Psalm 91:10 “…. neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

The advertisement has begun. It is the annual ritual of inviting people to take the flu shot. It reads thus: “Live healthy, take your flu shot.” I am not against flu shot. Taking flu shot is not a sin and it will not give you the “mark” of the beast. It may be good. But there is a shot that is better and more guaranteed to work at all times and for all seasons than the flu shot. It is the Word Shot. I am encouraging you today to take the shot of God’s word for all round health and healing. God’s word is the most powerful medicine available; in fact, it heals with no side effects, and there is no fear of overdose. God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It is like a hammer that breaks the rock (Jeremiah 23:29). The universe was swung into existence by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3) and same universe is being held in place by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). God sent His word then to heal His people (Psalm 107:20); he is still sending His word today to heal His people. God’s word is health and healing to our bodies (Proverbs 4:20-22). God’s word can restore our health and heal both our physical and emotional wounds (Jeremiah 30:17; Psalm 147:3). Remember that God’s word is life (John 6:63). One way to take the Word Shot is by saying with your mouth and believing with your heart that by the stripes of Jesus Christ you are healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24), and no plague will come near you (Psalm 91:10).

Matthew 6:34 NLT “So, don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

The root word for “worry” means “to choke” or “to strangle.” Worry can ruin your day. It can ruin your week. It can ruin your month. Actually, worry can ruin your life. Worry hurts us and chokes us out. It is time to stop worrying and start praying. I understand that we have situations in life that can make us to worry, but I am reminded of the words of Apostle Paul: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7 NLT). When you worry about the future, you cripple yourself in the present. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its joy and strength. Even when things are going well, we start worrying that something is going to go wrong.  Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34 NLT). We need to develop the conditioned reflex of turning worry into prayer. When worry creeps in, when panic hits, stop and pray right away. Bring every thought of worry into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5). Remember, God is in control of your life, so cast your cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7), in prayers!

 

Luke 5:5 “….. nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

The Christian life is that of faith (Romans 1:17, 2 Corinthians 5:7). Simply put, faith is the confident belief in God’s promises. If you want to experience the blessings of the finished work of Jesus Christ, you must realize that it starts with faith. This faith comes by hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17) and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) or receive from God (James 1:6-8). When we step out in faith, God honors our movement and He steps in with power to bring our expectation to realization. Peter walked on water when he stepped out of the boat in faith (Matthew 14:28-29). Peter caught a great multitude of fish when he stepped out in faith and let down his net at the instruction of Jesus, despite every contradictory evidence (Luke 5:5-6). The Ark of the Covenant, the glory of God’s presence with the Israelites, was brought to the edge of the Jordan. As soon as the priests stepped into the river, the waters stopped flowing, piling in a heap upstream. A path opened for the people to follow, and the entire Israelite nation passed through the dry riverbed to the opposite shore (Joshua 3:15-17). God acts when we step out in faith. A lot of people have the idea that if something is God’s will for them to have that it will just automatically happen without any effort or involvement on their part. Not so! We have to cooperate with God. We must believe what He says. We must resist doubt and fear. To walk in the fullness of blessing God desires for us, we must fight the good fight of faith. Rise up and step out in faith. You cannot have victory if you are seated in self pity or if you have given up in your mind!

 

 

2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 NIV “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

There is a sizeable number of people who are convinced they are too evil for God to help, or they have problems that are too big for God to handle. They seem to have more faith in their inability than they do in God’s ability. They seem to have more faith in the problem than they do in God. This happens when we focus on the problem, instead of looking to God who is the solution. As long as we focus on the problem and let it consume our attention, we will have faith in it to defeat us. We will forget “the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4 NIV). We have a choice on what we focus our attention on, in times of crisis. So, no matter how urgent the problem biting at your heels may seem, God’s answer for you is to look up and focus on His provision. God is bigger than any problem you face and can deliver you from any situation, no matter how bad it is. The devil tries to get us to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings, instead of focusing on Jesus and His ability to carry us through to victory. Whenever the focus is pointing to us, instead of pointing to God, you can be assured the devil has some involvement in those thoughts. You have to make the choice to focus your attention on God instead of on yourself and your problems. Instead of thinking of how evil you are, focus on how good God is. His goodness is more than enough to overcome your evil. Instead of looking at what you lack, look at all God has. And remember He is your Father and He loves you. Have faith in God!

ACTS 20:24 NKJ “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Every now and then, believers are tempted to give up on their faith in God whenever the least thing seems to go wrong in their lives. The Apostle Paul suffered many things: beatings, stoning, and shipwreck, yet he called them “light afflictions”, (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 2 Corinthians 4:17). We are enlisted in God’s army, and we are in a battle to enforce the defeat of Satan and free men from his grip. The devil is against us. While we know our victory is sure, we should not expect to never face obstacles or difficulties (2 Timothy 2:3). Let us constantly remind ourselves that there is a life in heaven and a future world. We would be unwise to live as if this life is all there is. While we are on earth to occupy victoriously till Jesus comes, we should not forget eternity and focus only on the present. We must hold on to our faith in God, no matter how things seem to be going at the present. Because of our limited understanding, our ability to evaluate things accurately is limited. Our wonderful Lord Jesus can be trusted. He loved us enough to die in our stead, so we could go free. We must be determined not to be moved by things our enemy does to get us off our faith in God’s Word, for we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We should not be moved by what we see. We should not be moved by what we feel. We should be moved only by what we believe. We believe the Word of God.