Читать книгу CALL THOSE THINGS: Bible-Based Healing Confessions - Lisa Crum - Страница 5

Take a quick Google (google.com) search on grateful people live longer. It’s amazing how many articles include these words or similar ones in their headings. I just now entered that phrase into the search engine, and came back with links to all sorts of websites: magazines for seniors, medical journals, health and wellness sites, faith/religious sites, just to name a few. Moreover, if you query longer, healthier life attributed to religious, spiritual, faith, Spirit-filled, Christian lifestyles, you’ll see similar results.

What element about these qualities makes such a difference? Is it merely blind optimism that some people possess because of inherent personality traits; or does taking time to acknowledge that one is truly blessed have a genuine impact on the physical and emotional well-being?

Solomon said this in Proverbs 17:22: “A joy-filled heart is curative balm, but a broken spirit hurts all the way to the bone.” (The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc., The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society, all rights reserved.) Our heart attitudes can either make us well or make us sick! Why? Because what we conclude in our hearts comes out of our mouths. The mouth is the key that turns on the ignition, either to the good or to the bad. Once the spoken work fires up and sets in motion certain elements, it’s not long afterwards that the fruit of our lips will begin to manifest.

So, you might say, I know people who are jolly and good-natured who aren’t even Christians; and some Christians seem like the most miserable people I know! What’s up with that? It is the law of sowing and reaping, and in this case, sowing words; it is a universal law. Now, before you conclude that I’m implying bad things happen only to people who say bad things, let me qualify this statement! Jesus said this: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) We are all going to have good seasons and bad seasons; it’s a given. How we choose to respond determines whether or not we can remain cheerful, peaceful, and grounded. Oh, you can be certain, you'll deal with some things in your lifetime; how you choose to be affected by them is what will determine the joy factor. What we say out of our mouths is the difference between the 2-week journey to the Promised Land and a 40-year trek in the wilderness. Yes, perhaps some non-believers too have learned that their words are powerful; or perhaps they don’t even know that their tongue is the thermostat that determines the climate of their lives. And, perhaps the miserable Christians haven’t yet had the Word of God take deep root in them in this area. Truth is, we all need to grow and learn more! I know I do!

And still begs the question, how can one be grateful without being a believer in God? Grateful? To whom? Thankful? To whom does one give thanks if he or she doesn’t even believe in a higher power? To count blessings is to imply that there is a giver of blessings! If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior--if you don’t know what it is to have relationship with our Heavenly Father (my dear friend Cathy used to call Him “Poppa God.” I bet she still does!)--you may begin this journey right now by taking a step towards Him. Skip to the end of the book, and I’ll lead you in a prayer to initiate this wonderful way of life!

Ok, back to those faith declarations. Once you learn your identity in Christ, you may begin with pure faith to apply what God’s Word says about your life. Let’s try a few of these as a warm-up exercise for your spiritual muscles and your prayer bones. All you have to do (and it’s my hope that by the time you finish reading this book, you will begin to create your very own declarations) is to observe what a passage of Scripture says, and then give thanks to God for how it impacts you personally.

Psalm 42:11 - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. THANK YOU, GOD, FOR REVEALING TO ME THAT YOU ARE MY HOPE! BECAUSE I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, I CAN BE AT PEACE EVEN IN TIMES WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD HAVE ME DEPRESSED OR STRESSED. LEARNING TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP YOU HAS BECOME AN ELIXIR OF LIFE FOR ME…AND MY FACE GLOWS WITH THE HEALTH OF A CHILD OF GOD WHO KNOWS THAT YOU ARE WORKING OUT EVERY DETAIL OF MY LIFE!

Jeremiah 8:22 - Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? FATHER, THE HEALING BALM OF YOUR WORD IS AVAILABLE TO ME EVERY TIME I SPEAK IT. JESUS IS MY GREAT PHYSICIAN. I WILL, THEN, COME INTO AGREEMENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE SPOKEN OVER MY LIFE! THANK YOU THAT, EVERY TIME I APPLY YOUR HEALING BALM, I APPLY LIFE AND HEALTH. I AM RECOVERING BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES! I GO IN PEACE, AND MY FAITH MAKES ME WHOLE!

Jeremiah 33:6 - Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. THANK YOU LORD FOR REVEALING AN ABUNDANCE OF PEACE AND TRUTH TO ME. YOUR WORD IS BRINGING ME HEALTH AND A CURE, AND I RECEIVE IT.

Acts 27:34 - Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. THANK YOU FATHER, FOR BLESSING THE FOOD I EAT TO NOURISH MY BODY, EVEN DOWN TO THE HAIR FOLLICLES! I PRAISE YOU FOR BLESSING ME WITH HEALTH--THE KIND THAT CLOSES THE DOOR TO SICKNESS AND DISEASE. THANK YOU FOR COUNSELING ME ABOUT RIGHT FOODS, ABOUT FASTING, AND ABOUT MY HABITS.

3 John 1:2 - Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. THANK YOU FATHER, FOR TEACHING ME THAT SEEKING YOU FIRST SETS ALL OTHER GOOD THINGS IN MOTION! THANK YOU FOR ABUNDANT HEALTH THAT GROWS IN PROPORTION TO MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH. THANK YOU FOR PROSPERITY EVEN IN THINGS MONEY CANNOT BUY.

Isaiah 58:7-9a - Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. THANK YOU, GOD, FOR REVEALING RIGHT ACTIONS THAT WILL CAUSE MY HEALTH TO SPRING FORTH! I WILL BE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS TODAY. I WILL PUT ASIDE MY SELF-ABSORPTION AND WORRY, BECAUSE YOU’VE ORDAINED THAT I REPRESENT YOU IN THE EARTH. I WILL, THEN, SHARE WITH THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED. FREELY I HAVE RECEIVED, AND FREELY I WILL GIVE. THANK YOU FOR MULTIPLYING THE FOOD, THE MONEY, THE CLOTHING THAT I AM ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE, SO THAT IT GOES FAR. THANK YOU FOR CAUSING ME TO SHINE WITH YOUR PRESENCE AS A CITY SET ON A HILL, NOT HIDDEN. THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSING OF A HEALTHY IMMUNE SYSTEM THAT RECOVERS FROM ANY ATTACK OF THE ENEMY. THANK YOU FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT GOES BEFORE ME, AND FOR THE REWARD OF YOUR GLORY COVERING MY LIFE. AND THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR BEING THERE EVEN BEFORE I CALL OUT YOUR NAME! ALL ELSE PALES IN COMPARISON TO JUST HAVING THAT ROCK-SOLID RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, LORD.

Proverbs 3:5-8 - Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. THANK YOU LORD, FOR TEACHING ME THE SECRET OF GOOD HEALTH! THE MORE I TRUST YOU, THE LESS STRESSFUL I FEEL. YOU WILL CONTINUE TO TEACH ME MUCH WISER SOLUTIONS THAN WHAT I COULD EVER DISCOVER WITHOUT YOU. I LOVE YOU, I REVERENCE YOU, AND I CHOOSE TO SHUN WICKEDNESS…AND FOR THAT REASON, HEALTH ENTERS MY BODY THROUGH THE PLACE WHERE I WAS ONCE CONNECTED TO MY MOTHER! NOW THAT HEALTH COMES FROM YOU, MY FATHER. YOUR TRUTH IS MY UMBILICAL CORD, AND YOUR GOODNESS FEEDS MY BODY AS I REMAIN CONNECTED TO YOU. YOUR GOODNESS CAUSES THE MARROW IN MY BONES TO PRODUCE HEALTHY BLOOD CELLS.

Proverbs 4:20-22 - My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. FATHER GOD, YOUR WORD DOES MORE THAN JUST KEEP ME OUT OF TROUBLE…IT BRINGS LIFE AND HEALTH TO ME IN ABUNDANCE. EVERY TYPE OF DISEASE, DEGENERATION, AND INJURY IS SUBJECT TO THE AUTHORITY OF YOUR WORD…AND BECAUSE I TAKE EVERY AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITY TO SOAK UP MORE OF YOUR WORD, I AM ARMED AND DANGEROUS AGAINST THE ENEMY WHO WOULD STRIP ME OF MY HEALTH!

The hardest thing about compiling this book has been to just narrow it down to a relatively few Scriptures. You can go from Genesis to Revelation and see life, life, life. Oh, if you choose, you can look at the Bible only through the lens of fire and brimstone, judgment and destruction, don’t do this, don’t do that. However, if you merely look for those elements, you will totally overlook the joy and peace and utter physical benefits that come from its pages—the *Zoe kind of life. Now as you learn to take the Scriptures and apply them to your own situation, talk to God in your kind of language. Me, I’m a little flowery and poetic, and I tend to see and speak things from that perspective. The prayers in CALL THOSE THINGS are yours for the taking; but when you pray on your own, your prayers will probably sound a little different from mine--that's a wonderful thing because you are responding to Him in a way that pleases Him. He already knows the deepest desires of your heart, your successes, your failures...and loves you like no one else ever could because you're His creation, His CHILD. Yes, He LOVES you, and desires very much to hear you express what's on your heart, in your one-of-a-kind way.

*ZOE – (life) the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate; every living soul; of the absolute; fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature; life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever. Source: http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/...