Stories of Blessings…

John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

What do you see when it comes to healing for your sick body, restoration for your failing marriage or breakthroughs for your financial woes? Do you see a finished work or a work that is yet to be completed?

God wants you to know that what you desperately need Him to do for you has already been done! Jesus’ finished work at the cross so satisfied the Father’s heart that from heaven’s throne came the pronouncement, “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17) in response to Jesus’ cry on earth, “It is finished!” So God wants you to have this revelation that whatever you need Him to do for you has been done because Jesus has accomplished it all for you.

You are not waiting to be healed — your healing has been accomplished. You are not going to receive restoration for your marriage or a breakthrough in your finances — your restoration and breakthrough have been accomplished. You are not going to die from any lack — you have been abundantly supplied. All these things have been accomplished, not by you, but by Christ alone!

If you are bothered by a pain in your body, God wants you to see your healing finished or accomplished for you by His Son’s death on the cross. If it is a loss or debt you face, or a certain sin you are struggling with, my friend, believe that your provision, restoration and deliverance have been accomplished or done for you.

Don’t worry about what you see or feel, or the presence of contradicting reports. These are lying symptoms and though they may seem very real, they are temporal and not the truth. God’s Word is the truth and it will remain because it is eternal. And when you believe that only what God’s Word says about your situation is the truth, all the lying symptoms will eventually line up with His Word.

God the Son says, “It is finished!”

God the Father says, “It is done!”

What do you say?

Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Lifting up your hands and thanking God is spontaneous and easy when you have just received a wonderful blessing. Perhaps you came so close to being killed, but God protected you and plucked you out of danger just in time. Or your grandmother, an unbeliever for many years, finally received Jesus as her Saviour and got healed of a long-term disease.

But there are times when you don’t feel like lifting up your hands to thank and praise God — yet you do it!

Perhaps you feel very discouraged lately. Perhaps everything is going wrong for you and you feel like you are not in control of your life. You can’t even control your tears. Still, you make a conscious decision to lift your hands and thank God for being in the situation with you. You open your mouth and begin to praise Him even though you really don’t feel like doing it.

In the midst of the trial that you are going through, you praise Him that He is your righteousness in spite of all the mistakes you have made. You thank Him that He is your Prince of Peace, and that He will bring His peace into you and His calm into your chaotic world.

God sees and appreciates such times when, despite feeling so discouraged and depressed, you offer a freewill thanksgiving offering to Him. In fact, your thanksgiving during such times is more highly prized by Him than your thanksgiving during those times you are feeling joyful because you have just been blessed.

And when you choose to thank Him for His unfailing love and His faithfulness to deliver, protect and provide for you even when you don’t see it yet, before long, you will find yourself experiencing and enjoying the blessings! So lift your hands and praise the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever! (Psalm 106:1)

Melbourne just had their Youth Alive Rally at the Rod Laver Arena this evening and I was kindly invited by my classmate to attend it with some of her friends. The beginning parts were too noisy for my liking. It sounded like KISS or Metallica was in the house and I couldn’t hear a word the band was singing or actually more like screaming. I took out my MP3 player in an attempt that my Hillsongs will block out the music but even when my earphones on at max volume, it still failed miserably. I still couldn’t hear Darlene or JD at all. It was THAT loud… anyways, that’s not what this blog entry is about…

There were many singing performances, many dance items, a few sermons but what really blew my mind away was this Tuesday I was having brunch with my Planetshakers caregroup leader Juni, we were talking about our Youth Pastor Michael Guglielmucci (one of the most sought after Youth Pastor in Australia) how he contracted bone cancer or some sort, how he became so sick suddenly, how he broke about 10 of his bones just attempting to speak at this year’s Planetshakers Conference in the early part of 2007. How he’s just been keeping such a low profile and how sad it is for us to see and illness strike such a wonderful man of God down.

Guess what…?

This evening he walked up unto the stage well and healthy, saying that he had a dream, he and a vision that he went to a particular Pastor’s service (so sorry I can’t remember the name of the Pastor he mentioned) and got healed. He woke up from the dream and told himself, what has he got to lose but to go attend that one service and see what God will do? What’s the worst that can happen? Break some more bones? Pastor Michael Guglielmucci was already so broken and in so much pain that it really didn’t seem to matter that if he suffered more… so he followed his heart and had the faith in God that his dream will become a reality and faithful as our God is, He received his healing and let me show you his words from his “MySpace”…

HEY GUYS!!!! INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!! THE HEALING PROCESS HAS BEGUN!!!! ON MONDAY I WENT TO JOHN WESLEYS CHAPEL IN BRISTOL. AS I STOOD IN WESLEYS PULPIT GODS POWER TOUCHED MY BODY!!!! TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT. I LEFT MY WHEELCHAIR THERE!!!! MY BACK IS HEALED, MY HIPS ARE HEALED, MY LEGS ARE HEALED!!!! I STILL HAVE PAIN IN MY UPPER BODY BUT IT HAS STARTED!!!! PRAISE AND GLORY TO THE KING OF ALL KINGS!!!! MY SAVIOUR, MY PORTION, MY FREEDOM, MY HEALER!!!!!

I rest my case… what more need I say but

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD !

Its been a really long time since I had a week like that, 5 days of basking in the presence of God. What more can a gal ask. Looking back its been amazing the things that had happened leading up to this day and how the 5 days was God’s assurance and confirmation on the things He wants me to do for Him in my life. Now that I’ve started on my counselling programme. I’m just really really excited about the many days, weeks, months, years to come just doing His work.

Here’s some highlights from the best week of my life… Enjoy…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie-Rp9gT2GM

Hebrews 8:10
“… and I will be their God, and they shall be My people…”

When God says, “I will be your God,” that is a declaration that He will work miracles in your life. So if it is a miracle you need, it is a miracle you will get!

If there is a huge sea blocking the way to your blessing and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that He will open the sea for you so that you can receive your blessing.

If you are poor and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that you will be well-provided for. Since God fed nearly three million Israelites in the wilderness every single day for 40 years, you can be sure that God will provide for you too.

If you are sick and God says, “I will be your God,” it means that He is going to be “the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26), and you will be healthy. 

If you have incurred a huge debt and God says to you, “I will be your God,” it means that He will bring about a supernatural cancellation of your debt.   

But not only does God say, “I will be their God,” He also says, “they shall be My people”.

To be God’s people means to be the protected ones. Not all on earth are God’s people — only you and I who are redeemed by the blood of Christ. During times of uncertainties, God says to you, “You shall be My people.” This means that you are protected from all pestilences, plagues, attacks and destruction.

Even when you hear people say that the economic crisis is coming, God says to you, “You shall be My people.” This means that you don’t have to worry or be anxious. The crisis will not affect you. Regardless of the situation in the world, you are protected and you will walk in the blessings of God.

God’s power comes into every challenge you face when He says to you, “I will be your God and you shall be My people.” You will experience the supernatural life. Your part is to believe what He declares and act like it is so!

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

God’s Word tells us that we can have what we ask for in prayer — by simply believing that we already have it!

As you are praying, know that you already have your answer, miracle or breakthrough. The Bible tells us that we already have whatever we are praying for because we are already blessed with all blessings in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

And you are in Christ the moment you received Him as your Saviour. So when you pray, you are actually releasing your faith to lay hold of what you already have in Christ. And as you keep saying that you have it already (Mark 11:23), you will see the manifestation of it in the natural realm.

In one of our church camps, a church member shared about her back problem of 15 years as a result of a fall from her rooftop. She needed an operation for the shooting pains in her tailbone. She had also been taking anti-stress pills for five years.

After coming to church, she realised that she had already received her healing through the finished work of Christ. Refusing the operation and even the pills, she would rebuke the pain which kept coming back, saying, “In Jesus, I believe I am healed. I am not trying or going to be healed. I am already healed. I have a brand new backbone for I am in Christ. For as Christ is, so am I in this world.” It was not very long before this sister saw the manifestation of her healing.

Sometimes, the devil will try to bring back symptoms of the sickness or lack to make you feel and think that you still have not received your blessing. That is the time to release your faith and believe that you have it already. You are not confessing to get it, you are confessing because you already have it in Christ!

by Max Lucado

John didn’t know on that Friday what you and I now know. He didn’t know that Friday’s tragedy would be Sunday’s triumph. John would later confess that he “did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead” (John 20:9).

That’s why what he did on Saturday is so important.

We don’t know anything about this day; we have no passage to read, no knowledge to share. All we know is this: When Sunday came, John was still present. When Mary Magdalene came looking for him, she found him.

Jesus was dead. The Master’s body was lifeless. John’s friend and future were buried. But John had not left. Why? Was he waiting for the resurrection? No. As far as he knew, the lips were forever silent and the hands forever still. He wasn’t expecting a Sunday surprise. Then why was he here?

You’d think he would have left. Who was to say that the men who crucified Christ wouldn’t come after him? The crowds were pleased with one crucifixion; the religious leaders might have called for more. Why didn’t John get out of town?

Perhaps the answer was pragmatic; perhaps he was taking care of Jesus’ mother. Or perhaps he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Could be he didn’t have any money or energy or direction … or all of the above.

Or maybe he lingered because he loved Jesus.

To others, Jesus was a miracle worker. To others, Jesus was a master teacher. To others, Jesus was the hope of Israel. But to John, he was all of these and more. To John, Jesus was a friend.

You don’t abandon a friend? not even when that friend is dead. John stayed close to Jesus.

He had a habit of doing this. He was close to Jesus in the upper room. He was close to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was at the foot of the cross at the crucifixion, and he was a quick walk from the tomb at the burial.

Did he understand Jesus? No.

Was he glad Jesus did what he did? No.

But did he leave Jesus? No.

What about you? When you’re in John’s position, what do you do? When it’s Saturday in your life, how do you react? When you are somewhere between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph, what do you do? Do you leave God? or do you linger near him?

John chose to linger. And because he lingered on Saturday, he was around on Sunday to see the miracle.

For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: theref ore my heart faileth me.

Church made Sue feel uncomfortable. She wanted to be there, but she felt so unworthy. Just sitting in the church made her feel like a hypocrite. She asked forgiveness for her sins, and she believed that God gave it to her, but there was so much to forgive. All her life, she had been told that God was great and that human beings were unworthy of the attention He gave them. Sue figured she must be about the most unworthy of all.

Too often we come before the Lord with the feeling that we shouldn’t be there. True, we have sinned, but God does not want us to dwell on the fact that we have sinned, but that we have been forgiven, and that we are His chosen people. The love of God is greater than any sin we might commit. God makes us able to look up, because He lifts the burden of guilt from our shoulders.

Prayer:

Your grace has made me worthy, Lord. What I could not do on my own, You have done for me. Thank You, Father, from the depths of my soul. Amen.

He brought me out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.

Gina held onto the branch for dear life. The floodwaters swirled around her, pulling at her, threatening to carry her off in the raging torrent. The pouring rain blinded her, and large clumps of mud kept bumping into her. Her arms ached and throbbed. The last of her strength gave out, but as she let the branch slip through her fingers, a strong hand gripped her wrist. Gina felt herself slide up onto the bank of the swollen river, and she spread herself out to feel the firm ground beneath her.

There are days that feel like a struggle for life. How wonderful it would be to have someone come along and lift us up out of the struggle. God can do that. His Spirit renews and strengthens us. Through the loving power of God, we are pulled out of the darkest pit and set upon solid ground.

Prayer:

Lord, hear me as I call out to You. Whether my prob lems are huge or tiny, I find I need Your help to get me through. Pull me up into Your loving arms, and surround me in Your love. Amen.