Author Archives: garrettjmilovich

Ten Logical Reasons Why Sickness Isn’t Good (and a Question for Good Measure)

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homer-sickThere are plenty of scriptures that specifically cite healing as good and sickness as bad (there are at least 178 of them, to be somewhat exact).  There is also huge lack of scriptures citing healing as bad and sickness as good (there are less than one, to be somewhat exact).

However, I don’t want to list 178 verses for you here.  Rather, I want to look at the entire bible as a whole and derive ten logical reasons why sickness sucks.

Then I’ll end with a question with an obvious answer that sort of drives the point home.  Enjoy.

  1.      According to the Mosaic Law, sickness makes you unclean.

Being sick meant you were unfit to properly worship God.  You couldn’t enter the temple, couldn’t make sacrifices, and couldn’t hang out with other people.  That is generally viewed as a problem for God followers, since your primary job is to, you know, worship God.

  1.      Jesus healed the sick.

Jesus is the best picture of God we’ve got.  If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.  And when you observe Jesus, what you find is that He healed every single person who came to Him in faith.  Strangely absent from his three and a half year ministry: spreading malaria.

  1.      Sickness is a curse.

Deuteronomy 28 goes into extensive detail when describing the Curse of the Law.  In that chapter, God mentions just about every single type of sickness, disease, and infirmity known to man (it’s worth noting that He also calls out poverty as a curse).  Centuries later, Paul said Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross rendered us free from the Curse (Galatians 3).

  1.      The plagues didn’t touch Israel.

Generally speaking, the Jews weren’t harmed by the plagues that destroyed Egypt.  God made sure His people were protected.  So even in the event of a deadly virus that threatens to wipe out humanity, rest assured that faithful Christians (read: faith-filled) will be kept safe.

  1.      Sickness isn’t a biblical platform.

No matter which chapter of the bible you read, you’ll never find a story of a terminally ill person using their sickness to promote the gospel.  Rather, you find those people begging to be delivered from their painful plight.  There was no organization in the bible called “Blind guys for Jesus”; they called themselves “Blind guys who really really desperately want to be healed, and won’t relent until they can see.”

  1.      The bible calls sickness “evil.”

Remember the Rich Man and Lazarus?  In Luke 16:25, Abraham said that Lazarus’ life was characterized by “evil things.”  The two defining characteristics of Lazarus were sickness and poverty.

  1.      Sickness was viewed as punishment in the bible days.

There is a story where the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him, “Is this man sick because of his own personal sins, or because of the sins of his parents?”  The mainstream idea of the day was that sickness resulted from sin.  And guess what?  Your sins have been removed.

  1.      Healing was viewed as glorious.

Jesus responds to the disciples’ question by saying, “Neither.  But to show you the glory of God, I’ll heal Him.”  Then POOF!, the man is healed.  People draw all sorts of conclusions from this story, but we have to agree on at least two things: a) Jesus viewed sickness as an unfit state for the man; and b) Jesus called healing “glorious.”

  1.      The bible never says Christians will suffer sickness

Jesus listed many sources of suffering that could befall Christians.  Just about all of them related to persecution.  Sickness never made the list.

10.     Paul never suffered sickness.

Paul, too, listed many things that befell him on his travels (2 Corinthians 11).  Again, sickness didn’t make the cut.

And finally, a Question: Did Jesus ever get sick?

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Three Reasons Why You Should All Go See “God’s Not Dead”

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gods not deadLast Friday, Cheyne and I saw the new Christian-themed film, “God’s Not Dead.”  We liked it so much that we decided to take our youth group to see it on Sunday afternoon.

There are a lot of reasons I could give you to go see it, but instead I decided to stir things up a bit and give you three reasons why you shouldn’t see it.

  1.       It’s not perfect

While I overwhelmingly enjoyed the film, there were a couple of lines that I took issue with doctrinally.  This led me to a startling discovery:

CHRISTIAN MOVIES AREN’T PERFECT!

But you want to know what?  Christians aren’t perfect either.  And expecting a Christian film to be flawless reveals the inherent flaws in our own expectations.

Christians make mistakes occasionally.  In fact, I’ve said something incorrect once or twice in my life (like my infamous speech to a roomful of promiscuous teenagers at the 2005 JSA Convention).

And while it’d be great for a film to teach the gospel with 100% accuracy in every single detail, a film that teaches that “you can believe in God without committing intellectual suicide” and that Jesus is the only means of salvation is a film worth promoting.

  1.       There are too many bible movies this year

2014 has been dubbed by many as “the Year of the Bible Movie.”  There are a plethora of biblically based films coming out this year… Son of God, Heaven is For Real, Noah, Exodus, and Captain America: Winter Soldier.

But what if this wasn’t an anomaly?  What if it wasn’t uncommon for a dozen movies to feature bible stories and Christian themes every calendar year?  We have tremendous power in our hands.  We can send a message to Hollywood that if they will finance bible movies, we will watch them.  We will promote them.  We will tell our friends about them.  And bible-based movies will do well.

Based on how well these films are received will dictate whether we see Jesus on the big screens next year, or Will Ferrell with no pants on.  In an age where Hollywood films are getting more decadent and more X-rated, we can turn the tide and usher in “the Decade of the Bible Movie.”

Or we can stay home and complain that Moses was too Calvinist/Pentecostal/Environmental/hippy/etc.  Ultimately, your decision will dictate what types of films come out next year.

  1.       No stars, no budget, no academy awards

herculesHercules and Superman walk into a bar… and make a Christian movie.

You probably didn’t get that joke.  For one, it wasn’t funny.  Also, “God’s Not Dead” didn’t have any celebrities from the 21st Century in it.  (But mainly, because it wasn’t funny.)

“God’s Not Dead” didn’t have any famous people in it.  It didn’t have a gigantic budget.  It won’t be nominated for an Academy Award.  And it won’t break any records for “Most Money Ever Made from a Movie Ever.”

And that’s okay.

When you watch movies solely because some famous guy is in it or because it’s been hyped up, you end up with movies like “The Hangover Part 3.”  And nobody wants to see that.  We shouldn’t see movies just because they are Oscar worthy.  In fact, if you look at the list of films that have won “Best Picture,” most of them suck.

“God’s Not Dead” will strengthen your faith.  It will cause you to see militant atheists not as your mortal enemies but as victims besieged by the lies of the devil.  It will embolden you to stand up for what you believe in.  It will cause you to take risks for the sake of the gospel.

And who knows?  If we all make an effort to support movies like “God’s Not Dead,” maybe the film industry will slowly start to change.  Maybe big stars will put their talents and their fortunes toward Christian-themed films.  Maybe we’ll see more celebrities thanking Jesus Christ at the 2015 Academy Awards.  Maybe in a decade or so, Christians will actually like Hollywood because Hollywood likes Christianity.

Or maybe not.  It depends on us.

Baby Shower Q&A: The Unrated Version

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Cheyne and I reveal the gender of our baby. I may look surprised, but I already knew. It's called "acting."

Cheyne and I reveal the gender of our baby. I may look surprised, but I already knew. It’s called “acting.”

We had our baby shower about a month ago. Beforehand, I was given the following questions to answer for the shower. Thought you guys might like reading through it.

1. If the baby could have a superpower what would it be?

The ability to have any superpower it wants.

2. What do you want the baby to be when the baby grows up?

Human.  Also, preferably not a Belieber.

3. What college would you want the baby to go to?

Somewhere close.  And somewhere that doesn’t have the word “fashion” or “burger” in the name.

4. If the baby could be a superhero, what superhero would you want the baby to be?

Superman.  Duh.  He can do everything.

5. What physical characteristic of your spouse do you hope your baby has?

If she’s a girl, then all of ‘em.  Hair, eyes, smile, and the rest.  If we’re having a boy, then definitely Cheyne’s biceps.  Cheyne is freakishly strong.

6. What personality trait of your spouse do you hope your baby has?

Her passion.  If the kid is born with that, he’ll change the world.

7. What physical characteristic of yours do you hope your baby has?

My beard. Hopefully not immediately though, as that probably wouldn’t be convenient for the birthing process.

8. What personality trait of yours do you hope your baby has?

My ability to take important things like baby shower questionnaires seriously.

9. What of yours do you hope your baby doesn’t inherit?

My webbed toes and back hair.  Also, my inability to dunk.

10. How old will your baby be when they lose their first tooth?

Hopefully before the next “Mother’s Day.”  I have a great idea for necklace…

11. How many kids do you want?

Twelve.  I figure if Cheyne says “two” and I say “twelve,” we can compromise at “four” and I’ll look like a caring, understanding guy.

12. How old does the baby have to be before he can date?

It depends if he is a boy or she is a girl.  If she is a girl, never.  If he’s a boy, thirty.

13. Who’s changing poopy diapers?

Whoever wants to be the favorite grandma.

14. What are you most looking forward to about being a parent?

Getting to tell other people how to raise their kids.

15. How long do you think labor will last?

Fourteen seconds.  Speakin’ it by faith. (Air-fives my wife.)

This mean little girl snuck into the shower and punched me in the gut!

This mean little girl snuck into the shower and punched me in the gut!

16. Who is most likely to faint during delivery?

The nurse.  When she sees how handsome my son is.

17. Who will cry more when their baby will be born?

Probably me, unless “Titanic” is playing in the delivery room, in which case, tie.

18. How did Cheyne tell Garrett she was pregnant?

She woke me up at 5 AM on the morning of August 12th.  I had feared that she found out I had replaced her “special” medicine with Tic-Tacs.  And I guess to some degree, she had.

19. What are Cheyne’s pregnancy cravings?

One Tree Hill marathons and baths.

20. What was the most challenging thing about being pregnant?

My body being stretched and warped beyond reason, having to get up six times a night to pee, gaining thirty pounds, and having to squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of my body.  Oh wait, that was Cheyne.  I haven’t been inconvenienced all that much.

21. What is your must have baby item?

Diamond Blu-Ray Edition of Braveheart.  Or as we call it, “School.”

22. How much will your baby weigh?

Let’s go with seven pounds.  I made the mistake of accidentally saying “ten pounds” last week to Cheyne (which apparently is a big number), and I was harshly rebuked for my unbelief.

23. How will you handle temper tantrums?

Duct tape.  They’ve worked well so far.  Oh, you mean for the baby…

24. Who came up with the baby’s name?

Our Ouija board.  The magic 8-ball had said, “Ask again later,” but we didn’t have time to wait.

25. What will the baby’s first word be?

“Freedom!”

26. Will you buy the baby a car at 16?

Baby can get a job if he wants to drive.

27. When will you start saving for college?

There are these things called “scholarships” nowadays. Lil’ Milo can get straight A’s if he wants to go to college…

28. What gender do you want the baby to be?

Can’t we let the baby decide?  I mean, it is the 21st Century after all, and my insurance isn’t the only thing that’s Progressive…

29. What do you think will be the biggest lifestyle change when becoming a parent?

More romantic dates with Cheyne and more midnight showings of superhero movies with Cameron.

30. What game/toy are you most looking forward to playing with your baby?

Setting the rowboat up in the backyard and playing with our “imagination.”

 31. Who will be more strict?

That will be obsolete, because my baby will be an angel and never do anything wrong.

Cheyne and I at our baby shower.

Cheyne and I at our baby shower.

Eight Guaranteed Ways to Lengthen Your Life

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 photoEver heard a Christian lament that at any given moment in time, God might just decide to “take” their life? 

Absolute hogwash!

For one, God isn’t in the business of killing His people.  He is the Life Giver, not the Life Stealer.

And two, why would He tell us over and over and over again the many different ways we can extend our time here on earth?

Here are eight guaranteed ways to lengthen your life, according to God.

  1. Learn, remember, and keep God’s Word (Proverbs 3:1-2)
  2. Honor your mom and dad (Ephesians 6:1-3)
  3. Set your love on God (Psalm 91:14-16)
  4. Fear the Lord (Proverbs 10:27)
  5. Be honest in your business transactions (Deuteronomy 25:13-15)
  6. Use your words wisely (Proverbs 13:3)
  7. Be humble (Proverbs 22:4)
  8. Ask (Psalm 21:4)
  9. Don’t eat a mama bird if you find her in a nest filled with eggs (Deuteronomy 22:7)

Number 9 was a bonus.  I figured that most of us would rarely find ourselves in that sort of situation, so we all have eight applicable ways to lengthen our lives, and the avian biologists reading this got an extra one thrown in.

It’s worth mentioning that Ephesians 6:2 reminds us that the commandment to “honor your mother and father” is the first command with promise.  These are eight promises (or nine, depending on your affinity for birds) that God has made to you.

And assuming we can trust God at His Word, this is definitive proof that God wants you to live a long, satisfying life. 

We have a choice before us.  We can choose to believe the nonsense that a few preachers are spouting out.  Or, we can choose to believe God.

“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.  Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

[ your turn: There are other “long life” scriptures, to be sure. Which ones did I miss? ]

Jesus Stalker

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jesus-and-the-multitudeI think a lot of people are Jesus Stalkers.  They listen to the music they think He likes, they hang out at the places they think He likes, they read the books they think He likes.  They even daydream about spending eternity with Him.  But they don’t actually talk to Him.

Listen, going to church is very important.  So are listening to worship music and reading Christian books.  But none of those are a substitute for spending time with God.

So put down the Joseph Prince book, turn off the Jesus Culture CD, and go pray.  Not “I’m praying because I need more stuff” or “I’m praying because I’m also driving.”  Genuine prayer with your heavenly Dad.  Time set apart for Him.  Simply because you love Him.

It’ll be good for you.  I promise.

Two Important Lessons on Faith You Missed from My Last Blog

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Jesus(Read My Last Blog Post)

Jesus was unable to do “mighty works” for the people of Galilee due to their unbelief.  The people had hardened their hearts toward the notion of a miracle-working God, and they received exactly what they believed they would.

Nothing.

But here’s the silver lining most of us miss when considering this passage.

“Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:5)

Even in the midst of their marvelous unbelief, Jesus was still able to heal a few of ‘em.  I don’t know how much a few is.  I’d say at least three, but we’d all agree that the bare minimum would be two.  I also don’t know what sorts of ailments he cured that morning.  Decide for yourselves if it was a common cold, a broken wrist, or a sprained ankle.  It hardly matters what He healed.  The point is that He did it.  Even when faced with mockery and detestation, God’s goodness still was present!

I also like that healing only three or so people of mild illnesses isn’t considered that big of a deal.  For most churches, that’d be a great year, but for Jesus, it was kind of a letdown.

There are two lessons we can glean from this story.

1. Even in churches with obscene amounts of unbelief, God can still show up.  If you’re willing to trust God, you can bring God’s kingdom wherever you go, and you can at least lay hands on a few sick people and heal them.

2. Don’t settle for less than what’s available.  The bible says that when only a handful of people are healed, it’s hardly worth mentioning.  God has so much more in store for those who have the audacity to trust in Him.

Don’t allow the unbelief of a few to slow you down.  Go out into the world and do the greater works Jesus has called you to do!

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The One Thing Jesus Couldn’t Do

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beautiful-jesusJesus walked on water.  He calmed the raging seas.  He healed the sick, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, and caused the lame to walk.  He fed ten thousand people with a kindergartener’s sack lunch… on two separate occasions.  He went head to head with the religious elite, defended the widows and orphans, and transformed the world as we know it.  He did everything and could do anything.

Well, not quite anything.

“Now Jesus could do no mighty work [in His own country], except that He laid His hands in a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:5)

Hold the phone.  Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Great High Priest, the Lion of Judah and Lamb of God, the Son of Man, the Jesus, couldn’t do mighty works?

That doesn’t make any sense.  What could have prevented the Word Made Flesh Himself from healing the masses, when He had already proven Himself more than capable?  What force possibly could have stopped Jesus Christ of Nazareth from performing mighty works?

“And He marveled because of their unbelief.” (Mark 6:6)

It was the people’s lack of faith that stopped the miraculous power of God from working in their lives.  They chose to believe that Jesus’ power wasn’t available for them.  And as a result, it wasn’t. 

Over and over and over again in the scriptures, we read that it is our faith that triggers God’s power to move in our lives.  Every single day, we make thousands of choices to trust in the world and the circumstances and whatever else there is, or to trust in God’s Word.

The Galileans chose to reject God’s Word.

I’m choosing to trust God.

What’re you going to choose?

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The Only Two Steps You Need to Overcome Sin

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sin-struggleI work with teenagers, which means I get asked a lot of questions.

“How far is too far?”

“South Park isn’t all that bad, is it?”

“Am I old enough to date?”

And the big one:

“How do I stop sinning?”

I’ve been a Christian for almost ten years now.  And from all of my time spent in the bible, all of the thousands of sermons I’ve heard, and the countless books I’ve read, I have managed to condense all of the teaching on the subject of overcoming sin into two simple guidelines.

Want to overcome sin in your life once and for all?

Here’s how.

1.    Stop looking for steps to overcoming sin 

We often think that there is some secret we have not yet learned, some rule that has not yet been given, some work that has not yet been performed, that is the key to unlocking victorious living.  When we look for something new, we take our eyes off of what has already been done.

While hanging on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  That means the work has already been done.  Jesus isn’t going to come back and do something extra to help you.  It isn’t necessary.  Grace is more than sufficient for all of our needs.  Everything we could ever need was paid for on the cross.

Which leads us to step two.

2.    Stop sinning

It might sound too good to be true, but it really is that simple.  Just stop sinning.

Do you remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery?

“Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

As far as He was concerned, she was more than capable of ending her sinful lifestyle.  And she didn’t even have the Holy Spirit living within her.  How much more capable should you be?

The fact is, every time you or I sin it’s because we made a conscientious decision to do so.  Sure, the devil may have dangled the carrot in front of us, but you choose to reach for it.  And guess what?  God already told us how to overcome satan:

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

We also need to stop blaming our “sinful nature.”  After all, God said the sinful nature has already been dealt with:

“Know this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6)

That means there isn’t a little guy inside of you forcing you against your will to do a bunch of things you don’t want to do.  We like to think that there is, so that we are able to sidestep any personal responsibility for our actions.  But that little guy inside you who supposed to be pulling all of the strings?  The bible says he was crucified.  That means dead.  Isn’t that a relief?  Your sinful nature has been killed off.

So… you can’t blame the devil… you can’t blame the sinful nature… I guess that just leaves you.

You already have everything you need to overcome sin in your life.  There isn’t some special formula you need to discover to rid yourself of sin once and for all.  There also isn’t something important you need to do.  All you need to do is accept that Christ’s work was sufficient, and choose to live it out.

When we claim that we need something new or something more to overcome sin in our life, our words betray our lack of faith.  Grace is a complete work; there is nothing more to do.  And when we say otherwise, what we are really saying is that we don’t really believe that Jesus was able to free us.  When we make excuses, what we are really saying is that Jesus wasn’t enough.

So there you have it.  The only two steps you will ever need to overcome sin in your life.

  1. Stop looking for steps to overcoming sin
  2. Stop sinning

You already have the power.  You have already been given the authority.  Right now, you have the ability to stop sinning once and for all.  That’s what God said.  Just believe that He meant what He said, and start living it.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

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The Oscar Speech I’ll Someday Give

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Academy-Awards-photo-1-ArkoffThe Academy Awards have come and gone, and Oscar buzz has generally died down, except for John Travolta’s brilliant contribution to YouTube, which has spawned a multitude of parodies.

I’ve been thinking about what it takes to win one of those golden figurines, and coupled with some of my own creative ideas and aspirations, I decided to jot down a few notes on what I would say if I was one day standing on that stage.

Take a look.

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My goodness! Thank you so much! I’m so surprised to be standing up here right now.  I mean, there were so many great films this year… There was Will Ferrell in Anchorman 4: The X-Rated Re-Release. I didn’t see it, but I heard it was disgusting.  And Sean Penn, I’m surprised your movie about how Republicans are the devil even though God doesn’t exist didn’t win.  It seemed like a shoe-in.  After all, this is the Academy Awards.

Thank you everyone so much.  First and foremost, I’d like to thank God for getting me here.  Everything I have in life is a direct result of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Everything I do is to bring glory to the name of Jesus, so this is His award, not mine.  He comes up with the ideas, He tells me what to do; I’m just the errand boy.

And for all of you watching at home, know that anything is possible.  You do not have to compromise your beliefs to do great things.  If you stick with God, you will do mighty things.  It is a guarantee.

I’d also like to thank my beautiful wife.  Cheyne, thank you for always believing in me!  I remember walking through Central Park with you in 2011, and on that fateful morning you convinced me that it was okay for me to follow my dreams.  If it weren’t for your overwhelming confidence in me over the last fifteen years, I’d probably be stuck in a cubicle somewhere, doing something I didn’t care about, and wasting all of the amazing talents God has placed in me.  Thank you for bringing me here.

I’d also like to thank my beautiful boys.  Jack, Paul, George, Ringo, William, Benjamin, and DANNY!  And my girls: Susie, Amanda, Beverly, Kimberly, Juanita, Apple Blossom, and Moon Unit Jr.  Believe in yourselves, but more importantly, believe in your God.  Together, you are destined to change the world.  Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done.

Finally, I’d like to thank every single person in this room.  Many of you have tried to use your success, fame, and fortune to make the world a better place.  You’ve taken up humanitarian causes, invested in clean water, education, and medicine for those less fortunate than you (which let’s face it, is basically everyone not in this room).  You’ve taught English to children, built houses, and given your time, wealth, and energy to leaving the world better than how you found it.

And yet, why have you done all of these amazing things?  Surely it’s not out of the goodness of your hearts.  If mankind were inherently good, those sorts of things wouldn’t be necessary or uncommon.  No, we do these good works because we recognize that man is not good.  Look at the terrible things man has done throughout history.  Look at the world we live in today.  In fact, every person in this room will admit that half of our country is working toward evil.  Whether it’s promoting abortion or its counterpart, the so-called “war on women,” we all think that we’re all completely evil.

So we do these good things in an attempt to assuage the darkness we know is within.  And let me tell you.  No amount of good things, no amount of noble deeds, no amount of orphanages or hospitals or houses or schools we build will ever change the fact that we are all inherently sinful.  The only thing that can change that is direct intervention by God alone. 

So stop trying to get to heaven on your own terms.  Stop trying to earn your own salvation.  Stop resisting what you already know to be true.  Ask God to invade your life.  Receive the free gift of salvation.  And let Jesus Christ completely transform you.

Thank you again, and if any of you want to call me a bigot after the show, I’ll be in the lobby.  Thank you!

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Do you think I’ll get that all in before the music starts playing?  Best Animated Short probably doesn’t get that much time to speak.  I supposed I’ll have to aim higher, like for Best Film or somethin’.

Every Biblical Example of God Making Christians Sick

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sneezeSince becoming a Christian over nine years ago, I have noticed that the church is in the middle of tremendous conflict.  One camp of Christians says God is the Healer, while the other says God might occasionally make you sick, in order to teach you humility, suffering, dedication, or some other esoteric lesson.

So I have searched the scriptures, hoping to find biblical examples that would prove which side of the aisle God falls on.  And after years of research, I present to you every New Testament example where God made a Christian sick:

1.

So there you have it.  This list includes every time God injured one of His own children.  It’s a fairly short list, so feel free to memorize it.  It may come in handy someday.

[ your turn: God may not make Christians sick, but He sure does like to heal them.  Post your favorite healing story in the comments below! ]