Why God Doesn’t Heal Every Sickness, Disease, and Illness..By Chris Russell

 Why God Doesn’t Heal Every Sickness, Disease, and Illness

By Chris Russell

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:13-15)

I am a big believer in the doctrine of healing. I have experienced God’s healing in my own life, and I have witnessed God healing myriads of people over the past couple decades I’ve been in ministry. I am greatly comforted by verses like the one in James that gives us a great hope in the power of prayer.

I do believe that God heals, but I also believe that healing is not always the only path that He chooses for us. Sometimes His perfect plan for our lives is to allow us to suffer and experience disease, illness, and hardship. The reason for this is that He can often teach us things through suffering that we would never be able to learn through a book or seminar, or through comfort and prosperity.

Paul had a problem with his eyesight that God never healed. When Timothy was sick, Paul told him to drink wine (not go to a healing service). The Lazarus who was raised from the dead eventually died later. Paul says that he had a thorn in the flesh which he prayed for God to remove over and over again, but God never removed it. Job suffered because God had a whole bigger purpose for him than mere comfort on this planet. And Job’s suffering was not the result of a lack of faith.

Some of the greatest blessings in this world come from God’s power in the midst of trials. God changes us, molds us, strengthens us, and builds us through hardship. And there is nothing like the experience of being comforted by God alone in that dark hour.

Over the past twenty-five years that I have been in ministry, I have seen people hurt greatly by the false teaching that God always wants to heal every malady. This is because that belief can cause a massive amount of guilt and disillusionment for the afflicted in those times when God actually chooses not to heal. The implication is that the suffering Christian just didn’t quite believe enough or is hiding some sort of sin. I have seen Christians destroyed in their faith over this erroneous teaching.

We must realize that sometimes it’s just not God’s plan to heal or to fix a problem quickly for us. And that’s ok. He still loves us. He still has a plan. And He still has a profound purpose for that pain that can end up blessing us beyond anything we could ever imagine.

Often God chooses to heal! But sometimes He teaches us more and draws us closer when we walk the dark mile of suffering. But to experience such blessing, it is important that we run to God and not away from Him in the midst of the storm.

Living from the Heart.....Denison Ministries

 Living from the Heart

Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

So often we view God as an enforcer of religious rules. We see the commands of Scripture as a list of to-dos rather than a path leading to abundant life. But those perceptions aren’t the truth of Scripture. Those beliefs are founded on misguided notions of God’s character. God is after the heart. More than he wants us to do right, he wants us to see him rightly. He wants going to church, reading the Bible, worshipping, serving the poor, and living righteously to come from a heart filled with a true revelation of his loving-kindness. May your heart be wholly God’s this week.

Scripture:

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8

Devotional:    

God has formed us to be creatures of the heart. He made us to live from a place of communion with him—an eternal relationship with our hearts deeply connected. And in response to the communion you have with God you can choose to live from your heart. You can choose with confidence to think, feel, act, and believe not just with what’s logical, but with what God’s Spirit is speaking to you.

Oftentimes we disclude our hearts as if they are unfounded and fickle. We stop paying attention to our emotions because we doubt their validity and value. But God formed you with emotions. And it’s oftentimes your emotions that best reveal your beliefs. You don’t feel stress, worry, doubt, or anger without cause. You don’t experience joy, peace, passion, and purpose for no reason. Your heart is the window to your beliefs. It reveals where you’ve placed your trust and hope. It reveals what truly matters to you.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” God longs to hear your heart. He longs for you to so trust him that you honestly and truthfully assess your heart and pour it out before him. He cares about the way you feel. He’s not all right with you going through life stressed, angry, doubtful, worried, or unconfident. He wants your heart to be filled with the fruit of communion with him that you might live an expressive, passionate, and satisfied life.

Acknowledging your emotions isn’t weakness. Rather, it’s a sign of confidence and security that you can take an honest look at your life and assess how you’re doing. Living from the heart is a crucial aspect to authentic, abundant Christianity. God doesn’t want robots. He doesn’t just want to influence our minds or just make us work for him. He wants all of us. He wants your mind to be renewed and your hands to be set to good work from a place of wonderful, life-giving communion with him.

Take time as you enter into guided prayer to value your heart. Assess how you’ve been feeling. Pour out your heart to your loving, patient, and understanding heavenly Father. And go out today in confidence that you might live openly, receptively, and passionately.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of living from the heart.

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8

2. Assess how you’ve been feeling. What’s been bringing you life? What’s been causing you stress, anger, or frustration. What do your emotions tell you?

3. Take some time to journal about your emotions. Pour out your heart to God on paper. Ask the Holy Spirit for revelation about anything you don’t understand. Write down his responses.

Oftentimes, if we will begin our quiet time by assessing our emotions we’ll be able to go deeper with God quicker. God longs for our time spent with him to be open, vulnerable, and honest. He longs to help us with those things that are truly robbing us of abundant life. And because emotions are often windows into our beliefs they are a great way to assess where we need a fresh revelation of what’s true. May your life be filled with the fruit of the Spirit today as you choose to live from the heart.

Extended Reading: Psalm 62

More of Jesus, Less of Me.....NICOLE DOMITRO

 More of Jesus, Less of Me

NICOLE DOMITRO

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 (ESV)

While I’ve never been punched in the stomach, I am quite familiar with that gut-wrenching, hunched-over, arms-clenching experience.

That is exactly how I felt after the flood of comments started pouring in from a controversial social media post I made.

Oh. My. Word.

Literally, my words. My intentions were to create an encouraging conversation where my friends — from all seasons of life and all denominations and beliefs — could collectively come together with differing opinions and encourage one another despite our differences. Unfortunately, I was left with cruel words and condescending comments.

Insert stomach punch.

I let this uncomfortable feeling resonate within me and actively asked the Holy Spirit to help me see what I had missed. Surprisingly, John 3:30 almost instantly ignited in my mind:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Though I wasn’t sure how this verse applied to me, I just knew it was what God had put on my heart. Later that day, as I was dissecting the social media post with my husband, something he said managed to completely tear open my heart with conviction: “Do you feel like God was glorified by that post?”

Suddenly John 3:30 made more sense. These were the words that John the Baptist spoke in reply to his followers. His followers were arguing over the issue of purification, and they felt like John’s popularity was decreasing: “And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him’” (John 3:26, ESV).

These followers essentially said, “Hey — this dude, Jesus, is baptizing more people than you. What's up with that? Aren’t you going to say something?”

John readily responded by exalting Jesus. He didn’t argue or rebuke his followers; he simply explained how it was his joy to be the best man, not the bridegroom. (John 3:29) Even though John was baptizing and doing great things for God’s Kingdom, it wasn’t about him. It was about Jesus.

Even though my intentions seemed pure, my heart wanted to exalt my opinion over other social posts I had been reading all week. I wanted my opinion heard so that there would be some justice for the hurt I was witnessing all around social media.

That’s where I failed. But that’s also where God met me. My opinions weren’t the problem — the problem was sharing them without first considering if my words glorified God. That gut-wrenching feeling wasn’t because people disagreed with me; it was because I didn’t feel like anything I said pointed others to Christ.

Just like John, we are ambassadors for Christ, paving the way for His return. Arguing across social media or anywhere else is not how we show others the love of Jesus. We allow God to increase when we humble ourselves in constant prayer, (Romans 12:12) trust God's promises (John 16:33) and hold our thoughts captive to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

And when we do this, sister, we allow the gospel to be glorified and others to better know Jesus for who He is. That is something worth the gut punch every time.

Lord, thank You for being our heavenly Father, for refining us and convicting us when we need it. Forgive us when we forget to seek You and Your Kingdom first. Protect our hearts against the things of this world, remembering that You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, have overcome the world. May we always give You the glory You deserve. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Cross The Believer's Victory.....Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Cross The Believer's Victory

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 1:17-31

From a worldly perspective, Christ's death signaled His defeat. After all, dying in agony on a cross hardly seems like the path to victory. But it was! And He did it all for us. Because Jesus triumphed over death, we can be victorious in life. Just consider what He won for us by sacrificing Himself on the cross.

Our Eternal Salvation: The cross was the means of our salvation. Without it, we'd have no hope of heaven. If Christ hadn't died in our place, we'd have to stand before God and receive the just punishment for every sin we've ever committed.

Power over Sin: Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sin; He also brought us present victory over it. When He was crucified, our old sinful nature died with Him (Rom. 6:6). The power of the "flesh" was broken, and Jesus now lives His triumphant life through us. That means we are no longer enslaved to sin and can choose obedience to God.

Defeat of Satan: At the crucifixion, the list of decrees against us was nailed to the cross, and the Devil lost his power over our lives (Col. 2:13-15). None of his accusations can stick, because God holds nothing against us anymore. And now every time we yield to the Spirit within us, Satan is defeated once again.

Christ met all our needs on the cross. By making us a part of His family, He gave us a sense of belonging. When He died in our place, He affirmed our value. And by coming to live His life through each believer, He gives us the ability to live a victorious, obedient life.

Is Doubting a Sin?.....by Debbie Holloway

 Is Doubting a Sin?

by Debbie Holloway

And [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? (Luke 24:38)

There’s no doubt about it: faith is a gift. To be more specific, faith is a gift… and not all of us are born with this gift. Many of us have been through trials and struggles that make blind faith and unwavering belief difficult, almost impossible. Have you ever been lied to by a trusted friend? Let down by a parent? Abused by someone who was meant to care for you? Chances are, the answer is yes. Chances are, doubting God is sometimes (or often) something with which you struggle.

Many of us grow up hearing the refrain from James, “the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). Many of us are told over and over again that there is no room for doubt or skepticism in the Kingdom of God. But is that truly the message portrayed in Scripture? Should we really feel the sting of shame over asking questions and expressing hesitation?

Jesus’ response to doubt was often, why? He proposed neither a condemnation nor an accolade, but a dialogue. Jesus cared about the hearts, motives, and fears of those who questioned him, who struggled with unbelief. Practically everyone to whom Jesus ministered expressed genuine doubt or asked provoking questions. But Jesus healed them anyway. Jesus answered their questions (John 3:1). Jesus told them things about themselves, causing them to look at life in a new way (John 4:7). When extraordinary faith was shown (Luke 7:1) Jesus was astounded and overjoyed. But he certainly did not condemn all others of lesser faith. He knew that it takes time for people to overcome cultures of fear and questions.

God has big plans for us, plans to bless us richly through belief and faith. This is evidenced by what Jesus told Thomas:

"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

Christ doesn’t deny Thomas’ belief or turn him out on the street in penalty for his doubt. Rather, he stresses again the blessings that will be available to all men through the power of faith and belief. God has such rich things in store for us – but we cannot see them all yet. Jesus wanted to drill that into his followers since he knew he would not be with them physically for much longer.

Take heart and remember, doubting can be a step toward faith – it is not the opposite of faith. And remember also,

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting” (Jude 1:21).

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you struggling with doubts? Is a fellow brother or sister dealing with hard questions? Remember, God calls for mercy for the doubters, not judgment.

Further reading

Psalms 31:1

A Prayer for New Mercies This Morning.....By: Victoria Riollano

 A Prayer for New Mercies This Morning

By: Victoria Riollano

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23

Every day I need them.

More than I need food, water, church, or to hang out with friends, I need the Lord’s mercies.

Here is the truth: I often miss the mark. I get hung up on words, behave in ways that are displeasing, and do not always love others the way I should. The funny thing is, from the outside looking in, I qualify as a “good Christian.” Going to church weekly, reading my Bible, and seeking to be kind to those I meet, I desire to do what is right. Yet, in those secret moments, like many others, I struggle with fear, shame, and a host of qualities that don’t reflect my Father in heaven.

Like all who have come before me and will come after me, I struggle with sin and need daily repentance. Yet, the Lord chooses to love me past my disqualifications and mistakes. So much so, that every morning He extends his mercy to me and it's His good pleasure to do so.

Yet, you and I aren’t the first to feel like we don’t quite measure up. The Apostle Paul found himself in a struggle between right and wrong. In Romans 7:15, he says, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” Yes, even the person responsible for writing half of the New Testament was in desperate need of a forgiving God! He was transparent about his shortcomings and knew it was by Christ alone that he could ever overcome them.

We serve a holy and perfect God. The truth is, He has every right to turn His eyes away from us. However, His love is steadfast, immovable, and never changing towards us. As described in Romans 8:39, no height, depth, or circumstance could ever separate us from this unending love.

It's out of His unconditional love that He can say, “I offer you another chance.” Every single day, He does so. We simply can’t outrun His love and the accompanying mercy. Our job is to receive them.

Unfortunately, many of us struggle to receive God’s mercies. We become stuck between our spiritual desire to do what’s right and our fleshly desire to satisfy ourselves. We convince ourselves that our struggles with sin disqualify us from God’s love.

The shame of our situation (past or current) leaves us defeated and unable to genuinely enjoy the benefits of being a child of God. All the while, the Lord wants to remind us that He died for us before we ever dishonored God.

God’s mercy and love were never affected by the depravity of the sinner; it was always backed by the truth of His Word. Truly, the one He has set free from sin, shame, and guilt, is free INDEED! His mercy is anew for you, if you choose to receive it.

Let’s pray for that mercy today:

Lord, I thank you for your steadfast love, for your mercy toward us that is renewed for us each morning, no matter the sins of yesterday. Thank you for choosing to love me more than I could ever love myself. I praise you for your goodness and faithfulness towards me. Even when I don’t deserve it, you show your kindness towards me relentlessly.

Lord, forgive me for yesterday’s sins and shortcomings. I grieve over anything I have done that makes a mockery of your merciful love. I give myself completely over to you. Lord, I ask that you show me when I’m operating out of shame and guilt. I ask that you forgive me for the times I’ve rejected your mercy towards me and have chosen to walk in shame. I receive your new mercies over my life right now.

Thank you, God, that I can walk forward today confident in your love for me. I am free from the bondage and stain of sin! Thank you for your steadfast love that never ceases and for your mercies that never come to an end.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

It is Finished! (And it really is.)...by Julie Zine Coleman

 It is Finished! (And it really is.)

by Julie Zine Coleman

 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” -John 19:28-30 NASB

On the day of my first book’s deadline, I was up until midnight, using every last second to check and double-check my final draft before submitting it to my publisher. Finally, my time was up. I dashed off a cover email and loaded the manuscript file as an attachment. But just before sending, I realized that it was now several minutes past midnight. So I added a quick tongue-in-cheek note to the email: “So sorry I am six minutes late with this manuscript.”

The vice president of Thomas Nelson replied, “We’re on Central time. You are actually fifty-four minutes early!”

It was a momentous moment for me, hitting that send button. With one click I was announcing a finished product. After six months of intense, consuming work, there was now nothing more to do until the edits came back to me. I woke up the next morning feeling a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders. What an immense relief to finally be done!

On this and every Good Friday, we remember the darkest day in history, when the Son of God suffered and died on the cross, bearing unspeakable agony and shame for the sake of us all. But now, in His final moments, He knew He had done what He had come to do: It is finished.

The original Greek word translated “finished” denotes the carrying out of a task. An artist might have said Finished! to announce his painting was perfect. A servant might have confidently replied Finished! when asked by his master if his assigned work was complete. A judge might have said Finished! when issuing a ruling that a prison sentence had been completed and justice had been served. And finally, a merchant might have written Finished! on a bill to indicate a debt was paid in full. 

Jesus used the Greek verb tense that denoted a completed action that did not need to be repeated. Done, once and for all. Finished.

Jesus actually used this word three times during the 24 hours before and during his crucifixion.

While in prayer, as the Passover meal reached its conclusion, Jesus said, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which you have given me to do” John 17:4 NASB).  He had come to fulfill the Law. He came to do the Father’s will. He’d come to preach the truth. And finally, He'd sought out and saved the lost. As Jesus looked death in the face, he was satisfied He had done everything He came to do. His bucket list was complete.

He used the word again on the cross. “Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28 NASB). There were over 300 prophecies, spanning thousands of years, that Jesus fulfilled in His lifetime. His coming fulfilled God’s promise of a messiah to the patriarchs, kings, and the nation. His acts and words were exactly what many prophets had foretold hundreds of years before.

Then finally, Jesus uttered that word one last time just before He gave up His Spirit: He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” (John 19:28-30 NASB). The suffering was over. The wrath of God had been spent on Him. The sins of mankind had been nailed to the cross. His blood had paid the price once and for all.

The fact that Jesus used finished to describe His life and death should bring joy to every believer’s heart. Because of His completed work, no sin would ever stand between us and God again. Payment for us has been made in full. “But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…” (Hebrews 10:12 NASB). He sat down because there was nothing left to do. It is finished.