Sickness is not from God. Jesus is still the Healer.

 Jesus came to us on this corrupt earth to die as a sacrifice. He took the punishment for our sins upon himself.

Many say we should always passively accept cruelty and bullying, like Jesus on the cross.
Is that true?

Jesus was persecuted precisely because he was not passive and not always submissive.
God had given many laws through Moses, but the rabbis had added many more rules.

but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work … Ex 20:10 NIV

The rabbis came up with many rules that were not in the Bible to control the behaviour of Jews on the Sabbath.

For example, they were allowed to heal the sick, but not on the Sabbath.

God sent his Son to override this oppressive religiosity.

Jesus repeatedly healed suffering people on the Sabbath. He did this openly and deliberately so that everyone could see God's mercy and also to expose the injustice of the rabbinical rule.

Sometimes Jesus healed in the religious service and sometimes on the street. We must follow Jesus. We need to activate God's love and healing power in worship but also everywhere. Jesus has called all Christians in all generations to do this.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12 NIV

If we take Jesus at his word, we will clearly understand that this calling is open-ended and not limited to Biblical times.

Jesus was full of mercy, but he was also consistently confrontational.

Jesus always wanted to enforce God's guiding principles: Grace, truth, mercy and justice. If the religious rules got in the way of these guiding principles, Jesus declared the rules invalid.

The rabbis had invented a rule that you were not allowed to heal on the Sabbath. They had also invented a very specific rule that it was not permitted on the Sabbath to make a paste with saliva and earth to treat the eyes of a blind person.

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Jn 9:6–7 NASB95

Jesus was familiar with the religious rule and openly defied it.

The religious leaders then persecuted the healed man and he was excommunicated.

Jesus never appeased bullying. He stood by the victim, not the cruel elders.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him. Jn 9:35–38 NIV

Unfortunately, this happens again and again in our time. When seriously ill people are healed, it is often dismissed as charismatic witchcraft.

They say that illness comes from God so that we learn to suffer with patience. When people hear about miraculous healings, many say it is demonic.

How strange! In the New Testament, sickness came from the devil and Jesus was the healer.
Today, some preachers say sickness comes from God but healing is demonic. And this is biblical truth?

Healing from God, Sickness from Satan

 Jesus came to us on this corrupt earth to die as a sacrifice. He took the punishment for our sins upon himself.

Many say we should always passively accept cruelty and bullying, like Jesus on the cross.
Is that true?

Jesus was persecuted precisely because he was not passive and not always submissive.
God had given many laws through Moses, but the rabbis had added many more rules.

but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work … Ex 20:10 NIV

The rabbis came up with many rules that were not in the Bible to control the behaviour of Jews on the Sabbath.

For example, they were allowed to heal the sick, but not on the Sabbath.

God sent his Son to override this oppressive religiosity.

Jesus repeatedly healed suffering people on the Sabbath. He did this openly and deliberately so that everyone could see God's mercy and also to expose the injustice of the rabbinical rule.

Sometimes Jesus healed in the religious service and sometimes on the street. We must follow Jesus. We need to activate God's love and healing power in worship but also everywhere. Jesus has called all Christians in all generations to do this.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12 NIV

If we take Jesus at his word, we will clearly understand that this calling is open-ended and not limited to Biblical times.

Jesus was full of mercy, but he was also consistently confrontational.

Jesus always wanted to enforce God's guiding principles: Grace, truth, mercy and justice. If the religious rules got in the way of these guiding principles, Jesus declared the rules invalid.

The rabbis had invented a rule that you were not allowed to heal on the Sabbath. They had also invented a very specific rule that it was not permitted on the Sabbath to make a paste with saliva and earth to treat the eyes of a blind person.

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Jn 9:6–7 NASB95

Jesus was familiar with the religious rule and openly defied it.

The religious leaders then persecuted the healed man and he was excommunicated.

Jesus never appeased bullying. He stood by the victim, not the cruel elders.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him. Jn 9:35–38 NIV

Unfortunately, this happens again and again in our time. When seriously ill people are healed, it is often dismissed as charismatic witchcraft.

They say that illness comes from God so that we learn to suffer with patience. When people hear about miraculous healings, many say it is demonic.

How strange! In the New Testament, sickness came from the devil and Jesus was the healer.
Today, some preachers say sickness comes from God but healing is demonic. And this is biblical truth?

Deep Personal Connection with God

 In many churches you hear an altar call. The preacher issues an invitation to all those who do not know Jesus personally to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, Jn 1:11–12 NASB95

Many pray with the pastor and ask Jesus to come into their lives and forgive all their sins. Then we see how some experience a completely new life. They think differently. They speak differently and they live differently.

But sadly, we see others who do not change. Some stay in the church for a while and then disappear.

Others stay in the church, learn to adapt and become religious, but their colleagues at work see no trace of God's love in their lives.

What is the difference?

Jesus explained that the message of God's grace is like a seed. The seed must fall into the ground and take root. Are you ready to let God's Spirit work deep in your soul? Jesus is no longer on earth in the flesh, but He has sent His Holy Spirit to us.

• The Holy Spirit wants to help you.

• The Holy Spirit wants to heal wounds and scars in your soul.

• The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of love.

• The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus Christ. He is like Jesus himself, but invisible and very close.  

If you give the Holy Spirit space in your soul, you will be able to read the Bible in a new way. God's word will come alive for you.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn 7:37–39 NIV

You are like a plant in God's garden. Without roots and water, you will die.
Where are the roots of your life? In your job? In your family? In your church?
God gives us jobs, families and churches. These are gifts from God, but only God himself is the source of your eternal life.

You have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord; now also live in fellowship with him.

And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him.
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done. Col 2:6–7 The Living Bible, Paraphrased

God is calling Failures. Start again.

 Perhaps you have failed and lost all hope.

Perhaps you have dared to do something for God, but you have failed or other Christians have betrayed you. Maybe you are disappointed with your marriage or with your children. That really hurts.

But right now, God wants you to know that He still has a purpose for your life.

God wants to restore his disappointed children. God will transform failures in this season to do great things by His grace.

HERMANN ZAISS

Hermann Zaiss (1889 - 1958) was an outstanding German evangelist.

In 1924 he suffered terrible disappointments. His wife suffered a total nervous breakdown and became chronically mentally ill.

His marriage failed and he was misunderstood by Christian congregations and condemned by many.

He was so traumatised that he gave in to despair and told God he wanted nothing more to do with Him. But after 20 years, God would call him again if it would please God.

In the meantime, he remarried and God called his new wife to a living faith.

During the Second World War, they suffered bombing raids from the British and Americans. His wife wanted to start a Bible study group, but he didn't want to.

Then in 1944, exactly 20 years after leaving God, he and his wife knelt together and gave their lives to God's service.

They started a Bible study group that became a church of 120 and then a group of 250 after the war.

People from all over Germany and other countries came and experienced miraculous healings.

A German Jew in the British Army of Occupation came to faith and his hatred of Germany was transformed into a deep love.

A fanatical SS officer was transformed and he became friends with the newly converted Jew.

If you are disappointed with your life, let Jesus take on your disappointments.

He suffered and died on the cross to save you from your disappointment.

Jesus stands by your side now and he calls you as he once called Peter, Peter the failure who became Peter the apostle.

… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:2–3 NIV

Personal Love of God

 In the Old Testament we read how God loved Israel.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:14–15 NIV

Who is God talking about here? God speaks of his love for Israel, for the Jews. If you are Jewish, you can understand this declaration of love very personally.

But I am not Jewish and probably neither are you. Jesus loves us no less than the Jews.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

God loves the whole world, but what does that mean for you?

God loves everyone, but you are not just a specimen of humanity. God loves you personally.

God loved Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, John and Paul personally, but you are not a shining saint, are you?

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 Jn 3:1 NRSV

If all genuinely converted Christians are children of God, then as a follower of Jesus you are also a child of God.  

Then you can understand all of God's declarations of love in the Bible as His love for you.
Of course, when God explains how He loves the Jews, He is talking about the Jews.

But God loves you no less, because God is love.

It is often said that God has no favourite children.
Is that true? No.

Every child of God is His favourite child.

I am God's favourite child and you are also God's favourite child.

God also wants to bless you, help you, heal you when you are sick, because you are his favourite child.

Jesus took the punishment for all your sins on the cross. When we entrust our lives to Jesus, he no longer sees our sins.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us! 2 Cor 5:21 (Today's Living Bible)

Shortly before his death on the cross, Jesus told his disciples:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. Jn 15:9 NRSV

And Jesus loves you with the same love.

God Loves You. Resist Negative Thoughts

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jn 10:10 NKJV

Many negative and discouraging thoughts that torment us come from the enemy, known in the Bible as the devil.

• Your sickness must come from God.

• God no longer heals as in the Bible.

• Only some are chosen by God for salvation.

• If you are chosen for eternal life, you should be thankful, but you may also be chosen for the suffering of sickness and not for the grace of healing.

But God is very different. He sent his eternal Son Jesus into the world to do us good, not to torment us.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 NLT

In the New Testament, Jesus fulfilled what God had clearly said in the Old Testament.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

Our thoughts can be darkened by trials, but God understands our weak and flawed nature. Throughout the Bible you can read that God loves you and wants to bless you, not afflict you.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Jas 1:16–17 NIV

God loves you dearly and tenderly. He wants to help you and bless you. You do not have to be afraid of God.

God Gives a New Heart

Why do we find so many Bible verses that speak of the heart? Modern science sees the heart as a fleshy blood pump, and it is.

But for about 60 years, many people have received a new heart through transplantation. In some cases, we read about patients who have experienced dramatic personality changes with their new blood pump.

A white factory worker in America got a new heart and started whistling classical music and befriending black colleagues. His new heart came from a 17-year-old black boy who was a talented violinist and studied classical music.

After her heart transplant, one girl had terrible nightmares. She saw a man coming into her bedroom through the window and attacking her. She was able to describe the man exactly.

It turned out that her heart came from a girl of the same age. This girl died when a man attacked her in her bedroom. The exact description of the man in the dreams enabled the police to find the murderer.

In your fleshy blood pump there is also a nerve centre, a kind of second brain. Your heart is closely connected to your soul and spirit and also to the computer in your head, that is, to your brain.

What did Jesus say?

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Mt 15:18–19 NIV

People who lead a bad life can have very hard hearts.

Jesus can give the very worst people a new heart.

After the war, some of the worst Nazi criminals were executed by the Allies.
The civilised Americans provided good German-speaking chaplains as pastors.

Some Nazis repented and died as forgiven sinners. Hitler's foreign minister, Von Ribbentrop, spoke to his wife shortly before his execution and pleaded from the bottom of his heart that their children should be brought up as Christians.

Many have deeply wounded hearts. A broken heart can be open to God's love. We must not judge anyone.

God loves all whose hearts are broken, whether they are good or bad.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NIV

God wants to give you a new heart, that is, a new character. He wants to heal you and purify your life inwardly. Why? Because he loves you.

Jesus Died to Set you Free

Jesus died to set you free.

Jesus died to save you from eternal death, to free you from despair and endless hopelessness, without God, without friendship, without comfort.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8:1 NIV

Jesus died to set you free from your twisted, selfish human nature.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV

Jesus died to free you from loneliness.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Cor 13:14 NASB95

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1 Jn 1:7 NLT

Jesus died to free you from sickness.

Jesus healed all who asked for healing.

 “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Mt 8:17 NRSV

Jesus died to free you from legalism.

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. Rom 14:1–6 NIV

Jesus died to free us from authoritarian leadership.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NIV

Submission is mutual. We must not submit to leaders to demand unconditional obedience to themselves.

You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!
In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 2 Cor 11:19–20 NIV

Here Paul teaches through the Holy Spirit that Christians have the right or even the duty to resist arrogant, authoritarian or cruel church leaders.  

God sacrificed Jesus to free women from the arrogant rule of men.

The extreme subordination of women was not God's intention in creation. After the fall of man, God sadly predicted that women would be enslaved by men because of sin.

To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” Gen 3:16 NKJV

But in the new covenant, the woman is liberated.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28 NKJV

It is wonderful that Jesus wants to give us freedom, but we do not receive freedom automatically.

There are people everywhere who do not believe in freedom, even in the church.

There are many people who do not want to allow you to be free.

But Paul says:

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 NASB95

You Long for More

 You long for more.

There is a longing and yearning within you so that you cannot find deep peace.

If your life is not completely devastated, a little joy and peace comes here and there but you want more.

You may find sparks of fire and light in music or friendship but you have no lasting satisfaction because there is a great God who created you for something more.

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Ps 63:1 NASB95

People who really know this God also have this hunger and thirst, but they know where they can find real fulfilment.

God himself has such a longing and yearning for you, for me and for you.

He created you to be his beloved daughter or son and not just in this lifetime, which is passing, but for eternity, with unlimited fulfilment, which is getting better and better.
You also long for recognition.

We all want to be important in the eyes of others. Some want to be world-famous. Others are satisfied when they are appreciated by their partners and children.

But nobody loves you like Jesus.

He sacrificed his life on the cross for you. He didn't just do this out of compassion, but because he sees you as a precious treasure.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Mt 13:44 NIV

Before his birth in Bethlehem, Jesus was already the eternal Son of God.

In his infinite love and wisdom, he saw you (and me) thousands of years in advance and he saw your life buried in the earth, like the treasure in the field.

He saw how the dirt of this earth would spoil your life, but he still recognised the heavenly treasure hidden in you.

The heavenly glory he saw in you he allowed to remain hidden, but he gave up everything he had to buy the field (this corrupt world) so that he could have you as his child.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

You are the Light of the World

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

Light is sown like seed for the righteous And gladness for the upright in heart. Ps 97:11 NASB95

When you receive the New Life that can only be found in Jesus, God transforms your heart and soul. God comes into your life.

God is light and he wants to shine in you. He wants to make your whole life shine.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Is 60:1 NRSV

Sometimes this transformation is immediate and dramatically visible, but sometimes a newly converted Christian changes step by step.

I know a Christian woman in Germany who used to visit brothels. She invited a prostitute to a church service. In the middle of the service, the prostitute suddenly stood up. She shouted loudly: ``Now I believe in Jesus. I want to be baptised now.

Another prostitute started attending a church. She began to believe. She tried to be kind, sincere and gentle.

Then she started donating in the church. Finally she plucked up the courage to leave the brothel behind.

When did she actually become a Christian? Only God knows.

Will you allow Jesus to love with you and through you to reach the lost people around you?

You may want to genuinely love other people like Jesus, but you cannot love like Jesus without receiving the love of God from Jesus himself.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 Jn 4:10 NRSV

The heart of the Christian life is to receive God's love every day and to pass it on every day.

Expect Impossible Miracles

 In the western world, we are scientifically orientated. We have been brainwashed for generations to believe in the material world more than in the supernatural realm where God reigns invisibly.

In this respect, humanistic theology is often almost indistinguishable from atheism. Many Reformed Christians and many conservative free churches are also strongly influenced by it.

If you talk about miracles, you are not taken seriously by atheists, humanists and theologians.

Many conservative Christians also want to believe in miracles in the Bible, and also in heaven and hell, but all that belongs only to the past and we will then wait until we die to experience something of the other world.

We have been taught to expect only what is supposed to be possible, but Jesus taught a completely different view and also proved it with miracles.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mk 10:27 NLT

Jesus commissioned his first disciples to evangelise the whole world.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mt 28:18–19 NIV

Why was Europe known as Christian in the past? Because missionaries brought whole peoples, whole regions and whole nations to Jesus.

This also happened in the Old Testament when God made the Hebrews into a believing nation through Moses and then Joshua. Unfortunately, mass conversion is often followed by decline in subsequent generations, but Israel was still a nation that belonged to the true God.

A preacher in Asia proclaimed the bold idea that we should disciple whole nations, not just convert individuals.

A devoted woman was in the congregation and she believed the impossible. She was a street vendor selling ice cream. She prayed that her ice cream would be especially good and delicious.
Then she prayed that she would win her city for Jesus.

One day, a rich man came and bought an ice cream. He was delighted and asked the woman why her ice cream could be so good. She explained that she was a Christian and prayed that her ice cream would be excellent.

The rich man was intrigued and wanted to know more. He then converted to Jesus.

It turned out that this man was the governor of the town. He decided to teach the police and all the officials in the city the message of Jesus.

All the officials also had to learn to apply biblical principles in their work.

We must learn to expect much more from God.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mk 10:27 NLT