Staying Healthy in 2025: Health Over Healing

Woman drinking tea

We’re amid some brutal cold and recent snowfall. With the winter comes an increase in sickness. I just watched a report recently of the first person to die in the US from the Bird Flu. We’re still dealing with a downgraded COVID-19, and many people have called off work due to sickness, which started near Christmas time and is progressing through the new year. Pestilence and disease have always been around and will continue into the final days of the Earth, as was predicted by Jesus. What can the believer do about it? Live in fear? No. Trust God.

Many of my readers know of God’s power and will to heal. If you don’t know of that, here is a refresher.

1. Is it God’s Will to heal? Yes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if it was His will to heal in the Scripture, then it is still His will to heal today. You can write whole sermons on just this topic alone, but I want to move on. Here are some healing scriptures to stand on:

2. “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”-‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

3. “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,”-Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

4. “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

   ‭Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

5. “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”-‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I asked the Lord recently what were some Scriptures to stand on for health. How to remain healthy in these turbulent times? The answer He gave me was to meditate on and confess scripture that reinforces your spiritual position in Christ Jesus. Here are some examples:

1. “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”-Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

I don’t know how it works, but we are seated or resting in Heavenly places just as Christ is. Jesus is raised to new life, and He is seated in a place of victory at the place of honor and power at God’s right hand. Now our resurrection is tied to His. Our Spiritual reality is tied to His. It then would be expected that the benefits are tied to Him as well. There is no sickness in Heaven or Christ, so we also have the right to believe we receive Jesus’s state of health. Which is perfect!

2. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”-Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

Our spirit man has been reborn, renewed, and made clean. Christ lives in and through us. We are a new creation with a new spirit through Christ's resurrection. We live by His faith. Again we have privileges as newborn children of God and expectations to live and operate out of the power of His life in us and through His faith. It is not Sean that lives but Christ who lives in me. I can expect to live from His victory and walk in health.

3. Much of Psalm 91 shares on deliverance and protection from pestilence: “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”-Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭3‬, ‭5‬, ‭7‬, ‭10‬, ‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As we progress into January and face the cold and whatever challenges the new year can bring, you don’t have to face them in your own strength but through the resurrected Christ living in and through you.

What Kind of News Do You Share? Peace, Joy or Bad News.

Don't you think it's remarkable how bad news can sometimes overwhelm us? We fear bad news. Even minor bad news can ruin our entire day. We obsess over news that we deem negative and mull it over in our minds. We inadvertently give bad news the power to rob us of our peace and joy.

The Gospel, on the other hand, is the ultimate good news! It's the most incredible news ever! We need to treat it as such and let the power of good news transform our thoughts, words, and lives! The good news of Jesus ought to overrule any and all bad news in your life.

Are you operating in the good news of the peace of Christmas? How do we find peace at Christmas and not just sing about it? Peace is not attained by good feelings or faith alone. It’s acquired through obeying Christ. Love and pray for your enemies. Don’t divide yourselves this holiday season. Come together. Do you have a family member who didn’t vote in the election like you? Talk with them instead of gloating or being a sore loser. Listen to each other. Forgive. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”-Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This season relish in the good news of the joy and peace offered in Christmas.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah). [Mic 5:2]”‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭AMP‬‬

When you share news, are you a herald of bad or good news?

Leaders Value Others: Three Ways to Value Others

Recently, I was at my part-time job and my co-worker was feeling run down. They asked me for some encouragement, and I offered a powerful affirmation: 'You are valued.' They looked at me with a weird look and said, “No it can’t be that simple.” Though they sought deeper meaning, this simple truth is the foundation of faith. God's desire for companionship drove creation, while Jesus' sacrifice and love declare our immeasurable worth.

All because God looked down from Heaven and looked right at you and declared the most important words ever known to mankind, “I love you”. The simple fact that Jesus loves you will not only change and transform your life now but for all eternity. Why? Because my friend, you are valuable.

Leaders VALUE Others: If you don’t value others you will never wield influence. People follow people who value them.

1. Value Others by Connecting. Connecting happens through engaging with others and listening. Listen to understand not have a snappy comeback. Ask questions to know more and show interest. Make eye contact to show you are present.

2. Value Others by Investing: Speaking words of encouragement and hope show you care. Hope is the foundation for seeing dreams come true. Invest time in others. Sharing your time is better than sharing money. It's the difference between giving a fish to a starving man or teaching him to fish. To teach him to fish you must invest time.

3. Value Others by Meeting Needs. Jesus was always meeting the needs of others. He healed the blind, the dead, the dumb, the broken, the dead, the poor, the belittled, and the downtrodden. Jesus the son of God valued others. Should not we also value others?

Are You Honoring God?

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.-1 Peter 1:18-19

Mankind thinks of silver and gold as valuable and precious. Peter gives this expository on how men and women were not bought and could not be bought by all the precious stones in the world but by the most valuable commodity in the universe, the blood of Jesus. As leaders in the body of Christ, we need to make sure that we don’t let the honor of God slip. The more corners we cut the less value we put on the Word, worship, and prayer; then the more there is no difference between how the world operates and the way the Church operates. The key to that is honoring God and maintaining that attitude of the heart that the blood of Jesus is still precious. Keys to honoring God.

1. Judge Yourself. Judge yourself and you won’t be judged. When you judge yourself, you are proactive about sifting and casting off sin. Realize when something of the enemy sets in and be quick to identify it, reject it, repent from it, and replace it with God’s Word. Saul was selected by the Lord to be King of Israel but he didn’t judge himself. He let pride and sin seep in, and he didn’t repent. In turn, God chose David. David sinned too but he was quick to judge himself and repent before the Lord. David was a man who wanted what God wanted. David understood that your offering/service has to cost you something. He was willing to offer to God his heart. He was known as a man after God’s own heart.

2. Have a Heart of Humility. God gives grace to the humble but He resists the proud. Don’t let bitterness and unforgiveness spring up and contaminate your heart. Be quick to forgive. Be quick to let resentment go. Cast that upon the Lord. A meek quiet spirit is precious unto the Lord. Jesus and Moses were both described as meek men. Have a heart of humility

Don’t be unwilling to do what others have done to be blessed-Pastor Keith Moore.

There are no corners to cut. You can’t fast-track a blessing with God. If you honor God then God will honor and increase you. The honor of God will not only be a blessing unto Him but it will in turn become a blessing to you.