Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....November 2, 2020
Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we have the certain hope, the assurance, God has forgiven us of all our sins because of what Jesus has done on the Cross. The sacrifice of Jesus has paid the price for our salvation and also our healing. Saved and Healed at the Cross of Christ
In this teaching on Faith, I want to remind you, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross paid the price for our salvation and also our healing.
1 Peter 2:24 says, “Jesus personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.”
At the Cross there is salvation and there is healing.
700 years before Christ went to the cross, God revealed to the prophet Isaiah the suffering and death Jesus would endure, he wrote in Isaiah 53:3-6:
“He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”
The price has been paid, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is sufficient for all who place their trust in Him.
I want you all to focus on this next sentence....When we repent, when we turn away from our sin and turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior, all of our sins, past present and future are dealt with. By trusting in Jesus, the power of God cleanses and changes us, we are born-again. Jesus has paid the price for our redemption and our healing at the Cross.
Here is a wonderful truth, our God is a God of miracles. He created everything we see and everything we can not see.
He spoke this universe into existence, in Old Testament times people prayed for salvation and for healing and God answered. In Exodus 15:26, in the original Hebrew, God revealed His name is JEHOVAH RAPHA, or “I AM the LORD who heals you.” How could God reveal His intentions any more clearly to His people? God is the one who Heals and the one who saves.
In New Testament times when Jesus walked upon this earth He spoke and people were healed. Jesus never turned anyone away. In Matthew chapter 8, There was a man with leprosy who approached Jesus and knelt before Him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” He said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. (Matthew 8:2-3).
Throughout the Gospel narratives, there are examples of people who came from far and wide and spoke to Jesus and He healed them, He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the disabled, the leper, He even raised the dead back to life. Matthew 9:35 records how Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.
He healed every kind of disease and illness. That means that if you or I had been there, He would have healed us as well.
In the book of Acts there are many accounts of God healing people. Over the last 2000 years, there have been many men, women and children who have prayed and been healed, physically, spiritually, emotionally, miraculously.
Our Foursquare Gospel Church motto is...Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” It was His will to heal then, it is still His will to heal today. God’s ability to heal is not limited by time or geography. Friends, God still heals people today. God is healing people today. His desire to heal has not changed. His desire to save has not changed. As a Hospice Chaplain, I see, weekly, people move on with their lives after God has mercy and heals them.
Salvation and Healing by placing our faith and trust in God is possible today.
Today we can proclaim the truth of the words of King David in Psalm 103:1-4, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.”
If you are in Christ you are forgiven, you are redeemed, God is merciful and gracious to you. God loves you. God so loved you that He sent His son, Jesus to pay the price for your salvation and healing on the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
Here are three truths that we believe and you all must know and have faith in....
Because Jesus is your Savior, you will not be condemned.
Because Jesus is your Savior, you will not be sentenced to the punishment your sin deserves.
Because Jesus is your Savior, you will never see hell, you will spend eternity with God.
God the Father, in His love and His mercy, has said to you, “I forgive you, because you trust in my Son Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are saved, you are healed.”
Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”
Here is a quick greek lesson for you, the word translated “saved” in this verse comes from the Greek word ‘sozo’.
In biblical Greek Sozo often refers to being delivered from the penalties of God’s judgment or to being saved from evil. Sozo is defined as to save a suffering one from perishing, to save from the suffering of disease, to make well, heal, restore to health, to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue.
Sozo is used throughout the New Testament to express the full impact of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
Sozo literally means “healing and wholeness of the physical and the spiritual”.
For example Sozo is the word translated as Healed in Mark 6:56, “Wherever Jesus went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged Jesus to let the sick touch at least the fringe of His robe, and all who touched Him were healed.”
Healed - Sozo, made whole, saved. Do you need to experience the ‘Sozo’ touch of Jesus on your life?
James 5:14,15 says, “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.”
When it comes to your prayers, God can move in power over every person here today. God is the God of miracles, God is the God of the possible and the impossible.
Jesus purchased salvation and healing for you at the cross. This week may I encourage you to draw near to God. God’s will is to heal, but things like unconfessed sin, disobedience, unforgiveness, or doubt can hinder our ability to receive healing.
James 4:7-10, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
This week may I encourage you to focus on the Cross and what Jesus’ blood purchased, focus your faith and be confident in what God has already done for you in Christ. Remember the blessings God has already given you, remember the promises God has already given you in His Word.
Remember every word from God is powerful. Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.”
And as you pray, may I encourage you to pray in faith.
On the cross Jesus paid for your salvation and your healing.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
In faith receive from Him this day.
Sometimes people are instantly healed, sometimes healing is a gradual process but thank God, we are healed eternally because of Jesus sacrifice on the Cross.
Remember the words of Jesus in Mark 11:22-24, Jesus said, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”
There is hope found here. God’s Word is true, and He will faithfully do what He has said He will do.
Let’s pray, this week, in faith to the God of Miracles. I love you all:)
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
12 things to remember:
1. The past cannot be changed.
2. Opinions don’t define your reality
3. Everyone’s journey is different.
4. Things always get better with time.
5. Judgments are a confession of character.
6. Over thinking will lead to sadness.
7. Happiness is found within.
8. Positive thoughts create positive things.
9. Smiles are contagious.
10. Kindness is free.
11. You only fail if you quit.
12. What goes around, comes around.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
This week, we look at.....Hinduism: Origins
Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion, has about 850 million followers. Most Hindus live in India, although the Indian diaspora (Indians joke that the country’s biggest export is people) has taken the religion around the globe. Sizeable Hindu populations live in the United Kingdom, Canada, the U.S., East Africa, and on the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Unlike most religions, Hinduism has no identifiable founder or “starting point.” The available evidence suggests it has developed out of one or more ancient indigenous religious systems in India, plus outside influences brought by invaders who called themselves Aryans, meaning “noble ones.” They entered India from what is now Iran, about 1500 bc. Even within India, the religion exhibits tremendous variety. In some ways, the label Hinduism is a convenient Western term, now adopted by India itself, for the great variety of Indian religious expressions. Hinduism also gave birth to three additional religions: Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Religious expression is influenced not only by the underlying belief system but also by the culture in which it develops. This is most clearly seen in comparing faiths that began in the Middle East (Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha’i), which are all monotheistic, with those that began in India (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), which are, with the exception of Sikhism, polytheistic or agnostic, and far more contemplative. With Sikhism again as the exception, the monotheistic faiths believe humans live once and are judged by God after death; the others believe in reincarnation, giving humans multiple tries to improve their spiritual condition.
Hinduism is probably best known for its many gods and goddesses, represented by a huge variety of colorful statues, sometimes called idols. But this is just the surface of Hindu worship. The core beliefs that underlie all the various Hindu expressions are karma and reincarnation.
Karma is often described as “the law of cause and effect”: What you sow by your deeds in this life you will reap in the next. In another life here on earth, that is, not an eternal state (monotheistic heaven or hell). And not determined by a conscious, personal God, but by an unconscious, automatic process. One might say it’s just the nature of the universe, “the way things are.”
In the West, karma and reincarnation have become something of a fad. Recent polls show that nearly 40 percent of Americans believe in reincarnation, and discovering what one was in a past life has become a popular pastime. At a fortunate circumstance, a person will joke that they “must have had some good karma.” But in Hinduism, where the concepts come from, reincarnation is a curse to be escaped. And because karma is what keeps a person chained to the wheel of endless deaths and rebirths, all karma is bad. The ultimate goal of a Hindu, though rarely expected “this time around,” is to avoid all karma and achieve moksha, “a state of oneness with the ultimate reality,” called Brahman.
Brahman, though sometimes referred to as God, is impersonal, indefinable, unknowable, unmanifested, and without attributes. It is sometimes described as the sum of everything that exists. In Hindu belief, we are all Brahman, but thinking we have our own individual identity keeps us on the reincarnation wheel. Only after we realize we are Brahman (some Hindus would say we realize we are God) do we escape another rebirth. An analogy some Hindus use for entering Nirvana is that of squeezing a drop from a medicine dropper into the ocean.
This belief in one ultimate reality is called monism, which means “all of reality is of one kind or nature.” For Hindus, all reality is spiritual; the physical universe is just an illusion. Part of recognizing oneness with Brahman is recognizing that the physical body and the world are not real. Most religions believe both the spiritual (metaphysical) and the material (physical) exist and are different from each other in important ways. The other monistic belief system, although not usually thought of as a religion, is Secular Humanism, which holds that only the material universe exists; there is no spiritual reality.
Hindus, by their own calculation, worship more than 330 million gods and goddesses. How does this fit with the monistic worldview? The average Indian villager knows nothing of monism. He or she worships local deities (and perhaps one or two higher gods, such as Shiva or Ganesh—see chapter 22) and accepts further reincarnation as inevitable. The hope is to have as little karma as possible so that next time they might be born into a higher caste. The educated or philosophical Hindu explains this apparent discrepancy as all being part of the illusion. The myriad gods are just facets of Brahman. None represents all of reality. So Hinduism is both monistic and polytheistic, and in some rural areas it continues also to retain some animistic beliefs and practices.
The current Hindu belief system did not develop through the teaching of one individual or an organized scriptural narrative with claims to having been revealed by God. The oldest Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, consist of four collections of ancient hymns, rituals, and chants, written in an early form of Sanskrit. They probably were composed around 1500 bc and passed down orally for centuries, then put into written form more than a thousand years later.
All we can learn of ancient Hindu beliefs about their gods is implied from the content of the hymns of praise to their deities. Many of the gods mentioned in the Vedas are no longer worshiped today. The last sections of each Veda are called the Upanishads, which are philosophical reflections on life that likely were added much later. While the Vedas clearly reflect polytheistic beliefs, the Upanishads are usually monistic in nature.
Also important in Hindu literature are several epic poems. These tell stories (much like folklore) that help us understand ancient Indian life and the religious beliefs and practices that shaped it. The most famous is the Bhagavad Gita, contained within a longer epic called the Mahabharata. The great battle it describes has been dramatized for Indian television and remains popular year after year (like a soap opera). In it, a king struggles with facing the horrors of war. His chariot driver, Krishna, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, tells him his dharma requires him to fight the enemy. The Ramayana is another popular epic poem about Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi.
Adolf Hitler adopted the label Aryan, “noble or superior one,” for the master-race concept on which Nazism was built. He also borrowed the swastika from Hinduism, where it is a symbol of reincarnation, and utilized it to instill terror in Germany’s enemies (not because he believed in reincarnation).
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou