3 John 1:2, KJV - Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Let’s say that you are now in your nineties. Someone comes along and asks you, “Sir, you have been a Christian for a very long time. You have seen much and done much with God by your side. You have prayed all kinds of prayers too. So what would you place as top priority when you pray for people?”
I believe the apostle John was asked a similar question and his reply was, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” When the apostle John wrote 3 John, he was already a very old man and probably the only disciple of the original 12 who was still alive. It had been so long ago since he last walked alongside his beloved Lord, and witnessed His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.
The apostle John had also leaned on the Lord’s bosom on the night of the Last Supper. And I believe that there on Jesus’ bosom, he must have felt the heartbeat of the Son of God—that loving and compassionate heartbeat which had caused Him to go about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) In fact, two-thirds of Jesus’ ministry on earth had to do with healing the sick.
And now, nearing the end of his life, and after all he had heard, seen and experienced, the apostle John prioritized, above all things, health as well as holistic prosperity. He said, “I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” He knew the Lord’s heartbeat. He knew that the Lord wants and will always want these for His people.
Jesus had prioritized divine healing during His earthly ministry. And Jesus, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), will do the same for you today. His heart still beats for you. He will never miss an opportunity to do good to you, to heal you of your broken body, emotional scars and weary spirit, and to bless you!
Thought For The Day :
The Lord wants and will always want health and wholeness for His people.
God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine!
HOLY GHOST TEACHER ...
And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? - John 7:14-15
Jesus received His wisdom and knowledge by direct revelation from the Spirit of God rather than by the teachings of man. Jesus had been learning, but not through man. The Holy Ghost was His teacher. Jesus had to be taught the things of God. This looks contrary to Colossians 2:3, which says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus. If Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, why would He have to learn or be taught?
The harmony between these apparently opposite statements is that Jesus' spirit man was 100% God and had all of the wisdom and understanding of God in it, but it was manifest in natural flesh. It wasn't sinful flesh but it was flesh, nonetheless, and had to be educated. Jesus was not taught by man, but He was taught by the direct revelation of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge was within Him but it had to be drawn out.
At the new birth, a born-again man's spirit "is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col.3:10). "We have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16), and "an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 Jn.2:20). All of these things are a reality in our spiritual man. However, just as Jesus had to be taught, so we must draw this wisdom and knowledge out of our spirits and renew our minds with it (Rom. 12:2). This is one of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit to the believer. Through the new birth, we have received the mind of Christ in our spirit man and are in the process of growing in wisdom by drawing this knowledge out of our spirits and renewing (or reprogramming) our minds. This wisdom has to be drawn out by faith, time spent in the Word, and prayer.
CHANGE YOUR MIND ...
Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. - Matthew 3:2, AMP
Do you have behaviors in your life that you want to stop or change? Maybe it’s a habit, a bad attitude, or even negative thoughts. No matter what you may want to change in your life, you have to start by changing your mind. You have to change your thinking so that your thoughts are in line with God’s thoughts. When you repent and make the decision to follow God in every area of your life, you open the door for His supernatural power to work. When you take control of your thought life, you are cooperating with that power that is at work in you.
Remember, your life will go in the direction of your thoughts. You can’t just allow any old thought or image to play in your mind. You have to choose right thoughts. The easiest way to change your thoughts is by speaking God’s Word. When you say “orange,” you probably won’t start thinking about an apple. In the same way, when you confess the Word of God, it will drive those negative, defeated thoughts away! Change your mind today by changing your words so you can move forward into the abundant life He has in store for you
GET YOUR SPENDING UNDER CONTROL
Owe nothing to anyone--except for your obligation to love one another... - Romans 13:8 NLT
If you think winning the lottery would solve all your problems, you couldn’t be more wrong! Almost half of those who become overnight millionaires end up bankrupt within a few years. Why? For a variety of reasons: bad business deals, extravagant living, crazy schemes, and fast–talking relatives. And here’s another one—a big one! Believing that they now have the Midas touch and that Lady Luck is on their side, they continue to gamble at an even higher level—and end up losing it all. Try to understand this: unless you spend less than you earn, no amount of income will ever be enough! So if you’re wise, when you get a salary in-crease or an unexpected windfall you won’t adopt a more extravagant lifestyle. You’ll reduce your debt before it becomes an albatross around your neck that drowns you. No amount of income will be sufficient if your spending is not brought under control. The only way to get ahead financially is to deny yourself some of the things you want and save for the future. If you don’t have the discipline to do that, you’ll always be in debt. Now, when the government gets into debt, they simply tax you. But when you get into debt—you’re on your own. That’s not how God wants you to live. True contentment doesn’t come from getting all you want, but by discovering the blessings you have been given and learning to enjoy them. This should be your goal: ‘Owe no one anything—except for your obligation to love one another.’
TAKE FROM JESUS!
And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” MARK 5:32–34
In the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, you could say that the woman sneaked up behind Jesus and “stole” her healing! But was Jesus offended? Not at all! In fact, He was so pleased with her boldness that He just had to meet her.
Jesus did not seek her out to rebuke her. No, He sought her out so that He could affirm her with His love and assure her that He wasn’t angry with her for having taken a portion of healing virtue from Him. That’s why He even called her “daughter” and encouraged her to walk in her healing—“Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Beloved, that’s the heart of your Savior. He freely gives out His healing virtue to anyone who will take it from Him. So reach out and take from Him right now and bring pleasure to His heart!
THE UNLIKELY
God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. —1 Corinthians 1:27
Fanny Kemble was a British actress who moved to America in the early 1800s and married a southern plantation owner named Pierce Butler. Fanny enjoyed the life afforded by the wealth of the plantation, until she saw the cost of that luxury—a cost paid by the slaves who worked her husband’s plantations.
Having written a memoir of the cruel treatment slaves often suffered, Kemble was eventually divorced from her husband. Her writings were widely circulated among abolitionists and published in 1863 as Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839. Because of her opposition to slavery, the former wife of a slave owner became known as “The Unlikely Abolitionist.”
In the body of Christ, God often wonderfully surprises us. He regularly uses the unlikely—people and circumstances—to accomplish His purposes. Paul wrote, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen” (1 Cor. 1:27-28).
This reminds us that God, in His grace, can use anyone. If we will allow His work to be done in us, we might be surprised at what He can do through us!
God desires willing hearts ready to be used.
BLESSINGS IN SLEEP ...
...He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep. - Psalm 127:2, AMP
The Lord longs to pour out blessings on you constantly — even while you are sleeping! Many people today struggle with sleeping at night. They stay awake or get poor sleep because they are constantly focused on their problems and worrying about tomorrow. But that’s not God’s plan for you! He wants you to enjoy your sleep as a time of blessing and refreshing.
Understand that God has His hand on your life even in the midnight hour. He wants to speak to your heart and restore your dreams. He is taking care of those things that concern you. When you cast your cares on Him and trust Him to work out every detail of your life, you’ll be able to enjoy that sweet sleep that He has promised.
Make the decision today to enjoy the blessing of the Lord as you sleep tonight. Say a prayer before you go to bed and cast your cares on Him!
The Blueprint for the Last Days
"Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8).
This Scripture lets us know that God is not restricted by time the way mankind is. With God, one thousand years is as a day and one day is as a thousand years.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible tells us that creation lasted six days and on the seventh day, God rested (Genesis 1). The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest is the blueprint for the timetable of man.
Four thousand years passed from the time God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden until the time Jesus came to the earth, or we could say four days (Genesis 3:23; Matthew 1:25; 2:1). From the time Jesus resurrected and became the firstborn among many brethren until now is 2,000 years, or two days (Romans 8:29). This is all based on the scripture in 2 Peter 3:8.
According to all Bible prophecy, the return of Jesus is imminent. When He returns at the end of the sixth day, He will set up His kingdom and rule and reign on this earth for 1,000 years (one day), thus completing the seven-day timetable of mankind.
You may or may not be aware that days five and six (which are the 2,000 years between the beginning of the Church and the Rapture) are called the Church Age or the Age of Grace. That has been deemed the time between Jesus' first appearance on earth and His Second Coming. Everything that happened in the New Testament after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus took place in the same time framework of the creation timetable that you and I are living in. That means every healing, every miracle, every act of God and the Holy Spirit that has taken place after Jesus ascended can happen today in your life.
There are those who say that the power of God only worked in Bible times. They believe that everything recorded in the Bible is either history or future. This makes a very convenient excuse and a comfortable place for those who do not want the responsibility of God's power. Yet Jesus made several statements in the New Testament that tell us what we are able to have and do through Him.
* He gave authority over all the power of the enemy to those who follow Him (Luke 9:1).
* Jesus said that those who believe would have signs following them and that in His name they would cast out demons and that they would speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17).
* He went on to say that they would lay hands on the sick and that they would recover (Mark 16:18).
Does it make sense that Jesus would distribute this power to believers and then take it with Him when He ascended? No, of course not! He ascended into heaven and God sent the Holy Spirit to continue the miracle work here on this earth.
In Acts 8, Philip went to Samaria. Much time had passed since Jesus left the earth and ascended to heaven. In Samaria, people were saved, baptized, and many miracles took place. Then later the apostles came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit. There was visible evidence when this took place, so much so that Simon the magician tried to buy the power of laying on of hands from the apostles.
Yes, the people of Samaria had the Holy Spirit move inside of them when they got saved just like we do today. But, they had a second experience called receiving the Holy Spirit (v.15). Even though they were saved and had been baptized, which completed the New Testament experience of salvation according to verse 16, the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon any of them.
All of this took place in the Bible time called the Last Days, the Church Age, or the Age of Grace. This is the same time we are living in now. To deny these experiences today or to say that they are not for us is to deny what took place in Acts 8. That chapter is the blueprint for the modern Church in these days
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