Thoughts on Healing ... when it doesn't come.

                  How do you explain the death of a woman’s husband to her when he was her whole life? If they’re not a Christian, how to you tell them about God when God heals yet didn’t choose to heal him? That same question applies to those who know Christ. What do you say? What can you say? Let’s face it, there is nothing that you say that will be a salve on the wound. At least not at first. Prayerfully approaching them is a must. Sometimes just sitting with them, holding their hand can be a comfort. Being Jesus to them in their hour of incredible need. 

                  The loss of a loved one can be devastating depending on how close you were to that individual. A sense of deep loss, combined with the fact that you will never see them again on this earth has the potential to drive you into a very deep depression if you let it. Those in that position often don’t have what it takes to mentally, emotionally or spiritually combat depression. A sense of despondency arrives on the heels of the depression. The closer the person was to you the worst it can be. I know some folks who have lost a spouse and simply put never get over the loss. The memory of them lingers, which can be a good thing to a point, but some folks allow that loss to stunt their life to the point where they never feel ready to move on. How do you minister to these folks? Praying for them without them being present can be helpful because prayer is a life blood for the Christian. I say without them being present because depending how fresh the wound is, it only reopens the wound and causes renewed pain when reminded of the loss even through prayer. In person prayer can come at a later date. Be led by the Holy Spirit in that regard.

                  I remember clearly when my mom passed away way too early in her life. She died of pancreatic cancer at 53 years old. I wasn’t a believer at the time and wasn’t at all prepared for it. Quite frankly, you never know when a life will end so we should always try to make the most of our time with loved ones. I take comfort in the fact that I believe she received Christ before she died. But she died before I received Christ for myself and so when my sister told me I would see her in heaven I flew into a bit of a rage saying I wanted to be with her now. At 24 years of age, I was disillusioned and mad at a God who would take my mother away from me. I had been away at college and not spent all that much time with her. I still miss her but being saved 2 years after her death has helped bring me comfort. 

                  So even when we have no words to say to those who have suffered loss, our presence shows that we care and that can be more than enough. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts on Healing ...

                  Scripture clearly tells us thru Paul’s own words that he had been afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”. ^{(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)} What this was is not stated, however, it was something that bothered him enough to plead for God to remove it 3x ^{(2 Cor. 12:8)}. “Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job ^{(Job 1:1-12)}, God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.” ⁽¹⁾ Was it an illness, a literal thorn, a serious injury that hampered his physical abilities, some sort of spiritual problem or a temptation? Speculation abounds, but the reality is we shall never know for sure. Suffice it to say it was a bother to the great Apostle, something he had to learn to live with.

                  When we pray for healing and don’t receive it isn’t it possible that we may be expected to live with it until our healing comes, understanding that death may be that which brings us relief. I hate to put it that way, for it even sounds to me like a defeatist attitude, but that may just be the reality of it. There is no doubt we will be completely well in glory land for the Bible tells us we shall suffer no pain or sorrow in heaven. ^{(Revelation 21:4)} You see, God sees what we are unable to see. He sees how our attitude toward an unanswered prayer can speak volumes to someone outside God’s family. Are we to carry with us a case of the mulligrubs, complaining about our affliction until even WE grow tired of hearing us complain? Or knowing God is merciful and compassionate, are we to seek the lesson to be learned and pray for patience and fortitude to carry on in spite of the issue at hand. 

                  Paul stated his problem, yet I don’t see anywhere in scripture where he constantly complained about his “thorn”. Now don’t get me wrong, complaining is a natural human response for mortals who do not like the situation they are in, and I believe it is only our Lord who can lift us out of the mulligrubs. There are times when we are in considerable and constant pain, and we wonder where on earth the answer to our request for healing is. It is on the way yet may not be for some time. It’s a matter of trust. We know God heals and we know He does not show favorites. What He has done in the past He still does today, yet our impatience can be our undoing. 

                  Physically healing can be a frustrating deal. We may know someone who has been healed. My ex-mother-in-law received a brand-new heart, as evidenced but those exact words coming from the surgeon who was planning to perform triple by-pass surgery on her that very morning. Even he stated it was a miracle. So where is my miracle … where is yours?  I’m afraid I do not have the answer to that question. But I go with what I know. That God is good, and God is fair, and God is just and God does heal in His time, in His way, for reasons known to Him alone. We can rest in that knowledge or not, it’s our choice. But God DOES still heal today. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: www.gotquestions.org, www.crossway.org

Thoughts on Healing ...

                     We’ve been talking about when our prayers for healing don’t get answered, but perhaps we should have started with the most basic question that needs to be answered first … how do we know God hears our prayers? On the heels of the question “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” needs to be “Does God care for me?” or “Does God see my needs?”. Scripture is very clear regarding that topic: “… your (Heavenly) Father knows what you need before you ask him.” ^{(Matthew 6:8)} Therefore God knows your needs without question. But does He care for you? "Cast your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you." ^{(1 Peter 5:7)} “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”^{(Nahum 1:7)} “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” ^{(Psalm 55:22)} So if you ever think to yourself that God must not care about you or your needs, whether they be physical, financial, or material, know that is an attack from the enemy for the scriptures above tell you something very different. 

                  If the answer to your prayers happens to be “No”, you must understand that God sees the big picture, something we are incapable of doing. God can see the negative things that will come with that which you are asking for. If could also mean He has something better in store. God looks at everything from an eternal perspective. We look at the here and now. God has no time or space restraints. He is ubiquitous, in that He is all places at the same time by His Spirit. This what being Omnipresent means and it is one of His key attributes, along with Omnipotence (all-powerful) and Omniscience (knowing all that can be known).

                  God is never late or early, but always on time. We are easily bored, discouraged, frustrated and impatient, which makes the wait all that more painful. At times such as those our faith is being stretched. There are many things we don’t know and yet God knows it all. We need to trust that His way is the right way, and we must stop thinking and fretting about the answer that has the potential of never coming. There could be a variety of reasons known only to God as to why you aren’t receiving an answer to your prayer(s).  You must remember, without a definitive date to hang your hat on, we can never know when or even if we will receive an answer to our prayers. To know is to not exercise our faith, for faith is believing what you cannot see as if you can. And if your answer doesn’t come this side of heaven, it will come on the other side. You only think you need your answer instantly, but in reality, God knows exactly when it is needed and as said earlier, is ALWAYS on time. So chase from your mind His lack of love or understanding regarding any part of your life and / or immediate situation. He knows us far better than we will ever know ourselves. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: https://www.hopeforthebrokenhearted.com/when-your-prayers-arent-answered/

Thoughts on Healing ...

In my 2^nd installment on Healing, I am pulling info from Paul Balius’ site, ‘He Has You’. I encourage you to visit Paul’s blog (link at the bottom) when you get the chance.

There is no doubt that we can grow tired of praying for the same thing over and over, but as I pointed out in the 1^stwriting, scripture says He WILL heal you, but He never says WHEN. We pray for healing, not in the form of a command, but a request, expecting He will do it, but knowing without a shadow of a doubt that He is able to. We have the easy part in that we simply must ask for that which we wish to manifest before us or within us. We pray and leave the rest to God. One of two outcomes will take place; 1) our faith will be lifted or 2) our faith will be tested. Make no mistake about it, God never fails even when He doesn’t happen to answer with an instantaneous healing. Now instantaneous means “without any perceptible delay”. So it should be pretty obvious if it is or isn’t going to happen right away.

                  Now there are a few things we know about God. He’s not deaf, He never makes a mistake, and He will never fail to do for us that which will be for our greatest benefit and His greatest glory. God wishes to see in us a faith that believes in Him to do whatever we need done and trusts Him with His decisions, whenever they happen to materialize. “We can either worry about it or trust God with it”. ⁽¹⁾

 

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}

 

Pray in faith for the best possible outcome and go about your business believing that the wheels in heaven have begun to turn on your behalf. And don’t ever become tired of laying the same request before God each time you pray. “Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers and remember to be thankful when they come.” ^{(Colossians 4:2 TLB)}

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ^{(Psalm 56:3-4 NASB)}.  

I will write about persistence in prayer next time. Until then, walk with the King today and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.hehasyou.org

(1) Paul Balius.

Thoughts on Healing ...

     I’ve been curious about the whole healing question, regarding why some are healed by God, and some are not. I’ve decided to take a deep dive into the subject and today is my first installment.

                  For starters I looked at two different websites to see what they had to say. There are several things that I found NOT to be true about healing or the fact that one isn’t healed. It doesn’t have anything to do with God’s lack of love for you or that He arbitrarily heals whom He wills, leaving others on the outside of His healing touch. It has nothing to do with your not having enough faith. The frank and honest answer to why some are healed and some are not is that we really have no idea why. That may sound like a cop out but think about it. God heals. Scripture is flooded with verses on the subject. Faith as small as a seed no bigger than a pin head is all that is required to do great things in God’s name, so believing He will heal us is not typically the problem. Some are healed instantly, some progressively and some not at all and we have no real idea why. God says He will heal us but He never says when. We know without a shadow of a doubt that we will be healed when we arrive in heaven. It seems arbitrary to us I’m sure, but God does indeed have His reasons. 

                  We may not have a clue why someone isn’t healed, but God does. God gets blamed for far too much of the sickness and disease that we experience. We accept the fact that we do not have all the answers, but there ARE answers. Even if they are answers that we never know this side of Heaven, there are answers and they would no doubt make sense to us if we knew them. 

                  Waiting for anything nowadays is difficult for much of society. We want instantaneous gratification. We want to be healed and we want to be healed NOW. Not in a year, not in a month, not tomorrow, not in an hour, but NOW. God doesn’t work that way most of the time and He certainly doesn’t take orders from us. Inquiring minds want to know the seemingly unknowable, but answers are not forthcoming. Some are healed and some aren’t until they pass over the river Jordan, so to speak and that appears to be the reality of it.

                  I hope this sheds a tiny beam of light on the subject of healing. I’ll keep digging to see what else I can find out on the subject. Until next time, walk with the king and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: www.christianhealingmin.org, www.gospelcoalition.org

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            Anger & frustration are two very real emotions that effect everyone at one time or another. For the Christian, it’s just a matter of showing our humanness to the world. The world expects us to be perfect and judges us harshly if we’re not. But we are not perfect … far from it. At times like that I think we forget for the moment just who God is and who we are IN Him. While there is nothing wrong with being angry or frustrated in and of itself, if it festers, we start to have a problem. Our focus has shifted due to our circumstances. We have become Peter in the Sea of Galilee and we have begun to sink. Our problem is that we forget to reach out for Jesus. 

                  It’s pretty incredible that with all the reading and listening to the word we do we still end up mired in the mess at times. But we ARE very much human. We are not all we can be. We are frail and broken. We allow ourselves to be unduly influenced by this corrupt, evil, sin-sick world. We allow ourselves to be fooled by the evil forces that have lined up against us. We too easily forget why God saved us … to positively influence this world for Him and in His name; to plant and water the seeds of salvation.

                  There are many verses in scripture that speak to the issue of personal anger. Having said that we have no doubt had a personal experience or two revealing that frustration can lead to anger and not having an outlet to vent your anger can lead to frustration. Paul tells the church brethren in Ephesus to “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.” ^{(Ephesians 4:26-27)} If Satan can trip you up in a weak area of your walk with Christ, he will take full advantage of it. A couple verses down from the above verses lie this: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” ^{(Ephesians 4:31-32)} Ah, that is the kill shot right there; “as God in Christ forgave you”. We have no rebuttal to that, no reply whatsoever. God forgave us at our worst, so who  are we to judge ANYONE else?  We mustn’t compare ourselves to others, but rather to God. This will reveal to us how desperate our situation truly is. 

                  Paul’s letter to the Apostle James says the following: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, (and) slow to anger.”^{(James 1:19)} So you see that scripture references anger quite a bit. There are many more, this was just a few. You’re certainly allowed to get angry, but you aren’t supposed to allow it to elevate to the point where you step over the line and become completely un-Christ-like. Vent your anger and/or frustration with a family member, a trusted friend or your Pastor to deflate the situation. I use the term “deflate” because it can be exactly like letting the air out of a balloon.  Venting can be healthy … it can keep your blood pressure from rising to an unsafe level.  Asking God to calm you down is a very appropriate prayer at a decisive moment. Allow the love Christ has for you to spill over and put out the fiery embers of anger and frustration, thus remaining a positive, Christ-like example to those you deal with each day. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

                  

Was Jesus denying His divinity?

"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:17-18).

                  In the gospel of Mark a rich, young ruler kneels before Jesus and starts off his conversation by addressing the Lord as “good teacher”.  It’s interesting that while the ruler had a question for Jesus, the Lord’s response was focused on the fact that the ruler called Him ‘good’. Did Jesus in effect deny His being God? Why would He say what he said if He were God?

                  The rest of Jesus’ conversation with this young man was designed to reveal the man’s true heart condition and motivation. Jesus asking why the man called him ‘good’ was possibly referencing the statement in Psalm 14:3, where it says, “there is no one who does good, not even one.” Therefore, He was not denying His own deity, but rather pointing out to the rich, young ruler that he, in fact, wasn’t quite as good as he seemed to think he was.

                  The Lord continued, now about eternal life. A man had to obey the commandments to achieve eternal life with the Father. The ruler assured Jesus he had kept all the commandments since he was a child. This provided proof, as far as the man was concerned, that he was righteous, but what Jesus said next would test the heart of this man. In verse 21 it says, “You lack one thing: go, sell all you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.” Jesus was asking him to relinquish everything he owned and follow Him.

                  The ruler’s response came without him saying a word, you see, he was very wealthy and wasn’t willing to give everything up to follow Christ. With this conversation Jesus revealed the fact that the young ruler wasn’t good, but selfish, choosing to retain his material wealth over obedience to the Lord. The reality is that he can’t take his wealth and belongings with him when he dies, and those resources could one day potentially dry up. 

                  After Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles would shine a spotlight on the contrast between the law and salvation by faith. Following the law was rigid living, following Christ was filled with grace and truth. The young ruler walked away dejected, between he thought living out the law each day was the right thing to do. It was normal for Jews of that day to assume allegiance to the law was necessary to get to heaven, Jesus’ existence and ministry blew a major hole is that premise. He was the very essence of grace and truth. John  1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.compellingtruth.org

http://www.minidevos.blogspot.com

Cell: (848) 240-1293