Daily Devotion #5

Go Get Your Healing
 
 "He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds."  Isaiah 53:5
 
Don't laugh, I am not trying to make up for missed days!!  I have been fasting this week and decided that I would take the time to sit here and do the work!  Plus these are all things that have been revealed to me through my readings and just through God's words to my heart.  I am a believer in the works and miracles God has performed through others and directly.  But I have come to know that like everything, you must hold onto your faith in receiving whatever you may be believing God for.  Because the goal of the enemy is to steal your joy and deceive you into not believing in God's promises.
 
I believe there are some key main practices to receiving healing.  You must guard your tongue and mind to the ploys of the devil, being specific and persistent in your requests of God, and having an enduring faith.
 
God speaks several times on the importance of the tongue and words you say in healing. Here in Proverbs 12:18, the Bible says "There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing."  So by speaking recklessly about your situation, or buying into and repeating what the doctors say, you program your mind and heart to buy into death.  You allow the devil's thought insertion and deception tactics to overpower your faith. "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."  Proverbs 16:24  Sidebar, the Bible is a great place to learn all of the literary practices you learn about in English lol.  Our words are simply seeds, and if planted in fertile soil, produce a great harvest.  So when people tell you to watch what you say, you really should!!
 
 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Philippians 4:6  This entire scripture carries some blatant spiritual pointers.  1) Don't worry or be anxious, because quite frankly, when you worry, you are doubting God.  2) Notice the but. Present your requests to God by prayer and petition.  Not just one thing, but everything.  Give every single thing to God.  For all of your needs, wants, and desires, fall on your knees and present them to God.  And especially your healing because God is the only person that can do it.  
 
This verse is clear and true!  James 2:14 says "What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?"  How can you expect healing if you are doing things that go against that belief?  Can faith that professes healing, health, and prosperity save the person that in the next breath is doubting, worrisome, and pessimistic about their fate?  Can someone who does not believe genuinely expect to reap that reward??  Its like school.  With the exception of the rare genius, how can you pass a test if you did not study or pay attention to the professor's lectures?  Are you prepared?  In healing, how can you prepare yourself for the physical manifestation if you continue to doubt or neglect to prepare yourself to handle it?
 
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."  James 1:22

Daily Devotion #4

Who are You, anyway?
 
"Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly."  1 Corinthians 15:49
 
We live in times of severe identity crisis.  More and more each day we are surrounded by people that have given their authority over to the world and the prince of the world.  John 10:34 says 'Jesus replied, "It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, 'I say, you are gods!''  Not knowing who you are prevents you from reaching your true potential and seeing your worth through the eyes of God.  In Psalm 82:6 ' "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.'  But when we give that power away but ignoring God and honoring our fleshly desires above all else, how can we live up to this decree?  How can we embrace our true calling and self-worth when we do not want to know it?  I ask who are you anyway because I want to get to the core.  What makes you, you?  God created us in his likeness–not an animal, not a inanimate object, but in the image of the one true living God.  Here in Genesis 1:27 it says "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."  The first man–being mankind–was created in God's own image.  We all know that "own" is a possessive pronoun, providing ownership to whatever succeeds it.  It is reiterated in the second part–in the image of God created he him.  Again I ask, who are you, anyway, because if you know that as sons and daughters of God, we are entitled to the inheritance given by Christ's sacrifice.  If you know who you are, you will go forth and get what God wants for you.  Know yourself!