It Shall Not Come Near You!

It Shall Not Come Near You!

Psalm 91:7
7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.

Your doctor or insurance agent may ask you, “Do you have a family history of cancer?” If you say, “Yes,” they will probably tell you that you might get some form of cancer too.

Now, if you are without God, you would probably agree with them and start worrying about your health. But you are not without God! In fact, His Word tells you, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” Therefore, even if you have a family history of cancer, and your family members have died of cancer, you can have the confidence to declare that it will not come near you!

My mother had this attitude. After a thorough medical check-up, the doctor was surprised and told her that she did not have high blood pressure or heart disease, although these two conditions have plagued her father and siblings. You see, my mother had already firmly declared that no deadly, family-related disease would come near her.

Praise God for my mother’s trust in God’s Word because I am the generation after her! In fact, after my mother told me about the results of her check-up, I randomly opened my Bible only to read about Rahab the harlot who by faith “did not perish with those who did not believe”. (Hebrews 11:31)

Beloved, God wants you to know that even though you are in this world, you are not of this world. You belong to Him. You don’t have to get caught in dire situations along with the people of the world. Because God is on your side, “He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence”. (Psalm 91:3)

Even when it comes to generational diseases, you can boldly declare, “That disease stops here!” because you have God and His Word. And when you believe God and His Word, you will see His promises come to pass for you — “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you”!

Kept In All Your Ways By God’s Angels

Kept In All Your Ways By God’s Angels

Psalm 91:11–12
11For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You are about to step onto the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?”

I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. And in their hands they will bear us up, so that not even a stone will trip us up.

But we may not know it when we encounter an angel. (Hebrews 13:2) This was probably the case with a couple in our church who were holidaying at a beach resort on Penang Island when a tsunami struck at about 12.30pm on 26 December 2004.

It was slightly past 11am when the wife suddenly had a craving for food from the mainland. The couple decided to check out earlier, so that they could reach the mainland in time for lunch. While loading their luggage into their car at the hotel driveway, a man impatiently motioned to them to hurry up and get moving.

Annoyed by his impatience, they quickly loaded their stuff and drove off. The minute they reached the mainland, they heard that a tsunami had struck Penang Island at the same beach where they were just a while ago. While thanking God for their narrow escape, it suddenly dawned on them that the impatient man could have been an angel charged by God to hurry them off!

God tells us that we have an innumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22) And He has given them charge over us to protect us from accidents, natural disasters, terrorist bombings and other dangers. So don’t fear these things and lock yourself at home. Go for that holiday! Go for that lunch appointment! Believe that God loves you, and thank Him for His angels who walk with you and watch over you!

What Have You Been Saying?

What Have You Been Saying?

Psalm 91:2
2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

When a great storm arose as Jesus and His disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, He did not say to His disciples, “The storm is here to teach us courage.” Instead, He took authority over the storm and said, “Peace, be still!” And there was a perfect calm. (Mark 4:39)

When He met the widow of Nain whose only son had died, and on another occasion, the two sisters whose brother Lazarus had died, He didn’t tell them, “God wanted to take him home.” No, He spoke to the dead son: “Young man, I say to you, arise.” (Luke 7:14) And standing outside Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43) And both men came back to life.

What have you been saying about your situation?

When you feel the pain in your body, don’t say of the Lord, “God wants me sick to teach me to trust Him more.” Instead, say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

While trying to make ends meet, don’t say of the Lord, “The Lord keeps me poor to keep me humble.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

And if you have an intimidating boss at work, don’t say, “The Lord is my patience, I will endure.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

We are living in the last days when there are terrorist attacks and deadly viruses lurking around, and the world is afraid. But we will not speak negative words and be fearful like the people of the world. Instead, we will speak God’s Word and reign over these things. Like the psalmist, we will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

So find out what God’s Word says about your situation, believe it and declare it. And because God’s Word cannot return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), you will see what you believe and confess come to pass!

Give God’s Word Priority And See Good Success

Joshua 1:8
8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

In life, there is good success and bad success. Bad success is the kind of success which robs you of time with your family, friends and church, and destroys your health and relationships. With good success, on the other hand, you see prosperity in every area of your life.

God wants you to enjoy good success and the key to this lies in what God told Joshua when he took over the reins following the death of his leader Moses — “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Spending time in God’s Word daily will give you godly wisdom, which will make your way prosperous and give you good success.

Look at how Joshua’s life turned out in the end. When Joshua died, “they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash”. (Joshua 24:30) Joshua had a whole mountain for his inheritance! This means that he was prosperous and successful!

It was also said that Israel served the Lord, not idols or other gods, all the days of Joshua’s life. (Joshua 24:31) This means that while Joshua was around, people were impacted for God’s glory.

And at the end of his life, a fulfilled Joshua had this to say, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Having your family loving God and serving Him with you is the most important success and greatest prosperity that you can ever have.

Beloved, when God’s Word takes priority in your daily life, not only will your finances be blessed, your ministry and family life will also be blessed!

The 12 Wells And 70 Palm Trees

The 12 Wells And 70 Palm Trees

Exodus 15:27
27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Would you like to know an important biblical key to divine health? It is found in today’s verse, which comes right after God says, “I am the Lord who heals you.” He said this to His people after He brought them out of Egypt. (Exodus 15:26)

The wells of water and palm trees speak of refreshment. They paint a picture of an oasis in the desert. The Israelites rested and were refreshed there. But why the numbers 12 and 70?

There are no insignificant details in the Bible. The 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees represent anointed ministries that refresh you with God’s Word. So if you want to know Jesus as the Lord who heals you, sit under anointed preaching of God’s Word because when His Word goes forth, it will heal you. His Word is medicine to all your flesh! (Proverbs 4:22)

How did I make that connection? Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Matthew 10:1 says that when Jesus had “called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” He sent out the 12 and said to them, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons...” (Matthew 10:7–8)

Then, in Luke 10:1, the Lord “appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go”. He also said to the 70, “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:9)

In other words, Jesus anointed the 12 and then the 70 disciples to preach God’s Word and heal the sick. Today, if you want refreshment, if you want health and healing, don’t sit under ministries that tell you that God doesn’t always want to heal and that He sometimes gives you diseases to teach you lessons. Instead, sit under anointed ministries that preach the good news and practice healing the sick. My friend, that is how you can begin to walk in divine health!

God Favors You Because He Loves You

God Favors You Because He Loves You

1 John 4:19
19We love Him because He first loved us.

Have you ever found yourself receiving such exceeding favor that you wonder why? My friend, it is because God is lavishing His grace — unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor — on you. And He does it because He loves you.

I love reading the Old Testament story of Ruth, a young Moabite widow, because it speaks of God’s amazing grace. The moment Ruth depended on God’s grace or favor, she had full access to His blessings. Of all the fields in Bethlehem, His grace led her to the field that belonged to Boaz, who was not only a wealthy bachelor, but also a relative of her father-in-law. (Ruth 2:3) Boaz was therefore her potential kinsman-redeemer — someone who could redeem her from her plight as a poor and childless widow.

Boaz favored Ruth from the moment he laid eyes on her. Ruth was not even a Jew, yet he cared for her safety by telling her not to glean in another field and to stay close to his young women. He even commanded the young men working for him not to touch her and to allow her to drink the water which they had drawn.

During mealtimes, he sat her beside the reapers although she was just a lowly gleaner who picked up what they had missed or dropped. On top of that, he gave her parched grain, making sure that she ate and was satisfied, and that she had leftovers to bring back to her mother-in-law. (Ruth 2:1–18)

Ruth simply believed that she would find favor in the field and God placed her at the right place at the right time, so that He could open a big door of blessings to her.

Do you know that Boaz is a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus? The Bible says that “He first loved us”. Jesus saw you and loved you first, long before you knew Him or loved Him. And He favors whom He loves.

Beloved, there is no need to fight or strive to qualify for God’s favor and blessings. His favor is all over you because He first loved you. Just trust in His love for you and you will see His favor bringing an abundance of blessings into your life!

Don’t Put Your Faith In Diets And Exercise

Don’t Put Your Faith In Diets And Exercise

Psalm 118:8
8It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Alot of people think that the way to get health is to watch what they eat. For example, many people say that the Mediterranean diet is a very healthy one. I agree, generally. But do you know that the people whom Jesus healed were also on a Mediterranean diet? They did not eat pork and prawns, for example, because they were Jews and these things are not kosher for them.

I know that you want to walk in divine health. But God does not want your focus to be on food — what to eat, what not to eat — or even exercise — how to exercise, when to exercise. All these are natural means which the people of the world trust in. It is better to trust in the Lord and His finished work, than to put your confidence in the latest man-made diet plans and exercise regimes.

At the cross, Jesus took your sicknesses and carried your pains, and by His stripes you were healed. (Isaiah 53:4–5) The Bible even tells us how to escape sickness and premature death — by discerning the Lord’s body when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:29–30) But instead of focusing on these truths, many of us prefer to focus on dieting and exercising.

Now, I am not against eating well or exercising. I myself exercise and I do watch what I eat. For example, I don’t like to eat oily stuff because it makes me feel uncomfortable. And when I have to preach, I do my best not to eat foods that make me burp!

But I eat generally healthy stuff not because I trust dieting to make me healthy. I exercise not because I trust exercising to make me healthy. No, I trust the finished work of Christ to make me healthy. I eat well because I like to feel good and I exercise because I enjoy the rush, the sweat!

God wants you to be free when it comes to eating and exercising. Don’t make laws for eating and exercising, and then trust these laws to give you “divine” health. Trust in the finished work of Christ. Discern His body when you partake of the Holy Communion. And just enjoy your food and workout!