demanding a miraculous sign

Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign?
I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign. Jesus said this. Mark 8:12

Prior to this He had performed many miracles. He displayed His supernatural power over sicknesses, evil spirits (spiritual realm), physical and natural elements. The news about His miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see Him and followed Him. They were His eye witnesses. Mark 3:7-8

He healed a man with leprosy. 1:41-42
He healed a paralyzed man. 2:8-11
He healed a man with deformed hand. 3:3-5
He had healed many people. Power came out from Him to heal the sick and cast out demons. All the sick sought to touch Him. All who touched Him were healed. Those possessed by evil spirits too were delivered. 3:10-11. 6:56
He sent out His disciples (apostles) to preach the Kingdom of God and He gave them supernatural authority and power to cast out many demons and heal man sick people too. 3:14-15, 6:7, 12-13
The wind and waves obeyed Him. 4:41
He healed a demon possessed man. 5:1-20
He raised from death the daughter of a leader of the synagogue. 5:22, 35-36, 41-42
He healed a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 5:25-34
He fed 5,000 men and their families with five loaves and two fish. 6:41-44
He walked on water and stopped the raging waves and wind. 6:47-52
He healed a deaf man. 7:32-35
He fed 4,000 people with seven loaves. 8:6-9
He healed a blind man. 8:22-26

Coming back to the question, why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? More show of the power of Jesus? Why do they still want proof of His supernatural authority to show that He is from God? Why do people see the power of Jesus but still continue not to believe in Him?

I ask this question too today. Here is the answer I received from Jesus:
“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Mark 8:33 (Jesus rebuked Peter for listening to Satan-influenced humanistic reasoning and not to the Holy Spirit. Jesus reprimanded Peter, “Get away from Me, Satan!”)

Peter was doing well when he listened to the Holy Spirit. But he lost his supernatural discernment the moment he switches back to his human mind. Jesus called that as being selfish, trying to hang on to the life he could see, not knowing that what he could see and feel (body and soul) could not save him. He was ashamed of Jesus talking about dying on the cross and resurrecting after three days. He considered Jesus being not politically correct. Mark 8:31-38
It is so clear that the minute a Christian resorts to using a human point of view to explain or question a supernatural miraculous sign from Jesus, he or she loses the spiritual privilege and faith that come only from the supernatural realm. The authority and power of Jesus would be of no use to them. They may still get healed or see their loved ones get healed but they would still be excluded from the Kingdom of God. Without faith in the supernatural God-Jesus, one just cannot get saved. Without faith one cannot please God. Without believing in the spiritual reality of Jesus one cannot connect to Him and interact with Him in a relationship. But the children of God must join to the Lord and be one with His Spirit. The children of God must be led by the Spirit of Christ. Believing in Jesus requires spiritual faith, and a belief in a realm human eyes cannot see. Unless we can see with our spirit the reality of God, we cannot enter. It is easy for many to believe in a historical Jesus who existed during a period on earth as a human but not a Jesus (in Spirit) who is still living today. This is the dilemma of many who choose the wide, easy and popular road today. Is there hope for this group? Yes, as long as you are still open to Jesus through the Holy Spirit and His words.

Bible verses: John 3:3, 5-6, 3:16, 4:23-24, 5:24, 26-27, 37-40, 6:29, 35-36, 40, 63; Romans 10:8-12, 8:1-2, 8:9, 8:11, 14, 16; Galatians 3:2, 26-29; Hebrews 11:1-3, 11:6. 1Corinthians 6:17.

For she cares nothing about the path to life.

My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
listen carefully to my wise counsel.
Then you will show discernment,
and your lips will express what you’ve learned.

For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,
and her mouth is smoother than oil.
But in the end she is as bitter as poison,
as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[a]
For she cares nothing about the path to life.
She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it.

So now, my sons, listen to me.
Never stray from what I am about to say:
Stay away from her!

Don’t go near the door of her house!
If you do, you will lose your honor
and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved.
Strangers will consume your wealth,
and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

In the end you will groan in anguish
when disease consumes your body.
You will say, “How I hated discipline!
If only I had not ignored all the warnings!
Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers?
Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?
I have come to the brink of utter ruin,
and now I must face public disgrace.”

Footnotes:
5:5 Hebrew to Sheol.
(above quoted from the Holy Bible, Proverbs 5:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
Avoid Immoral Women)

Revelation 17:5 A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”
Revelation 18:2 He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal..

Prayer Window

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[e] the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[f] I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

(Above passage is quoted from the Holy Bible Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT) (Footnotes: e. 3:14 Some manuscripts read the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. f. 3:15 Or from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.)

Colossians 1:18-20 (NLT)
Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.[a]
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Footnotes:
a. 1:18 Or the firstborn from the dead.

Colossians 2:8-10 (NLT)
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers[a] of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.[b] So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Footnotes:
a. 2:8 Or the spiritual principles; also in 2:20.
b. 2:9 Or in him dwells all the completeness of the Godhead bodily.

A fast day is not only a sad day, but an opportune day.

Watchman’s notes: Christians need to know that God’s will for salvation includes both Jews and gentiles. This is written in the Bible. Jesus has told us to pray according to God’s will. During the time when the Jews are fasting and mourning what shall we do? I believe each should seek God and pray too for them. Some Christians may fast too. My experience is that fasting and praying as a small group helps one to focus and not be easily discouraged. On the other hand, some watchmen may find it more convenient to fast and pray alone. I pray all of us receive fresh revelation and insight to pray for not just the Jewish people but also for those nations that God has imprinted on our hearts at this time of great strife and fear among the nations of the world.

The fast of the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, known as Shivah Asar B’Tammuz, is the start of a three-week (July 24 – August 14) mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples.
The sages explain: “Every generation for which the Temple is not rebuilt, it is as though the Temple was destroyed for that generation.” A fast day is not only a sad day, but an opportune day. It’s a day when we are empowered to fix the cause of that destruction, so that our long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in messianic times; may that be very soon.
The fast (abstain from eating or drinking between dawn and nightfall) commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date:

Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
Apostomos burned the holy Torah.1
An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.2
The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.)
The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.

Abstaining from food and drink is the external element of a fast day. On a deeper level, a fast day is an auspicious day, a day when G‑d is accessible, waiting for us to repent.

(above quoted from: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/479885/jewish/The-17th-of-Tammuz.htm)

Also read: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144558/jewish/Tisha-BAv-and-the-3-Weeks.htm

She sees a GREAT NATION. She is a mother.

MOTHER NEEDS NOT BE POLITICALLY CORRECT

There is a mystery about Leah. She has unusual eyes. She is the the older sister of Rachel. She was the first wife of Jacob and gave birth to six sons and one daughter. The Bible did not describe her look except a sentence about her eyes. Her eyes were attractive. I have previously written about her faith in God and her close relationship with God. She knew that her husband’s first love was Rachel who was more physically attractive. BUT Leah loved Jacob. She was determined to have his children and she had six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. She named all her sons. Jacob did not seem to care. She named them in terms of her relationship with God and her perspective of God.

(This is what she said when she had her first four sons: Genesis 29,30)

So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
(Later she had two more sons: )And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.

The versions of the Bible describing Leah with lovely eyes are as follows:

GW Leah had attractive eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features.

GNT Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

TLB Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was shapely, and in every way a beauty.

NOG Leah had attractive eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features.

MSG Now Laban had two daughters; Leah was the older and Rachel the younger. Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was stunningly beautiful. And it was Rachel that Jacob loved. So Jacob answered, “I will work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

What is so great about Leah’s eyes? From what we have read we see that this woman is without malice or jealousy. She sees and keeps her focus on God’s goodness and the good sides of life. She does not even blame God for her unloving husband or her possibly unshapely body. She does not give up on her love. She does her best. She knows that only God can grant her the favor and ability to give birth. She is not ashamed or embarrassed by her fertility or try to be politically correct. Mothers need not be politically correct. She not only has one son, she carries on and has six! She sees what God has done even in her little world as a housewife and gives thanks. She sees the future where her many sons will grow up and do great things. She is right. Her sons did great things. They became the ancestors of the Israel nation. She became the mother of kings and priests. Yes, her eyes do matter. Instead of a mere family, she sees a great nation! And history has proven her right.

Did Jacob finally recognize it was Leah he should give honor as his lawful heavenly-ordained wife? He did. We read from below the words he gave his sons before he died: (Genesis 49)Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of …which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah…”

(Updated July 13) What has Britain’s fate got to do with USA

What has Britain’s fate got to do with USA or the Commonwealth or the rest of the globe?
A lot. Believe me. She is just the beginning of another phase the globe will enter henceforth.

Why I support Andrea Leadsom as Prime Minister for the first independent Britain after EU? I believe she is the anointed one for an entrepreneurial Britain who will sail round the globe and conduct free trade again.

She is not a glamorous civil servant but the ruling days of the bureaucrat is over. Look at the current world history for evidence. No nation or corporation today can afford to pay a general manager with no other skills or knowledge except to administer or talk in rounds of meetings only. No talkers or negotiators can contribute anything productive which the hungry world badly needs. I believe Mrs. Leadsom will be a solid doer and not talker.

I pray the nation wake up and vote for the right choice who will bring back the original enterprising spirit that Britain was formerly good at.

What has Britain’s fate got to do with USA or the Commonwealth or the rest of the globe?

A lot. Believe me. She is just the beginning of another phase the globe will enter henceforth. A right choice fits into a good plan. A wrong choice means acceleration toward a worse end for all. Andrea spoke of one key word when I was prompted to read her speeches before her ascension to the forefront. The day I was alerted was three hours before the final count of Brexit votes came out on June 23rd. She spoke of one word: “Principled“.  I know that is the key word for her. It has been confirmed as a sudden twist of events left her as the only Leave contestant.  (Note: as of July 13, Andrea has pulled out from the race. There is no longer option for this nation right now unless there is another significant shift which can only come from the 17 million who voted Brexit).

Personally, I respect the old values she represents and believe that those values will bring Britain and even those other States, including USA,  which will follow suit, GREAT again. GREATNESS does not mean in greed for selfish power to gratify self. It means successfully bringing a people to align with godly values that have sustained the survival of the human race for thousands of years on this earth. I pray that the nations of the world will wake up and see that there is a spiritual realm that everyone must take heed. It is late but not too late to align with the Creator’s  plan. I am calling out as a futuristic watchman here. I pray it will not be too late for anyone. Forget about the superficial glamour. Look at the spirit behind. 

I quote below excerpts from: (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/07/theresa-may-andrea-leadsom-tory-leader-prime-minister)(http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/07/how-andrea-leadsom-can-beat-theresa-may)

Andrea Leadsom, the junior energy minister who shot to prominence as a leading voice in the Vote Leave campaign, has secured second place in the Conservative party leadership race behind Home Secretary Theresa May on Thursday, ensuring Britain’s next prime minister will be a woman.
Leadsom was boosted by the support of Johnson, who insisted that despite her relative inexperience she had the “zap, drive and determination” required for the top job.

After the vote, Johnson said: “For the second time in history the Conservatives will have a female prime minster, proving that we are the not just the greatest but the most progressive party in Britain.

“I want to offer particular congratulations to Andrea Leadsom on her stunning achievement. She is now well placed to win and replace the absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive, confident and optimistic approach, not just to Europe, but to government all round.”

Leadsom also received the backing of many of those MPs who, unlike May, had supported the campaign for Britain to leave the EU. She gave a speech on Thursday morning at which she promised to “banish the pessimists” on the risks to the economy of leaving the EU.

Her campaign chief, Tim Loughton MP, said: “It was absolutely right that this would be an all-women shortlist. We have two strong women. We can now given the party a real choice. A remain woman; a leave woman. They both happened to go to state schools. They are both women. Hey, that’s pretty quirky for the Tory party.”

Another Leadsom backer, defence minister Penny Mordaunt, said: “It will be a really exciting contest, I hope it will be really positive. [Leadsom] is in this to win it, what she offers, her unique selling point is her strength on the economy, restoring stability and certainty to our economy swiftly.”

Andrea Leadsom now has about six weeks to woo the Conservative membership, who are likely to be more rightwing, middle class and affluent than the average voter. She will have to appeal to these 150,000 people to get the job of prime minister, and convince them that she can win over the whole country when it comes to a general election. To beat May, the following strategies will be crucial:

Reiterating her fight for Brexit
Highlighting May’s failure to bring down immigration
Classic rightwing policies to appeal to Tory members
The Tory grassroots have been feeling highly neglected in recent years, having reportedly been dismissed by the party’s chairman, Andrew Feldman, as “swivel-eyed loons” – although he denied making that comment. Leadsom could be the person to make them feel loved again by their leader.
Her supporter Peter Bone saying: “She has been out in the real world, working. People are crying out for non-establishment figures. This is not just about governing now, its about winning the 2020 election. Who would be better? I think its Andrea Leadsom.”

How should a nation become great again?

GOD SPOKE TWICE.
What should a nation do to become great again?
1. I am reminded of the successful examples in the Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah.
Rebuild your Temple of God/churches. Rebuild your walls: physically by demarcation and sovereignty over your borders (spiritual defense too).
I pray the Lord’s Spirit be poured out mightily upon you.
When you align with God’s plan and His words you will be great again.
Prosperity and peace.
Booming trades and bountiful harvests.
No one will lack.
You will be the head and not the tail.

2. READ THE BIBLICAL LESSONS ON EXCELLENT EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL NATIONAL LEADERS: FINANCE MINISTER Joseph, PRIME MINISTER Daniel and his friends, COMMANDER prophet Samuel, SPIRITUAL LEADER prophet Elijah, EDUCATIONIST Scribe Ezra, CIVIL GOVERNOR Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and many more.

Let greatness arise for nation which aligns with God's plan

I wrote this three hours (as published in my other blog) before today's result came out. Read my watchman’s notes at the end of this blog. How to read today’s event by spiritual watchman. Domino effects.

How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries have become the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For the Lord has afflicted her
Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
That find no pasture,
That flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
And mocked at her downfall.[a]
11 All her people sigh,
They seek bread;
They have given their valuables for food to restore life.
“See, O Lord, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
19 “I called for my lovers,
But they deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
(quoted partially from Lamentations 1)

Watchman’s notes: 

do not look at the surface of events. There are many spiritual implications like a domino set in motion today by one specific nation of the world. The Lament is not for that nation. It’s for the subsequent events of nations who will follow and the spiritual impact on the whole not the part. Another group will emerge. Watchman to read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to see the big picture. Who are the allies and who are rising after this event. The change will take place. Spiritual events will take place. I have no specific words except that the Bible prophecies of the great power struggles and allies should be re-read to understand. Come out of the historical interpretation paradigm. It’s not as what the historical theologians had thought. Read the Book of Daniel and put in the names of the new nations or group of nations.

What do Christians do? watch and pray just as Jesus has told us to do.
Prayer: that the nation/nations that the Lord has raised to become great will become great by aligning with God’s words and His best plans for them.

a tale of two cities: a choice

This is the time to mourn. The church must wake up and mourn. I am talking to the church as a whole on earth, not just America, China, Europe, Africa, Asia, Third world or first world. I am calling out to both the traditional evangelical and the Spirit-filled and Bible believing-all who believe the reality and truthfulness of the words of God both Old and New Testament, from Genesis to revelation. This is the time to wake up from narrowness and exclusiveness. Just look at Jesus. The example He set while on earth! Look at the apostles, Peter’s call to the Gentile’s home, Paul’s call to the world of demons (idolatry-infested world), and all the apostles and disciples of the first church who were scattered all over the world before Christianity. No, I am not talking about missionaries going now to the foreign worlds. I am talking about your own home ground your own nation wherever you are if you can read English and this blog. Wake up and stop one thing before you go out and evangelize. Stop your physical mind’s prejudices. Look at Jesus. What He did not do and what He did. Be led by the Holy Spirit as you read.

My spirit urged me to summarize what Jesus did not do:
1. He did not ask a man of other faith to kill anyone (regardless what they believed in or their lifestyle was)in the name of God.
2. He did not condemn anyone except the religious hypocrites who stopped people from coming to Jesus and believing in the Good News Jesus brought to all mankind.
3. Even so, Jesus did not kill or send anyone to kill the hypocrites.
4. He did not condone anyone judging another.
5. He did not agree to using physical force (violence) to resolve injustice within a nation.

A summary of what Jesus did:
1. Jesus came to save sinners and healed the sick.
2. Jesus put forgiveness as number one consideration, even for His enemies.
3. Jesus associated/socialized with sinners.
4. Jesus showed love and compassions.
5. Jesus gave life.

By agreeing with the thieves who came in to steal, kill and destroy lives, the church becomes accomplice to murder. Don’t you ever realize that in the spiritual realm the territorial spirits fight among themselves? Their number one ruler does his own harvest of souls by pitching his subordinates one against another.

You may ask, when the time is so bleak and you need to choose between two imperfect candidates for your national number one, whom should you choose? Didn’t the Bible show you the history of Israel, in the bleakest time when they were besieged by the strongest enemies and their own weakest kings ever? What did God ask prophet Jeremiah do? Jeremiah became the national number one traitor because he gave his countrymen an oracle that they were to choose the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar instead of choosing the Egyptian king Necho II. There was no other option. God told them to choose Nebuchadnezzar. Did Nebuchadnezzar do a good job in finishing off the other enemies of God? He did. On the other hand, Necho II failed in his attempted conquests.

The Israelites refused to listen to the divine oracle and thus suffered defeat and were still taken to Babylon for a season to be cleansed, healed, to recuperate and restore their spiritual strength just as prophesied. These deportations are dated to 597 BC for the first, with others dated at 587/586 BC, and 582/581 BC respectively. After the fall of Babylon to the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 BC, exiled Judeans were permitted to return to Jerusalem and Judah of Israel. The temple of Jerusalem and the walls were re-built. Worship of the true God resumed.

This is a record of the history of God. When Christians read God’s history and look at what Jesus did to demonstrate how things in this world are done, we will know what to choose and who to vote for. We shall always align with the plan of God even in the bleakest time in our own history. Look at Jesus and look at the two choices, which do you think is more like Nebuchadnezzar? Who do you think will bring your nation out of its weakling’s position? Who is the strong man? Who will be given the might to defeat the many foes inside and outside? Was Nebuchadnezzar a godly man? Not at the beginning. But in the book of Daniel he finally encountered the reality of the God of Israel, our God. And Nebuchadnezzar turned over a new leaf.

Jesus demonstrated this equally seemingly unusual choice by choosing the chief tax collector, the ungodly rich man Zacchaeus in the land of Israel as his host for a dinner party. The Son of God Himself gave this honor and privilege to a person disliked and even hated by many fellow Jews. In today’s term, a most un-Christian person. What happened after he encountered Jesus? He was transformed and saved. He did lots of good deeds to his fellow countrymen.

Summary: Look at the divine records.

heart condition matters in the causes of sickness

Sickness has been a major concern in the history of mankind. Here is a common scene in Biblical time. Lots of people bring their sick relatives and friends for healing by Jesus. Even today many seek healing everywhere. Jesus says sickness actually comes from within a person. Today we continue on this topic by reading at random the example of David, how he became sick when he allowed himself to be controlled by his emotion: anger (against self and against God) and fear (fear of failure; fear of further tragedies; fear of being punished for wrong doings), self-condemnation (self-doubt, low self-esteem), distrust of God (unbelief of God's goodness), indulgences in sexual and worldly desires and lusts (of the flesh, eyes and pride of life).

Read the whole history of David and you will find more examples of what was inside him that defiled him. Do not think that David's complaints about his sickness is spiritual. David was a man of flesh even though he sought after God. One thing we can learn from him is he did not give up. He repented and got well again. But he really suffered in body and in soul. He also gave his honest accounts of the causes of his illness and how he finally resorted to spiritual remedies.

 1Chronicles 13:11 David was angry (with God) because the Lord's anger had burst out against Uzzah (the priest who was killed when he violated God's holy law). David was probably also angry with himself as he did not follow God's law too when he ordered the moving of the Ark. 13:12 David was now afraid of God, and he asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark back into my care?" He indulged in self-doubt and self-condemnation after the tragedy of the death of a priest in the course of his duty of obeying David' command to bring the Ark on a bullock cart! David consulted before he decided how to move the Ark. But he consulted the wrong persons. He consulted his officials, including the generals and captains. (13:1) He did not consult the priests. He mixed up flesh with spiritual matters. 14:3 Then David married more wives in Jerusalem. He decided to put aside God's matters and pursued his own personal enjoyment. This episode is an example of how David lived his life as a carnal king.

 The above recorded a historical event in David's life.

Let us now read some psalms at random and i parts and see what kind of sickness David had suffered in his lifetime, physical and mental (mind and emotion):

Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man. 22:14 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me or dead. Psalm 30:6 When I was prosperous, I said, "Nothing can stop me now!" 7 Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then You turned away from me, and I was shattered. Psalm 31:9 My body and soul are withering away. 10 Sin has drained my strength. 13 I have heard the many rumors about me, and I am surrounded by terror. Psalm 32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Psalm 38:3 Because of Your anger, my whole body is sick; (David first blamed it on God) my health is broken because of my sins. (David soon admitted that his own sins caused the sickness and not God) 4 My guilt overwhelms me-it is a burden too heavy to bear. 5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. 6 I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. 7 A raging fever burns within me , and my health is broken. 8 I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from my anguished heart. 10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.

power of Jesus' name

Before Jesus left this earth He left His name with His disciples. They will pray in His name and speak to obstacles in His name, even command evil spirits to leave. Today we use His name a lot but do not find the same power manifesting as in the early church’s time. Why?

Reading some passages from the Bible we can learn more about His name and the power therein. There are much more significance in using His name than we often think. All Scripture are quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

His name gives hope

Matthew 12:21

And his name will be the hope

of all the world.”

Power of His name gives life

John 20:31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

In His name, prayers get answered and requests granted

John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 16:23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

John 16:24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

We are identified and separated as His people by His name

1 Corinthians 1:2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Our belief is in His name

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.

His name is written and has spiritual significance

Revelation 19:12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.

We are identified finally by His name written on us too

Revelation 22:4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.

What does the name of Jesus do? Sins forgiven.

Acts 10:43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Words with real power do transform lives

Words must come with real and visible power to transform. Words of God do that when the believers of Jesus carry the power of the words and the Holy Spirit into the harvest. In Acts 13-14 (quoted from Holy Bible NLT version in parts here) Paul and Barnabas demonstrated this truth. I shall quote only the parts wherein Paul preached a powerful sermon in Antioch of Pisidia (in today’s Turkey).

Acts 13:30-38

30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

‘You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.[a]’

34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’[b] 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’[c] 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

38 [d]“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.

Footnotes:

13:33 Or Today I reveal you as my Son. Ps 2:7.

13:34 Isa 55:3.

13:35 Ps 16:10.

13:38 English translations divide verses 38 and 39 in various ways.

Acts 13:46-52

46 Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said,

‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles,

to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’[a]”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

50 Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. 52 And the believers[b] were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Footnotes:

13:47 Isa 49:6.

13:52 Greek the disciples.

Acts 14:1-4

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 The same thing happened in Iconium.[a] Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. 2 Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. 3 But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

Footnotes:

14:1 Iconium, as well as Lystra and Derbe (14:6), were towns in what is now Turkey.