Which is easier?

     Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 
     Matt 9:5 (NASB)

     Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, annointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has commited sins, they will be forgiven him.
     James 5:14,15 (NASB)

     Jesus did the hard thing in Matthew 9 to show that He had the authority to forgive sin. He had just told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. It is easy to say your sins are forgiven, because there is no immediate visual evidence. It is quite another thing to say get up and walk, because an impossible action is then expected. When the crippled man got up and walked, it proved to everyone present that Jesus indeed had authority to forgive sin.
     I think that for most of us it is easy to believe that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to forgive them. We have no problem accepting that by faith. Many of us have grown up in church hearing this truth all of our lives. Faith for healing is quite a different matter. It is easy to believe that God can heal, but when it comes to the crisis point it is hard to believe that God will actually heal. We may pray, or even be annointed and prayed for, as in James 5, all the while expecting nothing to really happen.
     Faith is not a lever that somehow budges God. We cannot drum up faith in the attempt to impress Him into action. Faith is not something that we use to get whatever we want from God. Faith is taking God at His word. It is hearing what He says in His word and believing Him. God does not and cannot lie. It is up to us to simply believe what He says.
     Although I have seen people healed, far too often nothing happens. I think this is a common thing, but it should not be so. We tend to explain it away with a variety of reasons and biblical interpretations, and as a result do much damage to the doctrine of divine healing. The word of God is clear on this subject. God is willing to heal. People were healed consistently throughout the bible, as they came to Him in faith.
     In Mark 9: 17-29 the disciples fail to cast a demon out of a boy. We can learn several things from this passage.  In Jesus' own words this was an unbelieving generation. In Matthew 13:58 we see that unbelief prevented Jesus from performing miracles. The people of that day were religious, but failed to take God seriously. They were too familiar with Jesus. He had grown up among them, where did His power come from? How can He claim to be the Messiah? They took offense at Him. Is it possible that we today can become so comfortable with our theology, and so familiar with the Jesus that we see in our churches, that we too become filled with unbelief?
     Jesus also told the disciples that prayer was necessary (Mark 9:39). Jesus gave us an example to follow. He often got up early and got away from everbody to spend long times in prayer. We tend to wait until a need arises and then spend time in prayer for that need. Instead we should be already spending time in prayer to God, just seeking Him. When a need arises, we would be prayed up and ready.
     The subject of miracles and healings is difficult. As I said we often see no miraculous results to our prayers. There are a variety of biblical reasons for the lack of healing, but I still think that we are not experiencing all that God intends for us to have in Christ. This can be a subject to pursue in future posts.

How to have a personal revival

Here is a link to an interesting article on repentance and personal revival. http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/2010/04/18/how-to-have-a-personal-revival/

Hindrances to prayer.

     Our fellowship with God, and our fellowship with one another, are all tied together. a right relationship with God will produce right relationships with those around us, and wrong treatment of our fellow man will adversely effect our relationship with God.
     Prayer is a vital link to God. It is our communication with Him. It is the channel through which we bring Him our needs, cares and burdens. Through prayer we advance His interests and kingdom. Through prayer we enter into His very presence to receive grace and mercy in time of need. It is of utmost importance that we keep this line of communication open.
     The New Testament warns us in many places that our prayer can be hindered through the mistreatment of others. When someone wrongs us it is up to us to forgive that individual. Jesus said " When you stand praying, forgive". When we have wronged someone it is up to us to go and be reconciled to that individual, then come and offer our gift on the altar. To approach God while holding enmity in our heart, is offensive to Him.
     Husbands have the responsibility to care for their wives, and are to treat them with love and respect. To fail to do this will hinder prayer as well. We often joke about arguments we have on the way to church as if they really don't matter. We feel better about ourselves because it happens to the sunday school teacher, or the worship leader, or the pastor as well, but it really does matter! These things will hinder our walk with God until they have been dealt with. We are to lift up holy hands without anger or quarrelling.
     The bible urges us to submit to one another. In other words we are to look out for each other, put others first, seeking to maintain peace for the sake of Christ and His gospel. It is in this context that Peter states "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble". It is pride that is at the core of our arguments, and resentment, unforgiveness and anger. This is what is offensive to God, and will shut out our prayers from His ear. Instead, let us live and work along side of each other in love, seeking the common goal of living for the Glory of Christ our king.

Be true to your convictions.

     The example of Daniel, and his three Hebrew companions, put many to shame in this age when having firm convictions does not seem to matter very much.
     They were deported from Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, to be servants in the king's palace. They were immersed in the culture and religion of Babylon. Their names were changed in an attempt to wipe out any remnant of their godly heritage, the names given them were in honor of the gods of Babylon. They were chosen to be wise men, enchanters, and trained accordingly in occult practices.
     One would think that they would soon forget their God, and be conformed to the religious practices of everyone else around them. Instead they stood firm, refusing to eat food in violation of the Hebrew law, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue, choosing to be thrown into the fiery furnace instead. what is so amazing about this is the fact that they were still young boys! They were around twelve to fifteen or so, when they were taken captive.
     Sadly many adults in the church today have no solid convictions, or fail to hold to the ones they do. We see our youth go the way of the world instead of the way of the cross, and wonder why. Television, movies, entertainment, the choice of friends etc. are all geared up to drag them into the world. In the small town that I live in, I see so many kids from Christian homes fall prey to drugs, alcohol, sex, and the occult. To be sure, many parents have done their best to raise them in a godly home, but I also see many that "waffle"  raising up their children. They seem to just let them go without any discipline, let them run with whomever, whenever, and all of a sudden they wonder what went wrong.
     It is vital that we as parents do our very best to raise the children that God has given us. We have a grave responsibility to see that they grow up to serve our Lord. We need to have our walk with God right if we expect them to walk with Him as well.
     The great men of faith in the bible stood firm in their convictions, and their God stood by them. Let as do so as well!