Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Ex 34:6-7)
For the past four weeks I have been working in the Cardiac Rehab department. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of aerobic excercise a week. Heart surgery, a heart attack or diagnosis of heart failure it is often an eye opening experience for some but for others it is not. During my time in this depart of the hospital I have seen lives changed. People severely weakened by a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits and some sort of event involving their heart grow in strength and habits change. I saw on social media yesterday where a friend of mind was boosting about his unhealthy eating habits. This friend has reached the age in which many American males develope heart disease. I have seen this many times with both men and women but especially with middle aged men. What my friend and others do not realize is that in most cases you do not simply die but suffer for many years managing a disease that could have been prevented by daily aerobic excercise and nutrition.
To extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
This is the mission statement for the health organization that I work for, but what exactly was the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Everyone that Jesus healed during his ministry died. Even Lazareth whom he raised from the dead is no longer with us on the earth. The healing ministry of Jesus Christ was two fold: The Lord God is compassionate and gracious. Let us not forget that man was created in the image of God. Therefore, the healing ministry of Jesus Christ was a man giving loving compassion to men who were created in the image of God suffering as a result of sin. Secondly, the healing minstry of Jesus Christ was miraculous. The healing ministry of Jesus Christ was to demonstrate that God had come into the natural world. Therefore, the healing ministry of Jesus Christ was for the purpose of showing that Jesus is God in human flesh.
A miracle is not going to save you.
When I was working in the intensive care unit everyone is hoping for a miracle but the miracles in scripture occured for the purpose of pointing to God’s invasion of the natural world. Take care of your bodies. God has given you one body in which to live on the earth. Eat healthy foods and excercises for atleast 30 minutes 5 days a week in order to prevent disease and feel better so that you may be useful in service to the Lord. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. At somepoint in time you are going to die and after this will come the judgment. (Cf. Heb 9:27) God can and will do the miraculous. He will as promised raise all from the dead and make a new heaven and new earth. Will you be in it or will you be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to suffer for eternity? The ultimate purpose of the healing ministry of Jesus Christ was so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. (Jn 20:31)
Jesus promised eternal life to all who believe in him.
