104 To Experience God, You Must Love Him And Keep His Word

Summary
John 14:21 ESV  

21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

In Context

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,[f] to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be[g] in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Amplified

21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

Do you want God to be this real to you? Then you have to really love God. How do you do that? By keeping his Word.

In fact, keeping his Word is the standard we go by to know we are loving God and even other people.

1 John 5 ESV

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 3 ESV

24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Romans 8:16 ESV

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

If we will love God by knowing, believing and keeping his Word, Jesus promised to manifest himself, by his Spirit, in our lives.  Let's want that!

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope for Healing, Faith for Living

To Experience God, You Must Believe Him By Faith

Summary:

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

This verse is about coming to God by believing he is and that he is a rewarder but did you notice it starts with talking about faith. Faith is how we come to God and faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen. 

That means we come to God believing he exist without seeing him and believing he is a rewarder before we experience it. 

We believe God is who he says he is before we see it and experience it.

If you want to know God as the Healer he claims to be in Exodus 15:26, then you have to believe he is that while you are still sick.

Faith isn’t a wait and see before you believe.

Faith is believe and you will see.

Mark 9

27 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” 28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They told him, “Yes, Lord.”

29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 Then their eyes were opened.  

They believed Jesus could before he did.

Faith is believing you have received, then you will have.

Mark 11

22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.

We have to see beyond our present circumstances and believe God is who he says he is and then we can know him for who he revealed himself to be.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope for Healing, Faith for Living

In our last episode, we talked about the words of Jesus when he said, ““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

Today I want to share with you about being humble before God and being teachable.

Summary:

Psalm 119:34 Amplified Bible

“Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law;

And observe it with all my heart.”

Being teachable is about being humble before God. It’s about yielding to truth instead of hanging out to our current beliefs. If what the Scripture says contradicts what we have always held onto as our belief in the past, then we need to yield to the Word of God and take hold of it’s truth.

2 Corinthians 10:5 English Standard Version

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Sometimes pride will keep us from being teachable, thinking we already know everything. We don’t! We can learn from anyone who is sharing the Word because it’s not so much about the messenger, it is about the message.

In Matthew 13 Jesus talks about the parable of the seed and the sower.  

Let’s look at that and then the explanation Jesus gives for what the parable means.

Matthew 13

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”

The Explanation

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Jesus is talking about the condition of a person’s heart.

Is the heart hardened lake a path?

Is the heart like rocky ground ?

Is the heart full of cares for the things of this world which acts like thorns choking out the Word.

Is the heart like good soil, hearing the Word, accepting and understanding it, allowing the Word to grow deep roots in our hearts and bearing fruit?

This is what a teachable heart is. It’s a humble heart. It’s a pure heart. It’s this condition of the heart that we need to grow and experience God.

If went want to grow and experience God, we need to yield to Him, to his Word, and let him prepare our hearts to receive His Word.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope For Healing, Faith for Living

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

Our desire should be to see God. I’m not talking about seeing him in the sense we will see him in heaven, but see him as in the results of him in our lives.

A doctor may give you some medicine and say in a few days you should see improvement, meaning experience it.

That’s what we want, to experience God in our lives and it will take a pure heart.

What is a pure heart? One that does not have other things in it but love and faith towards God.

What’s the greatest commandment?

Matthew 22:34-40 ESV

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

A pure heart is a heart that is fully devoted to God and filled with love for him.

How do we get a pure heart? It will happen by the grace of God through faith, asking God to create it in us and then yield to his work of grace by faith.

Let’s see what David wrote in the Psalms.

Psalm 51:10-19 English Standard Version

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and renew a right[a] spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from your presence,

    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

A pure heart is a heart of peace and a heart that can enjoy God’s salvation. One of the reasons we don’t have peace is because our hearts are not pure, not full of God. There’s other things we still desire and it creates a war within us. 

1 Peter 2:11 ESV

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

God’s goal and desire for us is to have peace which comes from a pure heart and faith in Christ. A pure heart has a sole desire for God. I’m not saying you can’t have a desire for a spouse or love a spouse but nothing has a place over God in your heart. And the love you have for your spouse or anyone else, is a godly love which he has given you.

Romans 5:5

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

1 Timothy 1:5

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

Acts 15

6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

What is a pure heart? One that does not have other things in it but love and faith towards God.

Let's desire and believe God for a pure heart so that we can see more of Him in our lives.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
https://hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com/

Blessed Are The Pure in Heart, For They Shall See God

Summary:

Sometimes when we want more of God or are pursuing his promises, we miss that we need first see God’s plan to prepare us for coming into a deeper relationship with him.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 ESV

If we want to see God as more real in our lives, what are we to do? Have a pure heart.

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” - Hebrews 12:14 ESV

If we want to see, to experience the reality of God and his will in our lives, then we know the condition of our hearts and how we live our lives matters.

Have you ever heard someone like a coach or trainer tell someone to follow a certain diet and exercise plan and after time they will see results. That means experience results. This is what the Scripture is talking about, seeing the results of more of God in your life.

I want more of God. I believe you do too. But, we have to understand to see more of God, we must address those things in our actions and in our hearts that are not pleasing to God.

Look at psalm 19 NLT

7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,

    reviving the soul.

The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,

    making wise the simple.

8 The commandments of the Lord are right,

    bringing joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are clear,

    giving insight for living.

9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,

    lasting forever.

The laws of the Lord are true;

    each one is fair.

10 They are more desirable than gold,

    even the finest gold.

They are sweeter than honey,

    even honey dripping from the comb.

11 They are a warning to your servant,

    a great reward for those who obey them.

12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?

    Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!

    Don’t let them control me.

Then I will be free of guilt

    and innocent of great sin.

The psalmist mentions two types of sin. Those hidden that we are not aware of and those that are deliberate.  Sin means missing the mark. Falling short of God’s will. Our thoughts and views can fall short of God’s will, his truth. Some we know and some we need to be made aware of.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! - Psalm 139:23-24 ESV

We need to seek God, asking him to reveal those things in our hearts that are not pleasing to him which can include deep rooted beliefs that are in contradiction to is Word. How will he reveal them? By his Word. We need to be diligent in being in God’s Word inorder to know it and act in obedience to it.

Then there’s things we hold on to that we know do not please God. It can be anger, unforgiveness or sensual sins that are enjoyed for a time.

We have to realize that we must make a choice. Do we want to grow in the things of God, increase in knowing and experiencing him, in seeing his will manifest in our lives, then we have to remove those wrong thoughts and desires from our hearts.

Psalm 66 ESV

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,

    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

17 I cried to him with my mouth,

    and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]

18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

    the Lord would not have listened.

19 But truly God has listened;

    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” - James 4:8

God will help us have a right heart if we trust and ask him to.

“And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We can't hold on to things in our hearts that do not please God and expect to see more of him in our lives. We have to make a choice. Choose God over all other things.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas
Hope for Healing, Faith for Living

Can We Use Faith To Receive Healing?

Summary:

“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

Mark 10:46-52 NIV

Jesus said, "Your faith has healed you."

That’s a huge statement. It’s some belief that God can heal but doesn’t always choose to. Jesus put the emphasis on the faith of Bartimaeus as the reason he was healed.

If Bartimaeus and others in Scripture can use faith to receive healing, so can we.

Let’s see what Bartimaeus did.

He heard of Jesus. Now for him to react the way he did he must have heard Jesus was healing people. 

Bartimaeus called out to Jesus and referred to him as the Son of David.

This was a title given to the awaited Messiah because it was prophesied that the Messiah would be a descended of David.  (2 Samuel 7:12–16)

In fact Matthew Chapter 1 gives the genealogical proof that Jesus was a direct descendant of David through Joseph, Jesus’ legal father and Luke 3 traces Jesus’ lineage to David through His mother, Mary. 

So, Bartimaeus heard about Jesus, believed Jesus was who he heard he was, confessed who he believed Jesus was and called out for mercy.

Often we see people who need healing crying out for mercy because sickness and disease was believed to be is part of the curse or result of sin. So to cry out to for mercy is to cry out saying I’m asking for you to spare me from what I deserve.

So there’s a lot of humility in the way Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus.

Another important fact to point out, Bartimaeus wouldn’t quit. The Scripture says many told him to be quiet but he shouted all the more! Faith doesn’t quit.

The Jesus did call for him and immediately Bartimaeus stood and threw off his cloak. Why is that significant. It’s said that back in that time, people could recognize who was a bigger by the cloak they war. It was their identity and how they received money from those willing to give to him. 

But he believed Jesus could and would heal him so he through it off. It was an act of faith that he was going to be healed now. No longer was he hoping that healing would happen for him someday. He had the attention of Jesus and he believed Jesus would healing him right then.

He came to Jesus and Jesus asked him what did he want him to do for him. Did Jesus not know? Of course he knew. But Bartimaeus needed to voice what he was coming to Jesus for. We need to voice our needs, in faith, meaning we know It’s God’s will when we ask.

Let’s look at a Scripture that shows this.

1 John 5:14-15 ESV

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

This account is in Scripture for out benefit. So that we can see what happened, understand healing is God’s will and know how we too can use the faith we have, (which comes from hearing His Word, Romans 10:17) and receive God’s will, his promises, for ourselves.

Blessings in Christ,

Tim Dumas

www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com

This is the second episode dealing with discouragement..

Summary:

It may not be your fault that you got hurt but it is your responsibility to get healed.

Life can sometimes knock you down but it’s your responsibility to get back up. 

You can get discouraged but it’s up to you to get your courage back, your enthusiasm for life.

Winston Churchill said, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill

Proverbs 24:16 says, “for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again…”

Sometimes bad things will happen, plans will fail, friends may even turn on you. But, God is with you and it’s your responsibility to realize that and that alone is reason to have joy.

1 Samuel 30

4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,[b] each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” 

David strengthened himself. Some translations say that he encouraged himself.

Now how do you do that? You do it by getting your mind off the problem and getting it on God.

Start with peace.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Now start looking at the promises of God and his faithfulness.

I shared these two scriptures before but I want to again.

Psalms 27:13-14 NIV

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Romans 15:13 NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So now the question is, will we take responsibility to have peace and be of good courage?

Joshua 1:9 ESV
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Whether we like it or not, this life is a battle and we will face hardships. The question really is, how will we face them? Will we face them feeling sorry for ourselves and discouraged or will we face them with great courage knowing God is with us.

Let’s be the ones who keep our minds on God and face the battles with great courage.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com

In today's episode we share Psalm 42 and see that when we feel down and discouraged, there is a way out.
By putting our hope, our confident expectation, in God's will coming to pass in our life, we can walk out of discouragement into joy and victory.

Scriptures:
All of Psalm 42

Psalms 27:13-14 NIV

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Romans 15:13 NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com

Today is Part 2 of What We Thing About God Matters

Scriptures:

Psalm 34:8 ESV

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Romans 2:4 WEB

4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

John 10:10 WEB

The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

Psalm 119:68 NLT
 You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.

James 1:17

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

17 Every good gift and every perfect ([a]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].

“With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.””

Psalm 91:16 ESV

What we think of God matters. What we think must yield to the truth of God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com

What We Think of God Matters

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Mark 9
27 As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!” 28 When he had come into the house, the blind men came to him. Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They told him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 Then their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.”

Mark 6:1
He went out from there. He came into his own country, and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things?” and, “What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them. 6 He marveled because of their unbelief.
He went around the villages teaching.

Story about woman at the store.

Romans 8:32
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Does God care about this life
1 Timothy 4:8
8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Psalm 27:13 WBBE
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 35:27 WBBE
27 Let those who favor my righteous cause shout for joy and be glad.
    Yes, let them say continually, “May the Lord be magnified,
    who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!”

It doesn’t matter if you agree with me or anyone else. What matters is that you agree with the Word of God and believe and think about God according to what God has revealed in His Word.

Blessings in Christ,
Tim Dumas

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hopeforhealingfaithforliving.com