Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer

My daughter has had 6 surgeries on her right ear in 4 years. Within the past year alone, she’s had 3 of them… in Aug, Nov & May. She’s been through a lot physically and yet she hasn’t lost faith. She continues to believe that God will heal her of her ear problems and she will live a joyous, healthy life. During these times, I’ve asked friends and family to pray for her, played a healing CD for her, and asked my church to pray for her as well. Her last surgery was a success!! For the first time ever, Veronica has normal hearing!! Thank you Jesus!!!

… 5 months later we encounter a problem… she has a bad infection in her left ear… in her “good” ear. So far she’s been every week to the doctors, 3 weeks in a row, ear drops and a change of antibiotics. We pray that this doesn’t turn into the trouble we had with her right ear. Although she is brave and full of faith and reassurance, it is very difficult to grasp the fact that she has fallen ill again. And so we continue to pray. And so this article is written.

We know our God to be merciful and compassionate. We’ve read countless stories of His healings and miracles. We know that God is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer. So the big question that has been asked is, knowing that He heals, why are some still plagued with illness?

The first thing we have to acknowledge is that God can and does heal. “for I am the LORD, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). God’s will is to heal our physical body. He doesn’t want us to suffer with sickness and disease. One thing He asks of us is faith… faith in Him; Jehovah-Rapha. We might try to understand why but we must always remember that His ways are higher than ours. And in understanding this, we accept that God has full authority over all sickness and can choose to heal whenever and whomever He chooses. We must also understand that sometimes God allows us to have sickness so that will we look to Him for His strength and power. The sickness can teach us a valuable lesson about our faith.

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Let’s read that again… "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Do you hear how divine that is?! Our Lord is His strongest in our weakest moments. He does not leave us to wallow in our pain. He does not leave us to cower in our affliction. Instead, the Lord says that His grace is sufficient and far more than we can ever hope or imagine. He will free us of our ailments if we fully surrender ourselves to Him.

"It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." (Psalm 119:71)

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to endure." (Romans 5:3)

Why are some still plagued with illness? I know for my daughter it is because God uses these medical problems to strengthen her. It has drawn us closer not only to one another but also to God. We have experienced and learned so much in this time and one thing is for certain… we will only receive God’s mercy if we surrender to Him. We pray a little longer. Pray a little louder. Pray more often. We continuously thank God for all He’s given us and for being with us at all times, regardless of circumstance. We thank Him for bringing us through this storm, directing us to safety; steering my precious daughter to a healthier life.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
How beautiful these words are. How dear we hold them.

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk.

The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'
Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good..

Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.


Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.


Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

A Six Year Old's Battle

Written by M. Mendonca

I was six years old, and it was a true battle. A steadfast wind swept over the ocean and ordered an army of waves to storm the beach as if it was Normandy in 1944. The waves crashed and receded; water lurked ever more closely to the castle walls. I had spent the entire afternoon skillfully constructing my masterpiece out of sand, just as Brunelleschi had spent years constructing his Florentine dome, and I refused to acknowledge the fact that the ocean could deliver a sweeping and fatal blow in an instant. There was a large outer wall with towers erected at each corner, a neat bridge made of palms which connected the barbican to the bailey, and a deep that stood majestically at the castle’s center. Surely, this beach had never seen a finer structure.

With futile efforts, I tried to save my castle from the wrath of the sea and began to quickly pile sand into a makeshift wall in an attempt to divert the water. However, each time I reached down to scoop another bucketful of sand onto the wall, the ocean crashed down and dissolved it in an instant. Eventually, the relentless waters reached the castle walls and began to undo the tedious work I had done. Within moments, my castle was gone without a trace, and all that was left was a smooth patch of sand where it once stood.

I felt terrible; all of my hard work was ruined. I looked out onto the ocean as the waves crashed upon the shore and the water wrapped around my feet as if it were mocking my pitiful act of defiance. Rather than giving up and accepting defeat, I resolved to try something new and innovative. I picked up my plastic shovel and began scooping large amounts of dripping wet sand into my plastic bucket. With the bucket full of sand, I walked across the span of the beach to the edge of the dunes and emptied it into a pile. Back and forth, I repeated the tedious work for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually I had enough sand, and I started to craft a new castle with the same precision I used with the first one. A few more hours went by and a new castle lay in front of me, more majestic and gallant that the first with two towering keeps instead of one. After completing my architectural triumph, I looked at my creation with pride and then over at the treacherous ocean that was sending more waves crashing against the shore. Though the mighty ocean tried, it could not reach my castle walls as I had strategically placed an entire beach between us.

As my family left the beach that day, I looked back at my castle still standing safely distanced from the water’s reach. It was then I realized what determination and persistence could yield. To this day, whenever I feel frustrated and beaten, I remember the day when a headstrong six-year-old conquered the ocean, and thinking of that, nothing seems impossible.

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Scriptures That Come to Mind
After Reading This Inspirational Essay...

Romans 2:7
To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Psalm 37:23-24
If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

Matthew 17:20
"... I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Biblical Humor

It doesn't hurt to have a little biblical humor once in a while. :)

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.

Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.

Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.

Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.

Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.

Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck.

PS. Did you know it' s a sin for a woman to make coffee?
Yup, it's in the Bible. It says... 'He-brews'


Friends are God's way of taking care of us.
Faith, Hope & Love -- but the greatest of these is LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Just for... I am...

*Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

*Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

*Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

*Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

*Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about
what you are going to be when you grow up, or
second guess every decision I have made where
you are concerned.

*Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me
bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to
fix them.

*Just for this afternoon, I will take us to
McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you
can have both toys.

*Just for this evening, I will hold you in my
arms and tell you a story about how you were
born and how much I love you.

*Just for this evening, I will let you splash in
the tub and not get angry.

*Just for this evening, I will let you stay up
late while we sit on the porch and count all the
stars.

*Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside
you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

*Just for this evening when I run my finger
through your hair as you pray, I will simply be
grateful that God has given me the greatest gift
ever given.

*I will think about the mothers And fathers who
are searching for their missing children, the
mothers and fathers who are visiting their
children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and
mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms
watching their children suffer senselessly, and
screaming inside that they can't handle it
anymore.

*And when I kiss you good night I will hold you
a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will
thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing,
except one more day.............