The Gift of Healing

            When my boy was two he was beating up on a passenger in the back seat of our car.  We encouraged him to be nice and to be like Jesus.  Immediately he put his hand out toward the pummeled passenger and said, "be healed".  It had taken him mere months to come to a conclusion that I didn't reach for thirty years--to be like Jesus is to heal people.

 Ask anyone unfamiliar with Christianity to read the gospels and tell us what they notice, they will most definitely remark on Jesus' habit of healing everyone who came to Him.  Jesus was the original and most normal Christian, the watermark, and He has modeled for believers what our practice toward sickness is to be.  We are to do as He did (John 20:21).  Healing people is to be one of the most normal virtues of the Christian life.  Our exceeding "niceness" is noted as diseases leave people's bodies.  "Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out demons" (Mt. 10:8).  Our Body is fueled and driven by this verse which describes how the original followers were sent to preach and demonstrate the kingdom of God.  This message was not just for the first disciples but for everyone.  They were instructed to teach the nations all that He had commanded them (Mt. 28:20).  Go, teach everyone else what you have learned in my presence.  So, they did.  All Christians are supposed to move in the gift of healing, the most recognized aspect of Jesus' life.

 Approaching the gift of healing believers will often remember Paul’s words more than they will Jesus’ words.  Does everyone have the gift of healing?  In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul goes over the nine gifts of the Spirit and then begins to explain that not everyone has the same gifts.  “All do not have gifts of healing, do they?” (12:30).  It is my understanding that Paul is describing what is taking place in a believer’s meeting.  As the Spirit is moving in a meeting someone may be used to heal that “Sunday”, another may have a prophetic word, another an interpretation to a message that was spoken in an unknown language.           

However we interpret 1 Corinthians 12, we must allow what Jesus said to help us interpret what Paul has said.  Jesus has directly instructed us to heal the sick, so regardless of what Paul may be talking about we are all still supposed to heal the sick.  Yes, actually heal the sick, the diseased, the dying, the injured, the demonized and the dead.  

We usually conclude that someone has the gift of healing because people get healed when he or she prays for others.  I believe this approach has contributed to the dying out of this gift.  This gift is available to every believer because every believer has the Holy Spirit within.  And within the Spirit are the gifts of the Spirit.  The moment we receive Jesus, Holy Spirit sets up shop within us and every good thing, fruit and gift is now available to us.  And it is faith that makes what’s available accessible.  We receive all of the Holy Spirit, not just parts of His nature and power.  He’s all in there!  Putting the gift to work with expectation allows that gift to mature.  

Here's a fact:  pray for sick with faith and expectation and you will see people get healed.  Everyone may not get healed, but that is the standard that Jesus has set for me.  And He's pleased with me as I lovingly and joyously long for His likeness to be seen in me.  I'm excited for the coming day when my Christian profession is responded to with "Oh, so you heal the sick, right?"

Our Personal Destiny

I believe God made us all wonderfully different.  When we were in the womb He gave us personalities and destinies, which should be unique and in their own way bringing heaven to earth.  It's our job to find out what they are.  It's not that hard though really.  It's just being us and no one else.   

Some of us mistake our "destiny" as something that has to look or be of a certain magnitude.  It may seem big or small but in the supernatural reality they are all earth shaking.  This can look like anything  from a simple farmer that is praying over his/her crop that when people eat the food the Holy Spirit will be ingested as well, to a mom that raises up godly children with the principles like healing the sick and bringing heaven to earth at the age they are, to someone that is on a Hollywood type platform declaring the love of God in the media. 

When we get closer to God we become more us, not less of us.  We are made in His image and He is love.  When we allow the Holy Spirit to get near and we are honest with who we really are, the false identities that we and others have put on ourselves melt off. 

Most of our ministry it seems in this season is administering His revelations that we are in fact amazing and powerful.  Despite what we have done or are doing, God only sees us as that.  Jesus talks to the Father on our behalf.  He is our filter.  Father God just can't see the bad in us.  He only looks at who He made us to be and He loves us perfectly without wanting to change us.  He just wants to love us.  Isn't that incredible? If God doesn't have any other agenda but to love then it's amazing how we end up becoming who we were made to be from the beginning.

If our goal is heaven coming to earth and doing so with who God made us, the whole world can be changed by us just being us.

In our community, we encourage people to dream big and make mistakes.  If something is on your heart and in lines up with who Jesus was, go for it.  Don't waste time.  Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (freedom).  So Holy Spirit I ask You to fill every person reading this blog.  Freedom reigns in you.  He has called you out.  Go change the world.

Abbi

A Destiny of Rest

I used to think that the Christian life was about walking a tiny tight rope, which was the plan God had for my life. Any misstep and I’d plummet to unthinkable depths, possibly throwing off God’s plan for my whole life! This created a frantic, ‘walking on eggshells’ feeling for me about the future.

Remembering the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, we see that there is no toiling or striving in Him. I believe that toiling and striving in life came as a result of the curse of sin.

“What am I supposed to do with my life? What if I choose something that isn’t in God’s will?”

Sometimes we let these questions and unknowns lead us to a place of stress, anxiety, and fear that paralyze us, and we beg God to show us where to go next in life so that we can stop waiting and make a move.

But God is always speaking! He has given us desires and passions to drive us to our destinies. He has given us free will because he trusts us! God isn’t a red light that turns green when we’ve toiled and strived hard enough; He’s a green light that’s cheering us on to explore our destiny and follow our dreams! Through the cross the curse of sin is broken and we can experience heaven on earth!

When we understand how deep God’s goodness and love is, the fear begins to leave. Instead of walking in fear, we can walk in grace. And no matter what happens through this process we can hold on to the higher reality that the Spirit that lives inside of us offers unrelenting peace and rest. 

Jaci Terjeson

Living in mystery

The full nature of Father God was found in the person of Jesus.  Jesus was the exact representation of the Father.  That means any view we have of the father that can not be found in the life of Jesus needs to be brought into question.  There was so much confusion on who God was and Jesus cleared up all of the questions by demonstrating the Father.

This truth brings up many questions.  Scripture, Gods nature and why we are on earth.   The biggest truth is Jesus.  Jesus even told the disciples that he is the Truth.  All truth is in him.

QUESTIONS NEVER TRUMP THE REVELATION OF JESUS

We can all come up with a million questions about the nature of God.  From sickness to scripture.  But there is not a question big enough to out weigh the person of Jesus.

It is important to live in mystery regarding this subject.  If we can fully explain our christianity than we are not living by faith.  Religion wants us to be able to explain everything then eventually we are back under the law.

The measure of mystery we are willing to live under is equal to the amount of revelation that God can give us.

We dont need to know everything.  All we must know is that he is good and does not cause harm to his children and bride.

The goodness of God must be the anchor of all theology and thought life.

Landon Snoddy

A Love Affair is Two-Sided

God wants us to personally experience the bursting-at-the-seems love He has for us. Far beyond just having knowledge that He loves us, He wants us to feel His love, taste His love, and touch His love. A love affair is not one-sided.

We need to receive His love poured out on us just as much as we pour out our love on Him. Receiving His expressions of love to us is one of the greatest ways for us to express our love to Him. When’s the last time we let Him spoil us? Sit back, listen, look, and just enjoy His love. Isn’t that a father’s greatest joy, to see his son or daughter delighting in his loving word, touch, or gift?

A love affair is two-sided. When a love letter is sent, the beloved sends a letter back. God sends us love letters all day. He doesn’t keep what He thinks about us a secret. We can read in the Bible of how He loves us, but He also has brand new words and expressions each day of His freshly squeezed love for us. I would guess that hundreds of the things we experience in a day are a product of His love: the beautiful tree branch that fell in your path and kissed your senses with its sweet evergreen fragrance; the cloud in the sky that reminded you of a pleasant memory; the time you thought you heard someone call your voice and it was really the audible voice of Jesus. He is so near and so in love with us. It’s impossible for a love struck groom not to interact with his prized bride. He is pulling at our shirts saying,

Take me away with you.

Let’s just run off together.

You’re what I’ve always dreamed of.

Compromise and Comparison

One of the top two things I've been learning about lately and really digging into is not comparing myself and in the same breath not compromising what I stand for.

In my world, I have to know what I believe in and what I stand for.  God is good.  He is so good.   The other side to this is we are good.  We are made in His image.  We are powerful and amazing. WOW! God is proud of us.  He thinks we are beautiful, and heaven is cheering us on to go and be us. 

When I start comparing myself to others, I begin to believe two things.  One is that I am not good, or two is that the other person is not amazing.  I don't believe God is talking to the angels telling them "this person is really awesome but you know this other person . . . not so much."


So how do I express that I disagree with other people's opinions, theologies, or actions? First there isn't a real simple answer.  Sorry.  In my heart, I have to step back and remember that these people are so loved by God and ask Him what is the "gold" in them that I can find to bless in them.  I have to remember I am not here to criticize or judge.  I am here to bless. I am not here to argue or debate. I can disagree. That's OK, but it's kindness that leads to repentance. 

 To sum it up, I would rather love people to Jesus and into greatness with clean hands than punishment and pointing out their weaknesses.  Really when it comes down to it, it just makes things better.

Abbi Rodes

God's Never Mad

Is it really possible for God to get mad, frustrated or disappointed with us?  He is perfectly good and loving and it is His kindness that leads to change and new perspectives.  His nature is the fruit of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  This means that God's response to our failures will always flow through one (or many) of these immutable virtues.  There is no fruit of anger.  Any response God has is strategic toward transformation--fruitfulness.  Madness may make my 5-year-old behave better, but it will be at the cost of him fearing me.  Perfect love casts out fear, "because fear has to do with punishment."  Love can't get mad because love can't cause fear.  It's impossible.
So, here's the brutal short of our developing theology of God's outrageous goodness:  He doesn't get mad, nor is He likely to even get disappointed.  Jesus forgave everyone and healed every single person that came to Him.  All this before there was a payment for sin.  It just gets better...  He exudes life, peace and joy.  Get used to it:)