Suffering in End Times
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (St. Matthew 4:4, King James Version, KJV [Christ Jesus tempted by the devil]).
Greetings in the Name of Jesus,
Let not my living be in vain. Do you hear the words coming out of my mouth? How do you live, suffering in the wilderness and in the world, except by the power of the words, which came forth out of the mouth of God? God spoke you into existence as he did the same of the world, itself. He breathed a living soul into your flesh.
With that said, I would be remiss to permit you to ignore the truth that your existence primarily delivered the manifestation of the words of God. How Christ spoke to the people gave you life everlasting – eternal life, indeed, not a small feat or miniscule matter, however, vain, you find yourself, when you feed on the words of God; Christ fed you and in so doing, delivered to you, eternal life, for His life saved life, here, in earth? (“...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”, St. Matthew 4:4, KJV [Christ Jesus tempted by the devil]). “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8, KJV [Privileges of the righteous; A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed]). The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Let not my suffering be in vain. Do you hunger for your God? (“And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come” Hebrews 6:5, KJV [The priesthood of Christ]). Do you thirst for your God? How powerful is the gift of the living waters, to heal, suffering souls?
Is the power of the living waters the same as the power of the “words that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (St. Matthew 4: 4, KJV). Then, why do you suffer, at all, here, in earth except the temptation of the devil persuaded you that you must save yourself, so, you would doubt that, yes, you could save yourself, by the blood of the lamb that delivered you through death and resurrection, to saving grace. We speak, in spirit, here, of the spirit and your soul, for you know, flesh contained you (“of the dust of the ground” Genesis 2:7, KJV). So, how can afflictions and death, sustain the breath of life God breathed in the nostril of the man “and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7, KJV [Creation of man]).
Well, then, who sustains you? Is it the breath of life? Is it the words that proceedeth out of the mouth of God? (St. Matthew 4:4, KJV)? Is it the living waters? Surely, by now, you know and realize that death, is the enemy of the breath of life.
However, the words of God spoken and the living waters of Christ, do thwart the enemy and deliver you, if, not in flesh because all things are possible in Christ Jesus, then, in spirit, saving your living soul and granting you the gift of eternal life. Is that not what the breath of life God gave you became? Yes, your breath of life became a living soul. And, Christ saved your soul. Albeit, the flesh (of the dust of the ground) will suffer and die.
God's promise saved your soul. God's promise did not remove suffering. We are a suffering people, living in a suffering world. Sometimes, we fail to see how much the earth is suffering with the flesh (peoples in the world). The earth cries out in afflictions and death every day just as the flesh of man cries out in afflictions and death every day. Right now, California's Yosemite forest, is burning, at a cost of $89 million to the people of the United States of America, to stop the fire from expanding to homes in the nearby areas, repair the infrastructure damage and restore new growth to the forest.
God's promise did remove mountains out of your way through fasting and fervent prayer. Don't
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you ever give up, just keep praying, day and night until Christ intercedes and takes away the mountain that stands in your way. Who is your mountain that stands in your way, of healing, failing to sustain your suffering flesh? What is your mountain that stands in your way, of healing, failing to sustain your suffering flesh?
Well, how long, Lord, how long will I be subjected to the suffering of my flesh? Would you
rather a short-lived life more than a long life, to finish your course? Sometimes the course, you were born to run and finish, is of such a magnitude of faith that you will not stay long years to finish your course that is why the old cliché' says, “the good dies young”. Sometimes the course, you were born to run and finish, is of such a magnitude of faith that you must remain long years to finish your course that is why Moses prayed, “...we spend our years as a tale that is told” and “teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”(Psalms 90:9, 12, KJV [A Prayer of Moses the man of God]).
I speak to you, of truth, of what is possible, what is real, that stands, proof, of the powers of healing:
Christ Jesus visited Cana, again, and healed a nobleman's son sick at
Capernaum (St. John 4:46-54, KJV; Christ Jesus cast out demons
(St. Mark 1:23-28, KJV; St. Luke 4:33-37, KJV);
Christ Jesus healed Simon's wife's mother and other sick people
(St. Matthew 8:14-17, KJV; St. Mark 1:29-34, KJV; St. Luke 4:38-41, KJV);
Christ healed a leper (St. Matthew 8:1-4, KJV; St. Mark 1:40-45, KJV,
St. Luke 5:12-16, KJV); Christ Jesus healed a palsied man let down through
the roof in Capernaum (St. Matthew 9:2-8; St. Mark 2:1-12, KJV;
St. Luke 5:17-26, KJV); Christ Jesus healed a man's withered hand on the
Sabbath (St. Matthew 12:9-14; St. Mark 3:1-6, KJV; St. Luke 6:6-11);
Christ Jesus withdraws to the lake and heals many (St. Matthew 12:15-21, KJV;
St. Mark 3:7-12, KJV); Christ Jesus healed the centurion's servant
(St. Matthew 8:5-13, KJV; St. Luke 7:1-10, KJV); Christ Jesus raised the
widow's son at Nain (St. Luke 7:11-17, KJV); Christ Jesus, returned to
Capernaum and healed a blind and dumb demoniac, the Pharisees attributed
the miracle to Beelzebub (St. Matthew 12:22-37, KJV; St. Mark 3:22-30, KJV;
St. Luke 11:14-15, 17-23, KJV); Christ Jesus healed two demoniacs of Gadara,
one being prominent (St. Matthew 8:28-34, KJV; St. Mark 5:1-20, KJV;
St. Luke 8:26-40, KJV); Christ Jesus, returned to the west shore and raised Jairus' daughter, also healed a woman with a blood issue (St. Matthew 9:1,18-26, KJV;
St. Mark 5:21-43, KJV; St. Luke 8:40-56, KJV); Christ Jesus healed two blind men
and cast out a demon (St. Matthew 9:27-34, KJV); The twelve returned to Jesus
and told of all they did and taught. Christ Jesus withdrew with them to a desert
on the other side of the Sea of Galilee and fed five thousand people
(St. Matthew 14:13-21, KJV; St. Mark 6:30-44, KJV; St. Luke 9:10-17, KJV;
St. John 6:1-14, KJV); Christ Jesus healed in the Gennesaret plain for a few days
(St. Matthew 14:34-36, KJV; St. Mark 6:55-56, KJV); Christ Jesus goes northward towards Tyre and Sidon and healed the Syrophoenician woman's daughter according
to her faith (St. Matthew 15:21-28, KJV; St. Mark 7:24-30, KJV); Christ Jesus
returned through Decapolis, ascended a mount near the Sea of Galilee and
healed many and fed four thousand (St. Matthew 15:29-38, KJV;
St. Mark 7:31-8:9, KJV); Christ Jesus healed a blind man
(St. Mark 8:22-26, KJV); Christ Jesus descending, the following day,
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cast out a demon, which the disciples could not cast out
(St. Matthew 17:14-21, KJV; St. Mark 9:14-29, KJV;
St. Luke 9:37-43, KJV); Christ Jesus miraculously provided
temple-tribute money, from a fish at Capernaum (St. Matthew 17:24-27, KJV);
Christ Jesus healed the beggar, blind from birth (St. John 9:1, KJV);
Christ Jesus healed the dumb demoniac and the Pharisees again attributed
the miracle to Beelzebub (St. Luke 11:14-54, KJV); Christ Jesus healed
a woman with a spirit of infirmity (St. Luke 13:10-17, KJV); Christ Jesus
healed a man with dropsy (St. Luke 14:1-6, KJV); Christ Jesus arrived at
Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead (St. John 11:17-46, KJV);
Christ Jesus healed ten lepers on the Samaritan frontier
(St. Luke 17:11-19, KJV); Christ Jesus healed two blind men near Jericho
(St. St. Matthew 20:29-34, KJV; St. Mark 10:46-52, KJV;
St. Luke 18:35-19:1, KJV)” (Holy Bible, n.d.).
With the number of people healed, why do we remain in unbelief? Christ Jesus awesomely performed miracles, before the eyes of man, so, it is rather baffling to think so many people, still are in unbelief. Therefore, the true believers must stay on course, doing the good works, now, greater works than during the time Christ Jesus walked the earth, as he foretold. If, unbelief, is holding us back, then why do we not believe?
With the number of people fed, why is the holy spirit not present in man? Christ fed five thousand and four thousand, not to speak of those who followed him, those who were not his disciples, while he did his works, in his powerful public ministry. Christ left 12 disciples; Peter replaced Judas Iscariot; Christ, since ascension, spoke to Saul, changed his name to Paul and transformed him on the streets of Damascus. Of course, there were the women, whom Christ allowed to minister to him, who also followed the public ministry of Christ Jesus and learned the way.
Again, we are baffled at why so many still resist the holy spirit? But, the harvest is still big and laborers, are still needed, so we must pray to God to send more laborers. Thus saith our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus, so you shall suffer no more and grow in the knowledge, of healing power as you feed the sheep, of Christ. May God bless you.
The Lord be with you. May the spirit abide in you. Amen. Amen.
