I love testimonies like the one you're about to hear. This woman was blind for over three years. She received prayer but nothing happened....until one month later.
Feb 17, 2012
Feb 14, 2012
Holy Spirit Visits the Rock & Gem Show
My wife is a metalsmith. She creates one of a kind art jewelry by setting precious stones, fossils, meteorites, and other unusual objects in formed metal; typically silver or gold. It's been her life - long dream to attend the annual rock and gem show in Tucson, Arizona.
The show in Tucson is one of the largest in the world, drawing craftspeople and vendors from every continent for two weeks in February.
This week I had the pleasure of accompanying her on a trip to the show. I was a bit overwhelmed at the scale of it all. Vendors descend on the city taking up temporary residence in just about every vacant parking lot in town.
My wife was on a treasure hunt. She's developing a business selling the jewelry she makes. She needed some raw materials. She specializes in odd shapes and textures, combining unusual design concepts to make one of a kind creations.
(As a side note - I plan to incorporate a link to her jewelry website where her creations can be purchased. The website is still being developed)
She really likes ammonites, one of which is pictured above. This one has undergone a process of opalization, where a layer of opal forms around a fossilized sea shell. Her search brought us to a number of vendors who sell such things.
The first vendor we visited had a number of things she wanted to buy. As they worked out a deal, I couldn't help but notice all the people walking by who needed healing. I saw people using canes, wheelchairs, splints and slings everywhere I looked.
We moved to another booth. The second vendor and I struck up a conversation about God after I made a remark about all the people who needed healing. The vendor shared her own testimony of healing of a severe back injury. A few minutes later her husband joined us. He happened to be one of the men I saw limping. A few minutes later I was praying for his back and knee to be healed. It was a sight to see the four of us standing in the presence of God, half of us praying in tongues and the other half commanding pain to go.
The vendor asked us to follow her to another booth, so we did. She took us to meet her friend Diane - who is also a Christian and who became my newest Facebook friend. Diane is a wonderful person as is her husband. The four of us talked for almost an hour and we prayed with both of them for healing of arthritis and degenerative joint disease. I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and when He came near, Diane almost ended up on the ground. We didn't have anyone to catch.
We visited another vendor named Kasi, who had some stones that my wife liked. As she talked with my wife, Kasi noticed my wife's pendant (left) and asked who made it. She said it was one of her own designs. She asked if my wife did special orders (she does) and wanted to know if she could make a pendant with her mother's favorite bible verse on it as a birthday gift.
After some discussion about pricing and the fact that they didn't take credit cards and were low on cash, they agreed to a trade. Half a dozen stones for a custom silver pendant necklace. We talked for a long time about God with Kasi and her husband whom I liked a lot. He has a killer sense of humor.
We drove to another part of town and visited more vendors. I was smiling ear to ear because of how God had orchestrated the first part of our day. My wife bought a few more stones. I felt like a high school geology student on a field trip. So much to learn.
It was a wonderful trip. On the way home we stopped to visit with my aunt and uncle, who live in Tucson. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel. My uncle re-told the story of his trip to South Africa before the end of apartheid. He worked for a company that made medical devices. He was sent to South Africa as a salesman to show doctors the advantages of a new device. When the doctors showed interest in learning more about the device, he visited them in the hospital and showed them how to use it.
He visited the ghettos of Soweto; a city of 3 million people, nearly all of whom were black. The hospital he toured was a one story building with hundreds of patient rooms. The sanitary conditions were miserable and all the patients were black. The only whites allowed in the hospital were doctors. Each patient room had one bed. Most of the rooms had four patients; two lying in opposite directions on the mattress, with two more patients lying under the bed on the floor.
He told me about seeing a line of about 50 women outside the hospital, waiting their turn to go inside. All the women were 9 months pregnant and about to deliver their babies. They waited in line until just before the birth, then a man would take them quickly inside for the delivery.
He also told me about visiting the white -only hospital, the floors of which were so clean you could eat off them. All the staff at this hospital were white except housekeeping. The rooms were very nice. He told me about hearing the alarm that went off every night at 6:00 to announced that blacks had exactly one hour to return to the ghetto for the evening.
I love hearing about how things were years ago. It makes me appreciate a little more the freedoms we have today.
He visited the ghettos of Soweto; a city of 3 million people, nearly all of whom were black. The hospital he toured was a one story building with hundreds of patient rooms. The sanitary conditions were miserable and all the patients were black. The only whites allowed in the hospital were doctors. Each patient room had one bed. Most of the rooms had four patients; two lying in opposite directions on the mattress, with two more patients lying under the bed on the floor.
He told me about seeing a line of about 50 women outside the hospital, waiting their turn to go inside. All the women were 9 months pregnant and about to deliver their babies. They waited in line until just before the birth, then a man would take them quickly inside for the delivery.
He also told me about visiting the white -only hospital, the floors of which were so clean you could eat off them. All the staff at this hospital were white except housekeeping. The rooms were very nice. He told me about hearing the alarm that went off every night at 6:00 to announced that blacks had exactly one hour to return to the ghetto for the evening.
I love hearing about how things were years ago. It makes me appreciate a little more the freedoms we have today.
On February 18th, Diane Coon posted this testimony on my Facebook wall:
"Hey you guys, you prayed for me at "the Rock Show", God showed you my bones; I'm better and better; dancing around my living room; exercising all those joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons.
Feb 11, 2012
Making Disciples
I became involved in a discussion a while back with a group of leaders from the street healing movement. Brandon Lee, one of visionaries of the movement asked a group of us how we might go about making disciples after seeing people healed.
Most of us have seen hundreds of people healed on the streets. After they were healed, some were led to a profession of faith in Jesus. But almost none were walking in the power of God as we had hoped.
Preaching and healing can bring people to God. Getting people to make a profession of faith isn’t hard to do. Keeping them in a relationship with God afterward is more problematic. Church polls reveal that many new converts leave the church or lose faith in God shortly afterward. Among those who remain committed followers of Jesus, few can honestly say they're living the kind of life Jesus and his disciples lived. Many leaders have recognized that present models of evangelism and discipleship aren’t working.
In the span of three years Jesus took uneducated men and through frequent demonstration and teaching on the kingdom of God, transformed their lives into ones that looked like His. When the process was done their lives replicated the life of their teacher. This is the goal of making disciples. It’s the replication of the kingdom of God in the lives of others.
The gospel of the kingdom of God is transformational. Wherever the kingdom goes it destroys mindsets that are opposed to the righteousness of God. It frees people from bondage to sin. It empowers them to release miracles into the lives of others. The kingdom of God is not a set of precepts we agree upon, it is the transformational power of God that works in the lives of believers, changing them into the image of Christ.
The question that leaders of the street healing movement are asking is, "How do we go about making disciples in the manner that Jesus did?"
Most of these leaders are young and on fire for God, which probably accounts for their enthusiasm and passion. They’ve seen the effects of powerless preaching and the weakness of a church body sitting in a pew on Sunday lulled to sleep by sermons. They have a vision of a church that’s different. Their vision is of a vibrant, spirit-filled, demon-casting, sickness-destroying, dead-raising army of disciples who do the things Jesus did.
They know that this vision will never become a reality without leaders who can demonstrate the kingdom and train believers to follow after them. This vision requires leaders who have a different mindset. And that puts them at odds with the leaders of most church congregations.
The church tends to reflect the operational values of it's leaders. Although Jesus is the head of the church, the manifestation of Jesus in the world is largely dictated by a handful of leaders, who collectively cast a vision for how the church impacts society. The leaders involved in street healing have noted that few other leaders seem to understand the value of training and equipping believers to go into the streets and do the works of God.
A few years ago I began to re-evaluate what I believed about the church and how it operates. One of the books that challenged my presuppositions was "The Shaping of Things To Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church", by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch.
Frost and Hirsch have three main observations about the church and how it operates. The first is that most churches are attractional instead of missional.
Most of these leaders are young and on fire for God, which probably accounts for their enthusiasm and passion. They’ve seen the effects of powerless preaching and the weakness of a church body sitting in a pew on Sunday lulled to sleep by sermons. They have a vision of a church that’s different. Their vision is of a vibrant, spirit-filled, demon-casting, sickness-destroying, dead-raising army of disciples who do the things Jesus did.
They know that this vision will never become a reality without leaders who can demonstrate the kingdom and train believers to follow after them. This vision requires leaders who have a different mindset. And that puts them at odds with the leaders of most church congregations.
The church tends to reflect the operational values of it's leaders. Although Jesus is the head of the church, the manifestation of Jesus in the world is largely dictated by a handful of leaders, who collectively cast a vision for how the church impacts society. The leaders involved in street healing have noted that few other leaders seem to understand the value of training and equipping believers to go into the streets and do the works of God.
A few years ago I began to re-evaluate what I believed about the church and how it operates. One of the books that challenged my presuppositions was "The Shaping of Things To Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church", by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch.
Frost and Hirsch have three main observations about the church and how it operates. The first is that most churches are attractional instead of missional.
Traditional churches create sacred spaces that are uncomfortable for not-yet-Christians. Our goal is to attract the not-yet-Christians into these spaces. With the attractional church model, evangelism is about inviting people to meetings.
Jesus didn't instruct his disciples to gather in a building and wait for people to come to them. He sent his disciples out into the community. The disciples were guests in their homes and businesses. This is a very different approach than the one most churches use today.
Even when traditional churches try to reach out to the community, "church planting" generally involves planting another Sunday service in a new location, rather than establishing authentic Christian communities.
The answer from Frost and Hirsch is that church must operate missionally. The missional church does not seek to attract people to it. It seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don't know him yet. It does this through proximity spaces, shared projects, and commercial enterprises.
Proximity spaces are places or events where Christians and not-yet-Christians interact with each other. They are definitely not churches. Examples of proximity spaces include art workshops, pubs and cafes where Christians form part of the regular clientele. Shared projects are activities of interest to the wider community, which meet a need and provide an opportunity for Christians and not-yet-Christians to meet in a natural situation.
Commercial enterprises are businesses, run by Christians for the wider community, which are not overtly evangelistic. The point of all of these activities is to find neutral ground where the Church can intentionally meet with the world.
The second observation they make is the traditional churches are dualistic instead of Messianic. That is, they believe that there is a separation between that which is secular and that which is sacred. This idea is rooted in Greek philosophy, not the Bible. This separation of the sacred from the secular impacts all aspects of life. We have sacred and secular people (clergy and laity), sacred and secular places (church buildings and the rest of the world), and sacred and secular activities (church services and the rest of our activities).
Even when traditional churches try to reach out to the community, "church planting" generally involves planting another Sunday service in a new location, rather than establishing authentic Christian communities.
The answer from Frost and Hirsch is that church must operate missionally. The missional church does not seek to attract people to it. It seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don't know him yet. It does this through proximity spaces, shared projects, and commercial enterprises.
Proximity spaces are places or events where Christians and not-yet-Christians interact with each other. They are definitely not churches. Examples of proximity spaces include art workshops, pubs and cafes where Christians form part of the regular clientele. Shared projects are activities of interest to the wider community, which meet a need and provide an opportunity for Christians and not-yet-Christians to meet in a natural situation.
Commercial enterprises are businesses, run by Christians for the wider community, which are not overtly evangelistic. The point of all of these activities is to find neutral ground where the Church can intentionally meet with the world.
The second observation they make is the traditional churches are dualistic instead of Messianic. That is, they believe that there is a separation between that which is secular and that which is sacred. This idea is rooted in Greek philosophy, not the Bible. This separation of the sacred from the secular impacts all aspects of life. We have sacred and secular people (clergy and laity), sacred and secular places (church buildings and the rest of the world), and sacred and secular activities (church services and the rest of our activities).
The separation of the sacred from the secular has a major impact on how we live out our Christian lives. It allows us to relegate spiritual duties such as healing and evangelism to the professional clergy, minimizing the impact of the average believer. It leads us to believe that only the things that happen on Sunday are truly spiritual, which compartmentalizes our Christianity.
Frost and Hirsch encourage the Church to abandon this distinction between secular and sacred, and to adopt the attitude of Jesus, who saw all activity as part of his ministry. We need to adopt an attitude which sees all of our activity, work, relaxation and specifically Christian service as a sacrament. All of our life must be sacred, and we must take Jesus with us wherever we go.
The third observation is that the traditional church structure is hierarchical instead of apostolic. Frost and Hirsch say that traditional churches have a hierarchical leadership system. They argue that this is neither Biblical nor efficient, and the Church should instead adopt the leadership structure taken from Ephesians chapter 4 (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers).
The heirarchical model put enormous power in the hands of a few people and emphasizes the gifting of those individuals. It also ranks people in higher and lower places of authority, which is a model taken from society, not the bible. In contrast, the Ephesians 4 structure provides for a flat leadership model where the gifting of all the 5-fold offices are represented and no one is higher or lower in rank. This plurality of leadership based on spiritual gifting meets all of the needs of the Church, whereas a traditional hierarchical model often leaves gaping holes.
The traditional church model lends itself well to certain things. It is effective for teaching in the broader sense where a single message can be heard by thousands of people at once. Dissemination of information can accomplished this way. But the application of what is taught is a different matter.
Putting instruction into practical use can’t be accomplished in large groups over an hour or two a week, particularly if feedback is needed. This must be done in smaller groups, to allow for personalization and time for questions to be answered. Congregations that meet once a week have no time for practical application. Some churches have developed small groups that meet during the week for this reason.
The hierarchical leadership structure tends to emphasize and draw from the gifting of one or two key individuals who lead the congregation. It rarely allows for the development of the gifting of the congregation itself. Among fellowships where the gifting of the average believer is acknowledged and developed, it seldom deviates from the gifting of the leaders and it is rarely allowed to surpass it.
This structure allows for some of the things that the church needs to accomplish, but it isn't effective for making disciples. And it’s this issue that leaders of the street healing movement are most concerned with.
I mentioned that many of us tend to compartmentalize our Christianity. Some of us have little interaction with other believers outside of Sunday morning church services. We tend to bring out our spiriuality only when it's required. On Sunday we put on Jesus, but he remains hidden the rest of the week. The traditional church model forces many of us to live as a part-time Christians.
The spiritual growth necessary to be transformed into a disciple is a daily process. It happens little by little through daily renewing of the mind. As we meditate on new revelation from God and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, our perceptions, beliefs and actions take on new directions. As we get together with others and operate in the power of God, faith for the miraculous grows. The transformational process that makes us into disciples can't do it's work if it's only operational one day a week.
One of the men who discipled me is David McLain. I had a dream in which he and I walked through the streets of the town we lived in. We were starting a new type of church called a ‘missional’ church and we were looking for a "person of peace". Finding them was the first thing we had to do. I’d like to draw your attention to the instructions Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew chapter 10 and Luke chapter 10.
In His instructions, Jesus told the disciples to go out into the cities of Israel. The first thing that should be noted is that He didn't tell them to bring people to a central location, as we do today. His instructions were for them to go out into society. He also told them to inquire who was worthy and to find a household where a person of peace lived. He told them not to go from place to place, but to remain there, eating what was served, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and teaching them about the kingdom.
What is the emphasis in these instructions? Developing relationships while ministering to strangers and teaching them about the kingdom.
In sending out the twelve and later, the seventy; He instructed his disciples to find a "person of peace". Finding the person of peace is the key to the entire process of spreading the good news.
Frost and Hirsch encourage the Church to abandon this distinction between secular and sacred, and to adopt the attitude of Jesus, who saw all activity as part of his ministry. We need to adopt an attitude which sees all of our activity, work, relaxation and specifically Christian service as a sacrament. All of our life must be sacred, and we must take Jesus with us wherever we go.
The third observation is that the traditional church structure is hierarchical instead of apostolic. Frost and Hirsch say that traditional churches have a hierarchical leadership system. They argue that this is neither Biblical nor efficient, and the Church should instead adopt the leadership structure taken from Ephesians chapter 4 (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers).
The heirarchical model put enormous power in the hands of a few people and emphasizes the gifting of those individuals. It also ranks people in higher and lower places of authority, which is a model taken from society, not the bible. In contrast, the Ephesians 4 structure provides for a flat leadership model where the gifting of all the 5-fold offices are represented and no one is higher or lower in rank. This plurality of leadership based on spiritual gifting meets all of the needs of the Church, whereas a traditional hierarchical model often leaves gaping holes.
The traditional church model lends itself well to certain things. It is effective for teaching in the broader sense where a single message can be heard by thousands of people at once. Dissemination of information can accomplished this way. But the application of what is taught is a different matter.
Putting instruction into practical use can’t be accomplished in large groups over an hour or two a week, particularly if feedback is needed. This must be done in smaller groups, to allow for personalization and time for questions to be answered. Congregations that meet once a week have no time for practical application. Some churches have developed small groups that meet during the week for this reason.
The hierarchical leadership structure tends to emphasize and draw from the gifting of one or two key individuals who lead the congregation. It rarely allows for the development of the gifting of the congregation itself. Among fellowships where the gifting of the average believer is acknowledged and developed, it seldom deviates from the gifting of the leaders and it is rarely allowed to surpass it.
This structure allows for some of the things that the church needs to accomplish, but it isn't effective for making disciples. And it’s this issue that leaders of the street healing movement are most concerned with.
I mentioned that many of us tend to compartmentalize our Christianity. Some of us have little interaction with other believers outside of Sunday morning church services. We tend to bring out our spiriuality only when it's required. On Sunday we put on Jesus, but he remains hidden the rest of the week. The traditional church model forces many of us to live as a part-time Christians.
The spiritual growth necessary to be transformed into a disciple is a daily process. It happens little by little through daily renewing of the mind. As we meditate on new revelation from God and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, our perceptions, beliefs and actions take on new directions. As we get together with others and operate in the power of God, faith for the miraculous grows. The transformational process that makes us into disciples can't do it's work if it's only operational one day a week.
One of the men who discipled me is David McLain. I had a dream in which he and I walked through the streets of the town we lived in. We were starting a new type of church called a ‘missional’ church and we were looking for a "person of peace". Finding them was the first thing we had to do. I’d like to draw your attention to the instructions Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew chapter 10 and Luke chapter 10.
In His instructions, Jesus told the disciples to go out into the cities of Israel. The first thing that should be noted is that He didn't tell them to bring people to a central location, as we do today. His instructions were for them to go out into society. He also told them to inquire who was worthy and to find a household where a person of peace lived. He told them not to go from place to place, but to remain there, eating what was served, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and teaching them about the kingdom.
What is the emphasis in these instructions? Developing relationships while ministering to strangers and teaching them about the kingdom.
In sending out the twelve and later, the seventy; He instructed his disciples to find a "person of peace". Finding the person of peace is the key to the entire process of spreading the good news.
The "person of peace" is a person who sees the work that God is doing through us. They are willing to partner with us in bringing that work to the lives of others. This partnership requires trust and a spirit of peace. Once the person of peace is found, they will lead us to a group over which they have some type of influence. If we gain favor and acceptance with the person of peace, we will likely gain it with those in their sphere of influence. Just as we are doorways to the kingdom of God, the person of peace is a doorway to the harvest field. The work of God flows through these doorways.
Biblical examples of a "person of peace" are numerous. The gospel came to the Gentiles after an angel spoke to Cornelius, who was called a ‘just man of good reputation’. The angel told him to send for the apostle Peter. He allowed Peter to speak to all who were in his home and the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Cornelius, by virtue of his reputation and influence served as the first doorway for the gospel to reach the Gentiles. (See Acts chapter 10)
Biblical examples of a "person of peace" are numerous. The gospel came to the Gentiles after an angel spoke to Cornelius, who was called a ‘just man of good reputation’. The angel told him to send for the apostle Peter. He allowed Peter to speak to all who were in his home and the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Cornelius, by virtue of his reputation and influence served as the first doorway for the gospel to reach the Gentiles. (See Acts chapter 10)
The Samaritan woman at the well took the message of the Messiah back to her city after meeting Jesus. She was in a sense, a person of peace who helped Jesus spread the gospel. (John 4:28-29)
Aquila and Pricilla ran a small business. They received Paul into their home where he worked with them making tents until he received outside support. This couple later tutored Apollos and hosted a Gentile church. ( See Acts 18:1-3)
Justus, whose house was located next door to the synagogue, hosted Paul for a time at Corinth. (See Acts 18:7)
Aquila and Pricilla ran a small business. They received Paul into their home where he worked with them making tents until he received outside support. This couple later tutored Apollos and hosted a Gentile church. ( See Acts 18:1-3)
Justus, whose house was located next door to the synagogue, hosted Paul for a time at Corinth. (See Acts 18:7)
Lydia is another example, having opened her home to Paul and the disciples after receiving their testimony. (Acts 16:14-15)
The last example might surprise you. The man with the demon, who called himself ‘Legion’ became a person of peace. Some people are by their own nature, a person of peace. Some become one as a result of our interaction with them. The man with the demon, after he was set free, begged Jesus to allow him to remain with him. The people of Gadara begged Jesus to leave. Jesus sent the man home to Decapolis to tell of the great things the Lord did. Later, when Jesus visited Dacapolis, the people there asked Him to stay and heal their sick and infirmed. The man became a person of peace, whose personal testimony prepared the harvest field. (See Mark 5:14-20 and Mark 7:31-37)
When John G. Lake trained his divine healing technicians, he sent them into the homes of people who needed healing of a terminal condition. The household would have had at least one person willing to cooperate with the work God was doing. They would pray over this person, focusing on getting them healed. They taught the bible and stayed as long as needed, which would have been anywhere from a few days to a few months. This model, which proved to be very effective, is almost exactly like the one Jesus gave to His disciples.
When John G. Lake trained his divine healing technicians, he sent them into the homes of people who needed healing of a terminal condition. The household would have had at least one person willing to cooperate with the work God was doing. They would pray over this person, focusing on getting them healed. They taught the bible and stayed as long as needed, which would have been anywhere from a few days to a few months. This model, which proved to be very effective, is almost exactly like the one Jesus gave to His disciples.
It was after I decided to be intentional about living and walking in the power of God every day that I noticed changes in the lives of people around me. Those who were never interested in my religion, were very interested in the healing miracles they heard about. The deeper I walked into the kingdom, and the more consistently I demonstrated it the more people were attracted to Jesus. And my opportunities to disciple them increased dramatically.
Making disciples requires a large investment of time from the parties involved. We must come to terms with the fact that we only have so much time to devote to the process. Second, we need to accept the fact that there are very few people who are interested in becoming a disciple in the sense that we are discussing. You might see 100 people a month healed, but the number who are genuinely interested in doing what you're doing may only be one or two. Finding the ones who are interested is critical if you hope to see fruit come forth. In my experiences, God can lead us through dreams, visions, angelic messages and divine encounters to the "person of peace".
Making disciples requires a large investment of time from the parties involved. We must come to terms with the fact that we only have so much time to devote to the process. Second, we need to accept the fact that there are very few people who are interested in becoming a disciple in the sense that we are discussing. You might see 100 people a month healed, but the number who are genuinely interested in doing what you're doing may only be one or two. Finding the ones who are interested is critical if you hope to see fruit come forth. In my experiences, God can lead us through dreams, visions, angelic messages and divine encounters to the "person of peace".
Once the person of peace is found, you must demonstrate the life and power of God in your daily activities with them. You must develop relationships of trust. If they open doors to the lives of others, ask God how you can meet their needs. You must have regular contact with those you meet, demonstrating Jesus to them in His power, forgiveness, love, compassion and all the things that reveal His life in you.
If we do these things, we will truly make disciples and fulfill the great commission and in the process we’ll reveal the truth that Jesus is alive and breathing in those He calls His bride.
Feb 8, 2012
Cardiac Surgeon Shares Near Death Testimonies
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.
Feb 5, 2012
Philip Johnson On Darwinism
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.
Feb 3, 2012
Circle K Healing
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.
Jan 31, 2012
Jason Chin - Street Healing
Jan 27, 2012
An Open Letter To My Readers
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.
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’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.
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.
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.
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 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 ;)
Jan 22, 2012
Revival At Starbucks
Jan 19, 2012
Go Back And Be Happy
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
Jan 16, 2012
Man Conscious During 23-Year Coma
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.
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.
Jan 13, 2012
Mustard Seed Faith - A Growth Process
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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