God’s Prescription for Healing

…and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 I realize in this passage that God is talking to an entire people group and not an individual.  However, I believe there are some things we can take from this and apply personally.  I see this as God’s prescription for healing and it has four steps. First, recognize that we are called by His name, we are His. Second, … Continue reading God’s Prescription for Healing

Setting Things Right

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Matthew 9:35 Jesus confused people. I think it’s safe to say as much. Everywhere He walked, He left behind people scratching their heads and wondering about this man who was the carpenter’s son. He came preaching a message quite different from what people anticipated, even those who were well versed in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. He healed the sick on the Sabbath, and He delivered people from the torment of Satan, … Continue reading Setting Things Right

Do What You Can Captain

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. Ephesians 6:13  Message Bible Years ago, we had a family reunion at a beach house on Galveston Island.  My nephew and niece were about 6 years old and they were standing looking out over the Gulf of Mexico … Continue reading Do What You Can Captain

How’s Your Appetite?

 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97 I planned what I thought would be a wonderful summer project for the kids I work with – composting with worms.  My great idea was that they could recycle leftovers from their lunches by feeding it to the worms and by summer’s end they would see the beautiful compost the worms made of it. I made two assumptions that proved to be wrong. 1.     Not all kids like to handle worms.  In fact, out of 25 kids, I could only get two or three to … Continue reading How’s Your Appetite?

The Me Jesus Loves

One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. John 13:23 Five times in the gospel of John, written by John, John is referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved or the beloved disciple. John is not described this way in the other three gospel accounts. I find this endearing. John grasped something that the others seemed to have missed, something that perhaps, we miss also. While other disciples were professing their undying love and loyalty, John was basking in the love that Jesus had for him. Maybe John described himself this way because he … Continue reading The Me Jesus Loves

No Healing Too Difficult for God

“I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too difficult for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 Some years back in our homeschool journey, we studied Mohs Hardness Scale. This scale is used to identify mineral specimens by comparing their hardness to the ten minerals on the scale. Talc is the least hard with diamonds being the hardest and knife-blades and fingernails and copper pennies and other minerals falling somewhere in between. A scale like this apparently works for mineral identification but it made me realize that I have a tendency to put God’s ability to perform a … Continue reading No Healing Too Difficult for God

Speak to Your Mountain

…”Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea.’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.  Mark 11:23 Jesus is speaking here. Peter had just pointed out to Him that the fig tree which Jesus cursed the day before had withered. This, perhaps, left Peter a bit confused but Jesus knew it would wither the moment He cursed it.  The evidence wasn’t clear to all until the next morning. Jesus responded to … Continue reading Speak to Your Mountain

Fall Season

There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 31:1 Fall has arrived here in the PNW. Oh, it’s not quite as colorful right now as that picture, but the leaves are changing colors and some have started to fall from the trees. In due time, the beauty of fall will be evidenced all around us. Fall is a time of shedding off the old, not just leaves from the trees but those things in our personal life: thoughts, feelings, behaviours that may have served us well in a previous season but may hinder our … Continue reading Fall Season

Battle Strategy for Victory!!

And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. Joshua 6:16 It’s a rather familiar story, the Israelites were beginning the process of taking over the Promised Land. They weren’t trained for battle but God devised a plan that required three things of them – walk around the city, keep your mouth shut and at the appointed time let out a shout! The appointed time for the shout was before the walls came down, not after! They were used to walking having spent years in the … Continue reading Battle Strategy for Victory!!

Cheerfulness is Good Medicine

A cheerful heart is good medicine, Proverbs 17:22 Years ago, when my son was 4 years old, he told me out of the blue me that Jesus just wanted us to play with Him.  At the time, I thought it was cute, it wasn’t until later that I realized how truly profound it is. Watch a child play and you will know they aren’t thinking about tomorrow, they aren’t dwelling on the past, they are focused on right now. My son asks me to play with him quite regularly.  And I do play with him a lot but sometimes I … Continue reading Cheerfulness is Good Medicine