From Dis-ease to Ease
January 10, 2018

Read: Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 9:2-8

By his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:5 NIV)

Months into my cancer diagnosis, I noticed a shift in the way I looked at life. Before cancer, I focused on the ease of my life. Now everywhere I looked I only saw signs of dis-ease: doctor appointments, blood draws, chemotherapy, and medication after medication. I used to be grateful for my health. Now I routinely obsess over my disease.

The answer, which is obvious but not easy, is to focus on Jesus. Jesus sees us as whole and complete people. He doesn’t draw lines between our physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual makeup. In the Gospels, Jesus heals leprosy, reduces fevers, cures blindness, and increases mobility. But he also challenges prejudices, weeps at suffering, and has compassion on people who were like sheep without a shepherd. He also is anointed by the Spirit, battles the tempter in the desert, and casts out demons.

In Matthew 9, Jesus says first to a paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” then second, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” Both commands heal the man, and both were needed—we all need some kind of healing, but we tend to focus on the physical. My healing might not be a remission from cancer, but healing will happen. When we surrender every part of who we are to Jesus, we can trust that we will be healed. Sometimes the healing we get isn’t the healing we want, but when Jesus touches someone’s life, healing happens. —Karen Bables

Prayer: Jesus, I know that you care about my wholeness. Please heal what needs healing in my life.

The book of Romans is a beautiful explanation of the gospel, written as a letter to the Christians in Rome. At the end of the letter, the apostle Paul concludes with a word of glory to God. This final praise recalls many of the letter’s major themes. Paul begins by saying that God is the one “who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ” (v. 25). Paul began his letter with a desire to encourage and strengthen the Christians in Rome, and now he makes it clear that if any strengthening is to come, it will come through God, who alone can bring strength to his people.

Are you in need of strength? Then this message is for you. How do we receive this strength? The Lord strengthens his people through the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ (v. 25). The gospel strengthens us because it is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). We can be strong only “in the Lord and in the strength of his power” (Ephesians 6:10), but we cannot come to him until peace with him is established. Only Jesus can establish peace between us and God, and when we believe the gospel message that Christ alone can forgive our sins, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Beloved, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, then this peace is yours. Receive it with gladness and be strengthened.

All of this takes place through “the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed” to all people (vv. 25-26). In the Old Testament, the gospel was taught in symbols and foreshadowing, but now with the advent of Jesus, the gospel is now seen with full clarity. Through Israel, the Messiah came, uniting Jew and Gentile in one body. Today, we are all one body, regardless of race or ethnicity. Through Jesus, we are the family of God in Christ.

Prayer: Father, glorify Thy Son that Thy Son may glorify Thee. Holy Spirit, do Thine office and take of these things of Christ and reveal them unto us. We gather up all our prayers in that salvation through the blood of the Lamb. Amen. (Charles Spurgeon)

Chris Marquez is a seminary student and pastor, currently planting Reformed Church of Los Angeles in Lynwood, California.

Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
      I have set the crown on one who is mighty,
      I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found my servant David;
      with my holy oil I have anointed him;
my hand shall always remain with him;
      my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him,
      the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
      and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
      and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
      and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
      my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’
How many times have we been promised something that never comes to pass? Most of us have experienced the feeling of being let down by an unfulfilled promise. After all, promises can be hard to keep.

But God has no trouble keeping his promises. With Christmas around the corner, we are reminded that God promised a Savior and fulfilled his promise by sending Jesus. Faithfulness is one of God’s attributes. Though many people have failed us, God is the faithful one.

Perhaps you have been waiting many years for God to fulfill a promise, and you think God has forgotten about you. Remember: throughout the Bible, God never forgets his promises. He always keeps his word.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of God. He came to earth, was persecuted as a baby, rejected throughout his ministry, and sentenced to be crucified on the cross. It was not easy for him to go through so much suffering and to end up dying on the cross. Yet in all of his life, Jesus was faithful. God’s faithfulness is bigger than anything we are going through. God is a God of covenant. He will never break that covenant and leave us. He has made a promise that he will be with us. As Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”

God has made a covenant with his church, telling us that he will always be with us. Even when we walk through darkness, he will be there with us.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, because you do not break your covenant. You are faithful and you bring the assurance to my life that I will never be alone, and that you are always with me. Amen.

By Ángel López

Psalm 89
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
      with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
      your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
      I have sworn to my servant David:
‘I will establish your descendants forever,
      and build your throne for all generations.’”

When I was a boy, my abuelito (grandfather) taught me how to pray as he was taught by his abuelito a long time ago. Today, I pray with my daughters using almost the same words my abuelito used to pray. My hope and prayer is that my daughters and their children will continue proclaiming God’s faithfulness to the next generations.

When I immigrated to the United States, I brought with me a treasured bundle of memories and stories from past generations. I might not be able to find a physical photograph of my abuelos (grandparents) but it’s their faith in God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, that sticks with me and that I am passing to my daughters. This God of my grandparents is the most tangible gift that I am passing on to my family.

In a world where nothing lasts, this gift is particularly special. An ancient building may collapse from an earthquake, and the city is forever changed. When a flood hits, rising water erases the work of generations of human hands. Loved ones are here one day and gone the next. Or consider the computer: a new model makes the previous model look old and out of fashion. Things come and go, and there is a constant fight between our present and future. We find ourselves in a frantic race with time and with ourselves.

But God does not become obsolete. The psalmist has a realistic view of the past, the present, and the future, and he reminds us that God’s love is as firm as the heavens, is faithful to every generation, and will be so forever and ever.

Prayer: God of our grandparents and God of our children’s children, we proclaim your faithfulness throughout the earth.

Ángel López is an RCA minister serving in Holland, Michigan.

By Fernando Jensen

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.”

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. …

Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

David has been delivered from all his enemies, has been proclaimed king, and is living in a palace. In a moment of quiet, David reflects, “The Lord took me from the pasture, where I was tending sheep, to a palace to be the leader of Israel. I must build a house for the Lord.” David has a plan and good intentions; it’s part of a response of gratitude to God. But is this what the Lord expects of him? Are King David’s good intentions sufficient?

There is an old phrase, “All roads lead to Rome.” It’s very common today to believe that there are many different ways to draw near to God and please him. But that’s not actually the case. The writer of Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). Even though the way seems right, it may not be. Even though David wants to build a house for God, God does not want David to build it. Instead, God says that he will make David a house and establish David’s throne. God will keep his covenant to the people of Israel.

The reason David runs into trouble is because he doesn’t ask, “What is God’s plan?” As Christians, we ought to start by seeking the truth and trying to understand God’s will. Rather than looking to our own experience alone, we should look to the Word of God, since we believe in “Sola scriptura” (Scripture alone). We know that God is sovereign, and we want to live according to his plan.

As we go about our lives, it’s important to seek God’s purpose and plan, and this plan is found only through his Word. Despite our intentions, the promises of the Lord are unbreakable: “I will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips.” (Psalm 89:34). The Lord never forgets his covenant.

Prayer: Lord, help me to seek you, and to trust that you will keep your promises to your people. Give me the humility and insight to recognize when my own best intentions don’t align with your purposes. Amen.

Fernando Jensen is a retired church planter in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Dear God, we carry many burdens and worry over many things.  Help us to hear your promise in the Advent season, that in hearing, we may receive the Spirit’s gift of joy.  And may our spirits be kept sound at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Advent is a season that I anticipate with great cheer and expectancy. For many, Advent is one of the most joyful and awaited seasons of the year. This season also makes space for the good news of Jesus to be shared. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the light that this world so desperately needs. The true meaning of the season is often replaced by the parties, Christmas cookies, twinkling lights, and presents.

The real celebration is of the true light: that a Savior was given to us (Luke 2:11). As believers, we have the confidence of knowing that Jesus Christ came into the world to bring hope, a future, and salvation to all people who accept him as their Lord and Savior. We proclaim that Christ is Lord, not only by our words but also by our actions.

As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, and as John came, so do we, “as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him” (v. 7). Our story and our testimony help shine the light of Jesus wherever we go. Let us be the light to people who don’t know the true meaning of Advent. Let us be the voice that helps direct them onto a straight path.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of Jesus. You sent your only Son and you did it all for love. Help us not forget this ultimate sacrifice. Let us also be a light, so we can share the good news with people in need. May God’s presence in our lives be the best present we can receive and share with others this year. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Diana Cano runs the Family Leadership Initiative (FLI) program for Comunidad Cristiana de Grand Rapids, an RCA church plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that is pastored by her husband, Rodrigo.