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Jesus' Healing Touch
by lynda ventura There are times in life when faith is hard to gather up, especially when dealing with an illness. Your body may feel depleted, but by faith you can know the healing touch of Jesus and your spirit can soar. So how do you get from point A, feeling discouraged to point B, being encouraged? We do this by reading God's word. In the Gospels we see many examples of Jesus healing people. Jesus performed these miracles for a specific reason, to prove that He was the promised Messiah. Today things are a little different. We don't need miraculous signs to believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. We have His written testimony, God's word that, with the help of the Holy Spirit helps us to believe. Although we don't need miracles, that doesn't mean they don't happen. Could a healing miracle happen for you? It could, in more ways than one. They happen every day. Lets see how. Matt. 9:18b says"a ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live." Worship is so much more than a song we sing. Notice the man's worship was a statement of faith. Faith is how we worship God. Faith puts wings on our worship; it is the driving force of true worship. God's word says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him."Hebrews 11:6 We must believe that God will reward our faith. And he does; the ultimate reward being our salvation. It all starts there. Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." Eph. 1:7 He was raised to life that we may live in new life with Him. "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4 We are spiritually healed when we trust in Christ's sacrifice alone for the forgiveness of our sins. Like the girl Jesus raised from the dead, in Christ we are brought from death to life. I'd say that's a miracle and a healing! That can happen for you today. All you need to do is prayerfully agree with God about the sin in your life, ask Him for forgiveness and claim the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you from all sin. In doing that you are entering into a covenant relationship with God. You are redeemed. You can have confidence that you are forgiven. You are a new creation! God says, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. " Ez. 36:26 You now have power, through the Holy Spirit, to turn away from sin (when you so choose to) and have a new life with God. You won't be sinless but you will sin less. You're life will change because your heart will have changed. Faith for healing, even aftr salvation, can still be hard to practice. Matt. 9:20 gives us a glimpse into the faith of a woman saying, "A woman who had a flow of blood for 12 years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, If only I may touch the hem of His garment, I shall be made well." Back in those days women were considered unclean when she had a menstrual cycle. If anyone touched her they would be considered unclean too. So for twelve years this woman went without a human touch. She dared not to run to Jesus and take Him by the hand, but she had the faith to touch His garment, believing she would be healed. We can certainly identify with the loneliness that comes with being ill. We may feel out of the loop having been isolated from church or friends. So we find ourselves coming to Jesus from behind, like the woman did and all we have is the faith to prayerfully touch the hem of His garment. God's word says, "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17:20 Jesus will make us well, despite our being sick, either by healing our bodies or healing our minds concerning our bodies. Think about it, how glorifying it is to God when we proclaim that our lives are entrusted in His hands, no matter what, sick or well! Trusting God we can have an attitude of wellness."And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalm 9:10 Demonstrating this kind of faith in times of illness not only brings glory to God, but it is an encouragement to others to see faith in action. We live in a world full of hurting people. God uses everything in our lives to demonstrate His love to us and others. "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" 1John 4:16 Our lives can count for Christ, no matter how sick we are. In Christ we can walk in the wellness of our hearts and minds. We can have purpose in pain. We can have peace through the trials. In loving God and others, we can make a difference. That is the miracle of faith and the heart of healing. Lyn Ventura is a Christian writer from New England. She may be reached at [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |