House of Hope Online

September 8, 2024

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Glory to God in the highest!  There is no God like Jehovah!  He is the God who heals me!  I ask your prayers for me as I go for my next medical test on September 17.  It is called a Transesophageal Echocardiogram, or TEE, for short.  They will put me under anesthesia and insert a camera down the esophagus to get a closer picture and video of my heart.  Doc wants this test to confirm what he is seeing in the echocardiogram, and what he is hearing when he listens to my heart murmur.

Last, session, I expressed the emotional disappointment I felt as there is no evidence to date of a healing.  But September 17 is another opportunity for God to show my healing.  I learned something new this week about the word “saved” in Luke 9.

Luke 9 (Jesus’ words):

 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. “

The Greek word for “save” in verse 56 is “sozo,” pronounced “sode’-zo,” which also means to deliver, protect, heal, preserve, and make whole.

Did you realize that Jesus came to save us, and that word “save” also means to heal us and make us whole?  And so, infirmities…you must go!  Jesus came to deliver us from all sickness,  and He came to deliver us, protect us, heal us, preserve us, and make us whole.  All glory to God!  I speak this word over my heart condition, and I speak this word over you and your loved ones!  Whether it is a physical infirmity, or an emotional hurt, Jesus came to heal us, make us whole, and save us!

You and Your Household

Our family was blessed once again this week with the birth of our grandson Vasilios Giuliani, son of my son, Jon, and daughter-in-law Lia!  I am in Chicago this week visiting “Vasili,” or “Billy” as he will be called.  He is a beautiful boy, and filled with peace! 

This all comes on the heels of the birth of our granddaughter, Madelyn Grace Balash, earlier in August.  In less than a month, my wife Nancy and I have seen our grandchild population increase 50% from 4 to 6.  We are overjoyed!  We now have three grandsons: Liam, Aiden, and Vasili, and three granddaughters: Hailey, Riley, and Madelyn.

The life-giving spirit of Jesus has visited our family in the past month and brought forth the miracle of childbirth.  Laura and Lia are both fine, and as they recover from childbirth, I am praying over them that the Son of Man came to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, and make them whole.  All glory to our Lord and Savior!

Acts 16 extends the promise of salvation to our entire household if we believe in the Lord Jesus.  This passage comes right after Paul and Silas were unfairly beaten and imprisoned, and God miraculously opened the prison doors as they praised Him in their captivity.  The warden feared all the prisoners had escaped but Paul reassured him.

Acts 16:

 25 ¶ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!”

 29 And he called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas,

 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”

 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.

 33 And he took them that [very] hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his [household.]

This is another awesome lesson that the purpose of the miracle is to increase faith in Jesus.  In this case, all the prisoners saw what happens when you pray in captivity.  The warden and his entire household were saved.

The significance here is that Paul and Silas were in captivity as they prayed and sang praises to the Lord.  They could have become bitter because they were unfairly beaten and imprisoned.  They could have felt sorry for themselves or felt like God had forsaken them, but instead, they praised the Lord in their captivity.

That is the key lesson for us.  If we are captive to a circumstance, especially an unfair circumstance, can we sing praises to the Lord?  As I am captive to this leaky heart valve, can I pray and praise the Lord in that captivity?  Can I joyfully expect my prison doors to open?

The promise of the Lord is that prison doors will open, and we will be free of whatever is holding us captive, be it a physical ailment or an emotional wound.  All captivity is a spiritual battle in the heavenlies, and our release depends on our faith in Jesus.  If we believe in the Lord Jesus, we shall be saved.  This is the same Greek word for “saved” we saw in Luke 9, so it includes healing, restoration, and being made whole.

And it is not only for us, but also for our entire household.

And so I pray over Madelyn and Vasilios, that they will walk in the salvation they are being called into by virtue of being born into the households of Laura and Ralph Balash, and Jon and Lia Giuliani.

Vasilios’ name means “Royal” or King.”

1^st Peter 2:

 9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God’s] OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

And so Madelyn Grace and Vasilios are being called out of darkness into His marvelous light.  The Lord knew us even before He formed us in our mother’s womb.  And He is calling us into His chosen race, His royal priesthood, His holy nation, that He may possess us.

Closing

And so, in closing, please join me and our family as we pray over these little ones, that they will accept Jesus into their heart, and become saved, delivered, healed, preserved, protected, restored and made whole.  Help me to pray this “sozo” blessing over my heart valve and over your lives as well.

Let us pray.

Father God, we praise You and thank you that Jesus came to “sozo” us, that if we confess with our mouths that He is Lord, and believe in our hearts that You raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved, healed, restored, and made whole.  Thank You for the life-giving Spirit of Jesus that You poured into the lives of Madelyn Grace Balash and Vasilios Giuliani.  May they continue to grow in health and may they walk in their salvation by accepting Jesus in their hearts.  Lord, please heal my heart valve, and all the sickness and infirmities of those who believe in Jesus and are praying this prayer, along with their entire households.  We ask all this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.