healing

The Healing Power of Christ (Mark 1:29-2:13)

One of the most forgotten attributes of Christ is His healing power.

As Christians, we love to discuss salvation, family, work ethic, and morals. However, many times people enter the doors of our churches carrying the pain that life too often brings.

Whether that pain is grief over a lost loved one, the emotional damage brought on by divorce, the fear that ensues losing a job, or the literal pain of a chronic illness.

Many live resigned to the idea that the pain will never go away, and that the scars will remain indefinitely. This resignation, however, completely overlooks the fact that Christ is the Great Physician. He heals, calms and restores.

In Mark 1, we see the power of Christ to heal physical disease on full display as the Lord heals Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever. While we at Life Point completely support the use of modern medicine and accessing the healthcare system, we have not forgotten that the Lord can, and often does, heal us of physical disease. And when He chooses not to heal, we find peace in His plan, knowing that He brings all things into our lives for good.

For the most part, the Lord has blessed us to live in a time when medicine has advanced far beyond anything it has accomplished in human history. Those living today have unparalleled opportunity to be healed of viruses, infections, heart disease and organ failure, and even cancer in many situations. Diseases that were once terminal just a few decades ago can be managed with the patient living a meaningful life.

Still, the Lord has been known to heal supernaturally. In cases when He doesn’t heal, we are often reminded that the Lord often uses disease to transition us from this life into the next, where we will be in His presence and there will be no more pain or suffering.

What most people struggle with, however, is emotional and Spiritual pain. While modern medicine is making advancements against cancer and diabetes, it has very little to offer in terms of healing emotional and Spiritual pain.

There are medications that can numb the pain and manage mood swings, but no medication can heal grief or regret. No medication can resolve an ongoing conflict or secure victory in a Spiritual battle.

However, the Lord can.

We see His power to do this on full display as He cleansed the leper in Mark 1. Now, on the surface, it may appear that healing leprosy would fall under the heading of physical healing, and on the surface, you would be correct.

But leprosy presents a far deeper symbolism in scripture. Leprosy is very similar to sin, in that it infects, scars and disfigures, and can have an affect not only on the leper himself, but on those who come into contact with him.

This is why the Old Testament law went into such detail as to how lepers were to behave, how lepers were to be treated, and if cleansed, how their cleansing was to be made official via temple rituals.

When Jesus cleansed the lepers, He not only demonstrated His power over physical disease, but He demonstrated His power to cleanse and restore us from the devastation of sin, and from the pain of grief and regret.

Last, but certainly not least, the Lord demonstrated His power to forgive sin.

In Mark 2:1-13, we see Jesus in a house, surrounded by the “press,” when four friends broke a hole open in the roof and lowered their disabled friend to Jesus to be healed. Jesus first response was to tell the man that his sins were forgiven.

The Pharisees balked, saying to themselves that only God had the power to forgive sin. When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He healed the man’s disease to prove His divine power, and His power to forgive sin.

In the above posted edition of The Point, we go into greater detail about the Lord’s power to heal. He heals us on multiple levels. That fact should bring us relief, joy and peace.

The Trauma Behind “Runaway Train”

The Soul Asylum hit, “Runaway Train,” is synonymous with 90s music, and is best known for its music video featuring photos of kids who had been reported missing or who had turned homeless.

While the stories of the kids featured in the video defined the video and raised awareness of the plight of runaway/homeless kids, the true story of the song stems from a major bout with mental illness suffered by Davd Pirner, lead singer of Soul Asylum.

Pirner began suffering hearing loss, and upon learning that his music career may soon be ending, suffered an emotional and mental breakdown. Pirner discussed his mental illness as being on a runaway train, and would go on to refer to his condition as his “runaway train.”

Pirner captured the essence of the song in the lyrics:

It seems no one can help me now
I’m in too deep
There’s no way out
This time I have really led myself astray

Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I’m neither here nor there

Can you help me remember how to smile?
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on earth did I get so jaded?
Life’s mystery seems so faded

Essentially, Pirner described his battle as being on a train that was speeding down a track to a location that he didn’t want to go.

As anyone who has ever ridden a train can attest, once you’re on the train and it’s moving, it’s near impossible to get off the train.

With that imagery, we see that Pirner found himself in a hopeless place, facing a crisis for which there was no solution.

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you feel that your life is spinning out of control, headed to an inevitable conclusion that you would have never wanted.

We can relate, and most of us have been there. Mental illness, depression, and trauma response are complex issues. We are here to tell you that not only is there hope, but you can stop the train and get off, finding a path to a destination that you want.

And we can help. Please contact us via the contact tab on this site, visit our services, or reach out via social media (facebook.com/pointtolife). While we are not mental health professionals, we can connect you with community resources, licensed therapists, and we can assist with Spiritual coping mechanisms including prayer and active listening.

Most of all, we can introduce you to Jesus, who can heal your pain as powerfully as He healed the blind and the deaf in the Bible.

Please reach out. There’s no shame in getting help. God heals the broken, and makes us strong when we are weak. May God bless you.

National suicide hotline is 988.

The Great Invitation

How’s everything working out for you?

Are the things you are doing bringing you peace and fulfillment? Do you find purpose in those things, and are they rewarding? If not, why do you continue to do those things?

It is those questions and more that the Lord poses as He issues a great invitation to Israel in Isaiah 55.

In Isaiah 53, the Lord showed how Israel’s sin led them astray, but how God would redeem and restore them through Christ, who would give His life as a sacrificial lamb to satisfy the judgment and wrath of God.

Following that message of salvation, the Lord calls the nation to break forth into singing, because He would bring in a time of everlasting blessing. That promise was made in Isaiah 54. In Isaiah 55, the Lord invites the people to come, and to inherit that blessing by repenting of their sins and trusting in Him for salvation.

The picture the Lord paints in Isaiah 55 is of a benefactor offering water, wine and milk to the thirsty, and food to the hungry. He then questions why anyone would work for, or spend their money on anything less.

In the message posted above, Pastor Leland Acker addresses God’s invitation, and discusses what it means to “come to the waters.”

That the Works of God May Be Manifest…

In John 9, the Apostle John continues his mission to demonstrate to us Who Jesus really is by recording the miracle of the healing of the blind man. John opens by telling us that this man was born blind, that it was Jesus who saw him, and he recorded the conversations between the apostles and Jesus concerning the man’s condition.

There was a thought process in Israel during Jesus’ day that if good things happened to you, God was pleased with you. If bad things happened, God was angry with you.

In the case of the blind man, what happened? Was God upset with his parents? Or with a future sin this man would commit.

Jesus answered, “neither,” saying that the man was born blind so that the works of God would be manifest in him.

From this passage, we see that the Lord sees us. We then see how God works in our lives, and we see the timeframe by which God works. For more, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s message posted above.

Love Your Enemies

As of today, the riots and protests have calmed down. There are no images of burning cities on cable news, there has been no high profile atrocity in recent weeks, and it’s been a few days since the last act of mass violence against the innocent. Yet, the underlying divide that fuels that unrest remains.

Our nation is deeply divided. Deep divisions in philosophy, religion, world view, and visions for the future have always existed. America was built upon a foundation of faultlines, which, at times, have resulted in political earthquakes of epic proportions.

We’ve seen those faultlines erupt in recent years, and our society is exhausted.

The challenge for our nation is how to heal those faultlines. How can you bring the nation together under one unifying concept when our views, desires and convictions are so different?

In times past, we sought to persuade each other to join our side. When that didn’t work, we learned to live together while ignoring or downplaying our differences. This is why for decades, the ethic was to never discuss religion or politics.

However, in recent years, the ethic has arisen that silence is consent, and tolerating your opponents equates endorsing them. Endorsing them therefore equates endorsing evil. Therefore, we must stand and defeat our enemies whenever they surface.

And thus births the new American society, a society in which dissention is opposition and opposition is evil, therefore those of a different mindset are our enemies, and our enemies are to be defeated.

This is evident in the political sphere, where supporters of political opponents (not the candidates, but the supporters of those candidates) are branded as deplorable, cancers, communists, fascist, and whatever other dehumanizing term we can find.

In our political sphere, candidates run on platforms, not of a future aspiration of prosperity for the country, but on the eradication of the supporters of the opposing candidates. And instead of shunning that candidate and ending his political career, crowds celebrate and support him.

How can we survive if we continue down this road?

In the 1960s, our country was in a similar position, to the point that Lyndon B. Johnson declined to seek reelection in hopes of helping the country heal.

However, two voices emerged that brought the country healing. The first, being Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King’s creed of reconciliation, driven by the concept of love for one’s enemies, led a positive transformation in our nation. The second was the collective voice of Chuck Smith and Lonnie Free, who led a spiritual revival across the nation with the message of the Gospel.

Dr. King’s movement grew out of a belief articulated in a sermon he preached called, “Love Your Enemies.” In it, Dr. King discussed the concept of Agape love, how it was selfless, self-reflective, and how it had a redemptive quality that could reconcile enemies.

Smith and Free led a movement of faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. More than reconciliation over earthly differences, the Gospel preached by Smith and Free led people to true redemption, eternal life, and complete healing inside and out.

The same scriptures which have healed our nation before are just as true today as they ever were, and they are more needed today than ever.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
Matthew 5:44

At one time, we were all enemies to God. Yet He loved us, and gave His Son to die for our sins so that we could be redeemed and reconciled to Him. Being reconciled to Him, we can be reconciled to each other, and find healing in our divisions.

And by emulating God as we love each other, we can not only find peace in our lives, but we can find healing altogether. Christ promises that this will be rewarded.

So today, as you watch the news and see the angry posts on social media, do not be overtaken by the flesh and the sin nature, and succumb to anger. Instead, remember your redemption, and the love God gave you, and love your enemies, praying for their redemption and healing, because it is out of brokenness in their own personal darkness that they rage.

As you do this, you contribute to our national healing. If enough of us do this, we will realize that healing as a society.

The Incomparable Christ (Luke 4:31-37)

In his book, The Incomparable Christ, J. Oswald Sanders explored the life, character and divinity of Jesus Christ in a way that left the reader in awe after every chapter. It’s definitely a book that should be on every Christian’s reading list.

In the same way, Luke captures the essence of Christ by recording His acts, teachings, and the teachings about Him. In Luke 4:31-37, several amazing attributes of Christ are on full display as He heals a demon possessed man in the synagogue in Capernaum. The three most prominent are the power (authority) of Christ, the vision of Christ, and the compassion of Christ.

The power of Christ is on full display as the demon has to obey the Lord’s command to come out of the man. Christ is so powerful that even His spiritual opponents must obey Him. He has power over all creation, yet He uses that power on behalf of His people.

The vision of Christ is such that He not only sees us at face value, but He sees our hearts, our inner-most emotional workings, our trauma and sin nature, and He sees what we could be if healed. That brings up the third attribute on display, His compassion.

The compassion of Christ is such that, not only does He see our hurts and scars, but He heals them. Physical, Spiritual and emotional healing are available to any who will believe.

Christ really is incomparable. For more, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s message on The Incomparable Christ.

God loves you when no one else does

The Bible does not only record God’s law and promises, it gives us real-world examples of things that happened to people, some of which was very messed up. Mankind is sinful, and therefore we can make life into a total disaster, either for ourselves, or someone else.

Leah was a good woman, but she wasn’t the most attractive woman of her day, and the guys were not interested in her. Her father, Laban, feared that he would not be able to find her a husband, so he tricked Jacob into marrying her.

Jacob, for the record, was in love with Leah’s younger and more beautiful sister, Rachel.

So, her father basically pawned her off, her husband is in love with another woman (whom he eventually marries and makes her share the house with), and she is completely isolated, rejected and alone. I mean, this is one of the most devastating things a woman can go through.

The Bible tells us this story, not to legitimize it, but rather to show how God works through the disasters that man makes in life.

No one loved Leah but God, and God loved Leah in a way that no man could. He shows His compassion on her by giving her children, and He transforms her life from one of affliction and loneliness, to one of blessing and praise. By the time God finishes with her, she doesn’t need Jacob’s love, praise or affirmation. She has God’s, and that’s all she needs.

The same principles hold true for us. God loves us, even when no one else does. If we let Him, He will transform our lives from that of anger, depression and hopelessness to a life of praise and blessing in the midst of the storms. Will you trust God to do so?