Raised from the Dead

Is healing for us today? I believe it is. There are some who believe that the power to heal went out with the days of the apostles. I have seen too many instances of God’s miraculous power to accept this. Allow me to tell you about one of them.

After church one Sunday I went with my brother John and his family to the beach in Gulfport, Ms. When we got to the beach the tide was out so we decided to wade out as far as we could. We were at a place called Moses Pier. At that place you can go out quite a distance from shore during low tide. Once the tide started to come in we had to hurry to beat it back to the shore.

As we neared the beach someone began to yell, “There is a man in the water.” My brother and another man hurried back to see. There was a man unconscious in the water near the end of the pier. The man, whom I will refer to as Jack Smith, had dove off of the pier into three feet of water. They began to pull him back to shore with John asking if anyone knew CPR. The man who was helping John pull Jack out of the water was yelling the whole time, “don’t bother, this man is dead”. They got him to the beach and someone began to do CPR. It was evident after a few moments that CPR was not working. There were two nurses at the scene who also said he was dead.

John knelt down and put his hand on the man’s chest and began to pray saying, “Not now Jesus. Please don’t let this man go into eternity”. In a few minutes he felt the man’s heart beat one time. Then it began to beat more steadily. When the ambulance crew got there the man was still unconscious but he was alive.

When the beach patrol showed up, one of the policemen  identified the man as Jack Smith and said he was an alcoholic. He implied that we should have left him in the water to drown. My brother looked at him and said, “Man you don’t know what I was before God changed my life.” No one is beyond the reach of God’s love.

Later John was able to visit Jack in the hospital. He was paralyzed from the neck down but conscious and able to talk. He thanked John for praying for him and helping to get him out of the water. I don’t know where Jack is today but this event will be forever imprinted on my mind as a testimony to the miraculous power of our God. I can honestly say I have seen someone raised from the dead.

The Religion of Gnosticism

II Timothy 6:20 - O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge -
21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

The word for knowledge in this scripture (KJV says science) is the Greek word gnosis. From gnosis we get the English word Gnosticism. Gnosticism is the belief that man can educate himself into a higher moral plain. The more he learns about the mysteries of the universe, the better off he will be. While this may sound appealing to the intellectual among us, it is a dangerous thought process. Simply put, it equates man to the status of God.

If man is God, then he has no one to which he must answer for his deeds. If this is so, then there would be no moral absolutes. Without moral absolutes, then what is right and wrong are left up to the individual. There is nothing to say that Hitler was wrong; if he believed he was right, then he was.

The logical end to Gnosticism is chaos, a world without order. The world system of our day has convinced many that Christianity is outdated. Some would say it binds us to the dark ages. Others would say that the teachings of the Bible contradict modern science (gnosis). The Bible never contradicts true science or true knowledge. It only contradicts that which is falsely called knowledge. I would rather stick to that which has been proven true again and again. I would rather believe the word of God. It is true knowledge!

Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

God Bless,

Sullivan Jones

The Whipping Boy

Isaiah 53: 5 -But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The Whipping Boy is a children's story by Sid Fleischman about a young spoiled Prince. He is always into something worthy of a whipping. But because he is the crown Prince no one can lay a hand on him. Instead another young boy is taken from the streets and beaten in his place. It almost sounds too ludicrous to be believable but history is full of such idiosyncrasies. Such things are known to have happened in times past.

The Bible tells us about another Prince. This Prince, though not guilty of any wrong doing, took the punishment for the pauper. It is the exact opposite of Fleischman's story. You and I were worthy of death because of sin. But God in his mercy provided a sacrificial substitute. Jesus Christ, the Crown Prince of heaven, suffered and died in our place so that we could be spared the pain, suffering, and mental anguish associated with our guilt.

 Not only does Jesus blood wash away our sins, but it makes provision for the healing of our bodies, minds and spirits as well. If you need something from God, the blood of Jesus makes it possible. You need never fear being rejected because of past failure or feelings of unworthiness. If there is sin in your life, you can confess it and God will wash it away. If you need healing, you can claim the promises of Isaiah 53.

At the end of Fleischman's story the "whipping boy" is elevated to the status of a Prince and lives in equality with the king's own son. In the same way, we have been adopted into the family of God and make sons and daughters of the king. We are paupers no more. Jesus bought our freedom - enjoy the benefits.