Category Archives: Healing

Bible, Glory, Healing, Light, Praise, Rejoicing, Revelation, Scripture, Seeing, Sunrise, Sunset

SUNRISE TO SUNSET

MALACHI 1:11

“‘For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name shall be great among the nations, and in every place frankincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be great among the nations,’ says the LORD of armies.”

One thing I love about being outdoors is the opportunity to observe the sunrises and sunsets. I haven’t hunted much lately, but when I did, I loved watching the woods come alive at the first ray of light. In the evening, as the sun set, the woods would begin to go to sleep. Both times are marked by peace. We need more of that, amen?

If you read this verse today as an unbeliever, you might think the Lord is very arrogant. “My name shall be great.” “In every place…offered to My name.” “My name shall be great.” Wow! What an ego. Wrong! The Lord is the Lord of all. He is not bragging. He is simply stating the truth. He is reminding the people of this.

APPLICATION

When I read today’s verse, I immediately thought of a song that has been popular for a while. The lyrics come right out of Psalm 113. “3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised. 4 The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.”

When you see a sunrise or a sunset, what do you think about? Do you stop to extol the greatness of our God. Today’s verse and this Psalm tells us to do just that. I want to challenge you when you see your next sunrise to take a moment and lift a word of praise to Jesus. When you see the sun set, stop and thank the Lord for another day He has given you. He is worthy of all our praise.

I am planning a camping trip soon. Can’t wait. But now, based on this verse, I am even more excited. It will be easy to praise Him as I am enjoying the outdoors. Would you pray that I hear His voice while I am out there? I am seeking some direction right now in my ministry and need to hear His voice. I don’t want to get off track.

Your name is lifted high, O Lord, above the heavens. Both the rising and setting of the sun declares Your glory.

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Affection, Bible, Bitterness, Brokenness, Comfort, Despair, Encouragement, God's Will, Healing, Kindness, Love, Scripture

A NEW MESSAGE

HAGGAI 2:1

“On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,”

Have you ever tried to encourage someone who was intent on feeling sorry for themselves? It is difficult to get them to see beyond themselves. All they see is what they don’t have, who has hurt them or how unfortunate they are. All the coaxing in the world will not get them out of their funk. Sometimes, you just have to be like Job’s friends who showed up and just sat with him (Job 2:13).

In the second chapter of Haggai, he is going to deliver a message of encouragement to the people. The date he mentions, the 21st day of the seventh month, happens to be the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles when Israel is supposed to be dwelling in structures outside and praising God for all He has done for them. It was the time to gather in the harvest and celebrate it. For the Israelites, however, they were discouraged due to the lack of the harvest and no temple in which to celebrate. Haggai has his work cut out for him.

APPLICATION

So, how do you encourage someone? Well, all I know to do is to point them to Jesus. We do have instructions in His Word. I am thinking of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

You see, it’s not our words that do anything. We just have to be present and show His comfort. His comfort is always perfect. We can’t force this on anyone, but we can be there when the time is right. Just as Haggai was given a message from God to deliver to the people, He will give us the words to say at just the right time. He promises that.

I am thankful that God can use me like that. One of the greatest opportunities of ministry for me has been to comfort friends and family in the loss of loved ones. I have been there. I have lost both my parents, a child and a brother. I have grieved with my wife in the loss of her parents. Just be there. You don’t have to go with a prepared speech. Let the Spirit guide you in the words He has for you. You have a message for them. It’s one of grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.

Father of compassion and God of all comfort, comfort those around me who are in need of mercy right now.

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Accountability, Bible, Healing, Judgment, Miracles, Scripture

THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND

ZEPHANIAH 2:13

“And He will stretch out His hand against the north and eliminate Assyria, and He will make Nineveh a desolation, parched like the wilderness.”

I had great parents who were not afraid to “stretch out their hand” to correct my misbehavior. I was quite mischievous and often got into trouble. I was not a bad kid, but I pushed the limits often. For that, I would get disciplined by my mom and/or dad. I say “and/or” because sometimes my dad determined I deserved a little more for what I had done. Lol

Zephaniah reminds us that God “will stretch out His hand against” all those who come against Him. I am reminded of the story of Exodus when God sent the plagues on Egypt. God said over and over that He would stretch out His hand to deliver these. Just look at some of the verses in Exodus 8:5, 17; 9:22; 10:12. God’s outstretched hand can deliver judgment.

APPLICATION

But God’s outstretched hand can also deliver healing and miracles. Acts 4:30 says, “while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” Matthew 12:13 shows us Jesus healing a man by asking him to stretch out his hand to receive healing. “Then He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand!’ He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.”

So, we see the outstretched hand used to deliver judgment, healing, miracles and to receive healing and miracles. Let me ask you today if you are stretching out your hand to God to receive that healing you need. I don’t necessarily mean a physical healing. It may be a spiritual healing that your soul longs for. God is still doing that. He will stretch out His hand to you.

I felt the touch of God’s outstretched hand when He touched me all those years ago. He reached down, touched me and told me I was His chosen. I responded to that touch and have never been the same since. Sure, I have wandered in the past. I got out from under His outstretched hand. But His hand was still there and welcomed me when I returned. Do you need His outstretched hand today?

He touched me! Oh, He touched, and oh the joy that floods my soul.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Darkness, Deception, Double-minded, Evil, Faith, Goodness, Healing, Modeling, Scripture, Testimony

HATE GOOD AND LOVE EVIL

MICAH 3:2

“‘You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones,’”

Before I came to Christ, I loved doing things that fed my fleshly desires. Honesty time – I loved drugs and alcohol. Now, I would not say I was an addict (since I quit cold turkey once I was saved), but I got high most days somehow. Why did I do that? Because just like the people Micah is talking about in today’s verse, I loved evil, or at least the pleasures it brought my flesh.

The leaders of Israel had come to the point that they loved the evil and hated the good. Why hate the good? Because it pointed out their sin. They did not want that. They tore “off their skin,” which meant they took away from the people their outer goods and protection. Then they tore off “their flesh from their bones.” That meant they destroyed the foundation of these people’s faith. They led them into evil, and the people followed as lambs to the slaughter.

APPLICATION

Have you ever noticed that people who are living in darkness are always trying to drag others along with them? They do not want people around them who are living righteously because the light of Christ will point out their sin. They scatter like cockroaches when the light is turned on when someone mentions Jesus.

We cannot let that stop us from shining the light. We have to live lives above reproach in order to draw them to Christ. We must pray for these who are bound to sin. The Lord desires that “all men be saved.” Shine the light, people.

I am so thankful that the Lord did not leave me in my sin. In the midst of my lies and fleshly lifestyle, God saved me. Have I been perfect since then? No way. I have slipped. I have sinned. But praise be to God that His Holy Spirit will not let me stay there. He convicts me and draws me back to a place of repentance and grace. Where are you today? Do you love good and hate evil or the other way around?

I am reminded, Lord, of Psalm 101:3. “I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part of it.” Help me to live like that every day.

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Affliction, Belief, Bible, Choices, Comfort, Death, Deception, God's Will, Grace, Healing, Hope, Scripture

JUST LET ME DIE

JONAH 4:3

“‘So now, LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.’”

Unfortunately, I have heard those words from too many people. I remember a young lady that was on my caseload at a children’s home who tried to kill herself. I was called to the cottage to find that she had cut her wrists. We quickly bandage them, applied pressure and took off for the hospital. She kept saying all the way there that she just wanted to die. “Just let me die.” Fortunately, she did not and worked out the issues that led her to this decision.

Jonah wanted to die for two reasons. The first was because he just could not stand the idea that Nineveh was saved. He wanted them dead. He had rather die than see that. Secondly, Jonah did not want to see his own country suffer under the hands of these Assyrians. He had just as soon die than see that. Life simply was not worth living, or so it seemed.

APPLICATION

I pray you never feel this way. I pray you never feel so hopeless that taking your life seems the only option. God has so much for you. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” That is still true today.

When all seems lost, turn to Jesus. When troubles and trials flood your days, turn to Jesus. He can soothe any wound. He can heal any broken heart. But you have to ask Him. He will not intervene where He is not wanted. But the very second you make that first step towards Him, He is there with a warm and kind embrace.

Trusting Jesus with your life is more than just an eternal decision. It is a daily decision. He longs to guide and direct us. He does not want to see us stray off the narrow road. But He will let us. We are not tied to Him and drug along. Run up beside Him today and grab His hand. He will gladly hold yours.

Oh Father, for the thousands of souls out there today who have no hope, will You send someone in their lives today to share Jesus?

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Abiding, Affection, Bible, Compassion, Direction, Encouragement, Following, God's Will, Healing, Innocent, Intimacy, Judgment

ONE TOUCH

AMOS 9:5

“The Lord GOD of armies, the One who touches the land so that it quakes, and all those who live in it mourn, and all of it rises up like the Nile and subsides like the Nile of Egypt;”

One touch can make all the difference. Do you remember the poem and the song about the touch of the master’s hand? There was an old violin that wound up at an auction. It looked beat up and useless. The bid started very low, like around $5.00. The auctioneer couldn’t get any bids at all. Then an old man walked up and asked to see the violin. He took it in his hands, plucked some strings and adjusted them for a minute. Then he took the bow in his hands and began to play this magnificent tune. When he finished, he laid it down and walked back to his seat. The auctioneer began the bids again. This time he started at $1 million dollars. The bidders protested, wanting to know what caused the great increase. He said, “It’s simple. The touch of the master’s hand.”

God’s touch can be like that. He can create something out of nothing. He can touch and heal. He can touch someone and cause them to shift the course of their life. But He can also touch and destroy. He can flip His little finger and cause earthquakes and landslides. God’s touch is powerful. Unfortunately, here in Amos 9:5 His touch is judging the world.

APPLICATION

What side of His touch do you want to be on? I know which side I choose. I have experienced His touch is so many ways. He touched me and saved me. He touched me and restored my health in 2010. He did it again in 2020. But He has also touched me and corrected me.

No one likes to be corrected, least of all me. I don’t like it. I believe I am right most of the time. That gets me into trouble. Each and every time, He is there to touch me and put me back on the right path.

What kind of touch do you prefer? Come to Him today and ask for that gentle touch of your Redeemer. Come to Him and let Him touch you so that you are about His business and not your own. One touch – that’s all it takes.

Gentle Savior, touch me today. Heal me and cleanse me.

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Abiding, Advocate, Bible, Destruction, Failures, Freedom, Healing, Obedience, Promises, Rescue, Scripture

A RUT

AMOS 2:13

“‘Behold, I am making a rut in the ground beneath you, just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves.’”

Do you know what a rut is? It’s a grave with both ends knocked out. I know, that’s not a very funny joke. I don’t write them. I just repeat them, lol. Seriously, not many people like to be in a rut. It implies you are stuck or traveling is hard. Ruts can break axles on vehicles. Bottom line – ruts aren’t fun.

The Lord tells the Israelites here in verse 13 that He is burdened by them. The weight of their sins is upon Him. He is weary of them. How sad that must have sounded to them. Their God, the One who delivered them, is weary of them. But now God is over it. He is tired of being tired of them. He is going to deal with them appropriately.

APPLICATION                                                              

Do you think our sins burden Jesus? If you are child of God, if you have given your life to Him, then all your sins are forgiven. We have the privilege to walk with Him in victory. Do you think He gets weary of our rebellion and disobedience? I am sure it disappoints Him. He knows we are human and fall short, but He has given us everything we need to live for Him.

Ask yourself if you are living to please the Father today. Or are you in a rut? Do you let the trials of life weigh you down. There’s a line in a hymn that I love. It says, “Burdens are lifted at Calvary.” Do you believe that? I sure do. I know my burdens are lifted by my Master. I want out of the ruts.

So, next time you feel you are in a rut, stop and examine what burdens you are holding on to. You don’t have to. He’s got this. And the beauty is once we give Him our burdens, they really are lifted. God can handle it. We can’t. Let Him have all your burdens (1 Peter 5:7).

I cast all my burdens on You, O Lord. I know You have the ability to take them and lighten my load.

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Abiding, Alone, Bible, Christ's Return, Consequences, Encouragement, Family, God's Will, Healing, Home, Leading

NO HOMEPLACE

AMOS 1:15

“‘Their king will go into exile, he and his princes together,’ says the LORD.”

My family moved a lot during my ministry. In fact, my wife and children have moved five times. We know each move was directed by the Lord. The events leading up to our decision to move were not our own making. Only God could have done it. But all those moves can leave you feeling homeless. Thankfully, we have settled in Chattanooga, TN. That is our home. Now, God may move us again, but it will always be home for us.

Amos ends his prophecy against Ammon by prophesying the royal family’s exile. Do you know what that means? They would be taken out of their palaces, their homes, and placed in another country which the conquering army had defeated. Wherever they were placed, it wouldn’t be home. They will lose everything that is familiar.

APPLICATION

Have you lost your familiar place? Do you feel homeless? I want to remind you of something. If you are believer, you don’t belong here anyway. This world is not our home. We are citizens of heaven. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and when it is time, He will take us home.

But while you are here, where do you belong? Wherever God has placed you. My wife and I tried to make everyplace we lived home. Some places were easier than others, but we really tried to make it home. Home is where your family is. Don’t be bitter or angry about where you are. Accept your placing as from God.

God has a master plan for our lives. I will never understand it this side of glory. But I trust His wisdom. I know He will never place me anywhere that is not meant to make me more like Him. The people I meet there and the experiences I have are heaven-made. God has allowed each and every interaction for a reason. The journey is exciting. Embrace it.

Father, I trust that You know what is best for me. I will go along for the journey.

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Abiding, Advice, Bible, Comfort, Contentment, Encouragement, Goodness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Promises, Scripture

FRESH MORNING DEW

HOSEA 14:5

“I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.”

Have you ever wondered where the morning dew comes from? It’s pretty amazing that seemingly out of nowhere water vapors in the air condense on surfaces to form these droplets of water we call dew. But why? Some people actually collect this morning dew and drink it. They claim it has true medicinal properties that aid the body. Perhaps it does. I don’t know. I just know it is a miracle of our God who created this event in nature.

Why all the discussion about dew? Hosea compares God to the morning dew. He says God will use the dew to refresh the lily and help the cedars grow. Just like He gives nourishment to these plants, He will nourish Israel spiritually. Without nourishment, the lily would die. Without the deep root, the cedar would perish. So would Israel without the life-giving nourishment of the Lord.

APPLICATION

You must have food and water to survive. I have seen the effects of those being withheld from someone. It is not a pretty picture. Here in America, where I live, most people have access to plenty of food and clean water. That’s not the case all over the world. One area I visit in Kenya has suffered droughts for years, resulting in lack of clean water and the decimation of their crops and livestock.

But just as serious for us is our spiritual source of “water” and “food.” We must go to the well of the Word daily to receive our nourishment. Without it, we dry up and die spiritually. The beauty of the Word is it never runs dry. We can drink and eat from it daily and share it with others, and it is still full of all we need the next day. It’s like the dew which returns day after day.

I am thankful for the fresh dew each morning. The next time I see those droplets of dew on the leaves or on my windshield, I am going to be reminded of the dew of Israel, my Lord and God. His refreshing Spirit gives me the power to face each new day. He revives my soul. I pray you will allow Him to revive you as well.

Lord, revive me again. Fill my soul with Your song.

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Abiding, Affection, Bible, Encouragement, Following, God's Will, Healing, Inspirational

JEHOVAH RAPHA

HOSEA 14:4

“I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, because My anger has turned away from them.”

I have been through some challenging physical ailments in the past years. I have gone through two stem cell transplants (2010 and 2020), melanoma surgery on my chest and a brain fistula surgery. To say the least, I have called on Jehovah Rapha a few times. He has come through time and time again.

But Jehovah Rapha heals more than the physical. Here in today’s verse Jehovah is healing them from their apostasy. Do you know what that is? The Hebrew word can mean backsliding or turning back. God’s love will draw them back into a relationship. This is spiritual and relational healing. Isn’t that great?

APPLICATION

What kind of healing do you need? Physical healing? Spiritual? Relational? We are all in need of some kind of healing. What are you waiting for? Jehovah Rapha is still healing people. But we have to understand something about His healing. He heals according to His timetable and according to His will. Sometimes the healing happens later, even in eternity. But He will respond.

Now, I’ve known plenty of people who prayed for physical healing and did not receive it this side of eternity. They were healed in glory. That’s hard for some of us to accept. But it’s the truth. If we yield to Jehovah Rapha, He will always heal us spiritually. That’s not easy for us either. We must die to our own desires and accept the healing.

I want that healing. I want Jehovah Rapha to heal me from my apostasy. I don’t want to back slide or turn away. I want to be following Him always. Don’t you? That’s possible when we surrender. Healing is needed. Healing is wanted. Jehovah Rapha offers it.

Father God, I thank You for healing my heart. I praise You for the gift of healing.

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