Category: Faith

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Scriptures To Get Your Healing With

Isa 53:3-5
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
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. NKJV

1 Peter 2:24
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.?NKJV

Matt 8:17
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.” NKJV

Prov 4:20-22
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh. ?NKJV

Ps 19:7
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; NKJV

1 John 3:8
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.??NKJV

John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV


Supporting Scriptures

Ps 103:1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  NKJV

1 Thess 5:23-24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. NKJV

Ps 107:20
20 He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.  NKJV

Ex 23:25
25 “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.  NKJV

Ex 15:26
26 and said,”If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” NKJV

Jer 30:17
17 For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.”’ NKJV

Ps 105:37
37 He also brought them out with silver and gold,
And there was none feeble among His tribes.  NKJV

Deut 7:15
15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.  NKJV

Matt 4:23-24
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  NKJV

Matt 8:16-17
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.” NKJV

Matt 9:35
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. NKJV

Posted on 27 May, 2007

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Overflowing With The Favor of God

Prov 3:3,4

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.  NKJV

As you study, meditate and pray the Word of God you will see differences in your life and God will bring honor to you.  You r relationship with God directly affects your relationship with others.  How do you develop your relationship with God?

By spending time reading, praying, and meditating His Word.  The best model for prayer is modeled after the word Psalm.
Praise – Enter God’s presence with praise and thank Him for your great family, health, growing influence and His works in your live
Surrender- Surrender everything to Him.  All of your worries, cares, temptations… everything to Him.
Ask- Ask Him for what you need.
Listen- Listen to what He has to say.  (This is the best part)
Meditate- Meditate on His Word.  What does meditate mean?  It means to think about or think on.

As you follow this simple model, your prayer life will be energized.  Then you will find favor with people around you.  But more importantly, favor with God.  When you are walking in the favor of God, nothing can stop you.

Posted on 24 May, 2007

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Long Lives and Heavenly Peace- The Favor of God

Is the favor of God operating in your life?  If not, then you should check why.  God has an awesome plan for you.  He wants you to live a long and peaceful life.

Prov 3:1,2
My son, do not forget my law,
But let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.  NKJV

The key is, we need to stay in His Word.  As we stay in meditate, pray, and study His Word our spirits become more in tune with God and His ways.  We will know exactly what direction he has for our lives.  Whether we are to start a business, or work for another.  Whether to marry some particular person or keep them as a good friend, God knows exactly what is right for us.

According to Proverbs 3:1,2, if we keep His Word, he will give us longer more productive days, a longer life, and lots of heavenly peace. Peace that people cannot understand.  When the world is caving in around people losing their jobs, having marital trouble, not knowing what to do for their children we know exactly what to do.  We know His Word, and we know His peace.  Live long and live strong.  What a testimony of God’s goodness in our lives.  Hallelujah!

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Build Your Confidence

Josh 1:6
6 “ Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. NASU

Josh 1:8-9
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. NKJV

In Joshua, the children of God are told to be strong and courageous.  In other words they’re told to be confident.  In this day and age we live in, Christians are God’s children because they believe him and called on His name (Ro. 10:8,9) God wants us to be confident and strong.  Some well-meaning, but ignorant, people who call themselves Christians tell others things like the ‘meek shall inherit the earth’ and get people to associate meek with weak.  If you look at that scripture you will realize that meek means ‘mild, humble, or self-controlled’ not weak.  People who are emotional fireballs will not inherit the earth.

God wants you to be confident and strong.  How do you build confidence.

1) Your Talk

What are you talking about?  Are you saying the things that God wants your to say or are you saying what God says about you.  Joshua was to keep the Word of God in his mouth day and night.  Faith is not saying what you have, everyone knows that.  Faith is saying what you expect.  If you want to build confidence you have to change the way you talk.  You have to say things like, ‘I am successful, I am blessed, I am a child of the most high God, what I do prospers in the Name of Jesus the Anointed.”

2) Your Walk

Your walk is your day by day, step by step, actions.  What are you doing every day?  Proverbs 12:5 says that thoughts of the just are right.  If you want to build your confidence you have to put your talk into action with your walk.  Don’t just say it.  Do it.  Your walk is your actions behind what you say.

3) Your Environment

Your environment is very important to building your confidence.  If you have just overcome alcoholism, then the last thing you want to do is go to a bar.  Don’t put yourself around ‘friends’ that are just going to pull you back into that ungodly lifestyle.  Don’t listen to the same music and watch the same movies that got you into the mess in the first place.

During my undergraduate work at University, I watched far too many movies.  As a young college kid, I remember leaving high school as a strong believer.  But in college I started accepting ideas that were promoted in the movies.  At one point, I caught myself starting to slipping down to think that sex before marriage was not as bad as I had thought.  So although it was something I knew I shouldn’t do, it must be okay for everyone because there was a sex scene in just about every movie I saw. I realized that because I had spent so much time in the movie theaters, that Friday night ‘rest and relaxation’ was beginning to affect my standards.  My standard was beginning to slip to the world’s low standard.  You’ve got to watch out where you hang around.

4) Your Relationship With God

Of course, your talk, your walk and your environment are all important in building confidence.  However, one of the most important areas is your relationship with God.  You can have all the action in your life that any super-christian has in your daily life, but still completely miss God.  Going to church, spending time with Christians, singing praise and worship songs in your car on the way to work; all this is good but without that God relationship, you are lost and going to hell.  Make time every morning to get before God.  Read the word, pray, listen to His voice as He directs according to His Word.
If you follow these four points, you will find your confidence built strong.

Confidence in yourself is one thing; however, confidence in yourself founded on God’s Word is confidence that will never, ever fail you.

Posted on 17 March, 2007

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Something Greater

Acts 8:13
13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. NKJV

In the days of the early church, just as now, there were people dabbling in the power of the devil.  They could do all sorts of magical things through the power of darkness.  This power is real.  There was one man named Simon who was able to work in witchcraft and had the local people’s respect from young to old people.

1 John 4:4 tells us that great is He who is in us than he who is in the world.  Simon who had everyone’s attention and respect for having this magical power saw something greater.  He saw Philip come in to Samaria, preach the Word with signs and wonders.  He saw people healed of sickness and disease.  He saw demons flee at the mighty name of Jesus.  He saw something greater.  He saw something that he knew he didn’t have and he wanted that power.  He wanted that joy.  He wanted that peace and victory that only comes through the Mighty Name of Jesus the Anointed One.

Simon knew the power of darkness, but he knew it was shallow and unfulfilling because it wasn’t from the God of Light, it was from darkness.  Simon accepted Jesus as his Savior that day through the ministry of Philip.  He not only accepted Jesus and confessed His name. Verse 13 says he continued with Philip.  He hung around.  I can just picture him following Philip wherever he went.  He didn’t just get something and go, he go something and wanted more.

Just like the rest of us, Simon was human.  Once you are saved you have to work at changing your way of thinkjing (Romans 12:2) from your old ways to God’s ways.  When Simon saw people receiving the Holy Spirit of God by the laying on of hands in verse 19 he wanted to be able to do the same thing.  Before he knew God, he could buy things. At that point, he temporarily reverted to his old ways. He thought he could buy the gift of imparting the Holy Spirit.  Peter was upset with him for thinking this way, but Simon knew there was something greater than anything he had ever done through the power of darkness working before him.  He knew that God was in this and he wanted to be a part of it.

God has something greater for you.  Maybe you are in a job that you don’t like.  Maybe you are in a financial situation that is below the Biblical prosperity God has for you.  Maybe you have got everything you could possible have but you still feel empty.  That is because we all need something greater.  Humanism, socialism, politics, environmentalism, relationships, drugs, music, sports; nothing can fill our built-in desire to know God.  But more importantly, we shouldn’t just stop at meeting God.  In John 10:10, Jesus said “I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.” It is pretty clear there are two choices here.  One is to have eternal life.  The other is to have it more abundantly.

Don’t settle for what you have now, go for something greater.  Go deeper with the Almighty God.  You will never be disappointed.  But more importantly, you will always be satisfied in a relationship with God.  The Almighty God is a god of abundance!

Prayer-
Father God, I thank you for the great plans you have for me.  I thank you that you love me and died for me.  I want to know you deeper and know your ways.  I want to walk in that same faith and power that Philip walked in.  I don’t want to be a conformer, I want to be a world changer.  Holy Spirit, guide me and direct me.  Help me to be sensitive to your plan, will, and calling for me and make it come to pass.  In the Mighty Name of Jesus.  Amen.

Posted on 12 February, 2007

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What Do You Think?

Romans 8:5
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  NLT

Many unbelievers go to church and they hear a message on giving and get very turned off to the Gospel and God’s Word.  They leave the church with this feeling that the minister is only giving the message as a fund raiser.  Well, frankly speaking, this could very well be the case.  Many ministers get nervous about budget shortfalls and sometimes pull out scriptures like Malachi and beat their church family over the head with the scripture.

God wants you blessed.  It is a spiritual law, that those who give receive.  There is no better of a place to describe this than Japan.  In Japan, when you give someone a present they are obligated by culture to give something back.  In Japanese it is called ‘okaeshi’ or something in return.  For example, in the new year parents and grandparents many times give their children ‘otoshidama’ which are small envelopes with a little bit of cash.  The children can use the cash to buy something for themselves.  Of course, most of the young children opt for the nearest toy store to ‘invest’ in a toy or something there.  If the otoshidama is given by the grandparents or someone else, the parents feel an obligation to give something back to the giver.  A similar thing happens at Japanese weddings, the guests bring gifts for the bride and groom but they also leave with a gift as well.  I am sure that there are times when people forget to give something back and it is not a good reflection on them in society.

When you give into God’s kingdom, it is the same but better.  The Word says, “Give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together, running OVER!” But what does this giving have to do with thinking?  God says to give with a cheerful heart in His Word.  When you give, you can know that God will reward you for your giving.  The Bible says God will return, 30, 60, and 100 fold if you believe him and have clean hands and a pure heart before Him.  This is why what you think is so important.

Immerse yourself in the Word of God.  Think the way God thinks.  Think on things that are right, pure, and pleasing to Him.  There is not a speck of darkness in God.  If you find yourself thinking about things that are not bright and holy (clean living), then you should examine what you are watching and reading.  Proverbs 4:22 tells us to guard our hearts for out it flow the issues of life.  The entrances are your eyes, eyes, and senses.  Permeate yourself with the Word of God.  Watch movies, listen to music, read books that nurture your soul.

Posted on 6 February, 2007

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What makes a good leader?

 

Acts 6:2-4 
3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” NKJV

In the 6th chapter of Acts we see that the early church was experiencing growing pains.  A church is a gathering of believers.  Getting together with other believers is something that God says He blesses.  (So if you aren’t regularly attending a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing church, then don’t expect God to bless what you are doing).  But as with all groups; with more people, come more problems.  If you don’t deal with the problems, they will come to bite you later.

This church had some logistical or communication problem that started among the members.  There was concerned that a certain group of widows were not being taken care of like the others.  People started getting upset.  The friends of Jesus Christ dealt with it quickly.  They appointed people to help make sure things were done right.  They delegated the work and didn’t try to do everything themselves.  Church is a team, and that is exactly what they did.  But what type of people did they select to be leaders in the church?

Acts 6:3 says they picked people 
1) Of good reputation 
2) Full of the Holy Spirit 
3) And, full of wisdom

It is one thing to be smart.  If you work at a company, usually the smart people get promoted (there are some exceptions but they usually don’t last long or the company doesn’t last long).  In God’s Kingdom smart is not good enough.  You have to have a proven record, a good reputation.  On top of having this history of being consistent and being smart (full of wisdom), there is one other trait that unbelievers can never have.  You have to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Being filled with God’s Spirit is being filled with God.  You know His heart, His will for the situation.  With God filling you, you can never be beat. 

Posted on 30 January, 2007

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The Tithe—Is it Still Necessary?

To receive the optimum God-kind of abundance, you must not overlook or under-emphasize the basic building blocks of your biblical abundance plan. To open heaven’s windows and keep them open, you must tithe. Biblically, tithing is not optional. You owe God the tithe.

God says when we don’t tithe, we rob Him. We tithe at His command, not our discretion. By faithfully bringing Him the tithe, we establish our honesty and obedience.

In Hebrews 7:1-10 we see that Abraham paid tithes. In fact, Abraham tithed for all posterity—for his natural children (seed), and for the spiritual children (seed) who now live in the dispensation of grace: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).

The obligation of tithing reaches across the pre-law dispensations, the dispensation of the law, and now into the post-law dispensation of grace.

Remember: Faithful tithing opens the windows of heaven, making this basic giving (the tithe) vital. Without the windows of heaven open, nothing can flow from God to you or me.

Source: The Basics of Abundance by John Avanzini
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers

Posted on 16 January, 2007

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Spiritual Bodybuilding

Pumping Iron Spiritually

Spiritual Bodybuilding

1Tim 4:6-8 
In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Recently I started weight training in the morning after a ten year lapse. After a long break the first work out is a bit painful, using parts of your bodies that you haven’t used in a long time is something your body doesn’t let you forget soon; your chest, forearms, back of your arms, stomach, and legs. With each work-out you feel the strength come to each muscle group that you exercise. Accompanying those strength gains is the confidence knowing that you will not easily be injured and you can easily do those things that need to be done.

Around the house you can pick up the garden, clean out the garage, reach up and pick up something without hurting your back. I was recently inspired by my sister’s father-in-love (as we calls in-laws) in Oregon who was bucked off his horse and kicked and sustained only minor injuries.

The inspiration is that he is getting close to eighty years old! His doctor commented that “if you were not so strong, you would have sustained some major injuries”.

1 Timothy tells us that physical exercise is good and I believe it. But the Word emphasizes the need for spiritual exercise more than physical. Why? We are spirits with souls and we live in bodies (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

It may sound strange but we will someday leave the bodies we now live in. They’ll go back to dust so all the weight-training, swimming, and jogging won’t mean much when we get into God’s presence. That is only for this world, but spiritual strength is something we can take directly with us. How do we begin our spiritual strengthening? By setting aside time every day to study, meditate, and pray the Word of God. Just as in the physical, if we stray from the spiritual discipline to spend time fellowshipping our Father and getting to know Him; in a short time we will lose our spiritual strength. I’ve noticed this in my own life. As I am in the Word and flowing with the Father my spiritual strength cannot be stopped.

# My prayers for the sick are powerful and healing is quick (and a person with a spark of faith.ignites in strong healing power) 
# I quickly put demonic powers in their places. 
# I can clearly hear God’s voice on the various decisions I have to make throughout the week. 
# God can do the same for you! If you aren’t already, start your spiritual body-building today. Mark a daily time appointment in your calendar and write GOD in bold in the space and keep those appointments. 

Posted on 19 December, 2006

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Filling the God Vacuum

Praise the Name!

This is a very interesting article from CBN.  We are not sure how long it will be up there so we will cut and paste it below.  The link is 
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/73217.aspx

Japan: Filling the God Vacuum 
By Sarah Pollack 
CBN News 
December 18, 2006

CBNNews.com – Contrary to popular belief, Japan is far from being a “reached” country with a growing, vibrant church.

In fact, Japan has fewer baptized believers in Jesus Christ than some Muslim countries.

Christianity in Japan has faced an uphill battle for hundreds of years. Religious freedom didn’t come to the island nation until around the time of America’s civil war.

Before then, persecution was so severe that many Japanese Christians were nailed to crosses or burned at the stake with their children.

As recent as World War II the emperor called himself god, demanding the worship of his country.

After Hiroshima and surrender, the call went out for 1,000 missionaries. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur called Japan a spiritual vacuum.

Sixty years later, it still remains leaving a state of confusion.

In today’s Japan, there’s a popular saying: Japanese are “born Shinto, marry Christian, and die Buddhist.”

The lines between the predominant religions are blurred in a spiritual hodge-podge.

Many have looked to the economy to fill their ‘God vacuum.’

But recently it’s been faltering, and many jaded Japanese have lost hope.

One Japanese, called Kiku, explained, “But now we have everything, but what is lacking is purpose. Why are we here? We can’t answer the question ‘who are you?’ unless we know the Creator God—then everything makes sense.”

“There is what you might call a ‘dark night of the soul’ to use that phrase to describe the Japanese right now,” said renowned researcher George Gallup, Jr.

In fact, Gallup found that 11 percent of the Japanese wish they had never even been born.

That’s reflected in the country’s unusually high suicide rate.

But a new survey by Gallup says that might be changing.

When asked about their religion, four percent of adults and seven percent of teenagers checked “Christian,” out of a list of many different religions.

That figure made big news when it was released earlier this year.

The official number of Christians, according to the CIA World Fact Book, is less than one percent of the population.

Pastor Hosoi Makoto leads a congregation in Tokyo. He said, “From our point of view, the sense we have that the percentage suddenly went from under one percent to maybe five times that is, uh, unimaginable—and we don’t get the feeling that that has actually happened.”

While that number may not be born-again believers in Jesus Christ, researchers believe it could definitely mean Japanese hearts are softening toward the Gospel.

“This doesn’t mean that they are church members,” Gallup said, “And it doesn’t mean that they are solidly committed, but they identify with Christianity. Something about the ideas of Christianity and the values of Christianity appeal to them.”

One of the reasons why so many Japanese feel they can associate themselves with Christianity is the popularity of Western or Christian-style weddings.

Gallup said, “It’s the element of joy that comes through in the Christian weddings that appeals to the Japanese.”

Beyond that, the Japanese love affair with all things Western means a growing number of them are trading in the traditional kimono for the big white dress and tux.

Another reason the Japanese are softening up to the message of the Bible is the incredible phenomenon of black Gospel music.

Believe it or not, the reserved Japanese love the toe-tapping, finger-snapping, always swaying music.

Gospel music singer Garrison Davis has lived in Japan for eight years.

Davis said, “When they get in to an atmosphere of faith, where there is the Word being spoken or where there is Gospel music that is anointed and coming forth, their spirit is pricked. They really don’t understand what’s happening at that point. What they’re dealing with is really the emotional aspect of it.”

Many Japanese who like Gospel music have yet to understand the words behind the music, and much of it has become a commercial industry.

“They don’t have a sense of value with regard to who God really is and why we need to receive Christ,” said Davis. “What they see is the Western images of ‘religiosity’—‘religiosity and Christendom, if you will.”

That is where Gallup believes a movement called the Alpha Course can have some success.

People meet in small groups and hear a thorough presentation of the Gospel, while hitting real-life issues head on. It meets the Japanese at their point of need, hoping to shed some light into the “dark night of the soul.”

Kiku said, “God says, ‘You are precious in My sight, I love you.’ And that is a key word for Japan. Everybody is looking for their value, worth, state of worth, but God says, ‘You are valuable.’”

It’s that disconnect between a Christian image and a real relationship with Jesus Christ that the Japanese don’t seem to get.

“More Japanese need to know who Jesus is and what Christianity stands for,” Gallup said. “Jesus is irresistible, regardless of culture. That’s the way I feel. If you know enough about Jesus, He’s irresistible.”

Scott Parrish, a missionary with Asian Access, said, “Romans 10:14 is really key. It says you can’t believe in One you haven’t heard of, and you can’t hear unless someone tells you…Unless you hear about Him, you can’t believe.”

Posted on 18 December, 2006