The first topic to be covered will be Stress.  Other topics on healing such as chemotherapy, blood pressure, etc. will be posted at a later date.  My thanks to Dr. Bruce Epperly for his wonderful class and encouragement in this project.

Unit 1 - Handling Stress:  Recognizing That You Are Not Alone!!

Bible Lesson:  Matthew 8:23-27

Key Verse:  (Matthew 8:25,26)  And they went and woke him up saying, "Lord save us! We are perishing!" 26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?"  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.

• What is Stress?
• Jesus' Healing Ministry.
• Healing and Curing.
• You are Not Alone!
• A Biblical Meditation for Stress
• Resources.

What is Stress?

We live in a hurry up, wanted it yesterday, world. Setting priorities can sometimes be a very difficult thing to do.  The fast pace of our lives puts strain on our bodies.  Many somatic diseases have been linked to stress because it has been shown that stess will weaken our immune systems to the point that we are not able to fight off diseases.  We no longer have time to stop and smell the roses.  Under stress the heart accelerates, our blood pressure increases and we are many times wound up like a spring ready to pop.  It is during these times that we sometimes feel out of control.  On the other hand, we cannot live in a completely stress free world.  Stress is not all bad.   The birth of a new baby,  starting a new job, graduating from high school or college are all examples of what could be considered good stress.  Dennis Waitley in his seminar series, "The Psychology of Winning" says that the only stress free life is lying six feet in the ground.  So life has tensions and not all of that is bad considering the alternative of a completely stress free life.  So then we must learn to deal with the stress that negatively affects our physical being and mental health.  It is the bad stress that can be harmful if not fatal.  When we become stressed to a point where it affects our health we need to seek medical help.  This is especially true if depression sets in.   In addition we must also seek healing from the great physician Jesus Christ in order to make our healing complete.  Meditation on the word of Jesus and making the word a part of us through this meditation, along with medical treatment when needed, will provide us with complete healing.  In this world the winner is the one who can collect the most toys before they die.  It is strange that of all the funerals that I have resided over in the past ten years, I have never seen a U-haul in the funeral procession to the grave site.  No we haven't figured out a way to take it with us.  Healing then is letting go of materialistic things and focusing on Jesus.  When our materialism becomes who we are, then when we lose our play toys then who are we? How dow we measure our worth since we lost the very thing that we have used to measured our success.  Therefore we will continue to find every devious way we can to keep all those toys we think we have deserved. We become stressed out!!!  What then is Jesus' healing ministry?

The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus came so that we could have life and have it abundantly.  Jesus' ministry involved healing, preaching, teaching and finally salvation.  It seems that healing was very important to Jesus' ministry.  It is so important that Morton Kesley has identified in his book "Healing and Christianity" forty-one separate healing stories. Jesus had compassion on those he came upon that were in need and he attended to their needs.  Jesus reminds us that what we do to the least of these we do to him.  Healing was apart of bringing the lost sheep back into the community of God or as Jesus referred to it the Kingdom of God. The leper who was unclean and shunned by the community was healed by Jesus and now reconciled back into the community.  Therefore healing was important to Jesus because it is the beginning of reconciliation with God "and with these stripes we were healed".  God is in control and God can heal.  The Healing from Jesusis a healing of the whole person.  Jesus died on the cross to show us that we do not need to fear our worst fear, death.  He has concurred death and it is not an end.  But God is also the great creator.  He came so that we could have life and have it abundantly right now, right here, today, in this place.  But when we do not keep God as the focus of our life we loose our way.  We become independent and think we can do it all on our own.

It is important to note the difference between healing and curing.  Bruce Epperly in his book "God's Touch" defines the two terms as follows.  Curing is related to the alleviation of the symptoms of a disease, while healing relates to the whole body- mind, body, spirit, and relationships.  Sometimes we must face the fact that all healing may not be a cure.  In some cases, death may be the final cure.  But we can receive healing through Jesus.  Healing then is a process of the whole person.  Healing is possible through the great physician Jesus Christ today as it was almost 2000 years ago.  Healing, as believed by some is not dispensational.  It did not end with the disciples.  Jesus give us power through the Holy Spirit so that people can still be healed, and sometimes cured in his holy name.  Neither are the healings of Jesus time a story or myth.  The word became flesh and dwelled among us.  Jesus the logos, word, was with us from the beginning before he became flesh.  God spoke the logos word and it came into being.  Just as importantly God though the logos said that his creation was good.  God wants the best for us.  That is why Jesus told us that he came so that we could have life and have it abundantly.  The choice is ours.

Contrary to what the world teaches us, we were not created to be alone.  We were created to live in relationship with one another and with God.  Jesus emphasized what type relationship he expected from us when he gave us the Great Commandment that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, strength, mind and everything that we are and we are also to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Read Matthew 8:23-27.  How many times do we find ourselves in a stormy sea of life.  The storm seems to appear quickly and without warning.  The storm may be  the diagnosis of a fatal disease, a serious accident that will cripple us for the rest of our lives, the unexpected loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, etc.  Suddenly we are in the storm of life and for some reason we feel alone.  Suddenly, we look and who do we see there in the boat with us? It is Jesus!!  We cry out, "Lord save us!  We are perishing!"  Like the calming of the storm at sea, Jesus calms the storm in our life.  Our stress melts away.  We had to first recognize that he has been with us all along and it is we who had ignored his presence.  We have tried to weather the storm on our own but were not successful.  Jesus cries out to us, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?"  Where is our faith when we face stress?  Do we truly believe that God is in control. Why do we feel like we must face our issues alone?
 
 

The following meditation is recommended to help you deal with stress.  Similar meditations can be found in Bruce Epperly's Book, "God's Touch".

Read the passage Matthew 8:23-27

Close your eyes and make your self comfortable.  Sit with so that your feet are flat on the floor.  Next take three deep cleansing breaths exhaling very slowly.  Close your eyes and see yourself in your mind's eye setting in a boat with your friends.  Who are the friends that are with you?  Can you identify them?  You are sailing across a large bay after celebrating a successful event.  What have you taken along with you on your trip?  All of a sudden you see a storm over the horizon.  You know you are not going to get back to shore in time to beat the storm.  How do you feel?  Are you anxious?  What type of stress are you feeling?  Lightning strikes around you and the waves get large.   You feel like this may be your last days on earth.  How are you going to make it?  The storm gets worse but then you suddenly remember you are not alone.  Think of some storms that are now in your life. How are you going to make it?  Feel the stress it is giving you.

Now you look in the boat and there is Jesus asleep.  Yes, Jesus is in the boat with you.  How does this make you feel now?  You cry out to Jesus and you say, "Save me or I will perish!"  Jesus looks you in the eyes and says," Why are you afraid, you of little faith?"  Jesus lifts his hands and the storm dissipates.  The sea calms and the sun comes out once again. "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"  It is Jesus and he has been there all along.  You have never been alone because he has promised never to desert you.  He has come to give you abundant life. Allow Jesus to calm the storms in your life and remove your stress.  Give your burden to Jesus and allow him to calm your anxiety.  Believe in him that he has the power to heal you and make you whole.

Epperly, Bruce G., God's Touch, Westminister, John Knox Press, 1989

Epperly, Bruce G. Spirituality & Health, Health & Spirituality, Twenty-Third Publications, 1997.

Keesly, Morton, Healing Christianity, Augsburg, 1988.

Neslon, Susan, Healing the Broken Heart, Chalice Press, 1997.

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. 27 They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"