Anoiinting Oil to Heal the Sick

 

[1]

Psalm 119:143 Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹⁴³ Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.

 

In August of 2016 I took the Better Than 50 Club to see the San Bernardino County Museum in San Bernardino; I felt bad enough so that I sat down on a bench in the entryway and waited for the group to tour the museum. That is the last I remember. A day or two later Sylvia had me in the emergency room at the Parkview Hospital. It took them three weeks to diagnose my disease—West Nile Virus. That’s the same disease that killed my colleague Charles Teel in five days. Once they knew what it was, they sent me to a Rehab Hospital, where I stayed for another five weeks. While I was there, my memory started to return. My urologist, Edward Yun, came by to see me. “When you get out of here, you need to come by and see me. We’ll start you on prostate cancer treatment!” were his “comforting” words.

After he left, I lifted up my eyes to heaven and queried God, “Why didn’t You let me die with WNV?! Why did You save me for more cancer treatments?!”

The Bible[2] encourages us to have the brethren anoint and pray over us when we are sick. Adventists are loathe to use this anointing and treat it almost as the Catholics do the last rites. However, I determined to follow James’s advice, and several of the church elders made the effort and came over to the Arlington Gardens Care Center and, at my request, anointed and prayed over me. According to His promise[3] God has raised me up.

I realize that there are many occasions when the Spirit of God determines that the best thing to do for some people is to forgive their sins and lay them to rest until His Great Second Coming. As several dear saints have told me, “God must have something He still wants you to do!”

I encourage you, when you are sick, follow God’s command in James 5 and ask for anointing. Let’s give God a chance.

Lord, help us to use the healing advice you have given us in the Bible.

 

 

 

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[1] https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X21O5MfH33s/maxresdefault.jpg

[2] James 5:14 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) “Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.”

[3] James 5:15  “The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will restore him to health; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”