You, me, and God the Healer

²⁷ 
I have been trying so hard for the last several weeks to understand the healing nature of God. He is The Great Physician, God the Healer, one who came for the sick, to give sight to the blind! I know this! I do not doubt it! I declare this truth! So why haven't I, personally, seen it? I've heard stories of others. I've read the scriptures (not enough, I'm sure). I know what God has the power to do. I know that Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given to you." What I don't know is why when I ask for healing over others, the healing I asked for isn't given, at least not quickly. (I suppose God may plan to heal in the future.) I know that His ways are not my ways. I know to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)." 

So I get that I don't get it all...(got that?) But I know that God's heart must break when witnessing the pain of His children. After all, don't loving parents cry for the pain of their children? Mine do, so I can't imagine how much more God does. It must be almost unbearable for Him to witness it. 

Over these last weeks, as I have been trying to understand this healing nature of God, I have also been praying that I would be more receptive to God's people. I have prayed that their lives might be more intertwined in mine, that we may become united as His body, and in so doing, your joys would be my joys and your pain my pain. Yes, I can see how this may have been a curse and a blessing, but this unity is the will of God. (Read 1 Cor. 12) 

My eyes have recently caught mere glimpses into the lives of others who deal with struggles that far exceed my own. A woman at church is losing her sight; sisters and brothers in Christ are in physical pain all the time; my wife deals with severe allergies, asthma, and now, frequent migraines. There is so much pain around me. It pains me to see it! (Unity prayer answered.) I have prayed so many prayers of healing to make the sight come back, to relieve the pain, to release the allergies, asthma, and migraines. I am asking for miracles because I believe in them. So why...why can't I see healing?

I have been trying to test my faith. I have asked myself if it is my doubt that has caused my prayers of healing to be ineffective. I've heard that hope doesn't produce miracles, only faith does that. I have wondered if, by asking boldly for all to witness His glory in action, He might actually heal miraculously. Then again, He might not respond. Would that damage the faith of others? Is that considered testing God? After all, Matthew 4:7 says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." So many questions I don't know the answers to. 

For now, I will try to rely on this word from 2 Cor. 12:8-10

^"8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This pain was given "in order to keep [Paul] from becoming conceited, [he] was given a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment [him]."

I'm not saying all pain is from God or from Satan. I don't understand how that works nor the circumstances for specific pains. I'm probably not supposed to understand that. However, I do know that God does all things for good. I know that when Jesus's disciples asked why a certain man was blind, Jesus said, ³ “...this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3)." I truly believe that all ailments are opportunities for God to be displayed in us.

I also find myself receiving the words of Isaiah as I ask all these questions and talk with the Lord.

Isaiah 40: 27-31

Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

While I do not understand spiritual gifts, the gift of healing, the full power of prayer, the ways of the Lord, nor even fully grasp my own faith, I do know this... He has given me a stronger love for His people. He may not be healing what I've asked for yet, but perhaps he is healing His body, the church, first. Maybe he is healing our severed ties to each other, the parts of His body. I said earlier that faith is what brings miracles, but of faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these is love. That is exactly what God is giving me for you, and in a way, it is probably even more than what I've asked for!

Lastly, receive this word and be blessed by it...

There is a God. He loves you more than anyone else ever could dream of loving another. He wants only the best for you and has a plan to give it to you. My heart is growing more, like His, in love for you. I will continue to pray for you and your healing. You are not alone in this! I AM is for you, and so am I. Pray also for me, that I may be reminded of you and be reminded to pray for you at all times you are in need, that we may share in each other's suffering and rejoice in one another's victories and blessings. May the God of Healing bring you grace that is sufficient for you. May he bless you and heal you! I ask this, wholeheartedly, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Diving Board

You’re climbing to the top of that really big diving board at the community pool. All of your friends are there, but you could care less about whether they see you jump or not because your biggest concern is what you’re going to do when you jump. Sure, you need to consider a few things first, like whether you are capable of the jump you will attempt. A triple flip is probably outside your means, even though you could go for it. So you know that you need to stay within your means to avoid certain failure and pain. However, you certainly don’t want to be that lame kid that just runs off the board without attempting anything. Sure, if he enjoys what he’s doing, good for him, but you were meant for more! You’ve already done five dives today, a cannonball, and a can opener. You don’t need to make a big splash, because it’s not about that anymore. You want to do something special, something graceful, not a dive again. You want this to be impressive, even to yourself. You want to push your own boundaries and take a little risk, knowing that if you give it your all, you can do something spectacular. So what do you do?

This is where I am at in my life now. I have been climbing the ladder. I’m not trying to impress others anymore. Although, let’s be honest, I always appreciate affirmation in my abilities. I don’t care about the splash I make, but I still want to make an impact. I want to do something special, something I was designed to do. I don’t need to be better than everyone. My best is enough, and only my best is enough. So I’ve already spent a little time showing off, or trying to anyway. I’ve already flopped a couple times when I did something I wasn’t meant to do. I also know what I don’t want to do again. So what do I do?

I think I’m ready to take the jump. There is still some risk for me, though, because there is a possibility that I might flop again if I make a mistake. Sure, I know that God will catch me, but it doesn’t mean it won’t sting a bit. Plus, I’ll have to spend all that effort and time climbing the ladder again. So, I’m asking God what’s next. It’s like when you get up on the diving board as a kid and ask your mom, who always watches your jumps and tricks no matter what they look like, what jump you should do. Of course, I’m repeating God’s name and my question. I hope he answers soon. I’m confident He will. He always does and will always watch me every time I jump. He just cares about what I do. I really love and appreciate that about Him.

He Did What?!?!

21 “Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?

-Job 9:21-24

This passage blows me away with in each line. I think of it as a compilation of images, each with its own puzzling characteristics, that, when brought together, creates a picture all its own. Let me tell you what I mean by each image.

Let’s start with verse 21. “Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.” Firstly, WOW! What a man to be able to say, “I am blameless”. I’m sure very few people have ever been able to truthfully say this. I suppose this is why the LORD chooses Job as an example of a faithful man. The next part in this line, at first, strikes me as contrary to the view most people (believers included) think of how a man of God, especially one as devout as Job, would regard his life. However, when one takes into consideration what had just happened to Job, for him to “have no concern for [himself]” and “despise [his] own life” shouldn’t surprise anyone. My point is that I believe God accepts our mourning and sorrow as worship, just as He takes the joy and happiness, so long as we are reverent and honoring of our God.

In the following verse, Job says, “It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’” Here, I was puzzled. I wondered, “Does God really destroy the blameless as well? I thought that God brought down only the wicked and exalted the humble, upright, and blameless.” Without digressing, let’s push on. Job states, “When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.” What?!?! God mocks the despair of the innocent?!?! I DON’T BELIEVE THAT! Then, Job says, “When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges.” Okay…what does that mean? Who are the judges of the land? If we look back into the previous books of the Old Testament, we see who the judges are. These men were called by God to help steer His people in the right direction, to discern what was right and God-willed, helping the people to come to the appropriate conclusions and make the correct decisions. So, is Job saying that God will not even allow the judges to see what is going on? Will God prohibit the judges to help the land from falling into wicked hands? There is no hope for these lands, and God is partly to blame? Then, Job says, “If it is not he, then who is it?”

Wait, what? Job doesn’t realize who is at work here. However, we know that Satan is the one who is putting Job through these times. It is Satan who destroys the blameless and the wicked, who brings the scourge upon men, who mocks the despair of the innocent, and who lords over the hands of the wicked to whom these lands fall. It is not the LORD! Satan is to blame!

The fog in my mind as I read through this passage is now cleared. I can see again. Thank God. I would bet that Job was quite confused to say the least! Job lost everything and had no idea who was at work. He knew God was in control and that he had done nothing to deserve this loss, so he wondered why God would do this, not knowing that God hadn’t done this at all.

I suppose the reason I found this passage so significant is because, like Job, many of us find ourselves in moments of great sadness and confusion. On countless occasions of losing loved ones, for example, many of us lash out at God; we are hurt and confused. Some of us even dishonor God by blaming him for our loss. I hope that this passage will serve as a reminder that, in too many ways we, as believers, will go through hard times. We will have to carry the cross of Christ and suffer through some hard times. We may be mocked, punished unfairly, and lose much that is dear to us. Still, we have hope! We have hope in the God who is proud of his children who honor Him and are faithful. We have hope in a God that has control over good and of the wicked, who makes all things turn for good. We have hope in something that Job was unaware of in his time, “someone to mediate between us [and God], someone to bring us [and God] together, someone to remove God’s rod from [us], so that his terror would frighten [us] no more.” (Job 9:33-34) We have hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ! Let us not forget!

Friends of Job

Job 6:14-17


14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.


As I read this passage, I first thought about my own friends. Then, before I got carried away searching for the specks in the eyes of my friends, I realized I have to first look at the plank in my own eye. As I think about my own faults as a friend, I wonder how often I have told friends from BYX and from camp how I would help them and support them through life. I wonder how many times I’ve carried out those promises. I can’t even count the number of times I said I would pray for someone or be there if they ever needed me or promised someone that I would walk alongside them in their spiritual journey! I usually follow through with my promises and statements to pray or be available but not for very long. I might hold a friend accountable for a while…then we tend to get complacent and lazy. Every once in a while, I’ll call them up to check-up on them, but it is inconsistent, which is the problem.

The real truth to consistency, I think, is being steadfast even when times are good. So often, we will be there to support friends in distress, when their river is dry. We will flood them with love until they are soaked, but as soon as they are well nourished, we cut them off and move on instead of remaining consistent in feeding them the love and support they need.

I suppose I could and should apply this to my marriage. Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly here. I certainly try to remain steadfast in loving and supporting my wife, but I’m sure I’m rather inconsistent and have a few swells and rather dry seasons. I can say that I don’t think the river has ever run completely dry, but there may have been a few dams put up that have limited the love supply. Thankfully, God has been able to break down my walls and knock down those dams. Unfortunately, it requires that parts of me (mostly pride) get smashed down, which is often a rough process. Thankfully, this is how God works, because once the walls and dams are knocked down, love comes rushing through. I suppose the key and main point of the scripture passage is to keep the river rushing at all times, instead of the intermittent swells and droughts.

If we are being thorough and honest, I think we are the same with friends as with God. I mean this in the sense that when we are in need and our river is dry, we allow God to break down the flood gates and let him pour into us. He soaks us and washes out all the debris that has cluttered up the riverbed. (What a messy and wonderful thing!) The problem most of us face is that as soon as we are clean and have allowed the Living Water to soak in, we think we are good. We think that the spring of Life is in us…and, in a way, it is. The key is that the source of that water is our God, not us! As soon as we forget to keep coming back to the source, our river begins to dry up and the water level drops. As debris begins to dam up the stream, things get exponentially worse. The worst thing about this is that, at least in my experience, I can tell when things are getting dry and cluttered. I can tell when I am being lazy in my relationship with God and allowing the world and sin to clutter up our relationship. I just tend to wait until I’m in a drought before I go back to the source. Oh what a fool am I!

Therefore, my prayer is that, first and foremost, I will remain constant in my pursuit of the Spring of Life, the Living Water that sustains and supplies. Secondly, I pray that in my marriage, I may be consistent in keeping the dams knocked down and not allowing them to be rebuilt, that my wife may never be in need of more love from me than I am providing. I also pray that my friends may not be forgotten or left “high and dry” just because life gets busy. I pray that, at the very least, I regularly pray for my friends and am available when I’m needed. Lastly, I pray that my friends would do the same in their own lives and relationships with the Lord and their loved ones.

If we haven’t spoken in a while, please help me out and get that river flowing between us. As you may have realized, I need a little help in these pursuits, and although rivers flow in one direction, relationships should not.

The Goblet of Fire and the Cup of the New Covenenant

I’ve heard of the books and films under such titles as The Gospel According to Star Wars…Harry Potter…Garfield…etc. I’ve never read or watched any of them, probably due to my desire to better understand the gospel as represented in scripture before checking it with outside sources. Having never actually divulged in one of these gospel explanations, I can, at times, see how such films portray the gospel of our LORD, Jesus Christ.


Last night, I was watching “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” with my wife, Shadia. If you are familiar with the film, there is a scene in which Harry has completed the Tri-Wizard Tournament’s last task and has been transported to a graveyard, where his friend is quickly killed by the villain Lord Voldemort’s sniveling servant Peter Pettigrew. Voldemort gives the instruction, “Kill the spare.” He casts the friend aside as meaningless, not just as meaningless to his sinister cause but completely disregarding the value of his life at all.

We find ourselves in the climax of the adventure as Harry and Voldemort find themselves at a stalemate. Of course, Harry, our protagonist, escapes the hands of the wicked Lord Voldemort but only just. Upon his return, the fall of the drama strikes. Only moments after returning to the stadium of our tournament, the crowd starts in uproar to celebrate the completion of the tournament…until the crowd sees that one of the competitors is dead. As eyes open in shock and heads lower in sadness, the father of the murdered son runs out of the stands and falls before the body of his son, crying out, “That’s my boy! That’s my son!” Moments follow filled with subtle tears and whimpers in the crowd, overpowered and drowned out by the guttural roaring cries of the father.

It is at this point that I see the gospel story “finished”. As Christ says this word, the Father accepts his Son’s spirit, and I can only imagine the unbearable, unequaled sadness that our Heavenly Father felt at the sight of his Son. This sadness is difficult to witness, and I found myself barely able to keep from crying at this scene and the thoughts of Jesus’ sacrifice that streamed through my mind, piercing my heart.

What a sacrifice to make! To give one’s only son for another. My parents have told me that to watch their child die would be the world’s greatest pain. Therefore, only through understanding God’s love for me can I comprehend why anyone would willingly give up the life of His Son.

So I am eternally grateful! I am grateful to a God who would go through the saddest moment in history with the intent to forgive me, unworthy of such love. I can never understand exactly why he did, but thank God he did!

Christmas Past...

I don’t know that I will be speaking of Christmas present or future, but this seemed clever when needing a title for this post. Anyway, this Christmas was truly a blessing in more ways than I realized at first.


My car was stolen back in November. Ironically, we wanted to sell it, but when someone took it off our hands, we were a little mad. Go figure. However, it turned out that we got a little more from the insurance company than we may have trying to sell it. Blessing (in disguise) No. 1.

When we looked around at cars to replace it with, we were really close to buying a car that was at the top of our price range and would have had a really high interest rate to finance. When we found a bank to finance us, we had to go to the physical location to deal with the bank. When we arrived, they were closed, which was kind of annoying since, at the time, I really wanted to get that car. We ended up finding a much better financing deal on a much more suitable, practical, and newer car shortly after. We purchased it December 23. Blessing (in disguise) No. 2.

Of course, Christmas day resulted in a good number of presents, which is always nice. At the end of our present opening, my mom said that there was one more present. She went upstairs to grab it and came back down with a rather large box (roughly 2’ x 4’). I asked whom it was for. She responded by saying, “You. It’s from your grandpa.” (Back story…my grandpa passed away recently. Therefore, I knew this meant she used some of the funds from him/his property sales to help with this gift.) As I began to open it, I saw wood types on the box and began to connect the clues. As I started to get emotionally wrapped up in the unwrapping, I had to verify the contents of the package before I got carried away. I opened the box, indeed the casing was appropriate for my suspected gift. When I opened the case, my hypothesis was confirmed…a brand new Taylor 315ce (guitar), the one I had been dreaming of getting if we could ever get some money saved up! I teared up a little and thanked my mom, who was also soggy-eyed. Blessing (in packaging) No. 3.

Of course, the most important gift was the one that wasn’t much of a surprise but still hits me more deeply than any other gift ever could. This gift is the why we gather together in mass and rejoice each year, and hopefully, each moment. We come together to praise God for the Christ, the Anointed One who was sent to live and die as man and God, as servant come King. Thank you Jesus, Messiah, Immanuel. Blessing (to be exalted above all others)!

What I’ve seen and heard…

What I’ve seen and heard, not everyone has seen and heard.

“Like what?” you might ask. There is a near infinite list of things that I’ve seen and heard that others have not. Granted others have seen and heard even more that I know nothing of.

Why bring this up? Well the most recent news in my life is that I feel led to leave my where I live in Uvalde in order to pursue what God is calling me to now. These transitions are always difficult and, especially, for the persons leaving. However, when my wife told a friend at the church that we were leaving, she was shocked to hear the news and ever more shocked that the news was spread all around her while she was unaware. It seemed a rather heavy blow to her to hear the news and my wife’s heart sank even further than mine to have to break this news to her.

How she hadn’t already heard the news was surprising to me as she was in the church office several times a week. You would think that it might have come up in conversation. Granted, we tried to not tell the church immediately so that my youth would hear it from me first. (Unfortunately, even that didn’t go according to plan.) We thought that once the youth new and it was coming up in conversation around the church, everyone “in the loop” would know. We even joked about how it was up on Facebook and that our friend really needed to get an account to be aware of these things.

So why tell you that story? Because there are more important things that others don’t see or hear. There is news of a man who came and left (in a way) and will return to us someday. There is global, eternal news of a man who is God who has come to Earth to save all sinners who believe in Him. By now, you probably know who I’m talking about, but what if you don’t? What about people who don’t know who I’m talking about? What about people who don’t have a Facebook account to see and hear everything going on in our lives? What about people who don’t have a computer, cell phone, or even a landline to be kept “in the loop”? What about those people who don’t speak your language? What about those people who are desperate for some good news and haven’t heard or seen anything good from anyone in a long while? What about the suffering who need relief? What about the sad who need joy? What about the lost who need a light in their darkness? What about the fallen who need hope to rise? What about the sick and the broken who need healing and restoration? What about them? I know that I am lost, sad, suffering, sick, and broken so far down in darkness without the good news, the Gospel of our coming Savior.

Sure, we think that everyone knows about our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, but there are many who don’t. There are many who are around us all the time who haven’t a clue what’s going on around them. There are so many who don’t see the Kingdom of God on Earth in their midst. Certainly, we cannot decide what the seeds we cast may fall upon. We cannot determine whether God’s word falls upon the beaten path, the rock, among thorns, or good soil. (Luke 8) What we can, and must do, however, is cast the seed. We must spread the news to all. We must ensure that those who are in need of the word of God may hear it. For how can they hear unless it is told to them? And who can tell them but those who have heard already? He who has ears, let him hear.