just Paul's physical eyesight that was restored to him. Paul's spiritual eyes were open. Paul could now "see" Jesus with his heart and soul. Paul followed his spiritual transformation with baptism.
In all three cases presented above, we can see where there was not only a physical healing, but a spiritual healing as well. When these men had humbled themselves to Christ and asked for God to heal them, they were healed physically and spiritually. Jesus shared with the disciples of their inability to "see" when they realized that they were without bread. Jesus asked them "Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? (Mark 8:17-18, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%208%20;&version=31).
Jesus was talking about their little faith and lack of spiritual wisdom. They had eyes, but could not see what Jesus was doing through his teachings and miracles. Jesus performed physical miracles to save people spiritually. He told them that because their hearts were still "hardened" (or unwilling to truly believe that He was the Messiah) they could not "see" His true purpose on earth, nor the Truth that He was presenting to them. Sometimes we as Christians cannot see "Truth" because we're too busy living out our traditions or popular beliefs of the day. We are blinded by religious rules or cultural traditions.
Last year, the scales on my eyes fell after I began my investigation into "Truth." I wanted to know what it was that God wanted me to do. After much research into God's Word, I found that there were traditions that I was keeping that were not in accordance to God's Laws. I took a leap of faith one Saturday, and decided to keep Sabbath instead of "The Lord's Day," Sunday. I can honestly say that my spiritual life has never been the same. You see, the scales of tradition that were covering my eyes, fell off. Because I took the faith of a child and decided to live according to God's Laws, I've been able to "see" things in God's Holy Word that I was not able to "see" before. There are many arguments about how we are now covered by grace and no longer under the Law, but I can tell you this… that Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. The only commandment that most protestant Christians disagree with (that is, that it is "nailed to the cross") is the 4th commandment. But, if you ask are killing, adultery, coveting, and idol worship nailed to the cross also? Most will say no.
It was by faith, that my eyesight was restored. When the scales fell off of my eyes, it revealed a fresh new look into my walk with God. My life, like Paul's was changed when my sight was restored.
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