October 2016

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’.” (Matthew 28:18)

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:3-5)

Scripture tells us that in the last days, there will be times of difficulty. (2 Timothy 3:1) This national election year of 2016 has been such a time in America, particularly for biblically grounded, Jesus-loving, people-loving Christians. Polarization, rancor, deception, and vitriolic, fear-inducing language are not our “cup of tea”.

In less than two weeks, the elections will be over, praise God! But tragically, the times of difficulty will not be over. To the contrary, the polarization and rancor will, regardless of the election outcomes, only get worse unless somebody does something to change how our diverse American people feel about and interact with one another.
This change will not be led by the present leadership of either political party. Their fundamental tactic for obtaining and retaining power is to promote fear and distrust.
The leadership for this positive change can only come from the Body of Christ.

In order to develop successful strategies for this change, we must as Christians be willing to learn from our mistakes. Some of those “lessons learned” will not be available until after the November 8 elections because at present, outcomes are uncertain, our judgment is still clouded and our focus is too narrow.

There is, however, one lesson that I believe we all need to learn (or re-learn) today, in advance of November 8. Jesus is the Lord of America!
Jesus is the Lord of America despite the sin and darkness that we see around us. Jesus is
the Lord of America despite the increasing number of Americans who do not believe in Him. Jesus is the Lord of America despite the many Americans who profess belief but do little to obey God’s Word. Jesus is the Lord of America despite President Obama’s statement that we are no longer just a Christian nation.

My friends, Jesus is the Lord of America because He is the Lord! After His resurrection victory over sin and death, Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth by His heavenly Father, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. (Matthew 28:18) Jesus is the Lord of our nation and all nations, “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords”. (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14, 19:16

Jesus is not like the fairy Tinkerbell in “Peter Pan”, who began to fade away when children stopped believing in her. He does not fall off His throne when people fail to acknowledge or submit to His lordship. (Psalm 2) And despite the fears expressed by many Christians on both sides of the present presidential contest, He will not fall off His throne when either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump becomes President.

Sin and unbelief have serious adverse consequences for a nation. (Proverbs 14:34) I grieve over our nation’s confusion about the sanctity of life, marriage, sexuality, racism, respect for law enforcement, religious freedom, the love of money and fame. But my grief does not give birth to despair. Instead, it intensifies my desire, like David in Psalm 37, to trust in the Lord of America and commit my ways to His Way.

The Lord’s Way calls for us to pray daily for all our governmental leaders – those we voted for and those we voted against. (1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17) We may even change a Saul into a Paul.

The Lord’s Way calls for us to bless and not curse. (James 3:10-11; Luke 6:27-27) Blessing does not mean we agree with what is wrong. Blessing opens the door for our leaders to receive God’s wisdom and be protected from the enemy’s deceptions. When you curse a President, you curse the nation. When you vow to cause a presidency to fail, as some politicians in both parties have done, you move the nation toward failure.

The Lord’s Way calls for us to seek the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-6) The biblically grounded, Jesus-loving, people-loving Christians of America need to get together – white, black and brown; young and old; male and female; without regard to political party affiliation. We must love one another, listen to each other and work together under the Lord’s leadership to address each other’s concerns, not just our own. (John 13:34; Philippians 2:4)

We must also stand together to show non-Christians that God loves them and we love them. (John 17:22-23) Truth must be spoken in love because faith works through love. (Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:18; Galatians 5:6) Without love, we are wasting our time. (1 Corinthians 13)

Finally, we must form our strategies and make our decisions in faith and love, not in fear and anger, which are simply footholds for the devil. (2 Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 4:26-32)
The most important election in American history will not be on November 8. It will be what Christians elect to do thereafter. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

God bless you, God bless our community, and God bless America.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases …” (Psalm 103:2-3)

“…for I am the LORD, your healer.” (Exodus 15:26)

Healthcare is an ongoing crisis in our nation and our world. Ever-increasing costs are aggravating the problem of limited availability, particularly among the poor, and despite our wonderful advances in medical science, there are still many health problems we have been unable to cure.

The answer to this problem has a name: “Jehovah Rapha”, which translated from Hebrew means, “the Lord our healer”. God gave Himself this name because it describes His heart. God even inspired a song (psalm) that celebrates His desire to both forgive all our sins and heal all our diseases.

Yet the vast majority of Christian churches in America have no healing ministry, and there is very little outreach of divine healing to the lost. Why?

As Bible-believing Christians, we are called to be both hearers and doers of God’s Word. (James 1:22-25). In addition to God’s name as Healer and God’s song of healing, here is what scripture says about divine healing.

In the old covenant of law between God and the Hebrew people, divine healing was a promised benefit for God’s people if they obeyed His commandments. (Exodus 23:25; Deuteronomy 7:15) Our new covenant of grace with God through faith in Jesus Christ is superior to that old covenant, not inferior. (2 Corinthians 3:5-18)

Jesus reveals the Father because they are one. (John 10:30, 14:8) Jesus’ ministry on earth included preaching, teaching and healing. (Matthew 4:23-24) Anointed with the Holy Spirit, Christ went about healing all who were oppressed by the devil. (Acts 10:37-38) Then He assigned and equipped His disciples to do the same – first His inner circle of twelve apostles and then seventy- two other followers. (Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 10:1, 8)

Jesus forgave sins and healed diseases because both forgiveness and healing expressed His Kingdom authority. (Matthew 9: 2-6, 35) Likewise, His disciples were given authority to heal as an expression of God’s Kingdom coming near. (Luke 10:8) Just as there was no disease in the Garden of Eden and there is no disease in heaven, so there is no disease wherever the Kingdom of God is being rightfully and fully expressed. The keys (authority) of that Kingdom have now been given to us as we are sent to proclaim His Kingdom throughout the world. (Matthew 16:18-19, 24:14)
Jesus declared that “anyone who believes in” Him would do the same works that He did, and even greater works. (John 14:12) He sends us out into the world just like the Father sent Him. (John 20:21) This means we are sent out to express the same Kingdom He revealed, and we are given the same Holy Spirit to empower us. (John 20:22; Acts 1:8) As we fulfill this Great Commission, healing is one of the signs that should accompany us. (Mark 16:15-18)

Just as we are all called to witness but some are given a special spiritual gift of evangelism, so we are all called to bring healing but some are given special gifts of healings and miracles. (1 Corinthians 12:9-10) The apostle James told Christians who were sick to seek prayer from the elders because prayers of faith would heal them. (James 5:14-16) Are those ministries of healers and “elders” active in your church today?

Finally, look at the prophetic description of Christ’s suffering and death in Isaiah 53. We all celebrate the fact that Jesus bore our sins on the cross so we could have forgiveness. (v. 5, 11) But too many of us have failed to embrace the truth that by his stripes (some translations say “wounds” or “bruises”) we are healed! (v. 5)

Note here that some argue this healing is for our soul but not our bodies because the previous verse 4 says in most English translations that He bore our “griefs” and “sorrows”. But those Hebrew words used in verse 4 most commonly mean “disease” and “pain”. And in the midst of a description of Jesus’ healing ministry, Matthew 8:17 gives us the Gospel’s definitive translation: “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases”. It is clear Christ’s blood and death paid the price for our forgiveness of sin, and His pre-death suffering paid the price for our healing. Just as we receive forgiveness by faith, so we can receive healing by faith. (Matthew 9:22)

Finally, for those who still want to argue without any scriptural backing that the healing ministry of Jesus was for biblical times but not for today, I emphatically declare, “JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER!” (Hebrews 13:8) He healed in His natural body when He walked this earth, and He wants to heal through His corporate Body today.
If your child was sick and you had the power to heal, would you not heal your child? If you, who are not good, would do that, then how much more will our heavenly Father heal His children, if only they will ask? (Matthew 7:7-11)

The heart of our problem is unbelief. When Jesus went back to his hometown of Nazareth, He was unable to do many healings, or any miracles, because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6) Jesus had never done healings or miracles in their presence before, so they concluded He just couldn’t do them. For most of the Church today, divine healing has not been taught, preached or experienced, and so just like Nazareth, we don’t believe today.

Use God’s Word to purge your unbelief! Become doers of God’s Word rather than your own limited intellect and experience. (Proverbs 4:20-22) Begin to ask so you can begin to receive. The Lord is our Healer!

God bless you, and God bless our community.