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August 2021

A Reflection on Sickness

(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7d/94/52/7d9452aa61410a9130b056bb7ed86aab.jpg created by vectorportal.com)

I’m making this post brief because I’ve been sick for more than a week. I’d flown to Texas to work on administrative matters matters for West Coast Bible College but I was fine then.

As most of you know, people have to wear masks in airports and in planes, so I had a good chance to prove the worth of my mask. I can tell you, wearing one for hours at a time gets too warm. I feel for those who have to wear one when they’re on the job. That’s not easy!

The day after I returned, I started to feel bad and got bad fast. I was too sick to go to church (thank God for live streamed services!) but lying in bed most of the day didn’t help.

It reached the point where I thought I’d contracted the COVID variant because I had many of the same symptoms.

But the test proved negative, so this could be little more than a summer cold on steroids! I don’t know how else to explain it, except to say it wiped me out most of the week.

I’m grateful that Jesus healed multitudes throughout His ministry. 

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.” – Matthew 14:14

“At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them.” – Luke 4:40

And He extended that ministry to His church.

“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” – Acts 5:12-16

But believers don’t have unlimited authority over disease. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:20. “Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.” 

This doesn’t mean God’s withdrawn His healing power. Sickness is part of a world tarnished by sin and its effects. When Jesus returns, He will eradicate disease. Indeed, we will resurrect us so that nothing can harm us. We will have bodies like His!

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” – 1 John 3:2

In the meantime, we trust in the goodness and power of Jesus Christ. We rely on God’s promises. And we continue to serve Him in the strength of His Spirit.

If we undergo a physical trial, we know that in the end, it can’t win. By God’s grace, we will. Our Lord Jesus–crucified and risen–will see to it.

Hallelujah!

Spiritual Rulers

(https://media.istockphoto.com/vectors/school-tools-rulers-vector-set-instrument-line-for-measuring-and-of-vector-id1257077506?b=1&k=6&m=1257077506&s=170667a&w=0&h=b5IdLPmZCUgenY2W61zzdO_tKfCnr_ovaIdFM7t0RzE=)

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to His eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Ephesians 3:10-11

(Hey, wrong image! Not those rulers!)

God is smart. This isn’t controversial. (It shouldn’t be!) No one can predict His plans or figure out His reasoning. And let’s be honest. Even after He reveals His will, it’s not easy to understand what He explained.

But the situation isn’t hopeless! God is so good He lets us in on what He’s doing and why He’s doing it.

As a result, Christians get the privilege of communicating the wisdom of Jesus Christ. And while many will reject the gospel, everyone needs to hear it.

And by everyone I mean everyone!

Every human being.

Every heavenly being, too.

Heavenly beings?

That’s what Paul says in the passage above.

The apostle doesn’t claim that angels need to get saved. Justification by faith in Christ is a gift God offers the lost human race.

“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. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” – John 3:16-17

Jesus fulfilled God’s plan by becoming one of us and dying in our place. Through His perfect sacrifice, we can receive forgiveness and eternal life. That’s God’s grace!

Of course, we have to spread this news. After all, someone told us about the Lord and we have to return the favor. As each Christian shares the gospel with someone else, word gets out. Not only around the world, but across the generations, too. For 2000 years, people have gotten the chance to find freedom from sin. They’ve encountered the living God and He’s transformed them. This is the church’s job!

But remember, God intended heavenly beings to learn about His saving plan, too. Who are these beings and why do they need to know about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Let’s dismiss the notion that Paul’s talking about government officials. Mayor’s offices, governor’s mansions, and royal palaces aren’t in heaven; they’re down here! It’s spiritual “officials” who are now privy to the evangelical announcement. They get to hear what Jesus did.

They don’t need to know who He is. Spiritual beings have no difficulty identifying Jesus. They recognize Him! Even when He walked in the limitations of human flesh, they knew who He was. Neither angels nor demons were uncertain.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’” – Luke 2:10-12

“Whenever the impure spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’” – Mark 3:11

Who does Paul have in mind when he refers to these beings? Chapter 6 discusses spiritual warfare and connects it to evangelism (Ephesians 6:10-20). So it stands to reason that he refers to the same beings in chapter 3.

Again, evil spirits knew who Jesus was, but they didn’t discern God’s plan. By killing Him, they thought they’d prevented the Son of God from taking over the world. Their world. The one they’d been governing for millennia.

But the resurrection of Jesus threw everything out of kilter! Jesus–human and divine–redeemed humanity from sin and separation from God. We too, could join the family of God by trusting in the Son of God.

“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God– 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” – John 1:12-13

Paul declares that Jesus Christ is Lord. He’s the ruler of everything–heaven, earth, you name it! If we’re members of His family, we get to work in the family business. Through God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, we bring the kingdom of God to every corner of the globe.

Every day, evil spirits lose ground to Jesus Christ in the world they once ruled. The more the church spreads the gospel, the more souls escape the grip of these beings. They’re mad because they’re out of a job! We point the lost to Jesus and strive to win people to His authority.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

We’ll face resistance; the devil won’t give up without a fight, but Jesus has already won. He’s not becoming Lord; He is Lord!

So let’s serve Jesus with our whole hearts. He gave us everything He had; let’s do the same. He conquered our spiritual enemies; let’s spread the good news to free others.

Amen!

with Bob Condly

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