Month: July 2010

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HIV Healing

I know the title of this blog post may seem a little odd, but as I have monitored the hits on my blog for almost two years now, this is the search term that shows up almost daily. People looking for answers, looking for healing from a deadly disease. I’d like to address those people in need of healing, no matter what the disease, in today’s post and in future posts to come.

Let’s take a look at the Gospel (the Good News) found in the book of John chapter five beginning in verse two.

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever diseases he had.

And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked…

Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

This is one of the most beautiful accounts in the Bible. Why do I say that? Oh, just let me tell you what all is in this passage.

In verse two we are introduced to a Hebrew word Bethesda. Bethesda is made up of two Hebrew words bet, which means house, and hesda, which means mercy. The place where the sick came to be healed was at the house of mercy. This man was healed at the house of mercy. What is mercy for? It’s for when you didn’t do it all right. You made mistakes. You did some things maybe you shouldn’t have then mercy comes along to make it all right.

The Hebrew word hesda (mercy) comes from the root word hesed. What is hesed? God’s unfailing love. He has mercy on us, because He loves us. He wants to have mercy on you, because He loves you, no matter what you’ve done or haven’t done.

After the man is healed he runs into Jesus again. Jesus tells him at this time to sin no more, so that nothing worse comes on him. This man had sin in his life, but it didn’t stop him from getting healed. What is that? Mercy.

Jesus didn’t address the man’s sin until after he was healed. He then addresses it later. Why? Because He loves the man and he doesn’t want him to have anything worse to come upon Him. Was He saying, “I’ll make you worse if you mess up again”? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! He was saying, “Sin has natural consequences and I don’t want that for you, because I love you.”

One part of the passage I didn’t share was where he was asked who healed him. The man didn’t know. He didn’t even know Jesus and he was healed. What’s that? That’s mercy. That’s God’s unfailing love at work.

Throughout the Gospel accounts men and women in need of healing came to Him and said, “Son of David have mercy on me.” Every person who uttered those words was healed. Their faith was not in their own faith, in their own abilities, or in their own works, their faith was in His mercy. Do you believe He is merciful?

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever. (Psalm 136:1, Amplified)

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23, KJV)

…He delights in mercy… (Micah 7:18, Amplified)

He is merciful and He always will be, because He is love (1 Jn 4:8) and He always will be. He delights in mercy. He’s not put out with you because He has to show His mercy to you yet again. He delights in showing mercy.

His mercies are new every morning. The mercy you need today was waiting for you when you woke up this morning. It’s a free gift. Just say, “Lord, have mercy on me and heal me.” Then rest in the fact that He is faithful. He has heard you. He loves you and He delights in showing you mercy. Be healed in Jesus’ Name.

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Sitting with the King

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:10-13, KJV)

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. (Romans 5:8, Amplified)

While you were still separated in your heart from Him, while you were still lost in your deepest sins, He wanted to sit with you because He loves you.

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42, KJV)

And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. (John 6:3, KJV)

And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. (John 8:2, KJV)

I tell the things which I have seen and learned at My Father’s side… (John 8:38, Amplified)

Even now, He wants to sit with you and fellowship with you and teach you. He wants you to learn at His side as He learned as His Father’s side.

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19, KJV)

But God – so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace…that you are saved… and He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (Ephesians 2:4-6, Amplified)

For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (Romans 5:17, Amplified)

Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, resting in the finished work of the cross. Ruling from the place of ultimate authority and you have been seated with Him in heavenly places. He wanted to sit with you from the beginning of time and He wants to sit with you for all of eternity. Selah.

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Love Her Life Back

On the Fourth of July of this year, God said something to me that has changed the way I see everything in this nation. He had me turn to Isaiah 38:17 in my Amplified Bible. This is what it says.

…You have loved back my life from the pit of corruption and nothingness, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

I saw immediately what He was saying to me. He was going to love back this nation from the pit of corruption and nothingness, because He was going to cast her sins behind His back. I also immediately knew what that meant. He was going to do it as I did it. Where is His love? Shed abroad in my heart (Romans 5:5). And I have been asked to forgive, to remit the sins of others (John 20:22-23; 1 John 5:16).

The Lord once put a person in my life who was quite challenging to love. I was complaining to the Lord about it. (He already knew what I was thinking). His response to me was, “I didn’t put her in your life so that you could judge her. I put her in your life, so that you could love her.”

When He spoke those words, I knew what else He was saying to me. Isaiah 38:17 (Amp) came to mind. I was to love her life back from the pit of corruption and nothingness by casting her sins behind my back. I did. And her life was indeed loved back from that pit.

Just the other day a scripture that I don’t really like to think about came to mind.

And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity… (Matthew 24:12, Amplified)

The word translated as love in this verse is the Greek word agape. It is the God kind of love and only those who have received His Son as their Savior have this kind of love. Has the lawlessness and iniquity that is running rampant in the world, in this nation, including in our government caused your love to grow cold?

Across the Body of Christ many are praying for and expecting a great awakening to God. Who is God? He is love. I am praying for and expecting a great awakening to love.

So on the Fourth of July as God spoke that scripture in my heart I knew He needed His people to love and forgive. I said, “You can use me to love back this nation. I will love her.”

In the next moment I knew what that meant. I must love Barak Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and all the others that are taking this nation further and further away from her Godly foundations.

Do I agree with them? No. Do I condone their sins? No. But does that mean I get to not love them, or even hate them? No. Will I vote for them? No.

I am looking for that great awakening to love and it starts with me. It starts with you. Will you be a part of God loving this nation back, by loving the people of this nation from the top to the bottom?