Jonathan Brenneman's Blog, page 21

I Speak In Tongues More Than All Of You!

The tongue is like a rudder — use yours to direct your mind and body to focus on the Holy Spirit and to walk in the Spirit.

A Rudder

Last week in Free From Anxiety And Walking In The Spirit, we talked about letting God’s peace govern our mind in every circumstance. This brought up the topic of speaking in tongues.

James said that the tongue is like a bit in the horse’s mouth, which guides the whole body. It’s like a rudder, which turns a whole ship. (James 3:2-5) When we speak in tongues, we are directing our minds to focus on the Holy Spirit and on what God is doing. We’re directing our souls to bless the Lord. (Psalm 103:1)

Some people belittle speaking in tongues, calling it the “least of the gifts.” It may be the  “least of the gifts,” but those who belittle it usually aren’t in the habit of exercising any of the “greater gifts” either! Being built up and strengthened in our own spirits as we focus on the Lord is the first step towards strengthening and edifying the church. Speaking in tongues should help us to focus on the Holy Spirit so that we begin to exercise the other spiritual gifts for the strengthening of the church and as a witness to unbelievers.

The apostle Paul was certainly proficient in many different spiritual gifts. He also said that he spoke in tongues more than anyone else!

1 Corinthians 14:18 (NRSV) I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you

Try Speaking In Tongues For Eight Hours A Day!

Shortly before one of my ministry trips, I heard a guest speaker share at my friends’  bilingual church in Reading, Pennsylvania. He taught on speaking in tongues. This man’s mentor taught him to speak in tongues for eight hours a day!

I had never heard somebody who gave such accurate words of knowledge for healing! He could stand in front of someone, and if they had 30 different conditions in their body, he would name and describe each one in detail. I loved the manifestation of the Holy Spirit that I saw through him, and I wanted the same!

I knew that during many of my most glorious times with the Lord, when I became so aware of God’s love and goodness that I could feel the atmosphere around me vibrating with his glory, I had been constantly speaking in tongues and praising God. Yet I needed to be encouraged to do so again. I decided to speak in tongues as much as possible.

Soon after that, I drove from PA to Toronto, Canada. It’s about an eight-hour drive, and I spoke in tongues the whole way. The more I speak in tongues, the more I enjoy it, and I start to do it without even thinking about it.

I saw marvellous manifestations of the Holy Spirit on that trip, and I continued to increase the time I spent speaking in tongues. I began to grow in the gift of detailed and accurate words of knowledge concerning healing. I prayed for a lady who didn’t think she had any need of physical healing. However, as I prayed, I got about a dozen words of knowledge concerning issues in her body. All of them were accurate. It wasn’t that she was lying when she said she didn’t need to be healed of anything. She had just become so accustomed to these little pains and physical issues that she didn’t think of them. It wasn’t like she had cancer or something major! But when I described exactly what she was feeling, it was right on!

Since then, I’ve often asked a stranger if they had an issue in a certain part of their body, and they were feeling exactly what I sensed.

Stir Yourself Up In Christ!

I know how helpful speaking in tongues is, yet it’s always good to be reminded and encouraged to speak in tongues all the more. I thought I’d write about it this week as a reminder to you guys (an to myself) to stir ourrselves up in Christ! Try challenging yourself to an extended period of time speaking in tongues, and see what the results are!

I love to combine speaking in tongues with reading the Bible out loud. Speaking in tongues seems to make my spirit more sensitive. I read several chapters of the Bible, and make note of the verses that “jump out” at me. I come across a certain passage, and I can feel it strengthening my spirit. It’s like that particular verse “tastes so good” to my inner man. Sometimes this happens before I even understand the verse with my mind, and I don’t yet understand why it is so uplifting to me. But I write it down and keep thinking about it. As I pray in tongues and read scriptures, they come together in my understanding until my soul is filled with glory. Then I have something to share with the church—in intelligible language—that will build people up and strengthen them in the Lord. 

I’d love to hear your comments about what you’ve experienced when you’ve disciplined yourself to speak in tongues for an extended period of time.

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Free From Anxiety And Walking In The Spirit

If your mind’s set on the Spirit, your heart can be as calm as this lake even when storms are all around you. Let heaven’s reality govern your mind, and not earthly things.

Receiving And Giving Heavenly Reality

I found a preacher named Mike Connel today on You Tube. I’d never heard of him before, but I enjoyed his teaching. Starting at about 48 minutes into this teaching video, Mike talks about how to let the Holy Spirit flow through our beings to other people. We first receive from God, and then we give what we have received to others.

Then at 53:50, Mike starts talking about how we become aware of things which hinder us from receiving (peace, joy, love, etc.) from God, and then giving away what we receive. These things are what I call “the heavenly reality of God’s presence.”

Mike’s teaching stirred up my spirit. I want to walk as a heavenly person, always overflowing with the Holy Spirit. I want to recognize and deal with anything that’s hindering me from receiving and then giving heaven’s reality.

Walking In The Spirit

Later today, I read a few chapters from Romans. I especially felt the first few verses of Romans 8 building me up and strengthening me.

Romans 8:1-7 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

Notice that it says the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. If I set my mind on the Spirit, I should have life and peace. I want to receive God’s life and peace so that I can give it to others.

Free From Anxiety, Living In Heaven’s Reality

Later today, I started thinking about this passage in Philippians 4. Can you see the connection between Philippians 4 and Romans 8? When we are anxious, we have our minds governed by the flesh, which is death. God’s peace is fully available to us, because Jesus died to remove anything that would come between us and the Father. We have full access to the Father, full access to heaven. We must approach the Father and set our minds on heavenly things. This is being governed by the Spirit and setting our minds on the Spirit, as opposed to allowing the flesh to govern us by letting anxiety fill our thoughts. Of course, there are different aspects of setting our minds on the Spirit and not on the flesh. Walking in God’s peace is one aspect.

Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Notice what Philippians says. Do these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Memorizing these verses in Philippians is a great idea. We should always be asking ourselves. “Am I putting Paul’s instructions in Philippians into practice? Is my mind set on the Spirit right now?”

I like to define faith as “Seeing God and being more impressed with him than with anything else.” If you believe, nothing will be impossible for you. If you see God because your mind is set on the Spirit and you are rejoicing in the Lord, you will receive God’s peace which passes all understanding. And it is with God’s peace that we exercise dominion in life.

Do you want to grow in your capacity to give people what’s in heaven? When you’re ministering to somebody with cancer or some awful condition, is your mind set on the flesh or on the Spirit? Are you worried about what might happen as you pray, or are you looking at God? Is the peace of God guarding your heart and mind? Are you anxious?

If so, it can hinder your ability to give that which is in God’s presence to the person in front of you. Do what Paul says to do in Philippians. Set your mind on the Spirit.

Most of us have situations that are like “anxiety triggers” for us. Being anxious about a situation hinders us from releasing the Holy Spirit and God’s goodness into that situation. As you recognize what those situations are, apply Paul’s instructions in Philippians 4. God wants you to be free from anxiety in your heart so that you can minister to others in the same situations.

Yesterday I prayed for a woman in need of healing over a Facebook call. She didn’t feel any immediate difference. What the Bible tells us to do is to stand firm, and having done everything, to stand. I’ve prayed for others who have been healed over the phone or Facebook, and I’ve prayed for others who didn’t feel anything immediately but were pain-free by the end of the day. Yet I found myself worrying about her yesterday. I saw that I needed to apply Paul’s instructions to rejoice, pray with thanksgiving, set my mind on heavenly things, and refuse anxiety.

I’m growing in walking in God’s peace, and as I do, I’m growing in my capacity to release God’s goodness and power into situations around. I’m growing in learning to walk continually in the Spirit. God has already done so much in me! The Holy Spirit is working in me to bring me to the place where I won’t have any more “anxiety triggers,”  but his peace will reign in every nook and cranny of my mind and soul.

By the way, Mike was talking about speaking in tongues right before he went into releasing God’s presence. Speaking in tongues is a great way to choose to focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing and to focus on heaven. Even though many of my readers already know all about speaking in tongues, we need to be encouraged to do it all the more. That’s what I’ll write about next week.

God, thank you that your perfect peace which passes understanding is always available to us. Help us to set our minds on the Spirit so that our minds are governed by your peace. Thank you that you’re with us, you’re for us, and you are always working for our good.

Amen.

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How I Used To Deny Jesus’ Death, Atonement, And Incarnation When I Prayed

Last week I shared an excerpt about a vision God gave me, from my book Present Access To Heaven. I saw two groups of people. Most of the people were in the first group. They were fasting and praying, banging on a wall with their fists, but they had little to show for their prayers. Yet there were a few people who had a different approach. Their prayers were being answered quickly, and miracles were happening all around them.

The vision highlighted some reasons that many Christians have become frustrated with prayer. It showed me why many of my prayers had been so ineffective.

This is a continuation of that excerpt, from chapter 5 of Present Access To Heaven. 

Oh, That You Would Rend The Heavens And Come Down!

This was one of the prayers that the people in the first group kept repeating. Although this is a scriptural prayer, it’s a prayer that was fulfilled in Christ’s coming and by his sacrifice. Therefore, to continue to pray it is to act and think as if we still need a savior to die for us. It is denying the gospel without our realizing what we are saying.

Isaiah 64.1 (NIV) Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!

 I didn’t know this prayer in Isaiah had already been fulfilled until I understand Hebrews 9 and 10. Jesus’ body is the veil that was rent. The true Holy of Holies which this veil covered is heaven itself. Therefore, the heavens were rent when Jesus’ body was torn on the cross.

The action of “rending the heavens” corresponds to Jesus’ atonement. To ask God to rend the heavens is like asking God to provide a sacrifice for sin and a way into his presence, a way of salvation. He already did!

In the same way, when Jesus’ came in the flesh, as a man, God came down! He became one of us, accessible to us, so that we could approach him face to face, as to a man. This was what Job longed for! To keep begging God to come down is to act as if Jesus never came in the flesh. God came down, and he is Immanuel, God with us, who will never leave us. He promised to be with us always.

Yet I had spent many years praying this prayer of Isaiah and singing in worship songs “God, rend the heavens and come down!” The logical conclusion of my prayer is that I was asking God to provide a sacrifice for sins so I could have access to his presence.

That which I prayed without understanding was in total denial of the gospel message of what Christ had already done for me! I was asking God to rend the heavens, as if Jesus’ body never was torn for me! I was also begging God to come down, as if Jesus had never come in the flesh!

Of course I didn’t realize this at the time. In hindsight, I saw that years of powerlessness and frustration were caused by my acknowledging the gospel but denying it at the same time! In other words, I was double minded! I acknowledged that Jesus’ body was torn so I could approach God, but then begged God to rend the heavens. I acknowledged that Jesus came in the flesh, but then begged God to come down.

 James 1:6-8 (NIV) But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

 I was frustrated because I was double minded. The fact that I was praying these prayers showed that I still did not fully understand the gospel or the implications thereof.

Since the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, if we are really believing it we should be continuously experiencing the power of God bringing salvation. That salvation should be evident in the power, love, and unspeakable joy that exude from our lives. If that is not the case, we should ask, “Am I really believing the gospel?”

I had thought I believed the gospel, but in my prayers, mindset, and actions, I denied Jesus came in the flesh, I denied Christ’s sacrifice for sins which gave me access to God’s presence, and I denied that Christ rose from the dead. The reason I often felt the gospel wasn’t working for me was because I was thinking and acting as if it weren’t true!

More…

Chapter 5 of Present Access To Heaven continues to expound on the vision, explaining how Christians sometimes try to “ascend into heaven” or “descend into the abyss” when they pray, acting as if Jesus never rose from the dead. This is a major reasons for getting hurt in “spiritual warfare.” Many Christians are worried that “needless casualties of war” result from assaulting demonic powers that we don’t have authority over. On the contrary, I believe that Jesus has given us authority to trample on all the power of the enemy, and these “needless casualties” often result from praying as if Jesus never rose from the dead.

If you’d like to read more, you can pick up either the Kindle Version or the Paperback Version of Present Access To Heaven..

Job 9:32-35 Isaiah

Hebrews

Matthew 28:20

Romans 1:16

 

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The Vision-How Christians Sometimes Deny The Gospel In Their Prayers

I just released my newest book, Present Access To Heaven. I figured I’d include an excerpt from it for today’s blog post.

A vaccination is a dead or weakened version of a virus, and it’s designed to make us resistant to the real thing. Satan, the father of lies, works to undermine and weaken our understanding of the gospel until we become resistant to it. Present Access To Heaven brings light to some of the ways Christians mentally acknowledge Jesus’ death, resurrection, and incarnation, yet speak and act as if Jesus never died for our sins, rose from the dead, or came in the flesh.

The gospel is meant to bring us into a present experience of heaven. If we are lacking in the power and the heavenly experience that the gospel is meant to produce (including the peace, joy, and love that are in heaven), we should consider how our understanding of the gospel may have been undermined. 

This is the beginning of chapter 5, The Vision

Why Do I Feel Frustrated?

There was a period of time when I did an in-depth study of prayer and spent many hours praying, yet I felt frustrated with the results. I had never laid my hands on anybody and seen them healed. Yet I believed in miracles, because the Bible taught about them, and I myself had been healed.

Then at the “Healing Fusion” conference, I became convinced it is always God’s will to heal people, as much as it is to forgive their sins. That was when the miracles began. God showed me that he had always wanted to do these miracles in my life, but there were some things I needed to understand.

I had a vision four years later, highlighting beliefs which had hindered me from experiencing God’s power in my life. I realized I had unintentionally denied some fundamental gospel truths for many years. No wonder I had been so frustrated!

Similarly, I realized that many other people were continuing to unknowingly deny the gospel. This was why they were not presently experiencing heaven’s reality, made possible by believing gospel truth. It was why they felt spiritually poor.  I saw the need to hold fast to the truth of the gospel and tear down these “proud arguments” that are raised against the knowledge of the Lord.

The vision I received was not seen with physical eyes, but came as a clear picture in my mind. It highlighted important scriptural truths to help believers pray effectively.

Toronto

I had this experience while visiting some good friends who lead a small church in Toronto, Canada. They had asked me to share with the congregation. Some days before I arrived, I came down with a cold and sore throat. I was going to speak on healing and miracles, but I was sick! However, I knew it was God’s will that I be healed, and that whatever I felt physically did not change the reality of his word.

I decided to stand firm, knowing the Lord wanted to bless these people in Toronto. I was confident that no matter how I felt, people would be healed if I laid hands on them. By the time I arrived in Toronto, I had just recovered from the cold. I was no longer sick, but my throat still felt dry and scratchy.

On Sunday morning I still wasn’t sure exactly what to speak, so I sat down for a while with my Bible to pray and to ask God for the message that would benefit the congregation. That was when I saw this picture.

Banging On The Wall Of Heaven

In the vision I saw a big wall. Many people were praying and fasting, and banging with their fists on this wall. They were crying out “Oh God, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1) They were working very hard, endlessly begging and pleading for God to open the heavens and send revival. They were asking God to come to them with a mighty visitation, and they were seeking authority over the works of the enemy.

Some of them had a big tree trunk that they were using as a battering ram, and they were trying to break through the wall. They were frustrated because it didn’t seem to be working.

Yet right beside these people was an open door in the wall. They were trying to break through the wall, but seemed blind to the door which they could simply walk through. There were only a few people who saw the door, and they walked in easily. They were full of joy and their faces were radiant. Miracles were happening all around them.

They were also praying unceasingly. However, their prayers were answered quickly, before they could even close their mouths from forming the words. The reason they were constantly praying was because they knew they had what they asked of the Father.

They were continually asking and receiving from the Father, and exercising dominion over sickness and the works of the enemy. They had a fullness of joy that was evident as they asked and received.

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.

  Isaiah 65:24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.

  John 16:24 (NKJV) Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

 The Interpretation

I understood that the place the people were trying to enter was the true Most Holy place which Hebrews 9 and 10 talks about. As we saw in chapter one, this Holiest Place is heaven itself. (Hebrews 9:24) The door is the body of Christ which was torn for us so that we could come to the Father. It corresponds to the veil which covered the Holiest Place, which Hebrews teaches was Jesus’ body. (Hebrews 10:20)

The first group was frustrated because they were trying to enter God’s presence through prayer rather than through Christ. They were never going to get through the wall that way, because the only way it is possible to enter the Holiest Place is through the curtain that was torn, Jesus body.

I saw that in their approach to prayer, they were denying that Jesus came in the flesh, denying that a sacrifice for sin had been made, and denying the resurrection from the dead. They didn’t realize what they were saying; nor did they comprehend the reason everything was difficult and ineffective.

The few who entered through the door were living in heaven while on earth. They didn’t pray in order to get into the Holiest Place. They prayed because they were already in God’s presence, in heaven, and had entered through Christ.

As a teenager, I had often been in the first category of intercessors. I knew what it was like to pound on a wall day and night, asking God to open the heavens and send revival. I remember the frustration. I read many stories of miracles and revival in other times and places, but wondered why I didn’t experience the same in my life. I remember thinking I needed to use the battering ram of prayer until I could get breakthrough and experience revival, yet the breakthrough never came.

In the vision, the second group of believers demonstrated what I had come to experience in the last few years. It became natural to pray all the time, because prayers were being answered all the time. Prayers were answered before I prayed them. I would just think a thought, and miracles would happen. It was glorious! I was already in heaven, and it was so much easier than before…

I’ll continue this excerpt from chapter 5 next week, explaining how the Christians banging on the wall were praying as if Jesus never died for our sins or made a way to the Father. Meanwhile, if you’d like a copy of “Present Access To Heaven,” you can click here for the Kindle Edition or the Paper Edition.

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God Said “He’s Gonna Marry Her…”

I thought I’d share a story about hearing God’s this week. I hope this encourages you if you have ever felt that you had trouble hearing God’s voice.

“I Can’t Hear God’s Voice”

As a teenager, I felt really frustrated about hearing God’s voice. I read plenty of books about prayer and about hearing God, but I often felt so confused about whether thoughts I had came from God or from my own mind.

This was really troubling me one Sunday. I was about fifteen years old. The pastor shared a message about the Israelites stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. There was no escape from a natural perspective. But God and Moses divided the Red Sea and made a way of deliverance.

The pastor gave an “altar call” for people who felt like there was no natural solution for their problem. Long lines of people came up, waiting for prayer. It was customary for people to receive prayer ministry after the Sunday morning message, but I had rarely seen so many people line up to receive prayer.

I sat in the pew, moping and feeling like I couldn’t hear God’s voice. The devil accused me of being a spiritual failure. I almost went up to receive prayer as well, and then sat in the pew feeling condemned because I felt like I should have asked for prayer, but I didn’t go up.

Yeah, the devil used to really play games with my mind. Thank God for delivering me!

“Go Stand There And Cry With Him”

 As I was sitting in the pew and feeling miserable, I looked over at the people standing on the side and waiting for prayer. I saw a friend standing there and crying.

He was an older friend, whom many of the kids in our youth group looked up to. It wasn’t common to see him crying like that. I wondered what was going on.

Then, suddenly, I heard “Go stand there and cry with him.”

It was not an audible voice, but it was as clear as if it were. Now I often act on slight impressions that I feel the Lord is giving me. Sometimes the best way to find out if it’s God speaking is to step out. But at that time, I would not have moved if I had not been absolutely sure that God spoke to me. And I was sure.

I went to my friend, put my arm around his shoulder, and started crying with him. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew God spoke to me.

“He’s Gonna Marry Her”

 When the prayer counselor asked my friend what was going on, he said “I really like a girl, and I really, really don’t want to get involved with anything that’s not God’s will. I’m going to tell her how I feel today.” He had gotten into a relationship before that wasn’t the best, and he didn’t want to make any bad choices.

I immediately heard, as clearly as if it were an audible voice, “He’s gonna marry her.”

I was in shock. I, who felt like I couldn’t hear God’s voice, had just heard Him as clearly as if it were an audible voice. It wasn’t as audible, but it just as well could have been. I couldn’t explain it. But should I tell him this? It seemed like it usually wasn’t a good idea to share these kinds of prophetic words. God hadn’t told me to tell him anything, only that he would marry her. I kept silent.

After the prayer minister prayed for my friend, he said “Well, I guess you’re going to have to talk to her and see what God does–unless God just told Jon here that you’re going to marry her.”

I couldn’t believe he said that! God had just told me he would marry her. But I still didn’t say anything.

The feelings were mutual. He did marry her. They’ve been married for quite a while now, and I thank God for how He is working through their lives and marriage to minister to others.

I told my friend about what happened after he had already married her. He said “It’s really encouraging to hear that know, but it’s probably good that you stayed silent and didn’t tell me at the moment.”

God pulled me out of introspection that Sunday, showed me that I really could hear His voice, and got my focus on what he was doing in other people’s lives. I spent the next half-hour or so laughing and laughing, overwhelmed by God’s goodness. I laughed because when I saw what the Holy Spirit was doing in people’s lives, all of the works of the devil looked so small and unimpressive.

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Jesus In Me Can Love People When I Can’t

As I thought of what to write for this week’s blog post, I realized I had written about a situation where a criminal threatened to kidnap my daughter, but I never wrote a post about what happened after that. All of this happened within the last year in Brazil.

We take such threats seriously in Brazil. My friends up the street from us lost a child in their family to kidnapping and murder. How do we deal with such situations, when the police do little to help or protect us?

More Healing

Because of the threat and the danger on the streets, I didn’t take my daughter outside for quite a while. However, I continued to go out on the street. I didn’t want to live in fear, cooped up inside.

One day I prayed for a neighbor two doors away from us. The pain left. She started sweating because her body got so hot as God touched her. When I see what Jesus does as I speak, it stirs my heart. I want to keep going and see more.

Jesus Lives In Me And He Can Love Through Me When It Seems Impossible

That night I ordered burgers for my family from a snack bar. As I was walking to pick them up, I started crying.

Tears often come to my eyes as I think about what the Holy Spirit is doing. I know God wants to heal people, and I know there are many people around who have needs.

I was crying because I felt God’s love in my heart. I knew God wanted to touch somebody. I looked around. I was passing the criminal who threatened to kidnap my daughter, along with his mother.

When God’s love possesses you, it doesn’t matter who a person is or what they have done. You want to see the Holy Spirit touch them. This man is known as a dangerous criminal. People are afraid of him.

God’s love supersedes my natural abilities and what feels possible.

I walked over to the guy and said something like “Hey, I was walking by and I felt like I wanted to pray for you. God wants to do something in your life.” 

He let me pray for him. I released God’s goodness on him and blessed him. He didn’t respond much, but I tangibly felt God’s glory around him, as something like a weight or force field of energy, as I prayed.

Then I prayed for his mom. She was very sad. Poor woman! Her son was a drug addict and thief, and everyone wanted to kill him.

Please Pray For Our Neighbors!

Things soon settled down. Now we do take our little girl outside again, although we are still cautious.

Thank you to all who have been praying for our safety! Please join with us in praying for our neighbors! Jesus wants to save them and deliver them from drug addictions. God wants to restore their hearts and right relationships. May God’s peace dominate in my neighborhood, in Duque de Caxias, and in Rio de Janeiro!

On Thursday of that week, we wanted to go out, but criminals blocked the entrance to the international airport near our house for an hour and a half. They made everyone get out of a bus, then set the bus on fire. At least they didn’t set it on fire with people inside.These things can be stressful, but I am learning to become more aware of God’s presence. God is with us. He always is.



 We must be constantly aware of what the Holy Spirit is doing. We must see from God’s perspective. Please pray for us to be able to continually be aware of God’s presence, living in a heavenly reality in a place that is so in need of being filled with the knowledge of God’s glory. We appreciate the love, prayers, and support of friends.



 


“Heaven is here now. He’s all around us. Heaven is Jesus…” (Jesus Culture)

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Approaching People Who Need Healing

Last week, I promised to share some recent experiences with approaching people needing healing. It’s often difficult to know how to talk to a stranger who needs healing. I’m not the best at approaching people in public. However, I believe that Jesus lives in me, and I have something that others need. I’m learning to act according to what I say I believe.

“You’re Acting Like I Have A Disability!”

 Right now, I’m visiting my family and friends in the US for the first time in three years. My US cell phone recently died, and I went to Wall-Mart to find out how to switch my phone number and plan to a different phone.

A guy nearby was also trying to change his number to a different phone. He started chatting with me and complaining about how long it was taking. I noticed that one of his eyes drifted to the side and wasn’t straight like the other one. I thought “Since Jesus lives in me, I shouldn’t leave this guy with a crooked eye.” However, he was on hold waiting to talk to a phone company representative, so it seemed like a difficult time to pray for him.

I walked around and then checked back. Ten, then fifteen minutes later he was still on the phone. I was waiting because I didn’t want to leave him with a crooked eye, but he was still on hold. Finally, I decided to talk to him anyways.

I told him the story of how God healed my back, and I said that I now pray for many people and they get free from pain. “I noticed your eye. Can I pray for you?”

He got a little angry and said “No, you don’t want to pray for me. You don’t want to pray for me. You’re acting like a have a disability or something. I’m fine. I can see fine out of this eye and I drive truck.” It seemed that there was no use talking to him any more.

His response made me sad. He had no idea that his eye really could have been straightened, and he rejected what God wanted to give him.

Keep Going

Most people accept prayer, and fear of a negative response is usually unfounded. Yet sometimes we do encounter people who react with anger or mockery when we offer to share God’s gifts with them. There have been times that I’ve felt so embarrassed that I didn’t approach anybody else for a little while. Yet when Christ’s love compels us, we lose self-consciousness. We feel grieved that a person has rejected God’s gift, rather than embarrassed and ashamed at their response.

I’m learning to keep going. “If you believe, you’ll see the glory of God.“ Soon after, I saw a lady with a cane. Again, I told myself “Jesus lives in me, so I have what she needs, How can I leave her limping?” She was polite and allowed me to pray for her, but she didn’t feel anything happen or report much difference afterwords. She said something like “I think it feels a little better.” Somebody (maybe a daughter) gave me a nasty look when she saw me talking with the lady.

I could have stopped then. I have stopped at that point before. But I decided to keep acting in accordance with what I say I believe. I don’t want to believe something theologically, but be found not putting it into practice. I think that’s the worst kind of unbelief.

“I Wouldn’t Be Talking To You If I Wasn’t Dead Serious.”

Sometimes I start crying as I walk down the street. I know that Jesus lives in me, and something needs to happen. I have to pray for somebody.

I’ve seen what Jesus can do. It’s sad when people reject him. But sometimes it’s hard to convince them that God wants to touch them. Sometimes it’s so hard to know how to talk people and convince them that you don’t want anything from them, but you only want to bless them.

After getting rejected by the man with the crooked eye, I tried to think of a better way to approach people. I would never subject myself to possible embarrassment and the inconvenience of talking to strangers if I didn’t believe I could really help them. Could I convince people of that?

As I was looking for a friend, I saw a man pushing his wife in a wheelchair. I asked her “Does it hurt to walk?” Some people us a wheelchair at Wal-Mart just because walking is painful. But she said “No, I can’t walk at all.” She also told me that she had lots of back pain.

I said “Guys, I’d never be talking to you if I wasn’t dead serious. I had a lot of back pain once, and somebody prayed for me. I didn’t expect anything to happen, but I felt something like a ball of energy rolling up and down my spine and the pain left. Now I pray for many people and they get free from pain and sickness. Will you let me pray for you?”

The man looked like he had his guard up, but his wife said “OK.” I put my hand on her shoulder and said “In Jesus’ name, I release God’s goodness and peace on you. Everything become like it is in heaven. Pain go. Nerves be restored. Everything be perfect.”

The back pain was gone! Not only that, but she felt shivers going up and down her legs. I could have asked her if she wanted to stand up. Maybe I should have, but I thought “I don’t want to make it look like this is some kind of show. I just want her to know how Jesus cares for her.”

We talked a little, and they thanked me. The air suddenly felt electric with God’s glory. I thanked them for letting me pray, and said “I’m glad that the pain in your back is gone.” Later I saw them again in the store, and she still felt shivers running up and down her legs.

I’m glad I didn’t get discouraged and quit after the first guy got mad at me, and the second person didn’t feel much happen at the moment.

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Healed As I Got My Focus Off Of Myself

Don’t Let A Self-Centered Focus Obscure Your View Of God

Last week I wrote about having an outward-focused approach to divine healing vs. a self-centered approach. Of course, you should want “your healing”  because Jesus died for you to be healed, and your healing glorifies God. However, it’s a sad thing when our whole approach to divine healing is self-centered. Such a truth should compel us to reach others with God’s goodness.

I promised to share a few stories of how God touched me when I got my focus off of myself. It’s not that God was waiting to touch me until I got my focus right. Somebody else with faith could have ministered to me and I could have been healed, regardless of my heart’s position. God’s isn’t a legalist.

However, for me to be healed by the release of God’s spirit through me (as opposed to through someone else ministering to me), something happened when I got my focus off of myself. Real faith is seeing God and being more impressed with him than with anything else. If we are self-centered and have our eyes on ourselves, our misplaced focus obscures our view of the Lord. Self-pity and self-centeredness are some of our biggest enemies.

Healed As I Was Singing

I got a bad cold right before my second trip to Russia. I was exhausted from lots of hard roofing work and little sleep. And I was planning to minister to the sick and teach on healing in Russia!

For the first few years after I started healing the sick, I got colds just like I always had. I hated being sick! Yet I didn’t let that stop me from ministering to others. Other people were healed even when I wasn’t doing so well!

I felt afraid that this cold would last for two weeks and ruin much of my trip to Russia. But the Lord told me to reject the fear that things would be as they had been every time before that I’d gotten a cold. So I just refused that whole line of thinking, and refused to worry about the cold ruining my trip.

A ministry called Eagle’s Wings was hosting a conference at my church, right before I left, starting Friday night. I was exhausted, my throat was raw, and my nose was runny. According to all natural wisdom, I should have stayed home that night and rested. But I wanted to much to go to the conference and sing to Jesus!

I went. God’s presence captured my attention and got my focus off of the way I was feeling. As I sang to God with all my heart, I began to feel my mouth and hands tangibly vibrating with God’s goodness. I was touching God. That sensation spread over all of my upper body.

What I was experiencing was so powerful that I wondered “How can I be experiencing such a powerful manifestation of God’s presence and my throat still feels sore?” My throat still hurt, but what really mattered was God’s presence. I kept singing.

About 15 minutes after the meeting finished, the soreness and symptoms were gone. I was healed! Even though I was up until almost midnight, the cold was stopped in it’s tracks and didn’t come back.

Does Anybody’s Right Elbow Hurt?

Several years ago I injured my elbow. Being a young man, I like to do stunts. I used to balance on my two hands and then flip myself over and land on my feet. One day I was doing something like that, and I got hurt.

I laid my hand on my elbow and said “In Jesus’ name, be healed.” It still hurt. I did this a few times, but didn’t feel any improvement. I kept ministering to other people even though my elbow hurt.

Not long after that, I went to an event at a bilingual church in Reading, PA. I began to give words of knowledge as the Holy Spirit showed me what physical conditions the people there needed to be healed of.

I felt my right elbow get hot. Momentarily forgetting about my injury, I asked if anybody had pain in the right elbow. Nobody. I thought the heat on my elbow was another word of knowledge. Had I missed this one?

Then I realized that it wasn’t a word of knowledge. My elbow had been healed!

Impartation

I had this experience at one of the early Global Awakening conferences. Randy Clark emphasizes impartation of spiritual gifts, and Global Awakening always has an impartation night at the yearly Voice of the Apostles conference. They pray for the Holy Spirit to touch people. Some people begin shaking with God’s power, feel heat on their hands, weep as God’s compassion overwhelms them, or experience other manifestations. They pick out the people who are experiencing powerful manifestations, then bring them up front to lay hands on them and pray more for them.

Readers who know me might wonder what I think of seeking impartation, since I emphasize that we have been given fullness in Christ. While, I do believe we have been given fullness in Christ, and I do believe in impartation and laying on of hands. That’s a post for another week.

As they prayed, I desperately wanted to get zapped with a thousand volts of God’s power. But as I saw other people begin to shake, fall on the floor, and weep, I didn’t feel anything happening to me. I thought I had missed it, and I was bummed! I started feeling sorry for myself, feeling like God had passed me by.

Then I saw two people helping a young girl to the front. They needed to help her, because she was crying so and shaking so much that she could barely stay on her feet. When I saw how God was touching her, I said “Thank You Holy Spirit!” What I was seeing was so wonderful, so holy.

When I thanked God for touching her, I also began to weep profusely as God let me feel his compassion. I felt God’s power on my body and started to have trouble staying on my feet. Then the people came and brought me up front as well.

This God-experience was triggered as I got my focus off of myself and thanked God for touching someone else. When I thanked God, the same thing began to happen to me.

Next week, I’ll share some of my recent experiences in Wal-Mart along with some thought about how to approach people to minister to them.

 

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Rejecting A Self-Centered Approach To Divine Healing

Last week in “How do you measure your blessing?”  we talked about having a self-centered focus vs. living a life of love. For the Christian, the greatest blessing is to have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and being able to give God’s life and grace to the world.

How does this relate to divine healing and being doers of God’s word, not only hearers?

If You Believe It, You Should Do It!

It’s always God’s will to heal, but divine healing happens through God’s power that is at work in us. God has given us responsibility, and we are Christ’s body. That means that we have something to do with whether or not God’s will is accomplished in specific situations.

James 1:22 (NRSV) But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

Growing up around people from various charismatic churches, I heard many people talk about “divine healing.” I often heard people claiming healing, saying “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed.” Yet I almost never saw any evidence of supernatural healing. Neither did I see these people ministering to others who were sick.

Many of these Christians came from a church background with leaders who taught divine healing. However, the teaching was almost totally self-centered. It was all about getting “your healing.” They didn’t teach Christians to minister to others.

If we really believe what the gospel says about healing, how can we walk by suffering people all the time and not give them what we have? Do we really believe we have what they need? Or are we so selfish that we know a man with cancer could be spared untold suffering and be whole if we just laid hands on him and spoke in Jesus’ name, but it’s too inconvenient?

Yes, it’s awkward to know how to approach someone. But isn’t it worth it?

I think most of us aren’t really so selfish that we won’t go out of our way to help someone. But we doubt that it will work. We listen to the voice of an anti-Christ spirit, which denies that Jesus lives in us and we can do what he did. And we doubt. Or we imagine that the person will reject us and won’t let us pray anyways, and so yield to the voice of fear. Some of us have been taught (falsely) that the receiver has to have faith to be healed. We imagine that the person probably won’t have faith to be healed if we approach them. If that’s you, read this post.

Faith isn’t really about what you feel. It has more to do with how you act. I can’t say how many times I didn’t feel like anything was going to happen, but I reminded myself “I say that I believe God has given me authority and it’s his will to heal, so I should do it. How can I leave this person suffering if that is really true?” Something wonderful happened, not because of what I felt, but because of what I did.

If we keep saying that we believe something, but never act on it, we deceive ourselves. I’ve seen many people who said they believed in divine healing for many years, yet they never acted on it. Then when facing a serious personal situation, they said “I believed, but it didn’t work.” But if they had believed, they would have already been acting on that truth to help others. If they had believed, the first recourse for minor situations would have been “In Jesus’ name, be whole.” When it seemed that there was no natural help, God’s help became a last resort, a straw to be grasped at in desperation. Yet if they really had been believing, they would have already been acting as if it were true.

Most of what I saw as an early Christian, was people who said they believed God wanted to heal, yet acted as if this weren’t true. It seems to me that saying we believe something, yet acting as if it isn’t true, is a formula for the worst kind of unblelief. It’s also how the hearts of people around us become hardened to truth. It’s better to say we don’t believe something, than to say we do but act as if it isn’t true.

Challenging Myself

When we reject a self-centered approach to divine healing, it becomes a very challenging truth to believe! If God has really given us the answer to people’s suffering, we should get busy! There have been so many times in the last few weeks where I didn’t feel like stopping or approaching somebody, but I reminded myself “I have what that person needs. If I do this, they can be free from their affliction.” I was glad I acted!

Right now, I’m visiting my family in Lancaster, PA for the first time in three years. On Wednesday, I passed a short, middle-aged man using a cane in Park City Mall. I knew I could help him. (Because Jesus lives in me.) But I had a goal in mind, and he was going his way. I didn’t know what he would think. I thought it looked like he knew where he was going and might not want to be bothered.  It seemed inconvenient, for both of us. Yes, I’ve approached people so many times, and still deal with such thoughts.

I kept going, feeling bad for passing him by. Yet on my way out, I saw him in front of me again. I reminded myself “If I say that God wants to heal people through me, and I can do the things that Jesus did, I should act on it.”

So I ran up to him. I’m not good at ice-breakers. The one advantage I have is that God healed me, years ago. So I can say, rather bluntly, “Hey, once I had bad back pain, and God healed me. I felt something like a ball of energy rolling up and down inside my back, and the pain left. Now I pray for people, and they get free from their pain. I saw that you were walking with difficulty. Will you let me pray for you?” That, more or less, is how I usually approach people. They usually let me pray, even if they are surprised and don’t expect anything to happen.

The guy spoke to me in Spanish. “Hola.” I switched to Spanish and told him what God had done for me. Then I asked if he felt pain while walking.

Yes, he had a herniated disk. But the real reason he was using a cane was because he had suffered from four brain tumors and had cancer in various parts of his body. He lost his balance because of the brain tumors and his legs were also weak.

I said, “I release God’s goodness and peace in every part of your body. Cancer go, pain go, and everything be whole.” When I asked how he felt, he said nonchalantly “mejor.” (Better) I prayed again, and he again said he felt better. It seemed like maybe he felt a little relived, but still felt some pain. I wasn’t sure.

Then he told me he was a Christian, and talked about God with me for a little while. I wonder if anybody had laid hands on him before or tried to help him. Most of the church barely knows he Jesus is and doesn’t understand the implications of Jesus living in us. So let’s help the church to find out!

After chatting a bit, we said goodbye. But soon later, as I was on my way out to the car, the man came after me. He was holding his cane up in the air and yelled “Mira! No lo necesito ahora!” (Look, I don’t need it anymore!)

I was glad that I’d stopped to give somebody what Jesus has given me!

Next week, I’ll share some testimonies of how I was healed when I got my focus off of my sickness and on to what God was doing…

 

 

 

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How Do You Measure Your Blessing?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing ways that many Christians get entangled with thinking in the same way as spiritists and witches do. In “Righteousness, Blessing, Salvation,” we saw that blessing is inseparable from salvation and justification. We must continue in our salvation in the same way that we started—through faith in Christ. Then last week, in “The Law And Witchcraft,” we saw parallels between witchcraft and relying on the Jewish law. This week, I’d like to point out how Christians sometimes measure their blessing by the same standards as those who rely on incantations and Macumba priests. (Or Voodoo, Santeria, etc.)

“I Want My Blessing!”

Recently, my wife was talking with me about someone we both know. This is a person who I prayed for before, and God healed her. She often goes to Christian meetings, but also attends a Macumba ritual once in a while. My wife said “She goes to whatever place she can get the most. If she could be healed (of a minor problem) at church, but get a husband at the Macumba ritual, she would go to the Macumba priest.” This saddened me. She has experienced God’s blessing, but her focus is still self-centered.

Don’t get me wrong. God wants to bless you, heal you, and meet your needs. I believe divine healing is always God’s will, and I believe in supernatural provision.

But I’ve often seen a brand of Christianity that seems to be totally self-centered. “I’m gonna go to church to get my breakthrough!” Teaching focuses almost exclusively on getting your blessing, getting your healing, and getting your breakthrough. What’s wrong with this?

Christianity is different than Macumba and Spiritism in that the primary focus isn’t “getting my blessing.” The primary focus is transformation.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NRSV)  For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

You should want your blessing. Jesus gave his life to free you from the curse and to bless you. But the primary focus of Christianity is becoming a heavenly person, like Jesus is. It’s about living a life that’s compelled by the love of Christ, and no longer living for ourselves. It’s about showing the world what Jesus looks like. The standard by which we must measure our blessing is what Jesus has done for us and the transformation he has accomplished in us. We are new creations in Christ, with the Spirit of God dwelling in our mortal bodies, partakers in the divine nature! The Father has loved us with the same love as he has for Christ, and has given us the same glory he gave to Christ! How could it be possible to be more blessed than that? If you are righteous, you are blessed and are immeasurably rich, regardless of your circumstances or how much money you have in the bank.

There are two problems with measuring our blessing by the wrong standard. One is that we may lose our confidence in the indwelling Spirit of Christ and the work he’s done in us when we face trials. The other is that we can end up thinking we are rich, when we are really poor.

Revelation 3:17 (NRSV) For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

“I’m Living In God’s Blessing!”

This is the story of someone we know personally, who was influential in leading my wife to the Lord. What fruit has this self-centered version of Christianity produced in her life?

She began going to a church which focused a lot on prophecy. This was the kind of church that emphasizes “You tithe and give generous seed-offerings to us, and God will open the heavens and release your blessing.” She believed God would bless her because she gave money to this church. One night, someone gave her an amazing prophetic word about her “breakthrough.” It included details about a man “God is bringing into your life” and the blessing that would result from this relationship.

She followed the word, and got involved in a relationship with her boss—who is a married man. He’s still married. She has been in a long-term sexual relationship with her boss for many years now.

And she got “blessed”! She got her “breakthrough”! Of course, her boss promoted her and increased her salary. She has a nice car and lots of money now. And she boasts of how God has blessed her because she tithes and goes to a wonderful church that gives prophecies. She thinks she’s right with God, and she thinks everybody needs what she has. But she’s really poor, blind, and naked!

Do you think this is an extreme example of the deception that comes from measuring our blessing by the wrong standards? It’s common. Brazil and Nigeria have some of the biggest churches and Christian populations in the world, yet they are some of the most corrupt countries in the world. People who routinely lie, cheat, and steal boast of God’s blessing. They tithe on huge sums of money which they obtained dishonestly, and then boast that they have God’s blessing and prosper financially because of their tithes. They think they are spiritually superior to others because of their wealth. My wife worked for a company whose owners were exactly like that. That’s the message we’ve gotten across by presenting a self-centered version of Christianity.

The pastor of the Baptist church I’m involved with in Brazil is a heavenly person. God’s light shines around him. He often has to confront these mindsets, because he knows how often people seek God’s blessing by tithing, but live lives of deception and selfishness. His preaching cuts right to the heart issues of being right with God and loving others. He never mentions a tithe or compels people to give, but encourages them to contribute as they are willing and as they are able. The church feeds people in the Favelas* and helps the weak. These believers are learning to give because they are blessed in Christ, which is contrary to most of the religious culture around them.

Is it just in Africa and Brazil? How many Christians in the US boast of their tithes and their prosperity, yet haven’t paid money that they owe to people who did work for them? I’ve experienced it in the US too.

I’ve heard those people tell me that they got God’s blessing by tithing. Well, my in-laws got rich by doing Macumba before they were Christians. “Macumbeiros”*  boasting of their wealth obtained by doing rituals dedicated to spirits don’t sound any different than Christians boasting of wealth attained by tithing. It’s pride and self-righteousness. Christianity is all about giving, because Jesus gave his life for us. Giving should be motivated by love for others. If our whole focus in giving is “my blessing,” we are thinking in the same way as “Macumbeiros” and others who offer sacrifices to demons.

“Am I Under A Curse?”

On the other hand, sometimes Christians whom God has done a marvelous work in get confused and disturbed when someone teaches them to measure their blessing by the wrong standards. They lose their confidence and wonder “Am I under a curse?” Many Christians also judge the blessing on another believer’s life by their financial situation. If we believe the false teaching that the blessing or curse hinges on our tithes and giving, the natural response it to wonder if somebody is being disobedient if they are facing a need.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe there is a biblical form of “prosperity teaching.” I believe Christians should seek to prosper financially.

Brother Kenneth Hagin, the “father of the faith movement,” came from a background where people considered poverty to be a spiritual thing. They actually measured a preacher’s spirituality by how little he had! He rightly saw that scripture teaches God wants us to prosper. However, the pendulum soon swung the other way, so that many people began to measure spirituality and blessing by financial status. Measuring a person’s blessing by how much money he has, is the same error as measuring it by how little he has!

How do we so readily forget some of the greatest scriptural examples of God’s blessing and favor? Joseph had God’s favor resting on him since he was young. He spent many years as a slave. Mary had great favor. She bore the stigma of unwed pregnancy and had to flee to Egypt. And what about the apostle Paul? He suffered physical hunger, thirst, and nakedness at times. He worked with his hands and often paid his own way in ministry. Yet he was rich in Christ!

Philippians 4:11-13 (NRSV) Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Paul said that people treated him as poor, yet he made many rich. Many apostles throughout history up until today have also experienced trying circumstances and faced need. We see the fruit of their labors and acknowledge God’s blessing and favor on their lives. Yet some of us would have never acknowledged God’s favor if we had seen them in the process. Many Christians would have called Bruce Olson rebellious and cursed when he went to Venezuela to share the gospel with native tribes. He faced many trials, and didn’t have money or support. Yet now we see him as a hero, and nobody can deny God’s favor on his life!

You may have felt the judgement of other Christians if you have faced hardships. You also may have wondered if there was some hidden “curse” in your life. I encourage you to seek to prosper so that you can meet your needs and your family’s needs, and so that you have financial abundance to help others with. Learn to make money and to make good decisions with your money.

However, don’t get deceived into measuring your blessing by how much money you have. Focus on what the Holy Spirit has done in you and on what he is doing in you. Remember that the Holy Spirit dwells in you, so you are rich, and focus on giving those riches to the world around you. Don’t allow yourself to feel any sense of inferiority because of your financial status. Like Paul did, learn to always rejoice in the Lord whether you have plenty or are in need. If you can love with the love of Christ, you are greatly blessed!

We must know that God is for us regardless of circumstances or how much money we have. He has spoken that he is for us through his son, Jesus.

Next week, we’ll examine how having a self-centered focus vs. living a life of love applies to the truth of divine healing.

*Macumbeiros are people who practice Macumba, a form of witchcraft that’s popular in Brazil.

*Favelas are poor and dangerous neighborhoods which are controlled by drug lords and even the police fear to enter.

 

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