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we do not use this name, it is because we are not believing what
Jesus said.
This wonderful healing of the lame man led to many, many heal-
ings and signs and wonders. They even brought the sick ones out
into the streets and laid them on beds and couches so that Peter s
shadow might fall on them. A great many people believed and were
added to the church. Also, awful persecution arose. Satan did not
like these healings because he hates to see the glorious name of the
Lord Jesus Christ praised and worshipped. He does not like divine
healing any better today. But the apostles and early Christians went
right along doing what the Lord had told them to do, and the Lord
went with them doing miracles. Shall we follow our Lord and
Master as closely as they did? If we do, we may count on His power.
Not long after this miracle of the lame man at the temple gate,
Peter went down to a place called Lydia. There he found a man
called Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedfast for eight
long years. How he must have suffered! I have seen so many sad
cases like his, and my heart went out to them; but there was nothing
I could do for them though I was a doctor. Peter was no doctor; but
as we saw in the story of the lame man, he had something to give
if they would take it that made sick people perfectly sound.
Knowing that the medicine never failed, he said  Aeneas, Jesus
Christ maketh thee whole! Arise! And make thy bed. (Acts 9:34.)
And he arose immediately. What was the use of lying around
another moment? He had had enough of that to last him a lifetime.
Has that medicine lost its power? No; and it will never fail, for
it is the power of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we read in
Psalm 72:17: His name shall endure for ever& and men shall be
blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed.
Let us use that name in faith.
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Chapter 8
The Joy of the Lord
When you have a sure cure for all disease, you only need one
remedy. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases (Ps. 103:3). It is because doctors have no medicine that
W
will cure every disease that they are always working so hard trying
to find new remedies. Then the medicines they have are more or
less uncertain in their action. They do not always do what the
doctors expect.
But when the medicine is God s Word, it cannot fail. He says
about it: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isa. 55:11).
So when God sends His Word to heal you, it always does its work
if you will let it.
 Can I prevent it from healing me? Certainly you can. God
does not force salvation for soul or body upon us. It is written,
& whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely (Rev.
22:17). To get the action of any remedy you have to take that
remedy according to directions. Sometimes when I was practicing
medicine, I would go to see a sick person and leave them a prescrip-
tion to be taken according to instructions. When I returned, I would
see at a glance for I knew what the medicine would do if they took
it that they had not taken it according to directions. When they
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His Healing Power
saw that I was angry with them, they would sometimes say they had
taken it. Then I was angry for sure!
God says that He sends His Word and heals. His Word cannot
fail; so if we are not healed, we must look for the cause of it in
ourselves. It must be that we have not taken it according to
instructions. What is lacking? Turn to the Bible and you will find
out. In Hebrews 4:2 it says, & the word preached did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. To take the
Word, you must mix it with faith. The Lord Jesus Himself said
when healing two blind men, & According to your faith be it unto
you (Matt. 9:29).
One thing the Bible tells us about our wonderful bodies is that
to keep them healthy, well oiled, and running smoothly, we have to
be happy. It is our duty to be happy. God commands it. You will find
this in many places in the Bible, our book of instructions. In the
prophecy of Joel 2:21, we read,  Be glad and rejoice. That is a
command of God. Then in Nehemiah 8:10, we find it given again in
the negative form. Joel tells us what we must do, and Nehemiah tells
us what we must not do. & neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
Lord is your strength.
Oh, what a difference it would make if all God s people would
obey these commands!
There is a great power in happiness. When I practiced medicine,
I had a great many baby cases. That means I was often with mothers
to welcome the precious little ones God gave them. I always wanted
my mothers and babies to be well and strong, and I found that the
best tonic I could give the mothers was their babies. Some doctors
had them taken away to a nursery in the hospital to be cared for by
nurses, but I was not so fond of that. Looking at their babies and
listening to their voices made my little mothers very happy, and
happiness is the best tonic I know. If human happiness makes us
strong, what will the joy the Bible speaks of do? This joy is as far
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The Joy of the Lord
above earthly joys and pleasures as the heavens are high above the
earth. God wants us to have it constantly. He even tells us that we
shall be punished if we are not happy. And one of the punishments
He speaks of is sickness.
Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and
with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore
shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against
thee& Moreover He will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt,
which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also
every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in& this law,
them will the Lord bring upon thee& (Deut. 28:47,48,60,61).
How are we to get this joy that makes our hearts rejoice and our
bodies strong? God has provided it for us and tells us how to get it
in the book of instructions the Bible.
David says,  I will go unto the altar of God, unto God my
exceeding joy. (Ps. 43:4.)
Peter tells us about it: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8).
Believing what the Bible says about the Lord Jesus and what He
has done for you and yours, you rejoice, you just can t help it. And
you are strong, for the  joy of the Lord is your strength. (Neh.
8:10.) Believing you rejoice, but doubting you despair and become
weak and ready to fall a victim to sickness.
There is only one thing that will give you this wonderful joy that
fills your soul and spirit with glory and makes your very  bones
rejoice, and that is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did
for you when He died on the cross for you, and rose again, showing
that your  old account was settled.
Money cannot give you this joy. It is not to be bought for
gold. You may have kind friends who would be glad to help you
in every way possible, but they cannot bestow this gladness upon
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His Healing Power
you. It has to come down from heaven, for  Every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. (James
1:17.) On the other hand, nothing can take this joy from you, for [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]