Rest is all we do

Every month, I try to pick a theme to reflect on that keeps my mind occupied and focused. For August, besides being my wife’s birth month, it’s also the month I’ve made some of the most transformative decisions in my life. Since I’ve spent most of my life in educational institutions, I’m using this month to prepare for the upcoming academic year. It’s a time for reading, forecasting, strategic planning, organizing, and praying for God’s guidance and blessings as I begin a new chapter. This ongoing theme of change and transition still influences me today, so this month, my entire family is moving from Ghana to join me in Evanston, Chicago. I can’t fully share how overwhelming it’s been to prepare for their move. However, what I can share from my experience as the head of my family, which might be helpful to you, is what I've learned from leading this change. First, I learned the importance of rest, second, the relevance of collaboration, and third, the need to unlearn.

For me, rest isn’t just about slowing down to take a nap, sleep, or do nothing. I see rest as a holistic concept that involves all aspects of our lives. Therefore, rest should include the spiritual, mental, physical, and even the wider environment. In other words, unless we make rest our primary focus and make it more inclusive, the benefits will be limited. Taking a nap to refresh your mind and body so you can be fully present to yourself and others is a good start. However, to get better results, we need to tap into resources beyond ourselves to rest truly. For the Abrahamic faiths, this can mean drawing on the idea of the sabbath. It can also mean shifting our individualistic view of rest to include caring for all creation—our social, cultural, political, and ecological systems. This may seem like a daunting or impossible task, but what is rest really about? Isn’t it meant to help us dream, create, and empower us to flourish and transform? Beyond resting to work better, I believe that rest is what we are truly made for. That’s why we need to shift our focus away from work and prioritize rest.

So, how does the above discussion on rest relate to leading personal and organizational change? First, we should rethink the purpose of change as a way to bring us more rest. When we see change as helping us get better rest, who wouldn't welcome it? Only those who have been wrongly and unfairly conditioned to view rest and recreation negatively would oppose it. I used to be that person. Before I entered the ministry, I never took a break. Since high school, whenever school is on holiday, I would help my dad with our family business. If I wasn't working with my dad, I was cooking or doing household chores. If I wasn’t involved in business or at home, I was working at the church. I never had any personal time—no space for it in my schedule. Because I was conditioned this way, when I first started in ministry and realized I had plenty of free time after completing my duties, I didn’t know what to do with it. This made me consider pursuing further studies alongside ministry. Now that God has given me full-time study opportunities without any congregation commitments, I still find it uncomfortable.

In all this chaos of my life, I realized that God is calling me to simply be with my family and live life alongside them. This realization led me to decide to move everyone to the USA to be with me. My reason for relocating is not driven by the pursuit of better financial opportunities or educational prospects, but mainly to spend meaningful time with the people who give my life its deepest purpose. As a leader or professional, if you can make this kind of rest the focus of all organizational change, you will not only develop a stronger team that embraces change more effectively but also nurture team members who know how to be fully human to foster humane success. After all, what is the point of our lives if the pursuit of profit outweighs our efforts to embrace our shared humanity and the common good? In the coming weeks, I will share how we can work together to achieve this goal of recognizing our common humanity through rest by learning to unlearn unhealthy beliefs that have shaped us and hindered us from thriving.

Decolonizing Leadership

Leadership should not be weaponized or used to oppress people. This is what decolonizing leadership means. Leadership is about giving power back to the people. Leadership involves power sharing. Leadership is shedding power to pour our compassionate hearts into others. The only authentic authority that grounds great leadership is compassion. Leading from a heart of compassion is not weakness. Authoritarian leaders are weak because they fear losing power by being vulnerable and showing care. Some leaders believe the only way to wield power is through force and coercion. Consequently, they cannot resist any opportunity to prove their privileges and advantages over their followers. Such leaders are preoccupied with highlighting their privileges and reminding their followers of the substantial gap between them. They employ manipulation, intimidation, exploitation, and siphoning as tools to execute their agenda. Such leaders cannot imagine serving others; they are intoxicated by power and consumed by their self-importance.

It is time to decenter oppressive leadership tactics and reclaim servant leadership. Servant leaders do not distinguish themselves from their followers. They roll up their sleeves to work alongside their team and remind everyone that they are all human. Servant leaders lead with empathy and compassion.  With empathy, they understand the suffering of others, and with compassion, they can reach out to everyone.  Empathy is the ability to connect with and accommodate all members of your team. Empathy does not segregate or discriminate. Empathy does not silence or erase anyone's experiences or feelings.  Empathy has ears to hear what everyone on the team has to say. Empathy has eyes that recognize and appreciate everyone's efforts without being judgmental. Leaders who embody empathy provide their team with a strong dose of encouragement and motivation for peak performance. Leaders with empathy correct with love, intending to nurture rather than destroy the spirit of initiative and creativity. Leaders with empathy view everyone on the team as a potential leader. Thus, they nurture talent and provide opportunities for growth and development. Servant leaders who lead with empathy do not see their followers as competitors but rather as co-leaders.

 

Good Leadership

 

Inspired by the biblical passage in John 10:11, "a good shepherd lays down his life", I argue here that a good leader intentionally and critically engages inhumane ideologies, resists anything that hinders flourishing, and innovatively creates a safe environment that fosters the holistic well-being of their team members and environment where they serve. Leadership is not just about performing the duties that come with a position; how you lead is equally important, if not more important than what you do as a leader. If we take seriously how leaders are formed and do not overemphasize the mechanical training of leaders, our world can be a better place. Drawing from the above bible passage of a good shepherd who willingly sacrifices and protects his sheep, even to the point of giving up her own life, I share with you what I think a good leader looks like.

There are myriad challenges that leaders face. A notable challenge of leadership now is corrupt and oppressive leaders who take advantage of the vulnerable masses. In the above biblical shepherd metaphor, instead of the shepherd leaning into the common norm of slaughtering the sheep for personal consumption or economic benefit, the good shepherd lays down their life for the benefit of the sheepfold or their team members. This is unheard of! Can we get civil and corporate leaders who have a professional formation that has nurtured them in the way of sacrificing for the best interest of the people they serve? For me, sacrificial leadership is not a function any leader learns how to perform; instead, it is a virtue one develops and nurtures like a little seed sown which is nurtured for growth to become a not easily pulled-down mighty tree. How, then, can leaders nurture good virtues that enable them to serve and help others? 

Three things come to mind on how to nurture good leadership skills that encourage one to lead with courage and sacrificially. Firstly, leaders should nurture the critical thinking skills of their teams so the deceptive ideas of thieves, robbers, and sycophants can easily be identified and no longer seen appealing in the team. From my observation, humans are sometimes vulnerable and easily fall for things that end up harming us in the long run. For example, numerous injustices seemed okay some time past but now look very unacceptable. Why do you think the brutal, cruel slave trade boomed and took so long to be abolished despite its clear negative impact and oppressive aftermaths? I think this was because individuals and communities at that time lacked the discernment and conviction to detect what was wrong with the slave trade. In the bible passage I referenced, the good shepherd nurtured their sheep not to listen and follow the voice of bad shepherds (John 10:8). In my opinion, the greatest task of leaders is to nurture in their team a critical and curious mind, and a discerning heart that can easily different what is good from bad. Good leaders are critical and empathic thinkers who help their team members to develop their inner reflective apparatus that seeks the common good and mutual care of one another.

A second trait important for leaders to nurture in their team is the courage to face and manage risks. I think the highest risk there can be is death. However, the good shepherd in the bible passage above was fearlessly well prepared to face and manage any death that came threatening her team.  You don’t need to be old in this life to discover that death and dying situations are part of everyday life. Yes, you should hope for the best and have the true hope that also expects the worst and prepares for it adequately. As a Leader, do not make your team so overly ambitious and optimistic that they dismiss the existential issues that threaten their lives. Also, do not become so threat-conscious that your team becomes so pessimistic that thriving becomes a challenge. Good leaders know how to treat both the good and the bad as two parts of a whole, which are equally important and inseparable. Hence, dare to celebrate the good while you take responsibility for the bad, too.

Finally, good leaders know how to innovatively dream to create the change needed for a better future. They harness their critical thinking and risk-taking skills in a supportive, playful environment that allows everyone to be heard. Hence, there is a collaborative breeding of new possibilities despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges. Good leaders collaborate with their teams to make the world a better place than they found it, irrespective of the cost involved. Make room for every voice in your team to be heard.

Some questions to help you reflect on your leadership journey

1.      How would you describe your present context of leadership or where you feel called to serve as a leader

2.      What are the issues that prevent you and your team from unleashing your leadership potential to the maximum?

3.       How prepared are you to face the inhumane injustices that inhibit the holistic flourishing of your team members?

4.      What resources and support do you need to become the better leader you want to be? How do you intend to access those resources?

Satan is the cause of all sickness

Satan is the cause of all sickness

Satan is the master mind behind all kinds of diseases. His major assignment is in threefold; to steal, to kill and to destroy. He wants to steal your health, joy and liberty. He uses sickness to steal your peace and money. When you are sick, the money that could have been spent on meaningful things is wasted. The woman with the issue of blood in Mark, had spent all her revenue on treating her ailment yet still she did not feel well. May that not be your story in Jesus name! Your hard earned income will never be spent on wastage diseases. Every disease meant to drain your finances will stop from today! Satan was also the cause of Job’s sickness. He smote him with boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. (Job 2:7 KJV)

Thank God the devil cannot strike you anymore. You have been placed above him in Christ. You are seated in heavenly places with Christ. Where you are in Christ it is too far for any devil to locate you. There is a great spasm between Satan and any one in Christ. Satan is the one who bounds people with diseases.  Another proof of this fact is seen in the Gospel of Luke.

And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? (Luk 13:16 KJV)

Just as Christ loosed the daughter of Abraham, so you must be loosed. By faith, you too are child of Abraham. God has no favourite children, just as he did for this woman so has He done unto you. I enforce your total liberation now in Jesus name! You are already loosed! You were loosed when death and Satan loosed Christ in hell. You were loosed when the keys of hell and death were snatched from Satan. You were loosed when Christ handed over all power and authority to the Church after his resurrection. You are seated with God now in heavenly places. You are seated as a king with God in heaven. We are kings and priests before our God. Kings are not bound in their domain or kingdom, so nothing can bind you to a sick bed or wheel chair, not even the greatest diseases in the world today! There is a great revelation about sickness I want us to look at.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:2-5 KJV)

His disciples asked the cause of the sickness of the blind. Since sin is the traditional cause of sickness the disciples asked Christ if that was the cause. But Jesus made us understand that even innocent people like Job could be bound with sickness. Christ’s answer confirmed that sin is not always the cause of sicknesses. Christ also confirmed that sickness is an act of the powers of darkness. If sickness is an act of God then why will Christ work against God, His father? Since blindness is not the work of God, Christ healed the blind. An enemy of God caused the blindness. Since Christ is called to destroy the works of the devil, that blind man received instant healing. You are also receiving your instant healing now in Jesus name.  Be convinced from today that no sickness is the work of God. God will not do something and undo it for His glory to manifest. Again Christ said as long as He is in the world He is the light of the world. Light is only relevant when darkness is a problem. Again Jesus reveals to us that sickness is a work of darkness and we all know that the devil is the chief of the kingdom of darkness. Glory to God! We have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of light. From this passage it is also clear that sin can be a cause of sickness. Jesus sometimes dealt with the sickness by forgiving sins.

Why Do Believers Get Sick?

Last week, we identified from the scriptures that God wants everyone totally healed. This week, my question is that if it is God's greatest desire for us to be in health, then why do people get sick, even born again and serious believers? I believe, the truths that will be revealed this week will help you gain dominion over all sickness in your life.

If God is so powerful and He hates sickness then why has He not  dealt with sickness once and for all? This question is like asking why God allowed giants and mountains on the promise land. Why were there battles for Israel to fight on the promise land? This question is also similar to asking God why he permits people to sin? Sicknesses, giants, mountains and sin are all like the obstacles we face in our walk of faith. The purpose of any obstacle is to build faith in you and not to cause fear and panic in you. The devil desires that every obstacle becomes a stumbling block to you but Christ desires that those obstacles become your stepping stones. Those giants were on the promise land so  Israel would know God was with them. Goliath came so all Israel would know that God is willing to give us victory in all situations. No giant can hinder you from victory. You are a son of David. You have been adopted into the family of Abraham by faith. You have in you what made David defeat Goliath. Your miracle is manifesting now in Jesus Christ name. It is not too late for you to be healed. It is possible for you to be healed now. As you read this book God is touching you now! You should not be sick, you should fight sickness like David fought Goliath. You should curse diseases like David cursed Goliath. God had promised Israel victory in every battle so David did not understand why Goliath mocked Israel. Do not allow any situation to mock you for God has already declared you a more than a conqueror. No sickness can mock any child of God including you. Just as Goliath died by the hand of David so any sickness that is mocking you will die. Every sickness in your body is cursed now in Jesus name! David was not a soldier yet he defeated a trained giant warrior.  You don’t need to be a trained minister of the gospel to receive your healing. You don’t have to know every healing scripture in the Bible to be healed. You don’t have to pray or fast for too long to be healed. If even you are not a believer, you can believe Christ as your savior now and receive your healing now. Healing is now, in the present not tomorrow. I see God destroying fibroid, stones, ulcers and every kind of disorder in your body. The anointing that breaks yokes is upon you now. Sickness is never of God. Why will God anoint Jesus to heal you of a sickness that come from Him? This will be a insult to the love of God. Even you a human will not punish your child with something that can kill. Why then do some insult God by saying sickness comes from heaven. God will not discipline you with a killer, sickness. The word of God is what disciplines us. The word is what rebukes and corrects us. It is sharper than any sword or rod of discipline. Sickness is not the rod of God for disciplining His children. Christ the healer is the rod of Jesse. Sickness is the scepter of the wicked, the devil. The scepter of the wicked should not reign in the land allocated for the righteous. Right now, any scepter of pain in your body is leaving your promise land of divine health. The power and control of HIV AIDS over your body is broken from today! Jesus is your healer, He is making you whole now! 

Why sickness and diseases

Jesus never made anyone sick in His earthly ministry. Jesus said He did only what He saw his father did. If Jesus healed, then it means God is a God who hates sickness and diseases. If God anointed Jesus to deliver those oppressed with diseases then heaven is against any oppression on your life. I see an attack on sickness over your life. Angels are fighting every force that seeks your death. You cannot die now. Sickness will not kill you. You will die when you are very old and ready to die. Sickness cannot eliminate you prematurely. God completely abhors diseases and sicknesses on His children.  If God is not the author of sickness and diseases then who is the source of it?

HEALING FOR ALL

Today I want to share with you excerpts from chapter two of the book "Healing the sick" by T. L. Osborn. Be blessed reading!

Is it still the will of God, as in the past, to heal all who have need of healing? The greatest barrier to the faith of many seeking healing in our day is the uncertainty in their minds as to it being the will of God to heal all. Nearly everyone knows that God does heal some, but there is much in modem theology that prevents people from knowing what the Bible clearly teaches - that healing is provided for all. It is impossible to boldly claim by faith a blessing which we are not sure God offers, because the blessings of God can be claimed only where the will of God is known, trusted, and acted upon.

Read the Will
If we wish to know what is in a person's will, we read the will. If we want to know God's will on any subject, we read His will. Suppose a lady would say, "My husband, who was very rich, has passed away. I wish I knew whether he left me anything in his will. " I would say to her, "Why do you not read his will and see?" Testament means a person's will. The Bible contains God's last will and testament, in which He bequeaths to us all of the blessings of redemption. Since it is His last will and testament, anything later is forgery. If healing is in God's will for us, then to say that God is not willing to heal all, as His will states so clearly, would be to change the will - and that, after the death of the testator. Jesus is not only the testator who died; but He was resurrected and is also the mediator of the will. He is our advocate, and He will not beat us out of our inheritance, as some earthly advocates might do. He is our representative at the right hand of God. There is no better way to know the will of God than by reading the Gospels, which record the teachings and the works of Christ. Jesus was the physical expression of the Father's will. His life was both a revelation and a manifestation of the unchanging love and will of God. He acted out the will of God for us.

A Faith-Destroying Phrase
When Jesus laid His hands on everyone of them and healed them, He was revealing and doing the will of God for all people. Lo, I come, to do your will, O God. [Heb 10:7] I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. [Jhn 6:38] Everything Jesus did for needy humanity during His earthly ministry was a direct revelation of the perfect will of God for the human race. F. F Bosworth says in his book, Christ the Healer: Perhaps no one could be more conservative than the scholars of the Episcopalian church. Yet, the commission appointed to study the subject of spiritual healing for the body, after three years of study and research in both the Bible and in history, reported back to the church: The healing of Jesus was done as a revelation of God's will for humanity. Because they discovered that His will is fully revealed, they reported further: No longer can the church pray for the sick with that faith-destroying phrase, If it be your will. Mr. Bosworth goes on to say: The message taught in the Gospels is one of complete healing for spirit and body, for all who will come to Him. Many today say,"I believe in healing, but I do not believe it is for everyone." If it is not for everyone, then how could we ever pray the prayer of faith? Among all those who sought healing from Christ during His earthly ministry, there is only one who prayed for healing with the words, If it be your will. This was an outcast leper, in Mark 1:40, who did not know what Christ's will was in healing.

Uncertainty Corrected
The first thing Christ did was to correct this uncertainty by assuring him, I will. It is no longer, if it be your will - it is God's will. The leper said: If you will, you can. Jesus answered, "I Will". Let that settle it forever with you: God will heal the sick. If He wills to heal one, then He wills to heal all.
He is not willing that any should perish. James asks: Is any sick among you? Any includes you if you are sick. Of those who were bitten by the fiery serpents, the Bible says that as many as looked to the brazen serpent lived. Even now, as many as look to Christ as redeemer are saved - are healed. When it comes to the benefits of Christ's redemptive work, all are on an equal basis. The words whoever and whoever will are always used to invite the unconverted to be saved. The words as many as, everyone, all, and any are used to invite the sick and the diseased to be healed.

The Universal Invitation
Both invitations are always universal, and the results are always positively promised: shall be saved; shall have life; shall recover; shall raise them up; healed them all and as many as touched him were healed. Sometimes parents show favoritism among their children, but God does not. When we meet the same conditions, we reap the same results. When we do our part, God is always faithful to do His part. The benefits of redemption are for you. If God healed all then, He still heals all; that is, all that come to Him for healing. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. [Hb 13:8] Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. [Mt 12:15] As many as touched (him) were made perfectly whole. [Mt 14:36] The whole multitude sought to touch him: (and he) healed them all. [Lk 6:19] When the evening came, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. Christ is still healing the sick, in order to fulfill the prophet's words: Himself took our infirmities (weaknesses), and bore our sicknesses (diseases). Always remember: You are included in the our of Matthew 8:17, and God is bound by His covenant to continue to heal all who are sick and weak, in order to fulfill Isaiah's words. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips. [Ps
89:34] When the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on everyone of them and healed them. [Lk 4:40] Healing was for all in those days, and Christ the Healer has never changed.

Healing Is for All and Should Be Preached to All
Philip preached Christ at Samaria: And the people with one accord gave heed to those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that City. [Acts 8:6-9] Jesus proved to be exactly the same when Philip told the people about Him. Peter preached Christ to the cripple's to the multitude, to Aeneas. All were healed. Jesus was the same for Peter. Wherever and whenever Jesus Christ is proclaimed as our sacrifice for sin and sickness, physical healing as well as spiritual salvation will result. Paul preached Christ. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: the same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked. [Acts 14:8-10] Paul must have preached the gospel of healing, because the lame man received faith to be healed while listening to Paul's message.

This Method Works
Wherever healing is taught as God's provision for all, faith is always imparted and the people are always healed. This method never fails. Faith cannot fail. But faith cannot be exercised when one is undecided as to whether or not God will heal all. If He will not heal all, then we are forced to consider in every case: "I wonder if God will to heal this one? Or is this one of the unfortunate ones whom God wills to remain sick and to suffer?" How could we ever pray the prayer of faith with such uncertainty in our minds? Let it be a settled fact: It is God's will to heal you. You have a right to healing as well as forgiveness - when you believe. God said: I am the Lord who heals you. If God said this, and God cannot lie, He meant it. What God says is true. So, healing is yours. Healing is part of the gospel and is to be preached throughout all the world and to every creature, to the end of the world.Being part of the gospel, the divine blessing of physical healing is for all.

Is It The Will Of God To Heal You? Part Two

Look unto Abraham

Let us look at Abraham, our father in the faith. The Bible instructs us to look at him and learn from him. Isaiah says: Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him when he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many (Isaiah 51:2 Amp). 

 Abraham was healed of his bodily impotence. The deadness of the womb of Sarah was revived to conceive a baby. Why then do you weep because you are barren or impotent?  God is not partial. He has no favorites. If He did it for one He will do it for all. If he did it for Abraham then He will do it for you also. He will do for us, the children of faith, what He did for our fathers in faith. Comfort! God is willing to cure you of any incurable disease. Your womb will carry babies and you will deliver great men. I see every impotent part of your body receiving divine strength now!

Healing is a benefit of Worship

God promised to heal all that worship and serve Him. God established His covenant with the children of Abraham and promised to heal them. Read what He told Moses about the benefit of worship and service:Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: I will complete the number of thy days.(Exo 23:24-26 Webster)

 God is the same yesterday, today and forever. What he promised yesterday still holds today. God will heal you of any disease, known or unknown if you worship Him in faith and serve him loyally.

 

Look unto Jesus

God never delights in sickness. He never created it; however when the devil afflicts the people of God with diseases, God heals. When we sin, the hedge of protection is broken. The devil is allowed to afflict us when we move out of the will of God. It is not God that afflicts us with diseases. No! It is our own disobedience that opens the door for the devil to oppress us. When Israel sinned in the wilderness, God provided a method for healing. This is the same way Christ has been put on the cross for our healing. Just look up to the Lord alone, not doctors. Focus on your source of healing alone, not the source of the sickness. Just us a bronze serpent was lifted up for the healing of many so Christ was lifted for the healing of all.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Num 21:8-9 KJV)

 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.(John 3:14-17 KJV)

 Why should sickness make you perish? Your body should not perish. There is life and strength for you. Just believe and look to Jesus for your healing. Believe the spoken word about healing. God has spoken to me concerning your healing. I have a prophetic word about your healing. Isaiah, the prophet of God prophesied about you saying:Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.(Isa 53:4-5 KJV)