Slaying our giants! - 1 Samuel 17

It is summer. The creek in the valley has slowed to a trickle. Tension fills the air. The Israelite soldiers fearfully gaze across the valley, at the opposing army. Suddenly they see the object of their fear, the giant Goliath, striding out to taunt them. Goliath is 9 1/2 foot tall, probably 4 foot taller than the rest. He challenges the Israelites to send out their strongest warrior to fight him, one on one.

The Israelite soldiers tremble with fear. David, a shepherd boy, has a divine appointment that day. He has experienced God's intervention before. He knows God wants him to do battle with the giant.

David clambers down to the creek, and selects five smooth stones, as ammunition for his sling. He was adept at using the sling, it was part of his skillset.  He climbs up the opposing hill, till he stands before his enemy, Goliath. David takes a stone, places it in the sling, then throws it with all his might at the giant. God guides the stone to exactly the right spot, the forehead,  and the giant is knocked senseless. David pulls the giant's sword, and slays Goliath!

Quite a story.

We all have giants in our lives.  Maybe it is the fight against addiction. Maybe it is some other issue like anger or anxiety.  Or something else.

It is Gods will that we overcome our enemy (1). This will take courage, our giant is not just going to play dead (2).  It will take standing against the enemy's attack (3).

But as with David, God stands ready to fight alongside us (4). There is a partnership principle in our relationship with God. When we draw near to God, he draws near to us (5). David said God teaches his hands to war (6). We are responsible to fight. But it is God who gives us the victory (7).

Whatever our giant,  we can overcome it, with God at our side. We were created to be slayers of giants! Both physical and spiritual.

Continue reading this blog to learn about how to deal with the issues in your life!

Keep on fighting the good fight!

Notes
1.  Revelation 3:12
2.  1 Peter 5:8
3.  Ephesians 6:13
4.  Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 1:30
5.  James 4:8
6.  Psalm 18:34, 144:1
7.  1 Corinthians 15:57

You can conquer! - 1 Samuel 14:6

1 Samuel 14:6 "... for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few"

The Philistines assembled to squelch a perceived threat from the Israelites. The Israelite king Saul and prince Jonathan commanded three thousand warriors. Only Saul and Jonathan had swords. The Philistines assembled an enormous force: thirty thousand chariots, six thousand cavalry, and warriors numbering "like the sand on the seashore". Overwhelming odds!

The Israelites hunker down on one side of a pass, the Philistines camp on the other side. The sides of the pass are steep.

Meanwhile, Prince Jonathan is a believer. He trusts God. He knows Israel is God's chosen people. Jonathan decides to step out in faith. He tells his armorbearer God is not worried by the huge size of the enemy. He will ask God to show his will by a very specific sign.

Jonathan takes a step of faith. He immediately springs into action. He and the armorbearer clamber up the opposite side of the pass. They reach the top, and now directly face the enemy. It is at this moment that God responds! He clearly answers Jonathan's prayer. Jonathan commences battle. One man against millions. He strikes down twenty warriors. But how can he destroy a whole army?

God answers Jonathan's step of faith by going to battle on his behalf. A tremor of fear goes through the enemy's ranks. The ground quakes. The Philistine warriors start fighting each other. The Israeli lookouts see the Philistine army melting away. Saul mobilizes the troops and they pursue the Philistines. God gives the Israelites an amazing victory.

We too face huge enemies. Today we face the coronavirus and many other enemies too. Like addiction, emotional issues like anger or fear. Depression and hopelessness. These enemies may seem impossible for us to conquer. But we can be sure it is God's will that we overcome these overwhelming enemies.

It takes a step of faith. Like prince Jonathan, we must recognize that God wants us to vanquish the enemy. We can't do it on our own, but God plus us are a majority! With God nothing is impossible (1). We trust God and he gives us the victory (2). The battle is the Lord's (3).

So whatever the battles we face, God is ready to give us the victory! All it takes, is a Jonathan taking a step of faith!

Will you be that Jonathan?

Notes
1. Luke 1:37
2. 1 Cor 15:57
3. 1 Sam 17:47

A Question of Fear ...

Fear ...

During the past couple of weeks we have heard a lot about fear.  At this time, it has generally centered around an unknown, the coronavirus epidemic, and a generalized fear of consequently not being able to take care of our basic physical needs, the economy going into recession, loss of our jobs, etc. There is no doubt that this current situation we are experiencing will have a lasting impact on the rest of our lives.

You yourself probably have some fears.

Is it rational to be afraid?  Sometimes, yes.  We may have a real basis for the fear.  We may be able to do something about the thing we are afraid of.  Other times, the fear may not be so logical, there may be a generalized anxiety, without a solid event as a focus.

Fear, however is fear.  Whether the basis is rational or not.

Fear is our inner reaction to something that we perceive to be beyond our ability to handle.  It is a protective reaction that keeps us from going down what could be a dangerous path.  We are alert to possible consequences, and steer clear of them.

For example, the coronavirus scare.  The fear of contracting the disease leads us to do those things which would hopefully protect us from infection.  Washing our hands with soap after being in public, avoiding touching our faces, isolating ourselves from sick people (which, because we don't know exactly who is sick, translates into self-isolating and keeping away from gatherings of people).  When we do all these things, we are not so afraid any more, because we have responded to the threat appropriately.

This is a perfectly good and commendable way to deal with the fear (1).

What can happen, though, is that we hang onto the fear.  We allow ourselves to continue being anxious, even though the thing we fear has been minimized as a threat.  We allow the anxiety to fester, our thoughts feed on it, and we can become panicky. Just like anger, if we hang onto fear or anxiety, it becomes sin (2).  This negative thinking can then depress our immune system, lowering our physical defenses, and we become more likely to become sick.

God does not intend for us to live in fear (3).  There is a reason for this.  When we allow fear to gain the upper hand in our life, we open ourselves up to be manipulated by Satan in that particular area of our life.  God tells us to actively resist the devil, and that he will then flee from us (4).

The opposite is also true. This is a battle, spiritual warfare (5).  If we do not actively resist the devil, he will be able to draw near to us (4).  Now that sounds scary.

Next post we will look at this in more detail.

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Notes:
1.  Proverbs 6:6-11.  Principle. See the coming situation and respond accordingly.
2.  James 1:14-15.  Principle.  Sin starts with temptation, which when entertained in the mind, brings forth sinful action. Fear itself is not sin, but if we allow it to continue it shows lack of faith which is sin (Romans 14:23)
3.  2 Timothy 1:7
4.  James 4:7-8
5.  Ephesians 6:10-12

A "Chance" Encounter

Last November, I ran into someone I hadn't met before, in Redding. 

I made a comment that the rain that had been forecast, had not yet come.  He said it wouldn't, he had prayed that it would not rain until after he had finished work. 

A little later in the conversation he mentioned that he had been to heaven.  I digested this for a bit.  I asked, how did you die? He said he fell down a 200 foot cliff. Broken ribs and pelvis, internal bleeding, face messed up, collapsed lung. 

The first thing he saw, was some huge feet.  He "knew" it was Jesus.  Jesus said to him that he couldn't stay, he was needed by his family. He then woke up, in the morgue.  He was lying on a table, strapped down.  He wondered how to let people know he was alive.  He noticed his dad was at the foot of the table, holding his ankles, praying.  He moved his foot.  His dad freaked out.  Doctors came, was x-rayed, no more broken bones, all was normal. 

I had once seen the picture shown with this post, but had been unable to re-find it on the internet.  Then, today, it popped up on my Facebook page.  So I am sharing it with all my friends.  That's the story behind the post ...

I suspect that maybe there is someone out there who needs to hear this!

Clothed in white!

This morning I was reading Exodus 28, where God details to Moses how the priests are to be dressed.  The description given shows no expense was spared. The colors are of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and fine white linen. Gemstones are added, large enough to engrave the names of the tribes upon. God is particular about how his representatives are dressed.

These instructions of course were for a physical priesthood. The people of Israel would clearly see the special calling of the priests. God provided special clothing for his representatives.

In the New Testament, there is no instruction that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, elders or teachers should be dressed in any particular way, different from the people around them.  Perhaps this is because basically we are all the same, sinners saved by grace (1). However, the Bible does tell us to honor those placed over us (2), that pastors and elders should receive remuneration as a mark of the honor God places on them, and the work that they do (3). So a distinction is made, not because of any particular personal goodness, but because God honors the office.

When Jesus returns and we are clothed with our spiritual body (4), we will receive garments of white (5). These white garments have a meaning attached to them, the righteousness of the saints (6).

Where does this righteousness come from?  Is it because of the elder's obedience? No, not really. Though pastors and elders are held to high behavioral standards (7), they are human and are not perfect (8).  The righteousness represented by white robes is given to each of us by grace (9).

The righteousness we receive comes through our sins having been forgiven, washed figuratively in the blood of our passover Lamb, Jesus (10).  Just as the blood of the passover lamb, painted on the door posts, protected the Israelites from death (11), similarly we are protected from the consequences of our sins (12) by the blood of Jesus, shed on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus became our passover lamb, the ultimate sacrifice (13).

In the old testament sins were forgiven by a sacrifice (14).  But the blood of animals cannot atone for sin (15). It took the blood of Jesus to accomplish this for us. This is how we receive these robes of righteousness.

"Dear Lord, thank you so much for sending your son Jesus, to become our passover Lamb.  Thank you that because of his sacrifice, I can be forgiven, cleansed of all my sins.  I ask you to forgive me, and give me a robe of righteousness, symbolically cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Thank you for this fresh start in my life. In Jesus name, amen."

Notes:
1. Romans 3:10, 23, Ephesians 2:5, 8
2. 1 Peter 2:17
3. 1 Timothy 5:17
4. 1 Corinthians 15:35-44
5. Revelation 6:11, 7:9-14
6. Revelation 19:8
7. 1 Timory 3:1-7
8. Romans 3:10
9. Romans 3:22-24
10. 1 Corinthians 5:7, Revelation 7:14
11. Exodus 12:1-14
12. Romans 6:23, Revelation 1:5
13. 1 Corinthians 5:7
14. Leviticus 4:1-35
15. Isaiah 1:11, Hebrews 10:4

I'm your God, I'm your Healer!

Exodus 15:26 "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."

There is so much sickness on this earth! So many people are ill.  Sickness comes in many forms: physical illness, emotional issues, addictions, basically anything that stops us living a healthy life.

Perhaps you are ill in some way.

In the above verse God is saying he is our healer.  He wants us to be healthy! His intention for us is not that we live in pain or torment or subservient to some kind of addiction.  His people are meant to be healthy!  This verse says that sickness is a punishment for God's enemies, but not for his children.  

So why are we sick?

We live in a fallen world, sin is rampant. Each of us have sinned, so we are a part of this.  Yet God has chosen to call us out of this mess, to become his children.  His children are whole, healthy.  They are not intended to suffer sickness. 

God reaches out to us and says, "I am the Lord that heals you!"

What God has said he will perform. "God is not a man, that he should lie" -Numbers 23:19

So it remains for us to trust that God will follow through on what he has said. His intention for us is that we live in health. We are his special children.  

We can be sure that he will respond when we ask him for the blessing of health, no matter if it be from cancer, hepatitis, diseases that affect our nerves, or other non-health issues such as depression, anxiety or anger. Perhaps we are tormented by demonic issues, God is bigger that that. He says, "I am your healer." Trust him!

"Lord thank you that you have called me into a relationship with you! I am your child. You don't want me to continue living with this illness.  I ask you to do a miracle in my life and that you would remove this affliction! In Jesus name I speak health to my spirit soul and body, and I command anything not of you, Jesus, to leave. I trust you God that you are faithful to perform your word. Thank you. In Jesus name, amen"

Possibilities, not impossibilities!

Luke 18:27 - "The things which areimpossible with men are possible with God".

Why is it that the mountains in our life often seem impossible to overcome? Why do we so often not reach for the higher goal, something that would stretch us beyond our limits?

Precisely that: we see limitations.  A limitation is like a fence, whether an immovable stone wall, a chain link fence, or deadly razor wire. It keeps us inside, while we see other people operating outside of our fence.

We tell ourselves we are being realistic. But are we? We personally are the ones who have set the limits. We based them on past words and experiences, and decided that was as far as we could go.

But God has a bigger plan for us! He gives us a hope and a future. These are things beyond our personal limitations, outside our fences, beyond what we think we can achieve. The fences have to go!

Our fences are based on our past.  God tells us to leave the past behind. Instead, reaching forward to grasp hold of the future he has planned for us!

Philippians 3:13-14 "Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

"Lord, please forgive me for setting low goals, when you have set all kinds of possibilities before me. Help me to demolish everything that stands in the way between me and your plans for me. I believe that all things are possible with you. I renounce my unbelief! Thank you Jesus! Amen".

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Someone close passed away ...

During the past two weeks, two people very dear to me passed away.  I grieve with their close family, particularly.  It is so painful when a person we love, with whom we have spent countless hours, is suddenly gone out of our life.  The hurt and loneliness is intense.

Though I was not direct family, it hit me more deeply than I expected.  First of all, Dianne's cousin died, suddenly.  I had not had a lot of contact with her and her husband, but the moments we did connect were special.  When he and I met and talked at the funeral last Thursday, the closeness was right back there again.  I grieve and pray with him as he navigates this journey.  Friday evening and Saturday I was rather depressed myself, a natural part of grieving, questioning a lot of things.

Then, a few days later I heard that my former employer had passed away on Sunday, after his second open heart surgery.  It shocked me to my core.  I was not aware of his medical condition.  I had not spoken to him in some time. And yet, it hit me hard. He had been more to me than a boss.  I had always seen him as a brother, both of us being pastors. After I heard of his passing, the words of David after Jonathan his friend had been killed, echoed round and round my head.  "How are the mighty fallen ... I grieve over you, my brother" [1].

During the last couple of days, the new reality has been settling in.  Life is different without these people there.  I am so sorry for those dear ones who are missing Darla and Rick.  I pray for your comfort.

Navigating this week personally, leads me to share with you some Bible scriptures about this subject - what happens when a loved one dies?

First of all, the Bible teaches us that we as human beings consist of spirit, soul and body [2]. The Bible describes our physical body as a tent, a temporary dwelling in which we live [3].  Another way of looking at this is that we are spirit, temporarily housed in a physical body.  When we die, this spirit goes to be with God who gave it [4]. 

The book of Revelation gives us a tiny insight into what our spirit will be like in heaven.  Our spirit will be in God's presence, able to communicate, is given a white robe to wear, will sing praise to God, is waiting for the resurrection [5].

When Jesus returns to this earth [6], the dead in Christ will be raised first, with a new glorious spiritual body [7], we who are alive will be changed, and together we will meet Jesus as he descends to this earth [8].  This is when we will be reunited with our loved ones.

There will be no more tears, pain and hurt.  The old things will have passed away [9].

Our loved ones have not departed for ever, rather we will be reunited with them and then spend eternity together, serving our Lord and King who loved us with such an amazing grace!

I pray that these words will bring you comfort as they do me, as we navigate our personal journeys of grief.

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1.  2 Samuel 1:17-27
2.  1 Thessalonians 5:23
3.  2 Corinthians 5:1-4
4.  Ecclesiastes 12:7
5.  Revelation 6:9-117.  Revelation 7:9-17
6.  Zechariah 14:3-4, Acts 1:9-11
7.  1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 40-44
8.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
9.  Revelation 21:1-5, 22:1-5

Getting to Know God

Good morning!  I want to share about something that has been on my heart for a while.  Actually, for a very long time.

When I was a 12-year-old whippersnapper, I read through the story of Abraham as described in Genesis.  I was captivated by the fact that not only did Abraham talk to God, but God actually spoke back to him!  This communication was so clear that Abram (his birthname) was prepared to leave his urban house in Ur (with hot and cold water and indoor plumbing), to go live in a tent on a one-way trek through the desert.  Without asking for confirmations (like Gideon), or dillydallying along the way.  He just did it!

God's communication must have been crystal clear.

This birthed in my heart a hunger to have this same kind of communication with God.  For a long time, this was swept under the rug, I was not in an environment where you did this.  Age 45, however, there was a huge change in my spiritual walk.  God broke through with truth, and a lot of the cobwebs were swept aside.  I learned that there were actually a lot of people who heard from God.  I started to read books about the subject, and learned to quieten myself down and be open and listening actively for God's communication.

This then started a search for God, wanting to know Him deeper and deeper.  Believe me, there have been many ups and downs along this journey, I do not consider myself particularly special, with the exception that I have a unique set of fingerprints!  However the Holy Spirit continued to carry me on, along this quest to know God. I am still on this quest.  I pray that maybe you will be inspired by my experiences, and have an amazing testimony of your own, getting to know our heavenly Father in a whole new way!

Have a blessed day!

Prepare for Battle

We are preparing for Christmas! We celebrate the birth of Jesus as a human being. Babies seem so peaceful and calm. Yet even at Jesus first coming, the enemy sought to destroy Him, the Savior of the world [1].  The Advent, or Coming of Jesus is accompanied by spiritual warfare.

Jesus birth however, was only one of two Comings prophesied.

We are on the verge of Jesus second Advent! And this Coming will be accompanied with a cataclysmic battle which will dwarf anything we have ever seen.  It will be the ultimate battle between good and evil!

At this time, the realm of darkness including Satan and his demons will be ranged alongside mankind's society in actively opposing the second Coming of the Messiah. This opposition has already started.  This is a time of Satan's wrath, and he makes war on the church [2].

Christians will be on Messiah's side. We fight against Satan. But we are only a little flock, we do not have great power of our own. We need God and His angels to fight on our behalf [3]. We stand and watch as Jesus overcomes the enemy of our souls.

The enemy is out for our destruction. Right now he is plotting how to take us down.  But we are on the Lord's side [4]. And He will ensure our victory.  God is faithful, and will not allow the enemy to succeed [5].

But time is running out. It is timeprepare for this cataclysmic battle, which will be global as well as personal. It is time to make ourselves ready.

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1. Revelation 12:4
2. Revelation 12:12
3. Exodus 14:14
4. Exodus 32:26
5. Psalm 121

There is Hope!

Around 540 BC Cyrus had issued his edict allowing the Jews to return to their homeland, thus bringing to an end their 70 years of exile.

They had gone back in joy, looking forward to a time of restoration, a new beginning and a fresh start to their lives.

They recognized their sins had led to their captivity, and were determined never to fall into that trap again.  So in an effort to get things right, they set themselves lots of rules, to ensure their obedience to God's laws.

These rules became a burden God never intended them to carry.  The rules took the joy out of their newfound relationship with their Creator.  Rules and legalism were never how God wanted to relate to His people.  Why?

Because when there are rules, we break them.  As human beings, we live in imperfection, and we sin.

And sin is bad.  Bad for us.  Bad for the people around us.  And bad for our relationship with God.  Sin separates us from our Creator.

So even though the Jews desperately wanted to turn a new leaf, their quest was hopeless.  They just did not have it in them to stay the course.

God however had a different view of this seemingly impossible situation.

Thousands of years before, He had decided to become one of us.  In doing so, He would make it possible for mankind to once again have a relationship with Him.

By becoming one of us, He would experience what it was like to have to fight against sin, day in, day out.  He would not give in to this temptation, though.  The consequence of sin is death.  As He did not sin, He did not need to die.  He chose to die for us instead.  He would pay the price on our behalf.

This would then restore mankind's relationship with God.

He would give us hope!

So, centuries later, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, and told this precious young lady that she was going to become pregnant when the Holy Spirit came upon her.  That the child she would bear was to be the Savior of the world.  That through faith in Him, our sins could be forgiven.

Instead of living a life without hope, we now have a hope that overcomes all sin, all separation from God, all pain and hurt that follows from sin.

As Paul says, "Death where is your sting!"  We now have hope for an eternity in intimate relationship with our God.  Hallelujah!

Thank you Jesus for leaving heaven, and your magnificent glory, to become one of us.  Because in you is hope!  

Welcome

Welcome to Healing Shepherd Ministries!

Dianne and I started this ministry in 2003, when the Lord was making it abundantly clear that He was sending us out to bring His healing to the broken.

There are so many broken people out there.

People who have suffered loss, people who are experiencing pain and sorrow.  Perhaps that special person has gone, through whatever circumstance, and now we are on our own.  Sometimes we have brought things on ourselves.  Sometimes we seem like a victim of the world's ugliness. 

Jesus says to us, "Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).  He says, "... He has anointed me to preach the [good news] to the poor, he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted ..." (Luke 4:18).

This is the starting point.  

We try all kinds of ways to deal with broken hearts and lives.

Alcohol, drugs, sex.

Each of these has its own hell of torment.  It looks attractive at first, but then it swallows us up. Until we break down and recognize it is not the answer.

"Come to me and I will give you rest."

Jesus is the answer.  He is the one who heals the broken-hearted.  He came to bring healing into your life too.  Sometimes he touches us and we receive healing instantly.  Other times there are things we have to do, to receive his touch.  

Things like turning away from our sin, surrendering ourselves to Him, being willing to be obedient.

But it is worth it.  He offers us rest.

If you want your life to be different, pray this prayer:

"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you paid the price for me, a sinner.  You died and gave Your life, so that my sins could be forgiven.  Would you please forgive me for my sins, whatever they may have been.  I realize that nothing is too big for you to forgive.  Please remove my guilt.  I need a fresh beginning.  I need your rest.  Thank you that you have not given up on me.  In Jesus' name, amen."

You may have prayed this prayer before, and later turned away from God.  No matter what has happened, no matter what you have done, or where you have gone, it is never too late to turn back.  Jesus heals the broken.

It is amazing to have a fresh start!

Pastor Gerry

A Life Well Lived - Pastor Bruce Ingle

Loving Pastor and Chaplain Bruce Ingle unexpectedly passed away Tuesday evening April 4, from a heart attack.  He has gone to be with the Lord, leaving his wife Debbie, children Sherry and Nathan and their spouses Matthew and Heather, numerous grand-children, siblings and extended family.  We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, grieving with them over their tragic loss.  We look forward to the day when we all will see Pastor Bruce again, at Jesus´ return.

Pastor Bruce was a man who walked closely with his God.  He was an inspiration to me personally, when my wife and I became pastors here in Susanville.  Shortly after our arriving here, I asked to meet with him, and he told me about the early years of his pastoring at Gospel Tabernacle.  The Lord told him it would be five years before he would start to see the results of his labors.  Pastor Bruce accepted this and persevered through an extended period of hardship in the church.  It was five years to the day before growth became apparent.  God was faithful to His word, and Gospel Tabernacle today occupies a meaningful place in the Susanville Christian community, a testimony to a faithful God and a faithful servant.

You see, Pastor Bruce knew Jesus as his personal friend, as well as his Lord and Savior.  In this relationship, God gave him a vision not only for pastoring Gospel Tabernacle, but also for reaching the community.  Pastor Bruce asked the Lord to show the way, and not long after he received a letter from Sheriff Bill Freitas, inviting him to become the chaplain for Law Enforcement in this area.  He was happy to accept, seeing it as God´s calling, and he served our law enforcement community gladly.  This meant he would spend countless hours standing by our police and fire department personnel, sharing their grief for fallen friends, listening to their stories and extending the love of Jesus by being there for them in their times of need.

Pastor Bruce lived life well.  His life was interwoven with his relationship with God.  His legacy lives on in his family, his church and every single life he touched with God´s grace and compassion.  He fulfilled the call on his life, to pastor, and make a difference in the community.

Thank you, Pastor Bruce, for a life well-lived.  Till we meet again.