Books
The Healing River
Linda Sedrick Pearson
Ezekiel 47:9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
When I look at this verse in Ezekiel it makes me understand better why Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men.” Look at this verse in Ezekiel. It says that there will be a great multitude of fish because of the waters and they shall be healed. I think God was talking about the healing of people through the Living Water – Jesus Christ. Revelations 21:6 states, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” In John 4:14 Jesus said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Finally, in Revelations 22:17 he says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
The more I study about the river, especially a healing river, the more it points me to Jesus Christ. After all, when you come to the Living River (Jesus), you shall live! How great is that?
Thank you God for the Living Water and for the River that heals all our sins and sicknesses. Amen
Don’t Curse the Deaf or Put a Stumblingblock Before the Blind
By Linda Sedrick Pearson
I was reading through some of the Levitical laws today and found and interesting verse I had not noticed before. The verse is Leviticus 19:14. It reads:
“Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shall fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
Thinking about what this verse says, I wondered about these things. Take for instance the part that says, “Thou shalt not curse the deaf.” Now, if a person is deaf, she would not be able to hear any curses said against her. What does it matter if you curse that person? It matters because this is one of God’s creations. It makes no difference whether the person hears you speak matters against him or not. God hears it. It’s not about doing things against someone that cannot hear you. It is about the speaker and God. The one speaking the cursing is really uttering cursing upon herself. God hears it and is displeased. This makes me think that this part of this verse could go along with the verse about backbiting (2 Corinthians 12:20).
When you are backbiting you are uttering things against a person that cannot hear you. You are talking to others about a person and behind the subject’s back. Is that any different than cursing someone who is deaf? No, it is the same thing. You are hurting your own soul when you backbite or curse the deaf (Romans 1:28-32).
Now, back to Leviticus 19:14. It also says we are not supposed to put a stumblingblock before the blind. Imagine that you cannot see. Think about your daily living conditions, how everything is arranged in your home. Close your eyes and walk through a room where you know the exact placement of all the objects in that room. Next, you are going to do this a second time only this time someone is going to place an object in your path. It will cause you to stumble over it. You may even fall down to the floor. You are blessed because you have a choice to open your eyes and see or keep your eyes closed and stumble.
We can associate “nor put a stumblingblock before the blind” with a spiritual blindness. People that are spiritually blind are those who have never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. We are not to put a stumblingblock in front of those who are spiritually blind either. These types of stumblingblocks are lying, gossiping, backbiting, cheating, or anything else that is against God. Sometimes as Christians we stretch our freedoms too far by thinking we don’t have to obey speed limit laws, or maybe we think we can cheat on our taxes. These are not showing a Christlike nature to those who are spiritually blind. These things become stumblingblocks to the unsaved people.
When the unsaved see Christians committing un-Godlike behavior, they wonder why they should accept Jesus Christ as Savior because we Christians are doing the same things they are doing. Where is the difference? Can people see a difference in you? How are your ethics and integrity? Double check yourself to see if there is anything that can be a stumblingblock to the blind (spiritually or physically).
Fight the Accuser
by Linda Sedrick Pearson
There is an accuser who points his bony fingers at the children of God. Day and night he stalks the earth (Job 1:6-7; 1 Peter 5:8-9), tempting and tormenting those who are not prepared for battle. He is our enemy. The accuser is Satan and he hates God’s children. He wants to destroy us.
He lies about us and tells us lies to get us to turn our backs on God. It is up to us to be prepared for these tactics of the devil. He hinders us with deceit (1 Thessalonians 2:18) and causes division and contrary beliefs. These beliefs are contrary to God and God’s words.
He weakens our nations through the sin of pride – prideful men stand and proclaim “I will do things my way!” Our widows and orphans go without help while others get lost in addictions. These are people searching for a better way who have never found Jesus Christ.
Take heart, children of God. We do have defenses against these tactics of the devil. Against the accusing and stalking tormentor we only need to be aware that he is seeking us out to destroy us. If we are aware of these tactics, then we can prepare before he catches us. Close any doors of weakness. If you have played around with occult objects or read books on witchcraft out of curiousity or maybe with an intent to try them out, ask God’s forgiveness. Burn any objects you have in your possession that promotes these things. Don’t pass them on to others. Burn them, destroy them. This is the only way to close these doors of weakness. Slam the doors in the face of Satan.
Another way to defend yourself against the accuser is to stand up to him in the authority and power of Jesus Christ. If you are a child of God, meaning you have accepted Jesus Christ as payment for all of your sin, you do have the authority and power of Jesus Christ and can stand up to the accuser. Cast out any demonic or bad spirit that may have attached to you through touching things that are not Godly. Rebuke Satan in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask God to show you the truth. Ask Him to open your spiritual eyes so you can see the real truth that is lurking in the darkness.
Resist the devil with your faith in God. Stand strong in your faith. Pray for our government officials and for the healing of our nation. Realize that Satan has no real power unless we give it to him. We give him power when we dabble in things that are not Godly. The truth is one of the biggest defenses against the devil and his lies.
Stand strong, Christian. Stand up and fight the accuser. Do not back down and do not give in. Whatever you do, do not run away. Stand up in the power and authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came in the flesh. Stand and fight!
In God’s Eye Sight
by Linda Sedrick Pearson
2 Samuel 22:25 Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye sight.
I am measured not by man, but by God. What man counts as unrighteous, God counts as righteousness (John 7:18). My cleanness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) according to man’s standards and measuring stick. Not so according to God’s eye sight.
People expect us to do things the way they expect us to do them. It is when we step out as individuals that others begin to get upset with us. God likes individuality. In fact, He created us that way. Be an individual. Be the way God created you and stop trying to please people. As long as you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, accepted that He paid all of your sin debt, you are righteous. You can stand up and say, “According to my cleanness in His (God’s) eye sight.”
It is God who is the judge and His judgment that matters. Who cares what others think of you? There is nothing they can do to you or for you that begins to compare with what God has for you – he recompenses you with His rewards. This is a great relief to my mind, soul, and spirit. That takes the pressures of the world off my shoulders. It is much easier to please one than tens, hundreds, or thousands.
Thank you, God, for Your eye sight!
Be Prepared
God expects us to be prepared at all times. Prepared for what? Several things. First, we are to be prepared to by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. That is step one.
Next, we are to study our Bibles daily and know the word of God. This prepares us to battle the temptations and trials that come against us. We are to pair this with constant prayer. These tools will prepare us for spiritual battles.
We are also to be prepared by knowing what we believe and why we believe it so that if someone asks we have answers. As Christians, we should always be able to tell exactly what we believe. Do not say, “I believe what my church believes.” That is not an answer. If that is what you usually answer, think about what exactly does your church believe.
Questions to Ask Yourself and Answer
- Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?
- Do you believe that Jesus was born of the flesh to a virgin (she had not had sex with any man)?
- Do you believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, impregnated the virgin, Mary?
- Do you believe that Jesus Christ took on the sins of everyone and those were nailed to the cross?
- Do you believe that Jesus Christ is our gift from God so that we can be saved?
- Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven – He is the only way to cross the gulf of sin that separates us from God?
- Do you believe that you cannot do enough good works to make it to heaven?
- Do you believe that baptism does not save you?
- Do you believe that no matter what you do, you cannot be good enough to make it to heaven on your own merits?
- Do you believe that you have to confess your sins to God and accept (receive) Jesus Christ as your Savior in order to be saved?
If you could answer yes to everyone of those questions, you are close to being prepared. I say “close” because I do not know if you do daily Bible study and prayer. Those are important tools that feed our spiritual bodies and we must have a daily diet of each one.
Be prepared, stay prepared. Grab that Bible, carry it with you. Read it during the day. Read it in the morning with your breakfast. Read it in the afternoon with your lunch. Read it in the evening with your evening meal. Read it at bedtime. With each reading, pray. Pray for God to give you understanding and knowledge of what you read.
How Important is Discipleship?
Did you know that there are 257 verses and 274 times within those verses that the word disciple or disciples appears? This means that disciples and discipleship training must be a very important aspect of the Christian life. Or at least God must think so. Why else would He have mentioned about disciples so many times in His word – the Bible.
The first mention of disciples is in the Old Testament, Isaiah 8:16. Although God was talking to Isaiah and the houses of Israel and Judah, He was also talking to us and commanding us to teach the ways of God to others.
“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples” (King James Version). Continue reading
Our God is Our Hope
Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
There is none like God. He pardons our sins and transpasses against him. He forgives us and does not stay angry with us forever. He is our father and like a father with a child, he cannot stay angry with us forever.
He does expect us to humble ourselves, confess our sins, and ask him to forgive us. He delights in giving us his mercy and his grace. It makes God happy to pull us close to him and to give us his compassion. He will bring our sins and trespasses under control and give us the strength to resist temptations. Continue reading
Fasting that God Acknowledges
by Linda Sedrick Pearson
Isaiah 58:5-8 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
God did not choose for us to fast by afflicting our own souls. That was not what God intended us to do.
The type of fast God chose was for us to help others that are in need. We are to be there to help when people are down. We are to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ (“to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and … break every yoke”). When people hear about and accept Jesus Christ, it does loose the bands of wickedness, undoes heavy burdens, lets the oppressed go free and breaks every yoke. Jesus Christ is freedom and comfort.
Another part of the fast God chose for us was for us to feed the hungry and provide shelter to those who have none. We are to clothe those who do not have clothing. Don’t withdraw from your own family (“hide not thyself from thine own flesh”). We are to help people in need. We are not to burden them more by asking them why they are in that condition. We are supposed to help them.
Reach out to others. Don’t worry if they are dirty. Maybe they don’t have anywhere to take a bath. Provide them a place to take a bath and clean clothes. Give them toothbrushes and toothpaste. Provide them with shelter and safety.
We are to save back some of our income so that we are able to help others. Even if it is only $1.00 a week. Put it back and save it so that you have something to give when you see someone in need. Take them and buy them a new set of clothes or a good meal.
Did you know that when you do these things you will be healthier? God says so in these verses. And, the glory of the LORD will be your rereward. That means he will be your protection. Rereward means a rear guard. He will guard you and keep you safe. Don’t be afraid to take care of others needs. God will take care of yours.
He Shall Save His People from Their Sins
Matthew 1:18-23 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Thank God for sending us His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank Jesus, for leaving a beautiful wonderful life in heaven to come and live on earth as a man, to be tortured and suffer for our sins, and to take upon him all our sins. Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for us. For giving us grace and mercy, I thank God. For acknowledging us and taking care of us, I thank God.
For He shall save his people from their sins – and He did! He died on that cross – nailing all our sins with him. We are forgiven if we just accept and ask him to include us. The gift of salvation is free to us. It cost Jesus his life! The gift is not yours until you reach out and take it. You have to receive the gift before it becomes yours. Jesus is holding it out to you. Won’t you reach out and grab the gift of salvation today?
Joseph – What a Great Man
Today I wonder about Joseph. This was a man who loved a woman so much that even when she became pregnant (not by Joseph), he stood on his faith and believed that she had conceived from God. Can you imagine? What a man he was. Here they were, the couple had just become engaged. They had no sexual relations.
Custom was that when a couple became engaged, the future bride had one year in which to visit and say goodbye to her family. Approximately six months into that year, Mary became pregnant by God through the Holy Spirit. There still was no sexual relations. The Holy Spirit implanted the Holy Seed – Jesus Christ – into her womb. I imagine that Mary was frightened. Afraid of what people would think of her. But, what a blessing to have been chosen by God to carry the child – God’s Child – inside of her so that He could be born part man and part God.
Joseph had every right to make Mary a public example because she had become pregnant – and not by him. And, I’m sure it did cross his mind. But, because of his great love for Mary and for God – Joseph believed Mary and the angel. Instead, they had a private wedding ceremony. From that day, Joseph did everything he could to protect this Child of God.
He also took it upon himself to train Jesus in hand crafts and taught him how to shape the wood into beautiful things. He trained him how to work with his hands and how to respect others. In other words, Joseph raised this Son as his own. He loved him as his own.
Not much is really said about Joseph after the birth. We can assume that he died before Jesus was crucified on the cross because Mary was there, but not Joseph. I’m sure that Joseph would have been there had he still be living. These thoughts this morning are to give reverence to a great man – Joseph – the earthly father who God chose and appointed to raise His Son on earth.
Thank you, God, for choosing such a great man to take care of our Savior on earth. Without such a Godly man for an earthly father, who knows what may have happened to Your Son and our Savior. Thank you, Father. Amen
