Archive for June, 2006

What do I believe about healing?

What is my View of Jesus healing in the Gospels?

What are my past feelings and experiences on healing?

What is my new view on healing?

What is my new picture of the healing Jesus like now?

How will this new perspective on healing change things for me?
Lord, thank-you for teaching me the truth of healing, help me increase my expectancy!

Pray today and ask God to forgive any lies you may have believed on healing and about God and Jesus’ power and willingness to heal.

Out of a sense of pastoral care for those who have not been healed through our prayers, we sometimes fall back on the belief that ‘It is all in God’s timing!” It may be more truthful for us to tell the disappointed sufferer that we do not know why our prayers have not been answered; we cannot believe that God does not want to do it, so we guess( wrongly, of course) that because God is eternal, transcending time, he does not realize the urgency of the situation! …To imply that God does not care enough about our illnesses, and is prepared to let any amount of time pass by before he acts, does nothing but sow more doubt in the church. God’s timing, quite simply is now.” Wait!’ is not what Christ revealed. Expectancy concerning Jesus Christ’s willingness to heal is fundamental to prevailing, even if it does take a season to receive.

The seven members of Casting Crowns from Atlanta, Georgia will be in South Africa for two shows:

• At His People Christian Church in Cape Town on Saturday, 15th July at 7pm, and
• At Moreleta Park Dutch Reformed Church in Pretoria on Sunday, 16th July at 6:30pm

If you don’t already know their music, I recommend that you take a listen. Their sound, while contemporary, is accessible to people of all ages, and the lyrics are refreshingly relevant and challenging.

Tickets (R80) are available through Computicket. Don’t miss out, book now!

Most likely, yes. Many Christians who have not yet received the promised healing feel rejected by God, even let down by him in their hour of need. The idea that there has been a ‘failure’ to meet their need may turn to self-blame. The self-accusation emerges from the felling that one does not have enough faith. Sufferers sometimes say that they will not attend healing services because they do not have the faith for that sort of thing. In the context of Christian healing it is not right to think of our lack of faith, as we understand the meaning of that word today, as being a faulty belief system which will turn God away in judgment, with drawing his healing hand. Faith, when described as the supplicant’s belief in Jesus as Son of God, and belief in his virgin birth, his death and resurrection, is not in question here. It is not lack of such creedal faith that limits our ability to receive healing, but rather our lack of simple and child-like expectancy that he will do it.

This is not an issue of punishment. God’s will for his people is that they should have abundant life, not condemnation. (John 3:16-18a)
Behind the question is, often, a sense of unfairness. Sickness sometimes seems to us to be so random. So the age old question haunts many who suffer: “Why me?” Add the statement, “It’s all so unfair” and we touch something of the rawness of life. But please remember this: God is not the author of sickness; he did not place sickness on you or your loved ones. Sickness itself is the outworking of a kind of enemy activity which is one off the many consequences of the Fall. Do not blame God for what the devil has brought about, nor for the harm mankind has done to itself. God is not the cause of any ill-health or injury; he is the one who rescues us from sickness- who heals our disease.

Some excuses we tend to make for not being healed:

We’re not sick enough to be healed
I’m insignificant
I don’t have enough faith
I have sinned and this is God’s punishment
Pain is purifying my soul
Suffering is good for me
God’s grace is sufficient for me.
It’s not God’s timing to heal me now
I will have a ministry to others now that I have this problem

Don’t make excuses for God , He is so much bigger than that. We must believe that God does not want us to suffer and that he will heal us if we ask him. If he doesn’t immediately, we persist. We do not understand God’s way of doing things, but we trust that He knows what he’s doing!

The 20th anniversary Hillsong Conference is around the corner, with a line-up of speakers including Rick Warren, Reinhard Bonnke and Bill Hybels. The good news is that those of us who aren’t lucky enough to actually go to the conference in Sydney, Australia can tune in via satellite TV to catch a glimpse of the goings-on. The conference will air on the God Channel each evening from 4 - 8 July at 20:30 SAST.

The God Channel is a free channel which you can tune into using your Multichoice DSTV or Vivid decoder. Visit www.god.tv for instructions on how to set up your decoder - first change your region to Africa, and then select The God Channel > How to Tune In.

Jesus knows you…

Psalm 139 vs. 1-2: “O Lord you have searched me and know me, You know when I sit down and when I rise up, You discern my thoughts from far away.”

He loves you…

Jeremiah 31 vs. 3: “I have loved you with an ever lasting love, I have drawn you with loving kindness”

He wants you to be honest…

Psalm 51 vs. 6: “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, You teach me wisdom in the in most place.”

He asks for obedience, and wants to heal you!

Exodus 15 vs. 26: “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, FOR I AM THE LORD WHO HEALS YOU.”

There is nothing you have done which will stop Christ healing you!!!

Psalm 9 vs. 9: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”

Isaiah 44 vs. 22: “I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.  Return to me for I have redeemed you.”

Isaiah 54 vs. 4:  “You will not be put to shame or humiliated or disgraced for the mistakes you made in your youth.  God has erased them from your life, and is making you into a new person.  He won’t take you out of the temptations of this world, but He will protect you and work with you so you can make good choices.”

Read Joshua 6 vs. 1-20
Notice how Jericho did not fall in one day!  Praying for healing sometimes needs to be persistent!

PRAISE, THANKS and HONOUR move God’s kingdom atmosphere (from yesterday) and healing towards the Jericho’s in our lives (i.e. pain, hurt or need)

Psalm 50 vs. 20: “he who sacrifices thank- offerings honors me, and he prepares the way, so that I may show him the salvation of God”

How much of your time with Christ is spent in thanks giving?
Is Christ honored in your life?