A Billion Dollar Headache

It was 1980 something and my paternal grandfather was in a hospital, fighting the terminal cancer that would eventually take his life.

Growing up I never knew or even met him because he had been estranged from my dad and our family and had only recently reconciled due to my mom’s intervention and pleas for reconciliation on the previous New Year’s Day.

In an attempt to work on the relationship, my mom went to visit him in the hospital and he (somewhat roughly) blurted out to her;

“Hey, what do you know about this faith healing stuff?”

Apparently, a nurse had been witnessing to him about how the Lord can heal and still does miracles today.

My mom, led by the Holy Spirit, responded to his sharp tone by saying;

“More important than your healing you need to know where you will spend eternity. Either way you will get a new body.”

My mom then shared with my grandfather God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. My grandfather, that day, chose to place his complete trust in the completed work of Jesus and received him as his Lord and Savior.

He died one week later.

I thought of him when I was recently reading Isaiah 53 verses 5 and 6 which says: 

V5 But He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

V6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord [has caused to land on Him] has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

So often we as Christians will quote that passage when someone needs a healing; especially the part that says; “by His stripes we are healed”

The focus being that if you are sick, you can claim this passage that because of what Jesus did, you can be healed.

And I would say that is true.

However, Isaiah isn’t telling us this just so that I can get my headache healed (or cancer, etc.…) No, it is much bigger than that.

What Jesus did through His death, burial, and resurrection was so much greater than just provide healing for my headache.

In other words, His provision is so much greater than just a physical healing. He provided the only way to fill the great gap between my sin and holiness. That is the main point of the passage.

I had a sin issue and Jesus died to pay for it with His life!

Isaiah is telling us that what we are healed of is our sin problem. After all, if I die from whatever is “killing” me, I will get a new body…

Isaiah is also telling us that what Jesus went through is so much greater than just death.

What was heaped upon this Jesus (who knew no sin) was ALL of the sin and accompanying punishment that was required to pay for the sin.

Look at verse 5 again.

V5 But He [Jesus] was wounded [pierced through] for our transgressions

·        that’s means my rebellion, sin, transgression, trespasses

He was [crushed] bruised for our iniquities;

·        that means my perversity, fault, iniquity, mischief, my sin.

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes [blows that cut in] we are healed.

Verse 6 says that the Lord [has caused to land on Him] has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

The depth on both sides is so much greater than we may ever fully grasp: My problem and His provision. My need and His grace. Eternity was hanging in the balance.

It is as though Jesus was willing to pay over a billion dollars to pay for my sins; which provided healing for my sin issue.

Paul wrote to the Galatian church;

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)  that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Which can also be appropriated towards other healing that I need.

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“Do You Want To Be Made Well?”

I have had numbness in my left foot (and sometimes also leg) since May 6, 2018. I know the date because it is the only time that I have left a hockey game due to a physical problem. I even played a game after dislocating my right shoulder in a game. Needless to say, my whole arm was numb for an entire period!

I was warming up before my game by skating around the rink and suddenly, my whole left leg went numb, and I was in extreme pain. I tried to “skate-it-off”, but I could barely make a full lap around the rink.

I left the rink, went into the locker room, changed into my street clothes, packed up my gear, and drove home.

When I arrived home, Cathy, out of concern, asked me why I was home so early. I explained the situation to her and because she saw that I was in pain (and because I had left early), she told me to take a shower and then she would take me to Urgent care. 

At Urgent Care, they gave me pain meds and sent me home…the next day I went to our primary doctor and to our favorite chiropractor; Dr. Joel.

After that, I have been doing everything I can to fix it including more chiropractic and weekly treatments from our favorite PT Kathy…All with no complete healing. And it has been almost six months!

Stating the obvious, I want to be healed because I don’t like having a numb foot, and because my outdoor hockey season is about to start.

Have you ever struggled with an illness or physical condition for a very long time that won’t go away?

 

I would like to invite you to get a Bible and READ John 5:1-16 and then read my observations…

“Bethesda” means “house of kindness”. The Pool of Bethesda is deep enough to swim in. Beneath the pool was a subterranean stream that would occasionally bubble up and disturb the waters.

Ancient people believed that the disturbance was caused by an angel who occasionally would come, stir up the waters, and whoever stepped into the pool first would be healed.

To us it is mere superstition, but it is the kind of belief that is all around the world today; especially people who are ignorant of the Word of God and by people who are desperate to be healed and will believe anything to get their healing.

One day Jesus was passing by the pool and noticed a man who was sick lying on a mat.

The man had been sick for 38 years! He had tried to get into the pool to be healed, but someone always gets into the pool before him.

He was been committed to the same plan every day to get his healing and it hadn’t worked because someone always got their healing as they got in the pool first. And he was still sick, broken, and he was frustrated

All of us as humans deal with brokenness: Broken bodies, relationships, dreams, spirits…all longing to be healed.

We fool ourselves by telling ourselves; “It’s no big deal…” Trying to get through life walking with a limp and keeping ourselves busy as we ignore the deep need we all have for healing

But if we are truly honest with ourselves, we too would like to just once be the first person in the pool, and THEN we would be healed.

We hear how others have gotten healed and set free, so we pursue our healing. We set out on a plan of action for how we will get healed…

Someday, THIS plan will work, you will see….

Some of us have given up on ever getting healed and so we put our focus on our children. If one plan doesn’t work we will try another. We will try harder, driver further, believe harder…

Or we work on something else like our career. We are constantly on the move; all in an attempt for us to get rid of the pain in our lives.

And, like the man on the mat, we never quite get into the waters to be healed. And what’s worse, we lose focus and can no longer see God even when He is standing next to us.

Verse 6 Tells us that Jesus (the Healer) passed by the pool. But, the man was too filled with discouragement to see Jesus. He was too focused on being frustrated because no one helped him. In fact, this man almost missed seeing the only One who could heal him.

Jesus asked a simple question: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?”

Why would Jesus ask that? Of course, he wanted to be made well! After all, he had been coming to the pool every day.

Sometimes we can get so used to the pain in our lives that we become a friend with it and it becomes part of who we are; even part of our identification.

Our pain becomes like a lizard on our shoulder: It irritates and hurts us all the time. It distracts us and prevents us from being truly free. It takes away a part of us.

AND YET, we don’t seem to be able to get rid of it and we treat it like it is our pet; not realizing that also pushes everyone away from us.

So, Jesus persisted with His question: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?” – “well”, “sound”, “whole” Do you REALLY want to be healed?

Verse 7 Look at how the man responded: “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

This man hadn’t listened to the question that Jesus asked him; “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?”

It seems to me that this man wanted instead to form a committee to look into the problem; perhaps a committee to regulate who goes into the pool…A committee who will make sure that everyone gets their turn.

To me it seems that this man wants a ticket booth set up so we know when it is our turn or some other way to make sure that things are fair…THEN he will get his healing

Too often Jesus comes to us offering life; “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (John 7:37b)

And we respond by asking Him what He is going to do about injustice. Or by asking Him to fix the holes in the umbrella; instead of asking Him to stop the rain.

The man’s problem wasn’t just a physical problem; he had a heart condition. He was so focused upon himself. He was so focused on his plan that he couldn’t see the possibility for God to do something.

The healer Himself was present and all the man wanted was for Jesus to help him into the water; not to heal him another way.

Verse 8 Jesus responded to the man’s complaints; “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

Verse 9 And immediately the man was made well! He took up his bed and walked.

NOTICE: Jesus didn’t help the man into the pool. He didn’t dialog about the situation. He didn’t analyze what was the solution. He healed the man.

 

Jesus came to set us free, not help us in our futile plans.

Jesus didn’t get the man a new job that paid better or get him a new mat. Or get him new friends that would help him get into the pool. Or ask the Father to send an angel to stir up the waters.

Jesus healed the man.

You see, Jesus came to deal with the sin problem as well as the physical lameness. Verse 14 we read that the man’s condition was due to sin. We don’t know what he did, but Jesus tells us IN THIS CASE, sin was the issue.

Jesus said to the man; “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Jesus wants to do the same for each of us today: Not help us in our futile plans. Not help us get into the water. He wants to heal us totally in all areas of our lives.

The Heavenly Father wants you to be whole TODAY; restored to what God originally intended for you; through receiving the work done on the cross by Jesus

This healing is based upon what Jesus ALREADY did not your efforts! There was a very real debt to be paid and Jesus paid it with His death, burial, and resurrection.

Q: Have you given your life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord?

     Have you been transformed by the power of the Spirit of God?

At this moment, you can bow your head and say, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (He will hear that simple prayer).

You can do this right now by praying in your own words like this:

·        Ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins

·        Ask Jesus to take His rightful place as LORD & SAVIOR

·        And then turn away from whatever the Bible says is sin.

·        This is only possible after Christ has come to live inside of you.

And the Spirit of God will come into your heart and will enable you to stop trusting in your own efforts to please God and begin to trust in what Jesus Christ has already done.

The Healer is here today- His Name is JESUS

We read in John 5:6 that when Jesus passed by the pool, the man was too filled with discouragement to see Jesus. He was too focused on being frustrated because no one helped him. This man almost missed seeing the only One who could heal him.

Some of you are in that same position today. Do you see Him here? Or are you simply struggling to get into the water and mad that no one will help you in?

The Healer is here today- His Name is JESUS

Do you hear Him calling out to you? Or are you waiting for an angel to come instead? Or are you mad because others have gone ahead of you?

Jesus is asking each one of us the same question today: “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?” Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually…

 

Why would Jesus ask that? Of course we want to be made well; after all, we’ve been coming to church for years!

The Healer is here today- His Name is JESUS! How will you respond to his question that He is asking to you? Will you respond with excuses? My family has always struggled with this…It’s our generational thing…

Or Will you respond by rising up, taking up your bed and receiving your healing?

IT’S REALLY UP TO YOU…. But you will need to respond to the question that Jesus is asking…

You’ve Stolen My Heart

At the time of this writing, I have four grandsons (Emmett, Everett, Gavin, and Rowan) and one granddaughter (Fallon Ann). I love each of them so very much, and oftentimes it is very hard for me after they have gone home (or when I have left their house). Each of them has a part of my heart.

I still don’t know how it happens, but (seemingly) each and every time we visit the grandchildren, they light up when they see us and come running over to give me (and Cathy) a hug.

And yet, because there is only one granddaughter, I can write this without offending the boys…that is until another granddaughter comes along.

But something happened to me on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 6:34 in the morning, when our daughter Elizabeth (with her husband Chris at her side) gave birth to her first child; Fallon Ann.

A casual look at my BlogSpot revealed that I have written about her at least sixteen times since she was born. I re-read some of them tonight as I am writing this week’s blog and cried because of my love for her.

I was thinking of the casual conversations Cathy and I had this past week when we spent time at Fallon’s hobby farm along with her brother Gavin, my daughter Elizabeth, and her husband Chris. Cathy and I had gone up to their home to help build a playhouse.

I should note that when I work on projects, I have a history of being goal orientated. But sometimes it has been at the expense of quality time with my children and grandchildren.  

This comes from my years working in construction where production meant profits. In fact, Cathy’s dad, when he was alive, used to “drive me nuts” when he would stop and start work on projects (such as when we built the cabin together) just so that he could spend time with his children and grandchildren.

He was a man who really knew that things were not more important than people and relationships. And so, as I thought of him on the drive up to the farm, I was determined this would not be one of those times so I asked Cathy to help me take some breaks to spend quality time with Fallon and Gavin.

I should note that even if I am focused or goal orientated, I have always made room for my children to help by handing stuff to me or swinging a hammer or cleaning up. Today was no acception as Gavin and Fallon worked alongside of us.

At one point towards five pm, Cathy told Gavin and Fallon that we would be staying over for supper so that grandpa could spend time with them. That was my cue to set down the hammer and stop working for the day.

And, just to make sure that I got the message, Cathy said gently said to me; “No more work so that you can spend time with them.” I took the opportunity to thank her and proceeded to go to Gavin and Fallon who called for me to push them on the swings.

It was a wonderful opportunity to swing and talk and laugh and spend quality time with just the two of them as mom and dad cooked supper with Cathy. During this time away from work, Fallon really touched my heart on two occasions.

The first came when I showed her a photo of a drawing that she did on the white board in our kitchen. The weekend before when she was at our house she started drawing a face in dry erase markers and I asked her who it was and she said; “It’s you” and gave me a big smile as she proceeded to draw another person whom I had assumed was grandma Cathy.

When I showed her the photo of the drawing and made a comment about grandpa and grandma, she said; “That’s not grandma, that is a picture I drew of you and me, grandpa”. I stood corrected and my heart was touched that she would draw a picture of the two of us.

After a while, Fallon said that she wanted to sweep out the clubhouse one more time before we ate, so I walked with her.

As we walked through her yard, talking about all sorts of things, Fallon said to me; “Grandpa, I’ve been trying to think of something special that just you and I can do together today.” This little girl was reciprocating love to me and desired to spend time with me and communicated it so very clearly.

And, as important as it was for her to get her clubhouse built, she wanted even more to spend time with the builder.

Now it is one thing to for me to think that I am a favorite person to my children and grandchildren and quite another when I find out that it may be true.

For some of us, this is easy to believe and receive. For others of us, this is not so easy to believe and receive. In fact, our minds can self-talk us into pushing it away.

And yet, the fact is my granddaughter loves her grandpa and wanted (wants) to spend time with him.

As I write this I realize that sometimes I do the same thing with God. Oh, I am grateful that He provides for me and forgives me (and doesn’t squash me like a bug).

But sometimes it is hard to believe and receive the fact that He wants to spend time with me; after all…if He only knew…oh wait, He does know…

Or that He could possibly ever say to me; “I’ve been trying to think of something special that just you and I can do together today.”

It is in these moments that I must believe that He has a part of my heart and stand on His Word that tells me that He demonstrated His own love toward me when I was a sinner and died for me.” (Romans 5:8)

He hung on a cross while we were yet sinners arms wide open, heart exposed, and longing for us to come to Him like my grandchildren do every time I see them.

And He isn’t as preoccupied with the religious things as we might think. And, as important as it is for us to do things for Him, He wants even more to spend time with the person doing the work.

He wants us to come to Him and spend time with Him as though nothing else matters.

How about you? Do you know that you are loved; really loved? Believe it or not you can. God is waiting for an opportunity to love you. But don’t take my word for it; take His – the BIBLE. Unsure where to start? Drop me a line pastortommyoestreich@gmail.com

I would love to share with you how you, too, can have a slate that is clean and heart that is open to love.

Or call 1-877-2GRAHAM (1-877-247-2426) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Blind Eyes Opened

It was August, 2011 and I was in Guyana, South America, sitting in a church office with another friend who was also a pastor waiting for the next person who needed prayer to arrive. 

 

The senior pastor of this church had a radio show and during some recent broadcasts had told his audience that a ministry team was here from the USA and would be ministering at his church over the next couple of weeks. He invited the listener by stating that if they wanted to receive prayer for healing, they could stop by the church on a particular day and we would pray for them.

 

The last people who came into the office seeking prayer were two women; one of whom I assumed had something that was wrong with one of her eyes. I state that because one of her eyelids drooped over her eye. So, I assumed that we were going to be praying for that eye (only).

 

Now I’ll admit that my faith wasn’t the strongest and although I was willing to pray for her, I really wasn’t expecting too much. After all, I had rationalized that there are some “healings” that have been faked and blindness was one of them; and I had not personally ever seen someone who was blind being able to be healed and able then to see.

 

Ben, the other pastor who was praying with me, said to her just before we prayed; “Hey, there are many stories in the Bible where people received their sight. In fact Pastor Tom is going to be preaching from one of those passages tonight! Isn’t that right Tom?” 

 

He was referring to the healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22-26

 “Then He (Jesus) came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

 

Needless to say that didn’t increase my faith. As I said, my faith was pretty low and I wanted to say a quick prayer and then get back to my room so that I could prepare my message that I was going to preach at the evening service.

 

I prayed and nothing seemed to happen and so I stopped, hoping she would be grateful that we took some time for her and then go her way. Just before she got up to leave, Ben asked her if anything was different. The woman said that she could see shapes of things almost like shadows. 

 

Pastor Ben said in the passage from Mark 8 that I would be preaching tonight, Jesus prayed and the man who was blind received a partial healing. After Jesus prayed for him, Jesus asked him if he saw anything. The man answered him and said he saw men like trees, walking.

 

Ben proceeded to coax her faith by telling her that Jesus prayed for the blind man a second time and then he was able to see!

 

I quickly blocked that one by telling the woman that Pastor Ben would now pray for her. After all, I had prayed and my faith wasn’t there.

 

After a short prayer, we asked the woman what was going on. She told us that she could see clearly! I looked at her and noticed that her eye still looked the same and wondered if she was faking a healing. When we asked her what she meant, she explained that the condition of her eyelid was from a stroke and lifted up her eye lid and said she could now see; OUT OF BOTH EYES!

 

Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t wait until we are perfect to do a miracle?

 

It turns out that her friend had brought her to us and asked us to pray with her because she could not see; she had been blind. And now she now could see; she had been healed! She was excited that now she could read her Bible for herself. I should note that even though she could see, we ended up giving her a pair of reading glasses because she said she it was easier for her to read. 

 

Needless to say, this healing miracle lifted my faith and launched us deeper into the next situations where we were asked to pray.

 

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18)

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.