Jonathan Brenneman's Blog, page 22

The Law And Witchcraft

I found this slaughtered chicken and other remnants of a Macumba ritual on the street corner near my house one day. It seems like we have almost as many churches as we have houses in my neighborhood, and we also have many people who practice Macumba.

Last week, in Righteousness, Blessing, Salvation, we saw how salvation, justification, and blessing are inseparable. We continue in salvation and in God’s blessing in the same way that we were first saved, through grace. Today, we’re continuing to examine how people who practice witchcraft for decades can sometimes go to Christian churches and find the same mindsets there that they learned through witchcraft.

The Law And Witchcraft

I have a friend who was once a Satanist. I mentioned him in part one of  “Supernatural Rain In My House.” In one of our conversations, he remarked that when he first read the Jewish law in the Old Testament, he was surprised at how close it seemed to the magic practices he had learned. They even sacrificed animals!

I was talking about Macumba (a Brazilian form of witchcraft) with my wife yesterday. She remarked about how closely “Macumbeiros” adhere to the Old Testament in the Bible. Several other forms of witchcraft also use the Old Testament.

Don’t get me wrong. I encourage you to read the Old Testament! It’s full of wonderful teaching and promises, and it points to Jesus. I’ve read through it many times. But we must realize that the Old Covenant and the Jewish law were fulfilled in Christ. Animal sacrifices, the temple, and many other things were shadows of Christ. The book of Hebrews is clear that these were imperfect and could never actually deal with sin. They couldn’t perfect the conscience or set things right. Jesus is the only perfect atonement.

Hebrews 10:1 (NRSV) Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.

Offering animal sacrifices was right in the Old Covenant. But today, to offer animal sacrifices is witchcraft. Why? It’s putting trust in something that’s far inferior to Christ and the perfect New Covenant, now that Christ has come. These old things were fulfilled in Jesus and have now passed away. Any trust we put in them is misplaced trust and obscures our revelation of Jesus, who is the only way of perfect redemption. Now that Jesus has come, those who continue to sacrifice animals are no longer sacrificing them to God, but to demons.

In Part 3 of our articles about Reiki and Spiritism, we saw that these work according to the “elemental spirits of the universe” or “basic principles of this world” (as different translations of Colossians say) and not according to Christ. It’s interesting that some Bible scholars interpret this phrase as speaking of the Old Covenant law. Why? Because the Old Covenant law, like Reiki and Spiritism, operated according to the basic principles of this world. It was far inferior to Christ. When we read the Old Covenant law, we must look at the more perfect realities which it points to, found in Christ.

Paul used the strongest of language to warn the Galatians when they wanted to return to relying on the Old Covenant law. In fact, he asked who had bewitched them! Why? Because compelling believers to return to relying on the imperfect things which were meant to point to Jesus, is witchcraft.

Galatians 3:1-5 (NRSV) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Chicken Blood

When a Macumba priest slaughters a chicken and pours its blood on somebody, it’s an affront to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. When Christians try to attain that which was was provided for in Jesus’ sacrifice by another way, they aren’t doing much better than sacrificing a chicken and pouring out it’s blood.

Do supernatural things happen by sacrificing chickens? Sometimes. But as we have seen, practices such as these eventually lead to greater bondage and bring the practitioner under the influence of a curse. They are anti-Christ in that they obscure the revelation of Christ by causing people to misplace their trust.

In the same way, relying on the works of the law brings a curse. Jesus bought forgiveness, deliverance, supernatural healing, freedom, peace, and wholeness through his blood. He is the only way. When we try to attain these things through other means, we subject ourselves to the curse of the law.

Galatians 3:10 (NRSV) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”

This also relates to last week’s blog post. How many times have I heard suggested that people might be able to attain their healing, freedom, the salvation of a loved one, or something else by “sowing a seed,” or “tithing?” I often wonder if this is really so much different than giving money to a witch doctor so he can slaughter a chicken and pour its blood over your head.

I recently heard a pastor in Brazil teaching that we must “sacrifice” so that God’s presence comes and fills the temple. (He was referring to the church building.) His teaching isn’t much better than that of the Spiritists, practitioners of Reiki, or shamans. Why? Like all of these things, his teaching obscures the truth and thus is in opposition to the gospel. The truth is that our bodies are God’s temple and they can be filled with the presence of God because of the sacrifice of Jesus. God doesn’t live in temples made by human hands, but he lives in us.

Most of my readers have probably never sacrificed a chicken. However, many of us have heard subtle suggestions in church that we can relate to God through some way other than Jesus. They come in the form of insinuating we must do something more to continue in our salvation and in God’s blessing, than what we did to first receive salvation. If we aren’t approaching God through Jesus but are trying to access him in some other way, is what we’re doing really much different than slaughtering a chicken?

Next week, we’ll continue to discuss how the mindset of a Christian should be different than the mindset of Spiritists or those who sacrifice chickens and do magic rituals to obtain their wishes.

 

 

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Righteousness, Blessing, Salvation

 

Rainbow of Blessing

Last week, we began our discussion of parallels between spiritism and some so-called “Christian” ideas. The whole point of this blog is that the gospel offers access to heaven now. If we’re experiencing and living in so much less then heaven’s reality, we should examine what we believe to see if it really lines up with the gospel taught by scripture.

It saddens me when I see people with a background of Macumba going to Christian churches and getting many of the same messages they learned through decades of practicing witchcraft. They continue with the same mindset. Today, I’d like to lay the groundwork for understanding some other ways Christians fall into living by the principles of spiritism and witchcraft rather than according to gospel truth.

Saved By Grace, Not By Works

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Many of us know this as a foundational verse about salvation. However, many Christians think of salvation as being allowed into heaven. We get into heaven because of what Jesus did and not by our own works. Well, that is true. But salvation is so much more than that.

The word “salvation” in Ephesians 2:8 is “sozo” in Greek. The meaning of “sozo” is practical, and the gospels often translate it “healed” or “made whole.” Scripture does apply it to being born-again, which is receiving a new nature from God. But the Bible also often uses it in the context of physical healing or in other ways. Everyone who touched Jesus was made whole (sozo). God saved (sozo) Paul from a shipwreck. The word “sozo” applies to every area of our lives.

Scripture speaks of salvation as past, present, and future. Being born again and forgiven is salvation in the past. Jesus deal with sin once and for all by the sacrifice of himself. God’s present deliverance and the practical application of his grace in our lives is salvation present. If you need to be delivered or healed now, the scriptural promises of salvation apply. Receiving our resurrected, glorified body is salvation future.

Many teachers rightly say that getting into heaven is “by grace, through faith, and not of works.” Yet they go on to teach that we get God’s present blessing, healing, and deliverance by works. For example, one famous preacher said,

“You can’t get healing or deliverance, or any other promise in the Word of God except through the tithe.”

When you understand that a biblical understanding of salvation includes healing and deliverance, and every other promise of God in Christ, it follows that this preacher is teaching salvation by tithing.  He may say that you will get into heaven some day by God’s grace, but he is teaching people to relate to God practically and presently through their own self-righteous works.

One the contrary, we must continue in our salvation in the same way we started, by freely receiving God’s grace. We don’t start out by grace and then continue in salvation by religious works. Salvation is by grace through faith, and not of works, from the beginning to the end.

God’s grace transforms us, manifests God’s nature through us, and empowers us. It brings us healing, deliverance, and blessing. We continue to receive God’s grace in the way we first received it.  If you didn’t first receive God’s grace by tithing, you don’t continue to receive it by tithing. In other words, if you didn’t get saved by tithing, you don’t continue in your salvation by tithing either. 

Many preachers have suggested that giving money in the offering can release a person’s healing or get them closer to it. Yet the Bible teaches healing as part of salvation, just as the forgiveness of sins is. Jesus paid for it with his blood.

The Catholic church used to sell “indulgences.” People gave money to the church for their sins to be forgiven. When we understand that healing is just as much a part of salvation as forgiveness is, we should understand that suggesting anyone can obtain healing by giving money is equal to selling indulgences.

Righteousness And Blessing

Righteousness is being made right with God. Jesus is our righteousness, and scripture says this is a righteousness that we receive by faith, apart from the law. Any righteousness apart from Christ is as good as filthy rags. These teachings are foundational throughout the New Testament.

 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NRSV He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,  in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”



Titus 3:5 NRSV he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the important thing: Righteousness and blessing are inseparable. You can’t be righteous and cursed. If you are righteous, you have God’s blessing. And since Jesus is our righteousness, we obtain God’s blessing through what Jesus has done, and not through any works of our own.

Psalm 5:12 NRSV For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield.

Proverbs 10:6 NRSV  Blessings are on the head of the righteous

Psalm 112:6 NRSV For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.

Scripture teaches that all the promises of God are yes in Christ. If you’re in Christ, the promises of God are yes for you. You can’t be in Christ and cursed. If you are in Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places.

Is The Blessing Or Curse Hinged On Your Tithe?

I grew up hearing that I would be abundantly blessed if I tithed and gave offerings, but I would be cursed if I didn’t. You probably all know the passage:

Malachi 3:8-10 (NRSV) Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.

Did you ever hear that a verse taken out of context is a con? Go back to the books of the law and read what the “tithes” and “offerings” were that Malachi refers to. You can read instructions for the tithe in Leviticus 27, Numbers 18, and Deuteronomy 12, 14, and 26. Nobody today tithes as the Israelites were instructed to. Nobody today gives the tithes and offerings commanded by the law, which Malachi referred to. Not even modern Jews.

In fact, the poor and widows didn’t give the tithe, but received the tithe. The “offerings” referred to weren’t monetary gifts to a church. They included animal sacrifices and burnt offerings. Those tithes and compulsory offerings were the tax and social security system for the ancient nation of Israel. Malachi wasn’t written to us or for us.

But what’s the implication of believing the blessing or curse on our lives comes through the tithe? First, because righteousness and the blessing cannot be separated, if we try to attain the blessing or avoid the curse by tithing, we are trying to be justified by tithing. We may say we believe we’re justified through Jesus’ work alone, but we’re acting as if we’re not.

We are delivered from the curse and receive the blessing because of what Jesus did. Don’t be deceived into trying to attain through works that which Jesus has already attained for you. Galatians is clear that this issue of the blessing or the curse comes down to justification. The blessing or curse could only be hinged on your tithe if you were justified by tithing. But you aren’t! Don’t let anybody subject you to a curse that Jesus has redeemed you from.

Galatians 3:10-14 NRSV For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Open Heavens

It’s also worth noting that according to scripture, heaven being opened corresponds to salvation and access to God. Hebrews teaches that heaven opened when Jesus’ body was torn. Jesus attained an open heaven for us by dying on the cross. You can read the scriptures for that in my first blog post, Present Access To Heaven. To teach we can attain to an open heaven through tithing is to teach salvation through tithing. That is, according to a scriptural understanding of an open heaven. Jesus is the door to heaven, and not the tithe.  Don’t try to attain by tithing that which Jesus attained for you by dying. He is the door to heaven now; full access to God and everything found in his presence, not just heaven when you die.

Jesus said that God  makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. He said that God is kind to even the ungrateful and the wicked.

It’s so absurd to teach that God would curse a righteous person for not tithing when he blesses even the unrighteous out of his magnanimous heart! Friends, keep continuing in your salvation in the way you first received it! Good works are the fruit of God’s grace, and not a means of attaining it.

Next week, we’ll continue with The Law And Witchcraft.

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When Christians Operate By The Same Principals As Spiritists Do

In Part 1 and Part 2 of “The Difference Between Reiki, Spiritism, And Christian Healing Ministry,” we saw that although Reiki and Spiritism do have results and a very real spiritual effect, they are far inferior to Christ because they can never bring redemption or lasting freedom. Last week in Part 3, we discussed how Reiki and many other forms of alternative healing operate according to the “elemental spirits of this universe” or the “basic principles of this world,” and not according to Christ.

Today we will begin looking at what some common “Christian” teachings which are not Christ-centered have in common with witchcraft, Reiki, and Spiritism.

Christianity Is Simple

Last week, we discussed how the doctrine of Gnosticism is related to Reiki. Gnosticism and Reiki both teach reliance on secret spiritual knowledge. We read the exhortations of Paul in Colossians and of the apostle John in 2nd John, both written in opposition to Gnostic teaching. Paul emphasized that we have the fullness of God and everything we need, including all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in Christ.

John warned the churches that those who don’t abide in the teaching of Christ, but go beyond it, don’t have God. In other words, what Jesus taught is enough! Don’t listen to anybody who tells you “Yeah, what Jesus taught was all right, but you need more! There is some secret knowledge that you need to attain to be truly enlightened.” Neither should you listen to anybody who tells you that Jesus’ teaching was just a starting point, but now you need their “special knowledge” or secret interpretation to really understand what Jesus said.

Hold Fast To The Simplicity That Is In Christ

Paul expressed concern about the church in Corinth being led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV) But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Paul’s writing repeatedly speaks of all that we have in Jesus. The serpent, Satan, tries to get us to doubt what we have in Jesus and doubt what is already available to us because of the gospel, so that we are always trying to do something more to attain these things. He makes everything complicated. The gospel is simple. We have been cleansed from sin, made right with God, and received a righteous nature because of Jesus’ sacrifice. We are delivered from death through Jesus’ death, and we are raised to life and victory through Jesus’ resurrection.

What the church needs isn’t something new. What we need is to understand the gospel and hold fast to it. Instead of feeling like we need to add more to the gospel, we need to keep walking in the same simple gospel we first received, just as we received it.

Colossians 2:6-10 (NIV) So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

How Do Christians Make Things Complicated?

What Jesus taught his disciples to do was simple. They were to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. They were to use the authority in his name. They were to baptize and make disciples of all nations.

Yet many Christians think that we need so much more. Some teach that it is important to understand demonic hierarchies, sharing beliefs about angeology and demonology that go well beyond what scripture teaches. A heavy emphasis on angelic hierarchies was actually one of the marks of the original Gnostics! Others make a big deal out of extra-scriptural revelation in visions, as if it was a much-needed revelation for us to have “breakthrough.” Paul also specifically addressed these things when he opposed the Gnostics in the book of Colossians.

Colossians 2:18-19 (NIV) Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Don’t misunderstand me. Many of you who are already familiar with my writing know that I have a positive attitude towards supernatural visions. I wrote about my Grandmother’s visions of heaven in Grammy’s First Trip To Heaven and Grammy’s Second Trip To Heaven. Although these visions may have had some extra-scriptural details, such details are side issues to the really important thing—the revelation of Christ and the gospel. Neither are those details anything that we would teach as doctrine.

On the other hand, there are some who make out extra-scriptural “revelations” they have had to be of paramount importance. Steer clear of this! Visions can highlight important scriptural truths, but we aren’t going to get the “revival” or “breakthrough” that we want from a revelation in a vision which goes beyond the teaching of scripture. If we aren’t seeing “breakthrough” or “revival,” then what we need is a greater revelation of Christ and the gospel, not a revelation that goes beyond Jesus.

Some others place great importance on understanding the Nephilim, which are barely mentioned in scripture. The Nephilim are a curiousity, a side issue, not the gospel. The Bible says so little about them because there is little value in understanding them.

I recently read a paper arguing that the earth is really flat. (The author was not named) It said “NASA wants to convince them there is no God, and we are not special in the universe. The truth of the true nature of the earth coming out might well lead to the greatest revival ever!!”

It’s sad this Christian is imagining that learning the “true nature of the earth” could lead to the “greatest revival ever.” Even if the earth really were flat, it would be a fact of little relevance as regarding the gospel and the work of Jesus. The gospel we have is enough to change the world! What we need for the “greatest revival ever” to happen isn’t for people to figure out if the earth is round or flat, or any other side issues like that. In fact, the “greatest revival ever” is currently happening, and it is happening as people are catching the revelation of Jesus and understanding the gospel!

People usually go seeking something more because their understanding of the gospel has been undermined so as to become devoid of power. Many fall into the trap of mentally acknowledging the basic gospel truths while denying their implications. We can acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh, died for our sins, and rose from the dead, yet live and act as if he never did.

If that’s the case, what we really need is to get back to basics and understand everything gospel truths imply. That’s why I write!

Next week, we’ll continue by discussing another way Christians often get drawn into operating like Spiritists in Righteousness, Blessing, Salvation. After that, stay tuned for The Law And Witchcraft! We’ll go on to see how many Christians fall in to living by the same spiritual principals that work when a Macumba priest sacrifices a chicken.

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The Difference Between Reiki, Spiritism, And Christian Healing Ministry Part 3

In Part 1, I shared the story of ministering healing to many people who asked if I was doing Reiki. I learned they were afraid that a healing practitioner could become very sick with the diseases he “takes off” of other people. This is so different than ministering healing in Jesus’ name! Last week, in Part 2, we continued to see how practices such as Reiki and Spiritism bring more affliction in the long term and can only transfer problems, but never permanently deal with them.

In fact, I just talked to another person two days ago who was concerned that she could get sick by practicing healing. She was thinking according to the principles of Spiritism and not according to a revelation of Christ’s death and resurrection. I’ve been healing the sick in Jesus’ name for about ten years, and I never even think about a possibility of the sickness coming on me when it leaves them! In fact, I myself have even been spontaneously healed as I was ministering to others. That’s a big difference from any practice that’s not based on Jesus’ sacrifice and victory!

Gnosticism And Secret Knowledge

One of the greatest opposing forces that the early church faced was a cult called Gnosticism. The apostle John focused on opposing Gnostic teachings in the epistles of First and Second John, calling the Gnostics “anti-Christs.” The apostle Paul refuted Gnostic heresies in the book of Colossians.

The word “Gnostic” comes from the Greek word for knowledge. Among other things, Gnostics believed in salvation through special, secret knowledge. On the contrary, the gospel is plain for everybody to see. It’s simple. Paul told they Colossians that they had everything they needed in Christ. If you have Jesus, you have everything! All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in him.

Colossians 2:2-4 (NRSV) I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.

Colossians 2:8-10 (NRSV) See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.

Paul was clear. He was telling the Colossians “Don’t let anybody trick you into thinking that you need some spiritual revelation beyond what’s found in Jesus. You have all you need in Christ!” In Ephesians, we see from Paul’s writing that his intention was to make “God’s Mystery,” Jesus, plain to everybody. There was no “secret knowledge” needed!

Ephesians 3:8-9 (NRSV)  Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

Reiki And Secret Knowledge

Look at the explanation of what Reiki is at www.reiki.org:

“Rei” as it is used in Reiki is more accurately interpreted to mean supernatural knowledge or spiritual consciousness, universal good. This is thought to be the God consciousness which is all-knowing.

Here’s a quote from another article:

In the second degree, Reiki knowledge and power is expanded using secret mantras and symbols.

Reiki and several other healing methodologies operate “according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.” They operate on what the ISV Bible version calls “the basic principals of this world.” There are spirits and spiritual principles at work. But none of this can come close to comparing with what Jesus does. A child with faith in Jesus can accomplish much more than a person with all of the “special knowledge” in the world.

Here’s an excerpt from the testimony of a former Reiki master. You can read the rest here, at probe.org. Notice the similarities between these thoughts and Paul’s words in the book of Colossians:

If it is so good and right, why do practitioners go on to other things once they hit Master level? The teacher who taught me was going on to accupuncture and other new Reiki teachings. Always something else, something new, something you NEED to be a true master. Sound familiar? It is like everything else in this world, but Christ.

There is no lasting peace, no connection with the universe, there is a big void in your soul that is not going away. WE ALL NEED CHRIST!  I told my wife when she questioned my stopping in my search for peace once I found Christ (she had followed my years of searching through New Age theologies, etc) that Jesus Christ filled the hole. All the puzzle pieces fell into place and everything suddenly made sense.

For a long time after that I tried to make Reiki fit into Christianity but it didn’t. I prayed a lot about it. God firmly and solidly showed me in Scripture how it couldn’t work. The two major things against it, regardless of how well it works, are 1) it does not point anyone to Christ and in facts points people away from a single triune God, and 2) it is no different than all the pagan rituals in the Old Testament that would have people pray to the rain god or fertility god, etc. They must have worked or people wouldn’t have kept praying to them, and God’s people wouldn’t have been attracted to them. But either way it isn’t what GOD has asked us to do. Everything we need is in Him.

The Apostle John was clear when he gave instructions to the churches about the Gnostics and others who brought “secret” teaching. The gospel is simple. Don’t welcome any teaching that goes beyond the teaching of Christ or claims that you need some “special knowledge.”

2 John 1:7-11 (NRSV)  Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

Included in the practice of Reiki are certain symbols in which trust is placed. Reiki is anti-Christ in that it opposes the revelation of Christ by teaching people to misplace their trust, putting it in special knowledge and symbols instead of in Jesus.

Next week, I’ll share about some ways that Christians are often seduced into walking according to the “basic principles of this world” instead of according to Christ. Christians are sometimes guilty of the same errors as those who use Reiki, Macumba, and other deceptive practices.

Meanwhile, listen to this testimony of an ex-Reiki master who met Torben Søndergaard (of The Last Reformation) and turned to Christ. She saw the difference between Christian ministry and Reiki when she watched Torben’s Youtube videos. Her words were “Look how simple that is! Look how beautiful it is!”

 

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The Difference Between Reiki, Spiritism, And Christian Healing Ministry Part 2

Ministering To Macumbeiros And Spiritists

Last week I shared a story of ministering to a group of New-Agers who wondered if I was doing Reiki. They advised me to transfer the sicknesses into a tree. I noted that even though this group was so open to alternative healing methods, they had an unusually high rate of chronic pain and disease. By their own admission, such healing practices could be dangerous to the practitioner!

I moved to Brazil in 2012, and I took three trips to Brazil before I moved here. I’ve often ministered healing in Jesus’ name to spiritists and practitioners of Macumba in Brazil. Macumba is a Brazilian kind of magic, and practitioners are called “macumbeiros.” Like practitioners of Reiki, “Macumbeiros” have their own healing rituals and practices.

I’ve seen people who practiced both Candomble (black magic) and Umbanda (white magic) healed. Many of the times, I didn’t even know about their practices until after the fact.

A few months ago I met a women who was limping and walking with pain. I told her I wanted to help and said “In Jesus’ name, pain go!” All the pain disappeared immediately. I didn’t even have to pray a second time. When I came home, my wife said “She practices Candomble! She puts curses on people.”

My wife’s godfather and his family were also involved in Macumba rituals. He was almost completely deaf without his hearing aids. The first day I met him, I prayed for everyone in his family. He felt heat in his ears, his hearing returned, and he removed the hearing aids. The whole family felt the presence of God like a weight in their house.

Healed From Deafness!

Another time, my wife asked me to pray for someone I had never met. I simply prayed to bless her and release God’s peace. She felt something leaving her hands as I prayed! I later found out that she practiced “white magic.” I believe the spirit and power she had received through her practices was being driven out as I released God’s presence on her. That was what she felt leaving her body through her hands.

Reiki, Spiritism, And Chronic Pain

Like the New-Agers who asked if I was doing Reiki, Macumbeiros and Spiritists have consistently high rates of chronic pain and physical affliction. They also tend to suffer from anxiety and mental torment. Some of them try to mix their practices with Christianity, saying they are compatible. However, they manifest an anti-Christ spirit which avoids talking about Jesus.

Are people ever healed by their practices? Yes. But they are healed by the principle of transference. The disease isn’t dealt with. It’s transferred from one place to another, but not destroyed. This makes it a dangerous practice, and it’s one reason that those who do it tend to have unusually high rates of chronic pain and disease. Even people who are “healed” often get something worse soon after. When they get something worse, they feel that the need to go back for another treatment.

I’ve heard so many stories of people who were healed of one issue by going to some kind of “spiritual healer” for help, only to become afflicted with something even worse soon after. One woman was cured of pain when she went to a Santeria priest. However, she could not close her eyes for years after that without seeing an image of an eye staring at her. She was terrified by it and lived under the torment of fear. It was only when she received Christian ministry with authority in Jesus’ name that she stopped seeing this terrifying apparition.

Here are two quotes from an article about Reiki I read at truthinreality.com. The article confirms what I’ve personally noticed about people who practice Reiki and several other alternative/spiritual healing practices like Macumba.

“There is a grandmaster, the spiritual heir of the discoverer of Reiki (Dr Usui), Mrs Phyllis Furumoto, a Japanese American, who travels worldwide. She is not worshipped, nor does she have any power but she is respected, and she gives guidelines of how to practice Reiki. Despite having practised Reiki since she was a child, Mrs Furumoto blogs about her serious health problems and those of her cousin who also practices Reiki.”

“People have experienced that Reiki works, heals and reveals many things, but after some time, it brings trouble to their lives. Sometimes after only two or three years, active Reikians and Reiki masters become mentally ill with psychoses and so on. Many are divorced shortly after they start with Reiki, or they become financially broke, or severely sick, sometimes immediately, and sometimes after 10-15 years of Reiki. Reiki can heal in the short term, but lead to destruction in the long term.”

I encourage you to read the rest of this article at truthinreality.com. It also has testimonies of several Reiki practitioners meeting Jesus. One person continued to be confused about whether Reiki and Christianity were compatible until losing all Reiki powers at baptism.

Dependence On Reiki Or Spiritism

Reiki, Santeria, and Macumba are different versions of the same thing, in that they work by the same principles. They also generally charge money for treatments and lead people into long-term dependence on their practices.

Many reports of people receiving Reiki therapy state that pain was relieved during the therapy session, but it returned later. They had to go back repeatedly for more treatments. This is a contrast to Christian healing ministry, where it is common for surgeries to be cancelled and tumors to disappear after a few minutes of prayer. Sometimes we do pray for people repeatedly, but even then the aim is to lead people away from dependence on us, into long-term freedom and a personal relationship with God. Also in contrast to Reiki therapy, Christian healing ministry is free—at least it always should be.

I remember encountering a man in Ocean City, Maryland, who was hysterical. He had a problem and he kept saying “I need to find the Reiki master.” I tried to explain to him that I could help him and he would be all right—permanently. It seemed that he didn’t even hear what I was saying. He wanted the Reiki master and couldn’t talk or think of anything else.

I was praying for people all the time. So many of them were 100% percent better after the first few minutes of prayer, and never needed to come back again. It was so sad to see that this guy wouldn’t come to Jesus, who could really help him, because he had put his confidence in something that could never bring permanent resolution to his troubles.

He had become so dependent on Reiki, yet Reiki had not actually resolved any of his problems. It never could. It had only given him a temporary feeling of relief. Only Jesus could provide a permanent solution.

Acts 4:12 (NRSV) There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Next week, we’ll finish with “The Difference Between Reiki, Spiritism, And Christian Healing Ministry Part 3.”

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The Difference Between Reiki, Spiritism, And Christian Healing Ministry Part 1

This week I got a new comment on How I Stopped All The Complicated Stuff In Healing The Sick. In that post, I mentioned a time when I prayed for many New-Agers who were healed. My reader asked if the New-Agers gave Jesus glory after the healing. I realized that I never shared the rest of that story in any of my blog posts. So here it is…

The Healing Tent And The Picnic

A friend invited me to a Native American longhouse dedication event. A church set up a small tent for people to receive prayer at the event. A group of Christians were involved in the event, celebrating with the Native Americans and also asking forgiveness for the sins of the past against Native American peoples.

I had a lot of fun meeting people and hanging out. When the ceremony was over, various activities and celebrations were planned. I went to the prayer tent to see if anybody would come.

Only one or two people came to the prayer tent, and they were Christians. I got tired of sitting in there waiting to see if anybody came to us, and I knew there were lots of people outside who needed to be healed. So I went out and started with talking to a few people who were limping. I talked to people, they accepted prayer, and as I commanded the pain get out, it went!

“Do I Have To Believe What You Believe About Jesus For This To Work?”

After a few people were healed, everyone started to go to an area with a bunch of picnic tables. By this time, nearly everybody from the church groups had left. I was having fun and enjoying hanging out with people.

I started talking to a guy sitting at a picnic table and I told him how Jesus healed me, and that I now lay hands on people and they are healed. I asked if he would let me help him.

He asked “Do I have to believe what you do about Jesus for this to work?” I said, “No, it works based on what I believe.” So he said “Sure.”

The pain didn’t immediately go away completely when I ministered to him, but he felt it significantly reduced and he felt God’s power. He told everyone what he felt, and then other people at the picnic table said I could pray for them.

Those other people began to be healed. Everyone else said all the pain they had was gone. Then I started going from one picnic table to another, asking if anyone needed to be healed. Many people did. As well as I can remember, everyone else I prayed for felt something, and everybody (after the man at the first picnic table) who said they had any pain got 100% free from it. I estimated that somewhere between twenty and thirty people were healed.

Are You Practicing Reiki?

Everybody, or nearly everybody that I prayed for had strong spiritual beliefs. Many people asked me if I was practicing Reiki healing. They felt heat and energy when I prayed for them. I said “I know almost nothing about Reiki healing. I come to God through Jesus. Jesus carried our sins and our sicknesses on the cross. Because I have been washed by Jesus’ blood, I can approach God’s presence without fear. God’s presence is what is healing people. I have been made righteous just like Jesus is, and because I’m in right relationship with God I can do the things that Jesus did.”

Then a lady started giving me some advice. She was very nice and (as most of these people were) and genuinely wanted to help me.

She said, “You’re a very good person, and you are helping many people by taking the sicknesses and pains off of them. But I want to give you some advice. If you don’t release those sicknesses, they can build up in your body and make you very sick. Hold the branch of this tree, and transfer the sicknesses to the tree so that they will not make you get sick.”

I was disturbed in my heart when she said this, like Paul and Barnabas were when the people wanted to worship them as gods. I realized that she did not see what Jesus had done. These people understood a lot about spiritual principles. They understood the spiritual principle of transference. The principle of transference is very biblical. We can see it in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The high priest Aaron laid his hands on a goat, transferred Israel’s sins to it, and sent it into the wilderness. But the scapegoat was an imperfect solution. It pointed to Jesus, who would bear the sins of the world.

These people didn’t understand what Jesus had done in order to once-and-for all deal with sin, sickness, and demonic affliction. They thought that they needed to transfer the problems into the poor tree. My heart broke with compassion for them.

I responded “Thank you for the advice, but I am not carrying these pains and sicknesses. In fact, I have been doing this for years, and I have not become sick from it, but I myself have been healed several times! Jesus carried our sins and sicknesses on himself when he was crucified. Jesus already carried them in his body, so I don’t have to carry them! That’s why I don’t have to transfer them into a tree or anything else!”

How Are Alternative “Energy Healing” Techniques And Christian Healing Different?

This experience made me curious about Reiki. I didn’t know much about it. I did know that what people felt when experiencing Reiki seemed very similar to what they felt when I laid hands on them and commanded the problem to go.

But I did realize something, from the conversation. Their Reiki and energy channeling could never really deal with the problems. They transferred them around, from one place to another. Christian healing doesn’t transfer sickness and affliction around. It destroys it. I didn’t have to transfer the sicknesses and pains from those people into a tree, because I never took them on myself. Jesus took them on himself. He took death on himself, and then destroyed death.

There was something I noticed there. I’m used to praying for people in groups. These people were so open to alternative healing methods like energy channeling, Reiki, crystals, shamanism, and more. They were sensitive to the spiritual world and believed in “the power of faith.” But they, as a group, seemed to have a higher rate of disease and chronic pain than the average group of people.

By this lady’s own admission, her understanding of healing was that it could be a dangerous practice, making the practitioner sick. On the contrary, the more we minister healing to others in Jesus’ name, God’s goodness keeps soaking into our own bodies as well. Sometimes others standing nearby are also suddenly healed. I have been spontaneously healed while ministering to others, without even thinking about my injury. I’ve also often become consciously aware of the Holy Spirit giving life to my mortal body. (Romans 8:11)

Next week, I’ll continue today’s post by sharing more of what I’ve learned about the difference between Reiki and Christian healing. After that, I’ll share about some ways that Evangelical Christians often fall into some of the same errors as false religious like New-Age, Spiritism and Macumba do.

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How I Saw Heaven Opened, Was Born Again, And Finally Stopped Shoplifting

Two weeks ago I shared the story of How I Found Out That God Exists. Then last week I shared about How I Started To Stop Stealing. Here is the rest of the story—how I finally stopped stealing completely and was born-again.

Circle K Camp

When I was ten years old, I went to a Christian camp for children and teenagers called Circle K.

My grandmother paid my way. I really didn’t want to go, but my parents made me. However, it was a wonderful place when I went! The people who ran that camp were the funnest people I had ever met, and they were overflowing with the love of God! It seemed that their faces were glowing with love and kindness. I remember how much it meant to me that one of the ladies who led the camp, Vicky, remembered my name. I didn’t think she would so readily know my name among so many other kids.

The day and night were full of fun activities, rough games, swimming, capture the flag, big shaving cream fights, and more. I also found out that I was really good at foosball! There were morning and evening chapel meetings. We sang praise and worship songs, and then Vicky’s husband Bob preached to us. After every morning chapel meeting, we all went to sit at a spot in the woods for 15 minutes to read our Bibles.

Touched By The Gospel And By God’s Love

I loved this place. I loved sitting in the woods reading my Bible and going to chapel. I felt a level of peace I had never experienced. The joy that these people had was contagious.

At night, Bob preached about how Jesus suffered and died a horrible death to deal with our sin so that we could have peace with God. I remember children weeping, deciding to give their lives to Christ. I felt the glory of God and it was like heaven to me. The message of the gospel touched my heart in a way it never had before, and I decided that I wanted to give my life to Jesus.

My cabin counselor was a friendly guy named Mike. He was soon to leave as a missionary to Papua New Guinea to teach the gospel to stone-age tribespeople. He gave me a quarter to buy an ice pop and told me that in the same way, God’s gift of salvation was free. All I had to do was receive it. I decided that I wanted to become a missionary too.

But when I got back home after that week, it seemed that everything was even worse. I felt like I couldn’t stop stealing, and I had no peace. Again, I was tormented by the fear that I would go to hell if I couldn’t change my life.

I returned to the same camp the next year. I don’t remember any specific time that I prayed, or any super-spiritual experience. I just had lots of fun. I played foosball and capture the flag, and I enjoyed singing songs in chapel and the devotional time in the woods. I felt God’s love and God’s goodness there.

What Is There To Be Depressed About?

When my parents came to pick me up, I was really down because I liked being at camp and didn’t want to leave. Halfway home, we stopped to go hiking on the Appalachian Trail. When we got out of the car, my mom saw how depressed I was and said “Jonathan, what is there to be sad about?”

When she said that, I thought back to myself, “Yeah, what is there to be depressed about?” I didn’t pray a prayer, but when that happened, it felt like heaven opened over me and joy and peace descended on me.

I guess that maybe it was just the moment when in my heart I was tired of living my selfish life and I preferred to live Christ’s life, which I saw demonstrated when I was at that camp. When I went home, I was a different person. I never struggled to stop shoplifting again; it was gone. I believe this was when I was “born again”.

The first thing that I remember doing when I got home was washing the dishes and sweeping the floor. Nobody asked me to. Before that I would complain when my mom wanted me to do chores, but now I wanted to help. Ever since then I have liked washing the dishes! I also began sleeping with my Bible under my pillow so I would remember to read it the next day.

A few years later I returned to all of the stores I remembered shoplifting from and I offered to pay for what I had stolen. I now had some income from delivering newspapers. It was terrifying to approach the store managers and confess my guilt to them, but I had decided to follow Jesus no matter what the cost.

It was interesting to see their reactions. Some accepted the money and praised me for my courage and integrity in making things right. One store said they couldn’t accept the money for fiscal reasons, but the manager gave me a long, angry lecture about how much shoplifting hurts their stores. I apologized again and reminded him that nobody had caught me and nobody forced me to make amends—I wanted to make things right.

I’m so glad that Jesus saved me! It feels so good to be righteous, to have fellowship with God the Father, and to be free from the bondage of sin!

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How I Started To Stop Stealing

Last week, I shared the story of How I Found Out That God Exists. I’m continuing my story of transformation by sharing another significant change in my life which happened before I was born again. This was how I started to stop stealing.

Miserable

If you read last week’s post, you know by now that I regularly shoplifted and stole from my parents as a child. I felt terrible about this and tried to stop, but I felt like I couldn’t. I thought about suicide, but I was afraid that I would go to hell if I killed myself.

One of the hardest times was when I was in fourth grade. My dad was working third shift to try to make ends meet. I missed him. Dads mean a lot to kids. My brother and I thought that whatever our dad did was cool. That’s how I started eating lots of hot sauce with my food. My dad liked spicy food, so I thought it was “manly” to pour on the hot sauce.

Besides the stealing, I hated school. Most of the kids there were mean to me. I was angry and miserable, and often had fits of rage. I wished I could kill all the bad people.

Good Advice

My mom and dad didn’t know what to do. My behavior had deteriorated to the point that they didn’t know how to handle me.

They asked my grandmother “What should we do?” She gave them some wise advice. “Why don’t you see if Jan can pick him up from school during the lunch break and spend some time with him?”

So they arranged with the school for me to spend lunch and recess with my father. I loved it! It was a big relief to get away from the school for an hour. And I hadn’t realized how much I missed my dad.

It especially meant a lot to me when my dad took me out to eat and bought me a sub. We lived on a shoestring budget and almost never went out to eat, so this was something really special to me.

I stopped taking money from my dad’s wallet, and my behavior improved. I was still technically stealing from him, since he was the breadwinner and I continued to sneak money from my mom’s purse. But it was an emotional decision, not a rational one. I felt like I loved my dad too much to continue stealing money from his wallet. I couldn’t anymore. I also stopped losing my temper as frequently.

The Importance Of Dads

Research shows that fatherlessness is highly correlated to every imaginable social ill, including substance abuse, promiscuity, teenage pregnancy, violence, poor performance in school, dropping out of school, infant mortality, risk of asthma, early behavior problems, drug trafficking, incarceration, poverty, and suicide. (For statistics see fathers.com, fatherhoodfactor.com, and The Fatherless Generation blog.) I’m glad that even though our family was going through a rough time, my dad found a way to be there when I needed him.

Studying the devastating effects of fatherlessness has inspired me. It shows me how much of a long-lasting difference we can make in the world just by loving kids and being there for them. Spending time with kids is one of the best ways to change the world.

I began to do volunteer work with children as a teenager, and I have now volunteered with children in several countries. Some other week I’ll write about the plight of Russian orphans and my experience with them.

But next week I’ll continue my story of redemption by sharing how I was born again. I began to do better when my dad spend time with me, but was only when Jesus gave me a new heart that I completely stopped stealing and was delivered from the spirits of anger and depression that tormented me.

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How I Found Out That God Exists

How did I find out that God exists? It wasn’t meditation!

We just finished several posts about confronting the lies of an anti-Christ spirit. Last week I shared the story of a man healed from chronic pain and multiple problems when I confronted the lie that an anti-Christ spirit was whispering to me. This week, I’ll start the story of God’s salvation in my life.

A Troubled Child

I suffered a lot of mental anguish as a child. I’m not sure how the demonic oppression started. I had Christian parents who loved me. I didn’t suffer any great abuse, like many children do. There was quite a bit of economic stress and instability, however. We once lost our home and had to move in with my grandmother. And I had a lot of trouble making friends. Other kids picked on me all the time when I went to public school.

I began stealing when I was really young. I felt like it wasn’t fair that I couldn’t get a job to make money and buy things. I stole from my parents and I shoplifted.

I also had fits of rage. I was rebellious to my parents and very angry. Much of what angered me was injustice. I emphasized with people who were wronged. But the anger and hatred for oppressors consumed me.

I read through nearly all of the Bible when I was seven years old. My mom taught us scripture and sang worship songs with us at night. I loved some parts of the Bible, but others terrified me.

I often thought about killing myself, but I was too afraid that I would go to hell if I did. I wasn’t sure if God existed, but I didn’t want to take chances. I remember sitting cross-legged in the middle of a field, contemplating the possibilities of creationism or evolution. I decided that evolution was impossible, but it seemed like creationism was also impossible. If there was a God who created everything, where did he come from?

There were many times that I just cried for hours. It felt like demons were choking me. I prayed the “salvation prayer” many times, asking God to forgive my sins, but I didn’t feel any different. I tried to stop stealing and being so angry, but I failed again and again. It felt like I couldn’t change. I wished I knew that there wasn’t a God or a hell so that I could just kill myself and escape life.

“Why Don’t I Pray For Your Back?”

 One morning, when I was about nine years old, I woke up with bad back pain. I had woken up with a sore back before, after sleeping at a weird angle. But this was different. Something was seriously out of place, and it really hurt.

My mom was going to give me a haircut that morning. Sitting on the stool waiting for my haircut, I said “Mom, my back is killing me!”

She responded “Why don’t I pray for it?” I didn’t know what good that would do. I didn’t expect anything to happen. But I said something like “Whatever.”

Mom put her hand on my back and said “In Jesus’ name, pain go. Be healed.”

I felt something like a ball of energy rolling up and down my spine. “Mom, what are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything. Jesus is healing you.”

She had to use the bathroom before she gave me a haircut. When she walked away, I still felt the thing rolling up and down my spine. Then I realized that she really wasn’t doing anything. It was God! The sensation gradually subsided, and all the pain was gone. My back was in place!

God Is Real

 I was convinced. Now I knew that God existed.

On the one hand, it was really special to experience such a tangible touch from God. Later, I told my friends “I know that God is real. I felt his hand on my back.”

On the other hand, I was even more afraid of going to hell. I knew that I really had to change, but I felt like I couldn’t.

Next week, I’ll share the story of another turning point-having lunch with my dad. After that I’ll share the story of how I was born again and became a different person.

P.S. I later learned that my parents had attended meetings with Charles and Francis Hunter before I was born. Charles and Francis taught them to minister to the sick. After the training they had each row of people stand up and hold hands. They walked down between the rows of people, touching the person on the end of each row. As they they touched the person on the end of each row, the power of God went through the row. The whole row of people fell straight down into their seats-one row after another.

I’m glad that Charles and Francis taught my parents to minister healing.

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Jesus Came In The Flesh. I Can Do What He Did, Because He Lives In Me!

The Spirit Of Christ Dwells In Me!

We have been talking about the truth that Jesus has come in the flesh, as compared to the lies of an anti-Christ spirit. Last week we talked about dealing with Disruptive Prayers. Before that, we saw why An Anti-Christ Spirit Says That God Doesn’t Need You.

We saw that an anti-Christ spirit denies that Jesus has come in the flesh. Part of the truth that Jesus has come in the flesh is that his Spirit dwells in us. Our bodies are his temple. An anti-Christ spirit denies that Jesus has come in the flesh, so it denies that the Spirit of Jesus dwells in believers. It denies that the church is the body of Christ.

Jesus Became Like Us In Every Way

By coming as a sinless man, Jesus showed us what is possible for any man in right relationship with God the Father. Although Jesus is God, he became like us in every way. That means that he did all of his works as a man, not as God above.

Hebrews 2:14-17 (NRSV) Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.  Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters  in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God

Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

I once heard Todd White point out that scripture says God cannot be temped (James 1:13), but it also says Jesus was tempted. The point is that Jesus, being God, really did become like us in every way. He needed the help of his heavenly Father just as much as we do.

John 5:19 (NRSV) Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.

Everything that Jesus did, he did through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. By coming in the flesh, Jesus demonstrated what is possible for any man who has been made righteous, cleansed by his blood, in right relationship with God.

I know that I can do what Jesus did, because Jesus came in the flesh. He was made like me in every way and he did his wonders through the empowerment of the same Holy Spirit that he has given me. He lives in me!

John 14:12 (NRSV) Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

Confronting Excruciating Pain And Much More

I went through a period of about a year where I progressively grew more and more to understand what it means that Jesus came in the flesh. During that year, I took a trip out of state with my family.

We visited a man who was suffering greatly. He had constant pain for many years. One of his legs was amputated due to diabetes. His skin was covered with sores and he had multiple physical problems. He was also living in sexual sin. There was obviously a great deal of mental torment and emotional pain that went with all of the physical problems.

As we began to talk to him he said “God must have a reason for me to suffer like this.” My heart was stirred, angry about this suffering and the lies of the devil! I spoke to him about seeing God through Jesus. I said “Jesus is the same today, and it’s God’s will to heal you now. But God works by putting his Spirit in men. The church is the body of Christ, and the problem is that the church needs to grow and become convinced of who Jesus is. If God’s will is done through me right now, you will be healed.”

He said “Pray for me!” I and my sister, hearts full of fire, rebuked the pain and the disease. “Be healed now, in Jesus’ name!”

Shut Up You Lying, Anti-Christ Spirit!

 After spending considerable time laying hands on him and commanding healing, little changed. The pain level was the same. The only thing that he noticed was that his vision improved slightly.

I felt my heart drop in my chest. Disappointment. We got his hopes up, and then we let him down. I knew that it was Jesus’ will to heal him. But we weren’t able to demonstrate what I knew in my heart to be true.

At least that was what I felt. But then a thought came to me. The Bible says that I can do what Jesus did, because Jesus lives in me. I had just begun to realize that the Spirit of Christ dwelling in Christians is an extension of the truth that Jesus has come in the flesh. Therefore a spirit that denied I could do what Jesus did was a spirit that denied Jesus had come in the flesh. It was anti-Christ!

I didn’t say a word out loud, but my heart shouted. “Shut up, you lying anti-Christ spirit! You’re saying that Jesus doesn’t live in me and that I can’t do what Jesus did. But you’re a liar! This man will be healed, and Jesus will be glorified in this situation!” I was aggressive, strengthened in my innermost being by the power of the Holy Spirit, bursting with strength. I refused to be disappointed. I stood on truth, my heart screaming “Shut up!” to the devil.

Four days later I got a phone call from him. The pain was the same when we said goodbye to him. But by the end of the day it was gone. Years of chronic, excruciating pain. Not a moment without pain-gone! Within four days, all of the sores on his body had cleared up.

Maybe sometimes you feel like you can’t do what Jesus did. It doesn’t matter what you feel. It’s a lie. If Jesus lives in you, you can do the same works and even greater works than he did. Step out and start doing them, no matter how you feel. Let the Holy Spirit strengthen you as you meditate on scripture and fill your soul with truth. Say “Shut you, you liar. Jesus lives in me!” to every voice that says you can’t do what Jesus did. Never back down.

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