The Balm of Gilead

Brokenness is a heart condition. Jesus is the remedy...and His cure guarantees eternal life!

When we invite in The Great Physician to perform His spiritual surgery, we receive a heart healing that includes redemption, restoration, rest and peace...beside the still waters of everlasting love.

Won’t you cry out to The Balm of Gilead? That He may bind and heal your wounded heart?

Psalm 30:2

O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

Psalm 107:20

He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

Psalm 103:3

Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

Matthew 9:12

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

1 Peter 2:24

who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Jeremiah 8:22

Is there no balm in Gilead,

Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no recovery

For the health of the daughter of my people?

Isaiah 53:5

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Praying for Others

Intercessory prayers reflect the very essence of God's own character...rich in unconditional love, grace and mercy.

Praying for others enables us to look beyond ourselves and increases our empathy, concern and compassion for others.

Think about this...who do you want to spend eternity with? Are there people you care about who do not know Jesus? Are you praying for them...interceding without ceasing?

Then, consider this...love and pray for your enemies. This is truly putting on the compassion of Christ and going beyond yourself in interceding for them.

Remember, prayer is sweet smelling aroma that pleases Him (Revelation 5:8). The Father desires our prayers! Prayer strengthens our faith and increases our intimacy with Him! In it, we are reflecting and glorifying Jesus!

Let us pray with sincere hearts and without ceasing on behalf of God's hurting children...that they will have a heart change and receive Jesus...that they will share in our eternal inheritance...and experience the riches, hope, glory and everlasting grace freely given by our Abba Father!

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Feeling Lonely This Christmas Season?

 

Christmas is a time of good cheer, excitement,  expectancy, warmth, busyness and feelings of joy surrounded by family and friends. But for some, it can be a time of extreme loneliness.  Loneliness can be described as a feeling of emptiness in the pit of your stomach when someone you love has left you either through death or broken relationships. You may feel abandoned, unwanted, or unneeded as if you’re all by yourself when you are actually surrounded by all kinds of people. You may feel like no one really cares.

These feeling can intensify if you begin to believe that your loneliness is a result of something being wrong at a core level with you – that you are somehow unacceptable, unworthy, don’t measure up, or unlovable.

When this happens, you may feel hopeless and have nothing to live for. Your pain can erode your self-worth, and drain you of strength.  Loneliness puts a huge wall around your heart and prevents you from allowing others in including God.

When you feel as if the entire world has abandoned you, and that no one understands your pain and sorrow God’s Word promises that the Lord is with you and He will never leave you.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8

In your loneliness and despair, have you distanced yourself from the Lord?

It is never too late to draw near to Him again. You are His precious child. And when you return to Him, you will be welcomed with open arms. You will have heartfelt joy when returning home to the shelter of God’s unconditional love and acceptance. You are never alone!

Overcomer

Rejoice today that you are an overcomer! You have received Jesus as your Savior, and your identity is rooted in Him. Through Christ, you have defeated death and conquered darkness! You are a new Creation, and He who is in you is greater than anything! Walk in victorious freedom; for in Him, there is no condemnation...only a lighted life that cannot be extinguished. This is His eternal promise to you; this is the abundant life He offers to all who receive Him. You are His...rescued and redeemed...sealed for Eternity...one with The Son!

Rejoice and praise The King of kings and LORD of lords, as you walk in confident and unshakable faith! Rise grateful every day with hope and predestined purpose; freely receive His Grace...and run your race as the conqueror that you are called, equipped, and chosen to be!

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 5:4

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Ephesians 1:13

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Galatians 3:14

He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Revelation 3:5

“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

Nothing Will Separate

God is the author and originator of love. HE IS LOVE. It is because of His love that we exist and are also able to love.

There is absolutely nothing that can alter The Father's pure, authentic, unconditional love for His precious children. He will never leave or forsake us. His love cannot be earned; the debt has already been paid in full. His love is based on Who He is, not who we are or what we do or think.

Choose His love. It is a holy, perfect, perpetual gift that guarantees grace and freedom. And it can be unwrapped every day...for eternity.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:10

For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

1 John 4:9

This is how God's love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

Romans 8:39

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

The Lord Delivers

 

Lord, I worship You. You are my Lord and King, my precious Redeemer. There is no other God like You, entirely full of goodness, grace, and mercy.

You heal us when we are brokenhearted and bandage our wounds. You build us up when we are weak in our soul. You are great and powerful  O Lord, and You understand all things, even what is in my heart.

Thank you that I don't have to live with sadness hurt or depression. Thank you that you have put gladness in my heart. This day I put on the Garment of Praise in exchange for the spirit of heaviness, and I glorify you as Lord of all.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim freedom for the captives  and release from darkness for the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn,  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise  instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. “ Isaiah 61:1-3

“I waited patiently for the Lord, And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3

“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. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall, 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." Isaiah 40:28-31

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a priority...it is a true expression of agape love and it honors God. Understanding forgiveness is key and leads us to experience the fearless freedom it offers.

Forgiveness is not minimizing, excusing, or agreeing with the offense. We must see sin for what it is and recognize who the true offender is. Remember, our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places...against the author of anger, fear, frustration, hurt, pain, sin and confusion.

Separating the sin from the sinner opens up our heart to forgiveness of our fellow human beings...it allows God to shed His Healing Light and Truth on the stronghold of the offense...and the darkness loses its power.

Forgiveness does not always lead to reconciliation. Jehovah is Holy and He calls us to holiness. He also calls us to guard our hearts. There are certain relationships and circumstances that we should not expose ourselves to because they are not born of The Holy Spirit. We can forgive the offense...love and pray for the sinner...but must diligently separate ourselves from sin. 

If we seek God and His truth...listen to the whisper of The Holy Spirit...He will enable us to forgive others and ourselves...lead us to the people, places and situations that He ordains, according to His purpose.

We have certainly all sinned and fall short of God's glory. But, as believers, we are to be imitators of Christ. And if we make forgiveness a priority, we will indeed experience peace, healing, wholeness and freedom...and honor Him with a clean heart.

Proverbs 19:11

A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

Matthew 6:14

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Romans 15:7

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and tender-hearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

Luke 6:37

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Colossians 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive any complaint you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.