Powerful Healing: Estoy Aqui. I am here.

August 27, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16:8 I am always aware of the Lord’s presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me GNT

Near To Me:

Visiting with a friend over the scripture, they noted how they seek to always be aware of God’s involvement. Scripture asks us to rejoice always and always be in prayer. Yet, this mindfulness of God’s action is not as easy as we would like. It is good to visit with others pursuing the same nearness and share our concerns and successes.

When Are You Here?

Now, it is one thought to say God is always near. It is much more my experience that life does not resemble His presence as much as I would like. In His presence there is fullness of joy. Many times I am not full of joy. In His presence is healing forevermore. Some days the pricks and pains of muscle and sinew and malfunctioning body do not feel healed. In His presence is a peace beyond understanding. Some moments, frantic pressures rob peace of even a stair step on which to stand to get to me.

So, when is He here and affecting me and when is He here and not affecting my condition? Yes, He is always present. That is part of our understanding of God. He never leaves or forsakes His children. Once residence is established in us, it is continual in us. And we do not always functionally and experientially realize the power of that presence of the Father.

When Are You There?

At the fast food restaurant, the question comes with every order, “Here or to go?”. Para aqui is my standard answer. For here. I like to sit and eat and not run in the car. In fact, why would I go in the restaurant to the order counter if I wanted to go? Why not just ask me with a presumptive, “You would like that for here?” If I want it to go, I then have the option to say, “No, I’d like it to go.”

When we approach God are we doing the same? God, can I have this in my life and get with You this moment or should I expect a “to go” plate and enjoy the results at some later time. Why not go to Him with the presumptive option? God, of course I’d love to enjoy You and Your presence and all the results of peace and healing and stability and strength that go with that during our time together right now.

When Are You Ready?

Of course the question is about readiness. Are we ready for God to be here?

Whew, that is a question that makes you stop and wonder. Have I reduced distraction to allow Him to speak? Have I ordered my life in a manner in which He would be pleased? Is the word of life guiding my thoughts?

Think about this one question instead of all of those. Does He want to sit down with me or does He want to take my request to go and get back with me on the road or later? Somehow, I think He always likes the sit down and converse option. “For here, for now”, is the answer I believe He speaks. We are the ones in a rush to run on the go.

For Here and For Now

He is always near for healing and hope and sanity. He is always near for peace of mind and restoration of body. Take Him at His word. Hold on to His hand for a moment and tell yourself to stop and recognize His presence.

He is near for healing.

He is near for peace.

He is near for strength.

He is near, now and here.

Pray:

Father, I’d like my time to be with you now and here.

Fill me with Your presence.

Heal me.

Peace me.

Joy me.

Estoy aqui. I am here.

Powerful Healing: Pray Over Your Good Day.

August 6, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16:5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure and provide confidence for me in my position and current standing.

Every day there are turnings in directions we do not want.

Every day there are tests to put us off course.

Every day belongs to God.

Every day belongs to health.

Every day belongs to healing.

The concept of lot is simple. Each of us has a certain portion of life assigned to us this day. We have possessions, friendships, family, positions, talents, abilities, thoughts, and passions. They are our lot. They are a good lot.

Say that over your lot. “This is a good lot. God has given me a good portion in life.”

Of course there are portions of your life that might be unhealthy and disturbing. There are relationships that are destructive and play down health and vitality. But do they belong to you or are they intruders? What about your lot that belongs to you? It is good. You may not be doing well keeping it up and allowing God to instill grace in every aspect, but it is good. It is for your good.

Now take a little inventory.

What parts of your portion or lot in life are doing well? Your attitude? Your thoughts? Some of those relationships? Some of those possessions? My truck has a dinged bumper. The truck is good. It is a pleasant portion. Right now it has a ding. The ding does not take away from the goodness of the truck. Maybe it impedes some of the utility. Maybe it does not look as grand from that view. Yet, as a whole the truck is good and it is a blessing. It needs some repair and repair it will receive. Then it will be whole and fully useful. Today it is a good truck. It is a blessing of God.

What parts of your portion or lot in life are not doing well? My weight is not where I want it. It really is doing well. I am right where the doctors would be happy. But, I want better. I want stronger. I want the best healthy ratio of body tissues and fluids. My lot is good. A year ago, it was not good. The portions of fat were out of line with what would be good for health. So I changed it. My eating changed. My exercise changed. My body changed. My mental attitude changed.

What is an area of concern? I understand I have been given talents and abilities that are not my own. What we have is to be shared and held in common for others to received. This weekend, my son and his friends shared time at our lake cabin. It brought joy to my heart to see others encouraged and strengthened enjoying our portions. Tonight, I will teach a bible study with a group of unchurched folk. What I have is meant for them. If you are not giving away your portion to others, you are unhealthy. Selfishness is a bad situation and an horrid lot in life. Don’t live there.

Security does not mean hoarding. Security means I am confident and can share and understand as much as I give, God gives more back and increases the value of what I have. By cooperating with God, protecting what we have, building on it, restoring it, and sharing it, we find absolute health and vitality in all that we have. He secures it through us and in cooperation with us.

Father, wow! You are incredible. My lot is secure in You. I have confidence in You. I am strong in You. All I have is good and getting better in You. Let me be full of unending goodness in all I am and all I have. Let me see with eyes of understanding. Let me engage with a heart to enjoy the great inheritance and portion You have provided for me.

Powerful Healing: Good Blood

August 1, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who choose another god; their drink offerings of blood will I not offer or take their names upon my lips.

Last notes were about avoidance of the bad. What about engagement with the good?

There is life in the words of our mouth and the ways of our feet. Where we go, what we say, how we act, who engages our moments, and why we do what we do directs our steps. Our steps direct our results.

Over all of that who, what, why, how, and where is God’s providence. He takes all of our living and accelerates it to the positive or allows it to the negative. There is no stationary. There is no fence to ride.

When we invoke His help through focusing on His love and energy and involvement, all of our results become stronger to the direction we need. It is good blood.

When we avoid His help through focusing on our relationships with the world and the inclusion of the greed, envy, strife, and focus on bad blood, we invite that influence into our overall results. Even a good action becomes a bad outcome and we wonder why.

So what does it mean to take a name on my lips? Out of the abundance of what we store in our hearts, our words and focus come. It is not so much about what we say and what we mull over in the depths of the quiet moments. When we fill our minds with distractive influences that have no good in them, they infect our sleeping and waking dreams and actions. We lack trust of others because we view life through jaded lenses. We resist commitment because we don’t believe others will follow through,

So the commandments of Good Blood:

Get focused on God as Creator and the Source of all blessing. Just don’t entertain any other thoughts of Him. A few acquaintances recently talked about how fearful they were of a certain manager. The manager is one of the most gracious I know. And, he believes in high accountability. These were afraid of being held accountable for the results of their performance. We can be toward God like that. We become afraid because we do not understand His grace and mercy and goodness mixed with justice and accountability. Shift. Don’t live in fear. Live in faith toward God. Come to Him in humility and acknowledgment of who He is. And remember He will always be good to you, even in correction.
Pray and appeal to Him with expectancy. Taking God’s name in vain is less about cursing than it is about useless prayer. Don’t waste His time. When you go to Him, expect results. When you talk about Him to friends, do it with joy and passion.
Be faithful to build value for others. When you borrow and item, take it back in better shape than you received it. When you work for an employer, give 100% when you are on the job. Put away your cell phone. Be a builder of value for those around you. When you speak to a friend, give them encouragement not pity.
Spend time with other believers and make sure you rest. Rest builds vibrancy. There are seven days. Take one of them to rest and recoup and worship God. Make sure you find time to meet with other believers and let the togethers heal all of your souls.
Do something to build your family and friend relationships. Go play with a friend. Do something out of the ordinary with your spouse or child or grandchild.
Talk up. It is easy to point out problems. Talk up. Point out solutions and strengths and goodness about others.
Be content with your family, possessions, home, apartment, car, and what you have around you. Quit looking for more. Settle in and enjoy.
Life, life, life. Quit contemplating death and destruction and abuse. Promote marriage and babies. Promote useful living for seniors. Encourage others to find joy in life.
Help someone who can’t help themselves in that area.

Okay, you do these things and good blood will begin to overtake you. On your worst days, you will see sunshine and life.

Father, I want that sunshine and life and good blood flowing through me. It works. You work. You are full of life. When I connect with You and Your ways, Your life flows through me to others and I can’t help be be healthier myself. Bless me, Father. Let the kingdom of Your righteousness and love stir deep in me and through me to others.

Powerful Healing: Righteousness: Path To Healing

July 25, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

Matthew 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all the rest of this will be added for you and into your care and pleasure.

Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor

Live prayer at http://youtu.be/lYZXjDHVnb4

Righteousness brings incredible blessing, restoration, and a sure footed path. Couple it with love and you find life, prosperity, and honor. Now that is a balanced and healthy life.

Life instead of disease and death.

Prosperity instead of poverty and despair.

Honor instead of disaster and depression.

Righteousness brings a powerful and balanced health to our bodies, our minds, our spirit, and our relationships.

Look at all of these promises at the end of the lesson of principle in Proverbs. There are as many that reference the righteous and we will cover those in another lesson.

What is the difference between living in righteousness and being righteous? One is a condition of principled living, the other is a state of being. In the next lesson, we’ll talk about the state of being righteous. It is attained through faith in Jesus Christ. He who never knew sin, became sin and suffered and died for our punishment so that we might be called the righteousness of God through faith in Him.

We have righteousness through our faith in God. We are accepted and stand before Him.

Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness and so it is with us.

We live righteousness when we allow the Holy Spirit to enable in us right living according to the principles and heart and mind and ways of God. It is not about law and legalism. Righteousness is a focus of the heart to follow after God’s ways. To love the Lord, Your God with all your heart and soul and might and to love your neighbor as yourself. Living in righteousness is not a condition of perfection but purpose and principle.

Righteousness is that attitude in Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” There it is in the simplest form. When we say of God that He is the source of all good things and nothing else, we invoke righteousness by faith. Give Him all honor. Give Him all praise. Give Him all glory. Give Him and His priorities first thought when making a decision. That is righteousness.

Proverbs 8:20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,

Proverbs 10:2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death

Proverbs 11:4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

Proverbs 11:6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

Proverbs 11:18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sowsrighteousness reaps a sure reward

Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.

Proverbs 13:6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people

Proverbs 15:9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

Proverbs 16:8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.

Proverbs 16:12 Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established throughrighteousness

Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way ofrighteousness

Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor

Father, here I am again and again and again. I will never cease to come to You for supply and answers and strength. Who else is there? Where else would I go?

In You are all the answers needed.

In You is all the health and life wanted.

In You I live and move and have my being.

You are all my righteousness. I am complete in You. I worship You.

Father, you have made this body of mine a temple of the Holy Spirit. Only because You call me righteous in Jesus can I live in such a manner. Cause the life of the Holy Spirit in which there is no disease, no want, no distraction from Your will and way, cause that life to stir in me today and every day and I will live complete in You and Your way and life and truth.

The Inheritance Heals: Establishing the Presence of God

July 21, 2012 by Phil Larson

Psalm 16: 5-11 NKJV

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

Full health comes with full experience of all God plans. His plan includes an inheritance and a cup. Let’s consider those in light of our healing. For our purposes let’s consider the inheritance the things outside of us and the cup thethe strengths of our heart and personality and talents inside of us. Gifts in us of God can change all the things outside of us in the world.

Our birth starts us out with a certain set of talents, personality, physical abilities, and leanings in life. Some of that was designed of God for goodness. Some of that like so much else is influenced by the curse that lives in our world. God wants to take all that we start with and bring it to greatness. Have a good outlook on how you start and allow His management and you always end up in a better place.

He promises to maintain our lot. At the lake I have four lots of equal size. Together they make up a full acre. It takes maintenance. A crack in a water line meant spending a day under my cabin with the albino spiders. That is just what needs done. Today, I enjoy the birds from my deck. They are health and peace to my soul. God gave me these lots. He placed desires in my heart 30 years ago that guide me when opportunity presents richness. He gave me a love for the outdoors. He gave me a father who always wanted an outdoor place for his children. All of that is God maintaining my lot and leading me to more peace and joy with family and friends.

He promises to maintain our lot. I was born with a skillful mind and a love for communication and people. I also was born with a significant hearing deficit. Today in some ranges I am 80% deficient. So I have learned to read faces and body language. Praying for tens of thousands of people has taught me to listen to my Father’s voice first and see great miracles. My ears don’t work in loud auditoriums at prayer lines with music playing, but my heart and spirit can easily cast off distraction and listen to the Holy Spirit. Continually, I have people send me notes on how a certain lesson pierced personally to their situation. God has maintained my lot to bring great healing and comfort and health.

The lines or boundaries of our inheritance fall in pleasant places. Oh, take that attitude! How often do we decry our situation instead of enjoy it? A simple situation can lead to great blessing. A recent change in structure at a company for which I have worked has launched me into a broad new opportunity I would have never taken. Comfort can leave us constrained. Full health comes in full expression of who we are. God will maintain your lot by giving you special opportunities to grow and enjoy life to the fullest. They will take fearless faith to embrace. Embrace them.

Yes, I have a good inheritance. Tell yourself that over and over. Drop the negative focus of judgment and criticism. An inspective attitude and propensity for detail is a blessing unless you turn negative. One can see a picture leaning to the side and straiten it or one can see the picture leaning to the side and complain about how the dry weather is affecting the building foundation. It is a choice of life or destructiveness in our heart and mouth for us and those around us.

Health and healing come with perspective and agreement with God. Grab positive agreement. Allow His hand to take your right hand and lead you into greater fullness.

Pray: Oh, Father, what a wonderful God You are. You do magnificence in all You do. Teach us to see the blessing in our present situation. Enliven in us an expectancy to do more, see more, enjoy more and have abundance to bless others. That brings healing. That brings life. That brings You into our life by invitation and open acceptance of Your love and unconditional plan of growth. Oh, how I love the life You have given.

Reverse the negatives that the world and the enemy and my own stubborn and selfish desires have created. Let me wander and wonder in You and see what plans exist to build on what is in place in my life today and bring brighter moments in my life this day. Help me to see the opportunities of today and do not worry about tomorrow.

Today there is greatness for me.

Today there is health for me.

Today there is life for me.

Today there is blessing for me.