BE ENCOURAGED!
"The Lord is trustworthy in ALL he promises and faithful in ALL he does. The Lord upholds ALL those who are falling and raises up ALL those who are bowed down." (Psalm 145:13, 14 NIV)
BE ENCOURAGED!
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> Read The Good News Today?
"…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33) God doesn’t want you grabbing the newspaper first thing in the morning and reading all the bad news in the world. He knows that if you do that, your heart will be full of cares, anxieties and even fears. This happened to a mother who read in the newspaper that children from China studying in our local schools were becoming top students. She wrote to the press, voicing her concerns about the stiff competition her child would face from these students, even for the top jobs in Singapore in the future. When you are reading the newspapers, magazines, medical journals, economic reports, watching movies or surfing the Internet all the time, then you are getting your “nourishment” from these sources instead of God’s Word. Now, I am not against these things. But if you constantly feed only on earthly things which cannot satisfy, you will fill your heart and mind with cares and worries. Jesus doesn’t want you to end up worrying about your life — what you will eat, drink or wear — as these are the things that the Gentiles (people of the world) seek. He says that your heavenly Father knows very well that you need these things. (Matthew 6:31–32) That is why He promises you that if you would seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things that the world seeks after will be added to you. It will not just be given but added, which means greater in quantity and quality! If you are broke, don’t pursue money. Pursue God your prosperity. If you are faced with lack, don’t pursue material goods. Pursue God your provider. If you are sick, don’t pursue the “cure”. Pursue God your healer. My friend, don’t grab the newspaper or call your friend first thing in the morning to talk about the latest bad news. Instead, grab your Bible and read all the good news God has for you for the day. And as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all the things that the world is running after will be added to you! ••Thought For The Day•• Pursue God and His righteousness, and all the things that the world seeks after will be added to you. Joseph Prince > Scourged For Your Wholeness
"…and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) Under Roman law in Bible times, a criminal was either scourged for a lesser crime and then set free, or crucified straightaway if guilty of a greater crime. But Jesus was both scourged and crucified. Pontius Pilate had hoped that after scourging Jesus and presenting His bloodied body to the people, they would be satisfied and willing to let Him go. But the people were not and demanded His crucifixion instead. Don’t think for a moment that the people had power to inflict such suffering on Jesus. It was all part of God’s plan and the scourging was necessary for only by His stripes are we healed. The Roman whip used for scourging was made of leather straps embedded with glass, bone and metal hooks. With just one strike, the instrument would have been wrapped around Jesus’ body, causing the glass, bones and hooks to cut deep into His flesh. And as the whip was pulled back, the hooks would have stripped His flesh off, exposing muscle and bone. Indeed, the psalmist says, “They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me,” (Psalm 22:16–17) and “The plowers plowed on My back; they made their furrows long”. (Psalm 129:3) Although 39 was the maximum number of times one could be whipped according to Jewish law, I believe that Jesus was whipped more times than that because the Romans, who were not likely to regard Jewish law, carried out the scourging. Whichever the case, His back would have been reduced to a mass of bloody, mutilated flesh. That day, Jesus’ blood flowed freely from His body for your deliverance from every kind of disease and physical affliction. God allowed every one of those stripes to fall on His Son’s body so that your body need not be scourged with diseases. My friend, if you are sick or suffering from some physical condition, know that Jesus took the scourging as full payment for you to be free of that condition. He bore those stripes so that, today, there is no sickness, no disease left for you to bear. By His stripes you have been healed! ••Thought For The Day•• Jesus bore the terrible scourging to purchase for you deliverance from every kind of disease. Joseph Prince "You will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick." (Eze. 34:16)
BE ENCOURAGED! At the cross, Jesus did not just take away your sins, but He also gave you His righteousness! A divine exchange took place—your sins for His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). This means that, today, you are as righteous as Christ Himself, not because of your good works, but because of His finished work!
So place your hand over your heart right now and boldly declare: "I, (state your name), AM the righteousness of God in Christ!" Learn to speak this powerful truth over yourself every day. If the enemy tells you, “You’re a bad Christian and that’s why you’re sick,” just declare, “I AM righteous in Christ! By His stripes I am healed!” Amen! Joseph Prince > Believe First And You Will See
"…as you have believed, so let it be done for you…" (Matthew 8:13) You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!” The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”. Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus”. (Mark 5:27) She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed. Beloved, God wants you to know that when you believe Him, you will see your miracle. What you believe Him for, you will receive. When a church member lost her wallet at a swimming pool, she prayed together with her husband, declaring their belief that God would restore the loss. One day later, not at the swimming pool but at her feet in the car, she found her wallet! She simply believed that God would restore her loss and she saw the restoration. In another case, a lady who had skin cancer wore long sleeves all the time to conceal her condition from others. During one of our church camps, she went forward for prayer, believing God for her healing. After one of our pastors, Pastor Henry, prayed for her, she went back to her room, rolled up her sleeves and saw that all the cancerous scarring on her arms had disappeared! Her doctor later confirmed that she had been cured of skin cancer. She believed God for healing and saw it. The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!” ••Thought For The Day•• If you will believe it, you will feel it and see it. Joseph Prince "Your light shall break forth as the morning and my health shall spring forth speedily. You will restore health unto me, and You will heal me of my wounds saith the Lord." (Isa. 58:8; Jer. 30:17)
BE ENCOURAGED! But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” –Luke 13:12
One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is of Jesus healing a woman bowed over with a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. Imagine never being able to see the sky or rainbows, but only the dust of the earth and the grubby feet of people—what a painful existence she lived! I love how Jesus saw this woman and immediately called her over to receive a miracle from Him. When Jesus said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity,” He was proclaiming liberty over her and setting her free from that crippling condition. He laid hands on her and she immediately received her healing. Beloved, you too have already been set free from the curse of sickness by Jesus’ finished work at the cross. Believe it and proclaim your liberty won by His one perfect sacrifice! Joseph Prince Throughout the four Gospel accounts, Jesus showed us that our God is a practical God, who is interested in providing for our daily needs practically. To those who were hungry, He provided food by multiplying the loaves and fish. To the fishermen who toiled all night and caught nothing, He gave them more than a boatload of fish. Jesus didn’t stop there—whoever encountered Him received from Him what they lacked. He healed the broken hearted and gave sight to the blind. The sick who came to Him were all healed. Even the dead received His resurrection life!
Beloved, whatever you need today, go to Jesus. He is a practical God who is interested in every area of your life, and is more than willing to supply all your needs! Amen! Joseph Prince "Jesus, You bore my sickness. You carried my pains. You were put to sickness for me. With Your stripes I am healed." (Isa. 53:4-5, 10)
BE ENCOURAGED! |
Shield of Faith Blog
AuthorBorn in South Carolina, Heather is happily married, and has three standard poodles and one shih tzu. Having travelled to over 14 countries, she has a great appreciation for living in the USA. She has a calling on her life to tell others about her healing and what Jesus has done for her. She is alive and well because of Him. Archives
July 2015
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