healing

Hear the Word of the Lord

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” – 2 Kings 5:14 Yesterday, I spoke of God responding to the faith of the widowed woman of Zarephath. Let’s look at another Gentile, Naaman the Syrian, a great general who served the king of Aram but was afflicted with leprosy. One of Naaman’s servants, an Israeli girl, said, “My lord, if you go to my home in Samaria in Israel, there’s a man of God who can heal you.”  With a letter of permission from the king of Aram, and a peace offering, Naaman approached the king of Israel and told him he heard that he can heal leprosy. The king became terribly upset, thinking war will be declared if he can’t heal him. Hearing

Read More »

Your Best Life

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” – James 1:19,20 We need to move from being ego-driven people who are always first to judge or call people out, to becoming a listening, humble, and life-giving presence in the world. Of course, this can be a challenge when people are cruel, unfair, unkind, and rude. However, life in the Kingdom of God enables us to be a force of mercy and healing, even in an increasingly angry and hostile society.  Our best life doesn’t come when we get really good at finding out what’s wrong with the world and pointing it out, but rather when we become the kind of people who are unoffendable, relaxed, and walking in the easy rhythms of grace. This

Read More »

God’s Will and Power

“…and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” – Luke 6:19 Recently, our son Cohen had a series of seizures and it was a very difficult time for Hannah and I, to say the least. We tried all the emergency procedures, but the attacks wouldn’t stop. We had to call 911 and have him transported to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. It turned out to be a long couple of days for our family. I understand and can empathize with what it’s like to go through trials, and I thought about how I used to pray. I used to pray, “Lord, please, please, let us out of this hospital.” But I have a new philosophy. I don’t pray that way anymore, because I know God’s will and power.   With this belief, my new approach is that I pray Cohen comes

Read More »

Hear God’s Calling

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.“ – Ephesians 4:1 Here’s what I encourage you to do today: I want to inspire you to make sure all of your thoughtfulness aligns with the calling God has given you and is tied to some kind of action. The scriptures teach us to be the kind of people who are doers of the word, rather than just hearers. When we hear what God has called us to do, we become adaptive, always setting out to do God’s work. I want you to ask yourself: Am I actually going out there and taking steps to do what God has called me to do? If you’re doing this, you’ll see that incrementally over time, you will have some wins and some failures, but mostly, you’re going to become a hugely

Read More »

Finish Life Well

“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” – Revelation 22:2b Today, begin with the end in mind and know that it’s never too late to finish well. I believe anyone who wants to finish life well, will live life well. That’s a Christian way to view the world. This viewpoint is found in the Bible, and keep in mind that the Bible is not a book, it’s a library. And each book gives us a different part of the whole story.  The Bible begins and ends, with a garden theme. Envision it as a warm, beautiful and perfect place. This garden is devoted to safety, deep connectedness, the symbol of nakedness, and living without shame. Look at the way toddlers love to run

Read More »

The Good Shepherd

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” – Psalm 23:1-3 Earlier this month, we touched briefly on Psalm 23, reminding us we lack nothing. For the next couple of days, we’re going to take a closer look at this beloved verse as we continue talking about living a life without lack and having everything we need in the sufficiency of God’s Kingdom. As we work through specific verses of the Psalm, I encourage you to commit them to memory so you can meditate on them and really allow their truth to sink into your spirit!  The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. We talked yesterday about how we have a good Shepherd and how in His love, we have everything

Read More »

God Chooses the Unlikely

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” – 1 Corinthians 1:27 We talked about sheep in wolf’s clothing yesterday, and how not everyone who achieves great things in God’s Kingdom looks the way we expect them to. Today, I want to build on that idea by reminding you that you don’t have to be perfect or healed in order for Jesus to use you. I truly want you to grasp and comprehend the power of this crucial reality! Many people who are born again and become active in a church realize how “messed up” they are very fast. While this isn’t always a negative thing, and Jesus does want us to mature and become more like Him, it’s important to realize that God loves, accepts, and even uses us in our flaws;

Read More »

Present Through the Suffering of Others

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 We discussed yesterday how being present in pain allows us to withstand and learn from our life’s winters. Today, I have one last tip with you that will help you grow and bless others during your wilderness seasons: be present with others in their pain. You have the fantastic opportunity to be present with those who are experiencing their own pain, whether you are now in a winter season or have recently entered spring. Everyone who is going through a difficult moment requires someone to accompany them through the valley. Pain alone is the only thing worse than suffering. Those

Read More »

Winter Creates Willpower

“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” – Psalm 74:17 It’s January, and many of us are in the midst of the cold season. I recall moving from Southern California to Oklahoma for school; I hadn’t really appreciated the benefits of California weather until then. When I went outside one day, the temperature was probably no more than three degrees, with a windchill of minus one million (just kidding). As I neared my car, there was a thick coating of ice on the windshield, and as I tried to get it off, I sliced my knuckle on a portion of the car and collapsed to my knees in agony. “Why am I here?” I remember exclaiming at the time.  I believe that our life’s winters can be similar. Perhaps you’re unemployed, suffering from a persistent illness, or going through a

Read More »

The One Who Changed it All

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord– and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” – Isaiah 11:1-3 The Jewish people awaited the arrival of their Messiah with bated breath. They knew that when He came, He would save the world and alter the flow of history, even though they were living in the midst of persecution and constant battle. “God, have you forgotten us?” and “God, why all this suffering and evil?” were some of the cries, but there was a prophetic voice declaring that one day He will come and make things right! Perhaps no book did a better job of portraying this

Read More »

Receive your daily eDevotional

Don't miss new updates in your email!