Restored Valuables

Several weeks ago, Christie and I bought two matching luggage sets for our trip to England. We got them from a lady who had listed them on craiglist, and although they were not brand new, they were like new and about a quarter of the price. As though that wasn’t blessing enough, just a few days ago, I started to put some stuff in my main suitcase, when I found a small pouch full of jewellery. I know what you’re thinking. What? He kept the jewellery as a BLESSING??? No, I did not. It would have been easy to sell it for its value in gold and silver, but the greater blessing was to bless this lady. I left a voicemail telling her that I had found something of hers in one of the suitcases, and she did not call me back. I emailed her too, and she responded that it does have sentimental value, so would I meet her after work. I drove to her on Thursday, and the miracle is that this was a collection of things her son had given her since she was two. She had lost is THREE YEARS AGO and thought she had already looked in all of the suitcases when she cleaned them out.

God is the God of restoration, from what we think He might consider most significant to what is most significant to us, which we sometimes forget He cares about.

Anointed Potential

I recently watched the movie Contagion, about an outbreak of a virus that couldn’t be contained. It got me thinking about how people who catch a disease and recover carry natural antigens that remake the antibodies that fight the infection quicker next time. It reminded me of how Jesus Christ was wounded for our iniquities, and by His stripes we are healed. Jesus healed many kinds of sickness and preached the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, but He did not cure everything Himself; instead He instructed those who represented Him to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons also, in Jesus name, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was because He had a job to do, and the work of the cross is so significant because at that moment Jesus, the perfect lamb of God, received every imperfection (emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental) within Himself, within His holy blood – He became sin for us – and then He shed that precious blood and died. When He descended into hell and later rose again, it meant that imperfection, its consequences (sickness and death), and separation from God were completely overcome. When we receive the Holy Spirit, our blood is changed; we take on the DNA of Jesus Christ and every bit of the antidote within His blood, the power the anointing of the Holy Spirit gave Him… so being His body on Earth, we get to finish His work of driving imperfection out of Earth by passing on the contagious love of God. We can literally hug people back to health… IF we have faith and do not doubt. In Jesus’ name, let it be so.

Deliverance

God just healed, breathed new life into, purified, and drove demons away from somebody who has been afflicted for over 20 years.

Healing & Miracles

Faith to save us is a combination of a. the words we say – “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord…” and b. the ideas we truly believe – “and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NASB). However, just as the work of salvation was Jesus Christ shedding His blood to seal His covenant with us, passing on faith to the rest of the world includes the actions we take representing Jesus Christ, because “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26, NASB).

Healing & Miracles: In Matthew 10:7-8 (NASB), Jesus said, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” It would be easy for us to make a distinction between the 12 and the rest of the body of Christ, except that Luke 9 & 10 record the same event, followed by another appointment and sending of 70/72 more with the same Kingdom assignment to preach the word and to manifest the Kingdom with signs and wonders. I see no indication from Jesus that this was to slow down, only increase in the book of Acts, and I see no sign that perfection has yet come to the world.

That means all of the gifts, from languages to speaking God’s words under inspiration (with healing and the working out of miracles in between), are necessary to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into this world. This means that the work of evangelism includes healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, and casting out demons in the name of Jesus, by the power of His blood, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, as confirmation that the phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” is true.

The purpose of this blog is to provide a record of deeds that motivate you to act in faith.

Please also read Thinking Transforming for a record of thoughts that transform your life and Influence/Leadership for a record of speech that releases blessing.