Jesus healing. So much can be shared on this subject and of course, one can never cover it completely, so I will not even attempt to do it. Instead, I would just like to very briefly mention a Jesus healing revelation from the Word of God.
With the start of the Protestant Reformation with Martin Luther, the Lord has been adding to that revelation truth to the Body of Christ. It is the truth about the real spiritual meaning of our salvation, in all its aspects.
The Hebrew word that the Bible uses for salvation is a very rich word and it includes several areas, which, put together, encompass our entire life – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, financially, politically and every other way you can imagine. Let me list those areas for you:
1). Salvation – This of course is the main area. It includes our salvation from sin and the new life that the Lord imparts into our spirit when we get born again. You see, salvation is a two-fold process. The first part is when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and at that moment He writes our name in His book of life, so we don’t go to Hell (This happens for a second and is the legal part of the contract, so to speak). Actually, the Lord could have stopped here and could have told us: “Since you accepted Me, I have saved you, so that’s it. You will escape Hell, so don’t worry about it. Now you can continue with your life as you lived it before.”
Yet, the Lord did not stop with just saving us and guaranteeing us a place in Heaven. He wanted something more. He wanted to put new genes in us (spiritually speaking). He wanted to impart a new heart and a new spirit in us, so we could be the exact image of His Son. He wanted us to be His representatives on the earth, carriers of His glory, rulers together with Him, establishing His Kingdom. Of course, we can do none of this by our own self and by our on strength, so at the new birth, the Lord removes the old stony heart from us and gives us a totally new heart and spirit: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Now this is the practical part of the contract, where we apply the salvation in our daily life.
Can you see the difference between just being saved (escaping Hell) and living a life full of God, until we go to Heaven? Salvation includes both.
2). Healing – Well, Jesus healing is real, because Jesus is the Healer! Healing is a spiritual substance provided in the “salvation package”. The word salvation itself, when translated from Hebrew, means healing as well. So, please do not ever have the slightest doubt that it is the Lord’s will to completely heal you, NO MATTER WHAT sickness you may have! Not only that, but if we live out our salvation in fullness, we will actually not need any healing, because we will be walking in Divine Health all the time. I am not thinking this up, nor have I copied it from somewhere else – I am telling you something my own family is experiencing for many years now. The Lord is faithful and if we walk in integrity, humility, repentance and forgiveness, the Lord’s healing power will flow freely in our life and give us strength. I wish you a Jesus healing!
3). Deliverance – It can be attached to Jesus healing, but it carries a slightly different shade of meaning, including all areas of not so normal sicknesses, but rather demonic ones, that bind the person, bring a curse in their life or have a destruction effect of a higher dimension. Good news! Jesus is greater than any demon, and the Bible says He casts out demons with the finger of God. It only takes a finger (The Lord’s one) to destroy the powers of Hell in our lives. Jesus took the keys of death and hell from satan (it’s not a grammatical mistake that I have not capitalized his name), “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Please don’t ever magnify or over estimate the power of the enemy – glorify God instead and meditate upon His power and ability to heal and deliver you completely.
4). Protection – Another Jesus healing area would be protection. Protection in the context of salvation speaks not only about the Lord keeping us from sicknesses, but also protecting us from all evil, in ever area of our life and existence. Jesus said our life is in the Lord’s hands and even the hairs of our heads are all numbered, so the Lord definitely takes a good care of us. He also said a sparrow will not fall to the ground without God the Father’s will, so what does that speak to you about us – the crown of God’s creation? Why would Christians think they are no different than unbelievers in this area? We are different! The Lord’s protection is upon us! The Lord is more than able to preserve us and protect us from ALL HARM. Just read Psalm 91, I need not add anything else.
5). Prosperity – The word salvation also includes our prosperity. Now prosperity is not just a materialistic term, but first and foremost, a spiritual one. To be prosperous means to succeed in life, to fulfill God’s purposes and intentions in our generation, to live out our destiny in Him fully, to accomplish everything we are called to, to live a satisfactory to Him life and to be full of days and assets, when the time comes for us to go to heaven. Remember Abraham? The Bible says when his time to die came, he was full of days, very rich in possessions and people, and satisfied. How’s that for Jesus healing?
6). Wholeness – It combines all of the above and adds to the meaning of the word salvation. Wholeness means the Lord had the fullness of His image in mind when He created us, and when He recreated us (at the new birth, when salvation took place). Jesus said He had come to give us life, and life more abundantly! (John 10:10). Everything is wrapped up in God. The devil may do all he wants in an attempt to steal, kill or destroy us, but the Lord’s life is in us and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus gives us completeness and wholeness, so we are fit and intact and immovable to the devil.
7). Victory – This is again a word that combines much of the above said, but as a militant term, it shows us that we are not supposed to be sitting and waiting for the devil to come and try to destroy our life in an of the areas we already mentioned – we are supposed to live an ACTIVE Christian life that pushes al enemies of the Cross away from us, our loved ones, our neighborhood, our nation and the nations of the world.
O, how I don’t want to end this exciting subject, but it is becoming a long article, so I will stop here. All 7 words in points 1 through 7 above are the actual translation of the Hebrew word soteria (salvation). May the Lord give you a new understanding in the area of Jesus salvation and Jesus healing in their fullness. Amen!
May God Bless you!
Nikola Dimitrov
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
WAS JESUS MARRIED?
Was Jesus Married? I think the more important question is why would people ask that? I mean, there’s nothing wrong in a person being married. It would have been a completely normal thing for Jesus to have been married, even though He was not. His mission was altogether different than living a normal life on the Earth, creating a family, raising children, etc. He was sent from God with a specific mission, which required His full attention and focus. Same was the case with John the Baptist for example – the person sent to prepare the way for Jesus.
Well, some people say Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, but hey, some even go further and make a homosexual out of Jesus, because of his deep, spiritual relationship with His disciple John. The same people consider David in the same way, because of his friendship with Jonathan, and because of David’s words about Jonathan, that his love was better than the love of women. I feel embarrassed and ashamed to even mention these things, because they are so disgraceful in that they are turning the pure love of God into a perverted beastly form of “love”, and I do pray the Lord’s mercy upon the people originating these demonic ideas.
I love to meditate though, on the fact that Jesus will indeed one day be married to His Bride – the Church, in a spiritual way. We are called His Body, but also His Bride and He is our Lord, but also will become our Husband. Right now we are His fiancé so to speak, and He loves us so much and He is so expecting the day of His actual wedding!
So, is Jesus married? In a flesh and blood manner – NO, but in a spiritual one – He soon will be! Hallelujah!
May God Bless you!
Nikola Dimitrov
Well, some people say Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, but hey, some even go further and make a homosexual out of Jesus, because of his deep, spiritual relationship with His disciple John. The same people consider David in the same way, because of his friendship with Jonathan, and because of David’s words about Jonathan, that his love was better than the love of women. I feel embarrassed and ashamed to even mention these things, because they are so disgraceful in that they are turning the pure love of God into a perverted beastly form of “love”, and I do pray the Lord’s mercy upon the people originating these demonic ideas.
I love to meditate though, on the fact that Jesus will indeed one day be married to His Bride – the Church, in a spiritual way. We are called His Body, but also His Bride and He is our Lord, but also will become our Husband. Right now we are His fiancé so to speak, and He loves us so much and He is so expecting the day of His actual wedding!
So, is Jesus married? In a flesh and blood manner – NO, but in a spiritual one – He soon will be! Hallelujah!
May God Bless you!
Nikola Dimitrov
Brother Bill
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Enjoy yourself.
It's later than you think.
Enjoy yourself
While you're still in the pink.
The years may go as quickly as a wink.
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself!
It's later than you think.
(Music by Carl Sigman, lyrics by Herb Magidson, copyright 1950)
Now, why I thought of this old song I'll never know, but it took me on another journey with the Lord into the history of this language that He gave us. It illustrated for me again the richness of our vocabulary and, most important, gave me new insight into how I can use my words in praise and worship of Him; of how I can enjoy myself as I enjoy Him.
Out of the blue this old song came to mind from the dim, dark recesses of my childhood. Suddenly I couldn't stop thinking of it and heard it playing over and over in my mind. I admit that the first thing I thought of was not the Lord. After all, how could a silly old song have anything to teach me about Him?
That's when, word lover that I am, I went to the dictionary. Still not knowing where I was being led--or even IF I was being led, I found these definitions for the word enjoy:
To receive pleasure or satisfaction from.
To have the use or benefit of, as in, enjoys good health.
Take pleasure in, as in, "She enjoyed her fame"
Have benefit from, as in, "enjoy privileges"
Get pleasure from, as in, "I enjoy cooking"
Have for one's benefit, as in, "The industry enjoyed a boom"
take delight in, as in, "He enjoys his granddaughter"
Not satisfied, I looked for the history and origins of the word. I found it had roots circa 1380 in the French word enjoir . I won’t even attempt a pronunciation, but it means "to give joy, rejoice."
There it was: "rejoice"; literally, "make joy". The prefix "en-" being used in the same was as in the word "engage" -- to make a pledge, or "enforce"--to make, or put into force.
Now, bear with me with all this "word" stuff. Believe it or not, I'm going somewhere spiritual with this.
Look at the etymology of the word rejoice:
It is from the French, circa 1303, meaning "to enjoy the possession of," Now, pardon my French—or, rather, the lack of it. "Rejoiss-", my source tells me, is the stem of rejoissant, meaning "gladden". Re- and + joir mean "be glad," Originally "rejoice in", meaning "to be full of joy".
Okay, you’ll be glad to know we’re through with the worst of it. Now let’s take a look at what we have here.
Enjoy is not a passive verb. When we enjoy something we are allowing, or even making, the joy rise out of ourselves. This is what Jesus came to give us.
As Jesus says,
"The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." (John 10:10 Amp)
As Jesus tells us in this chapter, He came to lay down His life for us. He is the Shepherd who stands at the gate calling His sheep. He came to give us abundant life - full of joy and filled to the full until it overflows.
Then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus is speaking with the Father before the sacrifice, He says,
"And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, [that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts] " (John 17:13 Amp)
Joy? enjoyment? gladness? At a time like this? Only because we would know the whole story of Christ's crucifixion, death, and resurrection and what it meant to us. Paul gives us the reason for our joy when he wrote these words:
(Now, this is from the Amplified translation, so let’s take it slow and easy!)
"Therefore, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we ] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance." (Romans 5:1-3 Amp)
Since we see "exult" used twice here, let's look at that word. (Okay, I didn’t say we were completely finished with the word history study):
My source says exult has its roots in 1425. It comes, once again, from the French, so you’ll get no correct pronunciation from me—or any pronunciation for that matter!. The word exulter comes from exultare, meaning to leap out or up, The notion is of leaping or dancing for joy. Exult in the sense of "rejoice exceedingly" is from 1594.
Okay, in light of that, I'll buy the second verse. I think all of us would "rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God". I'd certainly dance under those conditions!
But what's this? Now, according to Paul (and the Lord who inspired him) I'm not only to rejoice, but to enjoy--even be "full of joy"--to rejoice and to dance for joy--in the middle of trouble and suffering! How am I to do that?
Because it is not by my own efforts.
Paul tells the Galatians (and us):
"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [[a]that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit [b]we have our life in God, let us go forward [c]walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" (Galatians 5:22-25 Amp)
It is by the work of the Holy Spirit within us--the Spirit whom we received when we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives--the same Spirit who is responsible for living the Christian life through us. I can't do it. You can't do it. No one can live the Christian life but Christ. That's why it's called The Christian Life!
That old song with which I began this letter contains some truth, too. The years do go by as quickly as a wink, and it is later than you think. And though I can't really enjoy, or make myself joyful, I can receive it by asking. I can't contain or display true joy--or any other fruit of the Spirit--on my own, but I can ask God to fulfill it in me.
I can say, "Father, through Your Holy Spirit dwelling in me--enjoy me! Fill me with Your joy! I rejoice in You, Father, and I exult you--I dance before you just as David did. In the midst of good and plenty or during suffering and lack, Holy Spirit of God, I give myself to you. I surrender my desires and I gladly surrender my lack of joy. Heavenly Father, ENJOY ME!
Let the Holy Spirit enjoy you today!
Love,
Brother Bill
Enjoy yourself.
It's later than you think.
Enjoy yourself
While you're still in the pink.
The years may go as quickly as a wink.
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself!
It's later than you think.
(Music by Carl Sigman, lyrics by Herb Magidson, copyright 1950)
Now, why I thought of this old song I'll never know, but it took me on another journey with the Lord into the history of this language that He gave us. It illustrated for me again the richness of our vocabulary and, most important, gave me new insight into how I can use my words in praise and worship of Him; of how I can enjoy myself as I enjoy Him.
Out of the blue this old song came to mind from the dim, dark recesses of my childhood. Suddenly I couldn't stop thinking of it and heard it playing over and over in my mind. I admit that the first thing I thought of was not the Lord. After all, how could a silly old song have anything to teach me about Him?
That's when, word lover that I am, I went to the dictionary. Still not knowing where I was being led--or even IF I was being led, I found these definitions for the word enjoy:
To receive pleasure or satisfaction from.
To have the use or benefit of, as in, enjoys good health.
Take pleasure in, as in, "She enjoyed her fame"
Have benefit from, as in, "enjoy privileges"
Get pleasure from, as in, "I enjoy cooking"
Have for one's benefit, as in, "The industry enjoyed a boom"
take delight in, as in, "He enjoys his granddaughter"
Not satisfied, I looked for the history and origins of the word. I found it had roots circa 1380 in the French word enjoir . I won’t even attempt a pronunciation, but it means "to give joy, rejoice."
There it was: "rejoice"; literally, "make joy". The prefix "en-" being used in the same was as in the word "engage" -- to make a pledge, or "enforce"--to make, or put into force.
Now, bear with me with all this "word" stuff. Believe it or not, I'm going somewhere spiritual with this.
Look at the etymology of the word rejoice:
It is from the French, circa 1303, meaning "to enjoy the possession of," Now, pardon my French—or, rather, the lack of it. "Rejoiss-", my source tells me, is the stem of rejoissant, meaning "gladden". Re- and + joir mean "be glad," Originally "rejoice in", meaning "to be full of joy".
Okay, you’ll be glad to know we’re through with the worst of it. Now let’s take a look at what we have here.
Enjoy is not a passive verb. When we enjoy something we are allowing, or even making, the joy rise out of ourselves. This is what Jesus came to give us.
As Jesus says,
"The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." (John 10:10 Amp)
As Jesus tells us in this chapter, He came to lay down His life for us. He is the Shepherd who stands at the gate calling His sheep. He came to give us abundant life - full of joy and filled to the full until it overflows.
Then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus is speaking with the Father before the sacrifice, He says,
"And now I am coming to You; I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, [that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts] " (John 17:13 Amp)
Joy? enjoyment? gladness? At a time like this? Only because we would know the whole story of Christ's crucifixion, death, and resurrection and what it meant to us. Paul gives us the reason for our joy when he wrote these words:
(Now, this is from the Amplified translation, so let’s take it slow and easy!)
"Therefore, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we ] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God. Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance." (Romans 5:1-3 Amp)
Since we see "exult" used twice here, let's look at that word. (Okay, I didn’t say we were completely finished with the word history study):
My source says exult has its roots in 1425. It comes, once again, from the French, so you’ll get no correct pronunciation from me—or any pronunciation for that matter!. The word exulter comes from exultare, meaning to leap out or up, The notion is of leaping or dancing for joy. Exult in the sense of "rejoice exceedingly" is from 1594.
Okay, in light of that, I'll buy the second verse. I think all of us would "rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God". I'd certainly dance under those conditions!
But what's this? Now, according to Paul (and the Lord who inspired him) I'm not only to rejoice, but to enjoy--even be "full of joy"--to rejoice and to dance for joy--in the middle of trouble and suffering! How am I to do that?
Because it is not by my own efforts.
Paul tells the Galatians (and us):
"But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [[a]that can bring a charge]. And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit [b]we have our life in God, let us go forward [c]walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" (Galatians 5:22-25 Amp)
It is by the work of the Holy Spirit within us--the Spirit whom we received when we accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives--the same Spirit who is responsible for living the Christian life through us. I can't do it. You can't do it. No one can live the Christian life but Christ. That's why it's called The Christian Life!
That old song with which I began this letter contains some truth, too. The years do go by as quickly as a wink, and it is later than you think. And though I can't really enjoy, or make myself joyful, I can receive it by asking. I can't contain or display true joy--or any other fruit of the Spirit--on my own, but I can ask God to fulfill it in me.
I can say, "Father, through Your Holy Spirit dwelling in me--enjoy me! Fill me with Your joy! I rejoice in You, Father, and I exult you--I dance before you just as David did. In the midst of good and plenty or during suffering and lack, Holy Spirit of God, I give myself to you. I surrender my desires and I gladly surrender my lack of joy. Heavenly Father, ENJOY ME!
Let the Holy Spirit enjoy you today!
Love,
Brother Bill
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