heal – ThrivingBranch

You Are in Christ… (No, Really!)

October 15, 2017October 15, 20172 Comments

One of the most common phrases, both in the Bible and among believers is “in Christ” along with its variations such as “in Him” and “in the Beloved”. Nearly every believer will readily admit to being in Christ – that’s really the whole point! Yet very few understand what it really means, and the full extent of the meaning of it. Once during a Bible study, I suggested that if you want to broaden your horizon to all of what being in Christ meant, you should find all of the places in the Bible that mention being in Christ and the associated phrases, and you will end-up with a very large list of things that you have in Him. It’s actually fairly easy to do with our modern technology, but almost no-one in the study actually followed through.

The sad reality is that many people today do not have a very high opinion of what it means to be in Christ. Those whom I have spoken with typically see being in Christ as little more than a spiritual safety-net that catches them whenever their performance falls-short. However, being in Christ is so very much more than a safety net… being in Christ is literally the very Kingdom of God.

God Has Spoken Through Jesus

June 18, 2017June 18, 2017Leave a Comment

Do you want God to speak to you? Have you been desperately searching for a word from God? Many people want to hear from God, but they are uncertain exactly how to know whether He has spoken to them or not. Often-times I hear people say, “well, I think He spoke”, and other times people want so desperately for Him to speak that they become deceived and start believing a lie, sometimes for years. I hear the frustration of people when they say, why can’t God just make it simple to hear His voice!

Well, God has made it simple. God has spoken. And what He has spoken is so profound and so vital for each and every person, that once heard and received will change your outlook and your entire life. Today we will be studying exactly how and what God has spoken to us, and by seeing this truth, we will not be uncertain any longer.

The Love of God is Better Than Human Love

November 20, 2016November 20, 2016Leave a Comment

Have you ever played a word association game? If I say to you “chocolate” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Word association games are something that I used to play all of the time. And as humans we tend to associate things with words all of the time. If I say to you “love” what do you think of? What if I say “God’s love”? Many of us associate the love of God with ideas and thoughts of human love. We may associate with with a really good feeling of human love, or we may associate it with a really bad feeling of human love depending on our personal experiences… but most of the time we think and behave and have ideas of the love of God really not being much different than the love of a human.

However I want to share with you the truth of the love of God. His love is far superior and much better than even the best love that any human can ever offer. His love is divine. His love is all-encompassing and His love never fails. Today in this study we will be exploring the Divine love of God and how it is so much better than the love of humans. And by seeing this love, you will be able to approach God with a new attitude, free from fear, free from uncertainty and free from the shifting-sand of human ideas and emotions.

Don’t Forget the Benefits of the LORD

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016Leave a Comment

When we typically think of God, we think of an all-powerful being that must be served. We think that if we don’t work hard enough or perform well enough that this all-powerful being will be displeased and angry with us, raining down punishment, injury, disease or even death. Furthermore, we think that if we dare ask God for something, that the very action of asking is the equivalent of playing Roulette. I have spoken with people who are afraid that God will be angry at them for being so needy, or that He will either answer “no”, or He will answer yes, but in a way that will cause them harm like the Djinn from popular movies.

However these common beliefs actually could not be further from the truth. God is not someone who will play you out. God is not a sadist or a bully. God cares more about you than you can possibly imagine, and He actually delights in doing good to you and blessing you! This is what we will be studying today.

How to Receive What is Already Yours

May 29, 2016December 7, 2017Leave a Comment

All across the globe, believers are struggling, striving, working, sweating screaming and shouting, they are doing these things in desperation as they try to receive the blessings and miracles into their lives that they need so much. Every day they try, and every day ends with another disappointment as the sun sets and they still are no better off… all their struggling was in vain. Perhaps you can identify with this scenario. Perhaps you need a miracle in your life right now, whether it is healing, or financial, or even a miracle in your mind or your spirit. Whatever it is, you have been fighting for it, but you just can’t seem to lay hold on the thing that you are reaching for.

That’s why, in this study today we will be examining the truth of the completed work of Jesus Christ, as it applies to receiving the blessings that He has paid for you to have. As you meditate on these scriptural truths, you will be able to receive what is already yours in Christ.

Jesus Comes to You

October 4, 2015October 3, 2015Leave a Comment

You may have heard it said before that Christianity is different than all the religions of the world. It is a true statement, but do you know why it is true? One of the ways that Christianity is fundamentally different is that in all the religions of the world, man is reaching for God; either through good works, or other forms of self-effort in an attempt to attain an elevated status.

This is not so with Christianity. Now unfortunately, Christianity (and the message of Jesus Christ) has been vastly misrepresented by pastors and leaders who have twisted the message into one of self-effort and works, but this is not the message that God originally gave. So today we will be exploring how in reality, it is not man that reaches for God, but how He actually reaches for us, and as we see this, it will not only strengthen our faith, but draw us closer to Him as well.

God’s Will is to Heal

August 16, 2015August 16, 2015Leave a Comment

The will of God, for a believer it should not be a mysterious thing, but over the years I have heard many people, ask and express and pray from a position of uncertainty… “Lord, if it’s your will…” is often a qualification for any prayer, and it often exposes a lack of faith, and ignorance about God’s will regarding things which He has already made known in His Word.

More destructive though, is the effect that this attitude has on those who are honestly in need of and seeking God’s healing. That is why in this study we will be examining both God’s will to heal, and also addressing the common misconceptions and wrong beliefs regarding the healing of God, so that these ideas will not serve as roadblocks that the enemy can use to stumble us any longer.

Make Jesus the Solution to Every Problem

March 1, 2015November 28, 2014Leave a Comment

Today, I am going to share with you a secret. It has been said that “the best place to hide is right out in the open”, and this secret has been right out in the open all along. This secret is that Jesus is the solution to every single one of your problems. Now you may have heard this before, but for one reason or another you have had limited success in seeing your problems being solved by Jesus. This has actually been a common complaint among believers for a long time, and there are many different theories why; but the Bible has one single reason, or more accurately, one reason expressed in a variety of ways throughout the Bible.

So today we are going to study exactly what this reason is and how to apply it in our daily lives Once we see this truth from scripture, and truly embrace it, that is when we will release more of the miracle-working, delivering power of Jesus into our life, and chains will be broken as a result.