Recovering

Getting over a nasty near-cold which although it didn't overpower me has left me feeling a might weak. This has happened in the past whenever I get bronchitis. I hate colds! In the future, however, I hope to so open my mind to the possibilities of the greatness of the gospel that I stop thinking of this kinda thing as "normal for me."

Thoughts on a couple of things -- yeah, I know...been procrastinating and spent the last three days making youtube videos. Or just go to the url: http://www.youtube.com/user/scifiwritir

So...other thoughts:

John said, "There are also other things that Jesus did that if they were written the world would not hold all the books. But these are written to show you that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten son of God." <-- That's the basic line depending on what translation you have.(yeah, I'm too lazy to open my Bible which is just two feet away)

This means that what the Bible says about Jesus is true and that the Bible has the truth but is not complete, and yet if someone comes up with anything else that Jesus is supposed to have done, we have to challenge it...especially if this particular new gospel has something that says Jesus is not the only begotten son of God.

Anyway, I got to thinking. IF Jesus did alllll that stuff, why do the gospel writers seem to hone in on those particular miracle stories and events? John's gospel aside, Why do they all mention the same specific stories if there were many folks raised from death, healed of blindness, muteness, etc? Okay, John says these particular events were chosen to show that Jesus was -- IS-- the son of God. So the miracles like the healing of Jairus daughter, the woman with the issue of blood, etc...are all "signs" that point to something even more wonderful than the regular healings. And let us not forget that even the raising of Lazarus only told by John and casually mentioned in the other gospels. (Okay, maybe Lazarus was still alive and Matthew, Mark, Luke didn't want to get Lazarus in trouble cause the priests were out to kill him. Maybe by the time John wrote his gospel, Lazarus was safe.) But it does make a person think. When Jesus was asked by John's disciple if he was he that would come or "look we for another?" Jesus' response was to continue healing people then to point John's spiritual gaze to Isaiah's prophecy. He replied "Look at all the people I have healed. The deaf, the dumb, the blind, and the dead are raised to life." So I'll have to say that these particular miracles definitely show that the Isaiah prophecies and Jesus' miracles show Jesus's view of Scripture and Scripture's view of Jesus.

But he healed many blind folks and many deaf folks...why those specific people? Well as we look on the miracles they do seem to teach a lesson, give a sign, in addition to healing. The healing of the "moonstruck" boy shows among other things that one can believe and not believe at the same time, that sometimes God's people (the disciples) have problems healing something in some case that they had no problem healing at another time. I mean, these same disciples had gone out with the seventy and had been casting out demons, so now suddenly they have this problem.

And the story of the woman with the issue of blood certainly shows that a person can be healed by touching Jesus without Jesus even doing anything. Just getting caught in the virtue of healing.

The healing of the Centurion's servant shows that the authoritive word of healing can be spoken at a distance.

And the story of Jairus daughter certainly shows that if one wants a miracle one should not say anything faithless and one should get rid of the unbelieving folks.

The story of the blind man healed outside of Bethsaida shows that sometimes in order to be healed -- cause Chorazin, Nazareth, and Bethsaida were some unbelieving towns-- and when one is in such a situation...best to get out.

The healing of the paralyzed man shows the power of intercession.

The story of the man at the pool shows that we can be healed if we look at God and not at the device we think God has given us to healing. And, like the raising from death of the widow's dead son, it shows that Jesus is so compassionate that he initiates healing even if one has not asked for it.

So yeah, some great stuff in those specific stories.

I also got to thinking about Jesus in Nazareth. The gospel writer says, Jesus could not do any mighty works there....except that he healed a few sick folk." Wow, even a healing of a few sick folk would constitute a mighty work for little old me.

I also got to thinking about televangelists and the words -- in Proverbs, in Ecclesiastes, in the epistles-- that in much talking there is a tendency to sin. Okay, I'm rolling my eyes now but honestly, it seems to me that the evangelists seem to believe that they must deliver "product" and they spend a lot of time hawking the greatness of their "product." Always some new revelation, some new CD, etc. Their sins of arrogance and smugness aside -- not all of them are bad, mind you. I love Andrew Wommack and Sid Roth's Messianic Vision It's Supernatural-- but honestly, it all feels sometimes like they've been to Walmart annual salesmanship meetings.

And it just gets me more cynical of all their revelations. Heck they all seem to get the same revelations about the same thing so I think they're listening more to each other than to God. Give me a televangelist who has a taped show and plays it once a week, than one of the daily ones. I can see the scurrying for product, the need to make more money to pay for airtime, the addiction to fame, the greed for money. Am I just being cynical here? No. The Lord tells us to be discerning.

Anyway...feeling like crap but trusting God to make me stronger. His healing word is within me working mightily.
-C