“And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:16 KJV). Should Christians use doctors and medical science? Of course, since doctors do not heal, but only assist God to heal. It is our privilege to receive healing from God. Yes, but some healing may not be complete until we come into His glorified presence. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2). In the meantime, we should pray, believe, and affirm our “perfect soundness” (Acts 3:16) from the top of our head to the tip of our toes, until we see the physical reality, or we’re translated into His presence. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.
Household of Faith
Dead Reckoning
Dead reckoning is an expression in aeronautical navigation of determining your current location based upon speed, heading, and elapsed time from a previous position. “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11 KJV). Christians are held captive by entangling sin simply because they do not reckon, consider, picture, or imagine themselves as anything but chained to the necessity or reality of that sin. Paul showed us the beginning of our solution. Reckon yourselves dead to that sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Some do it easier than others, but all must actively admit, confess, believe, imagine, see, and reckon that it’s so, for it to be so. How is this miracle accomplished? Through Jesus, who is God’s empowerment. It is simply God’s work in us to make it so.
Rapture: The Blessed Hope
“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV). Sure, I’d like to go, if there’s a Rapture, but how do you know it’s so? Harpazō is the NT Greek for catching up or rapture. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Here, harpazō is understandably connected with the “coming of the Lord” (4:15). We will be “caught up” (4:17) to the Lord in the air to reunite with our predeceased brothers and sisters before we all return with Christ. Harpazō also occurs in Revelation 12:5, where the “woman” (12:1), representing Israel, brings forth the Messiah, who is “caught up” (12:5) to the throne of God. Likewise, the Church as the Body of Christ will be raptured to Heaven, after which Israel will be forced to flee “into the wilderness” (12:6). May the Spirit of Christ “comfort” you (1Thessalonians 4:18) with these words, but let us not be impatient or contentious with one another, least of all, about the Rapture. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).
How Is Your Faith?
The only way you can prove you have faith is to presently walk in faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2Corinthians 5:7 KJV). Faith is sensitive to the present. We may have first believed in the past, but we must continue in the present, or there is no faith. We hope to walk in faith to the end, but we must continue in faith in the present to get there. Our great enemy is the deception that faith is not active. We deceive ourselves, when we are not trusting Christ for “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2Peter 1:3). If we are truly in the faith, then let us avoid shipwreck by allowing Christ to direct our hopes and fears through all the opportunities and troubles of life.
Show Me Your Faith
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18 KJV). Your house was just flooded. You appreciate well wishes, but anyone helping to rescue you, clean up, and restore you couldn’t be more appreciated! If you can help someone, especially in the household of faith, what better way to express Christian love!
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We Need A Miracle 