The Great Physician

The world of mankind is sick, and each day it is becoming sicker. Everywhere we look, we see disease, mental illness, and death. Bird-flu is raising its ugly head and a pandemic may be on the horizon. Mental illness seems to be on the rise with more and more horrific crimes being committed. Selfishness of the heart and mind led to a Bangladesh factory building collapsing and killing more than 1,000 garment workers.

The world needs a good physician, one who can heal not only man’s physical illnesses, but also his illness of the mind and of the heart. Jesus and his bride, the church, will be that great physician.

Jesus came at his First Advent to demonstrate his ability to heal through God’s power. All of those healings pointed forward to the healing Jesus will perform for the entire human family in his kingdom.

He healed the man with an unclean spirit, showing how Jesus will eliminate the influence Satan and the fallen angels have over mankind (Mark 1:21-28). Jesus healed Peter’s wife’s mother of a fever, showing how man’s infection of sin will be cured (Mark 1:29-31). Our Lord  healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, showing that Jesus will help mankind to walk righteously and pleasing to God (John 5:1-9).

Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, showing he will teach mankind how to work righteously and be pleasing to God (Luke 6:6-11). Our Lord healed the man born blind, showing how he will heal mankind’s physical and spiritual eyesight in his kingdom (John 9:1-11).

He healed the woman crippled with an infirmity, demonstrating how he will help the human family stand up righteously before God (Luke 13:10-17). Our Lord healed a man with dropsy, a heart ailment, showing how he will heal man’s heart of sinfulness and selfishness, so then he can write God’s law there (Luke 14:1-6). Finally, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, demonstrating that he will raise everyone  who has ever lived from the tomb to receive this healing and thereby have the opportunity to gain everlasting life in his kingdom (John 11:1-45).

In Ezekiel 11:19,20, the prophet describes this healing: “I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God” (NASB). Isaiah writes about this healing, “The eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy” (Isa. 35:4,5 NASB).

Jesus will be able to heal mankind because he died as a ransom for Adam, and thus provided the price needed to pay for man’s sin. In that day, “No resident will say, ‘I am sick’; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity” (Isa. 33:24 NASB).

Jesus returns to establish his earthly kingdom and  heal man’s body, heart, and mind so that mankind can become perfect and  come back into harmony with God. With this healing, man will be able to obey God’s law perfectly and gain everlasting life.

Joy

“His anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”—Psa. 30:5

What a blessing to know that these troubling times and their sorrows will be replaced by everlasting joy in the dawning of Christ’s Kingdom! The Scriptures tell us God is a “happy God” (1 Tim. 1:11 Rotherham) with a plan of redemption for his fallen creation. This plan is spoken of in Isaiah 51:11, “The redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” It was for that “joy set before him” (Heb. 12:2) that Jesus endured the suffering of persecutions and ultimately, the cross.  So, too, should the Christian count it joy when they prove their faith through obedience to God’s plan in the difficult experiences that result from walking in the footsteps of Jesus (Jam. 1:2).

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit essential to the Christian character (Gal. 5:22). “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6 ESV).  How can the true joy of the Lord be obtained?  The Christian can rejoice in life and all of its pursuits (Deut. 12:7), rejoice in the salvation God has offered to the faithful and the privilege to tell others about it (Psa. 20:5), rejoice  in the love of the Creator (Psa. 59:16), rejoice in the blessing to know God’s Word (Jer. 15:16), rejoice in the mercy of God’s salvation (Psa. 13:5), rejoice in going to Bible study and worship (Psa. 122:1), and even rejoice in persecution, a sign of being approved of God (1 Pet. 4:13,14).

There is so much for which to rejoice!  Rejoice in the present hardship for the development it provides for the future, and rejoice for the future with its promise of mercy, peace, and love for all mankind.  God is a god of joy, if we allow his joy to fill our hearts. Then, we will have the strength to endure all tribulation (Neh. 8:10), until that time described in Revelation 22:1,2 when all nations will know the joy of God.

“Rejoice in the Lord always;  Again I will say, rejoice!”   (Phil. 4:4 NASB).  

Obedience

As young children, we learn right from wrong as well as good from bad. Our parents give us examples to follow and will often point out the wrong or evil in the world and ways to avoid it.

This was the case with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Our loving Father presented them with a land of perfect things for the two of them to share and gave them only one thing to avoid. He made things perfectly clear in Gen 2:16,17: “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

This was our first example of parental guidance and would later become our biggest example of disobedience. Adam failed this test and the world continues to pay for his disobedience today.

Our Father gave us many admonitions to follow such as obey and live, disobey and die.

We, as footstep followers of Christ, are currently in a similar situation.  We gave up our earthly life to follow Christ. In doing so, we have the same two choices: (1) Obey the father, live a life according to his will and we will have eternal life. Revelation 2:10 says: “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (2) Disobey, turn away from God, stop following the example of Jesus and we will face death (Heb. 6:4-6; Heb. 10:26-31).

We must follow the advice of 1Peter  3:15: “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” We must follow God’s will to the best of our ability, following Jesus’ example of obedience and loyalty to God. When we err, the Lord in his graciousness has given us an opportunity to come to the throne of heavenly  grace to  ask for his forgiveness. If we are sincere, we will be forgiven and the spots will be removed from our robes.

Trust and OBEY, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.  

Every Eye Will See Him

“BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen”—Revelation 1:7 (NASB)

Revelation 1:7 begins with a prophecy from Daniel 7:13,14 (NASB): “Behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” Daniel is speaking symbolically about our Lord’s Second Advent and how it will be associated with clouds (trouble) in the heavens—­­­­the religious systems of the earth. Jesus’ return is to establish the everlasting dominion and kingdom given to him by God.

The perception of many Christians is that everyone sees Jesus coming, literally, in the sky. However, Revelation 1:7 says Jesus comes in the clouds and then, every eye will see him, after he has arrived. This is consistent with Jesus’ statements that he would arrive as a thief (Matt. 24:43,44; Luke 12:39,40). Both the Apostle Paul and Apostle Peter confirm that Jesus would come, or return, at his Second Advent as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10).

Jesus prophesied that after his return, “there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short” (Matt. 24:21,22 NASB). The tribulation comes from man’s selfishness, and we see that today. Nations, terrorists, and many different groups are warring against each other, struggling for power, influence, and survival. This struggle, if left unchecked, would destroy mankind; but Jesus and his bride return to prevent that destruction and establish Christ’s kingdom. The world of mankind does not see Jesus arrive, but they see the effect of his return in the troubles that ensue as Jesus implements the kingdom and dominion, given to him by God.

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