The Banker’s Mum

This story is part of a series written in September of 2012 during our trip to Australia to teach on healing.

When traveling for pleasure, we generally eat whatever pleases us. One of the perils of traveling for ministry is found in the command of Jesus to remain in the home where you find a person of peace and eat what they put before you. (See Luke 10:6-7)

This command wouldn't bother me so much were in not found smack in the middle of the rest of his instructions to the disciples, where he told them to heal the sick that were there.

I’m not a big fan of religious legalism. But I think God honors our obedience, when we obey from a heart of love. I really wanted to obey the command to eat what was put before me. I’ve been a picky eater my entire life and one thing I’m trying to do is to be more open to different types of food.

Earlier in the week, my host introduced me to vegemite. He was gracious and allowed me to smear it lightly on a piece of toast instead of putting on a thick layer. It wasn’t all that bad. I ate the entire piece of toast, which impressed him.

Knowing this was our first trip to Australia, he wanted to expose us to the richness of an authentic Aussie dinner. So he bought a kangaroo roast, some herbs and vegetables and asked his mum to make dinner for us.

His mum is an excellent cook. The veggies were delightful. She did a decent job with the kangaroo roast, though I prefer meat with a little more fat and kangaroo is extremely lean. The flavor was a bit wild, as you might expect. I noticed that my host didn’t eat more than a few pieces. I followed suit and threw in the towel after I my third piece.

After dinner, his mum told us that she has degenerative joint disease in her spine, which causes her vertebrae to click and pop when she moves. I prayed over her back for a few minutes until it got nice and warm and told her, “You’re healed, now stop being a sissy.”

On the follow-up visit, a week later, she reported that the popping and clicking was gone. To thank us, she cooked a slow- roasted lamb.

It was delicious.

Sometimes obedience can be a blessing.

Meatloaf and Healing Your Neighbor

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.