When death comes to good people

The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. Isaiah 57:1-2 NIV

I had never seen God's words above from Isaiah.  So meaningful to me.  So powerful to me.  Intuitively I think we all know that when a good person dies, it must be for a good reason. And God just gave us the good reason. The real reason.

The reason an innocent baby dies, the reason an innocent baby is allowed to die, or is taken away from this world, is to spare this innocent baby from evil.  Evidently, evil awaited this innocent child, and God spared him or her, taking him or her straight to heaven.  Imagine.  To wake up in heaven, and for that to be the only thing you've ever known, or ever will know.  So many babies have died, and are dying as I type.  God is sparing them from evil.

This doesn't mean that killing them isn't evil. It still is.  But if God allows it, He is sparing them from even more evil, from even worse evil.  God is good.  Glory to God.

And when a righteous man dies, in his righteousness, because of his righteousness, God is sparing this righteous man from evil.

When a righteous woman is taken away, when she has to leave a job, or a neighborhood, God is good.  God is sparing this righteous woman from evil.

When you have been righteous, and you've lost your job, or home, or relationship, when God took you away from those people or those situations, God was sparing you from evil, if you were righteous in that situation.

Now if you were unrighteous, that's another story. Another blog post.

But if you were righteous, and you were removed from a person, place, or situation, God loves you.  God spared you.

Praise God.

How to heal and be healed (Part 2)

So, how do you know if you are healed, or if someone else is healed when you share the good news about Jesus the healer?

How did you know you were saved when you believed the good news about Jesus the Savior?

The Spirit makes it known, as it is written, "The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God."  In other words, God Himself makes it known to you.  How else would it be?  If God is the one who is forgiving you, God Himself is the one who'd let you know that He forgave you.

And if God is the one who heals you, then you will know that you are healed in the same way you know that you are forgiven.

How do you know if you're forgiven?  You don't feel ashamed or condemned anymore.  You feel free to be in a relationship with the one you formerly sinned against. 

What about sickness?  How do you know you're healed from a cough?  You stop coughing.  How do you know you are healed from a headache?  Your head no longer aches. 

You should expect the same certainty, predictability, and reliability of healing that you do from salvation.  Is one harder for God than the other? 

Remember some men bring Jesus someone who was paralyzed?  They put him in through a roof because Jesus was so crowded by people trying to hear him.  Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven."  The religious leaders thought Jesus blasphemed because only God can forgive sins.  So Jesus said, "Which is easier to say?  'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Take up your mat and walk?' But so that you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins--(Jesus said to the paralytic) "Take up your mat and walk."  And the paralyzed man got up and walked.

Do you see the connection?  You can't see sins being forgiven, but you can see a paralyzed man get up and walk.  The same God who heals diseases, which came about through Adam's sin, also forgives the sin that caused sicknesses. 

But we don't usually believe that.  In Jesus' day, the religious leaders believed he could heal, but they didn't believe Jesus could forgive sins.  Today it's the opposite.  We believe Jesus can forgive sins, but we don't believe he can heal.  We may not even believe He forgives sin, not really. 

I choose to believe.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is still my Savior, my Healer, and Deliverer.

What about you?

How to heal and be healed

Surely He took our infirmities and carried our sicknesses.  By His wounds we are healed.
The Prophet Isaiah

Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for your sins?  If so, you know that your sins were immediately forgiven and forgotten, as if they never happened, the moment you believed.  Period.  Jesus' death for us is a historical fact.  Even if you don't feel forgiven, that wouldn't and couldn't mean Jesus didn't die and rise from the dead.  He is our Savior.

But did you know that He's also our Healer?

Yes, His salvation is not just so we can be forgiven for sins, it's also so that we can be healed from sicknesses, as it is written,

"Praise the LORD oh my soul and forget not all of his benefits.  Who forgives all of your sins and heals all of your diseases..."  King David

The same God who forgives all sin also heals all diseases.
All sin.
All diseases.

How? 
Faith.

If you can believe God to forgive you, the same belief also heals you.
This is how you are healed:  Trust in Jesus as your healer in the same way you trusted him as your Savior.

And this is how you heal:  Share the good news about Jesus as the Healer in the same way you shared the good news about Jesus as Savior.

If the sinner accepts Jesus as Savior, he or she is saved.
If the sick person accepts Jesus as Healer, he or she is healed.

All you do is share the good news.  If the one who hears believes, he or she will be saved...and healed.

Escaping the argument trap (Part 2)

"Don't answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.  But speak with a fool according to your wisdom lest he think in his soul that he is wise." 
Proverbs 26:4-5


I will never argue again.  I will never verbally fight.

I've said that before, and still did it.  Why?  I see these two reasons:

1. I forget who I'm talking to: an unreasonable person.
2. I forget my focus, allowing myself to get blindsided and distracted.

So, if I don't need to forget these two things, then I need to remember two things instead.

ONLY REASON WITH REASONABLE PEOPLE
I used to be a bouncer, and the head bouncer had this motto:  Never try to reason with a drunkard.
It seems obvious.  But I would forget.  I actually had an experience that was just as telling.  A drunk woman, or a woman who was leaving tipsiness and entering intoxication, said, "I keep forgetting I'm talking to someone who is sober."  Look at that.  Even as she approached drunkenness, she had to remind herself that the best person to talk to when you're drunk is someone else whose drunk.  She saw what the head bouncer saw: The sober and the drunk can't converse.  Sober people converse with sober people.  Drunks converse with drunks. 

But I forget.  I start talking to a drunk person as if she's sober.  In doing so, I become drunk with rage.  I allow myself to get into the hellishness of arguments, the merry-go-round of fighting. 

Never again.  I will reason with the reasonable, reasonably.  With the unreasonable, I will either completely avoid them, not talk to them at all, or speak as briefly as possible.

Click here for part 3.

(The image above is from Google Images)

Escaping the argument trap (Part 1)

You've done it.  I've done it.  We keeping falling for it.  We know it's not going to get us anywhere, but we keep trying to achieve the impossible: to make people do what they don't want to do. 

We argue.

I'm not talking about having a meaningful discussion where two people don't agree.
Key word:  Discussion.

I'm talking about verbal combat.  Fighting.  Yelling.  Screaming.  Insulting. 

Have you ever had an argument, a verbal fight with someone, and the argument made any difference?
Any good difference?  Got anything accomplished, agreed upon, or settled.

I haven't.

And I'm tired of it.  I'm tired of falling for it.  I'm tired of doing it.

So, how do we escape?

I'll tell you how I'm going to escape, and you can see if it helps you.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2.

(The image above is from Google Images)

Escaping the argument trap (Part 3)

"Don't answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.  But speak with a fool according to your wisdom lest he think in his soul that he is wise." 
Proverbs 26:4-5

AVOID ARGUMENTATIVE PEOPLE.
In arguments, if I stoop to the level of the foolish person arguing, I'll become like him, according to the verses I've quoted.  I need to not let myself get distracted.  I can do this in one of three ways:

1. Completely avoid the argumentative person.
2. If you can't avoid her, if possible, don't say anything to her at all.  (Never reason with a drunkard--someone who is angry or not thinking straight.)
3. If you must speak to the argumentative person, wisely and briefly say only what is necessary to end the conversation, as it is written:

"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out." 

Proverbs 17:14


I have actually experienced victory in dealing with argumentative people--when I've remembered these things.  I have to remember who I can and can't talk to.  The key is avoiding the argumentative person, as it is written,

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared."  Proverbs 22:24-25

This verse says it all!  It tells us how to escape the argument trap:  avoid argumentative people, if this is possible.  If not, as it says in Proverbs 17:14, end interactions with argumentative people as soon as possible.  Don't answer them.  Don't say anything.  Leave them as soon as you can.  If you can't leave them, if you have to talk to them (like if they're your boss) speak as briefly as possible, as it is also written,

"When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise."  Proverbs 17:10

So if you're like me, and you never want to argue again, we now know how.

• Avoid argumentative people.
• If we can't avoid them, don't talk to them.
• If we must talk to them, wisely speak briefly.  (This means we say only what we need to say, only what they are open to hearing, no more no less, according to their authority if we're in their territory.)

May we never argue again. 

May  we escape the argument trap.

(Both images are from Google Images)