The Greek Word Lambano - "Receive"

The Greek word of the day is Lambano.  Lambano is the word used in the bible translated many different ways but they all mean "to lay hold upon", "to take possession of", "to receive".  It's an active rather than passive word.  One person said it's the difference between someone throwing a ball into an open window in your house and you actively catching a ball which was thrown to you.

Lambano is a very important word in the scriptures because God is the giver and we are the receivers. Actively receiving from God requires the will or desire to receive.

But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  -- John 1:12

Sometimes, receiving from God is simply to engage the will and at other times, the way we receive has everything to do with whether we receive.

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.  -- Mark 10:15

In my opinion, the kingdom of God is received when we engage our will with the attitude of a little child.  It's important to note that Jesus made the above statement just prior to the rich young man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus told him that the key to inheriting eternal life was to keep the commandments.  He told Jesus that he had kept the commandments from his "youth".

And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.  -- Mark 10:20

By claiming that he was no longer a child (a youth), he kind of knocked himself out of the running for the kingdom of God - which REQUIRES receiving as a little child.

One other thing to remember is that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."  We like "giving to God" but when it comes to receiving FROM Him, we sometimes don't do so well.  We LOVE to make promises for God to believe.  We mistakenly think that if God believes our promise then we are righteous - as long as we carry through with our promise.  This is the gospel in reverse.

For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. -- Romans 4:3

We are justified (righteous) when we believe the promises of God - not the other way around - but the doctrine of "strong commitment" toward God is drilled into many sincere Christian's heads by well-meaning teachers and preachers.  But it makes us happier (more blessed) to give God our promises than it does to put ourselves in the uncomfortable position of believing on and waiting for the promises of God.

Trusting God, therefore, is absolutely essential to receiving (lambano) the gift of God's righteousness.  We can keep a lot of religious rules - cross our T's and dot our eyes - and have a form of righteousness that the bible calls self-righteousness.  We all know people who put on a great show of piety but they can't bring themselves to trust in the promises of God.

Test yourself.  When you read God's exceeding great and precious promises in the scriptures, how do they make you feel?  I have personally witnessed the passage in John 15:7 cause the leadership of churches to stumble.  Are these leaders important?  Maybe.  Are they righteous?  Definitely not.  They cannot receive (lambano) God's righteousness because they cannot bring themselves to believe that God is as good as the bible says He is.

Challenge yourself this week, this year, this lifetime.  Read the word of God and whenever you see a promise of good things from God, pray and ask God to soften your heart so that you can trust Him, believe His word, and receive (lambano) His promises.  It will revolutionize your walk as it has mine.

Don't Let 'em Cut Ya!

Medical doctors (MDs) are good at setting broken bones, stitching up wounds, removing bullets, and administering (prescribing) antibiotics but for chronic disease, they are the wrong dog for the hunt.

Mainstream medicine (so-called, Allopathic Medicine) grew up in the battlefields of the world where emergency treatment is what's needed. Battlefield medicine is what our culture considers "mainstream" and every other form of medicine is called "alternative".  Whether Chiropractory, Holistic, etc. if it's not Allopathic (i.e. battlefield) medicine, it's considered "alternative".

It has been said that if the only tool you know about is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail.  Medical doctors know how to attack and combat symptoms.  Period.  That's what makes them good at battlefield medicine (what our culture calls mainstream medicine).  And indeed, when you're "bleeding out", you NEED an Allopathic MD and you need him quickly (on an emergency basis).

Naturopathic medicine, on the other hand, starts from a whole other place.  Naturopaths start out with the fundamental belief that God created our bodies with the ability to heal themselves if they are given the proper nutrition (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.).  Chronic disease, therefore, is the symptomatic expression of one or more nutrient deficiencies.

If you have an infected limb (as is the case on the battlefield), a medical doctor can amputate that limb in order to save the life of the patient.  But if you have asthma, pre-diabetes, cancer, arthritis or any other chronic disease (i.e. non-emergency), the Allopathic MD is extremely limited in what he is able to do.  His training is inappropriate.

When faced with a chronic condition (high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, tonsillitis,  etc.) the MD employs the same battlefield tactics he learned in medical school against the patient's disease.  You hear it in the verbiage used when they "combat the symptoms".  Have you ever heard of someone who has had their tonsils removed?  The MD's concept of "cure" is to merely eliminate the symptom (i.e. cut off the limb, cut out the diseased gland or organ, etc.)

But simply cutting off the diseased portion of your body does not address the underlying deficiency.  One of the reasons surgery and radiation tends not to work is that cutting out cancer is not the path to healing.  It only masks the symptom of a nutrient deficiency.  People don't get cancer because they have a chemo-drug deficiency but they can get cancer because they have a calcium and magnesium deficiency.  If you address the deficiency, you cure the condition - reversing the symptom.

So the lesson is to not let them cut you.  You cannot heal limbs that have been cut off, organs or glands that have been cut out - barring a flat-out miracle.  Certainly, everything is case-by-case but as a general rule: Don't let 'em cut ya!