It was a hot summer day, so we decided to visit the car show. My wife and I love old cars. My dad took me to antique car shows and race tracks when I was a boy. He built hot rods with his brothers in the 50's. His was a '35 Ford 5 - window coupe. They put studded tires on them in the winter and raced them across frozen lakes. (And they call firefighters crazy for going into burning buildings)
My dad taught me a lot about fixing cars. I've never made a serious attempt to restore one, but my wife and I have a dream of one day restoring an old piece of American cast iron. I saw a few cars that were for sale at the show, but they were just a little out my price range.
As we rode the shuttle van from the parking lot to the casino, where the show was being held, I talked with my wife about who we'd find and what they would be healed of.
I can't help it. He's taken over my soul and become who I am. He lives in me. I'm not the man I used to be. I love seeing people healed and watching God on the move.
As we walked up and down between rows of beautifully restored classics, I was looking for someone with a cast, splint, immobilizer or in a wheelchair.
I'm not gonna lie.... the '41 Willys got my attention for a while. It was for sale. But I wasn't buyin'.
We talked about the cars we'd seen. I pointed out the purple and yellow Willys to my wife and told her it was for sale. As I turned around to find another car to show her, I saw the woman with the leg immobilizer sitting at a table directly behind me.
It had to be a divine set up.
So we went for it.
I got her attention and introduced my family then asked about her injury. She had torn ligaments and tendons and open sores from a moped accident. I told her about some of the healing stories we've seen. She let us pray over her leg. The pain was 5 out of 10 at the start. She said she felt tingling almost immediately. I commanded her ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles to be healed while my wife prayed in tongues. In a few minutes she said all the pain was gone. This woman was a believer. She was very grateful that we asked to pray for her.
As I left the beer tent to meet my daughter, she pointed to a girl about 10 years old sitting in a wheelchair with soft cast on her leg. My daughter was grinning from ear to ear. I went over and introduced myself then asked how she hurt her leg. She had the same exact injury that the other woman had. I pointed to her and said she had just been healed then asked if I could pray for her leg. She agreed. Her pain was 3 out of 10 when I started. She immediately felt tingling. In a minute or two her pain level was down to 1 out of 10.
All the cars we saw were once just average cars for their age. A little rusty, a little worn out, dripping oil, and not running like they should. Someone came along and purchased them. But in buying them, the goal was total restoration. Lovingly replacing everything broken and making something beautiful is what restoring cars is all about.
As we rode the shuttle van from the parking lot to the casino, where the show was being held, I talked with my wife about who we'd find and what they would be healed of.
I can't help it. He's taken over my soul and become who I am. He lives in me. I'm not the man I used to be. I love seeing people healed and watching God on the move.
As we walked up and down between rows of beautifully restored classics, I was looking for someone with a cast, splint, immobilizer or in a wheelchair.
I'm not gonna lie.... the '41 Willys got my attention for a while. It was for sale. But I wasn't buyin'.
My daughter and I were having fun looking at the cars together, when I saw a woman limping through the crowd with a leg immobilizer on. I thought I'd found who I was looking for. But she was walking toward the main entrance of the casino and before I could get there, she and her sister vanished inside. Rats!
After a few hours in the hot sun some of my family took refuge in the beer tent. My daughter and I found shade in the food tent next door. After a bite to eat, I joined the rest of the group in the beer tent.
We talked about the cars we'd seen. I pointed out the purple and yellow Willys to my wife and told her it was for sale. As I turned around to find another car to show her, I saw the woman with the leg immobilizer sitting at a table directly behind me.
It had to be a divine set up.
So we went for it.
I got her attention and introduced my family then asked about her injury. She had torn ligaments and tendons and open sores from a moped accident. I told her about some of the healing stories we've seen. She let us pray over her leg. The pain was 5 out of 10 at the start. She said she felt tingling almost immediately. I commanded her ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles to be healed while my wife prayed in tongues. In a few minutes she said all the pain was gone. This woman was a believer. She was very grateful that we asked to pray for her.
As I left the beer tent to meet my daughter, she pointed to a girl about 10 years old sitting in a wheelchair with soft cast on her leg. My daughter was grinning from ear to ear. I went over and introduced myself then asked how she hurt her leg. She had the same exact injury that the other woman had. I pointed to her and said she had just been healed then asked if I could pray for her leg. She agreed. Her pain was 3 out of 10 when I started. She immediately felt tingling. In a minute or two her pain level was down to 1 out of 10.
I saw Ryan Rhoades point his finger at a woman in the hospital then he made the sound of a gun being fired. The woman jumped but didn't see what he was doing. I did the same thing to this girl's ankle. The moment I said, BANG, she flinched. And with a startled look on her face, she said "Hey, How did you do that? It's all better!!" I told her I didn't do anything, Jesus did it. Her grandmother began to tell her about the stories of Jesus healing people that she knew about from Sunday School. We thanked them and went our way.
All the cars we saw were once just average cars for their age. A little rusty, a little worn out, dripping oil, and not running like they should. Someone came along and purchased them. But in buying them, the goal was total restoration. Lovingly replacing everything broken and making something beautiful is what restoring cars is all about.
The divine mechanic has the tools and know-how to fix every broken part of our lives. He has an endless supply of new hearts and other parts to replace the bitter, failing ones we carry around. He's the master mechanic laboring continually, rebuilding us into a perfect re-creation in His image.
