11-23-2014

Good Morning All,

          Exodus 15: 26; “saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

    I remember watching a movie a few years back where the hero of the movie was a young man who couldn’t stand to be in sunlight.  He always wore clothes that covered his entire body.  He would wear long sleeves, a hat, gloves, and a scarf all in an attempt to keep the sunlight from hitting his skin.  He would get blistered burns wherever the sunlight would hit.  Because of this he was something of a recluse, shy and a little timid.

    What he did possess was the ability to heal living creatures, birds, animals and people.  For the most part, he kept this talent hidden until one day he met a girl and fell in love.  Eventually, she falls ill and he must withstand the sunlight in order to get to her and heal her.  He suffers burns over his face and hands and arms and in the end; he dies from his wounds.  He died saving his girlfriend from death.  It was a sad movie.

    The ability to heal would be a remarkable gift.  If one could remove pain or suffering just by touching another person, you could do a lot of good for many, many people.  That is why our verse can be such a comforting verse for us.  God is our healer and he uses the name of Yahweh (LORD) here to show us that he does indeed get his hands dirty in our lives healing us from the spiritual devastation that sin causes.

    The people would have been used to shamans and other false healers who would have let the sick person down time after time.  For them to have a real healer who would cure them; gave them great joy and comfort.  God was their comfort and. in a very real sense; he healed them of what they suffered from.

   We too, have this great joy and comfort in our life.  God is our healer.  He heals us emotionally, spiritually, within a relationship and often times in a physical sense as well.  God heals us so that we may be whole.  We can have confidence that God will hear us and send us his Spirit of hope and compassion.  We can trust that God, who did not spare his Son, will give to us healing. God will make us whole, make us part of the kingdom of heaven restoring us, healing us and making us whole again.   God is our healer and we can have faith that, through his grace we are being made perfect and whole.

Father of mercy, in your arms we have healing.  Send your Spirit upon your children that they may know the completeness of your mercy.  Be with those who are broken and are suffering.  Give them the certainty of your incredible grace and heal their hearts to know the love that you give them.  Heal their spirits that they may know peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.      

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret