Healing in the Aspens

I am so pleased with the painting I am currently doing.  I am actually surprising myself even!  I’m taking my time with this painting and doing every little detail – it’s taking forever, and since I am mostly impatient when it comes to this kind of thing, it’s rather tedious.  But it is actually looking awesome.  This is from one of the pictures I took last week when we went into the mountains – there was this grove of aspens in the snow. 

I made some great connections with other artists today for my gallery.  Since the paintings came down yesterday, the walls are so bare!  I want to hurry and fill these walls with more artwork asap!  I know I have to be patient, but I connected with some awesome artists that plan to come in this week and next to meet with me:  Lori Vafiades - https://www.facebook.com/GreatCompany.LoriVafiadesArt,  Paulette Triplett - http://paulette-art.com/index.php, and Emile Ibrahim – http:// www.emileibrahim.com.  Their work is awesome.  In fact, I want to talk more with them about coming in and teaching some classes – I want to learn from them as well!

I had some interesting visitors today.  I find that I am mentor to a few people now – they come in to hang out, talk with me, do some artwork, but mostly, they just want to talk.  Wow, I just pray that I continue to have the words they need to hear.  It was so cool to talk with one about healing.  I totally believe in complete healing of the body, mind, and spirit and that God still heals today.  He healed me of several major things and I know God heals!  Several years ago, I typed up this little booklet on healing and added to it from other sources and I give this out so often when I get into these discussions:

Taken from “One Hundred Divine Healing Facts” by TL Osborn

If it is not God’s will for you to be well, it would be wrong for you to seek recovery even through natural means.  If it is God’s will for you to be well, then it is only logical that the best way of recovery is by divine means.  The Bible reveals the will of God in regard to the healing of the body as clearly as it reveals the will of God in regard to regeneration of the spirit.  God need not give any special revelations of His will when He has plainly given His revelation will in His word.  He has definitely promised to heal you.

1.       Gen. 1:31, Gen. 3 – Sickness is no more natural than sin; God made all things very good – both sin and sickness came into the world through the fall of the human race.

2.       Ex. 15:26, 23:25 when God called His children out of Egypt, He made a covenant of healing with them.

3.       Num. 21:4-9, John 3:14-15 – God healed those who were bitten by fiery serpents as they looked at the brazen serpent on a pole, which is a type of Calvary.  Jesus said: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so (for the same purpose) must the Son of man be lifted up. The people had sinned against God then [as well as now]

4.       Rom. 6:23 – The poisonous serpent’s bite resulted in death then.  Sin results in death today. The people cried to God then, and He heard their cry and provided a remedy – the serpent lifted up, same as today – Christ lifted up.

5.       John 3:16 –  The remedy was for everyone that is bitten then and for whoever believes today.

6.       Gal. 3:13 – Since their curse was removed by the lifting up of the ‘type’ of Christ, our curse was certainly removed by Christ himself.

7.       Ps. 91 – God promises protection for our bodies as well as for our spirits, if we live in Him.

8.       3 John 2 – John wishes above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.

9.       2 Chron. 16 – Asa died in his sickness because he sought not the Lord, but to the physicians.

10.   Isa. 38 – Hezekiah lived because he sought not to the physicians, but to the Lord.

11.   Isa. 53 – The removal of our diseases is included in Christ’s redemptive work, along with the removal of our sins.

12.   Matt. 8:16-17 – Christ fulfilled Isaiah’s words: He healed all that were sick

13.   Job. 2:7, 42:10,12 – Sickness is revealed as coming directly from Satan.  Job maintained steadfast faith as he cried out to God for deliverance, and he was healed.

14.   Luke 13:16 – He cast out the spirit of infirmity, and she was healed

15.   Matt. 12:22 – when the devil was cast out, he could both see and talk

16.   Mark 9:17-27 – when the demon was cast out, the boy was healed

17.   Acts 10:38 – this Scripture shows that sickness is Satan’s oppression

18.   1 John 3:8 – Sickness is a part of Satan’s work.  Christ, in His earthly ministry, always treated sin, disease, and devils the same – to destroy it.

19.   1 Cor. 6:15 – He doesn’t want the works of the devil to continue in our physical bodies.

20.   Luke 9:56 – Sickness destroys; therefore, it is not from God.  Christ came to save us (Greek: sozo – meaning to deliver us, to save and preserve us, to heal us, to give us life, to make us whole)

21.   John 10:10 – the thief is Satan, he kills; Christ  came so that we can have life abundantly

22.   2 Cor. 4:10-11 – we are promised the life of Jesus in our mortal flesh

23.   Rom 8:11 – we are taught that the Spirit’s work is to quicken our mortal bodies in this life.  Satan’s work is to kill, Christ’s work is to give life.  Satan is bad.  God is good. Bad things come from Satan.  Good things come from God; therefore, sickness is from Satan, health is from God.

24.   Matt. 10:1, Mark 16:17, John 8:31 – All authority and power over all devils and diseases was given to every disciple of Christ; this applies to us today if we continue in His word (to act upon).

25.   John 14:13-14 – the right to pray and receive the answer is given to every believer, including sickness

26.   Matt. 7:7-11 – Everyone that asks, receives

27.   Luke 10:1,9,19 – the ministry of healing was given to the seventy-two, who represent the future workers of the church

28.   Mark 16:17 – it was given to all them that believe the gospel, them that act on the gospel, or practice or doers of the word

29.   James 5:14 – it is committed to the elders of the church

30.   1 Cor. 12:9-10 – it is bestowed upon the whole church as one of the ministries and gifts, until Jesus comes

31.   Luke 10:1-9 – Jesus never commissioned anyone to preach the gospel without including healing for the sick.

32.   Mark 7:13 – traditions of men have hindered the healing part of the gospel from being proclaimed and acted upon as it was by the early church

33.   Mark 9:18, Matt. 17:19-20 – One tradition is that God wills some of His children to suffer sickness and that; therefore, many who are prayed for are not healed, because it is not His will to heal them.  When Jesus healed the demon-possessed boy whom the disciples could not heal, He proved that it is God’s will to heal even those who fail to receive healing; furthermore, He assigned the failure to the disciples to cure the boy, not to God’s will, but to the disciples’ unbelief.  If sickness is the will of God, then every physician would be a lawbreaker, every trained nurse a defier of the Almighty, and every hospital a house of rebellion instead of a house of mercy.  Since Christ came to do the Father’s will the fact that He healed them all is proof that it is God’s will that all be healed

34.   Is 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24 – if it is not God’s will for all to be healed, why do the scriptures state: With his stripes, were are healed?  Christ never refused those who sought His healing – Christ the healer has never changed!

35.   Mark 1:40-41 – only one person in the entire Bible ever asked for healing by saying, If it be your will.  That was the poor leper to whom Jesus immediately responded, I will; be clean.

36.   Luke 4:40 – Another tradition is that we can glorify God more by being patient in our sickness than by being healed.  If sickness glorifies God more than healing, then any attempt to get well by natural or divine means would be an effort to rob God of the glory that we should want Him to receive.  If sickness glorifies God, then we should rather be sick than well.  If sickness glorifies God, Jesus robbed His Father of all the glory that He possibly could by healing everyone, and the Holy Spirit continued doing the same throughout the Acts of the Apostles.

37.   1 Cor. 6:20 Our bodies and our spirits are bought with a price.  We are to glorify God in both.  We do not glorify God in our spirit by remaining in sin and we do not glorify God in our body by remaining sick.

38.   John 11:4, 45 – John’s Gospel is used to prove that sickness glorifies God, but God was not glorified in this case until Lazarus was raised up from the dead – when many believed!

39.   John 14:12-14 – Christ emphasized His promise, if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it, by repeating it twice.  He did not exclude healing from this promise.

Another tradition is that while God heals some, it is not His will to heal all.  But Jesus, who came to do the Father’s will, did heal them all.  If healing is not for all, why did Jesus bear our sicknesses, our pains, and our diseases?  If God wanted some of His children to suffer, then Jesus relieved us from bearing something which God wanted us to bear.  Jesus did the will of the father and healed them all!  If it is not God’s will for all to be healed, then God’s promises to heal are not for all and that would mean that faith does not come by hearing the word of God alone, but by getting a special revelation that God has favored you and wills to heal you.  If God’s promises to heal are not for all, then we could not know what God’s will is by reading His word alone.  That would me we would have to pray until He speaks directly to us about each case in particular.  We could not consider God’s word as direct to us personally, but would have to  close our Bibles and pray for a direct revelation from God to know if it is His will to heal each case.  Since it is written, Faith comes by hearing the word of God, then the best way to build faith in your heart is God is willing to heal you is for you to hear that part of God’s word which promises you healing!

40.   Mark 11:24 – If healing is not for all, Christ should have qualified His promise when He said, Whatever you desire (except healing) when you pray, believe that you receive it, and you shall have it.

41.   John 15:7 – if it is not God’s will to heal all, His promise would not be dependable where Christ said, If you live in me, and my words live in you, you shall ask for what you will, and it shall be done to you.

42.   James 5:14-15 – This promise is for all, including you, if you are sick.  If God today has abandoned healing in answer to prayer in favor of healing only by medical science, as modern theology speculates, that would mean that He requires us to use a less successful method during a better dispensation.  He healed them all then, but today many diseases are incurable by medical science.

43.   2 Tim. 2:21, 3:17, 2 Cor. 9:8 – If Paul tells us that God would have us prepared to every good work, thoroughly furnished to all good works, that we may abound to every good work – a sick person cannot measure up to these scriptures.  These conditions would be impossible if healing is not for all.

44.   Ps. 86:5 – it is God’s mercy which always moved Him to heal all the sick

45.   Ps. 34:19 – another tradition is that if we are righteous, we should expect sicknesses as a part of our life.  They quote this scripture, but this does not mean sicknesses as some would have us believe.  It means trials, hardships, persecutions and temptations, but never sicknesses or physical disabilities.

46.   1 Peter 5:10, Acts 5:41,  James 5:13 – to prove this tradition, theologians quote these, but this suffering does not refer to suffering sicknesses, but to the many ways in which God’s people have so often had to suffer for their testimony – persecution!

47.   2 Cor 12, Num. 33:55*, Judges 2:3*, Ez. 2:6* – Another tradition is that we are not to expect healing for certain afflictions.  People quote this as sickness – the thorn is not sickness – it is demonic harassment/people who trouble or harass God’s people. *

48.   Heb. 12:6-8 – another tradition is that god chastises His children with sickness.  The Scripture is quoted, but God does not say that He makes them sick.  The word chasten here means “to instruct, train, discipline, teach, or educate” like a teacher ‘instructs’ a pupil, or a parent ‘trains and teaches’ a child.  A parent would never impose a physical disease upon a child to punish them!

49.   Rom 8:32,  John 1:12-13 – The most common tradition is the worn-out statement: the age of miracles is past.  For this to be true, there would have to be a total absence of miracles.  Even one miracle would prove that the age of miracles is not past – every day there is new birth; no one could be born again because the new birth is the greatest miracle a person can experience!

*http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/bible/thorn.html