Jesus Bore the Punishment We Deserved

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the  kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. -Colossians 1:13,14

When Jesus finished the earthly ministry God had given Him, He was about thirty-three years old. Only one thing was left to do. Jesus, the Son of God—the One who never sinned, who never made a mistake in His life, who never hurt anyone and always helped everyone—had to die on the Cross.

The cross was a death reserved for criminals. If anyone belonged on that cross, it was you and I—not Jesus.

The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We were the ones who sinned, made mistakes, hurt people. We deserved to go to the place of judgment. But Jesus took our place. He is “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world”(John 1:29),

The Bible says, “Without shedding of blood [there] is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). Someone had to die for us. We deserved death, but Jesus took our death on Himself so we can walk in newness of life.

CONFESSION:

Jesus, my Savior, redeemed me. With the price of His own blood, He became the way for me to be reconciled to the Father. He took my sickness and my spiritual death so I could have His health and His eternal life.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Forever Redeemed

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace -Ephesians 1:7

When Jesus shed His blood on the Cross, He redeemed us. Redeem means “to purchase or buy back.”

For example, several years ago, when you purchased groceries in grocery stores, the store owners gave you green stamps as an incentive to buy at their stores. You were supposed to put them in stamp books. After you had filled several books, you went to a “redemption center.” The center stocked all kinds of nice gifts: radios, stereos, camping supplies and so forth. But you couldn’t buy those items with money. You had to redeem them with green stamps.

Well, Jesus redeemed us with His own blood. You see, when Adam sinned, mankind fell into a state of spiritual death, or separation from God. Along with sin came sickness, poverty, fear and failure.

Man was in the grips of sin under Satan’s control, but God wanted to buy man back. However, only one price could buy man back from the kingdom of darkness. Silver and gold couldn’t do it. The redemption price had to be sinless, spotless blood.

So God sent His only begotten Son to be our sacrifice. Jesus took on flesh and walked sinless among us as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Then He shed His perfect, spotless blood on the Cross, redeeming us from Satan’s dominion.

All we have to do is believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord and that God raised Him from the dead for us. (Rom 10:9,10.) At that moment, we are translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light—forever redeemed!

CONFESSION:

I’ve been redeemed from Satan’s control. Sickness no longer has jurisdiction over me. Divine health is a benefit of my Father’s kingdom, and I walk in all the benefits Jesus purchased for me with His blood!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

Split the Atonement in Two?

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed. –Isaiah 53:5

In the past, many in the body of Christ have tried to split the Atonement down the middle. Then they’ve tried to separate the two halves. They say, “Thank God, salvation is for anyone, anytime. Second Peter 3:9 says, ‘The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ So whoever wants to be saved  may freely come!”

“However,” they continue, “healing is not for today.” Or they say, “God can heal, but He normally doesn’t do things like that. He heals some, but He doesn’t heal everyone.” Or perhaps they rationalize, “God has replaced healing with doctors and hospitals.”

But no one has a right to split the Atonement down the middle. Jesus paid the price for us—spirit, soul and body.

One half of the Atonement is the forgiveness of sin; the other half of the Atonement is healing for the physical body. Jesus Christ not only paid the price for our sins and iniquities, but at the same time He paid the price for our sicknesses and diseases. When the body of Christ grabs hold of that revelation, the sick will be healed, the weak will be made strong and the healthy will stay well!

CONFESSION:

Jesus wants me to be saved and healthy, so He purchased my salvation and healing with His own death on the Cross. His body was broken for me; His blood was shed for me. I receive the salvation and healing He has provided!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

A Promissory Note on Redemption

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” -Matthew 8:17

Jesus gave people healing before He ever went to the Cross. At the Cross, healing was provided as part of God’s redemption plan, but Jesus proved redemption before-hand by giving people part of it on a promissory note. Every time He forgave people of their sins, in essence He was saying, “I’ll pay for it later.” Every time He healed the multitudes, He was saying, “I’ll pay for it later.”

Jesus knew those sicknesses and diseases would be on His own back in a short period of time, but He still let His compassion flow out. He wanted to prove to the world that redemption, freedom, peace and healing belong to everyone.

Jesus didn’t turn anyone down. Matthew 8:16 says, “When the evening had come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.” The people brought the sick and He healed all who came to Him for help.

Jesus didn’t question who the sick people were or where they came from. If redemption belonged to all mankind, it had to be clearly shown that it was available to every person. So to all who came to Him in faith, Jesus delivered a promissory note on God’s redemption plan—a promise He knew He would pay for later.

CONFESSION:

Jesus showed us by His life what God’s will is. I know God wants me well because Jesus healed all who came to Him and paid the price to make healing available to me.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

His Death for Our Life

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16

What is the Atonement? It is the redemptive work Jesus accomplished when He went to the Cross as  our substitute and paid the price for our sins with His blood. He was also chastised for our peace and broken in His body for our physical healing. (Isaiah 53:5.)

The Atonement is the most basic of all Christian trusts—the very essence of what we believe. It isn’t’ complicated theology or church doctrine. Atonement is His death for our life.

If you don’t understand and believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for your sins and was raised again from the dead so you could be born again, His death won’t do you any good. Likewise, if you don’t understand and believe that Jesus bore stripes on His back for your physical healing, His broken body won’t do you any good.

It all boils down to what you understand. Faith can’t operate where the will of God isn’t known; neither can the will of God be known about a subject of which you have no knowledge. The only part of the Atonement that will work for you is the part you understand and believe.

CONFESSION:

I believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for my sins. I believe He bore stripes for my physical healing. By faith I take full advantage of the benefits He paid for.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Jesus Paid for Physical Healing

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—for whose stripes you were healed. –1 Peter 2:24

This scripture is a New Testament portrait of redemption—a picture of what Jesus did for us. One day when I was teaching on this verse, I made the comment, “To me, this Scripture proves healing belongs to anyone who is saved, because it covers both sides of redemption in one verse.”

A person attending the meeting spoke up, saying, “Apparently, you consider the Scripture to be referring to physical healing. But it’s talking about spiritual healing.”

Before I realized what was happening, I heard these words coming out of my mouth: “When you were saved, what happened in your spirit?”

The person replied, “God took out the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He gave me a new spirit.”

“Why did you have to be born again?” I asked.

“Because I was spiritually dead.”

“Well, why would you need spiritual healing then? I asked. “You can’t heal something that’s dead—it has to be reborn.”

You see, when we’re spiritually dead, we don’t need to get spiritually healed. That won’t do the job. We must be born again. The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). God gives us brand-new spirits. And our re-created spirits don’t need healing—our physical bodies do!

So live in the fullness of your redemption—your spirit man reborn, your mind renewed and your body healed by the power of God!

CONFESSION:

I am born again, I have a brand-new spirit, and my body is healed because of the stripes Jesus bore for me. His sacrifice was more than enough to totally redeem me from the dominion of darkness and bring me into the kingdom of light!

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999

 

 

Praying in Faith vs. the Prayer of Faith

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. -1 John 5:14-15

Some people think the prayer of faith works for everything, even when they pray for healing for someone else. But there’s a difference between praying in faith and the prayer of faith.

All our prayers must be in faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” When we go to the Father in prayer, we must believe He hears and answers us when we pray in accordance with His will.

But the prayer of faith is what you pray for yourself in order to receive what legally belongs to you according to the will of God. In this prayer, you pray one time; then you believe you receive your answer. You don’t request that same petition again in prayer; instead, you thank and praise God for the answer.

But when you pray for someone else, James 5:16 AMP gives you the guidelines: “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available—dynamic in its working.” Your heartfelt prayers for others may have to continue for a time. Don’t give up—keep praying until you’ve seen God’s power produce results!

CONFESSION:

When I have a need, I pray to my Father once, believing I receive when I pray. When I pray for another’s needs, I continue to pray until I see the answer. My prayers make tremendous power available.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999