I AM your Healer

September 28, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

The children of Israel were fresh out of Egypt and had just come through the parted Red Sea. Moses was leading them through the desert towards Mt Sinai in Exodus 15. They had been three days without fresh water and the water they found was bitter. They began grumbling to Moses and accused him of bringing them out into the desert to die. Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of wood and instructed him to throw it into the bitter water. The water miraculously became sweet and they could quench their thirst. The Lord took this opportunity to remind the Israelites of His Covenant with them. “There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, ²⁶saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” Exodus 15:25-26 God promised to be their healer if they would listen and obey. Later in Deuteronomy Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s promises to them after the 40 years in the wilderness. “¹⁴You shall be blessed above all peoples. ¹⁵And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. ” Deuteronomy 7:14-15 They were following God’s pathway into a desert and God promised to keep them well. Through obedience they would not suffer diseases they had had while in Egypt nor would the be sick on the journey. I AM your Healer. The Hebrew is Jehovah Rapha- the God who heals.

Where do you need God to be your healer today? Do you have relationships that have fallen apart, are you ill in mind or body, are you lonely or heart broken? God promises to be our healer if we turn to Him in faith. Here are some verses to encourage you today to greater faith in our Healing God.

Psalm 103:2-3 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
³who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,”

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Let the Lord be your healer today- He alone is the God who Heals.

Linda

I AM your Banner

September 25, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

This curious statement comes in Exodus 17:15. “And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner,” Moses and the children of Israel were still wandering in the desert when this event occurred. They were camped at Rephidim and were attacked by the Amalekites who lived in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula. Moses ordered Joshua to take fighting men and go out and confront them in battle. Moses along with Aaron and Hur would view the battle from the top of a hill. Moses told Joshua he would stand on the hill with the staff of God in his hands, which was the staff that God had used through Moses to perform many miracles. The battle began and as long as Moses’ hands with the staff were uplifted they were winning but if his hand and staff dropped they began losing. So Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a rock and held up his hand until the battle was won. When the victory was complete, Moses built and altar to the Lord and called it “The Lord is my Banner.” “saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! 16a

What is a banner? By definition a banner is: a piece of cloth bearing a design, motto or slogan sometimes attached to a staff and used as a battle standard, a flag (like the Star-Spangled Banner) or a headline in a newspaper. The meaning that seems to fit this event would really be all 3- the battle standard or flag declaring who God is and the announcement that God is the Banner for the those who believe. Moses wanted all to remember that God was the reason they won the battle with the Amalekites, and they were God’s people waving His Banner over their lives. What about you? Do you wave God’s banner over your life? Are your ‘battles’ in life solved with the Lord’s power and direction? A couple of promises come to mind where God promises to be with us in and through things for our good and His glory. “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 and “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7. Where do you need God to be your Banner today? Look to Him for courage, power and love to overcome the obstacles you face today. Claim His promises and fly His Banner in victory.

Flying the Banner of God is a life-time privilege and honor,

Linda

I AM the God who Provides

September 21, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

I have always been fascinated by the I AM statements God makes about Himself in the Bible. They convey the power, majesty and greatness of God and increase my trust in who God is. The second I AM proclamation I’m going to look at is in Genesis 22 and was made before God’s revelation of I AM Who I AM in Exodus. This was made to Abraham on Mt Moriah where he went to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, by God’s direction. Isaac asked where the sacrifice was going to come from and Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Genesis 22:8 Then they proceeded up the mountain together. This story has always troubled me as God had asked Abraham to do the unthinkable, sacrifice his only son. It is a picture to us of the anguish God must have felt in sending Jesus to die for our sins. He provides for us the ultimate sacrifice to remove our sins forever through His only Son’s sacrifice in Jesus’ death on the cross. I have thought that Abraham knew and trusted God’s promise of becoming a great nation, children as numerous as the stars and blessing the whole world which God had given him in Genesis 12 and 15. He trusted God to provide whatever was needed and even to the point of resurrecting Isaac if needed. Genesis 22:13-14 tells us what happened. “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” God showed himself as the provider of life, of sacrifice, of hope, of the future and of faith to Abraham. He had great faith in his God who would provide.

Do you see God as the I AM who will provide? One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” God promises to provide what I need just like He did for Abraham on that mountain. It is a matter of trusting God to provide. Claiming and reciting this verse makes me focus and remember that God can and will provide for me even when it seems that the odds of that happening are very much against it. I believe Abraham would have said the same as he trudged up the mountain with the wood and his son. Take a step of faith closer to God today. Trust Him instead of worrying. Let the anxiety go and place it in God’s hands. “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Loving Jesus requires a walk of trust in His great provision.

Linda

Who is God? I AM

September 18, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Moses fled out of Egypt for killing a Hebrew slave, Exodus 2, and ended up in Midian. He married a Midianite woman and settled there as a shepherd. He was out in the wilderness when God appeared to him in a ‘burning bush’ that was not consumed. God told Moses he was to return to Egypt and bring the Israelite people out of Egypt to freedom in Promised Land of Canaan. Moses was reluctant to say the least and posed many questions to God as excuses as to why he could not possibly go and do this for Him. He objected with why me? Then what if they don’t believe me? I’m not eloquent enough. God patiently responded to each of his objections. In Exodus 3:13-14 Moses I am questioned who God is, His name. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Why is this answer of who God is important? It reveals God’s name YHWH, Yahweh or His divine name. It was written without vowels as they did not even speak the name of God because it was so holy. It tells us that God is who He is –self-existent and not dependent upon anyone for His existence. It tell us that God is the creator and sustainer of all that exists. It tells us that God is- unchanging and immutable, has been and always will be. It tell us that God is eternal, He always existed and will always exist. It assured Moses that God in His sovereign power can do all things and will be with him on this journey back to Egypt and beyond.

We too can be assured by the great I AM. He is immutable and we can depend upon Him. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He will never leave us nor forsake us. Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Knowing God is eternal and dependent upon nothing else gives us security and assurance of our future with Him. John 14:1-2 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”