Theology Must Become Life

I absolutely believe in the power of God to bring about healing. I have seen and been a part of too many miracles not to believe that God can and does heal miraculously. I also believe it to be a tremendous blessing to live in a land that has the technological advances that we have medically in this country. On top of that there are a bunch of things that are under our control and that we must take personal responsibility for. The balancing act for us human beings is to apply our core beliefs to the real, present tense situations that occur in our day to day lives.

If we need to have a bad tooth extracted, as I had to have done lately, then prayer and faith declarations may not get the results we need. If blood pressure is elevated and staying there, as I have seen in recent weeks, poor diet and neglecting to exercise must be owned and corrected. Faith can overcome fatigue, but overcoming weariness is not the same as health. Sometimes the answer is rest not a pill or an elixir. When the doctors come in scratching their heads and saying we cannot diagnose the problem, we had better know something about prayer and faith then.

I suppose the real test is knowing what to apply to the thing that is in our faces. It's a bit hypocritical to pray for healing and continue to abuse ourselves by eating what we know we shouldn't and never getting off the couch to move around. It's not logical for us to take pill after pill when we know what we really need is to find some relief from the stress we are continuously exposed to. When a spiritual attack is levied at us we can empty the pharmacy and we won't see results until we pray with authority and move the evil spiritual influence out of our lives.

God is good and God works through a variety of resources. We are meant to experience abundant life. Physical, mental, emotional, financial and relational health are all a part of that blessing. Let's trust God for divine blessing. Let's thank Him for the gift of medical care that's available when we need it. Let's make good lifestyle decisions. Let's be good to those we are in relationship with. Let's enjoy our material blessings within the range of our own means. Let's not ignore our need for mental and emotional restoration. We can overcome a bunch of things by faith, but living in a way that is healthy and whole is better. WORK IT OUT!

Violence Again

Our society is swallowing itself up with violent behavior. Whether or not we restrict access to guns it is clear that something needs to be done. Can we catch up with the out of control environment that we are in by trying to help people deal with their issues one by one? Do we even have a firm grasp on what it is that has so many people so angry?  I don't know the answers to these questions but if we don't do something we will certainly self destruct. America seems to be at a boiling point. I believe this explosive atmosphere we have created is fueled by selfishness. We don't see ourselves as one entity in a symbiotic relationship to everyone else. We only care about the things that impact ourselves and our own little groups. I feel heartbroken for the families of the reporter and camera man that were senselessly killed in Virginia. I feel sick that we continue to bury our heads in the sand while unborn babies are aborted. I feel grieved that everyday young black men are killing each other. I am deeply troubled that police violence against black citizens involved with the most minor crimes are brutalized like animals. It's just as bad when officers are trying to perform basic functions in line with their duty and are killed without cause. Military men slaughtered on American soil. School shootings, movie shootings and our words are even violent when we disagree about the slightest things. We are sick. We are sin sick. What's worse is so many are hardened and stone cold to the will and ways of God. He has the answers and we treat Him like He is too old fashioned to fix our modern lives. It's like having a dreaded disease and refusing the only Dr. that has the antidote to cure us. I love the Lord Jesus Christ so it's easy for me to say salvation is the answer for the mess we are in. We need a soul saving revival to sweep across this land from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico. We know things are bad but I believe we are in far more trouble than we realize. We can change if we are willing to repent and receive the only solution that changes human hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" If our hearts are made new we will see the evil trends in our land begin to reverse themselves. If our hearts are not made new, symptoms temporarily get repressed for a time only to get squeezed out again when the right pressure hits. Jesus Christ changes lives and we desperately need change.