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September 25, 1998, Friday
Have you ever had a disagreement with a friend and found
how difficult it was to make things right again? Did you
notice how difficult it was to look at that person? Do you
remember that when you put your own personal thoughts aside
and focused on the friendship, things were better again?
To admit our faults is not easy, but James tells us that
confession is the cornerstone to restoring relationships:
"So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one
another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a just
person has a powerful effect" (Jam 5:16).
Just as it is difficult for us to look at someone that we
have wronged, It is difficult for us to look to our Lord
when we have wronged Him. However since Old Testament
times God has instructed all people to look to Him and believe:
"Then the Lord told Moses to make a metal snake and put it
on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it
and be healed. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on
a pole. Anyone who had been bitten would look at the bronze
snake and be healed" (Num 21:8-9). Obviously God was not
on the pole, but the source of the sin and the penalty of the
sin was on the pole. By looking to the serpent on the pole, It
was an admission of sin and recognizing that the sin had to die.
It was an act of faith to look and trust that God would accept
the admission of sin and change of mind to leave the sin.
In the same way that God put the curse of the sin of the
people on that snake on the pole for the sins of the people,
Peter tells us: "Christ himself carried our sins in His
body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live
for righteousness. It is by His wounds that you have been
healed" (1Pet 2:24). Jesus bore the curse of our sins
and we are healed by looking to Him.
Let us remember who is the God that is our Healer. God's
name is Jehová Rophe. The Psalmist knew of God's promise
to heal. He trusted and confessed for a remedy: "The Lord
will help them when they are sick and will restore them to
health. I have sinned against You, Lord; be merciful to me
and heal me" (Psa 41:3-4). Lift your hands to Him and Praise
Him today for the fact that He is the God that heals us of
the spiritual infirmities that trouble us!
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