Greetings,
I can remember the setting very well.I was attending church ,this was a between service Bible study,approximately 10 years ago.The conversation had to do with why some people are healed and some are not;after a period of time ,with no resolution to the question,I said ,and I quote"I am much more likely to pray for healing of the sickness of my soul from sin than I am from disease of my body,our earthly life is going to end,our spiritual life is forever".This statement sounded good at the time,however,I WAS ARROGANT IN MY IGNORANCE.Let's fast forward to the present and my diagnosis of cancer.This medical condition became the definitive moment in "yours truly" studying the word in the Bible in ascertaining God's immaculate word on the subject of prayer for physical healing.I have written a previous letter regards praying entitled "I Didn't Know How To Pray",you can find it by scrolling through older posts.My purpose for today is to simply explain how I didn't give equal credit regarding physical healing, as compared to my spiritual healing.That credit is;I quote from the book of Exodus23:25,26"I will take sickness away from the midst of thee....The number of thy days I will fulfill"Psalm 102:24 "Take me not away in the midst of my days" and Exodus15V26 "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes,if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees,I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians,for I am the Lord who heals you "Through Biblical teaching I knew that Jesus's death on the cross opened the gate for our salvation by our receiving Him into our "changed heart",asking forgiveness of our sins and declaring Him as our Lord and Savior, we would spend eternity in Heaven with God the Father,Jesus the Son,and the Holy Spirit as a "Born Again"Christian.F.F.Bosworth in his book"Christ The Healer"asks this question:"Has not every believer the same redemptive right to call upon Christ as Jehova-Rapha[The Healer of his body]as he has to call upon Him as Jehova-Tsidkenu[The Healer of his soul]?Is not His name given for healing as well as it is for salvation?
We can and must have 100% faith that Jesus's death on the cross "healed"our sin diseases.Perhaps we are less than 100% sure He Healed our physical body diseases because of lack of study of His word on physical healing.In the new testament, referring to the book of John14v12-14, the writer says "I tell you the truth ,anyone WHO HAS FAITH in me will do what I have been doing He will do even greater things than these ,because I am going to the Father .And I will do WHATEVER YOU ASK IN MY NAME ,so that the Son may bring glory to the Father .You may ask me for ANYTHING in my name and I WILL DO IT".I would suggest you read and STUDY the following book on physical healing ,"Christ The Healer" by F.F.Bosworth.This book lays out a concise thought process using specific Biblical passages to support the fact that God WILL heal our bodies if/when we reach the criteria He has set for us.
I didn't know why some people are healed and some are not,prior to my study. I'm continuing to seek enlightenment,as I use His guide for us,the Bible.I ask you to find out for yourself, by doing a Bible study on His Word from the Biblical perspective.
In closing ,I know the doctor doesn't understand how my pathology report came back negative for cancer in my throat when he knows he didn't get all of it when he operated in Nov. of 2009.Good news!The bad news; there is new cancer growth in my neck.I believe,as my son Joe says "the devil doesn't give up"and maybe my faith was only 75% that God would heal me,I know I had some doubts from time to time.How about a partial healing?I'm starting over and redoubling my efforts to study His word and believe what He said "Ask ANYTHING in My name and I will do it"None of us should be "ARROGANT IN OUR IGNORANCE"
Until next time,God bless each of you on your walk towards Him,Joe
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
No One Could Love Me/Us More Than This!
Greetings,
In my last letter I referred to how much God must love us;by creating a human being with a "free will".I would like to expand on that thought.Think of you/me having the power to create a "something "that you have complete control over how that "something" comes out.Let's focus on what we would definitely want from our creation.Here are some thought starters:
.Loyalty,that is ,to do whatever I/we demanded without question.
.24/7 availability[I/we never know when we might need something.
.Always saying,your right,no matter what we do.
I would like you to take a few minutes and think of your creation and add to the list.
I am thinking of the movie "Stepford Wives" the concept was that the men in Stepford,Connecticut didn't appreciate their wives "free will" so they created a robot wife, to replace their human wife, that was PERFECT to their needs about everything they desired!I would venture to say wouldn't that be true for most of us,to create a "something"that does exactly what we want,when we want it?Wow!What a concept;as the song goes"What's love got to do with it?"
Now THAT question brings me to our creator God,love has EVERYTHING to do with His creating us!Think of a Creator that through His love for us ,He gave us a "free will",wanting us to reciprocate His love for us,by us choosing to love Him as much as He loved us[Impossible]knowing full well that so many of His creation would do just the opposite[turn away from Him]starting with the very first;Adam and Eve!God says in the book of Genesis"Let us make man in our image,in our likeness"The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it,and the Lord God commanded the man,"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,for when you eat of it you will surely die."Now here we have the first "Love "commandment,isn't God saying ,choose me or suffer the consequences;in other words ,I give you everything because I love you,now choose to love me,by not doing this one thing.As an aside,people can say God knew what Adam and Eve were going to do,let's talk about predestination!I say ,true He DID know what they were going to do,however,let's remember FREE WILL,Adam and Eve made the decision ON THEIR OWN!Over and over again in the Bible, God showed His love,compassion and patience with His creation.He loves us so much He warns us every time about the consequences,if we don't choose Him;all the way through the book of revelation.Some people would say how could your God be so mean,look at the terrible things He says He is going to do!I say ,look how much He loves us,to warn us of the dire consequences of going against His word.What child could ask anymore from a loving parent?By the way,when was the last time the devil told you what was going to happen to you if you followed him?
I would like you to consider that no human being could ever love you more than our Creator.How quickly would any of us have our only child put to death for the common good?God asks us to have faith in Him through His Son Jesus,isn't it also true that He created us because He had faith in His beloved creation?
Until next time,with Christian love,Joe
In my last letter I referred to how much God must love us;by creating a human being with a "free will".I would like to expand on that thought.Think of you/me having the power to create a "something "that you have complete control over how that "something" comes out.Let's focus on what we would definitely want from our creation.Here are some thought starters:
.Loyalty,that is ,to do whatever I/we demanded without question.
.24/7 availability[I/we never know when we might need something.
.Always saying,your right,no matter what we do.
I would like you to take a few minutes and think of your creation and add to the list.
I am thinking of the movie "Stepford Wives" the concept was that the men in Stepford,Connecticut didn't appreciate their wives "free will" so they created a robot wife, to replace their human wife, that was PERFECT to their needs about everything they desired!I would venture to say wouldn't that be true for most of us,to create a "something"that does exactly what we want,when we want it?Wow!What a concept;as the song goes"What's love got to do with it?"
Now THAT question brings me to our creator God,love has EVERYTHING to do with His creating us!Think of a Creator that through His love for us ,He gave us a "free will",wanting us to reciprocate His love for us,by us choosing to love Him as much as He loved us[Impossible]knowing full well that so many of His creation would do just the opposite[turn away from Him]starting with the very first;Adam and Eve!God says in the book of Genesis"Let us make man in our image,in our likeness"The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it,and the Lord God commanded the man,"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,for when you eat of it you will surely die."Now here we have the first "Love "commandment,isn't God saying ,choose me or suffer the consequences;in other words ,I give you everything because I love you,now choose to love me,by not doing this one thing.As an aside,people can say God knew what Adam and Eve were going to do,let's talk about predestination!I say ,true He DID know what they were going to do,however,let's remember FREE WILL,Adam and Eve made the decision ON THEIR OWN!Over and over again in the Bible, God showed His love,compassion and patience with His creation.He loves us so much He warns us every time about the consequences,if we don't choose Him;all the way through the book of revelation.Some people would say how could your God be so mean,look at the terrible things He says He is going to do!I say ,look how much He loves us,to warn us of the dire consequences of going against His word.What child could ask anymore from a loving parent?By the way,when was the last time the devil told you what was going to happen to you if you followed him?
I would like you to consider that no human being could ever love you more than our Creator.How quickly would any of us have our only child put to death for the common good?God asks us to have faith in Him through His Son Jesus,isn't it also true that He created us because He had faith in His beloved creation?
Until next time,with Christian love,Joe
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
This Won't Take Long---Did It!
Hi All,
My family and I just returned from the marriage of my oldest granddaughter,Lyndsay.The ceremony was beautiful and joyous,Lyndsay's father,my son Joe,an ordained minister married Lyndsay and Billy in an outside gorgeous New England "Fall" setting.I was so joyful in watching my son walk his firstborn down the beautiful stone path towards me,where I had the honor of asking "Who gives my Granddaughter to this man?",where upon my son and I changed places and he "wed" the 2 people into "One flesh"according to God's word.
I reflected during part of that day how quickly the days of my life and it's experiences have taken place;it seems like only yesterday I was holding Lyndsay in my arms as a new born.I can remember my mother saying to me ,when she was 88 years old ,how her life had past "Like the blink of an eye",isn't it true of all of us,when we reach a certain age in our life that we come to the same realization? As I approach the Fall/Winter of my life I find myself wondering if I truly enjoyed with a completely full and joyous heart all the blessings God has bestowed on me in my earthly walk.This letter is not meant to be a dissertation on how I missed the "all I could be" in the happiness area of my life,however,it IS to share the new dimension of seeing life's experiences once God enters into my/your life.
God put it on our heart to search Him out.I know in my life,no matter how "the world" perceived me and my earthly success,there was a vague "somethings missing" following me around in the bosom of my inner heart.I quote from my mother,once again,"Put God first and all else will follow",I might add all peace will follow,life's experiences will be shared with your family and loved ones from a new eternal love perspective.The richness of our life will be enhanced, because we understand the reason for our existence is to use our free will to find our God and give Him the glory for creating us and that we choose His House forever .
I know for most of us when we attend a funeral or wedding the older members of the family invariably say "We only get together anymore for weddings or funerals" isn't that a sad commentary on all of us ;who better to share our everyday life and it's experiences with our immediate "blood" family as well as, our Church family.How many of our family is even going to church?Now that's another story!
I have written earlier letters on the blessings of my life and the wonderful tapestry woven throughout it by my shared experiences with family and friends.I ask you to reflect on this question:Are you "seeing"from your heart all the fullness life has to offer because you know the "real"reason for your existence and you found God and your putting Him first in all you do,including helping your loved ones to find the reason for their existence,to choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior?We are commanded to love one another,what better way than being a disciple for our God in Heaven"No greater love has man ,then giving up his life for another"I might suggest we also show greater love to man when helping "save"another by leading other people to God through our Christian walk with Him.
In closing,please remember"This life won't take long---Did it"!so enjoy the time you have left,sharing your love of God with all those that are part of your life's experiences.Until next time,Joe
My family and I just returned from the marriage of my oldest granddaughter,Lyndsay.The ceremony was beautiful and joyous,Lyndsay's father,my son Joe,an ordained minister married Lyndsay and Billy in an outside gorgeous New England "Fall" setting.I was so joyful in watching my son walk his firstborn down the beautiful stone path towards me,where I had the honor of asking "Who gives my Granddaughter to this man?",where upon my son and I changed places and he "wed" the 2 people into "One flesh"according to God's word.
I reflected during part of that day how quickly the days of my life and it's experiences have taken place;it seems like only yesterday I was holding Lyndsay in my arms as a new born.I can remember my mother saying to me ,when she was 88 years old ,how her life had past "Like the blink of an eye",isn't it true of all of us,when we reach a certain age in our life that we come to the same realization? As I approach the Fall/Winter of my life I find myself wondering if I truly enjoyed with a completely full and joyous heart all the blessings God has bestowed on me in my earthly walk.This letter is not meant to be a dissertation on how I missed the "all I could be" in the happiness area of my life,however,it IS to share the new dimension of seeing life's experiences once God enters into my/your life.
God put it on our heart to search Him out.I know in my life,no matter how "the world" perceived me and my earthly success,there was a vague "somethings missing" following me around in the bosom of my inner heart.I quote from my mother,once again,"Put God first and all else will follow",I might add all peace will follow,life's experiences will be shared with your family and loved ones from a new eternal love perspective.The richness of our life will be enhanced, because we understand the reason for our existence is to use our free will to find our God and give Him the glory for creating us and that we choose His House forever .
I know for most of us when we attend a funeral or wedding the older members of the family invariably say "We only get together anymore for weddings or funerals" isn't that a sad commentary on all of us ;who better to share our everyday life and it's experiences with our immediate "blood" family as well as, our Church family.How many of our family is even going to church?Now that's another story!
I have written earlier letters on the blessings of my life and the wonderful tapestry woven throughout it by my shared experiences with family and friends.I ask you to reflect on this question:Are you "seeing"from your heart all the fullness life has to offer because you know the "real"reason for your existence and you found God and your putting Him first in all you do,including helping your loved ones to find the reason for their existence,to choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior?We are commanded to love one another,what better way than being a disciple for our God in Heaven"No greater love has man ,then giving up his life for another"I might suggest we also show greater love to man when helping "save"another by leading other people to God through our Christian walk with Him.
In closing,please remember"This life won't take long---Did it"!so enjoy the time you have left,sharing your love of God with all those that are part of your life's experiences.Until next time,Joe
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Upon Further Review!
Greetings all,
We are approaching the middle of "Upon further review season",in other word's ;football season!
I was thinking of how changed our life would be if we could review all our decisions and change the ones that didn't turn out the way we expected.Remember the movie"It's A Wonderful Life" with James Stewart?He played "George"who ran a small town savings and loan inherited from his beloved father.Georges' uncle was very forgetful and misplaced the bank deposit,the town "bad guy"who owned the bank and wanted to own the whole town,and would have except for our hero George,found the money and kept it so George couldn't balance his books in time for the audit which would ruin George and his savings and loan company.George decides it would be better if he had never been born;God grants his wish,and the balance of the movie shows George the consequences of his never been born.A few of them were:his wife lived her life as a spinster,his children were never born,his younger brother[whom George saved from drowning when they were children]drowned because George wasn't there to save him,the "all American"city became a loose town with cheap housing,wild women,drunken men,etc.etc.all because George was not there with his goodness,generosity of heart,and fairness towards all people.After George experienced this "UPON FURTHER REVIEW"he begged God to please bring him back into this world,he realized how his being born and the experiences in his life intertwined with so many other people.
The purpose of this letter is to cause you ,particularly,if your going through difficult times and you might wish everyone in your life would be better off if you were never born,and you wouldn't have to go through your trial by fire,to think of the consequences[as George was able to see of that wish].
Lets enter our Almighty God into our picture,He loved us so much that He gave us a "free will"to make all our decisions in this earthly life,and guess what?We don't have to have a "UPON FURTHER REVIEW"because the poor"sin" decisions we make in our life are forgiven immediately; as we ask for forgiveness from our Almighty God"As far as the east is to the west,never to be brought up again"We praise and thank you Almighty God!
One of my Christian brothers told several of us about his Aunt that used to say "I'm a sinner saved by grace",one day he disagreed and said "I happen to sin,I've been saved by grace"do you see the subtle difference?A sinner is not willing to change his/her "sin"decisions;they are not walking with God.A person with a heart change toward God knows when they have turned away from Him[We are convicted!],we are filled with remorse,isn't it a wonderful thing to know God NEVER leaves us,and is always ready to forgive us and bring us back into His fold.
In closing since God Himself doesn't have a "UPON FURTHER REVIEW" once He forgives us,why would you want to wallow in your past mistakes,or not have the faith of His love for you to know He is always with you no matter what your going through.We all need to remember we are His children,He created us,He is with us always.Amen!
Until next time ,may God continue to bless you on your walk towards Him,Joe
We are approaching the middle of "Upon further review season",in other word's ;football season!
I was thinking of how changed our life would be if we could review all our decisions and change the ones that didn't turn out the way we expected.Remember the movie"It's A Wonderful Life" with James Stewart?He played "George"who ran a small town savings and loan inherited from his beloved father.Georges' uncle was very forgetful and misplaced the bank deposit,the town "bad guy"who owned the bank and wanted to own the whole town,and would have except for our hero George,found the money and kept it so George couldn't balance his books in time for the audit which would ruin George and his savings and loan company.George decides it would be better if he had never been born;God grants his wish,and the balance of the movie shows George the consequences of his never been born.A few of them were:his wife lived her life as a spinster,his children were never born,his younger brother[whom George saved from drowning when they were children]drowned because George wasn't there to save him,the "all American"city became a loose town with cheap housing,wild women,drunken men,etc.etc.all because George was not there with his goodness,generosity of heart,and fairness towards all people.After George experienced this "UPON FURTHER REVIEW"he begged God to please bring him back into this world,he realized how his being born and the experiences in his life intertwined with so many other people.
The purpose of this letter is to cause you ,particularly,if your going through difficult times and you might wish everyone in your life would be better off if you were never born,and you wouldn't have to go through your trial by fire,to think of the consequences[as George was able to see of that wish].
Lets enter our Almighty God into our picture,He loved us so much that He gave us a "free will"to make all our decisions in this earthly life,and guess what?We don't have to have a "UPON FURTHER REVIEW"because the poor"sin" decisions we make in our life are forgiven immediately; as we ask for forgiveness from our Almighty God"As far as the east is to the west,never to be brought up again"We praise and thank you Almighty God!
One of my Christian brothers told several of us about his Aunt that used to say "I'm a sinner saved by grace",one day he disagreed and said "I happen to sin,I've been saved by grace"do you see the subtle difference?A sinner is not willing to change his/her "sin"decisions;they are not walking with God.A person with a heart change toward God knows when they have turned away from Him[We are convicted!],we are filled with remorse,isn't it a wonderful thing to know God NEVER leaves us,and is always ready to forgive us and bring us back into His fold.
In closing since God Himself doesn't have a "UPON FURTHER REVIEW" once He forgives us,why would you want to wallow in your past mistakes,or not have the faith of His love for you to know He is always with you no matter what your going through.We all need to remember we are His children,He created us,He is with us always.Amen!
Until next time ,may God continue to bless you on your walk towards Him,Joe
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Did You Have A Choice To Be Born?Do You Have A Choice To NOT Die?
Greetings,
Wow! those two questions are pretty simple to answer.No you didn't and no you don't!Let's see if we can make a letter of compelling thought around these two truths'.We will start our letter with two more questions.
We came into this world kicking,when we leave this world will we still be kicking about the fact we're leaving it?and the bigger question; if we are ,why?
Let's start addressing our questions by talking about birth.What a traumatic experience leaving the warm,floating in water, perfectly comfortable environment for our little bodies,being "hooked up"to a tube[umbilical cord]that brings oxygen and nutrients through our blood to keep us alive.Imagine the wonder of it all,floating around,being fed,no responsibilities,all of a sudden,this environment changes to one of breaking water,what happened to my hot tub?,no breathing tube,I never even knew I had lungs!,a smack on my butt to get my lungs started,by the way while hanging upside down,not only that ,there's about a 25 degree difference in temperature from where I've been for nine months[LOWER]I'm cold,where's the blanket?/No wonder I'm screaming!I believe we can all understand coming into this world with out a smile on our face after experiencing this "birth"kind of trauma.Welcome to the real world!
Now let's try and answer the question of why would we leave this world kicking?Didn't we take the time to find the truth about our physical death leading to our spiritual life for all eternity with our Creator God?Didn't we take the time to find the love of our Creator that sets in all our hearts?Don't we know His Son's name who died on the cross for our sins? A name above all names;Jesus!The great news is;It's not too late!Take action!Find the truth that will give you peace when that last day of your earthly life arrives,and it will,probably sooner than you think.Don't take the chance of having to have your kicking boots on,as opposed to wearing the cloak of His immaculate love that will guide you through the valley of darkness of your earthly life to the light of heaven in your eternal soul life.
Find the truth,Jesus said "I am the way ,the truth and the life only through Me will you see My Father".I am amazed at how much time we will take to ensure the house we buy is the "right"one,the car we buy is the "right"one,the spouse we choose is the "right"one,there are so many decisions that we want to be "right"in our life,but the single most important one having to do with our eternal life seems so hap hazard to so many!God through His love for each of us,will give us ample opportunity to find Him;all we have to do is listen to His quiet voice inside of us and take action!He's waiting for us to choose Him and live with Him in heaven for all of eternity.
As the song goes"These boots were made for walking"make sure your boots aren't kicking to stay where you can't ,but walking toward Him for eternity.
Until next time,God bless all of you on your journey,Joe
Wow! those two questions are pretty simple to answer.No you didn't and no you don't!Let's see if we can make a letter of compelling thought around these two truths'.We will start our letter with two more questions.
We came into this world kicking,when we leave this world will we still be kicking about the fact we're leaving it?and the bigger question; if we are ,why?
Let's start addressing our questions by talking about birth.What a traumatic experience leaving the warm,floating in water, perfectly comfortable environment for our little bodies,being "hooked up"to a tube[umbilical cord]that brings oxygen and nutrients through our blood to keep us alive.Imagine the wonder of it all,floating around,being fed,no responsibilities,all of a sudden,this environment changes to one of breaking water,what happened to my hot tub?,no breathing tube,I never even knew I had lungs!,a smack on my butt to get my lungs started,by the way while hanging upside down,not only that ,there's about a 25 degree difference in temperature from where I've been for nine months[LOWER]I'm cold,where's the blanket?/No wonder I'm screaming!I believe we can all understand coming into this world with out a smile on our face after experiencing this "birth"kind of trauma.Welcome to the real world!
Now let's try and answer the question of why would we leave this world kicking?Didn't we take the time to find the truth about our physical death leading to our spiritual life for all eternity with our Creator God?Didn't we take the time to find the love of our Creator that sets in all our hearts?Don't we know His Son's name who died on the cross for our sins? A name above all names;Jesus!The great news is;It's not too late!Take action!Find the truth that will give you peace when that last day of your earthly life arrives,and it will,probably sooner than you think.Don't take the chance of having to have your kicking boots on,as opposed to wearing the cloak of His immaculate love that will guide you through the valley of darkness of your earthly life to the light of heaven in your eternal soul life.
Find the truth,Jesus said "I am the way ,the truth and the life only through Me will you see My Father".I am amazed at how much time we will take to ensure the house we buy is the "right"one,the car we buy is the "right"one,the spouse we choose is the "right"one,there are so many decisions that we want to be "right"in our life,but the single most important one having to do with our eternal life seems so hap hazard to so many!God through His love for each of us,will give us ample opportunity to find Him;all we have to do is listen to His quiet voice inside of us and take action!He's waiting for us to choose Him and live with Him in heaven for all of eternity.
As the song goes"These boots were made for walking"make sure your boots aren't kicking to stay where you can't ,but walking toward Him for eternity.
Until next time,God bless all of you on your journey,Joe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)