Jesus Will Heal Your Wounds

This morning I had the pleasure of being close to where Dr. Jeffrey Seif of Zola Levitt ministries was guest speaking and though I watch regurlary his message was very touching today and it made me start thinking on things I know but we sometimes forget and don't ponder enough. Mainly that Jesus came not just for eternal salvation but to heal us now. He alone has the answer and the power to take away the hurt and the pain.

Joh 10:7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
Joh 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John is so full of wonderful things Jesus says to us of how much He loves us and this is really a beautiful quote. What does Jesus mean here when he says you will be saved. According to Zodhiates this word is 4982 sōzō: salvation in regard to 1. material and temporal deliverance from danger, suffering and so forth; sickness, preservaton. 2. Spiritual and eternal salvation granted immediatly to those who believe by God to those who believe in Christ 3. The present experience of God's power to deliver from the bondage of sin.

He also tells us we will find pasture which is 3542 and means pasture ie (the act) feeding. Jesus will feed us. Think about Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.

Jesus himself spoke part of the words of Isaiah the prophet as he began his ministry to tell us what he came for:

Luk 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
Luk 4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luk 4:20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Luk 4:21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus came for our eternal salvation but also to help us with our daily burdens. I'm not saying I believe that if you are a Christian life will be wonderful and things will all go great. In fact I believe there will be persecution and suffering if you are following Jesus. I am saying that Jesus came to help heal your hurts, the emotional scars that have been left on your life from the sinful world. He alone can heal your pain, the childhood abuse, help you turn from alcoholism and drugs. Whatever your particular burden is. He already knows and He can conquer your wounds. Hand them over to Him and He will heal your soul.

I'm still here

Hi everyone. I'm sorry for my long absence. After the election I think I needed to shut down for a while. I was extremely overwhelmed all of the news seemed to be sending me spiraling into panic and God doesn't want us in a panic. My dreams were overwhelming and I started falling into a deep depression over the current direction the world is going. I needed a break I shut down. I am actually coming off of a period that I have never been through before. I have mostly not listened to the news since the beginning of December. It's all so depressing and overwhelming. I'm feeling better now and ready to start coming back into the world again. I guess I needed some private time between me and the Lord for a while without as much interfereance from outside sources.

During this time I have had two strange dreams. The first was a white dog running up my steps in my house toward my bedroom where I was sleeping.

The second one that surprised me because of my lack of television watching and internet news reading was a few days ago. I dreamed that President Obama was taking me on a private tour of the capital building and the white house. It seemed so real and the secret service were following us around. I'm not sure what it means but I woke up feeling it was a very odd dream.

Anyway, I'm returning to normalcy and plan on writing many interesting things to come soon. I'm sorry for my two month absence.

Stephanie's Watchman Lament

Well I have so much on my mind this past week that I can't seem to think of a coherent train of thought to put into writing. That really is not like me I was always good at writing. I like to put things on my blog when I have well researched scripture and word studies to back it up, but I guess today will just be my thoughts rambling on in cyberspace.

I'm so saddened by the terror acts in Mumbai. It amazes me the damage that 10 men can do. The lives lost and for what. The two year old Moshe left without his parents to grow up in this world. Being confronted with the reality that there are men out there who want us dead just because we are not Muslim. Our Jewish brothers and sisters brutally killed because they are who they are. It's an overwhelming thought that saddens me. What saddens me more is that we seem to go on about our day as if nothing has happened. Have we become so immune to terrorism that it doesn't phase us anymore. God forgive us for our lack of understanding in what this means for the world.

Then there's further news of dividing Jerusalem for peace. What peace? How do you have peace with someone who wants you dead for being who you are? They can not be appeased. Yet we live in a world that does not recognize evil when it is staring them in the face. It breaks my heart that we would ask Israel to do something that would jeopardize their very existence. The world is running to and throe without realizing the impact of their decisions. Where are those to take a stand? Where are those with discernment to realize what is happening before our eyes? Oh I hope the LORD shows mercy on us for putting pressure on Israel to divide her lands that HE has given her and give it to their enemies.

"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12: 3).

I pray that we do not turn our back on Israel. I pray that we wake up before it's too late. I pray we see the enemy for who it is.

Russia is on the move and moving warships closer to our shores and the news seems to hardly mention it. So much is going on. Yet I'm studying Beth Moore's Believing God along with my Isaiah study and today she was talking about Hope. God is our hope. The world needs hope.

I look around and Jesus must be returning soon. The signs are everywhere. Are we busy doing the work of the LORD in these last days or are we thinking only of ourselves? I say this to myself as well. I pray we will not weary in well doing. I pray for our guidance as we move out into a world that desperately needs light. We can show them that light.

We Have Left our First Love

See how the faithful city has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her-
but now murderers!
Your silver has become dross,your choice wine is diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves;
they all love bribes and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

Wow this sounds like something someone could say right now on the streets of America! Instead it comes from Isaiah 1:21-23. I have been reading Isaiah as my bed time reading for a little while now and as I came to a verse I wanted clarification on I started researching what others were writing or saying about the book of Isaiah. Then today I discover that Kay Arthur (whose precept studies I love) has been doing a series on Isaiah for her weekly show. This must be a sign that I'm suppose to delve into this book more deeply.

America was founded on Christian principles but would we know it if we looked across the fruited plain today? We have left our first love. As you start to delve in to Isaiah it amazes me how accurate it is to not just America but the Church in America today. It starts with God saying:

I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.

v.2

We have rebelled and I think the book of Isaiah can teach us a few things about what that means. The only way we can move this nation forward is if we take a hard look at ourselves, repent and move forward. God is calling us back into a deeper relationship with him. He is jealous for our attention.

I think I'm going to order Kay's first part of Isaiah and spend the next months studying what there is to learn from him in great detail so there will be more to follow.

Updates

Hey everyone if you stop by today you will notice I'm in the middle of changing my blog. I started last night and only have so much time to work on it so it may take a few days to be fully like I want it but it's not bad for now. Hope you have a great day and tell me what you think. I was trying to look a little more modern.When I went to our corporate last week they were talking to us on how they do marketing and the importance of implementing small design pieces that are on trend. So I thought I'd try to do the same to my blog. Hope you guys like it.

Let the Fun Begin

Well everyone it is official I have had my first nasty email in regards to my research. Does that mean that I'm on to something. I had sent an email of something I found on the internet about Obama's name in Hebrew and what it meansto a few friends for their opinions and comments. Apparently even though I sent it to only two people for opinions on what I had found it has been passed around now and someone doesn't like it. I opened my email last night to find this hatred filled email telling me I was wrong and if I would have spent any time researching it, which I did, then I would have seen that I was wrong. They then told me that I needed to watch what I send out in email because you never know whose hands that it might end up in. I emailed back that I had sent this to my mom to talk to and they were just going to have to live with that. Then I get an email to the bottom of the question I have offended this person by researching the idea that Obama could be the anti-christ. Great so I have some guy claiming to be a pastor sending me hateful email about research I'm doing claiming I'm not acting Christian like and doing satan's work. I don't think I'm the one not acting Christian like. I guess the attacks are starting early. Since when does only one side of an argument have free speech? God help us the attacks are on their way.


****update: the gentleman has sent me an apology******

Suffering

Hi everyone. I hope all of you are doing great. First I want to ask that if anyone knows what it means to dream that a huge tablet or concrete slab covered in Hebrew falling on me in a dream might mean. I jumped when it happend both in my dream and in reality and thus woke up so that's all I know about it. I hope some of you out there have more insight than I do into these things and can tell me what it might mean.

Well after the election last week I was in a strange mood. I sat in front of my tv in shock that this really might be the beginning of the end times. I cried out to the Lord that there are so many that don't know what they have done and how will they stand against the coming persecution. I strongly felt God say to me that I need to leave that to Him. He knows what's best for His church. The next day as I was shopping at Target a plack with a piece of a verse on it appeared right in front of me. The entire verse is:

Rom 5:3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Rom 5:4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Rom 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Rom 5:6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

I know that suffering must come for Christians. We have been lazy here in America and have grown accustomed to our easy life. Hatred toward us is growing I can feel it in the air. I pray that those whose faith is not as strong and who are not in the Word will return soon. There will be no surviving the coming onslaught without a firm foundation in what the Word says. Many will be deceived in the days to come. I pray for their hearts to be softened and their eyes to be open.

The time has come to test the spirits even more than ever.

1Jo 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1Jo 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
1Jo 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Test the spirits everyone. Jesus return is soon!