Forget Not!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! ² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: ³ who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, ⁵ who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 103:1-5

It is God's will that sin would not reign in our mortal bodies.  Because of this fact it is reasonable to conclude it is God's will that sickness, a product of original sin, would not reign in our mortal bodies either.  While we agree to the first statement our faith can waver with the second.  How can this be?  What happens when God's Word seems to contradict our experience?  Should we trust what we see with our eyes or the naked Word of God?

Our God is a God who forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, and redeems our lives from destruction.  Perhaps we falter at believing God's Words because the answer does not take the form we think it should.  We think of healing as being the freedom of pain and limitation.  I need not look further than Jesus Christ to know that He was limited in a body of flesh and experienced much sorrow and pain.  Yet He was a partaker of the benefits of the same God who offers them freely to all who repent and believe.

I do not believe this scripture means that we will ultimately be forgiven from our iniquities or eventually be healed of our diseases.  This is a promise to be entered into today!  Our sins can be forgiven today, and today can be a day of healing and deliverance.  Romans 6:8-14 reads, "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: ⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. ¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. ¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ¹³ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."  Christians have been freed by the dominion of sin through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I have an insightful book called Indwelling Sin in Believers by Puritan John Owen.  He explains well the internal conflict of a Christian Paul discusses in Romans 7.  When we are born again through grace and faith in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, we are justified before God.  Our sins are forgiven and we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  But does that mean we are perfect?  No!  Because our souls reside in a body of flesh, we will undoubtedly sin.  The good we do is because we are dead and Christ lives through us.  Romans 7:17 reveals a remarkable truth when we sin after justification:  "But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."  In the way that sin should no longer govern our lives, sickness is no longer to have dominion over us!  Our God forgives all our iniquities and heals all our diseases!

Does this mean that God-fearing people are guaranteed bodies that will never experience physical illness or pain?  No.  It is God's will that none should perish, yet there are many who do.  There are many who are sick, but God has the power and desire to heal every one.  Do you let your circumstances, emotions, or physical condition reign over you?  Sickness can plague our bodies, but you are not to be governed by your sickness:  we are now governed by Jesus Christ, the Healer of both body and soul!  Choose to place your faith in Christ and believe the truth of the Bible!

Let us not forget the benefits of Jesus Christ freely bestowed upon those who rely upon Him.  Does sin, sickness, or despair have dominion over you today?  Our strength is not derived from the food we eat, but from the Saviour Jesus Christ who IS our life!  Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."  Look to Jesus as LORD and King, for there is healing in His wings.

Dolphins, Ants, and Bees

An article on CNN.com caught my interest yesterday written by  Kaj Larsen.  In the waters of San Diego (my hometown), the U.S. Navy trains dolphins and sea lions to counter the threat of combat divers and marine terrorist attacks.  Quoting from the article, "While it seems strange that in this digital era, there's such a seemingly lo-fi approach to guard the Navy's most sophisticated and expensive assets. But according to Rothe, nothing in today's hi-tech world can compete with these mammals' biosonar abilities."  Five times the CNN reporter tried to swim across the bay both on the surface and using scuba gear, only to be found and tagged by either a dolphin or sea lion.  It's amazing that bottlenose dolphins have natural biosonar which is far superior to any device engineered by man.

I find it astounding that most people in the world believe that dolphins evolved this "biosonar" from some other species, developing these incredible abilities by random chance over time.  Being a Christian, I am convinced by the overwhelming evidence that both man and animals have been designed by God, a Divine Being with intelligence not fully comprehended through any amount of technology or research.  Compare the human eye made by God with the glass eye made by man.  Both are functional, but serve different functions.  Their only similarity is they both fill the eye socket and at a cursory glance appear similar.  But how different they are!  A natural eye can focus with amazing clarity and range while the other is an inanimate object without life.

It is neat how humans can train animals, but I think it more amazing that animals have the intelligent capacity to be trained.  Even crazier still, many animals work amazingly without being trained!  As I watched bees buzzing from flower to flower yesterday, I wondered how they know exactly where the flowers are, how to gather the pollen, and how to find their way back home.  Hundreds of thousands of ants hurried along my back fence in the sun, carrying their eggs for whatever reason.  There is an intelligence given them by God to do the things they do.  Insects have small brains, but they have determination, focus, and efficiency that puts us big-brained humans to shame.  I don't believe there was ever a day when ants and bees didn't fulfill their function for the good of their colonies.  King Solomon wrote thousands of years ago in Proverbs 6:6-8: "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, ⁷ which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, ⁸ provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest."

God, in His unfathomable wisdom, uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.  I need look no further than ants, bees, and dolphins to know that there is amazing intelligence and wisdom among things which are created.  There are too many other examples to count!  In all that is created there is wisdom revealed of the glorious Creator who has made all things.  I will spend the rest of my earthly days in awe of the glory of God revealed in nature, and all of eternity as well!

Christ a Crutch?

I have heard people refer to Christianity disparagingly as a "crutch" for those too weak to deal with life's problems.  They understate their case from a position of ignorance.  Christ is not a "crutch" to enable a person to limp through life:  Christ IS life.  Whether your crutches are made of wood or aluminum, they are objects useful only for a living person.  Crutches have no value for the dead.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Those who sneer at the idea of trusting in Christ for atonement and salvation through faith as weakness have not considered their own sin and mortality according to God's standard of perfection.  Those who God makes to soar on eagle's wings have no need of crutches anyway!  Instead of propping people up with positive thinking and mental manipulation, God infuses strength into His people because He dwells within them in the person of the Holy Spirit.

What a relationship is available to every person who will repent and trust in Christ!  Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell within him, but we can take shelter in the Creator of all things.  Psalm 91:1-2 reads, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."  This passage is a picture of how God overshadows and protects His people.  Some people treat God as if He is a divine temporary bomb shelter to hide in until the threat of a storm passes.  Even some God-fearing Christians treat God more like a dank basement to hide in when things become difficult.  The problem is, when the perceived danger is over they peek out of their hiding place and again become confident in themselves.  They venture away from fellowship with God and do their own thing until the next storm darkens their lives.

Continuing this analogy, people retreat into hurricane or bomb shelters, not because of the luxurious accommodations, but for the preservation of their lives.  I came to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith because my sin condemned me to hell for eternity:  only through Jesus Christ could salvation for my soul be found.  But Jesus is not some musty old bomb shelter to frequent in times of great need, but a real person who desires for me to abide in Him always.  We are not to seek Christ or abide in Him for the purpose of receiving some arbitrary blessing from Him, but for the sake of knowing Christ Himself.  We take shelter in Jesus Christ our Saviour because He loves us and we love Him.  The joy of the LORD is our strength.  Every morning we rise with Jesus, we walk with Jesus through our day He has made, and we lay down to rest with Him in our hearts and minds.  Thoughts of God and His Word should be more precious to us than our daily food, for our life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).

Jesus says in John 15:4-5:  "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  Like a branch must abide in the vine for life and fruitfulness, so Christians must abide in Jesus Christ.  People who treat God like a divine bomb shelter are not only without their source of strength but their source of life when they choose to forsake communion with God.  I suppose it is possible to try to use God as a "crutch," but unless God is invited into the heart it will not profit.  These are the folks who say, "I've tried Christianity but it didn't work for me."  Too true:  Christianity cannot work for you if Christ is not permitted to work WITHIN you due to your willful disobedience, rebellion, and pride!  Once we are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of God which raised Christ from the dead keeps us pure and Holy.  Communion with God never again need be severed, and we can joyfully eternally abide in Christ!

Psalm 91:14-16 reads, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."  This is a promise no bomb shelter could possibly grant!  Praise God we serve a Living God who has set His love upon us and is a Deliverer.  God hears our prayers and answers us.  He is with us in trouble and will deliver and honor His own.  If your beating heart and every drop of blood in your body is your crutch, than Christ is mine.  I am in Christ by God's grace, and I have found true life in Him.  Jesus has not only prolonged my life, but given me eternal life.  He will have you too if you will abide in Him!

Church - Holy Spirit = Worthless

C.H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying, "If we do not have the Spirit of God, it were better to shut the churches, to nail up the doors, to put a black cross on them and say, "God, have mercy on us."  If you ministers have not the Spirit of God, you had better not preach and you people had better stay at home.  I think I speak not too strongly when I say that a church in the land without the Spirit of God is rather a curse than a blessing."  This quote came to my mind yesterday as I met to fellowship with a brother in Christ.  This is a strong statement, and it is a true one.

Unless we are led by the Spirit in our prayers and deeds, we do them in the power of our flesh.  If we are not led by the Spirit in our preaching, evangelistic efforts, conferences, and meetings, it would be better not to bother.  To suppose I can do work for God without God is pride and blasphemy.  Instead of allowing this admonition to be filled with the Spirit frighten us into inaction and despair, I believe the quote of Spurgeon was spoken to do the exact opposite:  stir up believers to desperately seek the empowerment of the Spirit to honor God in their lives and service.  There is no doubt in my mind this exhortation follows the same line of 2 Timothy 1:6-7: "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  If our decisions are based upon the suggestions of a spirit of fear, it is not the Spirit which God has given.  God has given us the Holy Spirit as the seal of our redemption, a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

It stands to reason I ought to examine myself, to see if I continually seek to be led by the Spirit and remain obedient to His promptings.  The leading of the Holy Spirit will always be in agreement with the written Word of God, the Bible.  Being led by the Spirit does not occur through the striving of my flesh, but the submission of my will to the directives of God.  2 Chronicles 7:14 contains a wonderful promise for those who by grace have this mind of Christ and walk in the Spirit:  "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  I must be ruthless in renouncing sin and obeying God.  I must rely on Jesus Christ walking by faith, not by sight.

Walking in the Spirit does not mean "being mindful to avoid sin," for that is a bi-product of walking in the Spirit.  Galatians 5:16 teaches us, "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Meditate upon these scriptures and feed upon the LORD's faithfulness.  Romans 7:25-8:1 says, "I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. ¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."  Also consider Galatians 5:22-25:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Rejoice in the LORD always, again I say rejoice!  God has not left us helpless, comfortless, or powerless, but has granted us the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Let us live accordingly!  May the joy of the LORD be our strength!