Wow! The Kingdom is distinguished by the emotions of peace and joy! And I was taught to shy away from emotions as being unreliable! The kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17) I wonder if I need to reevaluate how important and healing emotions can be?
The journaling below is from Chaekyoung Jacquelyn Ban, a Doctoral student in Christian Leadership University and a Korean minister living in North Carolina. Her two-way journaling has been translated from Korean.
I am loved! God loves me so much that even when I was a sinner, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me. The blood of Christ cleanses me and makes me just as if I had never sinned. God loves me in the midst of my imperfections and weakness. Therefore I come into agreement with my Father's view of myself, and I say, "I love myself, fully, totally, unconditionally; regardless of how well I perform. I am God's child. I am precious. I am precious enough that God sent Jesus to die on a cross for me! Amazing love! Amazing grace! I stand forgiven, cleansed, restored, healed and decked out in His beauty! I am amazing! I am beautiful. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful grace that pours down upon me! I receive it. I say yes to it. I come into agreement with it. I am amazing. Thank you, Lord!"
Since fear, anxiety and stress damage the body, the immune system, the digestion and colon as well as our spiritual health, we must displace them by abiding in the biblical opposites of faith, hope, love and peace. These bring healing to our entire beings. You may choose to make the following prayer a part of your morning and evening meditations (1 Chron. 23:30) for a period of time until they fully light your inner being.
I suggest you speak them aloud, slowly and prayerfully, tuned to flow and looking to see the pictures the Lord wants to give you, as pictures are the language of your heart. Repeat each sentence (or part of a sentence) a second time, with your eyes closed, letting it sink down into your heart and spirit (i.e. "seeing" it). This takes you into a biblical meditation stance allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth more deeply to your heart. If you only get part way through the prayer meditation below in one session, that is perfectly fine. Slow down, enjoy, and let the Holy Spirit lead. You can pick it up again in your next prayer time.
Disease often begins with dis-ease in our hearts, so do whatever it takes to master the art of living in faith, hope and love. You cannot establish health in your physical being if you are not walking in faith, hope and love! Note what the opposites of faith, hope and love do to your health (these sins of fear, despair and anger are three of many sins which one can fall into):
Lord, what about my digestion issues? Mark, it is a result of your “Type A” behavior and attitudes. You do everything fast. You eat fast, sleep fast, work fast, play fast, push hard at all times. You want to redeem the time, be the first, and be on top. That is fine as long as it is not the number one drive of your life. Living in peace and flow with Me MUST come before being fast and first. Otherwise the imbalance in your soul produces an imbalance in your body and your digestion is off.
God speaks to Julia in her journaling: Daughter of Love and Mercy, You were in the crossfire of a very serious problem that had arisen in that church. There was contention and strife already present even before you entered. Just as you learned yesterday from your old friend as she spoke of an experience her husband had while talking to the pastor of your old church and how the pastor told your friend's husband that his church was not a democracy but a theocracy, so no one was allowed to voice their opinion or even have a say in any matter but the pastor and that only the leadership was allowed to do the stuff. This is what I call control and authoritarian leadership.
Note from Pastor Dwight Jester: Since I have been praying this prayer for people, I have seen many set free in a short period of time. It is the most powerful and simple prayer that the Lord has ever given me. Feel free to distribute it.
Hello, Jesus!! Hello, Daddy God!! Hello, Holy Spirit of Truth and Love and Mercy and Grace!! I'm needing Your input into my life this morning. Thanks for friends that I can bounce things off of. Thanks for scenes that You only You will remake for me and those I love. I need You right now to help me focus on You, Jesus, to quiet myself down, to tune into the Holy Spirit. I am so excited to see what you will do. (I've turned on Julie True's soaking music A Stroll Along the Sea of Galilee).
Thanksgiving is a time to remember to be grateful. Take a look at the chart below and note the power of appreciation. Your heart rhythm becomes like smooth ocean waves. How much healing do you suppose that brings to your spirit, soul and body? Diagram from "Institute of HeartMath"
