Hello again, friends. I know. Don't fall over dead. It's only been like 3 weeks since I last blogged instead of 1 1/2 years. I know. Don't let the shock blow you over.
I'm still in the same book: Lord, I Want to Know You by the gifted Kay Arthur. I'm actually still in the same section as last time: Jehovah-rapha, the LORD who heals. You're probably wondering when I'm going to be finished blogging about this, and the answer is I don't know. God being a healer is where I need to be.
I've been a Christian since I was a teenager. I can't remember exactly how old I was. I want to say somewhere around 14 or 15. However, I knew who Jesus was long before I decided to walk with Him. One afternoon, I walked down to my church and sat in pastor's office, pleading with Jesus to be a Savior to me, and He was. In that moment, the Cross became real in my life. In that moment, Jesus came and saved me from sin and from myself. Ezekiel says that He takes away our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh.
Today, I was reading the book, yet again convinced that nothing would be applicable to me because I had learned everything from the healer chapter that I could. No, that was not the case. Listen to what Kay writes:
For some time I had realized my lifestyle was unacceptable to God. I knew that if I were to stand before Him, I would hear Him justly say, "Depart from Me." My sins were obvious. Even I could not excuse them. For the first time in my life, I had seen my poverty of spirit. Although I had tried, I could not quit sinning. Nothing good dwelt in my flesh, and I knew it. I had made resolution after resolution to be good, to stop being immoral. Yet I gave in again and again. I finally concluded that there was no way I could ever be set free. I just wasn't strong enough spiritually to change. I knew I was sick--sick of soul. As a registered nurse I was an active participant in the healing of many bodies, but I didn't know of any doctor who could heal my soul. And heal myself? Well, it was impossible. I had tried.
Kay was talking about her life before she met Jesus, but, believer, do you ever feel like that? Do you ever feel like you're too damaged? Do you ever feel like what you are can never really be fixed? Do you ever feel like you're too dirty to be cleaned, too guilty to be freed?
My sin stared me in the face today, and it won the staring contest hands down. I felt so detestable, despicable, tarnished. I cried out to God, "Lord, I'm sorry!" Yet my guilt continued to grow. I flipped to Romans 7--yep, Kay had recommended it. However, I read past what Kay recommended. Beloved, there is a reason that Scripture is the healing balm we need. There is a reason we need it because it is our life support. Read this. It's long, but I can't leave out a single word of what God inspired Paul to write.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, [side note: As far as I'm concerned, after hearing that a sinful nature can't please God, "You, however" are the best words ever] You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 7:18-8:16, NIV
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Please don't get lost in all the spirit talk and do's and don't do's. If you do, you're going to get really confused and miss the point. I know that theologians would probably tear my analysis apart, but I'm sharing what I learned today. So here's what I got:
Before I chose to follow Jesus, I had an ugly nature in me. I had a sinful nature, a sinful spirit. However (See? It's the best word, isn't it?), when I came to know Jesus, He gave me Him. I know, people. This is elementary, and you're thinking, "Yeah, I knew that. What is the great epiphany in that?" The point is that it's not really an epiphany. It's really my Lover reminding me that He loves me and telling me our love story all over again. It's my Jesus watching me walk away, and I turn back for that final glance and He comes running. It's me wearing filthy rags, and His locking me in an embrace so tightly anyway that I never want to leave to protection of His arms, that the filth no longer matters. People, do you hear the gift He gave us? He gave us Himself. Let me say it one more time: He gave us Himself. Romans 8 says He gave Himself as the sin offering we could never give. It says that not only did He give Himself as a sin offering, but that He gives us His Spirit and He gives us a "Spirit of sonship". I mean, come on. I have the spirit of Christ living in me at all times. I have His Spirit; not because of anything I did, but because God loves me and knew I was powerless against sin without Him. "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, GOD DID by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering" (Romans 8:3).
I can't get that thought out of my head: "God did." God did that all for me. "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" God did. He made a way for me long before I walked this planet. God had paid for me, healed me before I even knew I needed it. I'm sorry if this is a long blog, if it seems simple. I am just blown away by the power, by the sweetness, by the healing of my Jesus. This morning when my heart cried out, He heard and answered. He said, "Beloved, you don't have to be a slave to that. I'm giving you freedom. I'm giving you life. I'm giving you complete healing. I am the peace maker and joy giver. Drop it and let my Spirit invade yours."
"Where do you run when you need healing? Jehovah-rapha is there--waiting with outstretched arms, Calvary arms."
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Bitter into Sweet Waters
Hello to the few of you who may stumble onto this blog! No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet, regardless of the fact that my last post was in March 2013. The blog is more of a therapeutic kind of thing for me. I'm not one of those avid bloggers. I just do it when I have a thought that may or may not interest someone else or when I have a lot of thoughts that I need to get out in some way. In this case, my journal is in another room and typing is way faster, so I'm opting for the blogging option.
I'm reading a book currently called Lord, I Want to Know You by the beautifully gifted writer Kay Arthur. I've always been more of a Beth Moore girl, but, Kay, I have to tell you: You're growing on me quickly. Anywho, this book goes through several of the names of God, shows where they first showed up Biblically (because I've learned that it is critical in understanding the meaning of name), and then digs into the meaning of the name and why it's important to know that name of God. Names in Biblical times were just as important as your actions, I feel like. Your name spoke to your character. It told more stories on you than your parents when your first date comes over to meet them. The first name Kay wrote about was Elohim. I could talk on that one for a long time, so I'll save that for, perhaps, another blog because it deserves its own slot.
The name I'm on now is Jehovah-rapha or the Lord who heals. And, like everything else in this book, I get to it and think, "Oh, this will be a good chapter for me to read for someone else. You know. For those hurting people out there who need God's healing." I don't know why in the world I CHOOSE to think things like that, because I'm always wrong. I'm sure God laughs at me when I think things like that.
So, yesterday's study led me to where the Lord first reveals Himself as a healer in Exodus 15. To put this Scripture into context for you, this was not too long after the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt.
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shut. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issues a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, "If you listen carefully to 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." --Exodus 15:22-26
I know, I know. I thought the same thing you did. How is this important, and how it is applicable to me? I don't have a water problem right now. I'm not escaping a Pharaoh. I know Jesus loves me and He forgives me and that I am healed, so what does this have to do with me? Well...I don't know if you thought that or not, but those thoughts surely ran/are running through my head. The Lord promised not to plague them with the diseases of the Egyptians if they listened to His commands and were obedient to them. It's funny. While I do believe the Lord may have very well been talking about physical ailments, I also believed the Egyptians were plagued with bitterness. I find it no coincidence that they were led to a place with bitter water. I find it no accident that listening to His voice and following His commands were the only healing for that.
Bitterness truly is a plague. Once it takes root, it takes over everything you are. Insecurity is like that, too; both of these I struggle with more than I would care to confess. Unfortunately, ridding yourself of both isn't as easy as throwing a log into some water--I wish. The little stream behind my house would be blocked with logs. Yesterday, I was with some friends, and I got really insecure about our friendships. They were busy chatting away, and, like a child, I felt "left out" because I didn't feel like I belonged in their conversation, like they didn't want me involved. So, I backed away, and the thoughts came flying. You know, your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. They can literally destroy you and steal your joy. The thoughts about you usually aren't true. They literally come from an evil one who wants to steal, kill, and destroy you. Boy, does he do a good job sometimes. "Marlie, you're not needed here. Not only are you not needed, you're not wanted. Stay in your chair over here. Nope, see? They don't even notice you. You can't possibly build friendships with people. All of your friends end up leaving; either moving away or drifting away, and then you have to start all over, knowing the process will happen all over again. Just quit trying. It's not worth it. Just learn to live lonely because that's all you'll ever be." Y'all, really. I wish I was kidding, but every single one of those thoughts raced across my mind yesterday, and the worst part was, I let them and believed them.
Kay Arthur posed the question at the end of yesterday's lesson, and it was so simple: How do you need to be healed?
I think I got my answer as yesterday's events unraveled, and I allowed Satan to steal every ounce possible of joy from me, every granule of truth. He made His people a promise: Listen and obey My commands, and you won't be plagued with what the Egyptians had. This morning, wondering how in this world I was going to handle today and take on God's joy and take it in full stride, His commands came to me:
"Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"My soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down, this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place. They delight in lies. With their mouths, they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken." --Psalm 62:1-6
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." --2 Corinthians 10:5
God told the Israelites their way to healing was listening and obedience. Obviously, that was true, because yesterday when I refused to hear all of these Scriptures flying through my head, it led to hurt instead of healing, instead of freedom. Want those waters to turn from bitter into sweet? Jesus.
Just to let you know, none of those thoughts about my sweet friends were true. They are very much dear to me and care about me. Like I said though. My enemy's mission is to steal life from me, and they very much make my soul happy. However, there's really only one life giver, only one helper, only one healer: Jehovah-rapha. So thankful for the gracious presence He has in my life and that He gave us Word to follow to find healing, to find completion, to find joy, to find Him.
I'm reading a book currently called Lord, I Want to Know You by the beautifully gifted writer Kay Arthur. I've always been more of a Beth Moore girl, but, Kay, I have to tell you: You're growing on me quickly. Anywho, this book goes through several of the names of God, shows where they first showed up Biblically (because I've learned that it is critical in understanding the meaning of name), and then digs into the meaning of the name and why it's important to know that name of God. Names in Biblical times were just as important as your actions, I feel like. Your name spoke to your character. It told more stories on you than your parents when your first date comes over to meet them. The first name Kay wrote about was Elohim. I could talk on that one for a long time, so I'll save that for, perhaps, another blog because it deserves its own slot.
The name I'm on now is Jehovah-rapha or the Lord who heals. And, like everything else in this book, I get to it and think, "Oh, this will be a good chapter for me to read for someone else. You know. For those hurting people out there who need God's healing." I don't know why in the world I CHOOSE to think things like that, because I'm always wrong. I'm sure God laughs at me when I think things like that.
So, yesterday's study led me to where the Lord first reveals Himself as a healer in Exodus 15. To put this Scripture into context for you, this was not too long after the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt.
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shut. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issues a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, "If you listen carefully to 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." --Exodus 15:22-26
I know, I know. I thought the same thing you did. How is this important, and how it is applicable to me? I don't have a water problem right now. I'm not escaping a Pharaoh. I know Jesus loves me and He forgives me and that I am healed, so what does this have to do with me? Well...I don't know if you thought that or not, but those thoughts surely ran/are running through my head. The Lord promised not to plague them with the diseases of the Egyptians if they listened to His commands and were obedient to them. It's funny. While I do believe the Lord may have very well been talking about physical ailments, I also believed the Egyptians were plagued with bitterness. I find it no coincidence that they were led to a place with bitter water. I find it no accident that listening to His voice and following His commands were the only healing for that.
Bitterness truly is a plague. Once it takes root, it takes over everything you are. Insecurity is like that, too; both of these I struggle with more than I would care to confess. Unfortunately, ridding yourself of both isn't as easy as throwing a log into some water--I wish. The little stream behind my house would be blocked with logs. Yesterday, I was with some friends, and I got really insecure about our friendships. They were busy chatting away, and, like a child, I felt "left out" because I didn't feel like I belonged in their conversation, like they didn't want me involved. So, I backed away, and the thoughts came flying. You know, your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. They can literally destroy you and steal your joy. The thoughts about you usually aren't true. They literally come from an evil one who wants to steal, kill, and destroy you. Boy, does he do a good job sometimes. "Marlie, you're not needed here. Not only are you not needed, you're not wanted. Stay in your chair over here. Nope, see? They don't even notice you. You can't possibly build friendships with people. All of your friends end up leaving; either moving away or drifting away, and then you have to start all over, knowing the process will happen all over again. Just quit trying. It's not worth it. Just learn to live lonely because that's all you'll ever be." Y'all, really. I wish I was kidding, but every single one of those thoughts raced across my mind yesterday, and the worst part was, I let them and believed them.
Kay Arthur posed the question at the end of yesterday's lesson, and it was so simple: How do you need to be healed?
I think I got my answer as yesterday's events unraveled, and I allowed Satan to steal every ounce possible of joy from me, every granule of truth. He made His people a promise: Listen and obey My commands, and you won't be plagued with what the Egyptians had. This morning, wondering how in this world I was going to handle today and take on God's joy and take it in full stride, His commands came to me:
"Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"My soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down, this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place. They delight in lies. With their mouths, they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken." --Psalm 62:1-6
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." --2 Corinthians 10:5
God told the Israelites their way to healing was listening and obedience. Obviously, that was true, because yesterday when I refused to hear all of these Scriptures flying through my head, it led to hurt instead of healing, instead of freedom. Want those waters to turn from bitter into sweet? Jesus.
Just to let you know, none of those thoughts about my sweet friends were true. They are very much dear to me and care about me. Like I said though. My enemy's mission is to steal life from me, and they very much make my soul happy. However, there's really only one life giver, only one helper, only one healer: Jehovah-rapha. So thankful for the gracious presence He has in my life and that He gave us Word to follow to find healing, to find completion, to find joy, to find Him.
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