Trust and Obey!
Trust and Obey!
LaDonna 0:00
Welcome to Healing Waters – The Podcasts!
I am LaDonna Sanders, here to remind you that God wants you well in your mind, body, soul, and spirit!
III John 1:2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
Join me as we check out what good news our creator has to say in today's Healing Waters Devotional!
LaDonna 0:27.9
Healing Waters - Day 55
Acts 9:32-35 - Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." Then he arose immediately. So, all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
In Healing Waters - Day 54, I shared with you that Paul, whose previous name was Saul, was once a Christian Terrorist. At the height of his terrorism, Acts 8:3 says, "he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison." This threat of persecution prompted the scattering of many Christians, including the Apostles. This scattering led to the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached in new territories, like other regions of Judea and Samaria. When we reach our devotional text, Peter has left Samaria to go to Lydda. He finds a certain man named Aeneas and says, "Jesus Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." The man is paralyzed and has been bedridden for years, eight years to be exact. The man didn't explain his condition to Peter, and he did not ask for assistance from others. The devotional text says, "Then he arose immediately." Peter's proclamation of Jesus and Aeneas's act of faith and obedience caused people in two areas, Lydda and Sharon, to turned to the Lord. The devotional text says, "so all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord."
Friends, our commission has not changed. The goal is to promote the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and we are all invited to participate. Some of us have been called and assigned to proclaim the Good News like Peter, and all of us have been left with the challenge to believe and act on that Good News when heard, like Aeneas. It takes faith and courage to do both! Each time Peter opened his mouth to speak about Jesus, he ran a risk of being rejected, imprisoned, persecuted, and even death. And Aeneas, like many of us, could have taken inventory of how long things have been a certain way and his current state of paralysis. For Aeneas, the paralysis was physical, but you and I both know that sometimes we, too, are unable to move further and progress in life due to grief, health, trauma, emotional, spiritual, and financial problems. Many of us are paralyzed by our past and current circumstances! In today's devotional text, the Lord wants you and Me to know that faith in His Word and obedience brings freedom! The text encourages us to believe God's Word instead of what we see, how we feel, and how long things have been a certain way. We are encouraged to act on God's words, understanding that our obedience can usher us into new levels of personal abundance and freedom. When we, like Peter, move-in boldness to obey God's commission, despite the threats of rejection or persecution, God is glorified, and people's hearts are affected. Whole cities can turn to the Lord!
I can't speak for you, but sometimes, I am met with the challenge of both. Every time I write a devotional, play, book, or piece of music, I struggle with the fear of rejection. Will people understand what I am trying to convey? Will my work be met with rejection and negative criticism? Sometimes I procrastinate and am paralyzed by the opinions of people! I know that is not good, but that is my truth! Freedom from that fear and procrastination only comes when I decide to move pass the fear, believe God's Word, and act on it!
James 2:23-26 – And the Scripture was filled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him
(credited to his account) for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (NKJV)
Active faith honors God! A faith that is alive opens the doors to freedom and new life! Believing God's Word and acting on that belief can change whole cities and cause people to turn to the Lord because it is a faith that includes works; it is not dead! Belief plus action, belief plus obedience is the equation, and it must become the mode of operation we adopt! Friends, we must start again to believe God and act on what He has said. Only then will we experience personal freedom and the changes we long for in the world around us. Let's stop worrying about how long things have been a certain way. Let's push pass our fears and the past. Let's believe God's Word. Let's do what God has asked and then trust Him with the rest! My friends today, let's trust God and obey!
Let's Pray
Father, today we praise you, and we thank you for your Word! In our text today, Peter spoke your Word with boldness. He said, "Jesus Christ heals you," and the man immediately got up! Lord, we need your healing today as well, and we have seen and heard in your Word that you can touch our lives in such a way that changes us forever. He heals us, O God, today by your Holy Spirit!
Cause us to arise and make our beds, by your Holy Spirit dear Lord, give us the strength and the courage to move out of our beds of fear and sickness. Help by your Holy Spirit to move out of the beds of our past. Help us only to believe! To believe your Word, for it declares that you are the God, the one that heals us of all disease and that nothing, absolutely nothing, is too hard for you! Today, Lord, we thank you for reviving an active, living faith in us. You, O Lord, are the author and finisher of our faith, and we bless you, Father! We are deciding right to believe your Word, above what we see, how we feel, and how long things have been a certain way. We put our hope in you, Lord, because you, Lord, are the only one that can heal, protect, provide for, and deliverance us! We pray for forgiveness today, and we resubmit our lives to you! By your Holy Spirit, Lord, give us boldness, like Peter, and work in us a faith and obedience like Aeneas. Father, let the testimonies of your grace upon our lives change cities and cause people to turn to you, in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!
LaDonna 0:09:57.1
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