I was reading this little Christian Worker's New Testament that I found here in my building while sitting in the rotunda at work. There was a co-worker sitting near by. I had never shared my faith or anything about the Lord with him in the past. I thought in my mind *What could I do for him, Lord*. Right away I recalled a long time ago that I overheard him talking about back pain he had. I wanted to pray for him then but didn't feel the opportunity was ever right and I forgot about it. Well, I felt like God was telling me to do so now. I noticed my mind wanted to reject this. I unconsciously ignored the thought. I paused and thought *What am I doing? I would not have remembered this if it wasn't the Lord telling me.* I apologized to the Lord. I pondered, *Do I get up and go to him now?* I only thought this for a few seconds and then decided to get up and do it. I walked over to him and asked him about back pain. He confirmed that he did injure his back many years ago and does get pain from time to time. He asked why and I explained that I am a Christian and I pray for people and God heals them. I told him about many times where I have prayed for others who had back pain where before hand I would check their legs and find that one is shorter than the other and told him how I would command their shorter leg to grow out in Jesus' name and it would come out and they would be healed. He right away said, "You can pray for me." with a smile on his face.
I had him position himself in his seat with his back completely level against the back for chair. There was a coffee table right in front of him so I just slid that under his legs and let them rest there. We found that his right leg was shorter than the left by about 1/4 of an inch. I showed him. I proceeded to command his right leg to grow in Jesus' name. I spoke to it a number of times but it wasn't budging. After a bit, I moved the table out from under him and held his legs with my hands and prayed again. After praying for a few minutes there was no change.
His break was over and mine was almost over, so we had to head back. He did mention that his back felt better, even though it wasn't really sore before hand. I apologized to him. I have been dealing with my own health issues and not seeing complete freedom in my own body yet and feel that maybe I am too "Me" focused. I explained that maybe my faith wasn't where it needed to be to see his leg grow out. He was thankful either way. I was for him allowing me to pray and speak to him about the Lord a bit.
I was talking with the Lord and asking Him to help me with any doubt and unbelief I may have been in agreement with in the last little while. I was frustrated for a bit that I didn't see his healing happen right then and there. I admitted failure.
I will not give up. I have seen Him do greater things and will continue to. I will be used by Him for His glory and His kingdom! I will be a partaker of His healing in my own body and I will bring freedom to others, in His name, for His glory, for His kingdom! This will be because I love Him and I will obey Him. If I stumble I will get back up and keep going, by His grace and His power.
I am Yours Lord. Use me. I love You!! Thank You for healing and wholeness in my life, and in those around me. Thank You for salvations, deliverance, for knowing You more and growing in You!
Grace, peace and love in Jesus Christ!
Friday, March 07, 2014
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Won't you follow Jesus?
To you who do not believe in and currently follow Jesus Christ as Lord, including those who are now wayward and have walked away from Him:
Without faith in, and obedience to the Son of God, your sins remain, and the wrath of God abides on you. You will die in your sins and there remains a judgment from God against those sins. The payment for those sins is death, but not just death, Jesus Himself says it will be everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41), and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), and Paul says it is everlasting destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Jesus who was perfect and sinless (the only Man who ever was) came to set all those who would believe in Him free from their sins and the judgment to come and to reconcile them to God. He did this by being yet perfect, sinless and guiltless Himself, He died the death that you should have died, received the punishment you should have received in your place, and then He raised from the grave so that you may receive new life and one day be resurrected to receive a new body that will live forever with Him. He came to give you eternal life today. To know Him is LIFE and PEACE. To know Him is eternal life. To not know Him, is death and restlessness and no peace. If you honestly look deep inside yourself, you will see, without Him it is empty and you most likely even fear death. You fear death because you know there is more, even though with your mind you may not know it. You were created to be eternal and that is why you fight death and fear it. That is why you want to be fixed and go to the doctor when you have something wrong in your body. You know that you weren't meant to be that way. You weren't meant to be sick and die. In the very core of your being you crave eternal life. We all do. Well, He came so that you COULD be forgiven of all your sins, set free from them, and so that you COULD live forever with Him.
So I say, repent and believe, follow Him, and be forgiven, be free, and receive eternal life! If you turn from your sins and turn to Him, believe with your heart that God raised Jesus from the grave and confess Him as Lord with your mouth, you will be saved! Trust in Him that He took your sin debt for you. Call out to Him, receive Him. To confess Him as Lord isn't just in word though, it means in deed too. You actually follow Him, and if you do, you will be where He is, that is heaven, not only when you pass on, but here and now.
This is some of what the Bible says regarding this:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36 ESV
Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." John 8:21-24
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains. John 9:36-41
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 20:11-21:4
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Acts 10:38-43
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. John 12:25-26
Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further.
Grace, peace and love in Jesus Christ!
Without faith in, and obedience to the Son of God, your sins remain, and the wrath of God abides on you. You will die in your sins and there remains a judgment from God against those sins. The payment for those sins is death, but not just death, Jesus Himself says it will be everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41), and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46), and Paul says it is everlasting destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Jesus who was perfect and sinless (the only Man who ever was) came to set all those who would believe in Him free from their sins and the judgment to come and to reconcile them to God. He did this by being yet perfect, sinless and guiltless Himself, He died the death that you should have died, received the punishment you should have received in your place, and then He raised from the grave so that you may receive new life and one day be resurrected to receive a new body that will live forever with Him. He came to give you eternal life today. To know Him is LIFE and PEACE. To know Him is eternal life. To not know Him, is death and restlessness and no peace. If you honestly look deep inside yourself, you will see, without Him it is empty and you most likely even fear death. You fear death because you know there is more, even though with your mind you may not know it. You were created to be eternal and that is why you fight death and fear it. That is why you want to be fixed and go to the doctor when you have something wrong in your body. You know that you weren't meant to be that way. You weren't meant to be sick and die. In the very core of your being you crave eternal life. We all do. Well, He came so that you COULD be forgiven of all your sins, set free from them, and so that you COULD live forever with Him.
So I say, repent and believe, follow Him, and be forgiven, be free, and receive eternal life! If you turn from your sins and turn to Him, believe with your heart that God raised Jesus from the grave and confess Him as Lord with your mouth, you will be saved! Trust in Him that He took your sin debt for you. Call out to Him, receive Him. To confess Him as Lord isn't just in word though, it means in deed too. You actually follow Him, and if you do, you will be where He is, that is heaven, not only when you pass on, but here and now.
This is some of what the Bible says regarding this:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36 ESV
Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." John 8:21-24
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains. John 9:36-41
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Matthew 25:31-46
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 20:11-21:4
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. Acts 10:38-43
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. John 12:25-26
Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further.
Grace, peace and love in Jesus Christ!
Friday, February 28, 2014
"Pain, Go, in Jesus' name." - In Jesus - 02-28-2014
This morning at work as I was sitting at my desk I overheard some female co-workers talking about pains they had in their bodies. I made note and waited for the opportunity. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that I finally ran into one of them in the hallway as I was coming back from my last break. I explained that I overheard her say she had pain in her shoulder and she said "Yes, in my right shoulder", while placing her right hand on it. I asked "Can I pray for that?" It seemed that she was a bit surprised to hear my question and to make sure she heard right she asked me to repeat myself. I did. With a slight nervous smile on her face she said "Sure." I asked to place my hand on her shoulder and she said "Ok." I put my hand on her right shoulder and spoke directly to the pain, commanding it to leave her in the name of Jesus Christ. I also spoke to the shoulder and said to be healed and made whole in Jesus' name. I pulled my hand away and asked her to check and see if it felt any different. She moved it around and said "Yes, it does feel better. How did you do that?" I briefly shared the gospel with her. She seemed thankful. I know I was.
At the end of my shift I overheard another co-worker speaking about pain that he was starting to feel in his jaw after the numbness of being to the dentist was wearing off. I asked if I could pray for him and he too nervously said yes. After getting permission, I put my right fingertip on the side of his cheek and commanded all pain to go in Jesus' name. I asked him to check if it was better and he said it was. I asked if that made him wonder how that was possible. He informed me that he was actually a believer too, a Lutheran, and confessed to being more conservative and traditional in his beliefs and practices. I wanted to know if it had encouraged him and he said it had. I'm sure we'll get to talk further in the near future.
On my walk home, I saw a woman walking very slowly ahead of me. Once I reached her I asked if she was in pain. She had reported that her knees were in a lot of pain, the left one had a knee replacement and the right one was scheduled to be done in the near future. The right one was the worst though. I received permission to pray and lay hands on her knees and then proceeded to command the pain out and the knees to be healed in Jesus' name. She reported that all pain was now gone. She was a believer and knew the Lord well. She was very thankful and joyful. As was I.
Thank You Lord for using me today!
Grace, peace and love in Jesus Christ!
At the end of my shift I overheard another co-worker speaking about pain that he was starting to feel in his jaw after the numbness of being to the dentist was wearing off. I asked if I could pray for him and he too nervously said yes. After getting permission, I put my right fingertip on the side of his cheek and commanded all pain to go in Jesus' name. I asked him to check if it was better and he said it was. I asked if that made him wonder how that was possible. He informed me that he was actually a believer too, a Lutheran, and confessed to being more conservative and traditional in his beliefs and practices. I wanted to know if it had encouraged him and he said it had. I'm sure we'll get to talk further in the near future.
On my walk home, I saw a woman walking very slowly ahead of me. Once I reached her I asked if she was in pain. She had reported that her knees were in a lot of pain, the left one had a knee replacement and the right one was scheduled to be done in the near future. The right one was the worst though. I received permission to pray and lay hands on her knees and then proceeded to command the pain out and the knees to be healed in Jesus' name. She reported that all pain was now gone. She was a believer and knew the Lord well. She was very thankful and joyful. As was I.
Thank You Lord for using me today!
Grace, peace and love in Jesus Christ!
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