Spirit of Elisha

Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.  (2 Kings 2:8-15 NIV)

I'm going to tell you these things because I love you and want you to have the joy I have.  I am nobody special, and I generally want to remain anonymous because I want the attention to be on Jesus, not me.  I am not afraid to be recognized, however, and am perfectly happy with meeting those who are in Jesus, too!  He wants us to get together, to love one another and build one another up in Him.

As I said in a previous post, I prayed some really crazy things in the days after my baptism, and one of the things I specifically remember was asking for a double-portion of the spirit of Elisha.  I did that because I was led to, but also because I had been devouring the Bible and was fascinated by many of the stories, including the stories about the prophets.  Both Elijah and Elisha performed miracles, and Elisha performed more than his predecessor.  I figured if Elisha could ask for more, I could, too!  Be careful what you pray for!

A little more background about me before I move on:  My parents bought us (my siblings and me) a set of encyclopedias when I began school.  It was the World Book, and I read it cover-to-cover, volume-by-volume, during my elementary years.  One of my teachers was an ex-librarian, and she told my mother I needed to read more books, apparently because, in her opinion, I was not reading enough fiction books.  My mother told her in a conference that I always came home from school and read the encyclopedia, and the teacher didn't say another word about it, although I think I recall her encouraging me to read other things, as well.  By the time I was in the sixth grade, and about twelve years old, they tested me and I had a twelfth-grade knowledge of science and geography.  That's what reading the encyclopedia does.  Yes, I was weird, but that's how God made me.

Fast-forward to when I began reading the Bible.  I consumed it like I did the encyclopedia.  I read it over and over and over again; cover to cover and then cover to cover again.  I listened to an audio version while I mowed the lawn or went for walks, and it became part of me.  It got so I recognized Scripture when I heard it, and knew when people were misquoting it or telling lies about it.  I didn't memorize much of it because that's not how I am wired, but I knew it, and still do.  That's how God made me.  I started measuring everything I read and heard against what I knew was in the Bible, and considered anything other than the Bible suspicious, because I knew it was all "words of men."  I still do that.

I saw all kinds of things in Scripture, and still do.  The Holy Spirit shows them to me and I know it is Truth.  I know it is actually Jesus, whose name is The Word of God, among many others.  I cherish it.  Perhaps I worshiped it, and that's probably okay, as long as we realize that the Bible is not the only thing God ever said.  God is bigger than a book, and the early followers of Jesus did not have the Bible.  They only had the Holy Spirit, and living today with the Holy Spirit is how God wants us to be, not searching for answers in a book.

God showed me His heart in those days, and taught me to fear him.  He used the Bible to show me things He hates and things He loves.  He hates sin in all forms:  lies, disobedience, unbelief, idolatry and murder of the innocent.  He loves those who are humble and have contrite, repentant hearts.  And He is going to bring Satan's dominion to an end, both in heaven and on earth.

I spent much time in prayer, always seeking a clean heart, and He knew that.  He tested me, to see if I would follow Him or not.  I didn't always get it right at first, but I loved Him and feared Him, and I wanted to follow Him more than anything.  He showed me things in me that I needed to take care of, and I did the best I could to repent and make things right.  For example, He showed me that I was bitter toward some people I interacted with during my late teens, and I sought them out and told them I forgave them, even though they did not remember the incidents.  When I shaved my head for the first time in my life, to be "Mr. Clean" at a vacation Bible school, I was pretty much that:  Mr. Clean.  And God used me.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power and is effective.  (James 5:16)

I hate pillars, and pentagrams, and five-pointed stars, and anything else that is a symbol of Satan or exalts itself over The Most High God.  This is God's heart, and it is throughout the Bible.  Many people like to think that God loves them, because it feeds their narcissism and lets them think they are okay with God, but they are deceived and do not understand the judgement they are under from a holy and righteous God.  God created man to walk with him, to know him and to see the amazing things he does, but man sinned and God hates sin.  God hates sinners, and would still be a perfectly just and loving god if he simply threw everybody into hell and started over.  He effectively did that with The Flood, and He threatened to do it with the Israelites at the golden-calf incident.  Instead, He relented and eventually provided us a way back to him by sending Jesus to live a perfect life and then take our punishment.

Click image to enlarge.

One of the first things God did after my baptism was let me experience the words, "Sift you like wheat," in my brain.  At first I thought it was funny and kept quoting it, but then I realized where it came from and I became frightened, felt it was a warning to both me and those I attended church with, and pleaded to God for protection.  Soon after that, I saw a weather map on television and knew something strange was going to happen concerning the weather in my home town that weekend.  On Monday, a holiday, a rare tornado went through our community, tearing some ventilation equipment off the roof of a hotel and eventually damaging the church we were attending.  I was astounded.

May 3, 1999 F5 Tornado, Moore, Oklahoma

Soon afterwards, we took a trip out west and passed through Oklahoma City.  A massive tornado had torn through the suburb of Moore a couple of months before, and the devastation was incredible. My wife encouraged me to visit the National Severe Storms Forecast Center because I had always been interested in weather, and we knew it was located in nearby Norman.  As we traveled south down I-35 through Moore, we drove through where the F5 storm had crossed the expressway.  The grass was gone; there was nothing but dirt.  It was heartbreaking.

When we got close to the forecast center, I suddenly began to weep more than I had ever wept before.  I pulled onto a side street, parked the vehicle and began to soak tissue after tissue with snot.  My wife and daughters didn't know what to do.  I pulled out my "Daily Bread" devotional and showed it to my wife as I wept.  That morning, the Scripture had been, "Weep with those who weep; mourn with those who morn."

American Red Cross, Heart of Oklahoma

Eventually, after I composed myself and began driving again, I realized we were right across the street from an American Red Cross disaster response center.  Surely this had been a place of much weeping.   Again, I was astounded.

August 11, 1999, Salt Lake City

A few weeks later, a rare tornado went across Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, killing one person.  Around the time of my baptism, my church fellowship had been studying "the cults," and Mormonism was the topic at the time.  One of the couples had been visited by some Mormon missionaries and had asked that we pray for them, since they had agreed to meet with the missionaries a second time.  I did pray for them, and prayed about the Satanic influence involved with that religion.  In particular, I did not like the pictures I had seen of the Mormon Temple.  I don't recall what I specifically prayed, but I'm sure I was focused on Satan.  When I saw the reports about the Salt Lake tornado, I was astounded once again.

My focus was with God and against Satan, and to this day I know it was God himself who was leading me on these things.  I am at peace about it; no conviction.  Satan doesn't like me, and he has taken me through periods of doubt, but God is faithful and has witnessed to me that I did the right things.

I talked about these things in a previous post I did last year, but have since deleted.  If you have been following my blog, you may remember it.  There was an additional story I did not tell, which I am going to tell you now.  I could write a book about it, but I need to keep it short.

In the spring of 2001, we decided to take a vacation and asked our girls where they would like to go.  Our younger daughter, who was nine years old, said she wanted to go to Washington, D.C.  (Why would a nine-year-old want to go there when we had promised to take them to Disney when they were ten?)  We were late making our plans, but God opened doors for us.  While we were there, we got to stand on the Speaker's Balcony of the Capitol Building, a rare treat, and I prayed for the protection of the city and the Capitol while looking down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the northwest.  On two consecutive nights, I prayer-walked around the White House praying for its protection, once with my wife and once with my mother (the two people who went to Jacksonville with me).  On one of those occasions, I sat on the wall against the fence on the north side of the White House and prayed in the Spirit for its specific protection.  Lastly, on our way home, we stopped for lunch at a rest stop along the expressway near Somerset, Pennsylvania, and while there I experienced some spiritually-unusual things that would take too much time to get into.

When we got home from that trip, I felt strongly God wanted me to leave my job, and by the end of July I had done it.  On my daughter's birthday, I was shredding papers when God called me to pray.  In the Spirit, He took me above the towers in New York, and knowing that they were a symbol of Satan's dominion, I asked that they be brought down.  I specifically remember saying, "But what about the people?"  The answer was, "That is not your concern."¹ While I was there, I remembered the pentagon-shaped building I had seen as we drove into the city from the southwest (I-395), and I said some things about that, too.  That was it.

Three weeks later to the day, I was astounded like everyone else, but I was even more astounded because of the insight God had given me.  I tried to tell people about what happened, but everyone was prevented from hearing, understanding and remembering; only my wife truly heard me and was able to give me comfort.  Eventually, I suffered a lot of persecution and isolation, and after several years of intentionally refraining from working for pay, was enticed to return to my original employer.  But I never doubted God for one minute and my wife and I knew he was always with us.  Thank you, Jesus!

I am telling you these things because I love you and I want you to fear God, as I do.  He gave me that "Abraham/Sodom-Gomorrah" experience to teach me to respect and fear Him, to show me His heart, and to introduce me to the spiritual realm.  God is very real, and so is the Spiritual.  More importantly, the Spiritual and the Natural (where we live) interact, and what happens in the Spiritual reflects in the Natural.  I believe He wants me to encourage all "apprentices of Jesus" to develop their spiritual awareness, understanding and capabilities, so they can be more effective for the Kingdom of Heaven.  Those who have the Holy Spirit have him in totality, just as Jesus did.  We can, and should, do greater things than He did.  Mountains truly do uproot themselves and cast themselves into the sea.  The world does not understand these things, and Satan doesn't want us to know we have these capabilities because he knows we can hurt him, and he knows his time is short.

I had a number of demons cast out of me at Neptune Beach in Jacksonville, as did many other people.  My Christian birth was not as "normal" as it could have been, but God is faithful and made sure I had the experiences he wanted me to have.  When I look in the Bible at the people who lived under the Old Covenant, there is very little said explicitly about Satan and demons, except for small parts of Genesis and Job, but they have clearly existed since Creation, and the pharisees were certainly aware of them when they accused Jesus of doing things by "the prince of demons."  I think those who were "people of God," like Elijah and Elisha, had their battles with Satan and probably didn't know they had demons inside them, just like me.  Elijah was very afraid at one point, and Elisha was very angry with Jehoash when Elisha was ill with what ended up killing him.  The Bible doesn't say explicitly, but what I see in those guys is what was going on with me.  One of the spirits I had was a spirit of anger, which is now gone -- praise Jesus!  Satan is fighting a war against God, and any adversary worthy of his opponent is going to intelligently deploy his limited resources against the things that can hurt him most.  In Satan's case, that is going to be the people of God!

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.  (Luke 9:51-56 NKJV)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  (Romans 12:14 NIV)

The New Covenant way to behave is to bless and not curse.²  James and John were two of Jesus' closest guys, and they didn't get it right.  Now that I am free and am living with the Holy Spirit completely, I understand this and my mode of operating is probably a bit different than it was.  Instead of seeing some people as "the enemy," which may have been coming from my unwelcome guests, I now see every human being as a soul that will spend eternity someplace.  I knew that before, but I gave up too easily and did not know how to truly win people to Christ.  I felt like I was at a dead end with everyone and that I was all alone.  What I had been taught to do was wrong and ineffective, but now I know differently!  Thank you, Jesus!!

So, my intentions are to bless people, but I also know I need to deal with Satan directly and rebuke him strongly when I encounter him.  I did so in my second dream after Neptune Beach, and I'm sure the Holy Spirit will enable me to do so in the future.

I have told you these things because I love you and want to point you to a right relationship with God.  If you are in the ministry, or simply love God and want to pursue him, please take stock of where you are with respect to the Full Gospel and personal deliverance.  Ask God to reveal these things to you -- He wants to do it!

You must repent, and that is an ongoing, lifetime requirement.  You must be baptized by immersion on your own faith, to die with Christ and rise up with Christ.  If you have already been baptized by immersion, and you did it to obey God and not men, once is enough.  Methodology and the words spoken are less important than full immersion and evidence of a changed life afterwards.  Finally, you need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, which probably means speaking in tongues.  That is what drove me to Jacksonville, along with the fear that Jesus might one day say to me that he never knew me.  I spoke in tongues during my deliverance, and I do it now to communicate intimately with the Father.

You need to do this.  Satan will lie to you and help you come up with all kinds of excuses why you don't need to do it.  Don't listen to him!  He is wrong and he is a liar.  He will whisper directly to your spirit, and you might think it is God talking to you.  He will use people you love and trust to mislead you.  He will tell you lies about me, my motivations and cause you to doubt my words.  Pay no attention to institutions, or seminaries, or historical figures, or commentaries or anything else created by human beings.  They are unreliable.  Even the various versions of the Bible have been translated to suit the tastes and biases of sinful human beings, even your most favorite version!  Satan currently owns the world, and we are living in enemy territory.  Trust Jesus, and him only!  He will not fail you!

Thank you, Jesus for giving me Life, and thank you for those who are reading this, who you are edifying with your wisdom and truth.  May they toss "the world" into the trash, as I have, and follow you to the ends of the earth, until we all meet in Glory!

Amen.


All glory to God!

 

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UPDATE, March 15, 2022...

¹Many people experience cognitive dissonance when I tell them this.³

Please consider reading one of my more recent posts, Good God.  I think it may be more gentle than what I wrote above in 2016.  Don't let the pictures dissuade you either.  I think it is an important post.

 

UPDATE, July 19, 2022...

²Saying that, Paul did some "cursing" in a couple of his letters.  See: 1 Corinthians 16:22 and Galatians 1:8-9.

UPDATE, March 26, 2023...

³I have been composing a slide-show presentation, and I included a discussion about the Hegelian Dialectic.  While doing so, I realized what the tower prayer was really all about.  I still believe what I wrote back in 2016 was, and still is, true, but there is a deeper meaning.  The Father's purpose is becoming clearer to me now.

I was a relatively new believer when I had those experiences, and they certainly got my attention and helped cement my faith.  I was focused on battling Satan, and I saw the towers and the pentagon shape as symbols of Satan's dominion, which they are.  The towers were phallic symbols, and two of them side by side emphasized the message.  Seeing those satanic symbols blatantly in front of my face helped me realize I live in enemy territory.  I wanted to fight back.  And that's okay; God wants me to fight.

But I now realize the problem is not symbols.  The mission is to free people from bondage and destruction.  The people in the towers and the part of the Pentagon that was attacked on that day were destroyed because they were in the wrong place.  This is a serious game, and it is "for keeps."  It is war, and people die in war.  People are God's creations and He can do whatever He wants with them.  He destroyed the Egyptians to teach the Israelites, and He is doing the same thing here.

These are screenshots of the slides I created, as they stand at the moment...

People will have legitimate reasons for being in one of the two "towers."  For example, those who primarily act on their feelings will focus on emotional aspects of an issue, and those who think about things will focus on facts and logic.  Both views are legitimate and people will "be right" about their views, given their perspectives and values.  Those who push the division capitalize on those justifications and push to polarize the situation.  They herd like-minded people into the two groups and then pit them against each other with propaganda.  Once the groups are firmly established, the propaganda can inflame the division and promote destruction.

Multiple sets of "towers" divide our culture.  People do not notice it is happening because it is everywhere, even in our leisure time.  Children are taught that division and factions are normal, through cross-town football rivalries and other forms of competition.  We think nothing of supporting various sports franchises, but it is all calculated to make us accept the Dialectic.  Call me cynical, but I believe that is what is going on.

The message and mission of "Burned Toast" is to get God's people "out of the towers."  To do that, they must learn to "not play the game."

This is about peacemaking.  It is about loving people and showing them how to disengage from the traps that lead them to destruction.  That is why Yeshua came, and that is my job.

Amazing.  😊

Pheasants

God has explained the pheasants to me.  In my last post, I talked about the dreams I had after my deliverance, and the first one involved pheasants.

To recap, the first morning after my deliverance I had a very vivid dream where two beautiful pheasants flew toward me.  With delight, I reached out to them to have them, and when one of them touched me an ominous heaviness came from behind me and started to press upon my shoulders.  I realized the demons were trying to come back and I reflexively cried out, "Save me, Jesus!"  Everything immediately disappeared and I woke up.

The pheasants are things that tempt me.  If I re-embrace those things and sin, Satan will come back.  But I have the remedy, and that is Jesus!  His Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus like a dove when John baptized him and raised him from the dead after his crucifixion, lives in me!!!  It sounds incredible, but that's what the Bible says and that's what has happened!

My wife and I are continuing to "pull weeds" in our lives.  We have been sorting through things and getting rid of a lot!  We have numerous boxes of books lining the walls, ready to be sold or donated, and we have been shredding so much paper we are probably going to ruin the two shredders we have.  I'm getting rid of my college engineering textbooks, as well as my dad's college engineering textbooks.  He's been dead for fifteen years, so he certainly doesn't need them anymore and neither do I!  It used to be hard to get rid of things, but the chains are gone!  We don't need this stuff!  It's a burden and in the way of what God wants us to do!

This morning, I went through a bunch of old newspaper clippings, most of which were letters to the editor I had submitted more than ten years ago.  I was repulsed.  Many of them were about religion.  When I wrote them I thought I was doing God's work, but that's not what the Holy Spirit thinks today!  Most of them were arguments with nonbelievers about Biblical concepts, and even though my points may have been accurate and my motives just, I was not going to win any arguments with them because they could not understand.  Realizing that, I started to refrain from writing to the newspaper about those things around 2005, but I continued occasionally writing about political or local-government topics, and my demeanor remained the same.  I was combative and self-righteous, as were my opponents.  I'm sure Satan played his part in all of this, but I'm not going to blame him for my own behavior.  Sin is ugly, and I participated!  Ugh!  I repent!  Thank you, Jesus!!!  Those works are now in bags of shredded paper.  If there was anything good in them, Jesus will remember them for me.  Otherwise, they are history!

This is the beautiful thing about truly having the Holy Spirit help me run my life.  He clearly convicts sin when it is present, and gives peace if it is not.  For example, the other day the telephone rang and it was a telemarketer.  Normally, we let the answering machine take care of those calls, but in this case I picked up the phone.  I was not very nice and rudely asked them to "take our number off of their list," which they have to do by law in the USA if you request it.  They complied, and as I hung up I was shot through the heart by conviction!  I immediately knew that I had sinned against that poor man and I wished I could call him back and apologize.  That was not possible, but I immediately had a conversation with Jesus and repented, and then went to my wife and told her what happened.  I was actually full of joy at being rebuked.  I used that word: rebuked!  I told her our policy now ought to be that we are kind and patient with telemarketers, as we wait for them to get to the point where we can kindly ask them to take our number off of their list.  I've done that a couple of times now, and it is soooo much better.

Since we have been home from Florida, I have been testing my thoughts and behaviors to see if they are okay with the Holy Spirit.  I have learned that if there is peace, it's okay, and if there is conviction, it's not and I should do something about it.  Oh, thank you, Jesus!  I have been wanting this kind of clarity all of my life, and now I have it!

Doubt is a different topic.  Doubt is from Satan, and it is always based on lies.  I am still learning to deal with that, but the Holy Spirit is helping me.  By the way, if you are struggling with anything I am saying, it is probably Satan telling you lies.  Please don't listen to him!  Trust Jesus!!  Jesus is the truth; Satan is the father of lies.

I tell you these things because I love you, and I want you to have the same joy I have.  Your experiences will not be the same as mine, but if you do not have the Full Gospel, and any necessary deliverance, please get them.  This new life in freedom is amazing and I want you to have it, too!

All glory to God!  Thank you, Jesus!!!

Rewiring

God wants me to tell you some things, but first I need to give you some background about myself.

I was raised in a middle-class home in a Midwestern community in the United States during the 1960's and 1970's.  My parents took me to a mainline protestant church when I was young, where I went to Sunday school and learned a few things, but mainly ran around the church building and goofed off like a typical boy.  For the most part, I did not "hear" much, probably because there wasn't really that much to hear.  When I was older, I remember weeping on my mother's shoulder after the church service because I wanted to hear and understand, but I couldn't recall any of what had just been preached.  All I really ever learned there was this:  empty ritual does nothing; it is worthless.

I do remember "believing" one bright, sunny, spring day, when I was nine years old.¹  I was reading a picture Bible on my bed -- about the Ten Plagues -- and all of a sudden I believed, and I said, "I believe this stuff," or something like that.  I recall going and telling my mother about it, but not much else.  For a few days or weeks I remember thinking about godly things, but that was about it and the memory faded until a few days before I was baptized by immersion in 1999.  I can look back on my life from that point and can see evidence that I always wanted to do the right thing, although it didn't always happen.  At college, I found myself different from many of the other guys, in that I knew right from wrong and would not participate in some of the shenanigans they got into, but given time I was influenced and somewhat corrupted.  My "good boy" upbringing got tinged, and that's to be expected when living in the world.

During my early adult life, I was a typical male, but knew right from wrong and managed to stay out of most trouble, until I met the person who would eventually become my wife.  We did not wait for marriage even thought we both knew that what we were doing was wrong.  It took an overseas job offer to get me to marry her, and I "proposed" by saying, "Well, I guess we should get married," while standing next to her refrigerator at lunchtime.  Not very romantic.  We made up for it, however, by getting to spend a "four-year honeymoon" in Europe.

I pursued an engineering career at a multinational corporation and constantly worried about many things.  I believed in the Darwinian Theory of Evolution, and had done so since I was eight years old.  We tried to start a family and were unsuccessful, experiencing a number of miscarriages, including the loss of a set of twins (girl and boy) at 22.5 weeks gestation.²  That broke my heart, and my pride, and started moving me toward God.  We forgave the doctors who had been working with us, and moved on to give birth to two daughters under their care.  Those daughters are now adults and living near us.

In the mid 1990's, we were living overseas again and one Sunday while reading the newspaper someone spoke to my spirit and questioned how I was raising my daughters.  I knew I needed to return home to Michigan and "take my family to church."

We arrived home on June 1, 1996, and the next day we went to my childhood church.  We went there for about a month, but I realized I was not "hearing" anything, just as before, so we ended up at a different church that my brother had been attending.  There, I heard the message about repentance for the first time, and I ravenously consumed the Word.  My stronghold about Evolution prevented me from advancing, but one day it left me.  I remember laughing at how stupid the notion was that the universe resulted from chance.

On April 25, 1999, I was baptized.  God used my older daughter to get me to do it.  She was nine years old, and they usually did not baptize children that young, but my daughter was exceptionally advanced, spiritually, so they did it.  I followed her and was extremely motivated when the time actually came.  They encouraged people to give "testimonies" during baptism services, and I recounted my childhood "I believe" experience, which I remembered when I was writing the testimony, and my final words were something like, "Pastor, please baptize me!  I have work to do!"³

I believe it was shortly after my baptism, within a matter of days or about a week, I received the Holy Spirit.  I didn't know what it was.  It was amazing and I really liked it, and it sounds similar to what others have described, but the church we were attending did not describe it at all, other than to say that those who believe automatically have the Holy Spirit.  That does not match the book of Acts, but it was the teaching I had been exposed to.  When I approached my church about this, they were not able to give me answers.  They directed me to the pastor who had baptized me, because they knew he was familiar with "spiritual warfare stuff," but his advice was that faith is not about "feelings" and to basically be quiet about these things and keep them between me and God.  I forgive him for that, and still love him dearly.  I did not speak in tongues because I didn't know what they were and therefore didn't ask to, and apparently God did not cause it to happen at that time.  These things all happened in the privacy of my bedroom, and the experience was already strange enough, I suppose, but only God knows.  My church did not teach much of anything about tongues.

I prayed some really crazy and wild stuff in those early days.  I asked for a double-portion of the spirit of Elisha and for my family to impact the world.  I asked to "scratch the surface" of who God is, knowing He is infinite.  At work, I prayed to be able to witness to numerous people I worked with, and God brought that about in every case.  Everybody there knew I was strange and on fire for God.  I loved teaching Sunday school to fifth-graders (including my kids), and certainly learned much more than they did!  I went to "spiritual boot camp" by being a counselor at a summer camp for abused and neglected children, took my family on a mission trip to Mexico (a place I never wanted to go), and shaved my head to be "Mr. Clean" for a vacation Bible school.  Eventually, in July of 2001, I was led to leave my employer at the peak of my career to "go where He would show me."  That's how I explained it to people, an "Abraham experience."  My wife was okay with it, too, which helped confirm it was "a God thing."

I did not return to employment until late 2006, and then it was only to do contract work.  During 2007, the contract work put me back in touch with those I had worked with before, and by November, 2007, I had rejoined my original employer to take what I called my "dream job."  I was Process Safety Manager for a significant chemical manufacturing site, which gave me reason to know about and visit every part of the facility.  As a child, I had dreamed of getting to go inside the chemical plants in the town I lived in, and this fulfilled that dream.

When I look back at it now, I actually was tempted to go back to where I had been, and I fell for it.  Leaving employment in 2001 helped me to get rid of some idols in my life:  steady income, health-care insurance, retirement nest egg and pride of achievement, among other things.  In their place was my love for God and pursuit of Him, time with my children at their school, service to my wife by doing housework, volunteering my time at the local cable-access television facilities, and building a deck for my sister and brother-in-law.  But my love for engineering and the security of employment beckoned, and I longed to return.  The Scripture says that anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the Kingdom of God.  Well, I looked back, and was eventually lured back.  I know it now.  God did good things during my fallback but I lost my fire and my kids wandered off, not that I can control them.

My job as Process Safety Manager was mainly to be a resident government representative on the company's payroll making sure the employees complied with federal and state regulations.  I didn't make up the rules, but people attributed all the pain to me.  To make a long story short, by the time my seven years in the role were up, everyone pretty much hated me.  Compliance with the Law.  Nobody likes that, and they blame it on the messenger.  Sound familiar?  Yeah.

When I became eligible for full retirement, I knew God was telling me it was time to go, and I officially retired on June 1, 2015.  Exactly one year later, the company I had worked for on and off for roughly thirty years, was bought out by one of its owners and effectively ceased to exist as it had for seventy years as a joint venture.  It had been a good place to work, but I was glad I was finished.

A couple of weeks after my retirement, I decided to recommit my life to God.  I no longer represented my employer in any way and felt free to say what I wanted on social media.  I began to do so, but mostly to what seemed to be no audience.  I persevered, but grew frustrated and succeeded in angering those I loved.  Finally, one day God showed me some new things and pointed out where I was wrong.  My previous posts document how I was led to Jacksonville, FL to be set free.

Since then, God has been "rewiring me," at my request, to make me fit for service in the Kingdom of Heaven.  When I was driving the car on the expressway after my deliverance on Neptune Beach, I became aware that some things were "missing."  I had to think about driving, as if I was just learning how.  We were not in danger, but God wanted me to know that some things had really changed.

God also wanted me to know that this was all very real.  I had a very vivid dream the morning after my deliverance where the demons tried to come back.  There were two beautiful pheasants flying toward me and I reached out to take them in my hands.  At the same time, an oppressive feeling came over my shoulders from behind, and I reflexively exclaimed, "Save me, Jesus!"  At that, everything immediately disappeared and I woke up.  One or two mornings later, Satan came to me in a similar dream, and started to lead me off to jail, but I commanded him to produce his evidence, and he left me.  A third dream came to me as we were preparing to travel back north.  It was of a traffic accident involving a large semi-truck running off the road, and it worried me during the first day heading back, until I realized who it was from and that it was a lie.  Throwing everything at the feet of Jesus, and asking Him to intercede for me with the Father, gave me peace, but Satan has been whispering to me often over the ensuing weeks as God teaches me who is talking to me and how to wage the battle.

I know what my job is, and have known for a long time.  Satan succeeded in neutralizing me for a while, and I didn't even realize it was happening, although I knew things were not right.  If anyone tells you that a Christian cannot have demons or cannot be influenced by Satan, they are in error or lying.  Why would Satan waste his resources on anyone but those who can hurt him?  He doesn't.  Was I "truly saved" earlier?  Only God knows, and it really doesn't matter.  I think the totality of Scripture says that salvation is something we work out over our lifetime, and the end result is what matters.  There are no "tickets" to heaven; only trust in Jesus, and we must do it until we are united with Him.

Bottom line:  God is faithful.  He rescued me when I called out to Him.  All credit and glory to God!  Thank you, Jesus!


All glory to God!


-----------------

UPDATES, March 26, 2022...

²Normal, full-term gestation is 40 weeks.  Our babies were born 40 - 22.5 = 17.5 weeks early.  Seventeen weeks early.  Seventeen.

³I found a copy of my baptism testimony after I wrote this post, and it is part of a more recent post, which you can find here.

UPDATES, May 31, 2022...

Renumbered the previous footnotes to accommodate this one, which originates earlier in the post.

¹This seems to have been my "born again" experience (John 3:3).  It is something that just happened to me.  My baptisms in water and Spirit occurred many years later.  Being born and being baptized are not the same thing.  I do not think John 3:5-6 is talking about baptism.

This is causing me to be wary of those who profess baptism in water and baptism in Spirit but do not seem to see or understand the Kingdom.  Have they actually been "born again?"

Watching "fruit" is part of discernment.  Discernment is knowing the difference between what is right and what is almost right.  It takes a keen eye, and only comes through the Holy Spirit.  He guides us into all Truth.  My analysis of Lydia comes to mind, and you can read about it here.

UPDATE, July 4, 2022...

I just calculated the total number of months we lived in Britain.  Ninety two (92).

9 + 2 = 11

11

Amazing...

Healing

God took me through the following exercise to teach me and train me.  I love you, and am making it available to you so God might use it to train you.

When I was in fourth grade in school, I got caught talking in class and had to stay after school and write on the chalk board numerous times, "I will not talk in class."  Well, God is having me do the same concerning His will and desire to heal people through us.  He is working on getting my "head knowledge" down into my heart ... so He can use me.  Here goes......  :-)

God's Word says He heals.  It is His will and desire to heal us!!!!  (All NIV)

1. Genesis 20:17 — Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again,
2. Exodus 4:6-7 — Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.  “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored (healed), like the rest of his flesh.
3. Exodus 15:26 — He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
4. Numbers 12:10-15 — When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”  So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”  The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. (She was healed.)
5. Deuteronomy 32:39 — “See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
6. 2 Kings 5:14 — So he (Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram) went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored (from leprosy) and became clean like that of a young boy.
7. 2 Kings 20:1-11 — In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.  Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”  Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.  Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”  Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”  “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”  Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
8. 2 Chronicles 30:20 — And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
9. Psalm 30:2 — Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.
10. Psalm 103:2-3 — Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
11. Psalm 107:19-20 — Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
12. Psalm 147:2-4 — The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
13. Proverbs 3:7-8 — Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
14. Proverbs 4:20-22 — My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words (of Wisdom).  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
15. Isaiah 6:10 — Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
16. Isaiah 19:22 — The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
17. Isaiah 30:26 — The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
18. Isaiah 38:16 — Lord, by such things people live; and my spirit finds life in them too. You restored me to health and let me live.
19. Isaiah 53:5 — But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
20. Isaiah 57:14-21 — And it will be said:  “Build up, build up, prepare the road!  Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”  For this is what the high and exalted One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy:  “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.  I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me — the very people I have created.  I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways.  I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips.  Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”  But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.  “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
21. Isaiah 58:8 — Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
22. Jeremiah 17:14 — Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.
23. Jeremiah 30:17 — But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’
24. Jeremiah 33:6 — “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it (Jerusalem); I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
25. Ezekiel 47:12 — Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
26. Hosea 11:3 — It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
27. Malachi 4:2 — But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
28. Matthew 4:23 — Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
29. Matthew 4:24 — News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.
30. Matthew 8:13 — Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
31. Matthew 8:14-15 —  When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
32. Matthew 8:16 —  When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
33. Matthew 9:2-8 — Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”  At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”  Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”  Then the man got up and went home.  When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
34. Matthew 9:22 — Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
35. Matthew 9:24-25 — he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.
36. Matthew 9:29-30 — Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored.
37. Matthew 9:32-33 — While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke.
38. Matthew 9:35 — Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
39. Matthew 10:1 — Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
40. Matthew 10:8 — Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
41. Matthew 12:13 —  Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
42. Matthew 12:15 —  A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
43. Matthew 12:22 —  Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.
44. Matthew 13:15 —  (Quoting from Isaiah) For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
45. Matthew 14:14 —  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
46. Matthew 14:36 —  and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
47. Matthew 15:28 — Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
48. Matthew 15:38 — Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
49. Matthew 17:18 — Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
50. Matthew 19:2 — Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
51. Matthew 21:14 — The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
52. Mark 1:34 — and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
53. Mark 1:40-41 — A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus was indignant (or filled with compassion).  He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
54. Mark 2:10-12 — So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
55. Mark 3:5 — He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
56. Mark 3:10 — For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.
57. Mark 5:25-29 — And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”  Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
58. Mark 5:40-43 — After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.  He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).  Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.  He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
59. Mark 6:5 — He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
60. Mark 6:7-13 — Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.  These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.  Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.  Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.  And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  They went out and preached that people should repent.  They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
61. Mark 6:56 — And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
62. Mark 7:33-35 — After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).  At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
63. Mark 8:23-25 —  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”  He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
64. Mark 9:19-27 — “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”  So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.  Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered.  “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”  The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
65. Mark 10:52 — “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
66. Luke 4:38-39 — Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.  So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
67. Luke 4:40 — At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.
68. Luke 5:12-13 —  While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.  When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
69. Luke 5:15 —  Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
70. Luke 5:18-25 —  Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.  When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
71. Luke 6:10 — He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
72. Luke 6:17-19 — A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
73. Luke 7:6-10 — So Jesus went with them.  He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.  That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”  Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
74. Luke 8:42-48 — As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.  “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”  Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.  Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
75. Luke 8:54-55 — But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”  Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
76. Luke 9:1-2 — When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
77. Luke 9:11 — but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
78. Luke 9:42 — Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
79. Luke 10:1-17 — After this the Lord appointed [seventy] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.  Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.  “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.  Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.  “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.  Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’  But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.  “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”  The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
80. Luke 13:11-13 —  and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.  When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”  Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
81. Luke 13:31-33 — At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”  He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’  In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
82. Luke 14:4 — But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
83. Luke 17:11-19 — Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
84. Luke 18:40-43 — Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
85. Luke 22:50-51 — And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
86. John 4:47-53 — When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed.
87. John 5:8-9 — Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
88. John 6:2 — and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.
89. John 9:6-7 — After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
90. John 12:40 — “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” (Quote of Isaiah)
91. Acts 3:6-8 — Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
92. Acts 5:12-16 — The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.
93. Acts 8:5-7 — Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
94. Acts 9:32-34 — As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.
95. Acts 10:37-38 — You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached — how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
96. Acts 14:8-10 — In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
97. Acts 28:8 — His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
98. Acts 28:27 — For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (Quote from Isaiah)
99. 1 Corinthians 12:7-14 — Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
100. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 — Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
101. Hebrews 12:13 — “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.  (Our street has been made level, so the lame may be healed! Yay!!!)
102. James 5:14-15 — Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
103. James 5:16 — Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
104. 1 Peter 2:24 — “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
105. Revelation 22:1-2 — Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

That was a great exercise!!!

We must remember that it is JESUS who does the healing, not us!!!  This is easy to say, but a difficult temptation and a slippery slope! Jesus (Yeshua) endured the cross so we can live this new life in His Kingdom.  His Spirit (Holy Spirit), the Spirit He was given by His Father after John baptized Him and raised Him from the dead, and whom the Father sent to us (amazing!) after Jesus ascended into heaven, is the One actually doing the work.  The world does not see or understand the Holy Spirit, but they do know about Jesus.  All authority has been given to Jesus by the Father, so it is Jesus who does it!!!!!!!!!!!

These things are all done to glorify God and point to Jesus (Yeshua).  Remember that and make sure others understand it, too!  This is imperative!

Once again, DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR ANYTHING THAT GOD DOES!  He is jealous and abhors idols.  If we allow ourselves, or others, to think we did it, we make ourselves into an idol, and God will not let that stand.  Fear God!  Yes, He loves the people He has redeemed, but He is righteous and holy!  Tremble before Him!!!

Holy, holy, holy!
The LORD God Almighty!
Who was, and is, and is to come!!!

Father, please help me to do these things, in Jesus' name!  Thank you!!


All glory to God!


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UPDATE, March 14, 2022...

Every healing, deliverance and baptism is an act of war.  The LORD gave me something to help me fight the battle, and I am going to share it with you because I love you and it was freely given to me.

I have struggled with how to pray for people for healing and deliverance, but God is faithful and has been helping me.  For one thing, he does not want me to worry about what to say.  That is why he gave me my prayer language.  He also does not want me to make a big show, ...because it's about him, not me.

He wants me to see myself as a soldier, and my job is to simply follow orders.  I am to lay hands (plural) on people, and he wants me to allow him to give commands through my prayer language.  He wants me to "paint the target," as soldiers do for aircraft in the natural world.  Metaphors and parables are amazing!

This is a video of US forces attacking a position in Iraq.  I do not like physical war, and I have recently learned we have all been deceived about the reasons for recent warfare.  But this conveys what he wants me to do...

The soldiers on the ground are using an IR (infrared) spotlight to identify the target for aircraft overhead.  The aircraft then deliver the ordinance on the target.

God wants me to have faith to do what he commands me to do in his Word.  My job is to identify the target.  I must be under his authority when I do this, just like the soldiers and airmen are under authority when they attack a target.  Freelancing is unlawful and unauthorized.

I believe this analogy is going to give me confidence and make it easier for me to have faith and do what the Father wants me to do.  I hope you may find it useful, too.

By the way, as I have learned more about what the Darkness is doing I have learned to recognize their symbolism.  This picture is of a tank during the first Gulf War.  Notice the inverted "V" on the side of the tank?  Did you ever wonder what that meant?  I did.  I understand now.  It's a pyramid.  It was a clear message to all of the leaders of the world who was actually prosecuting that war.  It was a warning.  It was boasting.  That's what the Darkness does.

"Symbolism with be their downfall."  Learn to recognize it.

UPDATE, March 25, 2022...

Notice there are two (2) IR spotlights in the video.  We are called to work together.

UPDATE, March 28, 2022...

Although we may not know what to do and may need to use our prayer language to accomplish our work, we must also consider where people are at and make sure they know who is actually doing the healing, as the original text of the post says.  We may know His name is actually Yehoshua (Yeh-HO-shoo-ah), which is what He prefers, but the people we are dealing with will probably only know Him as Jesus, so that is the name we must use.  We must put others before ourselves, and our Master will be pleased when we do that.

UPDATE, December 28, 2022...

Is this, perhaps, the most hated flag on the planet?

I was taught to revere this flag when I was a child.  We "pledged allegiance" to it in school, and we waved it at Memorial Day parades.  In my mind, it symbolizes my country, and my heart swells with pride.  Well, it did.

I was programmed.

(From the video, above.)

The sad truth is, the "U.S. Military" has been used to bully the world.  It is controlled by foreigners (the British monarch, the Lord Mayor of London, and the Lords of the Admiralty).  Its soldiers, sailors, and airmen are cheap mercenaries, paid by the British corporation, SERCO.

Every "war" since 1860 was actually a mercenary conflict, conducted by government-services corporations.  No war was ever declared by proper authority.  America (the Union of States) has been at peace since 1814.

The so-called "American Civil War" was a mercenary conflict between two corporations, one owned by the British and the other owned by the Pope.  America has been controlled by the military ever since, and that military has been used and abused to plunder the world.

The actual American Government declared the "Civil War" over in August of 2021.

 

That same government also declared all wars at an end, as of June 25, 2022, per this order:

Public International Alert -- Order to Cease and Desist: 25 May 2022

 

Anyone who is in the U.S. Military should really think about what they are actually a part of and what they have really been doing.

You can learn more here.

It's time for healing.