When Jesus was in Capernaum, a large crowd came to the home where He was staying (Mark 2:1-2). As He was teaching, some men made an opening in the roof and lowered a paralyzed man on a mat. Jesus initially responded not by healing the man but by saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5). The deeper need of the man was not physical but spiritual. Then, to show His authority to forgive, Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way – not only with legs that moved but with a heart that was forgiven (v. 12).

Sin is the deeper problem that creates the symptoms of sinful acts in our lives. We must not just fix the symptoms, but the deeper problem of Sin.

When I was younger I didn’t take care of my body like I now know I must. Now I’m paying the price for that carelessness and am doing everything in my power to reverse these problems. And I’m confident God is teaching me much about Himself, grace, physical health, and compassion for others.

What is God teaching you through the things you suffer?

Both having their bark stripped away, their sap has intermingled one with the other. Each time they begin to scar over, another wind causes them to dig yet deeper into one another. Now, years later, those two independent trees are nestled tightly against one another as if they were hugging. Although they are still independent, you would never know it from their intertwined appearance. They each provide protection for the other in their injury. Broken, they have become one. And they sing a beautiful song of nature when the wind blows.

Do you think there might be a lesson in that for marriages? If this was a word from God, what would it say to couples in need?

I cannot undo the blockage that is already there. However, I can control any continual blockage by medication and diet. And I have since learned that I can continue to develop new brain cells by exercising my brain, just like my heart by-passes the blockage if I exercise the heart muscle.

Isn’t it amazing how God designed our bodies to regenerate itself. But, we must partner with the physician and apply a little discipline. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14).

I saw my cardiologist last week to discuss what needs to be done and came away encouraged. He explained to me that I am not a candidate for by-pass surgery or for a stint or balloon catherization. He explained that already I was growing new blood vessels by-passing the blocked artery. Our strategy is to dilate the existing blood vessels with medicine and have me get regular exercise, forcing the heart to work, which will promote the new growth in the by-passing vessels.

So, God is already at work healing my body. I’m thankful we have skilled doctors who can identify potential problems so we, as individuals, can take appropriate steps to allow God to heal us before something tragic happens.

Copeland’s experience is common among the word-faith movement. Richard Roberts once talked about a famous word-faith televangelist who checked himself into a Christian Hospital under an assumed name because he was afraid his illness may harm the faith of viewers. That’s hypocrisy! In an attempt to claim the promises of God for healing, they took upon themselves the responsibility for the healing rather than trusting in God. And God loves each of us enough to teach us the truth over time.

What are you learning about faith?

But by today the maximum swelling and stuffiness has her pretty homebound. She will have more packing removed on Wednesday and should be good to go after that.

I’ve noticed that God often steps in like than in my life, as well. There have been numerous occasions when I went to church sick. I had my sermon all ready but woke up miserable. I could bearly make my way up the steps, but the anointing kicked in and the symptoms lifted, and I preached like normal. When we said the final Amen, I felt like collapsing again. I believe that is the way God works in our lives supernaturally.

Have you ever had such an experience?

“After a little over an hour, our buzzer buzzed & we were called into a conference room to talk with Dr. Sanghve. When he entered, I expected to hear one thing, but instead heard something else. He did NOT insert a stent into Bob’s artery. Now, wait a minute. No stent? I thought that was the definite plan of action. Now no stent? My sinus infection has my head really plugged, & sometimes it feels like I’m not quite there. So I had to really concentrate to catch what was being said. Yup. No stent. I had heard correctly. Dr. Sanghve said that when he got to the suspicious area, he couldn’t find any slight ripple or tear. He took a lot of time searching, changing angles & magnification, messing with equipment to get the very clearest picture, & he couldn’t find a thing. Once again, Bob was clean. The artery was perfect. No evidence whatsoever that there was ever a problem. As he searched, he thought. He concluded that from the time of the last ultrasound on Saturday night, Bob’s carotid had been healing & now it was healed so well that it was unidentifiable. With Bob’s previous miraculous healing (when the entire clot was gone from his carotid), Dr. Sanghve has concluded that Bob is a bizarrely swift healer. Again, whatever. We know that a miracle has again been witnessed by all. May God receive glory through this!”

What do you think of that?

On the long, dark, rainy drive home late Tuesday night we talked about the topic. Here are some of my thoughts:

Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths (Matthew 13:34). The Old Testament is about God the Father setting patterns for believers to follow (1 Corinthians 10:11). It is obvious the dead being raised, lame walking, blind hearing, and deaf hearing, are a pattern of what would happen in the spiritual lives of men and women, not the physical (otherwise, the only people who can be saved are sick or injured people). And those things do happen today in the spiritual lives of all who believe.

Yet, we cannot deny that many physical healings followed Jesus’ ministry. And Jesus said we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12). Mark clearly predicted that these signs would follow those who believe (Mark 16:17-18).

So, we cannot focus entirely on one without the other. There must be a balance.

What thoughts do you have regarding spiritual gifts in the church today?

When the PSA follow-up test came back last week it was at .04, or what they call undetectable. I’m sure it will be zero by the next time they test it. So I am cancer-free and a cancer survivor! Although there is still some nerve trauma from the surgery to recover from, it is getting better every day.

I am reminded of the awesome promise God gave to the Israelites in Exodus 15:26: “I am the Lord that heals thee.”