What is the Purpose of Your Sickness?

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:29-32)

The “Lord’s Supper” was something Jesus himself had set up to commemorate his death on the cross, and the beginning of the New Covenant where the bread and wine symbolized his body and blood: the bread symbolizes his broken body and the wine symbolizes the blood he shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. But in the city of Corinth some participants were not acting like believers at all. They were acting like carnal people still walking in the kingdom of darkness. Gluttony and drunkenness were being observed in some of these celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, and the result was that some of them had become weak and sick, and some of them had even died as a result of their “eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner.” They were “guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord,” and their sickness was a result of God’s judgment on their sin. They did not take the Lord’s Supper seriously, and suffered as a result.

Paul then states this very important principle: “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Sickness is often a way that God is judging us to try and get our attention; to get us to repent and start moving in a different direction. It is the discipline of a loving heavenly father who wants us to enjoy his blessings, and not the judgments he needs to carry out against the kingdom of darkness and those walking in that darkness. When we are reborn into God’s kingdom, we become children of God and can walk in the light of that kingdom. But if we choose to continue walking in the darkness even after we have become God’s children, we will often suffer many of the same consequences that those who are not God’s children suffer in the kingdom of darkness. God disciplines us as his children:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. (Hebrews 12:1-13)

I realize that the idea of our sickness being a result of our sins is not a popular message today, because our humanistic culture is built upon the foundation of evolution, and it has taught us to believe that all sickness is a result of natural causes that we can control in our environment. The drug companies have developed a medicine or vaccine for just about every problem now with this belief system. If they cannot find a cause for the sickness in the natural realm, they usually just cite the cause as "stress" and give a pill for that too. The spiritual realm, including sin, is usually not even acknowledged. While it is certainly true that our environment, the physical realm, can cause us to be sick, we should first examine ourselves and see if there is a spiritual cause. Sin is very real, and it has very real consequences in our physical bodies. If God is disciplining us through our sickness, then physical remedies (natural or medical) will probably not work:

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you. (Jeremiah 46:11)

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (Jeremiah 8:22)

Are you properly evaluating your sickness and its causes? There can be many causes of sickness, including physical causes and spiritual causes. The spiritual causes are most often related to sin, as we read above in I Corinthians chapter 11. If the cause of our sickness is spiritual, the solution is also spiritual:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord… (Acts 3:19)

If you one of God’s adopted children and have been granted access into his kingdom, do not ignore the discipline of your loving heavenly father! His goal and purpose in your struggles is to draw you closer to him and to be separated from the kingdom of darkness which will experience his condemnation and judgment.

So when you experience sickness, do you trust in a humanistic culture and their solutions, or are you like King David who knew who to trust in when he faced sickness?

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. (Psalms 30:2)

The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalms 41:3)

Related article: Who do You Run to When You are Sick?

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Do You Know What You are Eating?

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth… (Psalms 104:14)

In a previous devotional we established the fact that all food comes from God. We saw that the Bible clearly teaches that God our Creator is the one who creates and supplies food to us. All food originates from reproducing plant life – life that God created. It takes water, air and sunlight for plants to grow, elements that God also created and regulates. The animals that become meat for our food are dependent on this same plant life, air, water, and sunlight.

Psalm 104 is a psalm that clearly establishes this truth:

He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them. You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart. The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. (Psalms 104:5-24)

In considering how God supplies us with food, we must also consider a very important event in the history of man. When the original couple Adam and Eve sinned, it affected all of creation, including food production:

And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:17-19)

Prior to this event, Adam’s job, the first occupation of mankind, was tending the Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise that he neither created nor planted:

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers… The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Genesis 2:8-15)

What a difference between “working and keeping” a garden in paradise planted and watered by God, to the work of “sweat and pain” needed to bring forth “plants of the field” infested with thorns and thistles! The whole nature of food production changed completely, but man is still dependent upon God to supply everything necessary to produce food.

Today in the 21^st century, however, man has built a society based on a humanistic view of life where man is believed to be the highest form of life that has evolved. Man has now taken on the role of the new “creator” of food. Modern man will have none of that “sweat and pain” and hard work stuff when it comes to producing food, because in his belief system technology has replaced all of that. As is portrayed in science fiction stories, there is a belief that one day we will be able to “create” our own food at the touch of button.

The problem with this belief system of course is the truth that man is not a creator of life, but is himself created from dust: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Can man and his “wonderful” technology really reverse God’s curse on sin, and its corruption of the natural world? No. Take a look again at Psalm 104 and look at these verses:

These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. (Psalms 104:27-30)

As I have written in many other places, modern man worships “science” which today has a very narrow meaning that only looks at the physical world. It ignores the spiritual realm altogether. But man’s technology cannot stop man from dying a physical death, which happens when the spirit leaves and the physical part of man begins to decay and return to the elements of the earth (“dust”). In the same way, man-made things can never achieve to the things created by the Spirit of God. As the verse in Psalm 104 clearly states: “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created…” Man cannot do this.

So make no mistake about it. There is a right way to produce food and a wrong way. The right way recognizes that all food originates from God, and is the result of trusting God and working hard. The wrong way to produce food believes that technology can produce food easily and with little effort, because the producers deny the existence of God and that all food originates from him, and they deny that there is a curse on nature that affects the way food is produced. They put their trust in themselves and their technology.

I am thoroughly convinced that “technology” in and of itself is not evil. It is neutral, because ultimately all knowledge comes from God also. It is the application of technology that can either be helpful or harmful. In the case of food production, technology cannot improve on the quality of food the way God created it. It can only increase production. Technology can increase quantity, but if it is ignoring the principles God has placed in his creation, it can also degrade the food to the point where that food is no longer healthy for us because of its alteration, or lack of essential nutrients.

The best example of this today is probably the case of genetically modified crops. These “foods” have not been around for very long, and we are only now starting to see the results of eating them. Earlier this year the American Academy Of Environmental Medicine issued a press release on genetically modified foods that stated: “there is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects” and that “GM foods pose a serious health risk in the areas of toxicology, allergy and immune function, reproductive health, and metabolic, physiologic and genetic health.” Their position paper references several studies backing up their claims, and can be read here.

Just this week a federal judge ruled that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly approved genetically modified sugar beets in 2005 and ordered the agency to conduct a more exhaustive study of the crop's environmental impact.” (Article here.) The problem is that since 2005, 95 percent of the total sugar beet acreage in North America is already genetically modified. The safety of these foods is now being questioned. Didn’t hear about this in your local or national news this week? It got a big yawn from most media outlets. In June this year a federal appeals court upheld a 2-year-old ban on genetically modified alfalfa. In both cases, courts ruled that regulators must “conduct a more thorough review of genetically modified crops before approving them.” But our government under the USDA has already approved these crops and many of them are already a major part of our food system, while most of the rest of the world still bans them. There are currently no labeling laws in the U.S. to identify GM foods, so there is currently no way to distinguish them in grocery stores.

When our country was founded, 90% of the population was involved in agriculture. When Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War, about 50% of the population was involved in agriculture producing food, and much of the population still lived near farms that produced food. Today, less than 1% of the population in the United States produces food for everyone else. Do you know who produces your food? Do you know what you’re eating? Do you think your food is safe just because it is legal and you can buy it in a grocery store?

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. (Psalms 145:15)

Related article: Who do You Trust for Your Food?

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The Healing Power of Words

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

Did you know that the words you speak have incredible power to bring healing in people’s lives? When you speak words of love, comfort, or encouragement to someone, those words have power to affect the person hearing them in such a positive way, that the result is health in their body.

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (Proverbs 12:25)

Who in this life doesn’t suffer from some “anxiety?” Often the source of our anxiety is focusing on the negative, and sometimes even things that are not true, rather than the positive things that are true. You can help someone by speaking to them words of truth for encouragement to them and to build up their faith: There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

For those of us who are parents, our words can impart knowledge and life to our children, which results in their good health: My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22)

Are you speaking healthy words to those around you?

Not only do our words have power to heal, but unfortunately they also have power to destroy, which can result in sickness. As Proverbs 12:18 above states: “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts..” – and swords kill or cripple people! Proverbs 18:21 says: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” When we get into a conflict or argument, our words can either diffuse the situation like dousing a fire with water, or they can inflame the situation like throwing gasoline onto a fire!

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:6)

James, the brother of Jesus, understood the power of words, and wrote that if one could control their tongue and only speak good words, that person would be a “prefect man!”

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. (James 3:2-10)

I guess James could write this because he lived with the only person in the history of mankind who was perfect in all his ways: Jesus! Jesus’ words were so powerful, that he could speak healing into a person’s life even when he was not present:

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith… And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8:5-13)

Jesus’ words were so powerful, that when he spoke to evil spirits they fled and healing came: That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (Matthew 8:16)

As was written in a previous article, Jesus has never stopped talking! He still speaks today, and he has a word specifically for you today, if you will take time to stop and seek him out, and listen to him. His word will bring healing to your heart and life. Then it’s your turn to speak to those around you who are hurting and waiting for a good word to help heal them!

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

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Science vs. Spiritual Wisdom

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

In a recent article I mentioned how the word “science” originally was a synonym of “knowledge,” and that only recently in our history of the English language has it taken on a much more narrow meaning of “a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena.” (science. Dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc.) This narrow understanding of “science” or “knowledge,” which only looks at what can be observed in the physical realm, is now equated with “truth,” and is considered by modern society to be more valuable than any other kind of knowledge. It has become the religion of modern man. But there is much knowledge in our world that cannot be observed in the physical realm, or “proven” by scientific discovery! We are also warned not to be deceived by “science” and knowledge based only on the natural realm: See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

As we discussed earlier, a more valuable knowledge is the kind of knowledge that is a result of relationships, where we come to know someone (as opposed to knowing about someone.) The most important person in the universe who is within our grasp to know in a personal way is God himself – the one who created you! He is more accessible to you than any important person here on earth who may be rich and famous but would not even give you the time of day! And he is always available to you – he is never too busy to listen to what you have to say, or too busy to spend time with you. He is also the one person in the universe who really knows you, even better than you know yourself!

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalms 139:13-17)

Wouldn’t you like to know the thoughts of God; what God is thinking about you? Well you can! While we can’t read other people’s minds and understand what they are feeling and thinking, God has in fact allowed us to read his mind and understand what he is thinking and feeling. He does this through his Spirit: For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God… "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:11-12;14)

God’s Spirit is a gift he gives to everyone who has been recreated spiritually and born again into his kingdom, the Kingdom of Light. Everyone walking on the face of this earth is either walking in the Kingdom of Light or the Kingdom of Darkness. They are spiritual kingdoms. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for the punishment of our sins, our spirits are recreated and we are reborn spiritually into the Kingdom of Light. God’s seal of ownership on us, our “proof” that we now belong to him, is the gift of his Spirit: In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14) This is a reality that can only be experienced: it cannot be proven in the natural (physical) realm by modern day scientific methods!

Those who walk in the Kingdom of Darkness do not have access to God’s Spirit, and are therefore limited to what they can observe in the natural realm. They cannot understand spiritual wisdom from God, because they lack his Spirit. So they develop whole systems of “scientific knowledge” based only on their limited observation of the physical realm, often coming up with foolish philosophies and beliefs such as evolution.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned… (1 Corinthians 2:14)

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools… (Romans 1:21-22)

The spiritual wisdom that comes from God, on the other hand, helps us to understand things that cannot be understood strictly in the natural realm. The really important issues of life, such as who is God, why did he create me, what is my purpose in life – are not found simply through “scientific” discovery. We must seek the spiritual wisdom from God via a relationship with him to understand these things.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14 italics added)

So when you have health challenges and need help, who do you turn to first: those experts with scientific knowledge walking in darkness, or to the one who created you and loves you, and has allowed you to know his thoughts through his Spirit? Who is in the best position to help you?

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21)

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Knowledge vs. Love

Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

As we read through the apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament portion of the Bible that were written to the early churches, we see a common theme and problem that existed in those early churches. There were divisions and factions, instead of unity. The primary cause of those divisions was giving more importance to “knowledge” instead of love. As the verse above states, knowledge makes one arrogant by fooling you to think you know more and are better than someone else, whereas love (agape love which is an unconditional love) seeks to build up a person and seeks to be more concerned about them than we are about ourselves.

The biggest divisions in the early church fellowships were divisions between Jewish Christians and Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians. It was a titanic clash of cultures! This was especially true when it came to eating foods. Paul deals with these divisions head on in Romans chapter 14: Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:1-4)

God loves us and accepts us just the way we are. His love is unconditional and free. All the requirements of the law, and its punishment for failing to keep all the standards of the law, were dealt with once and for all by Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection. Therefore, since God has not judged us according to our sins, we in turn are not to judge others according to their sins or shortcomings, but rather accept them with unconditional love: Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. (Romans 14:13-15)

There is just as much division among Christians today as there ever has been. But God is not impressed with how much we know, or how good we think we are. The mark of a mature believer is NOT purity of doctrine, knowledge of the Bible, or having the “correct” position on social or political issues. Jesus said it best when he said: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

I have had the opportunity to live in countries and visit countries where Christians are the persecuted minority people. In these places there is usually tremendous unity among believers. They draw strength from their love for one another and their common strong bond as part of the body of Christ. Differences become inconsequential in the context of those who belong to the Kingdom of Light and have become part of God’s family through spiritual rebirth. But in countries like the United States, even among those of us who have been reborn into Jesus’ Kingdom, we tend to emphasize our differences and wrongly think that our particular doctrine or denomination has a corner on the truth, and look down upon all others who do not agree with us. I recently was listening to a Christian radio station and the person on the air publically criticized another church in their area for what they considered a “heresy” by promoting a certain Christian book that they didn’t like. This seemed to me to be a clear example of where “knowledge makes arrogant.” The popular culture loves to debate and ridicule those who don’t agree with their positions (just turn on any news program or talk show program), and this same attitude seems to dominate believers as well. How can those who still walk in the darkness see our love for one another when we are so busy debating and condemning each other?!

As our opening verse states: Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3) The mature believers are the ones who are known by God and also have a strong relationship with him. As I have previously written, “what” you may know is not nearly as important as “who” you know, and how well you know God. And the measurement of those who know God best is not their intellectual understanding of the Bible, or social issues, or political issues. Instead, those who know God best show it in their love for one another!

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13)

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

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Love: The Power to Heal

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Sin is the number one cause of all sickness and disease in the world today. When God first created the world, it was a perfect world with no faults: no sickness or disease, and no sin.

It is true that not all sickness is a direct cause of personal sin (personal sin in the life of the one who is sick). As we have seen in previous devotionals studying the life of David, for example, we see that David was often sick, and that the cause of his sickness was sometimes his own personal sin, but at other times the sins of others who were persecuting him. We also see in John chapter 9 that a man born blind was not suffering from his sins or the sins of his parents in his blindness. But ultimately, sin is the root cause of all sickness (whether it is our own personal sin directly causing it or not), because if sin had never entered the world, God’s perfect creation would have continued in its perfect state where sickness did not exist.

The Biblical pattern for dealing with sickness is much different than it is today, where most people view sickness as strictly a physical issue, and only seek physical remedies. In James chapter 5 we have the Biblical pattern: 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 of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16)

So if sin is the number one cause of sickness, shouldn’t we be concentrating our efforts in overcoming the effects of sin to live healthy lives? One of the things we see in the Bible that is very powerful in overcoming the effects of sin is love.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. (Proverbs 10:12)

Of course, “love” is something that needs to be defined, because western culture and the English language has a very weak understanding of “love.” When we read the English translations of the Bible and read the English word “love”, there are actually many Greek words (Greek was the language the New Testament was written in) that are translated by our English word for “love.” The three most common ones are: philia, eros, and agape. “Philia” describes a “brotherly” love one has for family and friends. “Eros” describes a passionate or romantic love such as exists between a husband and wife. But the word used for “love” most often in the New Testament is “agape”, which often represents an unconditional love that is completely independent of feelings. It is the word that is used, for example, when Jesus tells his disciples to not hate their enemies, but to love them (see Matthew 5:43-44). Such an act of love is done independent of feelings (who “feels like” loving their enemies?!) It is an act of the will. When Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins as an act of the most supreme love ever demonstrated, the Bible records that he prayed to God to remove that hour of darkness from his life in the moments leading up to that event. He didn’t really “feel” like going through with it. In fact, he was in agony and sweated drops of blood. But he prayed “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) That is an example of agape love, which is a love shown and done independent of “feelings” of love.

One of the best definitions of this kind of love is found in I Corinthians chapter 13: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

So when Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another, he used himself as the example of the kind of love he was referring to: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)

If love is the beautiful flower and sweet fragrance that has the power to overcome ugly sins and affect healing in people’s lives, then forgiveness is the soil that supplies the roots to that kind of love. Without forgiveness, love is impossible!

…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:13-14)

The power of forgiveness is so important in life and health, that we can withhold God’s own love from working in our lives if we do not forgive others: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)

This concept of forgiveness was hard for Jesus’ disciples to understand, so he illustrated the seriousness of this truth by telling them a story:

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:21-35)

When we are reborn into the Kingdom of Light we experience God’s forgiveness first hand, and it transforms our life. We now have the power to forgive others, even those who have hurt us deeply. Such forgiveness brings peace, and physical wellness is a by-product.

Unforgiveness, on the other hand, imprisons us and gives power to the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, which can result in all kinds of sicknesses. Paul knew that unforgiveness was one of the ways that Satan uses to harm us and affect our health, and wrote:

Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him… If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his (Satan’s) schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:7-11)

Are you suffering today from some sickness or disease that may have spiritual roots in unforgiveness? Love has the power to overcome that and make you well! But medicine and most doctors probably cannot help you in this area. You need to seek out friends who know God, who have a relationship with him and can pray for you, helping you to overcome the power of unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, and hatred in your life. God forgave us for our sins at the cross when Jesus died in our place. Now we can receive God’s power and love in our life, a love so powerful that it covers up our sins and the sins of those who have hurt us. That’s REAL healing that is available for free, and cannot be purchased with money!

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting… (Psalms 103:10-17)

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

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WHO You Know is More Important than WHAT You Know!

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

As someone who spent many years studying language in school and abroad, and as someone who has earned a living at teaching language, one of my favorite activities is studying the history of specific words, and how their usage has changed over time. One word that has changed in meaning quite a bit since it entered the English language is the word “science.”

Our modern day English word “science” was originally a French word derived from Latin, and in the 1300’s its meaning was very similar to the word “knowledge.” It meant the opposite of “ignorance” and generally meant something obtained by “studying.” It was not originally restricted in meaning to any particular branch of study. In the 18^th and 19^th centuries its usage was becoming more restricted, referring to a “body of regular or methodical observations or propositions ... concerning any subject or speculation,” and was often linked to the study of “philosophy.” (science. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian.)

From the 20^th century up until today, the meaning of “science” is restricted even further, as can be seen by this definition found in a medical dictionary: “knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena.” (science. Dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc.)

This narrow understanding of “science” or “knowledge,” which only looks at what can be observed in the physical realm, is now equated with “truth,” and is considered by modern society to be more valuable than any other kind of knowledge. It has become the religion of modern man. But there is much knowledge in our world that cannot be observed in the physical realm, or “proven” by scientific discovery!

When we read the Bible, we get a much different view of “knowledge.” The most valuable knowledge is seen not as an accumulation of data, but in relationships. To truly “know” someone is not possible by simply using modern scientific methods. You can know “about someone” by studying a book written about them, for example, but to truly know another person is only possible by spending time with them. If the president of the United States walked into a place where I was visiting, I would recognize him because I know some things about him, including what he looks like. But I do not “know” him personally. There is a huge distinction in these two different kinds of knowledge. The kind of knowledge that only recognizes the president of the United States is not nearly as valuable as knowing the president of the United States on a personal level, where he would also know me.

So since there is valuable knowledge that can only be obtained via relationships (as opposed to scientific discovery or the observation of facts), which relationship is the most important? Obviously, man’s relationship to his Creator is the most important relationship! We know God by knowing Jesus:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28)

You can get to know about a person by reading a book about them, but you cannot really know a person that way. Imagine if you tried to build a marriage relationship by simply studying facts that were written about your spouse! You could read volumes and volumes of books (if they existed) about a person, but you would never really know them personally. You could never really love them simply by knowing things about them, and never having met them in person. To love someone requires a different kind of knowledge; a knowledge which is based on experience – subjective experience from spending time with them and developing a relationship.

But in our modern day culture which worships a narrow view of knowledge called “science,” a knowledge which only recognizes the observation of the physical realm, subjective experiences are considered “invalid” ways of knowing truth. So the accumulation of data, bolstered by the belief in evolution, becomes the most valued knowledge in our modern society. And what does God think of this “knowledge” which attempts to deny (or at least ignore) his existence?

For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:19-21)

We cannot know God simply by studying his physical creation. Such knowledge may teach us some things about God, but it will do us no good when we die the physical death and then meet him face to face for the first time. The only knowledge that will lead us to eternal life is the knowledge that comes with a personal, subjective relationship with Jesus Christ: This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

When we know Christ, we come to love him, and to know his love for us. And this love is more valuable than knowledge, and more powerful than any knowledge on earth.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 italics added)

Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:1-3)

The Bible also makes it clear that the people who go around pretending to know Jesus, but really only know some things about him (maybe they read his book), and don’t know him personally, are NOT going to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven:

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:21-23 italics added)

So in the end, it really is true that who you know is much more important than what you know! If you know the love of Christ first hand, and have experienced him personally, you don’t need to know anything else to enter the Kingdom of God!

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Do you know Jesus? Have you experienced his love first hand, the kind of love that led him to voluntarily give up his life as a sacrifice for your sins? Or do you only know some things about him, having simply an intellectual (“scientific”) knowledge about him? In the case of Jesus, the intellectual knowledge about him is not worth too much. The personal subjective knowledge, however, is much more valuable, both now and in the future. It is more valuable than anything else this life has to offer! So get to know Jesus and his love for you: your life depends upon it!

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