bob maepe healing book 2023 english
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the man setting a beautiful example of never blaming the sick but taking
action to help those who are hurting.
Unfortunately, rather than blame the victim, some people still use this
passage to blame God for the man‟s blindness and the way it reads in
most translations does make it seem as if God made the man blind so
that He could heal him and be glorified thereby. From this thinking,
many doctrinal teachings have arisen about how sickness and other
problems in our lives are actually blessings from God intended to bring
glory to God and correction to us. This reason, however, is not Biblical.
So why then does this verse seem to say that the man‟s blindness was for
the purpose of manifesting God‟s work? Because it was translated that
way from the Greek by modern translators. But, thankfully, it does not
have to be translated that way. This traditional rendering stems from a
theology dictating that God is in control of everything that happens on
earth, whatever happens is His master plan unfolding as He always knew
it would.
However, the verse should not be interpreted as suggesting that God‟s will
is behind this man‟s blindness. The original text does not say that “he
was born blind so that God‟s works might be revealed.” Rather, “he was
born blind, but let the works of God be displayed in him.” So the whole
passage would read as follows: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents
sinned,” Jesus answered, “but let the works of God be displayed in him. I
must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day: the night comes,
when no man can work.”
Jesus shows us that the question to ask is not, “Who sinned?” but “What
can we do to help the situation?” He‟s not saying, “This man is born blind
caused by God so God can heal him and be glorified.” How illogical does
that sound anyway? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand,
Matthew 12:25. If God heals but also makes sick, His Kingdom is divided.
Therefore He doesn‟t cause sickness. Rather, Jesus is revealing His
mission and Father God. He‟s basically saying, “Guys, lay your desire to
point fingers at who is to blame aside, now let Me reveal why I am here,
God‟s nature and work is going to be displayed in this boy‟s healing.” And
He healed him. He‟s not talking about this boy born this way so Jesus
can heal and God be glorified. Jesus modelled what he came to do to
destroy the work of the devil and heal those oppressed by him. He said,
“Let the works of God be displayed in him,” showing compassion for the
man. Then he turned to his disciples and reminded them that they must
work the works of God while it is day. Rather than painting a picture of a
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position to hear the Word being preached (although that, in itself, is very
important). It also requires you to actively engage with God's Word, to
believe it and obey it.
In actual fact, The Amplified Bible translates Proverbs 4:20, this way: "My
son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings." Submitting
to the Word means making adjustments in your life. Say, for example,
you hear the Word in Philippians 4:4 that you are to "rejoice in the Lord
always." If you've been doing a lot of whining and complaining, you'll have
to change in order to submit to that Word. You'll have to repent and alter
your behaviour.
Take as Directed
In addition to inclining your ear to the Word of God, the Proverbs 4
prescription also says you must keep it before your eyes and not let it
depart from your sight. In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus reveals why that's so
important. He says, The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is
sound, your entire body will be full of light. But if your eye is unsound,
your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you [your
conscience] is darkened, how dense is that darkness!
Your eyes are the doorway to your body. If your eye (or your attention) is
on the darkness, or the sickness that is in your body, there will be no
light to expel it. If, however, the eyes of your heart are trained strictly on
the Word, your whole body will eventually be filled with light and healing
will be the result. It is known, that it is not easy to keep your attention
fixed on the Word like that. It takes real effort and commitment. It may
require getting up a little earlier in the morning to make a devotional or
turning off the television at night to feast on the word and pray. But I
urge you to do whatever it takes to take God's medicine exactly as
directed.
Medicine of God won’t work any other way
That really shouldn't be so surprising. After all, we wouldn't expect
natural medication to work for us if we didn't take it as prescribed. No
rational person would set a bottle of pills on the night stand and expect
those pills to heal them. No one would call the doctor and say, "Hey, doc!
These pills don't work. I've carried them with me everywhere I go--I keep
them in the car with me, I set them on my desk at work, I even have them
next to me when I sleep at night--but I don't feel any better."That would
be ridiculous. Yet, spiritually speaking, some people do it all the time.
They cry and pray and beg God to heal them, all the while ignoring the
medicine He's provided. (They might take a quick dose on Sunday when
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