A Fresh Start to a New Year

The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.  "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."  Lamentations 3:22-24

Have I ever told you how bad of a golfer I am? Well, it is true. I am inconsistent off the tee box, can’t chip to save my life, and putt like Herman Munster. That mixture of problems typically results in bad scores. Sometimes I just give myself an “F” for “fun” on the scorecard.

I remember one day I was playing golf with a friend. It was a typical day for me on the course, a few good shots and a lot of bad shots. After we made the turn for the final nine holes, however, something happened. I started to play better! It was like a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I am sure my friend was wondering, “Who are you and what have you done with my friend Jeff Schreve!” I was on fire!

We got to the last hole. If I shot par on that hole, I would have finished the back nine with a 40, my best score ever for nine holes. Unfortunately, as I stepped to the tee box, the body snatcher left me. The old Jeff was back, and it wasn’t pretty. I hit tree after tree on my way to a quadruple boogie. UGH!

The Healer’s in Your House!

Kenneth W. Hagin

Here the prophet Malachi is looking down through time and describing what he sees. As he gazes into the future, he sees Jesus coming with healing in His hands. He sees Jesus ministering to the sick. He sees Jesus delivering those who are bound!

As we look at these truths, we must understand that when Jesus came to this earth, He did not come empty-handed. He came with healing. That means the day of healing has dawned.

If your body is racked with pain or if you’re facing a terrible diagnosis, the good news is, there’s an end to your darkness. There’s an end to your trouble—because Jesus Christ has risen with healing in His wings!

Jesus Has Come Into Your Dark Night
Have you ever suffered through a dark night? I’m talking about a night when the pain was so great that you could not sleep. As the hours ticked away, you wondered if the sun would ever appear on the horizon again. You asked yourself, over and over, Will morning ever come?

Maybe it’s not sickness that’s plaguing you today. Maybe it’s something else. You think, “If I can just make it through the darkness, if I can just make it through the night, there will be light in the morning.”

As we live our lives and walk on this earth, dark clouds of hopelessness and despair seem to hang over us at times. Satan does everything he can to keep us in the darkness and out of the light of the Word of God. And it seems that he uses sickness and disease to rob and steal from God’s people more than anything else.

Perhaps you’ve suffered for so long that your pain and misery seem to stretch into eternity. Maybe you’re like so many people whom the enemy has told, “This is your lot in life. You might as well get used to living this way.”

But I’m telling you, the devil is a liar! The Healer has already come. The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings.

As you let the light of God shine into your life, you will rise from the darkness. You will rise from the pit of despair. And you will walk in joy and gladness instead of gloom and doom.

Jesus has risen that you might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The darkness, sickness, disease, and problems you face are only temporary if you will let the light of God shine in.

In John 8:12 Jesus said that He was the light of the world. And when the light comes, darkness is dispelled and gloom is gone. The Light of the World has risen upon you, and He’s risen with healing in His wings. As you lift up your eyes and look to Him, you can and will be delivered from the darkness!

Malachi 4:2 says when Jesus comes with His healing power, you will go free—leaping with joy, filled with life—like a calf let out to pasture.

You may never have been on a farm, but I remember my grandpa’s farm and other farms I visited as I was growing up. I would see the calves and colts that had been cooped up in the stall jumping, kicking, and running around in the pasture as soon as they were let out. They were rejoicing because they were free!

You may be cooped up in the devil’s stall of sickness and disease, but it’s time for you to go free. It’s time for you to go leaping and dancing and rejoicing, because your day of deliverance has dawned. The Sun of Righteousness has risen over your life with healing in His wings!

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[Editor’s Note: This article was adapted from Kenneth W. Hagin’s new book, The Healer’s in Your House!]

http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1786:the-healers-in-your-house&catid=170:2012-april&Itemid=564

Tears Will End in Joy

Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. — Psalm 30:5

God knows how much we can bear, and even when He chastens in the sense of punishment, He knows how much each of us can take.

It is possible that right now you are going through something awful—a nightmare. Perhaps your nightmare is because you are obedient, and it is God's way of making you more like Jesus. "For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God" (1 Pet. 2:19). But the nightmare will end.

When the nightmare is over, it could mean a restoration of honor. In Psalm 126:4 the psalmist said, "Restore our fortunes, O Lord." It could be that your good name is under a cloud. Maybe you have done something that has caused people to raise their eyebrows, or perhaps you have been falsely accused and you long to have your name cleared.

It could be a restoration of holiness. Are you a backslider? Have you been living in sin and just doing anything that your body feels like? It is not worth it.