Not His Will? 5/29 Wednesday Wisdom

"But supposing that it is not His will to heal me? Supposing He wants to take me home to heaven?:


Well Amen! that is a different matter: your Coronation Day is at hand. Blessed are they that die in the Lord...



If the Saviour has spoken to your heart and is calling you home--Hallelujah--there is nothing to fear, if your heart is washed in the blood of the Lamb. For you death has lost its sting and the grave its victory...



But we do believe that the Lord's little children do not need to die screaming with convulsions and with pain. We read of our fathers that "they fell asleep."
-- Aimee Semple McPherson

THIS WILL BE THE LAST FAITH QUOTE FOR 2 1/2 WEEKS, AS WE WILL BE ON VACATION.

Fix Your Eyes 5/28 Tuesday Truth

Pray through before you come to Christ for healing; then come with perfect faith in Jesus and His power to heal. When you lay aside that cane or those crutches, after prayer, do not put one foot out hesitatingly and say:


"Um--now I wonder if I could--take a step on that foot (?)(?)(?)!! I wonder if I could bear my weight on it? It's been a pretty sore foot! Now--let's see--I'm going to try--(?)"



No ! no ! that is not faith!



Do you suppose that Peter would ever have been able to walk on the water to meet his Lord had he put one foot rather dubiously on the wave and said:



"Let's see now-- I wonder if that water will bear my weight? I know that the Lord bade me come, but this water is pretty soft--and I'm pretty heavy -- but I'll try it and see (?)(?) ! ! "



Why, no, he would have sunk in a moment; 'twas faith that kept Peter up -- faith in Jesus; as soon as he got his eyes off the Christ and fixed them fearfully upon the tempestuous waves or circumstances with which he was surrounded, he began to sink.



According to thy faith be it done unto thee. Do not fix your eyes upon your own condition or surroundings. Fix your eyes on Jesus.



-- Aimee Semple McPherson



A reminder in case you missed it . . . I will be leaving on vacation mid-week and will not be posting for 2 1/2 weeks.

Faith and Feeling 5/27 Monday Meditation

Remember that faith is not always accompanied by feeling. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Whether you are healed instantly or gradually, hold fast to the promise. In the Bible we read of some who came to Jesus that "as they went they were healed. Just so today there are some who see little visible indication of healing at the moment they are prayed for. But this is the very time to have faith and to hold fast. If they should wait a moment or so, without feeling any great surge of healing power and then walk away with downcast fact, saying --


"Oh, I was prayed for a moment ago but I feel no different -- I guess this is not for me" -- then, according to their faith shall it be done. Remember, faith is not feeling. Keep your eye on Jesus who is this very moment measuring and testing the quantity and quality of your faith.
-- Aimee Semple McPherson

I WILL BE ON VACATION   STARTING THE MIDDLE OF THIS WEEK AND WILL NOT BE POSTING FOR 2  1/2 WEEKS.

Active vs. Passive Faith 5/24 Friday Faith

The one with "passive" faith says, "I will be prayed for and IF it is His will to heal me, I will be restored to health," -- but right there is an 'IF' small in itself but a most mighty stumbling block to faith.




Had the woman with the issue of blood sat by the wayside saying, "Well, if it is His will to heal me, I am willing. I will just sit here at ease and if He happens to come to me and heal me, all right; if not, all right, but I will make no great effort until He does," do you think she would ever have been made whole? It was her "active faith" that pressed through the throng and touched the Master's robe that brought about her healing.



-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Mrs. So and So 5/23 Thursday Thoughts

"Why, I am Mrs. So and So. I've done this, that, and the other for the Lord for so many years, I am sure that He will heal me." But Oh, it is not upon our own merits, righteousness or even service that we can claim the promise, for all that we have done, after all, is but our reasonable service. 'Tis the merits and righteousness of Jesus that we must plead. Coming in humility, we find that indeed when we are weak, then are we strong, for He resisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble.




-- Aimee Semple McPherson

No tear so blinding ... 5/22 Wednesday Wisdom

Not a tear so blinding, but Jesus can wipe it away. Not a hurt so deep in the heart, but He can comfort and bless. Not a body so weary, so weak and sick but His touch can strengthen and heal. Not a load so heavy or a a burden so great but His love can lift and bear it away.


-- Aimee Semple McPherson

You Care For the Track 5/21 Tuesday Truth

Make sure of the condition of the track; you are inviting the express [train] of God's unlimited power to come over. Remember that in making railroads, the hills must be laid low, the valleys exalted; pride must flow down before Him and the rough places be made smooth. Do not spend so much time worrying and scolding because the train does not come more quickly. You care for the track. -- God will take care of the train.

-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Are You a Real Christian? 5/20 Monday Meditation

Are you a real Christian, a follower of the Lamb? Have you been born again? Are you taking up your cross daily, denying yourself and following after Him? Is your life counting for God and souls? Even when the wires of heavenly connection are up, you should inspect them carefully ... it takes only a little bit of paper in the electric light socket to keep the light from shining. It takes only a little doubt, hardness, backbiting, criticism, unforgiveness of spirit, disobedience or grudge to hinder the blessed power of God from flowing into that life of yours.




-- Aimee Semple McPherson

We KNOW 5/17 Friday Faith

We KNOW that Christ is just the same today as in the days of old. His saving and His healing power are just the same if only we believe. Whilst some content themselves with telling only what Christ used to do in days gone by, others are rising up and pressing through the throng to touch His garment now. And by their faith they are made whole. What a blessed privilege! What a real and practical Gospel of power, that cannot be gainsaid [denied]!


-- Aimee Semple McPherson

The Attitude Reversed 5/16 Thursday Thoughts

The scribes of that day had admitted Christ's power to heal, but disputed His power to forgive. Today the attitude of the doubter is quite reversed -- many who admit His power to forgive sin, doubt His ability to heal the sick. But Jesus says: "Which is easier?" and the simple facts are that it is just as easy for the Lord to do the one as the other.


-- Aimee Semple McPherson

God's Great Plan 5/15 Wednesday Wisdom

In God's great plan of Redemption, Salvation for the soul, and Divine Healing for the body, were united in holy matrimony, and destined to walk together, hand in hand, through the ages. Unbelief has sought to divorce this heaven-born pair; but prayer and faith still prove they are united.




Healing for the body was included in the atonement made by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Beaten with cruel stripes, He purchased healing for the body. Wounded for our transgressions, He bought Redemption for every soul that would believe on Him with the whole heart.



-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Good Things Included 5/14 Tuesday Truth

Many of us have gone almost to the end of life's voyage before realizing the good things included in our ticket. Salvation, Healing, the power of the Holy Spirit and rich life in Christ are yours for the asking. Draw near today and cry: Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me. I now appropriate Thy promises, and claim as mine the rich provision Thou hast made for me, even the double cure with its blessings for body and soul.


-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Tell Me WHY 5/13 Monday Meditation

"Tell me, dear Spirit, Teacher and Guide, O tell me WHY did they whip Him so! Was He whipped that my many sins might be washed away?"




"No, child, the blood on the cross was sufficient for that."



"Then why did they pluck the beard from His face, and beat Him with cruel staves, was that for the cleansing of sin?"



"No, child, the Blood was sufficient for that."



"Then why, O Spirit of God, tell me why did they torture my Saviour so? Was God merely permitting the vindictive, fiendish wrath of an angry mob to be wreaked upon the head of His blessed Son? Else if His stripes did not cleanse me from sin, then WHY did they whip Him so?"



"Why, child! Do you not know the meaning of that lash, the cruel blows of the smiters' scourge? 'Twas thus He bare your suffering, and by His stripes ye are healed."



-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Double Cure for the Double Curse 5/10 Friday Faith

If you're reading this on Thursday, have a blessed Ascension Day!


Of the double cure for the double curse the Psalmist spake clearly, saying, "Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgiveth all thing iniquities, and who healeth all thy diseases." Ps. 103:2,3. Notice the first two benefits David mentions are those of forgiveness and salvation, which is to overthrow the powers of sin, and divine healing for the body to overthrow sickness and disease.

-- Aimee Semple McPherson

The First Lie 5/9 Thursday Thoughts

The first lie the devil told the human family, the first seed of doubt he sowed in their hearts was that of doubting the veracity and absolute, unchangeable truth of God's Word. He has been engaged with the same task ever since.




-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Awake! 5/8 Wednesday Wisdom

Awake! thou that sleepest, arise from the dead! The Lord still lives today. His power has never abated. His Word has never changed. The things He did in Bible days, He still lives to do today. Not a burden is there He cannot bear nor a fetter He cannot break.


Here bring your sins, He'll wash them away. Here bring your sicknesses. He'll heal you today. We serve not a dead but a living God -- not "I WAS," but "The Great I AM."

-- Aimee Semple McPherson

Victory is Assured 5/7 Tuesday Truth

Victory is assured and the only solution to the problem of drawing the multitude is to lift up, not the dead, but the living Christ; not the Great "I WAS" but the Great "I AM." ... "I AM" is Thy Name today and shall be evermore! "I AM the Lord. I change not."


-- Aimee Semple McPherson

If you missed yesterday, be sure to go back and read the intro to Aimee Semple McPherson.

Aimee Semple McPherson 5/6 Monday Meditation

Today we begin a series of quotations from sermons of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890 - 1944). "Sister Aimee", as she was called, was a very flamboyant healer / evangelist who enjoyed movie star-like fame in her day. She founded one of the first megachurches, Angelus Temple, in Los Angeles. She was a pioneer in the use of radio to broadcast the Gospel. She was known for her creative sermon illustrations. She was the founder of The Foursquare Church, a denomination that is better known on the West Coast. She got her theology from A.B. Simpson's Fourfold Gospel. A theater movie about Sister Aimee's life is to be released this year.




"I AM" hath never changed! His power is just the same in this thy day as it was in the days of yore. Did He not say, "This is my Name forever -- even unto ALL generations"? They who have faith shall see the lightnings of His glory flash in power of answered prayer today, as in the days of old. Elijah and Elisha lived in a day when doubters said the miraculous had passed away and "I AM" had become "I WAS." But through faith and prayer they proved His name to be "I AM" unto their generations.

In the Power of His Name 5/3 Friday Faith

There is something very remarkable and forceful in this verse. It says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you ... greater works than these shall ye do." In the power of His Name there is power against the devil, and all his hosts. It is a marvelous force against all these things. Glory to God. ...


The man that is baptized in the Holy Ghost is baptized in a new order altogether. It cannot be that you shall ever be ordinary after that. You are on an extraordinary plane, you are brought into line with the mind of God. -- Smith Wigglesworth

On Monday we will be starting a new series of quotes from Aimee Semple McPherson. If I've ever quoted from her before, it's only been a couple quotes.

Believe and Confess 4/2 Thursday Thoughts

No person need be without the knowledge that they are not only saved, but that God can live in these bodies. You are begotten the moment you believe, until a lively hope. "He that believeth hath eternal life." You have eternal life the moment you believe. The first life is temporal, natural, material, but in the new birth you exist as long as God -- forever -- we are begotten by an incorruptible power, by the Word of God. The new birth is unto righteousness, begotten by God the moment that you believe. God always saves through the heart. He that believeth in the heart and confesseth with his mouth shall be saved.




-- Smith Wigglesworth