Beginning of the original
page...
I strongly recommend that you study the book of
Matthew while participating in this forum. It's
not a lengthy book and you'll get a lot out of
it. Besides, we all really need to understand the
Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. These
books will be responsible for getting a lot of
souls into the "Kingdom." One never
knows who will gain their ticket to the Kingdom
by investigating one of these little books. Any
one of them will introduce you to Jesus. Come and
meet the man who will take your hand and lead you
from this savage world into the Kingdom.
The
discussion topics below are according to my own
experiences and understanding. You may see them
another way. You can explore these topics and
learn from other's experiences and understanding.
Please remember: Your fellowship with God is a
personal thing and means different
outcome/results for each of us. But the common
trait is a "kind" - "loving"
- "understanding" spirit that yields to
the wisdom and leadership of THE HOLY SPIRIT OF
GOD.
Why
Are Some People Healed and Others Are Not?
( I'm trying not to sound too preachy )
As
far as I know: If it is God's will for you to
suffer and/or die from a disease or injury, all
the prayer in the world will not change it.
According
to God's Word: "It is appointed to each of
us to die." So don't think because we lose a
loved one that we are being singled out or
punished. Our days on this earth are numbered.
People are constantly (unknowingly and unjustly)
doubting God because "He allows evil things
to happen" (such as 9-11, New York).
I
understand why a person (who does not know and
understand God) could be bitter. After all, The
Book of Job tells us that even Job was bitter and
did not understand... and Job knew God very well.
Although he knew Him far better after
his horrifying experience ~ An experience which
was brought on by Satan but
allowed by God.
Remember:
Planet Earth is Satan's Domain. Pain, suffering
and death are a fact of life and the price we pay
for the sins and the human-nature of man. Our
ancestors, Adam and Eve, as we know them, fell
short and chose not to follow God's will for us.
Never blame God for these facts of life. Do you
remember the old song: "I'm Just a Poor
Wayfaring Stranger" ~ "Traveling
Through This Land of Woe?" Well that's what
the people of God are. We are only passing
through, taking the tests, on our way to the
"Kingdom." This journey was never
promised to be easy.
He
originally put us in the "Garden."
According to scripture the "Garden" was
paradise... a lovely place... the original
creation of God, for His creation, Adam and Eve.
They did not follow God's will, therefore they
were cast out of the "Garden," thrown
out into the world that was in existence and as
far as I can ascertain, was occupied by other
beings. There is no teaching in the scripture
that tells me otherwise. When they were cast out
of the garden God explained to them that it was
going to be tough living out here in the world.
He explained that Eve would bear children and
suffer through the ordeal. He warned Adam that he
would have to work hard to extract a living from
the earth. (Genesis 3:16-19)
This
was not the original plan for man. Because God is
a natural God, HE allows freedom of choice to
prevail.
Back
to healing...
Conditions from which we may be healed are
conditions that are not
of God's will. In other words: If we are sick or
hurt because of something we
did or Demonic intervention
brought on us... we can certainly be healed by
divine healing ~ miracles! There are many reasons
divine healing occurs, such as... faith, prayer,
confession of our sin, repentance and God's will
to mention a few.
As
far as I understand, we may be struck down by a
lifestyle which brought about sickness or
accidents ~ not God's will but our own doing. We
can certainly be healed of these things through
faithful prayer and repentance. Repentance
meaning to turn away from the destructive things
we once pursued and desire to live the clean,
constructive life, a life centered in God's will,
not our previous, sinful, destructive will.
The
scriptures are clear... Jesus reminds us
repeatedly that we are healed by our faith. It is
plain to me that illness may be brought on by
demonic influence. Jesus can certainly heal us in
those cases (through prayer and repentance).
Under these circumstances the evil work of demons
and Satan can actually be used to bring about
salvation. Romans 8:28... "And we know that
all things work together for good to them that
love God."
"Salvation"
and "born-gain" are interchangeable
terms for me. I suppose there could be another
opinion that would make sense to me but I have
not needed another view for my own understanding,
therefore, I have not looked beyond my own
understanding. Other people's expression is
welcome here as always. Let me hear from you.
My
Experiences With Divine Healings
While
I have experienced several, miraculous, divine
healings myself, I have seen many others. The
first miraculous healing was the incident I
described on the BORN AGAIN page.
In
time I will write about and discuss them all.
However, there is one incident that was the most
fascinating thing I have ever witnessed. I will
write about it here and now.
Summer,
1976, Forest City, Arkansas...
At
the time I was 31 years of age, living in Hot
Springs, Arkansas, about a 2 1/2 hour drive to
Forest City where I was running sales leads for a
home improvement company. A few days before, I
had a small "bump" surgically removed
from my forearm, nothing to it, just a few
stitches. The first night out my arm became
slightly inflamed, I was running a mild
temperature and the area on my arm was red in
color. I did not feel well at all. The weather
was hot and humid, a typical summer day in the
"Mississippi Delta" area.
I
was driving a near-new 1975 Chevrolet Caprice
Classic. At the time I only had a few thousand
miles on the car. Running down country/county
addresses in the heat was no fun even though the
car was air conditioned and very comfortable. For
no apparent reason the air conditioning quit!
August heat, fever, sick, and now... no air
conditioning. My first thought was: Guess I'll
"pack it in" and head for home. I had a
young family and I was the only bread-winner...
my wife did not work, she was a full time
housewife and mother... I needed to do some
business.
Just
a few months previous my Mother, a devout
Christian and prayer warrior had given me a book.
I think
the title was: "PRAISING GOD IN ALL
SITUATIONS." Well, I had a thought:
"I'll put the book to test."
I began doing what the author of that little book
taught. I started praising God and thanking him
for causing the air conditioning to fail, I
praised and thanked him for my fever, I thanked
him for the opportunity to exercise my faith and
continued to give him praise. I explained that I
knew it was for my own good and that something
good and great would come from it all. I kept
repeating my praises and thanking him for every
unfortunate happening in my life as well as all
of the wonderful things in my life. I reasoned
that the overcoming of the unfortunate things in
my life had helped me to know Him. I really began
to mean every word.
REMEMBER...
AT FIRST I DID NOT MEAN A WORD OF IT...
However,
I kept on praising him and praying. I kept asking
my prayer be heard in the name of Jesus. Soon I
began to "feel" something happening...
I began to believe that it truly was a blessing!
I began to "get into the spirit" and
within a few minutes I was meaning every word and
my faith began to swell! Now I was thanking him
and meaning every word of it! All of this took
about 15 - 30 minutes (or so)... THEN THE AIR
CONDITIONING CAME ON! It started working as well
as ever and the car cooled down. Soon (I can't
remember if it was immediately or over hours) my
arm was well, my fever left and I felt fine!
The
next few days passed, I finished running my sales
leads, made several sales and actually had a good
week. What a trip!
BACK
HOME FROM THE TRIP...
The
next day after getting home I was going to lunch
at my favorite luncheon restaurant in Hot
Springs. It just so happened my cousin had a
radiator shop and he specialized in air
conditioning repair, his shop was just across the
street from my favorite little luncheon
restaurant.
Now
remember, my car was new and still covered under
warranty but the air was working fine and I did
not want to go to the trouble explaining all of
this to the dealership repair shop.
While
on my way to lunch I dropped my car off across
the street and asked my cousin to take a look and
see if he could see any reason for my air to be
intermittent.
"Well
Eddy"... "Did you find anything?"
I asked. My cousin said, "No... but let's
check that "inline" fuse on the fire
wall." We discovered that the fuse had
"blown" but had miraculously melted
itself back together. I have a background in
electronics and I can tell you: THAT'S
IMPOSSIBLE! But it happened! God fixes cars too!
I
have used that method (praising God in all
situations) a few times since and it still works!
What a great little book! I wish I could remember
the author and the title for sure. If I find it,
rest assured I will post it on this site. You
have to realize that was 1/4 century ago. I bet
some of you know the book, let me know!
See?
I Hardly Preached At All!
Your
Friend,
John
This
page introduces the topic of healing, for actual
cases go to, www.john33.com/miracles.htm
P.S.
I am adding this several years after this page
was written. In my experience
and knowledge, in order to
be healed, the following conditions must be in
place:
1)
Total trust in Jesus
2)
You must release the problem. See my page www.john33.com/loosed
3)
Be willing to accept whatever Jesus sends to you.
Do not be angry if the answer is "NO."
Ask for strength, faith and courage to receive
His answer... an extension of the "total
trust" I mentioned. There may be reasons why
you must not be healed, such as; you may be
healed by the lesser god, only to live a few
years then be lost to eternal hell. Trust Jesus!
We all die. Ask that it be His will for you to be
healed and if you are be prepared to be a witness
for Him! He is not going to heal you so you can
warm the bed for a few more years, only to die at
a later date. Do you understand?? (I think I'll
add this to the top of the page)
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