I felt the warmth of their presence last Sunday morning [Feb. 1998] as they gathered round me and placed their hands on my body. I love and trust these elders of my local church, with whom I served for 13 years before rotating out this last term. "Edward, we anoint you with oil and claim God's promise of healing," the presider said, dipping his finger in oil and making a sign of the cross on my forehead. Each man then prayed aloud -- an attorney, a physician, a telecommunications engineer and others. Not presumptuously, but in faith. Simply asking, leaving the answer to God. This little … [Read more...]
AGENTS OF GOD’S HEALING
A gracEmail subscriber writes that during a private Bible study with a young couple, the young lady suddenly broke down in tears, stating she had been sexually molested by her stepfather from age four to 11. "Why would a loving, all-powerful God allow this to happen?" she asked. The questioner asks how I would answer her. * * * This young lady's situation highlights a fundamental moral problem for which there is no glib answer. Her story proves that we live in a fallen world in which God temporarily allows humans to exercise their sinful natures to do evil, often at the expense of other … [Read more...]
THE HEALING VISION
A gracEmail reader asks why God heals some people but not others, some instantly while others gradually, and some directly but others through the ministry of physicians, psychologists, naturalists, praying believers or a variety of other caregivers. * * * There are many questions for which we do not have clear answers. We do know that God is sovereign in these matters, that all healing is a gift of grace, and that we do not want to go lacking simply because we do not ask. We may therefore request God's healing with a powerful sense of expectancy, based on the atonement of Jesus Christ as … [Read more...]
RESTORING HEALING PRAYER
This is an appeal to Christians across the board to restore the ancient and biblical practice of healing prayer in the name of the Risen Savior Jesus Christ. Such prayer ought always to be conducted with the stated knowledge that God is sovereign, that no one merits or deserves healing, that we do not know why God heals some people but not all people, but that we do not want to go lacking simply because we do not ask. Special healing services may be times of quiet blessing with no fanfare, but marked by a powerful sense of expectancy and the presence of the Lord Jesus by his Spirit. Jesus … [Read more...]
HEALING: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES (2)
Today we complete the seven biblical perspectives on divine healing, taking into account the great biblical doctrines of Creation, the Fall, Redemption, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the End. * * * 5. We affirm that, because of Christ's atonement and resurrection and the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, we may begin even now to share in God's victory over sin and its consequences. This victory at times includes the healing of the body, mind and relationships, in ways that exceed human prediction, understanding or ability to produce. We deny that God has stopped working in the world and … [Read more...]
HEALING: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES (1)
Error is often nothing but truth out of proportion. Balanced truth takes into account the great biblical doctrines of Creation, the Fall, Redemption, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the End. Seen in proper perspective, each element of divine revelation sparkles like a polished diamond when viewed from any angle. After half a century of reflecting on the topic and praying for the sick, I offer seven biblical perspectives on divine healing, which I believe are balanced, proportionate, and edifying. * * * 1. We affirm that God's will for his creation is health and wholeness. We deny that God … [Read more...]
INTUITION (CAN BE GOOD)
A gracEmail subscriber in Texas writes, "One afternoon I heard a television talk-show host say, 'I believe that intuition is the voice of God.' My mother has reminded me though, 'The devil speaks to you, too.' What do the scriptures say about intuition?" * * * There is an intuition which comes from God. The Creator has planted an inherent sense of fundamental morality in all his human creatures (Rom. 1:19). Men and women may also look at the created universe and know instinctively that God exists and that he is powerful (Ps. 19:1-3; Rom. 1:20). Unfortunately, many people close their eyes to … [Read more...]
INTUITION (CAN BE BAD)
A gracEmail subscriber in Texas writes, "One afternoon I heard a television talk-show host say, 'I believe that intuition is the voice of God.' My mother has reminded me though, 'The devil speaks to you, too.' What do the scriptures say about intuition?" * * * The English word "intuition" comes from a Latin verb meaning "to look at" or "to contemplate," and it names the faculty or gift of discerning truth directly without rational analysis and inference. The Bible does not use the word "intuition" although it does contain the idea. Like any avenue of knowledge, intuition itself is morally … [Read more...]
GOD’S WILL FOR INDIVIDUAL LIVES
Some teachers at a Christian college expressed surprise that many students expected to find God's will for their individual lives -- in selecting a mate, choosing a career, deciding where to live. "Where does this type of thinking come from?" one asked. * * * Perhaps it comes from the Bible, I respectfully submit. As believers, we can say with David, "He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps. 23:3). God still promises his people, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Ps. 32:8). It is still … [Read more...]
HEARING GOD’S VOICE
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "What would one have to do to be able to hear God speak as the prophets did? I hear God through the Scriptures and through the Holy Spirit in my conscience, but what is keeping me from hearing God as Jeremiah did -- distinctly and in direct quotation?" * * * On our part, we can be sure to keep our spiritual ears clean from habitual or unconfessed sin, and our hearts receptive with a readiness to obey. Most importantly, however, God must wish to speak to someone before someone can truly hear him speak. "Our God is in the heavens, and he does whatever he pleases" … [Read more...]
