Mobile Intensive Prayer Unit

Cardiac Surgeon Shares Near Death Testimonies

2012-02-08T06:00:00.001-07:00

Dr. Lloyd Rudy, a pioneer of cardiac surgery, tells about two patients who came back to life after being declared dead in the operating room. In the first story, the patient described the operating room, the people in it and what they were doing while he was dead.

In the second story, the patient had uncontrollable bleeding. The doctor states that their efforts to stop the bleeding failed, but then a "presence" showed up in the room, which everyone felt and immediately the patient stopped bleeding.

Dr. Rudy confessed ignorance as to who or what the "presence" might be. If you're a regular follower of this blog, you might recognize the "presence" as the Holy Spirit, who sometimes heals the sick or even brings the dead back to life, just by showing up.

Philip Johnson On Darwinism

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Philip Johnson is a professor of law at the University of California - Berkley. Although his specialty is law, he's been involved in the discussion of evolution and creation for many years. His interests are in clarifying the terms that are used in the discussion and asking people to present their arguments in a way that allows for objective evaluation; without the usual presumptions we tend to have.

In this video, Johnson is asked a series of questions on evolution. He does a commendable job of bringing clarity to the terms, revealing hidden assumptions we might have. Johnson's book Darwin On Trial is a competent, thorough examination of the subject.

Circle K Healing

2012-02-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

I picked up my daughter from school today. She's not as young as she once was. She's enrolled in school to be a dental assistant. I let her drive. On the way home, we decided to stop for coffee. One problem with road coffee is consistency. One store's java can have decent flavor and the one down the street under the same name might taste like sewer water.

When it comes to coffee, my daughter and I prefer Circle K . We like their creamer and the quality of their coffee is the best of the convenience stores in the Phoenix area. I realize this subject isn't important to most people. Thanks for putting up with my rant.

As we approached the counter, I noticed that one of the women behind the counter had her left arm in a sling. I asked if she wanted to be healed. She said, "Sure!" We waited until the line of customers had dwindled to nothing then introduced ourselves. We asked what happened. She told us she'd injured her arm when she flipped over her bicycle handlebars after a car turned in front of her.

We told her we see a lot of people healed by God when we pray with them. She agreed to let have a whack at it. My daughter and I prayed with her and commanded the pain to leave then asked it she felt anything. She said she could feel that my hands were really warm when I touched her. I realized I'd been holding my cup of coffee, which naturally made my hands warmer. I told her it was just the coffee warming my hands. We prayed a second time. While praying for her, suddenly her co-worker asked if we could heal her wrists. I yelled out, "Yes!"

The first woman still felt nothing, except my warm hands. I told her not to be discouraged - some healing takes time. We encouraged her to believe she was healed and when she was to thank God for it.

We approached the second woman and asked what was wrong. She explained that she has carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and receives prednisone injections every three months, because she doesn't want to have surgery. I asked if she wanted to be healed. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Yes". I told her to hold out both arms and when she did, I commanded carpal tunnels to be open and for the spirit of pain and inflammation to leave. I didn't actually touch her. I kept my hands a few inches from hers so she wouldn't feel the warmth of my hands. I asked what the felt.

"Wow" she said, rubbing her wrists. "It feels warm in this one and the other one is tingling."

"That's the power of God healing you."

I asked her to put her arms out again and prayed a second time. Smiling, she said, "It's like I can feel the energy going into my wrists. Yeah...there's definitely an energy that I can feel."

We spoke with them for a few minutes about believing that they were healed. We told them both that God loved them, which they knew since it seemed like they were both Christians.

It's funny how the simple things like getting coffee at a convenience store can become God moments, if you're only willing to take a chance now and then.

Hey - it's your turn now. Go ahead. Take a chance. Then send me an e-mail and let me know what happened.

In My Shoes

2012-01-31T06:00:00.001-07:00

Jason Chin & his crew are back with words of knowledge, a healed leg and a new believer.

An Open Letter To My Readers

2012-01-27T06:00:00.005-07:00

I wanted to share some of the odd things that have gone through my mind lately, some things I've learned and some of the personal experiences I've had in the last few weeks....

A donut shop is a donut shop, regardless of what your partner tells you about how great the doughnut place is that he found. Donuts are sweet and some are a little better than others, but there’s only so much you can do with a doughnut. We’re not talking about gourmet cuisine. We’re talking about doughnuts.

I worked with a woman who hands the size of a six year old girl. She wears extra-small gloves when she can find them. I prayed with her for carpal tunnel syndrome, she felt some tingling when I did, but when I ran into her a few days later, she was still experiencing some symptoms. My plan? Wait for the next opportunity to pray with her and teach her how to keep it.

You can pray with faith for a condition that you’ve seen healed a hundred times and still not see any changes in them. But It doesn’t mean you don’t have faith and it doesn’t mean they weren’t healed. It just means they didn’t feel anything happening at the time.

God likes the fact that I'm content to work as a paramedic. He doesn't expect more of me at this time in my life. I find that comforting.

Staying out of deception comes by trusting others more than you trust yourself. This is easier said than done. First you have to care about whether or not you’re being deceived and that means entertaining the possibility that you might be wrong. Then you must believe it’s possible for someone to have more accurate discernment than you do. Such a person must have the guts to confront you and you must have the humility to allow God to reveal your own blindness. Since these things are not likely to occur with regularity – I believe most of us (myself included) are deceived rather often.

When my daughter is gone, I miss her a lot more than I realized.

I received a compliment from a man this week, who doesn't agree with everything I write, but he respects me because he says I'm "balanced". That was a helpful observation. I don't actually try to be balanced, I just write about what I see, experience and what I get from the Holy Spirit and the bible. It's a mix of different sources and it seems to be appreciated by some people.

I’ve always wanted to have a partner who was fluent in Spanish. Now I have one. He took a week off and things weren't the same. I missed him. And now it looks like he might be moving to a different unit. The only constant is change. The only exception is God.

I went to Walmart to get oil and and oil filter for my car. As I entered the store I was met by at least 4 people with obvious injuries and disabilities. I hesitated, but kept going to the automotive section and got the things I needed. I left without praying for anyone. Ins my heart, I wanted to lay hands on all of them. Heck, I could have been there all afternoon - there were so many people in the store that day who could have been healed. But it was one of those days when I just wanted to get back home and take care of things I wanted to get done.

The fact that a patient is small (say, 6 months old) is no reason to be afraid when you’re in the ambulance with them.

More people should take advantage of golfing early in the morning instead of waiting till later in the day when the course is crowded.

I prayed with a young man in sickle cell crisis. His main complaint was back pain. The more I prayed, the more his pain decreased. It was the first time I remember praying for sickle cell anemia.

Arizona has a lot of cool birds. They make enough noise that you can hear them inside the hospital. If you spend a few minutes outside listening to them instead of your fears and worries, you might not be so stressed out.

I prayed with a 68 year old man who was one of the healthiest men of his age that I've ever seen. No heart problems, no diabetes, no high blood pressure or cancer, no chronic health problems to speak of and he took no medications. The only problem was, he had two bad shoulders and bad knee. I told his about the dreams I've had about healing and asked if I could pray with him. He said "yes". As I prayed over his left shoulder it began to feel warm. So warm that I could feel the heat with my hand. I prayed over the other one and his knee. I'm pretty sure he was glad that I asked.

Using a propane torch is a quick way to rid your yard of weeds.

I've been feeling a bit 'left out' lately. While a lot of my pals are going around the country teaching people about healing. I'm sitting in my ambulance cat-napping between calls and being a dad and husband. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad jealous. I received some wonderful comfort from Corma Holmes, who heard God tell her about how I was feeling. She sent me a message and encouraged me and somehow she knew exactly what I was going through. My wife has also been a great encourager, reminding me that God has a special way of using me to reach people. I'm OK with that.

It's important to find the right person to come alongside of if you plan to impact their life for the kingdom of God. While there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people you might potentially influence, there are very few you will actually reach in a significant way. I've had a number of partners recently - even a few believers, but not one of them has expressed any interest in learning more about healing or the kingdom of God from me. I'm still looking for "the person of peace." I'll write a separate message on "the person of peace" in a few days.

I like where I'm at. It's been over 20 years since I had a doctor ride in the ambulance with me. I've had two doctors ride with me this week. In both cases we transported a critically ill patient from a clinic to a hospital. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited.

I've been having dreams about doing things with people in Scottsdale, Arizona; a place I visit often on duty and it happens to be the city where those doctors have been riding with me to the hospital. God is up to something...not exactly sure what it is yet.

I've been losing my business cards at different places in the Phoenix area. Mostly at hospitals. If you happen to have found one, let me know. You can keep the card, but I'd love to talk with you. My e-mail address is at the top of the page. You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter.

I prayed with a sweet boy of four years old who has asthma and RSV. I talked with his mother about healing. Sowing seeds....

I love the warm, sunny winter weather in Phoenix. I've decided that the 4 months of hellishly hot temps in the summer are worth it, to have 60's and 70's from November through March.

I have no plans to stop blogging. I only wish I had more time to write, because I'd write a lot more if I could. If you're worried about me pulling the plug....don't worry. I'm planning to be around for a long time.

I've been thinking about writing an article for JEMS magazine about healing and EMS. They're always looking for new, fresh ideas. They like to inform their readers about current trends in medicine. I doubt that anyone else is going to write about healing in the ambulance. So I guess it's up to me.

I had a dream about people being removed from the earth, one at a time by God. It was like what he did with Enoch. He found people who loved Him so much and He just took them up into heaven, but not in large numbers. It happened one at a time. I'll write a note about it and post it on Facebook for discussion.

I've also had dreams where God has been talking about eating healthier and exercising. It's personal. But if might be a good word for you, too. I like the junk food at the hospitals, but I need to lose some weight and get in shape.

The last thing I need is to end up in the hospital or worse, in the back of someone's ambulance.

- 'till next time

p.s. - I've decided to purchase uniform shorts for the summer. But don't get your hopes up. I don't plan on taking pictures ;)

Healing Seminar - Bigfork, Minnesota

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pete Cabrera, Jose Coelho, Brandon Lee and Eric Wilding will be speakers at a seminar on healing. Come out and learn how to release the power of God.

When: January 26th - 30th

Location: The Wilderness Lodge

51760 Becker Rd.

Bigfork, Minnesota 56628

Call: 218 -743 -3458

www.thewildernesslodge.com

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Revival At Starbucks

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Jose Coelho does a wonderful job of demonstrating the word of knowledge, releasing healing and presenting the gospel to strangers in a way that they could understand it.

Go Back And Be Happy

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the number one killer of people under the age of 44. Every twenty one seconds, someone suffers a traumatic brain injury in the United States. As a result, 5.3 million Americans are living with a disability from TBI. This is the story of Julie Papievis, who was severely injured in a car accident. Her near death story is full of hope. Her neurosurgeon predicted a long reccovery with little chance for a normal life. A few years later she competed in a triathlon. Her doctor confessed her healing was a miracle. Julie wrote about her experience in her book, Go Back And Be Happy. Her website can be found here

Man Conscious During 23-Year Coma

2012-01-16T06:00:00.002-07:00

This story illustrates an issue that healthcare providers need to consider. The man in this video was considered to be in a persistent vegetative state for 23 years. The entire time, it was assumed that he had no ability to understand what was going on around him or respond to his environment. His mother was convinced that he could understand what was happening around him. His doctors wrote her observations off as wishful thinking. But time vindicated her beliefs as further testing revealed that he was in fact able to understand perfectly what was happening around him.

As healthcare providers its easy to think we know better than the family or patient about what is going on with them. It is too easy to dismiss their observations and hopes as wishful thinking. And too often, they are the ones who are right. I would encourage you to always take the concerns and observations of patients and their loved ones into account when making medical decisions. This isn't to say that they must be in charge of clinical decision making, but rather that their input is considered in the process as one who spends more time with the patient than we do and it may provide valuable insights.

Mustard Seed Faith - A Growth Process

2012-01-13T06:00:00.006-07:00

This morning's message is about a subject that seems to be poorly understood by most people. The subject is faith. We'll look at faith and how it applies to healing, which is somewhat different than faith for other things.

Healing the sick is something we do by faith. In contrast to traditional medicine, which is a matter of what you know and how skilled you are, divine healing is a result of who you know and what you believe. Simply put; if you know Jesus and you believe He is still healing people today, He will heal the sick through you. Once your relationship with Him is established through the operation of the Holy Spirit, growing your faith in God’s ability and desire to heal is the next step.

How do we develop the kind of faith that heals people consistently? It was in their failures that the disciples of Jesus were given some of the most important lessons from their teacher. When they were not able to heal a boy with epilepsy, they asked Jesus why:

"And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt 17:14-20)

Jesus said they could not heal the boy because they lacked the necessary faith. The disciples were not completely devoid of faith; they had already worked many miracles by this time. They had adequate faith for healing some diseases, but not the faith to accomplish this particular healing.

Jesus said if they had faith as a mustard seed, they could move mountains. Some teach that Jesus spoke of the size of faith when He compared faith to a mustard seed. They teach that faith which is small can move mountains – if it is pure or has some other quality. But Jesus didn’t use size in this comparison. He didn’t say they needed to have faith as small as a mustard seed, but rather they needed faith that acts as a mustard seed does. Small faith was never applauded by Jesus – instead he often rebuked people for having little or small faith.

In order to understand why He compared faith to a mustard seed, we need to look elsewhere in scripture. The first mention of mustard seed in the bible is in the kingdom parables of Matthew chapter 13, where Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matt. 13:31-32)

The mustard seed though small, grew to be massive in size. Here is the key to how mustard seed faith behaves – it grows. A seed bears no fruit until it germinates and grows into a plant; the larger the plant – the more fruit it bears. Faith must grow before it produces the fruit of healing.

When I began praying for the sick, almost no one was healed. I was discouraged and I wanted to quit. I had almost no faith. All I had was a promise from God; “You pray and I’ll heal”. I had a seed of promise and nothing else. But as we’ve seen, the kingdom of God is about growth.

So I planted the seed and watered it. I watched videos featuring Todd White as he prayed with people on the streets and I saw miracles happen. And the seed sprouted. I watered it with scripture, reading every account of healing in the bible. And it grew roots. God gave me dreams in which I saw myself praying for the sick and they were being healed. Leaves grew from a small stalk that emerged from the ground. I continued to lay hands on anyone who would let me and eventually, I saw some of them healed. Fruit began to appear.

In the beginning I failed to understand what it took to see people healed. I saw others operating consistently in healing and I wanted to know how they did it. Like many people, I misunderstood what faith for healing is and how it operates.

Most of you would call yourself Christians, disciples of Jesus or simply, ‘believers’. You believe certain things about Jesus; the most important is that He is your Savior. This ‘kind’ of faith is the kind that saves us from the consequences of sin, but it’s not the kind of faith that heals the sick. Every Christian believes that Jesus is their savior, and yet that faith does not heal the sick. There must be another kind of faith that heals.

The kind of faith that heals isn’t a belief that God wants to heal the sick. Many people believe that God wants to heal the sick and yet the sick are not healed by their faith. Faith that heals is different from this.

Faith that heals the sick consistently and predictably is the belief that when you are presented with an opportunity to heal someone who is willing to be healed, that God will in fact heal that person of the condition they desire to be healed of through you. Faith that heals is not general. It is specific to the individual in need, the problem at hand and the one praying, which is usually us. Allow me to illustrate:

When the woman was healed by taking hold of the hem of Jesus’ garment, Jairus was in the crowd. His daughter was sick so he came to Jesus for help. After the woman was healed, Jesus had her testify to the crowd. After she testified, a friend of Jairus informed him that his daughter had died. Jesus looked at Jairus and said, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” (See Luke 8:40-50)

The woman’s testimony was needed because Jesus wanted Jairus to hear it and have faith for a something specific. Although believing that He was the Messiah was important, it wasn’t the thing He was after. He didn’t want Jairus to believe that God heals some people or that He raises some people from the dead. He wanted Jairus to believe without a doubt that his daughter would be raised from the dead. Note; Jesus said the girl would be made well, if he believed. The faith Jairus needed to see his daughter resurrected was specific to his daughter and her condition.

This is the kind of faith we need for healing.

When I began praying with people for healing, I seldom expected any of them to be healed. I believed that God wanted to heal some people and some conditions but I didn’t believe He wanted to heal all of them and I thought the person I was praying with wouldn’t be healed. I had a lot of doubts and those doubts involved either the person I was praying with or the condition I was praying for.

I doubted that God wanted to heal everyone and in fact, I thought He would heal just about anyone except the person I was praying with. Because I didn’t know that God wanted to heal everyone, my faith was generalized to some people, but not specific to the one I was praying with. So when I prayed with specific people, my doubts surfaced and I imagined them not being healed. My specific doubts destroyed my generalized faith and no one was healed.

After six months of fruitless attempts at healing, I realized I had to change some things. I noticed that Todd White commanded healing instead of asking God to heal and this approach worked well. Here’s an issue we need to consider. Has it ever occurred to you that when we beg God for healing, we believe that we are more compassionate than God is?

I changed my approach and started to command healing and as soon as I did, I saw people healed – often they were healed instantly. I saw a lot of success with torn rotator cuffs and carpal tunnel syndrome, seeing one person after another healed miraculously.

I began to approach these two conditions with more confidence. After only a few more months I’d seen dozens of people healed with a success rate of around 90%. Because of that success, I began to believe ( I had confidence) that God would actually heal everyone I prayed with who had one of these two conditions. My faith, which was generalized until then, became very specific. There were certain people with certain conditions that I knew in my heart, without any doubt God was going to heal. It was at this point that I began to tell some people they would be healed before I prayed with them. Something had changed in my approach to healing and that translated to greater confidence and better results. I’d like to explain how those changes occurred.

I began with a generalized faith. My general belief was that God wanted to heal “some people” of “some conditions”. This faith was weakened by specific doubts. I doubted that God wanted to heal the specific person or a specific condition through my prayers. Note - doubt comes in one of three areas; doubt about the person who is sick being healed, doubt about healing a certain condition or doubt that God will heal them through you. Doubt in all of these areas must be eliminated if you want to see people healed consistently.

As I saw more people healed, my generalized faith became specific – I had confidence (faith) that many of the people I prayed with would be healed. The doubts about specific people were being removed. I had also more faith for some conditions than others; my doubts about specific conditions was being removed. And faith for just about every type of condition was greater than it had been; my general faith for healing was growing.

As I began praying for people with neurologic disorders like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) I had little faith for those conditions. Over time, my confidence began to grow and I began to see changes in some of those people as well. The same is true for cancer. Like many of us, my confidence for seeing cancer healed was small. I saw cancer as a stronger adversary, for some reason. But as I prayed with more cancer patients and saw some of them healed; my confidence for healing of cancer began to grow quickly. I don’t yet have the same confidence for cancer or ALS that I do for joint injuries, but the more I lay hands on people with those conditions the more my faith grows.

My faith, like the faith of Jairus, was strengthened by watching the power of God at work. Faith can and must grow. Seeing people healed is one of the keys to growth. I don’t think there is a substitute for experiencing the power of God at work.

The strategy for growing your faith is to start with a generalized belief that God heals. From there, you simply lay hands on whomever you can and eventually, you’ll see some of them healed. As you do, your weak, generalized faith will become more specific and stronger. As you continue in healing, you’ll see more types of diseases and injuries healed. You’ll develop more faith (confidence) for specific conditions. If you continue laying hands on people, the strong faith you have for a few things will broaden into a strong faith for many things.

There is a belief among Charismatics that some people have an ‘anointing’ for healing certain conditions such as back pain or migraines. In reality, there is no special anointing. But rather, they’ve recognized the fact that they have greater confidence (or a lack of doubt) for some conditions than for others. If they continue to pray with faith for other conditions, they usually develop confidence for them as well.

It has often been noted (primarily by skeptics) that no one has produced a medically documented case of an amputee who has had a limb restored through prayer. They use this as an argument against healing. In light of all the other valid testimonies of healing it seems like a weak argument. But the question deserves to be answered, “Why aren’t amputees healed in any significant numbers?”

Here’s my answer: I believe the lack of healing of amputees is due to nothing more than a corporate lack of faith specific to healing amputees. The church looks at the amputee as an impossible assignment. Torn rotator cuff? No problem. Multiple sclerosis? Yes, we can do that. HIV? Sure, we’ve seen a lot of people healed of that. But when we face the man or woman with a missing limb, we don’t have the faith (confidence) for it. When YOU believe (when you have a confident expectation) that God will heal a certain amputee through YOU, it will happen.

Jesus commented about the faith of the Roman centurion, calling his faith ‘great’. I’ve never considered myself to be a person of great faith. I thought that if I had great faith, every person I laid hands on who had missing limbs, would have them grow out. I’d be able to walk on water and do many other signs and wonders with great faith. And since these things weren’t happening, I concluded that my faith wasn’t very great.

I had a dream one night about faith that changed my understanding what it is and how it works. The dream was about a man who had great faith. His faith was so great that it could heal the entire city that he worked in. I didn’t realize it at first, but the man God showed me in the dream was me. What struck me most was the idea that it wasn’t the man or even God that had the potential to heal all those people – it was the faith he had which held the capacity to heal an entire city.

In the dream, God revealed something I didn’t know. He explained that my choice to continue praying with people, in spite of dismal results, was really the process of watering and nurturing the seed of faith that He had given me, which grew into faith that today has almost unlimited potential.

I don’t expect to heal an entire city, although that would be a great testimony to God. Such a feat would require me to stay awake for weeks or months on end and everyone in the city would actually want to be healed. God wasn’t speaking about actual healing, but the potential to heal. He was saying that my faith had grown to the point where I had the potential to heal thousands, if I chose to operate in a way that tapped into the faith I now had.

We know that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) Faith has substance. It’s tangible and it does things, like heal the sick. I see faith as something like the currency of heaven. When we begin our journey in the kingdom, most of us have small faith. Our bank account of faith upon which we can draw out the resources of heaven is small. But as we walk with God and get to know His ways, we begin to trust Him more. As our faith in Him grows, so does the balance in our account. The more we step out and exercise our faith, the more we get to watch God at work. The more He works the more reason we have to trust Him. And trusting Him brings more faith into our account.

Unlike the balance in our bank account, which decreases the more we use it, the balance in our faith account increases the more we use it. Those who have great faith are those who exercise it often. Many of us underestimate what’s possible with the faith we now possess. It’s good to know that whatever level of faith we have today it will increase if we exercise it.

A Life Of Miracles - Bill Johnson

2012-01-10T06:00:00.001-07:00

Bill Johnson is back with some more observations about the life of Jesus and the miraculous. I hope you're inspired...and empowered.

What if This Year Was Different...

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Healing and The Mindset of Winning

2012-01-04T06:00:00.003-07:00

I've noticed that some of my friends leave comments like, "Win" after a testimony of healing is shared. We all love the testimony to God's power and goodness. We hate the fact that the powers of darkness still hold people captive. It's our mandate to set them free. There's no question that we are in a war. As Lance Wallnau said, "The objective of war is victory. The goal of victory is occupation." I've walked away from many newly healed strangers pumping my fist, rejoicing in the victory when I was out of view.

The question we might ask is, "What motives do we have in our heart that compel us to wage this war?"

Our words reflect the intentions and motives of our hearts; "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

When our words declare victory over the enemy, it reveals that at least one of our motives is victory itself. Let me say that a different way; for some of us, victory itself is the reason we're in the battle.

One problem with being motivated by victory is that we see the battle in terms of "winning and losing". If we see someone healed, we declare that we've 'won'. If they aren't healed, what do we declare? Defeat.

For some of us defeat is unthinkable. Jesus already won the victory at the cross and the enemy has been beaten and will never be victorious. If one takes this view, the entire 'winning and losing' mind-set shouldn't apply to healing. There is no 'losing' in our warfare. Every battle is a 'win'.

Another problem with the 'winning and losing' mind-set is that it requires us to make a judgment call about our success in healing. If we see evidence that healing has taken place, we declare victory. If not - we either conclude the person wasn't healed or we take a 'wait and see' position.

Having followed up with a number of people who showed no immediate signs of healing, I can testify to the fact that some of the people you've prayed with will show complete healing 10 minutes after you leave. Some will manifest healing an hour later; and some in 2 or 3 days. Knowing this, I've developed a strategy where I tell them I believe they are healed whether they feel anything or not and advise them to believe the same thing. The point is - if you approach healing from a 'win or lose' perspective, you'll be convinced you've lost a lot of battles that you actually won.

Another problem with seeing healing in terms of 'winning and losing' is that you'll inevitably go through times when no one seems to be healed . It happens to everyone. If your motivation is victory and you aren't seeing it - you'll be tempted to quit all together, because it's just not worth it any more.

As I thought about this issue, one last thing came to mind. Jesus was motivated by something other than winning. The bible says "He saw the multitudes and had compassion on them" not "He saw the multitudes and desired victory".

Compassion and love were the things that motivated Jesus. They should be the things that motivate us. Every time we pray with a stranger - the goal is to demonstrate the love and compassion of God toward them. If they are healed - great...let us rejoice. But if they aren't or if we aren't certain they were healed, we've still demonstrated love and compassion if not the power of God. I've prayed with hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people who showed no signs of healing. Every encounter was a blessing to the one I prayed with and none of them were a loss for our side.

Most of the motives we have for healing the sick are good ones. Some are better than others. Love is the best motive of all.

This Is My Story

2012-01-01T06:00:00.004-07:00

For over a year, Ben Breedlove has developed a following on YouTube, offering tenagers advice on everything from dating to the SATs with the wit and wisdom of someone far beyond his 18 years.

On December 18th, Ben made a different kind of video, sharing his struggle with a life-threatening heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition causes thickening of the heart muscle, makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood - and causes chest pain, high blood pressure, and eventually, heart failure. In his video, Ben tells of how he "cheated death" three times

Ben spoke often of the peace he felt in his near-death experiences and told people he wanted to go back to it. Ben passed away on Christmas morning while playing in the backyard with his younger brother.

If someone who understood the power of God for healing had asked Ben if he wanted to be healed of his heart condition, He might still be alive today.

Holiday Vignettes

2011-12-30T06:00:00.004-07:00

On December 25th, I transported an 83 year old woman who complained of back pain for three weeks. She told me that years ago her heart had stopped for three minutes. She was clinically dead. I asked what she remembered of it. She told me she went to heaven and met a man standing in a brilliant white light. She didn't know for certain who he was, but he told her it wasn't her time yet - she had to go back.

I prayed with a man who had fallen down a flight of stairs, suffering multiple fractures of his thoracic spine. He faced possible surgery and a long rehab. He wasn't terribly optimistic that my prayers would help, but he was grateful that I asked.

On December 26th, I transported a young woman from Alberta, Canada. She was in Arizona vising her in-laws for the holidays when she developed abdominal pain. She suffers from Crohn's disease. She was admitted to the emergency room and diagnosed with a small bowel obstruction. We transported her to a larger hospital for possible surgery.

During the transport I told her about the dreams my wife has been having about starting up her own business. Then I shared some of my dreams. I chose the dream about praying for people with birth defects and told her my first patient the next shift was a girl with Down syndrome and I got to pray with her. Suddenly she began to cry.

When I asked why she was crying, she said she was touched that I would pray with stranger like that. She told me she is a Christian. I prayed with her to be healed during the transport. It was a long trip so I shared a few testimonies with her and taught her the basics of healing, which would come in handy since she works as a pediatric nurse.

Later that day I prayed with a woman who had a blood clot in her femoral artery. We transported her to a larger hospital for surgery. Her only daughter and three grandchildren were murdered a few weeks earlier. She was a wreck. I prayed with her for healing of her emotions and for the blood clot to dissolve. She was grateful that I asked.

On December 27th, I prayed with an 81 year old hospital volunteer that I met in the men's room. He's was raised a Jew but as an adult, he became an atheist. He gets around in an electric scooter due to years of severe back pain. He shared with me the only religious experience he ever had. A few years ago he visited the wailing wall in Jerusalem. His intent was to stand at the wall and say 'thanks' to the God he didn't believe in. It was his way of acknowledging God in the event that he was wrong.

As he stood there, for some reason he found himself leaning against the wall with his head. He didn't do this intentionally, some force pulled him against the wall. He was unable to move away from the wall for 30 minutes. While he was there his inner thoughts became loud, reverberating in his head. He came away from this experience thinking that perhaps there was a 'force' that was good. But he didn't say it was God and he couldn't believe that it opposed evil, because if it did, it was clearly losing the battle. I prayed with him for healing of his back pain and asked God's presence to touch him. He said he immediately felt a peace come over him.

On the 28th, I prayed with a nurse who had back pain. She was skeptical that anything would happen but she allowed me to pray with her anyways. I left her with a card to this website.

These are a few of the people I prayed with over the holiday. None of them felt tingling, heat, a reduction in pain or any immediate signs of healing when I prayed with them. I can't say that any of them were actually healed, but I believe they might have been.

I know from following up with people weeks later that some will notice they were healed 20 to 30 minutes after I prayed with them. Some notice it the next day. Healing doesn't always manifest immediately. When you pray with people, don't be discouraged if they feel nothing at the time. It doesn't mean they won't feel better in a little while.

Whenever possible, follow up with people a few days later and ask if they've noticed any changes. You'll probably find that some of them were in fact healed. If they weren't, consider praying with them again.

All of these people were grateful that I asked if I could pray with them - whether they were healed or not. Compassion and mercy can be demonstrated in the simple act of perceiving someone's need and asking if you might try to relieve their suffering. This is how we reveal the heart of Jesus to the world.

Dr. Nemeh on Skepticism

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dr. Issam Nemeh, who has seen thousands of people healed by the power of God answers questions about skepicism toward divine healing.

Amber Nesbitt: A Christmas Miracle

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Amber Nesbitt suffered traumatic brain injury from a car accident a few days before Christmas. Shortly after her admission, doctors informed her family that she had virtually no chance of recovery. But God had a different plan.

A Second Chance at Healing

2011-12-21T08:13:00.011-07:00

Amy (not her real name) was in our new employee orientation class. When we told the group what we did, she said she was a detail technician. I didn't even know we had detail techs. Her job is to clean up after me. When we cover the ambulance in mud, she washes it. When we leave fast food garbage on the floor, she cleans it up. My mother doesn't work here, but Amy does and I'm glad we have people like her.

We both worked on the west side of Phoenix in Glendale. On October 17th 2011, early in the morning as she made her way out to the wash bay, I noticed that she was limping and asked what was wrong. She showed me her painful, swollen knee, wrapped in a support device. I asked if could pray with her to be healed. With some fear about what I planned to do, she agreed. I prayed over her knee three times but she felt nothing.

On the same day that I prayed with her, I prayed with a different co-worker, who had a partially torn Achilles tendon and back pain. He was healed, but she wasn't. That story can be found here.

That day and for a few days following, I asked God why one person was healed and the other wasn't. Here's what I heard:

The man with the Achilles tendon injury was healed because he gladly received his healing without fear or worry. Amy was afraid I would hurt her and that fear prevented her from being healed. It wasn't that God could not heal her. It wasn't that He didn't want her healed. It was because she could not receive healing in a state of fear.

I was disappointed. I really wanted her to be healed. I've seen her a few times since then and she still walks with a limp.

On December 2 2011, I worked an overtime shift in Mesa. Amy saw me loading my gear in the ambulance. She came over and asked why she wasn't healed.

I told her I talked to God about it and thought it was because she was afraid of being hurt. I asked her to explain why she thought I was going to hurt her. It turns out, her father asked her the same question, "Do you want to be healed?" When she said yes, he hit her hard on her injured knee. So when I asked her the same question, she was afraid I would do the same thing.

I told her I had no reason to hurt her and let her know that the offer was still open. If she wanted to be healed God would heal her. She said she wanted to be healed.

We sat on the couch in the day room. She showed me her swollen knee, wrapped in a black elastic bandage for support. I asked God to bring his presence upon her then asked what she felt.

"I feel really relaxed and at peace."

I commanded the swelling, inflammation and pain to leave and commanded the ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, cartilage and bones to be healed. She felt heat, which increased each time I prayed over her knee.

While her knee was being healed I taught her about the battle over healing. I warned her that the symptoms might return, told her to stand in faith and believe she was healed and to command the symptoms to leave if they returned the same way I did to make them leave. She seemed to understand.

I saw Amy yesterday. It's been three weeks since she was healed. I asked how her knee felt. She said it felt great. I asked if she was serious. With a smile, she looked at me and said, "Yeah - it feels great!"

When Amy wasn’t healed, the easiest way to explain the lack of healing would be to assume that God didn’t want her to be healed. The fact that she was healed at a later date demonstrates that it wasn't a problem with God. It was a problem with man. Unfortunately, we often blame God when healing doesn’t happen. But that should be the last explanation we consider.

The most likely explanation for failed healing is our own lack of faith. The next thing to consider is that some obstacle may present in the life of the one we’re praying with that needs to be removed. Sometimes it’s a spirit of sickness, sometimes it’s an attitude toward us or God that needs to change. In this case, it was fear. Once the fear was removed she was healed.

Healing is meant to draw people into a loving relationship with Jesus. Fear and love don't work well together. We are representatives of God and His kingdom. If someone fears that we're going to hurt them, that fear can become generalized. They may fear that Jesus will hurt them or that Christians in general are out to hurt people. Our best approach in dealing with fear is to assure them they have no reason to be afraid of us or God by demonstrating His love and compassion toward them.

Perfect love casts out all fear.

11/11/11 Testimony

2011-12-19T06:00:00.001-07:00

This is a rather amazing testimony, but it's not really about healing. It's more about God putting the right person in the right place at the right time.

Thanks Sharon!

Don’t Forsake Regular Church Attendance

2011-12-16T06:00:00.001-07:00

This was a Facebook note written by a friend, André van der Merwe. The original note, with comments can be found here .

Yes, I'm writing again. My new book (will keep you posted on the progress) will be called: "I Love JESUS, But I've Stopped Attending Church." Here is one of the chapters. Enjoy!!

DON'T FORSAKE REGULAR CHURCH ATTENDANCE

Nope, actually that’s not what it says, so let’s quickly disarm this bomb. Hebrews 10:25 has to be one of the most abused and warped scriptures in the entire Bible.

"…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Heb 10:25 MKJV)

We will look at two different interpretations here, the traditional interpretation and the proper interpretation, which takes into account the verses around this verse as well as references to other scriptures in the Bible. As we will see, even the traditional interpretation doesn’t refer to the spectator affair that secular church meetings have evolved into.

The Traditional Interpretation

This verse has been used for centuries to warn believers against the danger of abstaining from attending regular church meetings. It’s not surprising to see why though, since nearly every commentary available on the internet interprets this verse in the sense that it is referring to regular church or worship meeting attendance. Here are some examples:

The Berkely Version of the New Testament says: "... not neglecting our own church meeting."

J.B. Phillips writes in The New Testament in Modern English: "And let us not hold aloof from
our church meetings."

The Living Bible states: "Let us not neglect our church meetings..."

The Ryrie Study Bible writes: “The term "assembling" describes "the gathering of Christians
for worship and edification," and "the Day" describes "the day... of Christ's coming.”

Clarke continues to warn against deserting regular Church attendance, for whatever reason:

"For fear of persecution, it seems as if some had deserted these meetings... They had given up these strengthening and instructive means, and the others were in danger of following their example... Those who relinquish Christian communion are in a backsliding state; those who backslide are in danger of apostasy..."

The main problem with this interpretation is that is completely neglects the part of the verse that says “…exhorting one another…”

In 1 Corinthians 14 we have a wonderful picture of what a first century church meeting looked like. Everybody contributed, bringing prophesy, tongues, songs and teachings to the meeting. In fact, so eager were the people to share what God has shown to each of them that Paul had to lay down some guidelines for them to be able to continue doing it in an edifying manner.

How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. (1 Cor 14:26 KJVA)

The meetings normally brimmed over with excitement, joy, fascinating dialogues, diverse tongues and interpretations thereof, various teachings and the gifts of the Spirit flowing all over the place! It was spontaneous, unpredictable and somewhat offensive to newcomers and outsiders, but the believers themselves knew exactly what they were doing: They were allowing God to be Himself in their midst! It would have been an idea far removed from their minds to have only one single person stand up for an hour and deliver a prepared sermon, let alone pay him for doing it!

So even when interpreting this verse in the traditional manner, as thought it was referring to an actual church meeting, the conventional argument does not hold water.

…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25 MKJV)

The first clue ought to be that this verse doesn’t start with a capital letter, which means that it has to be read in conjunction with the preceding verses to be able to understand the context, especially if we remember that the original manuscripts didn’t have any verse numbers in them. Let’s take a brief look at the whole chapter.

Hebrews 10 - The Victory of the Cross!

Hebrews 10 is one of the most captivating chapters in the entire Bible. It is a crystal clear depiction of the believer’s absolute, unfaltering right standing with God, based on what Jesus accomplished at the cross. It exemplifies the undisputable superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant Law: a system which was upheld by the ritual slaughtering and blood sprinkling of animals. These sacrifices only managed to postpone the punishment of sins for another year - it never actually cleansed the people from their sins (v. 1-4).

It also debunks the popular “Confess your sins to be forgiven” doctrines by blatantly stating that once forgiven, a believer would have no more consciousness of sin (v. 2).

From verse 10 onwards it portrays how the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ has cleansed all who believe in Him from their sins forever and describes the new and better way of approaching God under the New Covenant, namely with boldness and full assurance of faith, confident that the sacrifice of Christ accomplished everything that God intended it to - to deal a deathblow to sin and present unto Himself a blameless, completely sanctified bride. This confidence comes from faith in what Christ has done, and not from ourselves.

Later down in the chapter (v. 26-29) the writer of Hebrews outlines the folly of trying to return to the weak and beggarly elements of the Old Covenant temple and offering system for salvation:

26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He who despised Moses' Law died without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy of punishment, the one who has trampled the Son of God, and who has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:26-29 MKJV)

There were Hebrews (Jews) who lived strictly according to the Old Testament law system. Even when they heard the truth about the gospel, they didn’t want to believe it, because verse 26 says they “…received the knowledge of the truth…” and of course simply knowing about something doesn’t mean that we actually believe in it. Faith ≠ knowledge.

So the writer of Hebrews admonishes them by saying that if after hearing the truth of the gospel, they still decide to trample God’s New Covenant underfoot and choose to count the blood of bulls and goats as superior to the blood of Jesus, then there remains for them no further sacrifice for their sins. They are rejecting the only thing that can save them and are choosing to willfully commit the sin of unbelief in Christ!

Now in this context, let’s take a look at the verses surrounding our key verse:

The Proper Interpretation:

19 Therefore, brothers, having boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies having been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful who promised), 24 and let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:19-25 MKJV emphasis added)

Now in the midst of all this talk about the New Covenant, about having full assurance of our salvation and of not turning back to the Old Testament Law for our salvation, why would the writer throw in a line about church attendance? It simply doesn’t make sense. Let’s tackle these verses one by one…

From verse 19 the writer starts building up to a mighty crescendo, repeatedly emphasizing how we are now to have boldness, full assurance of faith and are to maintain utter confidence in God’s faithfulness to have cleansed us completely from all sin. God who promised us eternal life is faithful to fulfill His promise and grant us an everlasting inheritance. This is the profession faith that we should be holding fast onto (v. 23)

Since we receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, it is His responsibility to manifest His fruit through us and it becomes our privilege to be co-laborers with Christ and walk in the good works that God had prepared in advance for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). It is therefore natural for us to encourage each other to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, not necessarily by telling each other what to do, but by being living, breathing examples of the manifested life of Christ ourselves (v. 24). Actions speak louder than words. And now our key verse:

…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25 MKJV)

The Greek word for “assembling” (episunagōgē) is only found in two verses in the entire Bible. A closer look at the other scripture that utilizes this word reveals that the context actually doesn’t refer to a church meeting at all:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (2 Thes 2:1-2 ESV, emphasis added)

Paul here encouraged the believers that because of the wonderful prospect of being gathered together (episunagōgē) unto Christ, they are not to be alarmed or frightened, which by implication means that they are to have boldness and full assurance of faith. This is exactly what the writer of Hebrews wrote. Note the similarities:

…our being gathered together to him… the day of the Lord… (2 Thes 2:1-2)

…the assembling of ourselves together... as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25)

So the evidence seems to be pointing to the fact that Hebrews 10:25 could actually be a magnificent verse about the second coming (like the 2 Thessalonians verse), rather than referring to meeting together in a church building. The reality is however that most people have been so biased by what they’ve been told about this verse, that even in the face of clear evidence they would still doubtLet’s take a look at the three different parts that make up the word epi-sun-agōgē (pronounced in English as “ep-ee-soon-ag-o-gay”).

Epi
G1909: A primary preposition properly meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution [with the genitive case], that is, over, upon, etc.

In Greek the prefix epi is often added to words to emphasize them profoundly. Essentially it means the same as “super”, “ultimate” or “hyper”. Paul the apostle used it for example to describe how he would have been exceedingly sorrowful if his brother and fellow worker, Epaphroditus, had died.

For indeed he was sick, coming near death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon [epi] sorrow. (Phil 2:27 MKJV, annotation added)

It is also used in a word that describes Christ’s appearing, epiphaneia, which happens at the end of the age:

…that you keep the commandment without spot and without blame until the appearing [epiphaneia] of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Tim 6:14 MKJV, annotation added)

Our Greek word episunagōgē therefore means “ultimate-sun-agōgē“ or “final-sun-agōgē“ - now we need to find out what the last two parts mean.

Sun
G4962: A primary preposition denoting union; with or together (but much closer than G3326 or G3844), that is, by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.: - beside, with. In compounds it has similar applications, including completeness.

So now we have “ultimate-union-agōgē“ or “final-union-agōgē“ - let’s tackle the last part…

Agōgē
Reduplicated from G71; a bringing up, that is, mode of living: - manner of life.

So it appears that the meaning of agōgē can be found by looking at its root word, agō

Agō
G71: A primary verb; properly to lead; by implication to bring, drive, (reflexively) go, (specifically) pass (time), or (figuratively) induce: - be, bring (forth), carry, (let) go, keep, lead away, be open.
Having said all that, it’s clear that episunagōgē can be translated as follows:

Ultimate/Final-Union-Leading/Carrying (away)

Can it therefore be any clearer that Hebrews 10:25 it is not a warning against forsaking regular church meetings, but in fact a reference to our glorious final union and being carried away unto Christ Jesus?

The context becomes even clearer when we then read from verse 26 onwards how those who neglect to receive salvation and by implication are unable to have full assurance of faith, trample God’s grace underfoot and have no more sacrifice remaining for sin.

So with Hebrews 10:25 unarmed, in other words having removed the confusion surrounding this verse, not neglecting the fact that it is still good for believers to meet together, let’s have an open mind for exposing some of the other manmade traditions and practices that are found in today’s secular churches.

Link to original note:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/andré-van-der-merwe/dont-forsake-regular-church-attendance/10150248154351725

Holy Spirit Breaks Out at Football Game

2011-12-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

Jason Chin took the love of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to a football game and 40 people got to know God a little better.

If you are a Christian, you can do this too.

Emergency Room Set Up

2011-12-11T06:00:00.002-07:00

We sat outside the ER waiting. We work a day shift, so we don't have a station. We sit in our ambulance in parking lots and on street corners. After hours of waiting, we finally got a call, so we grabbed the gurney and went inside.

As we approached the nurse's station, a respiratory therapist held out his thumb to the ER doc.

"Hey doc, can you have a look at my thumb? It hurts like crazy."

I felt like I was walking onto a stage. The director had rehearsed the script with the actors. And now it was time for the medic to say his lines. Another set up.

God, why do you do this to me?

I walked over and listened to the doc...."Well, it doesn't look broken. What did you do to it?

"Nothing...it just started hurting."

"Well, there's nothing I can do", he mumbled as he walked away.

I walked over to the RT

"So you don't know why it hurts?"

"No, I didn't do anything. It just started hurting."

I checked it out....no deformity, no signs of trauma. "How bad is the pain?"

"About a seven."

"Do you want to be healed?"

"What are you gonna do, some kinda...."(he makes the sign of the cross and sarcastically rolls his eyes)

I smiled....."Well....something like that."

The nurse sitting at the desk piped up..."I wanna see this!"

I invited her to watch. When she could see what I was about do , I asked if he wanted to be healed. He said, "Yeah - go for it."

I placed my index finger on the part of his thumb that was in pain and commanded the pain to leave, in the name of Jesus then asked how he felt.

"A little better." (Now he was smiling)

I told the pain to leave a second time (in Jesus' name) then told the tendons, ligaments, nerves and bones to be healed. I often use this approach when I'm not sure what the exact problem is. "Move it around, how does it feel?"

He was smiling from ear to ear now, amazed at what God was doing. 'Well...that's weird. It feels pretty good.

"Is there any pain at all?"

"Just a little."

I told the pain to leave one more time and had him check it out.

"Well, now there's no pain at all. But my other thumb hurts."

Thinking that maybe a spirit was moving around causing the pain to move, I asked, "Are you serious?"

He began to laugh, "Nope...just messing with you...It feels great."

We both began laughing. (I just love these set ups, by the way) Putting my hand on his shoulder I said, God's pretty cool huh? I gave him a card to the website.

"If you have any questions, you can get a hold of me here. I need to go get my patient."

We talked with the nurse, got report and loaded our patient. He was a Fedex driver who passed out while driving on the freeway. He crossed three lanes of traffic and hit the barrier between East and West bound traffic. The truck eventually came to a stop. No one else was involved or hurt. He suffered glass cuts and a subdural hematoma, but was otherwise fine. We transferred him to a larger hospital for a neuro consult.

On the way, we talked. I told him what had just happened with the respiratory therapist. The Fedex driver felt like God had already given him a miracle by keeping others from being injured in the accident. But he let me pray with him to have the hematoma and the headache healed.

Some days God orchestrates our lives down to the most intricate detail and exact second. Maybe that's what it means when it says "the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord". I don't feel particularly righteous. I just feel blessed to be a part of a divinely written play where the Holy Spirit is the director and Jesus is the real star.

A Discussion About Faith For Healing

2011-12-09T04:02:00.006-07:00

This is a discussion on faith for healing the sick. In summary - faith that heals the sick consistently is not generalized, but specific. It isn't merely believing that God heals the sick, but rather it's a confident expectation that the person you are praying with is going to be healed of the condition they have. The issue we struggle with most is not faith, but doubt. Our doubts tend to be about the question of whether God will actually heal the person we are praying with. When doubt about the specific person and condition we're praying about is replaced with confidence, we will see people healed consistently.

Todd White - Words of Knowledge & Timing

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Todd White teaches on words of knowledge and how to wait on the Lord for the right time.

The Guitar Player

2011-12-05T06:00:00.004-07:00

Tom (not his real name) was a guitar player. Whether or not he'll play again remains to be seen. I found him in the emergency room screaming in pain. My new friend is a guitar picker by night and works a manufacturing job by day. He was helping to move a large sheet of Plexiglas several inches thick, weighing close to 500 pounds, when it crashed to the ground on top of his fingers.

The report I got from the nurse said the index and middle fingers on his right hand were completely crushed. I think the term she used was 'filleted'. They wrapped his hand, started IV antibiotics, gave him some Dilaudid and called us. He was being transferred to a trauma center for surgery to repair what was left of his picking fingers. Pain control was the only thing on his mind.

"Well, at least it's not my fretting hand," he joked. I told him he could learn to use the other fingers to hold the pick. He agreed, but then he said, "Hey...I'm 30 years old, maybe my best playing days are behind me." I said I was 20 years older than him and I was just beginning. And besides, if he didn't get healed of something, this would just be another depressing, forgettable story.

I reviewed his medical information and asked what medications he took. He gave me the names of three blood pressure pills then added, "...and I take Vicodin and Soma."

Vicodin is a narcotic pain reliever and Soma is a muscle relaxer. This combination is frequently used to treat chronic back pain. And as you know, chronic pain is something I have a lot of faith to see healed. This information was almost as good as a word of knowledge. So I asked what he took them for.

"I have back pain all the time."

It was the answer I was looking for. I wasn't glad that he had back pain. I was glad he had something I had a lot of faith to see healed. Smashed fingers are something I've never seen healed yet, but I've seen a lot of back injuries healed. I knew if we could get that healed, we had a shot at getting his fingers healed.

With people who have multiple problems, consider starting with the one you have the most experience with. I often ask if people have a headache and if they say yes, I command it to leave, doing this repeatedly until it's gone. Obtaining victory over one thing demonstrates to you and them that God is willing to heal them. After one thing is healed, move to the next and then the next, getting one thing healed at a time starting with the one you have the most faith for.

Tom told me he has back pain all the time, due to bulging L5 and L4 discs. He knew surgery was needed, but he's been putting it off. As I talked with him, I decided to try a slightly different approach. I usually command back pain to leave, but this time I was curious to know if he could be healed just by God's presence and a testimony.

I invited the Holy Spirit to bring His presence near and talked with Tom about people I've seen healed in the past. I placed my hand on his hip then shared the dream about the man with severe crushing injuries who was healed by the presence of God, without me praying for him. He said that would be cool. I asked how his back felt now.

"Now you're creeping me out....I can't feel any pain in my back." I asked him to move around a little to make sure. There was no pain.

So I asked how bad the pain was in his hand. It was still severe. I placed my hand so that I was barely touching the gauze bandages and commanded the spirit of pain to leave and for the blood vessels, nerves, bones, tendons and muscles to be healed and asked how he felt.

"There was a really bad, burning pain going all the way through my hand, but now it's gone. "

I smiled and prayed again and asked how bad the pain was. He said it was much less and he felt like he could sleep. I said, "That's cool, because I don't have anything else I need to ask you. I believe that when the surgeon takes these bandages off, your fingers are going to be as good as new. Why don't you sleep for the rest of the trip?"

Tom was in excruciating pain when we picked him up, anxious about never playing guitar again, wondering when he'd have to go under the knife for back surgery and the rehab afterward. Twenty minutes later he was ready for a nap, resting in the peaceful presence of God.

I have the coolest job in the world.

The Chaplain and The Medic

2011-12-03T06:00:00.004-07:00

Early in the morning, a middle aged man walks a deserted hospital corridor. Another man sees him and smiles, noting that his arm is in a sling.

Walking over, he stretches out his hand. "I see I might be too late."

They shake hands awkwardly as the one with the sling is unable to extend his right hand, and his left hand is carrying a small pile of books. The sling is a result having surgery to repair his shoulder.

The procedure didn't go well. Already plagued with low back pain from bulging discs and chronic knee pain from mountain biking, the less than successful surgery had the potential to force some unwanted changes on him.

"I was going to ask if I could pray with you, but if you already had surgery, maybe you don't need to be healed. I've been praying with a lot of my patients and a lot of them are healed."

The chaplain said, "Really? Well, God must have given you a gift."

The medic smiled and explained that it's not really a gift. "Although there is a gift of healing mentioned in the bible, healing miracles are available to every disciple of Jesus. He gave His disciples authority and power to heal. I've just learned how to operate in it, but anyone can do it."

The medic and the chaplain discussed healing and the medic shared a lot of testimonies. In the end, they both wanted the same thing. The medic wanted someone to pray with and the chaplain wanted to be healed. Neither one knew what the other was looking for.

"If you don't mind, would you pray for my knee?"

"I'd love to."

A fire department crew walk quickly through the hallway with a patient on a gurney. A young woman with them looks at the medic, smiles and says, "I know what you're doing."

The medic looks at the chaplain. "That's my partner."

He invites the presence of God to come and feels the atmosphere change then placing his hand on the chaplain's knee he commands the spirit of pain to leave. Next he commands cartilage, ligaments, bone, nerves, tendons, blood vessels and muscles to be healed. "All things brand new, because God doesn't recycle, He makes all things new."

The chaplain said he didn't really feel any different. He bent down but there was still pain and no real change. The medic told him sometimes the healing can take 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes an hour or two and sometimes even a day or two. He repeated the process two more times.

With a smile, the chaplain said, "I'm feeling something happening in there now. Would you mind praying for my back?"

Placing his hand on the chaplain's lower back he repeated the same process as with the knee. After the third time, the chaplain reported a lot of heat in his back.

"That's the power of God healing you."

The chaplain told the medic that the surgery on his shoulder didn't go well. "The doc said it's bone on bone. I'm eventually going to need another surgery to replace the joint."

"Why don't we have God replace it right now?" Placing his hand on the injured shoulder, the medic said, "I command the spirit of pain to leave and for the bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels and all the structures of the shoulder to be healed in Jesus name." How does it feel?"

"It's getting warm."

The medic repeated the process two more times and asked what was happening now.

"I feel a lot of heat now."

They talked some more. The medic gave the chaplain some cards to the website and told him to drop by and check out the testimonies and teaching on healing.

The chaplain said, "You know, if you took this far enough, you might put the hospital out of business."

The medic chuckled and mumbled to himself as he walked away....."Put the hospital out of business....that's a good one."

Charles, it was a real pleasure meeting you. Let us know how you're feeling?

Greater Works - Brian Fenimore

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Brian Fenimore teaches on the passage where Jesus said we would do greater works than He did.

Untitled from Praying Medic on Vimeo.

The Kirby Salesman

2011-11-28T06:00:00.004-07:00

At 19 years old, Jonathon was living out his dream of being a professional goalie. That dream came to a screeching halt when a slap shot broke his collar bone. Thinking it was just bruised, he stayed in the game.

When the bone finally broke completely in two, it severed both muscle and tendon and left his shoulder a surgical mess.

In the operating room the surgeons retrieved and re-attach the severed sinew but Jonathon's career as a goalie was over.

He pursued a career as an electrician and did well for himself until the housing market crashed.

As a child, his mother told him, "Be whatever you want, just don't grow up to be a Kirby salesman."

One day she received a phone call. Jonathon gently broke the news to her, "Mom, I'm selling Kirbys."

Ten years after the career ending slap - shot, Jonathon came to our door. He's training new salesmen for Kirby. We did the introductions and Jonathon left. Our young salesman, Ryan was excited and full of energy.

He did his thing and asked if I had a hobby.

There was a long pause.

I had to think for a minute....

"What is my hobby?"

I decided to tell him about healing.

We shared some of our more interesting testimonies and our history with God. He seemed interested and asked a lot of questions. At one point he became so engrossed in the stories, he forgot where he was in his sales presentation and had to check with the outline to get back on track.

An hour later the doorbell rang. It was Jonathon. He came in and asked how Ryan was doing. We told him Ryan was doing great, but we couldn't buy the Kirby. He was very understanding.

We talked with Jonathon for a while. He shared his life story with us, including the broken collar bone story. Putting his arm up, he showed us the limited range of motion he still had ten years later.

I looked at Ryan....

He looked at me and yelled, "Do it....You gotta do it!!!"

Ryan had been listening to healing stories for the last hour and now he wanted to see one for himself. Fortunately, Jonathon is a believer. We explained what we'd been talking about and he agreed to let us pray. I asked my daughter, "You want to do it or should I?"

I didn't give her a choice. I walked to the other side of the living room to watch. She went to his left side and my wife went to his right and they began. After 30 seconds we asked if he felt anything.

"It feels warm inside and I don't know....there's like this feeling of weightlessness."

"Raise your arm up."

As he did, we heard popping noises. He had almost full range of motion. He was stunned and almost speechless. We talked about How much God loves to heal people and he shared his wonder at how easily the healing came.

Ryan was just as shocked, because he knew Jonathon couldn't move his arm like that just a few minutes ago.

Jonathon said he had degenerative joint disease in his neck and back so we prayed over that and the heat increased. He got a major overhaul.

We talked some more and he asked if we'd help with his wife who has health problems. We told him we'd be glad to and exchanged phone numbers. I gave him some cards to the website. One of the things we stressed a number of times is that healing isn't a gift for just a few special people. It's something anyone can do, if they only believe.

Jonathan - if you read this, please leave a comment below and let us know how your shoulder is doing and give me a call so we can get your wife healed.

2 For 1 Night at Chili's

2011-11-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have a tradition that we enjoy. After four years of marriage, we still go on a dates. Last night we drove to Saguaro Lake. On the drive out to the lake we talked. Afterward, we went to Chili's restaurant for an appetizer.

The food was good, the conversation was light and the company was beautiful.

As we made our way to the exit, I noticed that the hostess was limping slightly. So guess what I did?

Good guess. I asked if she wanted to be healed. Guess what her reply was.

Right again.

Her name was Jill. I introduced myself and my wife and explained that we see people healed at stores and restaurants and asked if we could pray for her. She was delighted that we offered.

One waitress was fascinated with this and looked on eagerly. Her name was Stephanie. I asked Jill and Stephanie if they'd ever seen a miracle. They both said no. I told them they were about to.

If you've been following this blog, you know that I've been more bold in declaring what God will do, before He does it. My boldness comes from knowing Him. I know He wants people healed and seeing Him do it consistently allows me to approach them and declare what He will do. I can't recall a time that someone wasn't healed when I declared that they would be healed in advance. Perhaps that's worth looking into.

Jill said she had just pulled her hamstring muscle about 15 minutes earlier and that's why she was limping. I asked how bad the pain was. She rated it 7 out of 10. I placed my hand on her leg and asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and power.

I've never felt His presence show up so quickly. As soon as the words left my mouth we felt the atmosphere change. I began to sway back and forth. "Wow....can you feel that?"

I thought about this for a moment....."Why did He show up so quickly?" It's like He was just waiting, anxious and excited. Waiting eagerly for me to say the words so that He could bring His presence into the atmosphere.

I truly believe God is more exited about healing than we are.

Standing in the entrance to the restaurant, becoming slightly intoxicated in His glory, I commanded her hamstring to be healed in Jesus name. It took about 5 seconds for her mouth to drop open in complete shock.

"Oh my God....who are you? How did you do that?" She was healed immediately and began walking around checking it out. She couldn't believe it happened that fast. She demanded to know how I did it.

I explained:

"You know that Jesus went through the cities of Israel healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and proclaiming the kingdom of God don't you? Well if you look in Matthew chapter 10, you'll see that he gave that same authority to his disciples. And I'm one of his disciples. Every one of his disciples has this same authority."

Some Christians wonder what the best way is to bring up Jesus to strangers so that they can 'witness' to them. If you heal the sick, it allows you to talk about Jesus the rest of the night. And that's exactly what we did.

Jill and Stephanie fired questions at us and we discussed how it all works. They'd seen faith healers on TV, but had never heard of anyone doing it in public. We told them it's become a lifestyle for us and we explained that anyone can do these things.

We asked Stephanie if she had anything she needed healed. She told us she had a bone spur on her heel that said maybe we could pray for her some other time.

I told her to sit down and we'd get her healed right now.

She protested slightly.

"Sit down."

She took a seat. I asked her to put her foot on my knee, asked how bad the pain was and commanded it to be healed, then asked if she felt anything.

"It feels weird, like there's a kind of buzzing going on."

Jill chimed in, "That's what I felt, too!" It's like this buzzing thing starts and then all the pain is gone!"

"That's the power of God healing you." I asked Stephanie if there was any pain and there was so I commended it to leave and had her stand and check it out.

She got up and stomped her foot repeatedly in amazement. She tried to make the pain come back, but she couldn't. It was gone.

We talked some more about Jesus and shared a few testimonies. I told them how to keep their healing and gave them information about this website.

As we left, we invited them to contact us if they had friends or relatives who needed healing. Three men walked in the front door and overheard what I said. I told them to ask Jill and Stephanie what just happened to them.

I would imagine they shared their testimonies about Jesus the rest of the night. That's the kingdom of God. It appears in their lives and they tell everyone they know about the great things He has done.

It's not about us. It's about Him.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T04:04:00.005-07:00

On the way home from work yesterday, I stopped at the store to pick up marshmallows and chocolate bars to make s'mores. The warm weather has drawn us outside around the fire pit in the evenings.

On the day before Thanksgiving, the store was crowded. A few moments after I got there, I saw a woman in front of me reaching for a gallon of milk. She had an immobilizer on her right wrist

"Excuse me....are you in a hurry?"

"Yes, I am", came the reply.

"Do you have carpal tunnel syndrome?"

Looking at her wrist, she said, "I haven't had it diagnosed yet. My thumb hurts constantly and I have this weird buzzing sensation in my wrist when I move it."

I introduced myself, told her I was a paramedic and that I prayed with a lot of my patients who have been healed and asked if she wanted to be healed. She said she'd love to be.

I asked her to hold out her hand and as she did, I gently placed my fingertips on her hand and commanded the pain and inflammation to leave then asked if she felt anything.

Her first response was 'no,' but then she said, "It feels warm". I told her it was the power of God healing her. She asked, "Is this a Christian thing?"

I said, "You know that Jesus went around healing a lot of people....well he gave authority to his disciples to do the same thing and that's what I'm doing. Jesus is healing you."

She said, "Oh,thank you!"

Some people are offended when you tell them you're a Christian, but some are grateful.

I asked her to hold out her hand again and when she did, I commanded the spirit of pain to leave and for the muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and bones to be made whole then asked how she felt.

Looking at her hand with a smile she said. "It doesn't hurt anymore." I asked if there was any pain at all and she said there wasn't. Her hand and wrist were completely healed.

She looked at me and said, "You know...this is so weird. This is the third time in a year that a complete stranger has walked up to me in a store and told me about God.

I smiled. "I guess God has you on his radar. He's going to some amazing things with you."

I gave her a card to this website and explained what I do. She asked if I thought she could be healed of multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. I told her a story about a woman I prayed with at Walmart who has MS and was ready to get out of her wheelchair when we were done.

Her hope began to soar.

I asked where she lived. It turns out she lives a few miles from us, so I wrote my phone number on the back of the card and told her to give us a call and my wife and I would be happy to have her come to our house and get her healed of everything.

A stranger might tell you they're in a hurry. But when a hungry soul sees that the meal you're serving is the power and love of God, they'll make room for it. And when they receive it, they'll have one more reason to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meatloaf and Healing Your Neighbor

2011-11-21T06:00:00.006-07:00

I stopped at Costco on the way home from work to get some things for dinner. I ran into an engine company from the Gilbert Fire department. All four firefighters were wearing shorts. It's mid-November. And they're wearing shorts. One guy said he wears shorts year round. I guess I'm still getting used to the climate here.

As I entered the store, walking briskly and looking for people showing signs of disability, I heard a woman behind me say to her husband, "I wish I could walk like that".

I stopped and turned around to see her hunched over the shopping cart, walking slowly. I held out my hand, introduced myself and asked if she really wanted to walk like me. She said she did and I asked if she wanted to be healed. She said, "I'd love it."

We chatted for a few minutes. She told me she suffers from arthritis. Betty told me she didn't expect an 86 year old woman to walk like a young person. I shared a few stories of people older than her who had been healed and asked if I could pray with her and she agreed.

I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and touch her and commanded arthritis and the spirit of pain to leave then asked what she felt. She reported feeling tingling in her hands. I placed my hands over hers and told the pain to leave. The only thing she ever felt was tingling in her hands. I told her I believed she was healed and that it might take anywhere from 10 minutes to a few days for her to feel the full effects.

I was hoping for more immediate confirmation, but I've learned that many people feel nothing at all and they're still healed, only realizing it days later.

I had a desire to make meatloaf tonight and for some reason I wanted to make a lot if it. I picked up a 5 pound package of ground beef and a three pound package of Jimmy Dean sausage. I got a few other things and headed home.

At home, I made quick work of the meatloaf. Here's the recipe: One finely chopped large yellow onion, 3 eggs, lots of minced garlic, salt, pepper and sage, five pounds of ground beef and three pounds of sausage. I shaped two massive loaves and put them in the oven at 350. My daughter and wife were curious to know why I on earth I decided to make enough meatloaf to feed an army. I really didn't know why. But it didn't matter, because it was time for a walk. We walked to a nearby park where a 5K run was in progress. We found a quiet spot at the edge of the lake and watched a glorious sunset. Then we walked home.

When we got home, the aroma of the meatloaf was amazing. It filled the house with a spicy, savory smell. But the oven was making the house a bit warm, so we open the front door to cool the house down.

Suddenly, we heard a voice at the door. It was the woman who lived a few houses down. We greeted her and asked what we could do. She told us she'd been having problems with a neighbor and wanted to talk about it. She was upset at how her neighbor had been treating her. She hadn't slept the last two nights. We chatted at the front door. As we talked she kept looking toward her house, expecting her husband to come over and commented on how wonderful the meatloaf smelled.

Her husband finally arrived and said he couldn't resist the smell coming from our house, so he came over to find out what it was. Once I told him what it was, he said he loved meatloaf. We told them they were welcome to stay for dinner since we had plenty.

We ate and chatted and Chona told us she had degenerative joint disease which affected her knees and ankles. I told her she wouldn't have it when she left.

So let me explain that.

When I began this journey in healing a few years ago, I never would have said something like that. I wouldn't even ask people what they felt after praying. I was afraid that nothing would happen and I didn't want to hear about it. I had no faith. Since then, I've seen God heal people over and over and over and while not everyone is healed yet, my confidence in God is so much greater that it once was. At times I think it's appropriate to say that out loud.

When I declare that a person will be healed, I'm really doing a couple of things: First, I'm putting the enemy on notice. I'm letting him know I plan to evict him and the sickness or pain he's causing. Second, I'm letting God know that I'm trusting Him to do what He said He would do. Third, I'm letting the person who needs healing know that I don't see their condition as something that's hard to heal. And lastly, I'm building my own faith in preparation for the battle.

After dinner we moved to the living room and put Chona between my daughter and I on the couch. She was gracious and allowed me time to teach her about the authority we have in healing. She's a believer. I taught from Luke chapter 10 then asked if she knew what God's presence felt like. She said she did. I shared some of the dreams I've had about God's presence and told her I would ask Him to touch her with His presence.

While I asked God to bring His presence to touch her, my daughter and wife prayed over her knees and ankles. As we prayed, my wife got the impression that God wanted to heal her emotions. After a few minutes, we asked how she felt.

"Wow....I came here so angry and now all the anger is gone. I feel nothing but peace. And there's no pain in my legs."

We had her stand up and walk around the living room. Her husband said that normally, someone would have to help her get up off the couch. But now she could do it by herself and all the pain was gone. She was overcome with joy.

The presence of God healed her emotions and the authority of believers healed her joints. That's the complete healing God wants to do - body, spirit and soul. After she was healed, we spent a few minutes teaching her about the battle with the enemy over her healing. We told her that the symptoms might return, but if they did, it doesn't mean she lost her healing. It would be spirits of pain trying to convince her she wasn't healed. We told her that if the symptoms returned, all she needed to do was command the spirits to leave in the name of Jesus.The bible says "Submit yourself to God - resist the devil and he will flee. Now that you're healed, you need to put up some resistance against the plans of the enemy." They went home praising God and we were blown away by God's goodness.

If you're willing to be used by God, He'll use you in the same way He uses us. If you open your door to your neighbors and desire that God would bless them, they will show up and so will God. As you host them, you'll host God's presence. Power encounters will happen and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. People will be healed and set free. Word will get out and they'll come to meet the people whose home will be called the house of God.

Open your doors and invite God's presence into your home. Then expect great things to happen.

It's been two days since Chona was healed. She stopped by today to give us a report. She was hiking a trail on the mountains near Phoenix this weekend. Every time the pain in her legs tried to return, she commanded it to leave. She's still doing great and ever since her visit, she's been telling strangers and friends about Jesus.

What About “Gold Dust”?

2011-11-18T06:00:00.010-07:00

Editor's note: This message picks up on some of the things discussed in the previous post, though we'll start with a different (but related) subject. To view the previous message go here.

If you made a list of the most controversial topics in the present church scene, reports of “gold dust” showing up on people might be at the top of the list. In this article, I’ll do my best to de-bunk some misconceptions, explain what this phenomenon really is, and share my own experiences.

In order to address misconceptions about the appearances of “gold dust” let me first share a couple of illustrations.

Most prescription medications have side effects. Some of those side effects are allergic reactions, organ damage and in rare cases, death. Yet if these reactions are rare enough and the therapeutic effects are consistent enough in the general population, such medications are approved for use.

Approval is based on the fact that a large number of people will benefit from the drug's use. The positive effects experienced by the majority outweigh the negative effects experienced by a few.

Most nations in the world use some type of currency for trade. The use of currency has many benefits, but it has a few drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is counterfeiting. There will always be people looking to cheat the system for their own selfish reasons. Some people are obsessed with accumulating money. Their love of money leads them to live bizarre lifestyles.

In spite of these problems, we haven’t done away with the use of currency. The fact that a few people practice counterfeiting or that some develop unhealthy obsessions over it, doesn't negate the legitimate use of currency.

I used these illustrations to highlight some problems in the way many of us look at things like the appearance of gold dust, manna, gemstones falling, clouds of God’s glory and other unusual manifestations. Some of us have heard reports that people act strangely around these phenomena – even bizarrely. Some have accused people of coming under the influence of evil spirits. Others have heard that heavenly gemstones were fraudulently placed or that people tried to fake the appearance of gold dust.

In evaluating these things, a number of questions should be asked:

If people have faked gold dust, does that mean that all appearances of gold dust are fake?
If people have faked gemstones, are all such claims false?
If some people act strangely in these ‘glory clouds’, does that mean everyone will and does it mean that the clouds aren't a real manifestation of God?

Going back to our first two illustrations, we can apply the same logic. The fact that some frauds exist, doesn’t mean the real thing doesn't. The fact that some react strangely to a phenomenon doesn’t mean everyone will, nor does it disqualify the possibility that people can receive great benefit from it. If we set our emotions and personal agendas aside, we could evaluate these things rationally and come to the bottom of things in quick order.

I’ve always approached the supernatural from the view of a skeptic. I was an atheist most of my life and even after becoming a believer, I was still skeptical about the supernatural. I didn’t believe in divine healing until a few years ago and my suspicion about these manifestations has only recently begun to change. That change came when I decided to investigate them for myself.

A year ago, my wife and I came to Phoenix. We were planning to move here and our visit gave us a chance to check out the area. It also gave us the opportunity to check out some of these manifestations.

Patricia King was hosting an event called “The Ladder” conference. The guest speakers included Joshua Mills, Georgian and Winnie Banov, Todd White and Bobby Connor. We decided to go, but weren’t sure what to expect. The night before we left I had a dream.

In the dream, I traveled to Arizona to attend a conference, where I learned a great deal about the supernatural lifestyle of the kingdom of God. I came home and wrote about what I’d experienced and learned. Those who read the things I wrote were transformed by it.

The following day, we flew to Phoenix and attended the first day of the conference. The night before Todd White spoke, I had another dream. In the dream, Todd and I were on a large wooden floor. There were railings and barriers that had been set up in a large circle, that we were inside of. We tore down, pushed over and dragged away all the barriers that had been put up until the floor was completely free of them

In the first dream, God was confirming that I would learn and experience a lot of valuable things at the conference and that He wanted me to share them with you. In the second dream, God was illustrating the idea that we need to remove the barriers and restrictions we’ve placed on what God can do in our lives. The barriers have been put up by well-meaning people who feel that we need to be protected. God didn't erect these barriers - men did. God wants them removed so he has freedom to take into the depths of His kingdom.

While at the conference we listened to Joshua Mills lead worship and encourage us to enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord. Not long after he began speaking, gold dust began to appear on him. It started as just a few specks, noticeable in the bright lights of the platform, but after a while, it was more than just a few specks; it was a heavy dusting of a glittery gold substance.

Some have suggested that these gold dust appearances are a fraud. They believe there are people nearby with containers of a gold dust like substance, introducing it into the air to make it appear like a sudden manifestation of gold dust. That thought occurred to me as well, so I checked out the room and the crews.

The room we were in was about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide; an average size conference room with a flat ceiling about 18 – 20 feet high. There were no rafters, trusses, curtains, beams, ductwork or any sort of structures above the floor that would allow someone to spread gold dust from overhead. There were no fans or blowers in the room or anywhere nearby. I couldn’t really see any ventilation ducts. The lights were pendants, hanging from the ceiling on heavy chains and these were the only things attached to the ceiling. I checked out every possible way that someone could have faked the gold dust and didn’t find any plausible way it could have been done.

But there’s more.

My wife is in charge of our checkbook. On this occasion, she heard God speaking to her about making a larger than usual donation. So when the offering bucket came around, she wrote out a check and dropped it in.

We were almost done with the session so we began to talk about where we would go for lunch. That’s when I noticed a few specks of gold dust on my wife’s face. Instinctively, we checked our hands and sure enough, tiny, almost invisible flecks of gold started to appear on her hands. We checked with those around us, but no one else had any.

We wanted to take pictures of it, so we walked outside to our car and got the camera. As we stood outside, it became obvious that the covering of gold dust was increasing. And now it was showing up on my hands, too. We took pictures and laughed at the fact that once again, God was demonstrating something….just…..wonderful.

So let me answer a few more questions some readers might have before we continue.

First, let me point out that if the gold dust phenomenon was a fake, the dust should have been more abundant inside, near the source of it and less abundant outside. But we experienced exactly the opposite. Very little dust appeared on her hands inside, but when she came outside, more of it gradually appeared over the next fifteen minutes. I had none on me until we were outside for a few minutes.

Second, is the way in which ‘gold dust’ dissipates. I don’t know of anyone who’s been able to collect any. The appearance of this substance is gradual, but once it’s reached it maximum, a few minutes later it begins to disappear gradually until it isn't visible any longer.

It’s almost ‘wave-like’ in how it comes and goes.

If the dust were some type of glitter or other man –made substance, it would be visible until it was removed and even then, you’d find it on the floor. But that isn’t the case with heavenly ‘gold dust’. In every case I’ve seen and read about, after just a few minutes it vanishes.

I have an explanation for why this happens and if you read the previous message, perhaps you're starting to see the connection and we'll get to it shortly.

Many people wonder what the purpose is for the appearance of gold dust. I don’t blame them for asking. I only hope they’ll seriously consider the answer.

In the previous message we read about the fascinating experience Tom Calkins had a few years ago. Tom went into a trance for about 5 hours one night. His body became as stiff as a board. Physically, he didn’t respond the entire time. During these 5 hours, he went into the spirit dimension and reveled in God’s presence. He flew, floated and danced in a fine, gold substance that appeared exactly like the gold dust we’re talking about.

The particles of gold came over him in ever- increasing and then decreasing waves. The amount of particles was never constant; it was always increasing or decreasing, much like waves of the ocean at the beach. There was always movement. As the particles became more abundant, with an increasing wave, his joy also increased. As the particles decreased, his joy decreased. But the most important thing Tom felt while in the waves of gold particles was the all-consuming, indescribable, passionate love that God has toward him. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced or imagined.

At one point, Tom saw a large being appear beside him. The being encouraged him to play and have fun in the waves of gold particles. The being himself seemed to become more brilliant when the particles did and dimmed somewhat as the number of particles decreased.

As the particles decreased, almost to the point that there were none, Tom became frightened. In a desperate reaction, he wrapped his arms around the being standing beside him and the two of them began to move. They moved to a place where the wave of particles was increasing again.

In a revelation that came about a year later, God explained the experience to Tom. While sleeping one night, God took him up into a heavenly perspective of the experience. He saw it the way God saw it and the Lord explained it to him.

The particles that he saw were the presence of God. His presence (or glory if you prefer) looks like particles of gold. The waves of particles are due to the fact that God’s presence is always moving. He told Tom that His presence is always moving and so is all of creation. All the particles of the universe are in constant motion. God’s glory moves in endless waves and always has since the beginning of time. It’s His nature. I'm not a physicist, but I would imagine this fact is consistent with what we know about particle theory and the properties of photons.

Tom’s joy was because of the increase of God’s presence upon him. That’s how His presence works on our spirit – it brings increasing joy. When His presence decreases, so does our joy.

The being that appeared beside Tom was the Holy Spirit. In the spirit realm every spirit has substance. They only lack substance in the natural realm. Tom’s reaction to fear was to hold on to the spirit of God, which is always the right move. When the wave of glory decreased, the Holy Spirit moved him to a place where it was on the increase and once again, his joy increased.

God’s presence, because it moves in waves, is always increasing somewhere and always decreasing somewhere. God told Tom, “If you really want to experience my presence, find out where my presence is increasing and meet me there.”

Some of my friends are fond of saying, “I’m not waiting for a move of God, because God isn’t stuck.” If they only knew how true that was. God isn’t stuck and he never has been.. He’s always moving somewhere.

So what is the purpose of “gold dust?”

Well first, it isn’t really gold dust so maybe we should stop calling it that. Its God’s manifested presence, which happens to resemble particles of gold.

What’s the purpose for it?

What purpose does God have in making His presence come near to us? To bring us joy, peace, love, healing and revelation. Perhaps a lot more, but that’s enough for me. With all the war, hatred, addiction, anger and pain in the world, imagine what it would be like if the glory of the Lord covered the earth and its inhabitants reveled in His love, if only for a day.

Its part of God’s nature to move, just as we move. “In Him, we live and move and have our being.” He goes places to meet people who want to meet with Him. One thing God told Tom was that it was his response to the heat on his arm that made the experience happen. Tom's response was, "Is that you, Lord?" Sensing God's presence coming near and desiring to meet with Him is what opened the door to the encounter. God is looking for us to respond to His prompting. He loves us deeply and allowing us to be in His presence is how He shows us love.

Normally I would have ended the story here, but there's more I'd like to share.

While Tom was observing himself from God's perspective, he saw himself floating and flying in the wind of God's glory. Then he saw something truly amazing. He noticed a pair of wings protruding from his back.

"Lord...are those wings?"

"Yes Tom, they are."

"Lord, I didn't know I had wings."

"In the spirit, everyone has wings. You are made in My image and I have wings."

"Lord, you have wings, too?"

"Of course I do. Look in the bible for all the verses that speak about the wings of God."

And now we'll bring our adventure to an end. I hope you've enjoyed the journey. I'm taking a break from Facebook for a while, but you can still find me here. The book project is going well.

Here's a video featuring Joshua Mills all covered with gold dus....I mean..... GLORY!!!

(It's high resolution so you can view it full screen if you'd like)

Whether In My Body or Out, I Did Not Know

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Editor's notes:

This story is an excerpt from the book Adventures in The Glory, by Tom & Pat Calkins. It is being re-published with their permission. The book is a collection of stories about the supernatural experiences they've had with God.

I know Tom & Pat. They aren't what I'd call super spiritual people; just ordinary believers pursuing an extraordinary God. This is the retelling of a very unusual experience that happened in church a few years ago. It was first told publicly at a class held in Lacey, Washington during a session of their church's school of supernatural ministry. I was in the class as a guest when Pat and Tom shared the experience and showed a number of video clips that were recorded while it was happening.

I'm providing this information because this story will not be accepted by everyone. For some, it will be too bizarre to believe. Nevertheless, this story is not a fabrication. The events are told from two perspectives. First, we'll hear Pat's description of what she saw, then Tom will explain what he experienced.

The book Adventures In The Glory can be purchased here.

Revival Town generally holds three conferences a year. They are always a highlight because people from our whole region come, expecting to receive a great deal from God, to experience a concentrated degree of His Glory, and to be flooded by His Presence. God never disappoints!

At one of these conferences I had a very unusual experience. It was in the evening service of the first day of a three day conference. Since our new transformation, Pat and I enjoy helping in any capacity that we can. We cannot help musically. We know our limitations, and that is definitely one of them. However, we are pretty good with the busy work. Pat and I assist with set up before the meetings begin and then greet people at the doors as they arrive. Then as the meeting proceeds, we assist with ushering and ministry needs, and after the meeting we help with clean up and eventually lock up and secure the building after everyone has left.

To be honest, being so busy with duties during a meeting tends to distract from the spiritual side of the meeting. But we learned early in our Christian lives that you can not out-give God. He will always more than repay our giving. Which brings us back to the meeting ... The service was nearly finished and we were heading into a time of closing worship and personal ministry time. I noticed that Pat had already gone forward, as had dozens of others, and I could tell there was a heavy Presence of the Lord settling on the altar area of the church. I decided to leave my post at the back of the church and go forward. As I entered the area I joined with the crowd and stood next to Pat, lifting my hands in praise to the Lord.

I had barely begun to worship when I felt a strange sensation on my arms. I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and I could feel an intense heat on my forearms. It was as if someone had turned on a heater right in front of me. I turned and asked Pat, "Can you feel that?" Then I turned back to worshiping without waiting for her response. At that very moment, I began to experience the most unusual thing that has ever happened to me....

Pat's Side of the Story
There was a large group of us who had gone forward for a little post-service worship following the end of the regular service. Tom came up and stood right beside me. The music was playing softly and there was a very sweet Presence of the Lord there. I was standing on one side of Tom and our friend Diane Rieger was on the other, to his right. The worship leader was singing "come up here."

At first, I didn't realize that anything unusual was happening because Tom was just standing there with his hands raised in praise. Except, there was one thing that did catch my attention. At one point, Diane began to shake and she looked like she was going to fall over, and sure enough, she did! She grabbed onto Tom's arm and, swoosh, down she went. The part that was extremely unusual was that Tom made no attempt whatsoever to catch her. He just stood there, not moving and not reacting to the fact that she had just fallen, not even seeming to notice.

That struck me as odd because Tom is always right there with the other catchers, "catching" as people fall over when the power of God touches them. It is one of the things he enjoys most, because he is closest to the action, the Spiritual action, where the Spirit of God is moving strongly. But this time, someone fell right beside him, even grasping onto his arm, and he just stood there.

But Diane was fine, I checked. It seems that God Himself had caught her, or had an angel do it. Either way, she landed as softly as a feather. I quickly dismissed the incident, not giving it a second thought. It wasn't until much later that I began to notice that things were not "as usual" with Tom. Long after I had returned to my seat, I noticed that his position had not changed, not even slightly. He was still standing motionless, with his eyes closed and hands slightly raised. The music was winding down. The meeting was drawing to a close and people were beginning to leave. The clean up crew was starting to spiff up the place.

One hour had passed.

At this point, I had the presence of mind to grab my camera and start taking pictures.

By now, a curious few had started to gather around Tom who remained motionless. He looked like manikin in a store, frozen in place, just standing there with his hands positioned in praise. I had been careful not to do anything that would distract him, such as talk to him or touch him, because I did not want to interfere with anything that the Lord was doing. But it was
becoming more and more obvious that something very strange was taking place. As time passed, more and more people were gathering around.

They were all talking and wondering what the Lord was doing with him. Eventually, someone touched his hand. No response. They began talking to him. No response. Some even began posing for pictures with him, and still ... no response.

We were all having a great time laughing and speculating about what was happening. The whole while Tom just stood there motionless. Two hours passed. Then two and a half, then three. By then, just a few people remained in the building. The question was now changing from, "What is going on with Tom," to, "What do we do with him?"

There did not seem to be a sense of panic. No one was asking "What is wrong with him?" They were just wondering how to handle the situation. After all, we needed to lock up the building and that was usually Tom's job, but clearly, he was in no condition to do it. Fortunately, the key to the building was on a lanyard around his neck. Someone removed it so they could do the locking up. But still the question remained, "What do we do with him?" Do we all just go home and leave him standing there?

No, that was not an option. Everyone else could if they wanted to, but not me. And not Mary either. She was in this thing for the long haul, if that is what it took. We had been calling Jason (Phillips) every few minutes to keep him posted. He had left just before all this began in order to get the visiting guest speakers to his house so they could get a good night's rest for tomorrow.

Finally, the topic of transporting Tom came up. I don't remember whose idea it was, but I liked it better than leaving him standing. We would take him to Jason's house, since he and the other guys there could help carry him in. However, our car, a VW Bug, was completely inadequate for carrying a "six-foot board". So, the decision was made to put him in the back of Mary's roomy Honda Pilot. I would follow in our Bug.

Two of our friends, Eddie and Eric, tipped Tom over backward, grabbed onto either end of him and carried him to the waiting car. He was so stiff that he didn't even bend in the middle. As they approached the car, Eric tripped over a big rock and nearly dropped his end of Tom, but Tom didn't flinch. They positioned him into the back of the car and scooted him in the rest of the way by pushing on his feet. Now he was flat on his back, with his hands still up as they had been while he was standing.

Honestly, it didn't look good. He looked ... well, you can guess. And for the first time, I was beginning to worry. No one who was there had ever witnessed anything like this before. Even still, everyone seemed quite confident that he was A-OK. One friend even said, "I wish it was me." Nevertheless, I couldn't help but wonder if he was going to be like this forever? My fears, for the time, I kept to myself.

Before we took off for Jason's house, Mary informed me that she needed fuel so she would have to stop at a gas station. "No! Absolutely not!" I said. "You'll just have to take your chances. You are not stopping for gas with a frozen body in the back seat of your car! Someone will call the police!"

She agreed and decided to just hope she had enough gas to get to Jason's. Fortunately, she did and when we arrived Jason and the ministry team came out to the car. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. There lay Tom, flat on his back with his hands in the air, arms bent at the elbow. Jason climbed into the back of the car to survey the situation.

After checking it out, he turned and looked at Mary, the ministry team, and me, and declared, "I think it's the Lord." Which, to me, meant he was as clueless as the rest of us. I had hoped he would say something like, 'Oh, nothing to worry about. I see this all the time. No big deal."

Although his statement did little to alleviate my fears, the way he said it came across in such a humorous manner that we all laughed. Once the laughter subsided, it was time to try to get Tom into Jason's house. As Jason and a couple of the other guys pulled on his feet, out he slid, still as stiff as a board. Jason took his feet and Mary took his right shoulder and one of the guest speakers took his left shoulder. They lifted him up and started the long trek across the yard toward the house.

And where was I during all this? Following behind with my camera, snapping pictures, vacillating between laughing at the spectacle, and fighting the nagging fear that something was terribly wrong with Tom. We were all quite grateful that it was dark outside because the scene surely would or could have caught the attention of a neighbor or two. The only light on the event was the occasional sudden, brief, flash of my camera.

About half way across the lawn the man at Tom's left shoulder lost his grip and completely dropped his side of Tom. Fortunately, he was able to catch him by the elbow on his way down and since his arms were absolutely frozen in place the man simply carried him the rest of the way into the house by his elbow.

Once inside they decided to lay him on the couch. As they approached the couch Jason was positioned at Tom's feet, between Tom and the couch. As they began to lay him down, Jason became trapped against the couch and was forced to sit down, with Tom landing on his lap. The others, now laughing at the situation, had to lift Tom's feet so that Jason could free himself.

Poor Tom ... there he was, lifted high into the air, head and neck on the couch as they lifted his body and legs. He was as stiff as a board - just hanging there while Jason made his escape. Finally, Jason was out and they laid Tom back down, but now there was a new problem. Somehow in all the commotion, Tom had managed to bend slightly at the waist. So as he lay there on the couch, both his head and feet were slightly elevated in the air. When we pushed his head down his feet raised higher and if we pushed his feet down his head came up higher. We tried pushing both his head and feet down at the same time but it only made him sink deeper into the couch.

I cannot tell you the tears of laughter that were being shed as we playfully jostled him back and forth. Finally, we decided to forget it and just leave him bent. Someone commented, "He looks so uncomfortable." So someone else grabbed a pillow and pushed it under his head and neck and we left his feet be. We just didn't worry about his comfort.

Three and a half hours passed ... It was very late now. Since Tom was showing no sign of coming out of whatever he was in, everyone decided to go to bed. I encouraged Mary to go home and get some rest since she had to work early the next morning, actually, in just a few hours, since it was already the wee hours of the morning. She reluctantly agreed saying, "Promise you will call me when anything changes." I promised and she left.

Jason was the last one to leave the room, so before he could get away, I pulled him aside. Not knowing if Tom was able to hear everything that was going on, and having to assume that he possibly could, I whispered, "Jason, I'm starting to freak out here ... "

I didn't want Tom to know how worried I was. Jason was very kind and reassuring, saying, "Everything is going to be fine." But there was a hint of uneasiness to his voice. He took one last glance at Tom, and nodded his head as if trying to reassure himself before he left for his bedroom. He walked down the long hallway toward his bedroom, his slippers softly padding as he disappeared into the darkness.

Now it was just Tom and me. The house was calm and quiet but there was no way that I was going to be able to sleep. I made a make-shift bed from chair cushions on the floor next to him, but I never even laid down. I just sat on the cushions talking to him, gently stroking his head and saying, "Tom Caaaaalkins, where aaaare you?" There was no response. Not even the flutter of an eyelid.

Four hours had now passed. Jason reappeared with his laptop computer in hand. Apparently he hadn't gone to sleep after all He had been searching the internet for some explanation for what was going on.

"You don't need to worry, look here," he said as he showed me what he had pulled up on his computer. There were several accounts of people who had had similar experiences. It was called a "trance". It was actually very comforting to know. It gave me something to cling to, some shred of explanation, some reason for hope. I was grateful that he had made the effort. After our talk, Jason went to bed.

I continued talking to Tom. They say that people in a coma can hear what is going on around them. So, in case he could hear, I wanted him to hear my voice and to know that I was right there beside him.

Five hours passed ... Tom began to move. His feet were twitching, then his legs began to move abruptly from side to side in a jerking motion, his upper body responding in the exact opposite thrashing motion. I flew down the hallway and knocked on Jason's bedroom door. "Jason! Jason! He's moving!" We both ran back to the living room and just observed as Tom seemed to be wrestling with an unseen opponent. "What an encounter!" Jason whispered. Soon the movement stopped and he was back to being perfectly still, his arms still lifted. Nothing more was happening. I had hoped that the movement was signaling that he was waking up, but apparently not. Jason went back to bed. I knelt back down beside Tom and continued talking to him.

Five and a half hours passed ... I suddenly had a thought. I hadn't prayed over him in tongues. It hadn't even occurred to me. So I began to very softly pray in tongues over him. The reason I prayed softly was not because I didn't want to awaken the others in the house. They were far enough away that it would have been nearly impossible for them to hear me. No. It was because I was video taping it and I didn't want anyone, ever, to be able to hear me praying "in tongues."

So what's the big deal with that, you may wonder? Because, ever since I became a Spirit-Filled Christian, I had been very unsure of my own prayer language. I had heard so many people describe their experience of being filled with the Spirit as an overwhelming event, with a new language flowing out of their mouths like a mighty, rushing, gushing river, without effort or thought.

My experience, on the other hand, had been a very quiet, gentle one. When my prayer- language slipped over my lips, it was with great effort and thought. Was I making it all up? Or was it for real? I never really knew for sure. And this uncertainty had been going on for more than 30 years. So, the only One I ever really let hear me pray in tongues was....Jesus.

This night was no different. Since I was video taping, I was going to be ever so whisper-quiet. But...the instant, and I mean the instant, I began to pray in tongues, Tom responded.

I could barely contain my excitement. I prayed even faster. He responded more. His head began to move back and forth. His lips started to move, as if trying to speak while coming out of a deep coma. Then, for the first time since this whole experience started, he made a sound. It was unintelligible, but at least he was making an effort to talk.

You had better believe, I kept right on speaking in tongues. It was the only thing that he had responded to... at all. Now, his words were coming more easily, but they were still unintelligible. Then I realized what he was doing, he was responding to my tongues, in his own tongues!

So we had this little conversation back and forth-in tongues! Then, his eyes began to flutter, as if he were trying to open them. After a few seconds, sure enough, they opened, then quickly closed. I kept talking in tongues.

Then he made a second attempt to open his eyes. This time they opened and stayed open. But it was clearly not a happy moment for him. In fact, it was an all out, panic-stricken, what-on-earth-is-going-on moment.

For some reason, unknown to him, he now found himself in a quiet, dimly lit room, lying on a couch, with no one else around except me, when ... he had expected to be standing in the front of the brightly lit church, surrounded by music and dozens of other people, just as he had been when this whole experience began. His mind could not comprehend what was going on ... and it showed on his face! I had to drop my camera and race to reassure him. "Tom, Tom! It's OK" I said over and over.

Finally, he calmed down and fully came to his senses. "How did I get here?" were his first English words. I quickly related the whole story to him, then ended by saying, "All I know is that nothing anybody did to you or said to you made any difference. You didn't respond to anything whatsoever until I prayed over you in tongues." Now this is my favorite part of the whole story and the part that simply blows my mind...

He replied, "No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did!" I said.

"No, you didn't," he insisted. "I heard you praying. You said, 'God, is he OK? Lord, I love him. Is he going to be all right? Are we going to be all right?' Lord, where is he?' That's when I answered you. I said, 'I'm right here. Can't you see me? I'm OK. Why are you worried about me?'"

I just stood there with my mouth open wide as the realization began to sink in! Everything I had prayed in tongues, he had heard in English! And when he answered back in tongues, he thought he was answering in English! My prayer language, after doubting whether it was real or not all these years, was suddenly validated!

Since that time, I have loosed my tongue. If! am praying in my prayer language, I no longer hide it, feeling that mine is inferior to others. I pray with the best of them! Because, the Holy Spirit hears and understands. It doesn't make any difference what it sounds like, He knows the deep
things of our hearts! Even if we don't have a clue what we are praying, He does! Just as I didn't know what I was praying over Tom, but the Spirit knew, and related it to Tom's spirit.

Now I know, that I know, that I know, it is real! Here's how I know. I did not let Tom, in anyway, shape or form, "hear" me express any of my concerns, because I had mistakenly assumed that he was hearing what was going on around him. I kept any and all concerns hidden from him.
I quietly expressed them to others, but not to Tom. But what he heard in the Spirit, was nothing but my concerns. Wow!

To this day, and I'm sure, for the rest of my life, the thought of this experience will take my breath away. Thank you, Jesus!

Now, for Tom's amazing side of the story, read on....

Tom's Side Of The Story

Now that you know the natural side of the experience, I would like to share with you the experience from the spiritual side. It was near the end of the first day of our Revival Town conference. I had been busy most of the evening doing lots of the behind the scenes work which is necessary for a conference to run smoothly. But now the meeting was winding down and so I went forward to enter into praise and worship, at the front of the church. Pat was already up front so I worked into the crowd of people and stood right beside her, just to her right. As I stood there with people all around me I had my arms extended forward and slightly upward at the elbows when I felt a heat on my forearms. It was significant enough that I opened my eyes to see what could be causing it. I thought perhaps a furnace duct was blowing on me or a hot light had just come on or something.

I could see no logical reason for the heat on my arms, which was now increasing. I turned to Pat and asked, "Can you feel that?" I don't know if she responded to my question or not because the heat source was increasing enough that I turned back to face it. Still seeing no logical reason for the heat, I simply closed my eyes and whispered, "Lord, is this you?" At that moment everything went totally dark.

It was as if someone had instantly turned off all the lights, only darker. The only time I have ever experienced this kind of darkness was when we were on a family vacation and took a tour of an under ground cavern. At one point the tour guide explained that he was going to turn off the lights, and since we were now so far underground, there would be no light at all. That is the kind of darkness I was now seeing. There was no light anywhere. I turned from side to side and ... nothing. Total darkness.

This only lasted a moment or two and then I began to see, off in the distance, a very dim light. It was just a pin point at first, yet in the total darkness it caught my attention. As my eyes tried to focus on it, it began to broaden. Slowly it spread across my entire line of vision and it began to get brighter. As it intensified, I began to see very faint particles which were gold in color. The particles became brighter and as they intensified I could tell they were moving toward me. I watched in amazement as they approached until finally they were getting very close and very bright.

By now I could see thousands, maybe millions, of individual particles, each shining and shimmering in a brilliant gold color. In an instant, they were upon me and I felt my body tense in anticipation of the impact. Finally, I could see them hitting my body and swirling and curling around me as they passed. I could feel their pressure on my skin, much as it would feel to stand in the spray of a wave on an ocean beach.

Then they diminished and I watched with amazement as a new wave of particles began to form and approach, just like the first wave had done This time, I stretched my arms out to my sides and watched and waited. And just as before, the particles approached and impacted my body, then swirled and curled around me and then trailed off behind.

This harmonic wave motion continued over and over, with each new wave just a little stronger than the previous one. They became strong enough that when I stretched out my arms and leaned into them, I could feel them lift me into the air and I would actually float on the lift of the passing particles. As they would trail off behind me, I would put my feet down and wait for the next wave to approach. Each wave continued to increase in strength and brightness. Soon, I began to realize that there was more to the golden particles than what I was feeling on my skin.

As I played and floated, I realized there was an overwhelming feeling of love such as I had never experienced before in my life. It was the pure love of God. It was totally overwhelming and all consuming. Nothing can compare to it. All the cares and worries of the world were gone.

Nothing else mattered.

The love of God was all consuming and complete. I knew that I could stay right there in that perfect love for all of eternity and never lack or want for anything more. As I played and reveled in that euphoric state, I now became aware that there was something off to my right side, just past my arm's reach. As I looked more closely, I realized that it was a being. This being was much taller than me and I could only see the legs, waist and trunk of the body. The shoulders and head were not visible to me. As I watched I could tell that the being was playing in the particles just as I was. In fact, he was glowing, just as the particles were. When the gold colored particles became brighter and dimmer, so did he. He appeared to be with the wind, and yet, not the wind. I loved the feeling of having that being there with me.

I continued to be totally overwhelmed with the experience. I don't know how long this went on because a sense of time had no bearing on anything. But there did come a point when things began to change.

I started to notice that each new wave changed from increasing with each cycle to decreasing, both in intensity and brightness. I watched in disappointment for a while as it became clear that particles were actually getting weaker and weaker. I realized that the experience was reversing itself. And if it reversed all the way to where it had started, I would be left all alone in that total darkness. The euphoric feeling of God's love would be gone as well. At that realization I began to panic, and I have to admit, fear like I have never felt before began to grip my spirit. In desperation, I struggled for a solution to solve my dilemma. I decided that there was only one thing I could do, and that was to grab hold of the being next to me, So, I waited for the particles to die down and then just as they approached again, I planted my feet firmly and with all the strength within me I leapt toward the being and wrapped my arms around him.

From his shimmering appearance, I was not sure that I would find a solid form to hold on to. But I did, and as my arms encircled the being I locked my fingers and held tight with all my strength. Immediately, I felt motion. It was not like the being was struggling to get away from me, or even trying to free himself from my grasp, but still ... there was definite motion.

I just continued to hold on tightly, even though the effort was shaking my body wildly from side to side. After a few moments, the motion slowed, then stopped. I could see that the gold particles were still coming in waves and now, to my delight, they were once again increasing with each cycle. The fear was being replaced with God's love once again, and I began to relax a bit, but it
took several cycles of increase before I felt secure enough to release my grasp on the being.

Eventually, I did release my grip, and the wind drifted me back to just-out-of-reach of the being and, just as before, we played together in God's overwhelming love.

It was at this point that something happened. I clearly heard Pat's voice. When I turned my focus to listen to what she was saying, the entire wind, being, and experience just vanished. I didn't feel fright or disappointment or anything, it was just that now my attention turned to hear what Pat was saying. I could tell she was just off to my left side, exactly where I knew she was standing in the front of the church. But she was obviously praying - and she was praying about me, and for me. I could hear her very clearly asking God, "Where is Tom? Is he alright? Is he going to be Ok? How long is he going to be like this?"

As she prayed I could hear the concern in her voice and feel the distress in her spirit. I quickly answered, "I'm okay. I am right here. Can't you see me? I am right here beside you." Then I realized I could not see her either. I remember thinking, "Lord, why can't I see her?" and instantly the thought followed, "Well silly, your eyes are closed." So I opened my eyes and there was Pat right where she should be, but instantly I knew something was very wrong. Where there should have been people and music and lights and church, there was nothing at all. It was all gone! I quickly closed my eyes again knowing that surely when I reopened them everything would be back to normal. I opened my eyes the second time, and to my shock things were still wrong. I was no longer standing in the front of the church, but was now lying flat on my back with my feet slightly elevated. As I looked at Pat everything else was dark and quiet. My eyes focused first on Pat and then on the wall behind her. I could not comprehend what I was seeing, and as I began to sit up and turn my head there was no denying that everything was wrong! Panic began to grip me. I could hear Pat's voice beside me saying "Tom! Tom! It's OK. I'm right here with you."

It took a few seconds for me to finally hear and believe her, and my spirit settled long enough for her to begin to explain where I was and how I had gotten here. Once I had my bearings, I realized that I wanted to share what had happened to me. We both tried to talk at the same time, trying to bring each other up to speed on the experience. We bounced thoughts off each other. Often, when Pat told me about things like people posing for pictures with me or like them carrying me like a plank, I would exclaim, "You are kidding me! I have absolutely no memory of that!" But, if proof of waking up in an entirely different location wasn't enough, she had pictures and videos to back it up!

I sat on the couch, looking at the pictures and watching the video clips, in utter amazement. It was like watching someone else, except that it was me! Talk about a strange feeling, watching yourself as if it were someone else. When we reached the point where our two stories began to merge together, we noticed a huge discrepancy. The discrepancy was concerning the part where she prayed for me in tongues ... I said she hadn't, she said she had, and she even had proof of it on video. Although I had heard every word in plain English, and even responded in English, it was clearly recorded, on video, in tongues.

She says that part blew her mind! Well, the whole thing blew mine. What an experience!

Pat and I have had the opportunity to share the testimony of my experience many places to many people and most of the time I end my story with this...

Have you ever heard an unsaved person make a statement like, "Oh, I don't want to go to heaven because I just can't see myself standing on a cloud somewhere strumming a harp for eternity." I have heard that, and now I can't wait to hear it again. When I do I will tell them this story and then end it with, Heaven will be so much more than that, but even if it were not, even if you ended up upside down with your head in a bucket of sand, it would not matter. Because, when you experience God's love the way I experienced it in the trance, nothing else matters. God's love is so great, so complete, so overwhelming, so all-consuming, that everything else pales in comparison. Heaven is going to be such an awesome place that I can barely imagine it.

I do, however, have a couple of regrets about my experience. The first is: that I could not photographically document what I saw from the spiritual side, like Pat was able to do from the natural side. I wish that somehow God had allowed me to take a camera along to capture pictures and video clips to share with others. The second is: the expression on my face. The whole time I was frozen in place, I had this sad looking frown on my face and since we have shared the pictures and videos with so many people and places, I have wished desperately that I had been smiling instead. I don't know if the Lord will ever repeat anything like this for me again, but I do know that now, when I begin to feel the Lord's overwhelming presence, I try to smile ... just in case.

In the next article, we'll take a look at what God revealed to Tom about this experience at a later date.

God's Presence In The Hospital

2011-11-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

About two years ago I had a dream that took place in a hospital. As I walked the hallways, I looked into one patient room after another and saw a black presence in every room. I knew the presence was a demon of sickness. In this dream God revealed a problem; sickness is perpetrated by the presence of demons.

A few weeks ago I had another hospital dream. In this one, I was praying with two people; one was a patient, the other was a doctor. The doctor had arthritis. As I prayed with them I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence near and touch them so they could feel His presence. The most important thing in the experience was introducing them to the presence of God. Getting them healed was secondary.

The first dream revealed a problem, the second revealed the solution. If we want sickness to leave and patients to recover in greater numbers, with fewer complications and costs, we should invite God's presence to come and make Him welcome when He arrives. God's presence drives out sickness.

The second dream reflects the approach to healing that I use in my daily life. It seems to be confirmation that I'm going in the right direction. Apparently, God wants to take me (and you) a bit further in that direction. Rarely do I pray with people and not ask the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and touch them. I thank Brian Fenimore for his excellent instruction on this approach to ministry. If you want to know more about that go here.

Although healing is a tremendous blessing to those who receive it, the greater need we all have is to draw (and be drawn) closer to God. Healing is, from God's perspective, one more way to bring people into a greater knowledge of Him. When we operate in healing the main goal is for us to connect people with God. Plain and simple.

If we ask the Holy Spirit to come and His presence touches someone, they now have a personal interaction with God they'll never forget. When they feel the warmth or the weight of His glory rest upon them, it's an unforgettable experience. Whether or not their healing manifests immediately, if they encounter the presence and love of God, the encounter was a success.

I haven't seen everyone that I've prayed with healed. But I can honestly say that when I've asked God to bring His presence and touch them, no one has ever said they didn't feel Him.

Now there's something to consider.

While you're pondering that, check out this testimony by Bill Johnson about how a hospital in North Dakota saw an unexpected drop in census after a prayer team from Bethel paid a visit and as Bill explains, God's presence may have remained when they left.

God's Healing Presence

2011-11-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

For the next few weeks, we'll be focusing our attention on the manifest presence of God

We know that healing can be a by-product of faith and authority. Today we'll discuss how God's presence operates in the realm of healing. The presence of God gets some people a little 'excited'.

To be honest, some of us are downright in love with God's presence (or glory if you prefer) They would spend eternity doing nothing but worship in God's beautiful, intoxicating presence. If this thought hasn't yet crossed your mind, you might be surprised when you get to heaven.

I've had dreams where God's presence alone has healed people, without me praying for them. Not long ago I had another dream in which I was praying with a doctor who needed healing of arthritis and a patient who also needed healing. As I prayed with them, I was asking God to touch them with His presence. In fact, the most important element of that dream was allowing them to feel God's presence so they knew He was real.

I've shared stories where I've asked God to bring His presence into the room while ministering to people. On just about every one of those occasions, the person I'm ministering to reports 'feeling' God touch them in some way.

I have a few 'odd' stories that may be testimonies of God's presence at work. Let me share just one:

One day I responded with the fire department to a call for a woman who had a nosebleed. Her nose had been bleeding for two hours. She called 911 for a ride to the emergency room to have her nose cauterized. This would be the second time in a year she would need to have that done.

When the engine company arrived, she was still bleeding profusely. We arrived two or three minutes later. About three minutes after we arrived, as I was listening to the Lieutenant tell me the story, I asked her to check again to see if she was bleeding. She wasn't, and she was shocked.

After everyone inspected her nose and we had a few laughs, the engine company asked if we'd come with them the rest of the shift and heal their patients. I should mention - I never prayed for this woman to be healed. But I had been thinking at that time often about how Peter's shadow healed people and if it was actually that he carried God's presence in such a way that healing was released as people came near, making it appear as if this shadow did the healing.

I'll admit, this whole discussion puzzled me a few years ago, and I know it still puzzles people today. An acquaintance recently asked me, “If God lives in us, and we are one with Him, how can He also work outside of us?

I think it's a great question and I'd like to answer it, but I'll begin with the teaching that prompted my friend’s question in the first place.

Some leaders teach that the Holy Spirit no longer rests upon God’s people, as He did in the Old Testament days. They believe that as a result of the new covenant, and new birth, having the Holy Spirit inside us, we no longer have (or need) the Holy Spirit to rest upon us. This would seem to make sense, but what does the bible teach about it?

In John 14, Jesus taught the disciples about the relationship they would have with the Holy Spirit: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

We see two different relationships that believers can have with the Holy Spirit – He can dwell with us and in us. But there is a third relationship Jesus told the disciples they would have. In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus commissioned them, saying they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came ‘upon’ (epi) them:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This third relationship is noteworthy for a couple of reasons:

Jesus tied the power for ministry to the new relationship they had not yet experienced. “You will receive power - when the Spirit comes upon you.”

When Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit came to rest ‘upon’ (epi ) him, and remained there. (John 1:32) The baptism of Jesus was the point at which His healing ministry began. He received the anointing and power for ministry through the same experience he later told the disciples they would have.

In Acts 2:3, the Holy Spirit manifested as divided tongues of fire resting ‘upon’ the believers. In Acts 8, Peter and John went to Samaria to assist the new converts in receiving the Holy Spirit, “For as yet he had fallen ‘upon’ (epi) none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:16)

Paul also assisted believers in receiving the Holy Spirit: “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came ‘on’ (epi ) them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.” (Acts 19:6)

Finally, Peter taught that the Spirit of God rested upon believers: “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, be happy; for the spirit of glory and of God rests ‘upon’ (epi ) you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:14 )

Let us agree then that the Holy Spirit does rest upon believers today, just as He did with the saints of the Old Testament. If we agree that both Jesus and the disciples had the Holy Spirit come to rest upon them at the starting point of their ministry, the case could be made that the power for ministry is dependent upon this experience.

God’s Spirit Moves
Let us now look at the operation of the Holy Spirit independent of man. In the account of creation in Genesis 1, we see the Spirit of God moving over the face of the waters. What this reveals is that the Spirit of God moves. We also know that the voice of God spoke as the Spirit was moving and things were created that had not yet existed. Implied here is the fact that when the voice of God speaks, when and where His Spirit is moving, creative miracles occur. Matt Sorger has proposed that creative miracles in healing are more likely to occur when the voice of God (prophetically) declares them to happen where the Spirit of God is moving.

In the following 2 passages, we see that God’s Spirit appeared as a cloud, from which He spoke and that God gives and takes His spirit at different times: “And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spoke unto him, (Moses) and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it to the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.” (Numbers 11:25)

God’s Presence

In the days of the kings of Israel the presence (or glory) of God rested between the cherubim upon the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. At one point, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of the Lord as it departed from the temple. (See Eze. 11-12)

In the days of Obed-Edom, the Ark rested on his property and the glory of God was also there. He was blessed for three months because God’s presence was with him during that time. David brought the Ark to his home and the glory of God, likewise remained in David’s house for a time, with the ark. (2 Sam 6) Unknown to most of God’s people, was the fact that His manifest presence had appeared in a localized area that was not where they expected it to be – being confined to the space of one man’s home.From these passages, we can see that God’s glory or presence is able to come and go at will and take up residence virtually anywhere.

God Was With Him

Jesus was fully God and fully man, but it wasn't his divine power that performed miracles. Peter made a fascinating comment about why Jesus was able to heal the sick: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. .” (Acts 10:38)

Peter’s explanation was that Jesus didn’t heal the sick because he was God, but rather, because he was anointed by God and that God was with him.

Jesus was God and yet, God was with him and rested upon Him. Somehow, the oneness shared by the Godhead allows for all these seemingly impossible relationships to exist. Since God’s nature doesn’t change and His nature has been to allow His Spirit to reside with, in and upon individuals and in certain places, His Spirit could rest upon you or I and His presence could manifest in a church building, your living room or my ambulance.

Healing can happen as we exercise authority over sickness and operate in faith. Both of these require action on our part. But God can and does heal on His own, tagging along with us wherever we go, releasing healing power to those He loves. His presence can fill a city park, a room or inhabit your personal space and touch people you're ministering to.

If you don't believe me, why don't you put my theory to the test and ask God to make His presence known to those around you?

For a longer discussion of this subject, see my Facebook note here.

Healed Back and a Warm Heart

2011-11-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

Pete Cabrera demonstrates how to release healing, wholeness and love into a woman with chronic back pain. Take notes, this is worth having in your tool belt.

The Security Guard

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

She was a frequent flyer who landed at urgent care after a drinking binge. While waiting for the paperwork to be copied, I chatted with the security guard, who told me he was the first patient of the day.

“But, don’t you work here?”

“Yeah…but my bursitis was acting up and I figured they could take a look at it before I went on duty.”

They gave him a steroid injection and he put on his uniform. A few hours later, a paramedic on a routine call asked if he wanted to be healed. He said, “sure.”

Sometimes the need for healing is obvious. Sometimes it isn’t. Words of knowledge are great, but often we stumble upon a need for healing in every day conversations. Spend a few minutes getting to know a stranger and if they have health problems, they’ll probably tell you. Once they do, just ask if they want to be healed.

After he agreed to let me pray, I shared a couple of testimonies; partly to build his faith and partly to build mine. I asked him to describe the injury. He had a partial bicep tear and a piece of cartilage floating in the joint to go with the bursitis.

I took him around a corner for privacy and asked the Holy Spirit to bring his presence and power and touch him to let him know He was at work. I placed my hand on his shoulder and commanded the spirit of pain and inflammation to leave then ligaments, bones, nerves, tendons, muscles and cartilage to be healed and asked what he felt.

Grabbing his shoulder, he said, “It’s hard to describe. It’s like….the pain is gradually leaving.”

I asked the Holy Spirit to increase His healing power and repeated the first commands then asked what he felt again.

The look of amazement on his face turned to a smile. "It's almost completely gone." I asked him to rate it on a scale from 1 to 10. “Maybe a 0.5. I can hardly feel it at all”

I gave him a quick talk on how to keep his healing:

"Most people never experience the symptoms again after being healed, but some do. Healing is a battle. There’s an enemy who wants you sick and in pain and a God who loves you and wants you healthy. If the pain comes back, do what I did. Believe that God healed you and command the pain to leave.”

If you look at the stuff I was writing a few years ago, you’ll notice that no one ever got healed back then. Working up the courage to ask people was a huge step. When I prayed I was afraid to ask what they felt because I knew they’d say, “nothing”. Since then, by persistently asking and laying hands on strangers, my confidence to ask and my faith to heal is so much bigger than it used to be.

Step out and ask people if they want to be healed. Don’t worry about whether they'll be healed or if they’ll say no. Sooner or later they’ll say yes and they'll be healed.

Trust God.

If He did it for me, He'll do it for you.

Trick Or Treat

2011-10-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do Halloween stories. This year I made an exception.

October 31, 2011

04:o5 - Alarm goes off...hit snooze

04:10 - Alarm goes off....more snoozing

04:15 - Alarm goes off.... look at clock on the nightstand. 4:15.....how can it be 4:15? I always set the alarm for 3:20. Dang it!

04:16 - vaguely aware that I worked overtime on Saturday....the station was close so I set the alarms 45 minutes later...should have checked last night...too late now...trudging to closet...aware that I'm wet with perspiration. ...no time to shower

04:17 - In uniform

04:18 - No time to make coffee....grab laptop on the way out the door

04:19 - Start car...open sunroof...and windows

04:20 - Lift off

04:56 - Approaching station...Circle K is on the right.....no time for coffee...ugggh

04:58 - Arrive at station

04:59 - Clock in

05:15 - Frantically looking for lost key to drug compartment

05:20 - Get replacement key

05:30 - En route to west side for posting

05:40 - Arrive Circle K

05:41 - Pouring coffee (extra creamer)

05:42 - En route to post again

05:55 - Arrive post location (Dunkin' Donuts)

05:58 - Acquiring wi-fi for laptop

06:00 - Connected

06:15 - Sunrise is unusually beautiful this morning....lots of pink

07:17 - Responding to state prison for woman in active labor - 39 weeks along

07:38 - Maneuvering past vehicles blocking main gate....arrive on scene

07:42 - Arrive bedside....obtain vitals and history....almost full term,....contractions a few minutes apart

07:50 - Move patient to gurney

07:53 - Load patient, IV, EKG, O2, vitals

08:02 - Transporting

08:05 - Call report to hospital

08:08 - Contractions are more frequent and stronger. "Keep breathing through the contractions. You're doing great. We're almost at the hospital."

08:09 - Prison guard gives me a smile

08:15 - Arrive at hospital

08:16 - Security meets us at the door...takes us to waiting elevator

08:18 - Arrive at labor & delivery suite

08:20 - Patient moved to bed

08:21 - Give report to staff

08:23 - Leave labor suite.....walk to nurse's station...find open counter space to finish writing report

08:27 - Waaaaaaa!!!! Waaaaaaaa!!!!! Waaaaaaa!!!!!!

(It's a girl)

08:28 - My partner and I turn and look at each other....our mouths drop open as we stare at one another...speechless

08:29 - Holy $#@&.... That was close!!!

Why Does God Allow....?

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most of us have heard the questions:

"If God is good, then why does He allow....
Suffering?
War?
Murder?
Rape?
Corruption?
Earthquakes?
Flooding?

It seems that God could not be good if he permits these things to go on. How then do we expect the world to accept our claim that God is good in light of these atrocities all around us?

Some point to the fact that the bible says God is good. They need no more testimony than this. The bible says it. They believe it. Explanations aren't required.

I read a book titled "Intercessory Prayer" by Dutch Sheets a while back. The first chapter of the book radically changed the way I saw the operation of God in the world. I'll summarize the main point: After the creation of man, God gave Adam authority (dominion) over His creation. That dominion extended to all the affairs that happen on earth from that time forward, up to the present time and extending to the end of the world. In delegating responsibility to us to run the show down here He gave us a very important thing; free will.

God did not create a race of robots, programmed to follow His will perfectly. He created us with the capacity of choice and He always honors the choices we make. Free will is like the operating system of a computer. All the things we do and say result from the fact that God gave us unlimited capacity to choose between good and evil. God never interferes with the exercise of free will. The minute He stepped in and forced us to do anything, or stopped us from doing anything, we would become programmed beings devoid of free will. We would become like robots.

The mistake we can make is to assume that God approves of our choices in allowing them to be carried out. The fact that He permits our acts to be carried out is not because He approves of them, but because He values free will so highly. He refuses to interfere with our free will, in spite of the fact that it causes so much pain and suffering. Our free will was established in eternity and it will never be violated. The fact that we have free will has serious consequences.

Satan has agents who carry out his plan of evil. Demons, fallen angels and evil men all exercise free will in cooperating with Satan's plans. God also has agents to carry out His will in the earth and like Satan's cohorts, they are delegates, exercising their free will as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. God sends angels on assignment to find humans willing to cooperate with the heavenly mandate of establishing the kingdom. Neither Satan nor God interfere with the exercise of free will, They merely recruit those who are willing to be used.

How valuable is our part in bring God's will to pass?

The psychotic man with the plan to bomb an elementary school is free to carry out his plan. God will never take the bomb out of his hand. But God may send an angel to give another man a dream about the bomber and inspire him to pay the bomber a visit. On the day they meet, the bomber receives deliverance and healing through the second man's obedience to the gospel. The plan to bomb the school never becomes a reality. Did God interfere? No. He merely used an angel to inspire one man to exercise his free will to oppose the free will of the other.

Not long ago I had a dream in which I saw a family stranded on a country road in a blizzard. In the dream I knew God would not send help until someone prayed for them to be rescued. I began praying and petitioning God to send help. Suddenly, my wife woke me up and asked who needed help. She heard me praying out loud and knew something was up. I didn't know I was praying out loud. We knew God wanted them to be helped, so we both began praying. Some would find this an odd situation and ask, "Why didn't God just help them?" We know that God wanted them to be rescued. It was His will for them to be found, but because He has delegated authority to us to run the affairs down here, He needed someone to ask for His assistance, because he doesn't interfere unless we invite him. Our authority over the affairs of earth is that great and the necessity of prayer is that important.

Earlier this year, there was concern about a major earthquake hitting the west coast. A number of friends joined the called to speak peace to the earth and settle the fault, declaring gentle release of pressure with no devastation to buildings or life. The prophesied day of arrival for the quake came and went peacefully. I believe the prophecy was valid, but I also believe it's intent was to call us to intercede and change the outcome.

I've been trying to run my Facebook page more like the way God "runs" things down here on earth. He lets people do as they please and He doesn't generally interfere, unless asked. I'm trying to let people post what they want on my page, in spite of the fact that I don't agree or appreciate some of it. I try to let people comment as they see fit, with little editorializing, deleting or attempts to control content. Like God, I greatly value free will and I want to allow people the freedom to either obey or reject God's will, without forcing them to comply to my perception of it. Free will has a cost. But I think it's worth the price.

Watch one, Do one, Teach one

2011-10-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

dis·ci·ple

[dih-sahy-puhl] verb, noun

1. a learner, pupil, disciple

There's an old saying in EMS;

"Watch one, do one, teach one."

The idea is that most of the tasks we do aren't complicated. After watching a demonstration, we should be able to do one. After doing one or two, we should be able to teach someone else to do it. That, in a nutshell, is how you make a disciple.

Today I transported a precious little girl, who was about a month old. Nothing serious. But on the way, I got to talking with her mom, who told me she'd been praying for a few things. One thing led to another and pretty soon we had a church meeting in the ambulance again.

She told me she was a nursing student and we talked about working in healthcare and how it open doors to people who need prayer. I told her some of my stories and the next thing you know she asked how I got people healed.

I had her put out her left arm so I could pretend I was healing her and demonstrate what I do. She said, "It's funny, I actually need healing in my left wrist." She had carpal tunnel syndrome and was having moderate pain at the time. I told her I would get her healed and explain as I went.

I told her about inviting the Holy Spirit to touch people. She seemed to get that pretty easily. I commanded pain and inflammation to leave and for ligaments, nerves, tendons, muscles and bones to be healed, then asked what she felt.

"It feels warm."

I asked if it still hurt. She flexed it and said it did. So I explained that it's okay to pray in the same way three or four times because some healing takes a bit longer. I prayed again and she continued feeling heat as he pain gradually subsided.

We talked about healing and some other problems she was going through and we prayed some more. I told her about this website and gave her a card.

With the enthusiasm she had and after witnessing her own healing, I wouldn't be surprised if she finds herself teaching others how to heal the sick.

Watch one.
Do one.
Teach one.
That's how we make disciples.

Sherry's Chat Healing Testimonies Part 3

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

The following testimony was shared with me on Facebook by my friend Sherry Evans

Sherry Evans January 15 at 9:51am
God is so creative! He doesn't heal in the same way every time. A woman came on chat asking for prayer for pain in multiple teeth. This is what happened.: "Thanks for praying for me last night Sherry! I had toothache pain all day, but while you prayed I experienced tingling on the right side of my mouth. I actually felt the sensation of receiving a shot of novacain. And then on the left side I felt pressure as if my tooth was actually being drilled on!! Today, I have absolutely no pain in my mouth at all!! Praise God!!" Praying for healing is NEVER boring!

I received a message to pray for someone who was in the hospital with appendicitis. Here are the messages I received about how God had touched her.:

"All praise and honor and glory to the Lord -- Bob reports at the exact time frame you prayed for his sister, Cindy GOT BETTER she has been moved to pediatrics, is on IV antibiotics to clean out the rest of the infection and will be GOING HOME to recover fully before going back for an ELECTIVE surgery instead of an emergency one! Don't ask me how..a blown appendix is a very serious matter! Tests show the mass has resolved and the infection is going away. Bob said his sister took a turn for the better at the exact time you prayed!"
"AMEN got the word today SHE WENT HOME THIS MORNING! HOME! That woman was totally doubled over since Father's Day, so much so she couldn't visit her dad locally on that day. After the hospital admission there seemed to be some confusion about was it appendix or gallbladder but it was clarified today. IT WAS APPENDICITIES. The infection was everywhere internally, and yes the entire mass had resolved so they found her a bed in pediatrics while keeping her on an IV antibiotics NO SURGERY and then KICKED HER OUT OF THERE AND SENT HER HOME is GOD AWESOME OR WHAT??????????????????????? AND yes, for sure the family said SUDDENLY at that hour (when Sherry prayed) she got better. HALLELUYAH! PRAISE THE LORD!"

Healing of neuropathy in a town square: "So Jesus sent you to me, huh?" This was the last thing the man yelled to me as I went to my car. "Yes, sir, He did", I yelled back. The Lord told me to go to a town square and wait. As I saw the man come across the street, I knew that was the person I was to pray for. I asked him if he had pain in his body and he said he had nerve pain from diabetes all through his body. I touched him quickly and asked him how it was. He just kept saying, "huh." He finally told me it was gone! I told him that the Lord loved him so much that He sent me to him. Then I asked him if he knew Jesus as His Lord and he said, "No", and I was able to lead him to the Lord. So precious!

Why Is There a Donate Button?

2011-10-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

If you look a little to the right on this page, you'll notice there is now a Paypal "Donate" button.

I’ve never had a desire or need to receive donations through this website or make money from advertising, though I could bring in a nice check every month if I did. This blog is a labor of love. It's never been about making money and it never will be.

I've been blessed with a job that pays for my financial needs and I hate asking others to support my interests. But things are rapidly changing.

I've been asked to travel on a number of occasions to teach on healing or preach and I've always had to say no. The expenses involved in traveling for ministry are just too great for me to pay for out of my bank account.

Sandra Weaver hosted Pete Cabrera and Tom Fischer for several weeks last year as they toured Wales and ministered to people. She invited Pete and Tom to return in April of 2012 and she invited me to tag along this time. We’d love to travel to the UK, and release the power of God on the streets, but without financial help, paying for the trip will be difficult.

I decided to put up a link that allows readers to make a donation through Paypal if they want to help pay for some of the expenses of this trip. Sandra has been able to find room and board for us, so the expenses are primarily traveling to and from the UK.

I want to be clear on this – all proceeds received to this Paypal account will be used only to pay for expenses for trips such as this one. If there isn't enough money to make the trip in April, it will be used for a similar trip at a later date. I'll keep you up to informed on how we're doing as the time draws near.

So what do you get in return for making a donation?

Video.

Lots of it.

If we’re able to raise enough money to make the trip, I’ll allow people to shoot video of me as we minister and teach on healing. The videos can be uploaded to Youtube and I’ll begin publishing them on this website. You’ll finally get to see me in action, instead of just reading my stories. So if you’ve ever wondered what I look like or wanted to see a video of me actually praying with people or better yet, teaching on healing, make a donation and help us make this dream come true.

Thanks for your love, prayers and support,

Praying Medic

Glory Cloud Appears At Bethel Church

2011-10-21T07:00:00.001-06:00

It's been reported that a cloud of God's glory appeared last weekend at Bethel Church in Redding, California. The following is one account of what took place that night.

Hundreds of believers travelled to Redding, CA for this year's Open Heaven Conference at Bethel Church. The remaining congregation was engaged in a firetunnel (people lining up to pray for each other) during the very end of the last night session on October 14th, 2011, as suddenly a gold-sparkling glory cloud appeared on the right side of the stage. People also report to have found diamonds on the floor, which supernaturally appeared and grew in size as they were watching. Some claim to have been covered with gold dust on their shirts while worshipping God, or even have received gold covered teeth. For many this was the first supernatural encounter of this type.

Here's how my friend, who captured this spectacular event on camera, described the moment on his Facebook:

"Last night at the end of the Open Heaven's Conference we were doing a fire tunnel (simply praying for people) when gold dust appeared in the air in the front right part of the sanctuary. This was going on for 15 minutes or so when all of a sudden a cloud filled with gold dust appeared and began bellowing up out of no where like smoke then vanishing. Many people were covered in gold dust. This is legit. I have never seen anything like this. I recorded this with my iphone and am reminded that the veil has been torn between our world and the invisible realm. Heaven is invading earth. God is real, and he is demonstrating him self with signs, wonders and miracles all over the world!"

I know this might seem strange of even fake for those of you who haven't been there or don't know Bethel Church and it's humble, presence seeking leaders. That's why I want to clarify that by uploading this video I DO NOT expect ANYONE to believe what you are seeing is a real manifestation. The purpose of this video merely is to share this memory with those who have been there or others who discover meaning in it for their own spiritual lives.

My Partner Was a Door Gunner

2011-10-18T07:00:00.002-06:00

Not all EMT's discover their calling straight out of high school. Some of us take a few detours. The guy I worked with today took some interesting ones.

My normal partner is gone for a while on another assignment. My temporary partner called out sick. So I worked with a rover; a guy who doesn't have a regular partner or unit. For a rover, every day it's another partner (or two) a different ambo and a different side of town.

As twilight approached and I loaded the gear, six o'clock was drawing near and so was my partner. He'd been an aircraft mechanic for years and loved being around anything with wings or rotors. One of his former jobs was working on Blackhawk, Chinook and Apache helicopters for the army. He also spent time on the trigger of an M-60 as a door gunner over Iraq.

We got in service and headed to our first post assignment. We both needed coffee. Arriving at the parking lot, we called dispatch and were assigned to a different location. Back on the road, we chatted about jobs, friends, good times, marriage ups and downs, kids, and the painful memories that come with the kind of work we do.

After chatting with a buddy deployed in Afghanistan (who's life was saved by his quick thinking) he decided to go to EMT school. This was his first job in EMS. He'd been with the firm for two months, just like me.

He had no idea he was going have an encounter with God in less than an hour.

We found a spot that would provide shade during the heat of the day and wi-fi access for my laptop. Bloggers need to stay connected to the mother ship and I had some serious writing planned for today, if time allowed.

We make our plans.... God makes His.

A few minutes later we got a call to downtown Phoenix. Traffic was picking up and the freeway was a parking lot so we took surface roads. On the way, he told me about this pain in the middle of his back.

Stop me if you've heard this one before....

I asked how long he'd had it and how bad it was. I told him a few stories about healing before we arrived.

At the back of the rig, I said, "Do you want to be healed?" He said yes. I asked if he was sure. He said, "Yeah, I'm sure." "Okay, why don't we get you healed before we go inside." I placed my hand on the middle of his back, asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and power and commanded the pain to leave and for the muscles to be healed then asked what he felt.

"That's crazy. I feel this tingling all over my back!"

"That's the power of God healing you." I repeated the process and asked what he felt.

"Wow. This is really crazy. It feels pretty good now."

I asked if there was any pain. He reported a little tightness, so I repeated the process one more time and asked what he felt.

He twisted as far as he could to the left then right, bent backward and forward trying to see if he could make the pain come back. "There isn't any pain at all! Man...this is crazy!"

We went inside and transported our patient, who had a hole in her heart. She was going from one hospital to another for surgery to close up the hole. She was nice, but rather large. At 348 pounds, we should have called for a wider gurney and another crew for lifting help. But my partner was up to the challenge, having just been healed by God. He spent the rest of the morning twisting from sided to side every time we stopped. Every time he checked, there still wasn't any pain and he exclaimed, "Man...this is crazy!"

We talked about God. I told him about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The cool thing about divine healing is that it allows God to be the topic of conversation for as long as you want. But my partner had another problem that needed the attention of doctor Jesus.

After leaving the military he returned as a civilian and had close calls with a mortar explosion and an IED that gave him a few scars. He said he would have gone back in the military if he hadn't partially torn his Achilles's tendon, which made it hard for him to run. The VA wanted to do surgery to try to repair it, but he decided to live with it the way it was. I told him he would be healed before the end of our shift because God was in a good mood and He loves to heal people.

Just before the end of shift, we posted at a hospital. I told him to get out. It was time to be healed. We walked to the back of the ambulance and I had him to put his injured foot on the rear bumper. I asked if there was any pain. He said it didn't hurt unless he ran. I had him flex his foot as far as he could. "Okay, that hurts", he said.

I said, "Watch carefully, because one day you're going to be doing this for other people." I placed my hand near his heel and asked the Holy Spirit to bring his presence. I commanded the tendon to reattach to the heel bone and asked what he felt.

"This is crazy. I feel like it's swelling up. Like when your foot goes to sleep and then it kinda throbs...that's what it feels like."

"That's God healing you. Flex it again and tell me if it hurts". There was a little pain, so I repeated the process and asked what he felt.

"Wow. This is just crazy."

"Dude, that's the kingdom of God."

I gave him a card to the website and told him to e-mail me and let me know how the healing went with his foot. He said he'd go out for a run and get back to me. If he sends word, I'll let you know.

Updated on 11/1/11 - I ran into the EMT today at work and talked with him about how he felt. The back pain never returned. I asked about his Achilles tendon. He said he did some hiking after we prayed and he had no pain or problems with it. He's still amazed at the healing and telling his partners about the miracle.

Update 12/2/11 - Today I ran into the woman that I prayed with who wasn't healed. She asked why she wasn't healed. I told her that I believed it was because she was afraid of me. She told me she really wanted to healed and showed me how swollen her knee was. I asked if she wanted to be healed. She said, 'yes'. I prayed over it three times, commanding pain to leave. Each time she felt more heat. I believe she'll have a good report in a few days. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Healing Prayer Initiative Targets Hospital Patients

2011-10-16T07:00:00.001-06:00

This article was originally published here by Charisma News Online

Like clockwork, patients, family—and even medical staff—gather for healing prayer in the Penn State Hershey Medical Center chapel every Friday. And God is also showing up.

Abby Abildness, president of Hershey Aglow Lighthouse and founder of Healing Tree International, has led a team of prayer ministers in a weekly healing prayer service there for the past six years. Healing Tree International is a local non-profit organization that networks churches and leaders from around the world to bring positive change to the nations.

"Combining healing prayer with medical care can bring God's healing care to society around the world,” says Abildness, who received supernatural healing from endometrial cancer 32 years ago. Abildness took God at His Word that He is, indeed, the God who heals according to Exodus 15:26. Now, she’s taking that Word—and the power of prayer—to those in need.

Here’s how it works: The hospital makes an announcement over the PA system every Friday at 11:45 a.m. that a healing prayer service is taking place in the chapel. When patients, family members (and sometimes hospital staff) arrive, a team of prayer ministers is there to meet them. They simply ask for prayer for divine direction or wisdom in making the right healthcare choices. According to Abildness, lives are transformed and healings take place.

On the eve of the National Day of Prayer, a new book is heralding the power of healing prayer in medical care. "Healing Prayer and Medical Care" chronicles the true stories of miracle healings and transformation. Abildness hopes the book will inspire others to work with their local hospital or clinic to hold healing prayer services.

In her new book, Abildness shares a blueprint for establishing a healing prayer ministry in a hospital or medical setting. She reveals how the community of Christian believers and medical professionals can work hand-in-hand to achieve total healing, which is, as she calls it, “God's Original Healthcare Plan.” As she sees it, this pattern of healing is a continuation of the joint ministries of Dr. Luke and the apostle Paul in the Bible.

Healing Tree International, headquartered at the historical Londonderry Inn Bed and Breakfast, is located near Hershey, Pa. The Christian Broadcast Network, CBN, will be on site May 11-12 to conduct interviews and document the healing miracles at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and the Londonderry Inn. In the spirit of the "Luke 10 Good Samaritan," who took the wounded to the inn for healing, the Londonderry Inn offers healing prayers weekly on Wednesday morning, and quarterly healing weeks for those who need concentrated intercession for medical recovery.

Sam On The Streets of UK - Part 2

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

Sam Agunbiade is back on the streets of the UK, with another display of God's healing power.

Marketplace Healing 101

2011-10-10T07:19:00.000-06:00

We’ve been making a lot of trips to the hardware store since moving into our new home. This trip was a big one. We need a special light bulb for my daughter’s new lamp and a bolt and a couple of nuts for one of our beds. We hadn’t been in the store two minutes when I saw a woman approaching. She was riding in an electric cart for people with disabilities. I noticed she had an immobilizer on her left foot.

I walked up to her, asked her name and introduced myself. I told her that I noticed that she had an immobilizer and asked what happened. She said she had a severe sprain and was going to see her doctor after she was done at the hardware store. Her teenage son was with her.

I turned to him and asked if he knew about Jesus and his ministry. He said he did. I talked about how he went around Israel healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and casting out demons and told him that he gave his disciples the same authority. Then I asked if he’d ever seen a miracle. He said no. I told him that healing the sick is something any believer could do and I believed his mom’s foot would be healed.

I asked if I could pray over her foot and she agreed. I put my hand on her foot and had her son get in a position where he could see what I was doing. I asked the Holy Spirit to bring his power and presence and touch her then commanded the pain and inflammation to leave. I explained to her son everything I did as he looked on with interest.

After the first time I commanded pain to go, she felt heat in her foot. After the second time, it began to spread to her ankle and lower leg. After commanding it to leave a third time, she said the pain was pretty much gone. I asked if I could remove the immobilizer and have her stand up and check it out. She agreed, so I unfastened the Velcro straps and took the immobilizer off. She stood up and said she felt a little pressure on the sides of her foot, but the pain was gone.

I gave her some instruction on how to keep her healing, encouraged her son to consider learning more about healing, left them with a card for the website and told her to contact me if she had any questions or wanted to share her testimony.

Todd White says, "it’s a show and tell gospel". We give people information about God and his love for them and demonstrate it by displays of power. It’s not complicated.

One light bulb - $3.59

One bolt and two nuts - 32¢

Releasing the power of God and discipling his children - priceless

Street Miracles - Miami

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

This video was shot on the streets of Miami, Florida as a young man healed the sick and led people into the love of God.

Miracles Still Happen - John Snook

2011-10-04T07:00:00.002-06:00

This the testimony of John Snook, who's story was originally published here on Facebook.

As most of you already know, last Thursday night I was admitted to Summereville Medical Center after two days of unsuccessfully battling an illness here at home -- Connie pushed me to go and I am so glad I finally listened to her -- After going through triage and the emergency room thing I was finally taken to a room and because of the hour, I promptly sent Connie home to look after our baby & family -- What happened next I would never have expected - PERIOD!

I don't know if it was a dream a vision, an out of body experience, I really do not know but I kind of woke up in a huge blue room, gorgeous with varying shades of blue everywhere -- To describe it all I can say is it was beautiful. In the middle of the room was a blue haze of some sort with a shape moving inside the haze, a shape I couldn't make out but seemed to be gliding rather than walking -- Anyway, at that point I thought I was dead and didn't know what to expect--So I asked the only relevent question at that time, "Am I Dead?" There was a moment of silence and then, I promise you, a littlesnicker of a laugh from within the haze and a voice, which I recognized, answered "No, that's not why you're here".

Then there was a pause and a complete calm engulfed me as the shape spoke again -- "John, you know who I am and I know you -- It seems you have made some mistakes in your life but that's okay, my memory isn't so good and I have forgotten all about them -- What I know right now is that you have chosen to be obediant and that's all I ever asked anyway -- John, I am giving to you a clean slate, a clean body and a new ministry -- Now, go out and do what I have asked!"

At that moment I shivered like I was freezing cold but when I opened my eyes I was still in good old room 201 at the hospital -- But something was different somehow, and then I realized -- NO PAIN -- For the first time since April 1, 2007 there was absolutely no pain in my body, nowhere, zero pain! I passed it off for s second and then throught back to my dream, vision or what have you -- And I realized, all the pain is gone, not just some of it -- Only God could do that -- I wanted to go back to that blue room and thank Him but an audible, calm and quiet voice from within the room said -- "Thank me by doing my will--Tell everybody that My Son is getting ready to return and when He does, I want ALL my children to come home."

I don't know what it was, but I do know that it was very real and even today, 4 days later there is still such an absence of pian that I feel like I am missing an old friend (LOL) -- Truly, God has given me that clean slate, and the clean body and I can't wait to share His love to the world --

Sorry, those of you looking for a spectacular story, to me, it doesn't get any better!

May God bless you all real good!

Brandon Lee on Authority For Healing

2011-10-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

On a recent trip to Mexico, Brandon Lee took a few minutes to instruct a group on the basics of our authority to heal the sick. During the trip many people were healed. For more on Brandon and what happened on the trip, check out his blog post here.

Street Healing in Denmark

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

The word is getting out. Healing is for today and for all Christians - not just special ones. In this video, shot in Denmark, believers release the healing power of God on strangers wherever they are found.

You can do it too!

Safe Way or Extra Bold?

2011-09-25T07:00:00.001-06:00

We went out last night for a drive and stopped at Sonic for dinner. I love their coney dogs. On the way home we stopped at Safeway for groceries. At the check stand, I saw a familiar Face.

It was Bryon.

When we first moved to Mesa a month ago, we met Byron at the same check stand. I struck up a conversation with him then about the immobilizer on his left wrist. I asked if he'd considered having anyone pray for it to be healed. His reply came from a man who had to be a Christian. But there was a line of customers and I didn't want to delay them, so we left. Until tonight. And there was almost no one else in the store.

"It's going to take me a minute to enter all this with my right hand, so I appreciate your patience", he said as he rang up our stuff.

"Well, why don't we get your left hand healed so you can use both of them", I replied.

He shot me a grin... "With faith the size of a mustard seed..."

I finished his sentence, "That mountain will be tossed into the sea."

I'll admit it. I wasn't feeling like taking the safe way tonight. I was feeling extra-bold.

"Byron, why don't you let me get your wrist healed tonight."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Let me pray over it for you. It should take about ten seconds."

He agreed, but by now there was a customer in line behind me, so I offered to pray after he took care of them. I waited with my daughter and wife. I asked the young lady who was helping Byron if she'd ever seen a miracle.

"Yes, when my baby was born!"

OK, she had me there.

"What I meant was, have you ever seen a miracle of healing?" She said she had not.

"Well, you're going to in a minute."

This naturally made her ask what I had planned. "So do you know some kind of trick or something?"

"I know Jesus and He heals people everywhere I go."

If you're wondering why I can be so confident in the area of healing, it's not because I have some ability or knowledge of my own. It just the fact that I've seen the work of Jesus heal so many people of the exact same thing, I no longer have any doubt that carpal tunnel will be healed. God's faithfulness has given me faith that allows me to boldly tell people they're going to be healed.

I don't have the same level of faith for every type of condition. I have a lot of faith for torn rotator cuffs, carpal tunnel, torn ligaments, and such things. But I don't have the same level of faith for blindness or deafness. I hope one day that I will.

Byron came over. I confirmed his diagnosis and asked how bad the pain was. I told the few people gathered around that Jesus still healed and because it was Him doing the healing, it's actually very easy.

I asked the Holy Spirit to come in and commanded the carpal tunnels to open, for ligaments, tendons and nerves to be healed and the spirit of pain to leave then asked what he felt. He said he felt pressure in two of his fingers. I explained to the group that in healing, after you command the healing to happen you should check the progress. I commanded the healing one more time then asked what he felt.

"The pain is all gone."

We rejoiced together and I gave one of the employees a card to this website and told her to e-mail me if she had any prayer requests.

I know I'll see Byron again. If he's having problems keeping his healing, I can teach him how it works and maybe send him here for some info.

That's how we make disciples.

Jason McCoy Testimony - Part 3

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Jason is a friend I met on Facebook. He has seen hundreds of people healed. Here are some observations about the power of words and a testimony of vision restored from a story he shared with me.

I’m finding that the vehicle or context for healing doesn’t matter. It can be in person, over the phone, on email, chat, skype or just at a distance. Once, I was praying in a chat for a woman who was about to have eye surgery to repair her cornea. She had lost a significant amount of her near and far vision.

I had been thinking about the study Dr. Masaru Emoto did on the effects of words on the structure of water. When words of “cursing” or negative statements were placed against the glass of tanks of water, when frozen it produced chaotic, erratic patterns in the ice structure. Conversely, when words of blessing were placed against the glass, the frozen water produced beautiful, harmonious, symmetrical patterns.

I thought about how our universe was created by words and that God’s LIFE transfers through them. As I typed words into the chat window, I was aware that this was no different and that my words of blessing would carry the LIFE of Christ into her eyes. I asked her to try reading and her near vision was restored!

The Word of Knowledge

2011-09-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom, through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another the gift of faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit...."

(1 Cor. 12:7-10 )

The word of knowledge is supernatural revelation, by the Holy Spirit, of certain facts in the mind of God about something we do not presently know. It is information about a past or a present situation that is true. The word of knowledge is considered by some to be one of three revelation gifts, which serve as spiritual eyes and ears for the church. The others are the word of wisdom and discerning of spirits. It’s important to note that the word of knowledge is given to benefit others, as are all the gifts of the Spirit, except tongues - which edifies us.

Just as a word is a fragment or part of a sentence, a "word" of knowledge is a fragment or a part of God's knowledge of a situation. He gives us a piece of information to aid in bringing something to pass concerning that situation. Once we receive God’s revelation, it’s our responsibility to ask what He wants us to do with it. If we lock it away in our hearts we hinder the work He wants to do. His desire is to bless us so that we, in turn, might bless others.

Some purposes for the word of knowledge:

To lead people to Christ
To give direction in ministry
To reveal sickness to those operating in healing
To restore the believer back to fellowship with God
To provide encouragement

The word of knowledge can come in a number of different ways. Some hear the voice of God speaking, while others receive a word through dreams or visions. A word of knowledge for healing often presents as a sudden pain in our body that we don’t normally have. Learning to receive a word of knowledge comes by developing sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The revelation gifts are relational – as we develop a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, we grow in our awareness of how He communicates with us.

Examples of the word of knowledge from scripture:

Jesus frequently operated in the word of knowledge. He told two of his disciples to go into a village and get a donkey that no man had ever ridden before, telling them where to find the donkey. (Luke 19:30,31) While talking with the woman at the well of Samaria, Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband...” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. (John 4:16-19) In this case, the word of knowledge revealed the identity of Jesus to the woman.

Peter received a word of knowledge in a vision, when God revealed that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews. As he pondered the first bit of information, the first Gentiles arrived at his front door. God told him that three men were looking for him and that he should meet with them, doubting nothing. (Acts 10:9-20)

Ananias received a word of knowledge in a vision concerning a new believer named Saul of Tarsus: “And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias… so the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” (Acts 10:10-12)

There are words of knowledge recorded in both Old and New Testaments. Through a word of knowledge, Samuel told Saul that the donkeys that were lost had been found. (1 Sam. 9:19,20) When the king of Syria was making war against Israel. The Lord spoke to Elisha through a word of knowledge to reveal the enemies plans. (2 Kings 6:9-12)

The word of knowledge can encourage us. Jezebel was out to kill Elijah. Out of fear, Elijah ran and found himself sitting under a juniper tree, begging God to let him die. Thinking he was the only prophet left, God encouraged the prophet by telling him, "I have 7,000 in Jerusalem who have not bowed their knee to Baal." (1 Kings 19:18)

In the realm of healing, a word of knowledge isn’t a guarantee that the individual will be miraculously healed. It serves to make us aware that a condition exists, and that God would like us address it. Until we take action, it’s just information. If we don’t enforce God’s will concerning the word given, nothing will change. One of the first words of knowledge I received was for a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease. I believe he will eventually walk again, but after two years of prayer, he’s still paralyzed, living in a nursing home. Some things require more persistence than others.

Some of us see individuals that God wants to focus on as they become highlighted in a spotlight, making them stand out from the crowd. I sometimes receive words of knowledge in dreams. Some are very specific, with the name of the person and their condition being revealed. In some dreams I’m discussing the condition with them on Facebook.

A word of knowledge may be given to encourage us to pray for a condition we wouldn’t normally have faith to heal. I received a word of knowledge in a dream about healing people with birth defects. When I returned to work after two days off, my first patient was a girl with Down syndrome, which I wouldn’t normally have faith to heal. One day I developed a sharp pain in the back of my hand, but I had done nothing to injure it. I began to ask people around me if they had pain in their hand, but no one did. I finally told my EMT partner about it. He told me he had pain in the exact same spot in his hand for a week after falling out of a tree when the branch he was holding onto suddenly broke. I prayed for his hand and it was healed.

One of the more unusual words of knowledge I received was about a problem I had while replacing the timing belt on my car. After putting everything back together, it wouldn’t start. I checked the service manual and looked at the timing marks again, but couldn’t find the problem. I closed my eyes and asked God what the problem was. In a vision, I saw the camshaft gear and noticed it had two timing marks. I was aware of only one. The mark I used was the wrong one. After locating the other timing mark and making the correction, the car ran perfectly.

If you’d like to operate in the word of knowledge, ask God to reveal things to you and spend time getting to know His ways. The revelation gifts are relational and time is the commodity of relationships.

The Case of The Missing Tumors

2011-09-16T07:00:00.001-06:00

Imagine you're a surgeon. Now imagine that your next case is a patient diagnosed with an unknown type of tumor. You are asked to expose the tumor and either biopsy or remove it if possible. Prior to the procedure you review the CT scans to verify the size and location. But when you open the patient up, you find no trace of the tumor, which was there a few days ago.

What would you conclude concerning the whereabouts of this tumor?

Did it vanish for no apparent reason? Does scientific research support such a concept?

Did the patient experience spontaneous remission? How do we know this is the right explanation?

What would you think if someone told you that the previous night a paramedic and his friends commanded the tumor to leave?

Here are two such stories:

On Sunday night (September 11) I received a prayer request from a friend. She asked me to post a prayer request on Facebook for her friend who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. So on Monday night, I posted the prayer request. For my part, I decided not to do a lot of warfare for her. I've been hearing God suggest that all I need to do is make a declaration in faith. (Be advised, if you don't have a lot of faith for healing, this may not work for you) I declared that the doctors would find no tumor. Here's the message I received the following evening:

"Update on Jen: There was no brain tumor!!! Yay!!! The doctors did find some abnormal veins that bled which caused her seizures so they removed those and she'll have a complete recovery Thanks for the prayers!" - Steph Kincaid

On Wednesday night I received another prayer request for a person with a tumor. Here is the request and my response (taken from my Facebook wall)

Karen Landis Champaign
Asking for agreement in prayer for my sister Sherry. They found a tumor on her thyroid and she has to go in for a biopsy tomorrow. She has to be awake for the procedure so we are declaring peace and a good report.
Like · · See Friendship · Yesterday at 4:38pm

Beth McDonald Quarterman
I agree with you in Jesus' All Powerful Name!!! amen, all Glory to God!!!!
23 hours ago · Like · 1 person

Karen Landis Champaign
Thanks Beth!!
23 hours ago · Like · 1 person

Praying Medic
Praying and standing on a report of no tumor found.

23 hours ago · Like · 2 people

Here is the report posted on my wall last night:

Karen Landis Champaign
Thank you all for your prayers. I talked to my sister about an hour ago. She said when they took her into the surgery room , there were so many people. The Dr. asked her if it would be ok with her if they could test a new high tech ultra sound machine out on her. What was she going to say ... So while they are doing the ultra sound, They all started whispering among themselves. She got very nervous. When the team left, The Dr. had to make sure the original films where hers. He said .. they could not find a tumor or mass. She was so excited. So she is home and praising the Lord for being her great physician.
2 seconds ago · Like

We must all decide what to believe in these cases. We can only explain these events as coincidence, spontaneous remission or wishful thinking for so long, before the argument loses it power. The most logical explanation is that there must be something supernatural going on, that medical professionals have yet to fully understand.

Stick around and I'll do my best to explain it and help you incorporate divine healing in your own practice.

This Is Discipling

2011-09-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

Bilateral Renal Artery Stenosis Healed

2011-09-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

In May 2011, a bilateral renal Doppler test confirmed I had renal artery stenosis. The blockage was considered to be 60%+ in both renal arteries. An angiogram was scheduled for May 24 where a doctor from the Vascular Intervention Center would stent both arteries.

I decided to go to Bethel’s Healing Rooms twice before the procedure was to be done. The first visit was amazing, but the second visit I could feel something happening with warmth in the kidney area, and I really felt the presence of the Lord. The team laid hands on me, even reaching into heaven’s storehouse for new arteries and kidneys. A dancer came to us and said she felt the Lord wanted her and two other dancers to dance around me, too. While I couldn't feel anything definitive, I felt so at peace and calm and ready for whatever the Lord had planned for me.

At 6:30 a.m., May 24th, I arrived at Mercy Hospital for the scheduled eight o’clock procedure. In pre-op, blood was drawn to test my kidney functions. When I was taken into the operating room, the doctor and nurses were looking at the test results in amazement. The kidney functions were normal! They were normal for the first time in months. The doctor decided to go ahead with the angiogram because of the Doppler test done a few weeks earlier.

What the doctor found was simply amazing. The arteries were clear, open and healthy. When Doctor H. went into the waiting room to give the good news to my husband and sister, he threw up his arms and said, “I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that the procedure went well. The arteries are open and healthy. I wish mine were that healthy. The bad news is we don’t know why!”

I know why, and I give the Lord all the glory. Thank you, Father.

Dee Calvert

First published on the website of Bethel Church, Redding, CA.

When Seeing Is Believing

2011-09-07T07:00:00.001-06:00

I thought I had a regular partner at my new job, but he quit. So for now, I have a chance to work with a different partner every day. Some people would complain about that. It is nice to have the same partner. It makes establishing routines easier. But for now, God has something else planned.

Yesterday, we transported a woman who complained of numbness in her right leg from her groin to her toes. Her doctor ordered an ultrasound, suspecting a vascular injury.

She'd had a heart attack and stent placement a few weeks earlier. To insert a stent, they place a large needle and sheath into a blood vessel in the groin and advance it to the heart. Our suspicion was that the insertion site for the catheter in her groin may have developed an aneurysm, compressing the femoral nerve, causing numbness to her leg.

To complicate the picture, she had end-stage kidney failure and is on dialysis. The dialysis fistula in her left arm deteriorated to the point where it was no longer useful. So her surgeon tied it off and following the surgery, she developed pain and some loss of function in her left hand. She also had complete blindness in her left eye and partial blindness in her right eye from detached retinas.

The facility she lived at was across the parking lot from the hospital. I had a few hundred feet of blacktop in which to work a miracle.

As we wheeled her toward the elevator, I asked if she'd let me pray for her to be healed. She agreed, so I started with her left hand. She reported the pain as 6 out of 10. As we got on the elevator, I commanded the pain to leave in the name of Jesus. After the door closed, I asked how she felt.

"I don't feel anything, now"

"Do you feel any pain in your arm or hand?"

Smiling, and flexing her wrist and fingers in amazement, she said, "No pain at all. It feels normal."

We wheeled her toward the ambo and loaded the gurney. I needed to get vitals and some more information then call the receiving hospital. I asked my partner to get in back for a few minutes. I did a brief neurological assessment of her right leg. She felt nothing when I ran my finger along the sole of her foot. I did it several times to make sure. I pinched her skin above the ankle.

"I can feel you touching me, but I can't tell if it's dull or sharp."

Just below her knee, she could tell I was pinching her skin. The neurologic deficit was slight at the knee, progressively getting worse toward the foot, which had no sensation at all.

I placed my hand on her leg and invited the Holy Spirit to touch her, then commanded the nerves and blood vessels to be healed in the name of Jesus. I asked if she felt anything.

With a smile she replied, "My whole leg is tingling."

I rubbed the bottom of her foot again and asked if she felt anything.

"Yes, I can feel you touching the bottom of my foot." I pinched the skin above her ankle. "I can feel you pinching me." All the numbness in her leg was now gone.

My partner looked on in quiet amazement, finally breaking her silence. "I think you may have just made a believer out of me."

I turned to her and said, "This is the kind of healing Jesus did when he walked the streets of Jerusalem. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and opened the ears of the deaf. And he gave his disciples authority to do the same things. "

Finally, I began praying for her eyes. Each time I commanded her eyes to see, she reported more light coming into her right eye, but no improvement in her left. Not every healing is instant; some take a little more time. I made the call to the hospital, but continued praying over her eyes until we arrived.

We transferred her to the ER and gave report. When the nurse left the room, I thanked the patient for letting me pray with her and said, "I'm glad you're being healed, and I believe you will eventually see normally out of both eyes. This was important for my partner. She's never seen a miracle of healing and it's changed her beliefs about God."

After we left the hospital we found a shady spot to park while and waited for the next call. We talked about healing and God. I shared some testimonies and she let me pray for her back to be healed.

Someone once said, "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." Today, my partner (a complete stranger, no less) saw the gospel in action. I never said a word to her about God until after our patient was healed. No preaching was needed. We didn't talk about creation or evolution or even sin. A simple miracle of healing compelled her to confess a change of heart.

For some of us, seeing is believing. If that's true, perhaps we ought to let the world see more of our Jesus in action.

Healing Mary

2011-09-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

One problem with moving to a new area is finding a good hair stylist. I don’t have that problem, thanks to some weird genes I got from my dad. But my wife likes to look her best and I appreciate that. She has a philosophy about finding a stylist that works for her. When she sees a woman with nice looking hair, she asks what salon she goes to. Last night was her first appointment at a salon in Mesa called Among Friends.

With all the crazy Holy Spirit fun we had with her last hair stylist – I had high hopes for her new one.

Would she be a Christian?

Would she need healing?

Would she have a sense of humor?

Or would she think we were crazy?

I walked with my daughter across the street for a slurpee while Mary and my sweetie got acquainted. When we got back, it didn’t take long before our questions were answered.

We talked about what brought us to Arizona and some of the things we’ve done since moving. I wanted to know if she attended church, so I mentioned that we went to a church in Tucson that had some cool ministries. She came back with a lot of info on the local church and Christian music scene. Christ Tomlin is one of her favorite singers, which gave me an immediate connection, since he’s one of the people who inspired me to play guitar.

I told her about some of the amazing things God has done with us recently, mainly about dreams and healing. She was fascinated. As she clipped and styled, I shared some of the more unusual healing testimonies.

My wife had a job interview scheduled for the following day. Mary said, "I know you'll get the job. Everyone who comes to me before a job interview gets the job they interview for. It's like my ministry to people. I give them hairstyles for success."

A young boy came to the door and Mary went to see what he wanted. As she walked, my daughter noticed her limping slightly and mentioned it to me. I looked and sure enough, I could see either her right hip or right knee was giving her problems. When she returned, I asked what happened. Slightly embarrassed, she pulled up her pant leg revealing some scabbed over puncture wounds. Looking closer at her knee, it was easy to see it was swollen. “I tripped and fell on some rocks. My knee has been in a lot of pain ever since.”

I said, “Well then, why don’t we get you healed before we leave.”

So let me explain that. I’ve seen God’s power heal so many people lately, I have complete faith that if someone allows us to pray, they’re probably going to be healed. I’m that confident in God’s power and willingness to heal.

As Mary put a few finishing touches on my wife's hair, we continued talking about God and the great things He’s done. She kept saying she was part of our family.

We shared a few of the hardships we’ve suffered with our biological families. But Mary has a strong love for the people of God. The hour we spent with her was like a long – awaited family reunion. When the hair styling was done, we had her sit in the chair. I gave her a short lesson on healing from Luke 10 and illustrated it with the healing by Peter of the lame man at the gate beautiful (Acts 3:2). I asked how bad her pain was on a scale from 1 to 10. She said it was about an 8.

I had my daughter lay hands on her and pray. She immediately felt something moving in her knee and a slightly cool sensation. My wife and I joined in. I commanded her ligaments, tendons, cartilage, nerves and bones to be healed, while my wife prayed in tongues. I asked Mary what she felt. Not surprisingly, she said, “tingling”. We had her get up. She was able to walk with only slight pain. I asked if we could pray one more time, so she sat down and we prayed once more. Our newest friend got up from the chair amazed and walked around the salon without any pain.

The hair appointment turned into hugfest. Before leaving, we prayed for her to have dreams from God, since she hasn’t had any in years. I hated the fact that we had to leave, but it was getting late and I had to get up early for work the next day.

So that was our adventure from last night. It’s all true and it’s all good, because God is so in love with people and He loves to prove it through people like you and me.

Healing is easy. Anyone who has the Holy Spirit living in them can do it. Be Jesus to the people in your life today.

"My Head is Tingling"

2011-09-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

In the eyes of most paramedics, there’s little glory in transferring depressed, intoxicated patients from one hospital to another for mental health evaluations. These aren’t the calls we tell our friends about when we get together, unless it’s to make derogatory comments about the patients.

Shania had been in Phoenix just long enough to develop a nice tan. Like me, she’d moved here a month ago. She lost her job and boyfriend and having no support system, she moved here and was living with her best friend. But her old pals, depression and suicidal thoughts moved with her and they paid her a visit yesterday. After a hellish 24 hours, we showed up to take her somewhere else.

After the introductions, we loaded her in the back of the ambo.
(That’s what they call it here)

I got the formal questions out of the way and had most of my charting done after a few minutes. I wanted to spend most of the trip learning about her problems and perhaps get the Holy Spirit involved.

After learning we were both new to Phoenix, she told me she was from San Jose, which made me think about friends from the Bay area who do street healing. A lot of the people involved with Revival or Riots are from there. I told her about how they go to malls, stores and occasionally emergency rooms healing people. She wanted to hear more.

I shared some history of the healing movement in northern California then about ten minutes of stories from my own archives. Her curiosity grew and she thought about her mother who had a lot of medical problems, who lived in Jan Jose. She asked for contact information for Revival or Riots. I wrote their info on the back of a card for this website. I told her about this blog and told her she could e-mail or find me on Facebook if she had questions.

I asked if she had any pain. She said she has fibromyalgia. I told her what Joan Hunter learned about it and asked if her symptoms began after a traumatic event. “Yeah – I was in a very abusive relationship and right after it ended, I began having pain.” Joan believes that fibromyalgia is a manifestation of the spirit of trauma that attacks people after traumatic events. She's had great success in healing people of it.

I asked if I could pray with her. She smiled and said, “sure”.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence into the ambulance and touch her. I asked Him to heal her memories and remove the thoughts that tormented her. I commanded the spirit of trauma to leave and commanded pain and inflammation to leave in the name of Jesus. I asked if she felt anything.

“My head is tingling.”

I asked if she felt tingling anywhere else.

“Nope. It’s just my head.”

By this point she was crying tears of joy, knowing that God was touching her. I told her I believed the tingling was God’s way of healing her mind, emotions and memories.

Some of you might be wondering....why tingling?

I'm glad you asked.

All our senses; sight, sound, smell, taste and touch (including pain) travel along nerves in our body. The nervous system is like a bundle of electrical wires, carrying impulses through millions of cells strung end to end. These cells are called neurons and below is an image of one, that's been color enhanced.

When the power of God goes through a part of our body, wouldn't we expect our own electrical system be affected by that power and send signals to our brain letting it know something is happening? I believe this is why so many people feel tingling when God is healing them.

We were almost at the destination, so I spent the rest of the trip teaching her about the battle to keep her healing. I told her that if the symptoms left, they might return and that the enemy might try to convince her she wasn’t healed. I told her my faith could get her healed, but her faith would keep her healed and that she needed to stand by faith and believe God healed her and command the symptoms to leave if they ever came back.

We arrived and unloaded the gurney and wheeled her inside. Before I left, she gave me a hug and thanked me for caring about her. I told her to e-mail me if she had any problems.

Was she healed?

I don’t know. But I do know she was touched by God and that’s what matters. I introduce them to God, and the Holy Spirit takes it from there.

I didn't see the old men depression and suicide during the trip. They come in through open doors. Like uninvited guests, they see an opening and come around to harass defenseless people. In fact, they enter our lives because there is no door to keep them out. Just a big hole in our life that leaves us vulnerable to every attack of the enemy.

Jesus said, "I am the door."

When the door shows up, that hole in your life can be closed off to intruders like fear, depression, worry, anxiety, guilt and shame. Jesus is our only defense against them.

Shania knows that Jesus is real and that He cares about her. Maybe she'll learn that he's her door of safety, too.

Most medics don't see the glory in psychiatric transfers because they're looking for something that glorifies them. If you want to be a hero, you need to show off your skills. Healing doesn't require skill and it doesn't bring glory to us. It brings glory to God and it's not our skill, but His power on display. Some people don't like others others being in the spotlight. But I'm cool with it. My only hope of glory is that Christ will be formed in me.

If Shania send word that she was healed, I’ll let you know.

Issam Nemeh, M.D. - Man of Unshakeable Faith

2011-08-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is an interview with Dr. Isaam Nemeh, an anesthesiologist who has seen many healing miracles during his life.

My New Partner

2011-08-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is a quick note to get you caught up on my new job. I'm working an early start time of 5 am and I commute across town so I get up at 3:15. The good news is, I'm done with work before the hottest part of the day hits, which is nice.

My temporary partner is a nice young man who is a Christian. We've been talking a lot about healing. He's never seen anyone miraculously healed. But I think that's about to change. I spent some time on our first day working together discussing the basics of healing. We're both looking forward to seeing God at work.

I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Severed Spinal Cord Healed

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is the testimony of Jimmy, who suffered an injury to his back, which required a routine laminectomy. In the OR, the surgeon inadvertently partially severed his spinal cord and when a blood clot formed, his spinal cord was severely damaged. Jimmy testifies that he was in a wheelchair for three years until one night at a meeting, when he was miraculously healed.

Training Ride Miracle

2011-08-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy 2 weeks of training for my new job in Arizona. I'm sorry I haven't written more. Getting moved to the new location took more time and energy than I expected.

I survived the first week of training which was 5 days of sitting in a refrigerated classroom interrupted by a short trip to the driving course to run over orange cones.

Fortunately no one was hurt.

I just finished the required ride time with my preceptors, which was......interesting.

The first day was busy and a bit wild. We were hit by another ambulance in a hospital parking lot and our ride ended up on the back of a tow truck. The second day we had a ventilator that broke. I just wanted to survive the rest of my rides without any major problems.

Today, my preceptor called out sick before the shift began, so I was precepted by someone who doesn't normally do it. He's a nice guy who really helped me understand the system and he had some great tips to help me be successful.

Our EMT for the day was a quiet young man, who looked barely old enough to vote. I know he's had some problems making the adjustment here. Between calls we talked and I learned that he's hoping to get hired by one of the local fire departments.

We were in a older back up truck that had a few "issues". The major one being a weak air conditioner. In the heat of the afternoon I felt like a quart of ice cream sitting in the sun.

My wife sent a text message asking if she could meet us somewhere for dinner. I told her I didn't know where we were. For the last three days I've been looking at the hills and freeways of Phoenix through the back window of the rig as we've driven from one side of town to the other. I've never been so lost in my life.

The other thing about our ambo is that the rear bumper that sticks out a little more than most. Our EMT rammed his knee into it halfway through the shift and spent the rest of the day limping.

So at the end of the day, without much explanation, I told the guys that if they ever had an injury, to come see me before they had surgery. Our EMT said, "Hey, what about my knee? It still hurts a lot."

I replied, "Dude...it's just a soft tissue injury....walk it off."

I've been uneasy about praying with people at my new job. I don't want to cause problems or have people complain. But I really hate seeing injured people suffer needlessly.

When we got back to the station we had to make several trips to unload equipment. On one of the trips, we ended up at the back of the rig together. I told him to sit on the bench seat and I asked the usual questions - how bad was the pain, where exactly did it hurt, etc.

I placed two fingers on his knee and said;

"I command ligaments, tendons, bones, muscles, nerves and soft tissue to be healed in Jesus name. Holy Spirit bring your power and presence. I command all pain and the spirit of pain to leave in Jesus name. Well....how does it feel?"

He stood up and immediately realized all the pain was gone. He looked at me with a smile of wonderment and jumped out the back. His happiness got the best of him as he walked around, dumbfounded that his knee was instantly healed. He gave me a high five and I told him to test it out as much as he wanted because he wasn't going to wreck what God healed.

I gave him a card to this website and encouraged him to check out the rest of the stories here. If he leaves a comment, you'll be able to see it below. If he e-mails me, I'll post his testimony.

So God is still healing people, which doesn't surprise me. I'm still just a divine nobody doing a normal job. God's power is available to anyone who knows Him through the cross of His Son. I had a dream a few nights ago about the importance of forgiveness. If you haven't accepted the free forgiveness of your sins, it's available. Just ask Him.

- peace out

Power At The Marketplace - Tempe, Arizona

2011-08-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Tempe is home to 70,000 Arizona State University students. And one beautiful shopping mall. When we visited Tempe before moving here, we visited the Marketplace and fell in love with the palm trees, fountains, fireplaces, lights and friendly people.

In need of lamps for our apartment, I headed to the mall with my wife and daughter for an evening of shopping. In one of the stores we met a student and her mother; both decked out in pink from head to toe. Most of the things they bought were also pink. After some playful joking, the daughter warned us not to come shopping there this weekend, because we'd run into tens of thousands of college students buying everything they needed for the school year.

At the end of the evening, while walking toward the parking lot, we noticed a woman in a wheelchair. I had not yet prayed with anyone since moving here, so I excitedly approached her and started a conversation. I introduced myself and family and told her we were new in town. We talked about the weather for a few minutes then I asked why she was in the wheelchair.

She told me about her rare neuro-degenerative disease, which I'd never heard of. In a matter of fact tone I asked if she wanted to be healed. She did a double take and asked, "What did you say?" I repeated the question, "Do you want to be healed?"

She smiled and said "And how are you going to do that?"

From her response, I knew she wanted to be healed. If she wasn't interested, she probably would have said 'no', or just left me standing there. I told her I was new in town because I just accepted a paramedic job then I told her I'd been seeing a lot of miracles in the ambulance with my patients. I shared some stories and asked if I could pray with her. She said yes.

I asked her to take my hand. She pulled off a glove from her left hand that she wore to prevent callouses from using the wheelchair. She apologized for a large sore on her hand, explaining that her doctors thought it was cancer but they weren't sure.

I asked the Holy Spirit to bring his power and presence upon her then commanded her spine, ligaments, nerves, tendons and muscles to be healed. I commanded sickness and spirits of pain to leave.

When I opened my eyes I noticed she was crying. I asked what she felt. "Tingling...all over my body - from head to toe." She was deeply touched by God's presence.

I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence in a stronger way and to bless her with complete healing of all sickness and disease then asked what she felt. "I feel a warm, burning sensation all over. It's not uncomfortable, it feels so nice."

I prayed over her a for a few more minutes then told her I believed she was healed. She told me she would love to have her next PET scan show no disease left and ask her doctors to explain it. My wife reminded me to tell her how to keep her healing, so we spent a few minutes teaching her about the battle against the enemy. I told her my faith in God could get her healed, but her faith is what would keep her healed.

At this point her husband arrived so I introduced my family. He seemed anxious to get her home, so I gave her a card to this website and asked her to check it out and e-mail me about her progress. She didn't try to get out of the wheelchair. But I believe she'll find out in time she was healed. We both went home with a better understanding of God and His ways.

I think I'm going to like living in Arizona. God is here. He's in me and if you're a Christian, He's in you. All we need to do is let His power work through us.

Authorty To Heal

2011-08-11T07:00:00.001-06:00

When someone mentions the word "Authority" in a discussion about God or the church, what type of things come to mind?

For many of us, we think about people in the church who hold places of authority, such as pastors, bishops or priests. Some think about the authority God has over His creation. In this message, we'll discuss the authority the average Christian has in the realm of healing.

If you're like most of us, at some time in your life, someone you respected taught you how to pray. That first prayer may have sounded something like, "God, please bless mommy and daddy and my family and our dog, Buster....in Jesus name, Amen!

When you were older, your style of prayer probably changed. Some of us developed a bit more desperation. "God I really, really need this job! You know how much it means to me, so please hear me and make this job happen now!!....in Jesus name, Amen!

Some of us use a variation on something Jesus said about prayer, believing there is virtue in accepting the outcome, regardless of how it works out: "Lord, if it's your will, please heal gramma of cancer, but if it's not your will, give me the grace to accept her sickness and death."

It's true that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." finishing with, "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done." But I would politely suggest that this is model of prayer has absolutely no relevance to healing.

The question before us then is, what is the biblical model of prayer in regard to healing?

When Jesus was summoned by the Roman Centurion to heal of his servant, the soldier recognized the authority Jesus had over sickness. Because he understood authority, his faith was able to apprehend heal his servant. No prayer was involved; Jesus spoke a word and the servant was healed. It was a simple transaction involving the faith of the Centurion and the authority of Jesus. There are a number of other healings involving Jesus that occurred in this manner. (See Matt. 8)

If you review all the individual healing accounts recorded in the New Testament, you'll find that not once did anyone ask God (the Father) to heal someone who was sick or possessed. Some people begged Jesus to heal them. But Jesus never begged His Father to heal anyone. He simply spoke a word of healing, touched them or in some other way transferred healing power to them.

The Plan
A few key passages from the New Testament reveal the plan Jesus had for his disciples in regard to healing and deliverance. It's actually a simple outline for ministry:

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus chose 12 disciples and commissioned them to be sent out. (The word apostle means, literally 'one who is sent'.) He gave them instructions to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and preach the gospel of the kingdom.

In Luke 10:19 he gave them authority over all the power of the enemy: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

In Acts chapter 1: Jesus told them, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus told his disciples His expectation of their ministry: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."

In these passages, Jesus gave His disciples clear assignments for healing. He gave His expectation of the kinds of things they would do and He gave them the power and authority to do them. Let's take a closer look at the power and authority He gave them.

Authority
What kind of authority do Christians have over the enemy? The Greek word found in Luke 10:19 that is translated 'authority' is the word, ἐξουσία (exousia).

Strong's concordance gives the following definitions of this word:

1) Power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases
a) leave or permission
2) Physical and mental power
a) the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either

possesses or exercises
3) The power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
4) The power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
a) Universally:
1) authority over mankind
b) Specifically:
1) the power of judicial decisions
2) of authority to manage domestic affairs
c) Metonymically:
1) a thing subject to authority or rule
a) jurisdiction
2) one who possesses authority
a) a ruler, a human magistrate
b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior

to man, spiritual potentates

d) A sign of the husband's authority over his wife
1) the veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself
e) The sign of regal authority, a crown

Power
What kind of power did Jesus give His disciples? The Greek word translated 'power' in Acts 1:8 is the word δύναμις (dynamis).

Strong's concordance defines this 'power' as:

1) Strength power, ability;
a) Inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth
b) Power for performing miracles
c) Moral power and excellence of soul
d) The power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
e) Power and resources arising from numbers
f) Power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

Summary
Both these definitions speak of power and authority that reside with the one who has them. While they are tied to the ultimate authority of Christ, they may be exercised by us as free agents of the kingdom.

The authority we have is the legal right to do what Jeusus commanded us to do. The power we have is the anointing from God to heal through the operation of the Holy Spirit in us.

If we know His commandment is to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead and preach the kingdom, and we know that the power and authority has been given to us to do these things, why would we need to ask God to do them for us?

Most of us have been taught incorrectly about healing by someone we respect. But it's never too late to correct our course, once we know we're going in the wrong direction. There are many well - meaning church leaders who don't understand what Jesus intended His church to do in this area. I would remind you that Jesus said the responsibility for building the church rests with him. (Matt. 16-18) The responsibility of church leaders is to train and equip the saints for the work of ministry that they're called to (Eph. 4:11)

If you haven't yet begun to exercise this power and authority, there's no time like the present. You'll never know for sure if what I've said is true, until you test it out. Read up on this matter and ask God to confirm His plan for you. If you have fears, questions or concerns, send me a message and I'll do what I can to help.

Two People On Crutches Healed

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

I think Jason Chin's comment says it all. "Dude, that's amazing!!!!

Night On The Town With King Jesus!

2011-08-05T07:00:00.001-06:00

by Lisa Fitzgerald-Adams on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 7:52pm

8 Healing testimonies 6-18-2011

Originally published here (re-published with permission)

Testimonies of Healings:

Today was one of those days. I am supposed to be gone camping with my family. But circumstances prohibited it. My mother who was to come stay at my place became ill and couldn’t come today. My litter of puppies developed diarrhea and needed vet care. So, my family went with out me and I had to stay home for at least today.

At first I was disgruntled. But I remembered my own teaching and I began to worship God.

Around 4 p.m. I started talking to God about how we would spend our evening together. We would be alone for once and I wanted an experience with Him. I felt led to go out on the streets and pray for the sick. I wanted to get some new video as well. I had no idea how beautiful the night would go. In three hours I saw eight people healed/delivered. Not one person I prayed for did not receive. Here is the testimony of how tonight’s outing with King Jesus went.

1st testimony:
I walked around the park in Niles MI and found two teenage boys sitting in the grass with their pit bull dog and a group of girls that were teasing/flirting with them. The girls walked off and I walked up to the boys and started to dialog. (got video of this one…uploading it now, hope to have it up later.) I asked if they had any problems that could be healed and the one boy complained of bad knees. I commanded healing, the boy got up and tested his knees and all pain was gone. Talked to him about Jesus love for him and bid them good day.

2nd testimony:
This one I wish I would have gotten on video…but it appears the young man I gave the camera too shut it off instead of just holding it. I went into the skate park. It was full of teenage boys. I told them I was documenting miracles. Asked if anyone needed healing. They all pointed to one young man who had a very painful ankle. I began commanding the healing and I could hear the others mocking and laughing. First time he tested it he said it was slightly better but still really hurt. I prayed twice more and the pain completely left. One of the young men was telling his friend I was using the power of the universe but I just called it Jesus. I told him, no Jesus is the only power that can heal the sick. Jesus lived in Christians and any Christian can heal the sick. (wish I would have said more…but it is a learn as you go ministry) They asked if I knew the boy I healed. (he thought it was a set up) I said I had never met him. Go ask him for yourself. He has no reason to lie. (very good encounter here…God is still speaking to them I am sure.)

3rd testimony:
again my camera failed, this time it was a woman with a knee brace. I asked if I could pray and she said yes, I touched her knees and all the pain left. She said, “I hope it works! I have a Doctors Appointment on Tuesday for another cortisone shot.” She walked away pain free! Praise You Jesus!

4th testimony:
walked up to a tall young man and told him I prayed for people and they got instantly healed. Did he need prayer. He said yes, I have seizures. I asked if I could touch the back of his neck, he said yes. I touched him and prayed commanding the seizures to go, for his brain to be healed and all curses to be broken off of him, that he was forgiven. I told him I had no way to tell if he received, only he would know. He then said to me…I received, I know this, because when I opened my eyes…I can see clearly now. YAY GOD! ( he had had this condition from birth)

5th testimony:
found a woman who was pregnant and simply prayed blessings over her and the unborn child.

6th testimony:
I saw an older gent down the road sitting on a front stoop. I almost didn’t go down to him, but felt led to do so. I walked down and told him I was going about praying for folks and they would be instantly healed. He began to laugh! He said, “I have been asking God for two weeks for you.” I said, “really! What is going on in your body.” He said, “well you can pray for my restless legs”. I did. As I prayed for him I could feel Gods power coming from HIM! I told him this, that I felt the anointing coming from him. He laughed and showed me he was covered in goose bumps. We continued to talk. It wasn’t healing he was asking God for…it was to talk with a real Christian, he said. Someone who had a relationship with God…not all those other “Christians” who just don’t get it. LOL!

He wanted to talk to someone who understood him. I was so blessed by this. He continued to tell me stories how God had talked to him in His still small voice and saved his life twice. I told him to use his voice! God was not done with him yet and he needed to speak what he knew. He laughed again and said, “I was in a coma twice and woke up each time and asked God why I was still here and my sister in law told me the same thing you just said.” LOL! I told him to get busy and get on the streets and preach, (he was homeless and just visiting family all over different states to have a place to stay) I told him I had to get back to my walk and he blessed me by saying, I pray to God He sends you two healing Angels to walk before you. I thanked him and received his prayer. What a beautiful time we had reminiscing about our Father! See you someday in Heaven Larry!

7th testimony:
Walked up to a small group of ladies, ( got this on video, will try to get it up soon, I have a very slow computer). I asked who needed healing and the one woman said she had an illness but wasn’t willing to tell me what it was. I asked her if it was a blood disease. She said yes. I prayed and commanded healing of her blood, told her she was forgiven. She began to weep. I asked if she had anything else that needed healing, she said yes, her heart. It was emotional pain. I prayed Gods peace over her and healing of her emotions. Blessed her and then we hugged. She hugged me so tight!! Another God moment. Thank you Precious Father!!!

8th and final testimony for tonight:
walked up to two older woman and asked my question. One lady had pain in her right side. I prayed and all pain left. Just blessed them and went on my way.

So, I bless God for our wonderful night out on the town. I was to be with my family tonight…but God decided it was our night out. Thank you Jesus for your unending love for your children and the lost. Thank you for your tenderness. Your wisdom. And how you set us up to do great and mighty things if we will just go and believe.

Satan tried to steal my joy today by keeping me from my vacation. I chose instead to steal his power over my emotions by pouring out LOVE on the streets to as many as I could find. Thank you King Jesus! I was not this person even a year ago. Oh and by the way….when I got home…all the puppies were healed and had normal movements! My Jesus!

Lisa

Chest Pain Healed

2011-08-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Travis had been in the hospital for a week, while doctors tried to determine what was causing his chest pain. His EKG's and cardiac enzymes were normal. Yet he developed classic cardiac chest pain and shortness of breath with the slightest exertion. A positive stress test was the only objective piece of evidence they had.

They finally did an angiogram, which revealed 99% occlusion of the circumflex artery and 33% occlusion of two other vessels. The lesion in the circumflex was at a bifurcation of the vessel, making stent placement tricky.

They opted for a more traditional approach and scheduled him for 3-vessel bypass surgery. We were the transport crew that would take him to the hospital where the surgery would be done.

Travis had no real medical history. He'd always been healthy. The news of bypass surgery had him freaked out. They medicated him for anxiety and pain before we arrived, but he was still scared about the procedure that awaited him.

I was feeling extra bold this morning. (Maybe it was the 7-11 coffee) I told him that my goal was to have him healed before we arrived at the other hospital. He said, "You know, I was praying a lot last night. I really don't want to have this surgery." I asked if I could pray with him, and he gladly agreed.

I wanted to give him hope that he really could be healed, so I shared a few healing testimonies. Each one made him more hopeful. We also needed to treat the pain he was having. Although he was on a nitro drip, he had 5/10 chest pain as we departed. A few milligrams of morphine eased it up a bit.

I continued sharing testimonies with him, then I placed my hand on his shoulder and commanded his arteries to be healed, opened and cleared of all occlusions. I spoke peace and health to his mind and body. It seemed to help as his anxiety level decreased the more we talked.

Just before we arrived, his chest pain went back up to 5/10. I gave him a choice between prayer and morphine. He was satisfied to let me pray over him, so I commanded the pain to leave. After the first time, it went down a little, and even more after the second time. After commanding it to leave the third time, all the pain was gone.

The look on his face was priceless.

I told him it was all about faith and explained that my my faith could get him healed, but his faith would keep him healed. I told him about the realities of spiritual warfare and that the enemy would probably bring the pain back, trying to convince him he wasn't healed. I told him to continue believing that he was healed, regardless of how he felt. "Resist the enemy and he will flee from you."

Travis was grateful that a stranger introduced him to God's power and love. As I left him in the ICU, he said, "You know, this whole experience really gives me a lot to think about."

That's the main point of divine healing. When the kingdom of God lands in your front yard, it's supposed to make you think differently about the issues of life, death, God and eternity.

I'm not sure that his arteries were healed. I believe they were, but only God knows. And by now, so do Travis and his cardiac team. I can just imagine them looking at a clearly open circumflex artery that had been almost completely occluded 24 hours earlier. I imagine Travis has a better understanding of God's ways.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating; anyone can do this. I'm not a special person. Four years ago I didn't believe in divine healing. But now it's an almost daily reality for me. It could be for you too. Step out in faith and believe that God want's people healed. He's in a good mood. Be a blessing to others. Release God's power and love into their lives.

Here's a short video that explains the pathophysiology of a heart attack:

Sam On The Streets of UK

2011-07-31T07:00:00.001-06:00

I have a new friend on Facebook, named Sam Agunbiade, who lives in the UK. I think he's going to bring a blessing to a lot of people there. Check out this video from a man who has a heart of love and compassion for others.

Last Shift in Tacoma

2011-07-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

After 17 years as a medic in the state of Washington, I'll be moving to a slightly warmer location next week. I've taken a job in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm sorry - that's as much as I can say about the new job for now.

When I moved here in 1994, I was an atheist. I hated the people I transported and didn't like Tacoma, either. A lot has changed since then. Tacoma isn't the smelly, rat - infested town it once was and I'm not the same rat I used to be. God gave me a new heart, a new lease on life and a powerful way to touch people around me. He's pretty cool like that. I enjoy my job more than I did when I started the journey. That's a rare thing in EMS, but the Holy Spirit will add years to anyone's career.

I have a few stories from my days in Tacoma that have yet to be published. They should all be up in the next few weeks. After that we'll pick up from the new location.

I'm planning on trying some new things. One will probably be a live broadcast from this page. I may even broadcast a live street healing. I'll let you know when that will happen in advance, so you can tune in.

Now I want to share a few things that have been on my heart for some time.

Our nation and indeed, the world is at a crossroads. I'm not trying to be cliche'. I'm concerned about some things God has shown me. I'm concerned - but not afraid. We need to be prepared for major changes in the way we live. The times we're entering will require us to be united like we've never been before. I see darkness advancing swiftly, but I also see the light growing more intense. There is a separation coming; a defining of light and dark. Lines will be drawn and we'll be forced to stand on one side or the other. We need to prepare our hearts and minds for some big challenges and if you're just hearing about this, you're late getting started.

When you need food and there isn't any to be found, don't give in to fear. Know that God can provide what you need. His disciples multiplied the loaves of bread and fed thousands. We're going to need this kind of faith in the days ahead. Share what you have and God will give more. He knows your needs and cares for you. Remember that these difficulties aren't His doing; they come from the enemy. Don't blame God - trust Him. Be people of the kingdom.

When hospitals won't take the sick and injured anymore, remember what you've seen here and consider the miracles of Jesus. All this has been an example for you, to use in your community. Gather friends and heal the sick wherever they are. Be people of the kingdom.

When shortages come, don't go to the cities looking for what isn't there any more. Stay home and live off what you have. Don't give in to fear. God can provide what you need. Don't get caught in the riots or you'll become a casualty. Learn the lessons from those who have been down this road before you. Keep yourself and family in good spirits, help others in whatever way you can and God will be your rear guard. Be people of the kingdom.

Establish communities of safety when chaos comes. Band together with neighbors, share what you have. Live simply, not extravagantly or violently. Pray for one another. Heal one another, and watch out for the safety of the group. There is strength in numbers. Don't give in to corruption because lawlessness abounds; integrity matters. Be people of the kingdom.

Consider praying for my family as we prepare to embark on a new chapter of our lives. We greatly covet your prayers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for allowing me into your life. I never thought it would turn out this way. It really is a dream come true.

(In more ways than one)

Praying Medic

Demonstration of Laying On Of Hands

2011-07-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

John Mellor teaches on healing while a woman is healed of neck pain.

Partner Evangelism

2011-07-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you've may have wondered what my partner thinks about all this healing stuff. Today, you'll get an inside look at what's going on in his life.

I'll be honest - I don't really know if he's a Christian or not. I've made too many wrong assumptions about that in the past, so I try not to categorize people any more. He believes in God. I'll leave it at that for now.

He's seen the power of God at work more than most people. He's witnessed miracles with our patients and he's been healed at least a dozen times of things like neck, back, knee and hand pain. He's one of the most accident prone people I've ever met - I think his size 14 feet have something to do with that.

He doesn't go to church. But we work a lot of weekends, so neither of us have the opportunity to attend every weekend, even if we wanted to.

Since we began working together 2 years ago, he's had a number of dreams from God. We always talk about what God is saying to him in dreams and he appreciates that.

I've never tried to lead him in the sinner's prayer. It's not something I routinely do and I've haven't had a leading from God to do it with him.

Much of what he knows about religion he gets from the history channel. A few months ago, he watched a program on the subject of hell. We had a long talk afterward.

He asked what I thought hell was, why some people went there and why others went to heaven. It was the open door I had been waiting for. He already had enough information to believe in hell. I agreed that it was a real place and steered the discussion into matters he'd never discussed with anyone. We talked about the concepts of judgment for sin, the atonement for it by the death of Jesus, the nature of God's mercy and the forgiveness of sin through His grace.

It all made perfect sense to him.

A few months ago, he was having knee pain in the middle of the shift. After I asked him about it, he confessed that he went for a 3 mile run before work and probably shouldn't have. I told him to put his hand on his knee and command it to be healed, like he'd seen me do a hundred times.

He said he tried that already, but it didn't work. So I placed my hand on his knee and commanded it to be healed. It took 4 times, but he felt a warm sensation and in a few minutes all the pain was gone.

I asked how many times he tried to heal his knee. "Well....just once."

I'm glad he tried, even if he wasn't successful. I didn't know this, but apparently, he's been learning things by working with me. He's probably not even saved yet, but he's trying to do things I didn't attempt until I'd been saved for 7 years.

Two weeks ago, I began sticking pennies to the walls at the hospital while waiting for paperwork to be copied, IV's to be pulled, phone calls to be made and patients to eat before we could transport them.

My partner thought that was a neat trick. I told him "It's not a trick. It's the power of God at work. The same power that heals our patients, also holds the pennies to the wall. It's faith in action."

That day I stuck a dime to the wall outside the ER. Speaking so he could hear me, I asked God to hold it there and walked away, but I glanced at him over my shoulder as I did. When the dime finally fell, he picked it up. He held it to the wall and asked God to hold it when he let go. And it stayed there. He smiled and said, "Well I'll be a son of a bitch!" (Words of praise to God among those who don't know Him yet)

I stuck some pennies to the wood door at our station last week, just to encourage him. The next day, after I put the ambulance away at the end of the day, I came inside to clock out and saw two pennies stuck to the door.

He looked at me and explained: "I decided I'd try it scientifically. I held the pennies up and didn't pray or ask God to hold them there. I thought maybe it was the paint or some scientific thing that was really doing it. But they wouldn't stay there, even for a second. So I put them up again and asked God to hold them there and they've been there for 10 minutes."

I smiled and said, "like I told you, it's the power of God at work."

My partner is in the process of learning about God, by being around me. Some of it comes through dreams, some though healing, some through signs and wonders like coins on the wall and some by conversations about life.

Will I lead him in the sinner's prayer? I don't know.

But whether he knows it or not, he's already being discipled. And Jesus did tell us, "Go, and make disciples of all nations."

Fibromyalgia Healed

2011-07-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Mary Ann shares the story of her miraculous healing from fibromyalgia and shares the secret of walking by faith to obtain victory.

If God Heals Then Why Am I Sick?

2011-07-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's fair question to ask - If God heals, then why am I still sick? Pete Cabrera answers the question using an analogy that boils down to the issue of our authority to over sickness and the proper exercise of that authority.

Terri's Problem

2011-07-15T07:00:00.001-06:00

After losing her balance and falling at home a couple of times, Terri took a tumble from the top of the stairs and landed on her head. The head CT showed both subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages. She was a trauma transfer to a larger hospital for neurosurgery.

I've never met anyone who was proud of the fact that a life of drinking had destroyed their liver. It's a regret they must live with and most would give anything to do it all over again. Terri had struggled with drinking for years and the battle took a severe toll on her 46 year old body.

While Heidi acted as an IV pole, holding the bag of plasma as close to the ceiling as she could, I asked if she wanted me to get a pressure infuser, so she could do more important things. Like getting the paperwork together so we could hit the road.

I like Heidi. She gives good hugs. Even when your sarcasm is aimed at her.

We fitted the c-collar on Terri so as not to rip the IV out of her neck and rolled her onto the hard backboard. I put a blanket on it first.

As we loaded Terri into the rig, I thought about how I'm growing farther away from my comrades in how we see our patients. Just about everyone involved in her care (except Heidi) had a critical remark about how Terri lives her life.

Drunk. Loser. Psycho. Professional alcoholic.

I looked at her and saw a broken-hearted woman, desperately in need of one person who believed in her.

After getting her vitals and most of my charting done, I told her I saw a lot of people healed in the ambulance and asked if she wanted me to pray with her.

She was delighted. So I placed one hand on her forehead and she gripped the other one tightly as I commanded the bleeding to stop and released the kingdom of God into her broken and bruised body.

As I spoke to her soul about God's great love and compassion for her, tears flowed like a river. I prophesied a better day and brighter hope and healing of her memories. As I declared God's goodness and protection over her, she gripped my hand even tighter.

The yellow pigment of her skin and bruises only told part of the story.

"Thanks so much for praying for me. I know God loves me. I know He's there and I try so hard to do the right things. But I keep messing up. I want to please God. I want to be sober. And I'm scared that this might be the last time for me."

I told her it wasn't about what she had to do to please God. It was about what He had already done for her. I said God has a really bad memory concerning her mistakes. And what she might focus on isn't the mistakes she made, but the awesome love He had for her.

We arrived at the other hospital and transferred her to the bed. I gave report through the snickers, rolling eyes and giggles. Before I left the ER, I gave her a big hug and told her I thought she was awesome. I don't care what they think about Terri or the fact that she was perfectly lucid with a blood alcohol of 0.44.

I really liked her.

Was she healed? I don't know. It's becoming less important these days. I know she was touched by the love of God and that might be what she needed most.

When I stand in eternity, looking back at every moment of my life from heaven's perspective, this moment will appear once more before my eyes. I'll know all the results of our meeting down to the smallest detail.

And just as it's too late for the alcoholic to go back and change everything after their liver fails, it'll be too late for us to change our actions once we're in eternity.

All we can do is wonder.....

What if?

God Wants You Confident - Steve Thompson

2011-07-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

There is a subtle difference between arrogance and confidence, as Steve Thompson explains.