Today I was reading the Bible in the book of Luke…I wrote down some of what God reminded me as I meditated on His words and asked God for help directing my future this next year.
As I think about how (and where) I would like to interact in a community as a physician, Jesus confirmed what I’ve sensed from my heart lately in His words below as recorded in the Bible. Jesus said these words to religious leaders who were grumbling about why Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners (thinking themselves about how righteous they were)...
Luke 5: 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
I would like to practice whole body/mind/spirit medicine with grace and ease, inviting others to healing instead of forcing anything someone does not want or is not ready for. Just as Jesus asks us to acknowledge our need for help so He can bring healing, I desire to go where I am invited and speak how I feel inspired with each and every person I encounter, especially as a community physician. I was also reminded today that I am not being called to a place of comfort or complacency but I am being inspired by God’s spirit to go where He invites me (geographically, interpersonally, internally etc.). I will not always feel at home in this world, at least not right now.
Luke 6: 35 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
John 15:5 --5 Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing”.
Psalm 36:9 -- 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
It can sometimes be difficult for me to be merciful. It is not the first thing I think of when I am hurt or am concerned with my own needs. I am thankful for God’s example in reaching out and showing us mercy, even in our darkest times where we cannot even stand ourselves. These verses also remind me to reflect on my heart. Instead of trying to say and do good things in order to look good, we should allow our hearts to be examined by what comes out of them. This shows me how much help I need from God to soften and heal my heart in His kindness. Then I as well as others can reap the benefits of me having a merciful and forgiving heart.
I am thankful for the healing Jesus offers to our bodies and souls today just as he did when He walked on earth…
Luke 7
22 So Jesus replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[c] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
As I think about how (and where) I would like to interact in a community as a physician, Jesus confirmed what I’ve sensed from my heart lately in His words below as recorded in the Bible. Jesus said these words to religious leaders who were grumbling about why Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners (thinking themselves about how righteous they were)...
Luke 5: 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
I would like to practice whole body/mind/spirit medicine with grace and ease, inviting others to healing instead of forcing anything someone does not want or is not ready for. Just as Jesus asks us to acknowledge our need for help so He can bring healing, I desire to go where I am invited and speak how I feel inspired with each and every person I encounter, especially as a community physician. I was also reminded today that I am not being called to a place of comfort or complacency but I am being inspired by God’s spirit to go where He invites me (geographically, interpersonally, internally etc.). I will not always feel at home in this world, at least not right now.
Luke 6: 35 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
John 15:5 --5 Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing”.
Psalm 36:9 -- 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
It can sometimes be difficult for me to be merciful. It is not the first thing I think of when I am hurt or am concerned with my own needs. I am thankful for God’s example in reaching out and showing us mercy, even in our darkest times where we cannot even stand ourselves. These verses also remind me to reflect on my heart. Instead of trying to say and do good things in order to look good, we should allow our hearts to be examined by what comes out of them. This shows me how much help I need from God to soften and heal my heart in His kindness. Then I as well as others can reap the benefits of me having a merciful and forgiving heart.
I am thankful for the healing Jesus offers to our bodies and souls today just as he did when He walked on earth…
Luke 7
22 So Jesus replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[c] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”