Healing in Communion

For anyone who eats and drinks (the Lord’s supper) without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  I Corinthians 11:29-30 Most of the time when I have taken communion, the message preceding it has been about the forgiveness of my sins.  I only recently came to see this in a different light.  Jesus said we are to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of Him.  We are to remember what His sacrifice was all about … Continue reading Healing in Communion

Jesus Heals for Free

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 Jesus went about doing good – healing people from all manner of sickness and delivering them from the oppression of the devil. All one has to do is read through the gospels to see this. And to also see that He never asked for a co-pay or a tithe or an offering. The healing He provided would require a payment but not from … Continue reading Jesus Heals for Free

Turning Pain into Praise

Not all of my days go the way I planned them.  Some fall short of my expectations.  Sometimes pain interrupts my plans.  Sometimes it is because of something I did or did not do; sometimes it is because of something someone else did or did not do.  Sometimes my long term projects fall short of completion.  Sometimes my goals, my hopes, my desires get lost in the shuffle of today and all that it offers.  This verse speaks to me for those days: Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten  and the wheat … Continue reading Turning Pain into Praise

Trust in God’s Unchanging Word

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 My yard, which starts out so green and beautiful in the spring fades to yellow and becomes not so beautiful in the summer. God created the seasons and the seasons change. As they change, they also change the appearance of the natural environment around us. This change is predictable. Unfortunately, not all changes are predictable. The doctor’s report that rocks our world and leads to more questions than answers is definitely unpredictable.  We know when to expect the seasons to change – when fall … Continue reading Trust in God’s Unchanging Word

Renew Your Mind

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.  3 John 1:2 Years ago, I had to revisit algebra in an attempt to help our son with his school work.  One thing I learned is that equations need to be balanced.  For example 2 +5 = 10-3 is a balanced equation.  You probably remember from school that what you do to one side of that equation, you have to do to the other side to keep it balanced. An equation can be unbalanced otherwise. When I looked at this … Continue reading Renew Your Mind

Secondary Barrenness

  Our first attempt at having a child ended in miscarriage.   This was 1995.  It was a devastating loss and as I lay on the sofa one day healing, the Holy Spirit said, “Get up and go to ORU.”  We lived in Tulsa at the time just about a mile from Oral Roberts University and so I got up and made the drive. Once there, having no further instructions, I went to the gift store.  There was no one there.  I walked around looking at the items for sale and wondered what my next move was to be.  Shortly, a … Continue reading Secondary Barrenness

God’s Economy

Years ago, when I lived in Montana, I had a wonderful gelding named Apache. The whole family loved that horse. Anyone could ride him; he was totally trustworthy. I especially liked taking him out on short jaunts in the woods. Fearless, smart and oh, how he loved to run, but there was one thing he would not do. He would not jump over anything. No, not ever, which most of the time was fine. But sometimes, in the woods, when a tree had fallen across the trail our ride would have been much nicer if he would have just jumped … Continue reading God’s Economy

Genetics

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being …. Hebrews 1:3 My daughter is trying to pin her bad memory on me. Says its genetics. She offered eye-witness accounts to support her case, but I can’t remember what they are. Genetics are funny things. I have four children, three with the same genetic pool and yet the differences between them are incredibly noticeable. This leaves me scratching my head about this genetic thing. There had to be more to that duplication than just genes. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God. … Continue reading Genetics

Ask, Believe, Receive

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 If I had a dollar for every time I read this verse or heard teaching on it, I could take every one of you who reads this to Starbuck’s for a coffee! Don’t head out just yet … I said IF! But the other day, I got it. Call it revelation or an AH HA! moment, but I realized how my thinking had been wrong in this area. Oh, I believe that I am healed; that it is a done deal. … Continue reading Ask, Believe, Receive

If Only God Would

Moses responded, “Then show me Your glorious presence.” Exodus 33:18 Moses had been given the unenviable task of leading God’s people to the Promised Land. God assured Moses that he would not be going alone, God would be with him and would look favorably upon him. But Moses wanted more. Maybe he was thinking something like, “Maybe I could do this if God would only __________.” Moses filled in that blank with “show me Your glorious presence.” When called to go through something difficult or stretching, what would you fill in that blank with? Heal me, make my path straight, make my … Continue reading If Only God Would