Home Page of ACTS International
Home Page of ACTS InternationalHow to Find and Know God without having to be religiousLife Help Articles dealing with faith, family, and practical helps for purposeful livingDaily and Weekend Encounters with more than a third-of-a-million worldwide subscribersSupport the Work of ACTS International a not-for-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. donorsCurrent report on the ministries and services of ACTS InternationalOnline Store of ACTS ... ACTS CommunicationsAbout ACTS International
         
     
   
 
  Site Map Email Share and/or Bookmark
   
   

Add Daily Encounter to your website without charge

Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010


Healing Beyond the Test Tube Part III

"Don't worry about thingsā€"food, drink, and clothes ... don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow, too. Live one day at a time."1

In our series on "Healing Beyond the Test Tube" we said that the first law of health and healing was clean livingā€"that is, physical hygiene, sanitation, and moral living. The second law is being free from stress and worry.

The writer of the Proverbs stated, "A tranquil mind gives life to the body."2 And as Jesus said in today's Scripture verse: "Don't worry about thingsā€"food, drink, and clothes ... don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow, too. Live one day at a time."

Dr. William Saddler once remarked, "No one can appreciate as fully as a doctor the amazingly large percentage of human disease and suffering which is directly traceable to worry, fear, conflict, immorality, dissipation, and ignoranceā€"to unwholesome thinking and unclean living. The sincere acceptance of the principles and teachings of Christ with respect to the life of mental peace and joy, the life of unselfish thought and clean living, would at once wipe out more than half the difficulties, diseases, and sorrows of the human race. In other words, more than one-half of the present afflictions of mankind could be prevented by the tremendous prophylactic power of actually living up to the personal and practical spirit of the real teachings of Christ."3

A Sure Cure

The third law for health and healing is confession and prayer. The modern or medical word for old-fashioned confession is "catharsis." It means an emptying out. And it is now known that one of the most powerful tools for healing is an emptying out of our supercharged repressed negative emotions of anger, hostility, guilt, fear, anxieties, and all the things that worry and bother us. As someone has wisely said, it is not so much what we eat that upsets us, but what eats us.

But this principle of emptying out or confession is as old as the Bible. Two thousand years ago, James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, wrote, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."4

But the important point to note in finding healing is that the Scriptures didn't stop at that point. James went on to say, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."5

Before prayer can be effective, genuine confession, or an emptying out is needed to both God and at least one other person. This confession of sins includes our emotional sins and faults such as repressed negative emotions of fear, anxiety, hostility, resentment, etc. as well as our guilt for wrongdoing. These are killers and need to be confessed and emptied out before healing can take place.

To be continued....

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to get in touch with all of my negative emotions and everything in my life that is hindering or blocking my healing. And help me to find a safe and trusted person to whom I can confess all my emotions, my failures, and my sins so that I can and will be healed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Matthew 6:25, 34 (Living Bible)(NIV).
2. Proverbs 14:30.
3. McMillen, S.I, None of These Diseases, (c) 1963. Fleming H. Revell, Co., Westwood, NJ. Used by permission. P 67. (Note: this book has since been updated).
4. James 5:14-15.
5. James 5:16.

<:))))><

 
  • Next Devotional
  • Previous Devotional

  • 2. To Know God and be sure you're a real
        Christian click on:

    3. Donate: To help send Daily Encounter
        without charge to people around the world
        click on:

    4. To send today's Daily Encounter to a friend
        click on:

    Email

    5. To share your faith in a simple, attractive
        way with a friend click on:

    6. For today's featured article click on:

    7. This week's chuckle as seen "On the Lighter
        Side"  on Weekend Encounter click on:

    8. Change Address of your subscription to
        Daily Encounter
    click on:

       
        Back to Return to previous page Previous Page    
       
    Site Map   Top
       
         
             
    Find Peace With God footer
     
      ARTICLES
    About God
    About Faith
    Relationships
    Success/Failure
    Solutions
    Recovery
    Ask the Teacher
    Better Living Tips
    Friendship
    Words of Love
    Words of Inspiration
    People Power for Jesus
    Simple and Effective Witnessing for Christ

    SITE TRANSLATIONS
    Spanish Espanol
    French Francois

      DEVOTIONS
    Devotionals
    Daily Encounter
    Weekend Encounter
    Encuentros Diarios
    Archives
    Subscribe
    When God Is Silent
    Prayer Partners
      Needed

    Special Needs

    BIBLE HELPS
    Helps and Studies
    Today's Reading
    Annual Reading

      QUOTES AND TESTS
    Today's Quotes
    Happiness Test
    Stress Test

    ACTS IN ACTION

    ACTS Websites
    ACTS in Action Report

    COMMUNICATIONS

    Syndicate ACTS Articles
    "I Hate Witnessing"
       Audio—No Charge

    Opening Closed Minds
    Effective Communications
    Jesus, the Communicator
    Punching Holes in
       the Darkness

      REPORTS
    About ACTS
    Be an ACTS Friend

    MISC.
    People Power Invite
    Links
    Weather
    Privacy Policy
    Snail-Mail List
    Contact Us/Feedback

    ACTS BOOKSTORE
    Online Bookstore


    Site Map
    Report problems to ACTS International
    All pages in this site © Copyright 2005-2024 by ACTS International
    P.O. Box 73545, San Clemente, CA 92673 U.S.A.
     
    HOME   Daily Encounter  Find Peace With God