February 21 ~ Colossians 2:18
Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you seen that show “Crossing Over” where the psychic John Edwards talks to spirits who “show up” from the “other side”? He says he sees these spirits in his head as they stand near someone in the audience, and he will say something like “you had a little yellow kitten as a child, right?” and the person says, “oh… Fluffy!” and the psychic is off and running with some story that only that person is supposed to know. Or he will say, “I’m getting the sense that there was tension between you and a grandmother maybe, or a mother figure? Does this make sense?” And the person cries and says, “Yes, yes! That’s my Grandma Marie!” And he starts telling them things that Grandma Marie wants to say from the grave.
Look, I would love to talk to my dad and my brother and others who have passed away as much as the next person. But the truth is, that will not happen until I get to heaven. The Bible is clear on this. Spirits don’t visit us from heaven. Yes, God sends angels to minister to us – this is scriptural - but they are not the spirits of our deceased loved ones. I don’t know how the psychics get the information they claim to be “seeing,” but they are not seeing your loved ones, and putting stock in the things these people tell you is hogwash.
Talk to God. Ask Him to fill your head and heart, and to heal your grief and sadness. Ask Him to give you peace and comfort about your loved ones, and patience until you can see them again in heaven. Don’t get derailed with horoscopes, psychics who can see the future OR the past, Tarot cards, and more. Jesus is the answer! The Bible is the truth! God will tell you what you need to know! Focus on these things and let GOD’s angels minister to you in this life, not those conjured up in a human’s imagination!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 20 ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3, 6
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you're going to make it, no doubt about it.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I am so blessed, and I try to remember that! Some days, it’s hard, because I’m human, too… and the things that happen to me affect me just like anyone else. I don’t like to feel bad. I don’t like it when others are unkind or inconsiderate. I don’t like it when I experience a series of mishaps. But the more I study God’s word, the more I am learning to ask, “What are you trying to show me, Lord?” And that question is often just enough to generate an answer.
When my grandmother got a “bug” and had to be hospitalized and sent to a nursing home for rehab, I found myself in the middle of a lot more work – from completing papers to cleaning out her refrigerator to making frequent visits to check on her progress and visit with her and keeping her laundry done. And often, when we spent more than a little time together, her frustrations came out in the form of complaints and unpleasantness… and even an unkind remark or two. I knew she didn’t really mean to be hurtful, but since I am human, some of the incidences really stung!
In the midst of this experience, one of my dearest friends called one afternoon to “vent” about frustrations with her elderly mother – the struggle to care for her mom and keep all of her family responsibilities handled, AND to keep her sanity at the same time. Meanwhile, it had gotten back to her that her mother had said some rather unkind things about her – how she didn’t help her mother and how her mother felt my friend really didn’t care about her. Nothing could be further from the truth, but the comments really hurt this person. She asked, “How am I supposed to feel? What do I do about this?” And I said a prayer of thanks, because I had experienced much the same thing, and I knew what had gotten me through it. By sharing my experience, I was able to help my friend see some ways to cope with her own situation, and by the end of the conversation, she was feeling much better.
God won’t give us more than we can handle, but sometimes, I think He allows us to experience unpleasant or hurtful situations so that we can grow from them in Him and pass that experience on to others. As I learn to internalize that, I welcome some of the things I once despised or dreaded, because I know that God will never leave me, and He will show me how to use these things for His purpose. I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me. What about you?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 19 ~ 1 Corinthians 12:25, 27
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, organizers, those who pray in tongues. But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part? It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues. And yet some of you keep competing for so-called "important" parts. But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever had a sore toe or finger? You wouldn’t think something as small as a toe or a finger could make your whole body sick or sore, but it can! If your toe or thumb hurts, it seems like you feel it all over, doesn’t it?!A few years ago, the church my mother and grandmother attend – the church in which I was reared – had a terrible split. I listened as my grandmother and my great-aunt grieved over the hurt feelings, the unkind words, the ruined friendships, the lack of leadership, and ultimately, the loss of membership, including many families who had attended this church for generations. Sometimes, when there is trouble within a church, it stems from just a handful of people – or even one person who feels he/she is more important to the church at large than other members or even leaders. But the ramifications are almost never contained in a small group. We have all seen the results of pastoral “scandals” in some of the mega churches… and sadly these sometimes occur in smaller churches, too.
Just like our fingers and toes are integral parts of our body and affect our overall health and well-being, each and every member of a church affects the body as a whole. We celebrate together, we mourn together, we face struggles together, and we heal together. This is God’s plan for us as a church body. So if you know of people in your church who are hurting or in need, you are called by God to help them. If there is a crisis in your church, it is your responsibility as a Christian to do what you can to help resolve it… whether that means taking an active role or keeping your mouth shut! If there is a celebration, celebrate. If there is a need or an effort that your church is taking on, be there to support it however you can. If you are called to a role of leadership in the church, you are to be part of the team, not the “star!”
Don’t “stick out like a sore thumb.” As a child of God and a member of His church, do your part to keep the church body healthy. Be a team player – part of the “muscle” – and strengthen all of the others according to God’s plan.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 18 ~ Luke 8:1
He continued according to plan, traveled to town after town, village after village, preaching God's kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's manager; and Susanna—along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
What I want you to take away from this scripture passage is the fact that even many of those who followed Jesus and served with Him had been healed of various afflictions, from mental illness to corruption to prostitution and tax fraud. This is scriptural evidence that God can heal anybody of anything, and more importantly, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done, God can use you!
This is great news! It is also somewhat daunting, because we don’t have any excuses. We can’t hide behind our “issues” and sins and claim to be unworthy to serve, because this passage clearly shows us that God can heal everything and use everyone!
So get busy… ask God to help you clean up the messes in your life and heal the afflictions – mental and physical – that hold you back. Then “take up the cross and follow Jesus” and serve him with everything you’ve got!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 17 ~ Luke 5:17
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. The healing power of God was on him.
Luke 6:17
Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke: You're blessed when you've lost it all. God's kingdom is there for the finding. You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal. You're blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
When I was in junior high school, I had braces on my teeth. I had a “David Letterman” gap between my front teeth and a huge overbite. On my first trip to the orthodontist, he decided I needed a “procedure” before the braces. In his words, it involved “snipping” a piece of gum tissue that grew down between my two front teeth. As “luck” would have it, there was an oral surgeon whose office was just around the corner from my orthodontist in downtown Little Rock, and he had an opening that very day, so off I went to have this procedure. The “little snipping” was oral surgery, complete with anesthetic shots, stitches, and pain medication afterward! This was not exactly what I had signed on for, and the end result of a pretty smile seemed questionable!
In the nearly two years that followed, I endured painful tightenings, rubber bands, shaping prosthetics that fit into the roof of my mouth, and a retainer. I had to give up chewing gum, certain hard and chewy candies, and other foods I enjoyed but couldn’t chew with the braces. And I had to suffer through two more oral surgeries to remove my wisdom teeth. I wondered if this would all be worth it… and I held onto the hope that it would, with the encouragement and assurance of my parents that I would like the outcome. In the end, my “smile” was so much better, and I am very glad that my parents made the efforts and financial sacrifices – and all of those trips to Little Rock – so that I could have a beautiful set of straightened teeth.
So often we know there are areas of our life that we need to ask God to heal, but we hesitate because we fear that the healing itself will involve some sort of pain… maybe the release of a bad habit that has become like an old friend. Maybe we fear physical withdrawal. Maybe we worry that “giving up” our sin or struggle will cause us to lose our friends and/or family. Jesus is reminding us that it will all be worth it. “If God takes you to it, He will take you through it” is so very true. Don’t be afraid. You will find that you really are not giving up anything, because when God heals you, He takes care of EVERYTHING… He fills ALL the gaps… anything you “sacrifice” will be restored in more ways than you can imagine. Go for it! See how freeing it can be to rest in Jesus… be healed and be blessed!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 16 ~ Acts 3:12
When Peter saw he had a congregation, he addressed the people: "Oh, Israelites, why does this take you by such complete surprise, and why stare at us as if our power or piety made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his Son Jesus. The very One that Pilate called innocent, you repudiated. You repudiated the Holy One, the Just One, and asked for a murderer in his place. You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead—and we're the witnesses. Faith in Jesus' name put this man, whose condition you know so well, on his feet—yes, faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Have you ever noticed that we are often quick to blame God when things go wrong in our life… as in “why me, Lord?”… but when things go well, we have a hard time giving God credit? I think especially of children who are ill, like Job, and lots of people ask, “Why would God allow a child to suffer like that?” But when a miracle occurs, we often have a terribly hard time acknowledging in faith that God has done this!
After Job McCully’s lung transplant, he had to have weekly checks of his lungs for several weeks to make sure there was no rejection or infection. On one of these routine checks, the doctors poked a hole in Job’s lung. Evidently it’s a fairly common occurrence and is called a pneumothorax. This meant a setback in Job’s recovery by about a week, and reinsertion of a tube into Job’s chest. The next day, when the doctors did an examination, the hole was “gone,” and the tube wasn’t necessary. The doctors couldn’t figure it out and ended up declaring that there must have been a mistake and no hole to start with! I guess it’s just too much still for the medical community to write “miracle of God” in their reports!
I can’t count the times in the last year that Job’s mother has posted information about one concern or another and asked for specific prayer, and before you know it, the issue had resolved itself. But the best part is that, unlike Peter’s congregation, she is quick to acknowledge our Healer God and His responsibility for the turnaround. Her faith led her to ask for prayer on Job’s behalf, and her faith gave her confidence that God would answer and heal… and He did.
What about you? Are you a skeptic or a believer? How deep is your faith?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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February 15 ~ Mark 5:34
Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague."
Mark 10:52
"On your way," said Jesus. "Your faith has saved and healed you." In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
I was talking to someone who is dealing with a long list of issues and challenges. She told me that she is just completely overwhelmed, and it seems when she can’t take any more, another issue arises. I told her that I feel certain that this is Spiritual warfare. She is making tremendous strides in her life… healing is taking place, and the devil is mad as all get out about it! This may be happening to you, too. You may be getting your life together in so many ways, and it seems at every turn you are being “slapped up side the head” with another issue or problem.
Please re-read these scriptures and understand that God has healed you and brought you through some things, and it is up to you to walk in faith that He will not let you slip now. Whatever the devil is throwing at you today, recognize it as just a feeble attempt on his part to recapture you or trip you up in your newfound walk. He pretty well left you alone when you weren’t following God’s plan for your life, but now he is losing his grip, and that makes him furious. He very well may even throw MORE trouble your way in the days and weeks ahead.
Keep the faith. Hold strong to Jesus and His healing power. Remember Who has brought you to this point, and have faith that He will continue to walk beside you each and every day!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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