I remember when I got born again; June 1993 at one of the branches of Deeper Life Bible Church, Nigeria. It was my first time at the Church, a friend had invited me for their regular Sunday service. There was a talk on the importance of choosing heaven over hell; talk about a broad way that leads to hell and a narrow path which leads to heaven. Yours truly didn’t want anything to do with hell, so off to the front roll I marched as soon as the alter call was made for people to make a decision for Jesus. I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ; hell lost a soul; Heaven’s gain….

As I think about my spiritual rebirth day, I am reminded of the process that brought me to my current spiritual status of being alive in Christ. Having heard the message on salvation as was preached that day (deliverance through faith in Christ Jesus), the expected response from me was to confirm my believe by simply walking down the aisle towards the Preacher, who led me to confess the ‘sinner’s prayer’.

Twenty-eight years later, even with a little stormy time along my walk, my salvation status hasn’t changed; I know that I am born again. I received my salvation that day, and that hasn’t changed.

Unknowing to me, the only good thing about that day wasn’t that I got born again, no, I was also delivered from the curse (Sickness, Poverty and spiritual death), because the same sacrifice that bought my salvation also bought my healing.

Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was a blind roadside beggar. On this particular day when Jesus walked out of Jericho, Bartimaeus didn’t want alms, he’s learnt how to ASK and RECEIVE gifts through the years. Today, he wanted a different kind of gift;…. healing for his eyes. All attempts by bystanders to stop him proved futile. In the end Jesus connected with his faith, his sight was restored. Bartimaeus RECEIVED his sight, ….just like that. He believed Jesus could heal him, he asked for his healing and he got it.

“Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.“
Mark 10:52 NKJV

Do you believe Jesus has healed you? And if I may kindly ask; ‘have you received your healing in the same way that you received your salvation?‘

Healing confessions are no good if we lack the conviction that we are already healed. Our confessions and partaking in communion do not in themselves bring healing, they are ways in which we further proclaim and maintain that we are healed.

Someone asks; ‘Grace, I am currently taking medications for a health condition, do you advice me to discontinue?’

Not at all, drugs or not, the truth remains that Jesus bought our healing. As Jesus would say…..’believe comes before seeing‘. So believe and receive.

By His Stripes I am healed.

Lord I believe that by the Stripes of Jesus I was healed. I receive my healing, and I declare that I am working in it everyday.

Thank You Lord!!

Yes, God will send His Word to shine the light into our hearts, bringing illumination and understanding to help us take advantage of all Christ has done, and to help us see that He already healed us (I Peter 2:24). And the Holy Spirit helps us see that God already sent His Word and healed us. So do not let the enemy keep you in bondage with an expectation that your healing is coming from God, no, the Word (Jesus) already came and healed all your diseases.

The 6 Attributes of God I share in this blogpost are intrinsic to Him. They are His nature. And these attributes of God do not change irrespective of circumstances. They remain constant.

clothed in righteousness, I stand by the blood of Jesus

Contrary to hope, Abraham believed in hope; that is,  when there was nothing to hope for, Abraham had hope God’s promise would come through. Abraham had absolutely no reason to hope; he was old, his body was weak, his sexuality and sexual drive was as good as gone. Sarah was also weak, have you imagined how the womb of an 89year old woman could hold a baby?

Decrees are made through words, Judgements are passed through words.

Two forces worked together to bring about the world we now live in; the Spirit and the Word.

Abraham had a very good relationship with people; relatives, neighbors, servants, etc. He treated people with respect and dignity. His negotiation with God concerning depraved Sodom and Gomorrah goes to show; 1. his relationship with God and 2. his concern and care for people (Genesis 19). When Abraham went out to save Lot (from his troubles), I found it very interesting that most of the men that accompanied Abraham were servants born in his own house; over 300 men.

I have often read phrases like ” forgive for your own good“… or forgive for the burden is yours so lighten up yourself” These phrases sound good and factual but I have always felt uncomfortable reading or hearing them. I used to wonder if that’s the reason God asked us to forgive those who hurt us.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

Note that it says even as God in Christ forgave us…

How did God forgive us? Jesus paid the price for our sin by shedding his blood(Heb 9:22) and by faith in this sacrifice we receive forgiveness. If someone does not receive this forgiveness, he/she struggles to fellowship with God.

Now let’s transpose this with our relationship with one another; ….when a brother hurts another it is important that he forgives his brother not only for his peace of mind or good but also for the good of the one who hurt him so that real fellowship is restored. The one who hurt his brother must acknowledge the hurt and receive the forgiveness for a genuine fellowship.

Sometimes a brother makes light of a hurt and dismisses the forgiveness as unnecessary and still expects the hurt brother to “move on”…..this is not right.

In summary what I am saying is that;

1. Forgiveness is not only for the forgiver but also for the forgiven.

2. The forgiven has to acknowledge and receive forgiveness for genuine fellowship to be restored

3. It is pertinent that we let the one who has hurt us know and that we have forgiven (let’s not bottle it up and pray it will go away). It’s up to the forgiven to receive it or not.

We are to love all people; lovers, users, haters, persecutors, cursers, etc with the love of God. We are to bless them, do good to them, and pray for them (Matthew 5:43‭-‬48). Responding with love where love seems underserved is one way we grow and mature in love (agape).