Healed of Cancer

Category: Cancer, Uncategorized

healed of cancerA friend gave me a little booklet entitled, “Healed of Cancer.” It’s by the mother of TV Evangelist, Joel Osteen. In October of 1981 Dodie Osteen started experiencing symptoms and in December received the devastating news that she had metastatic cancer of the liver. The doctors told her that they could not find the primary tumor. She only had a few weeks to live! What a shock.

The booklet describes what her family went through, and with one son a doctor, he knew the seriousness of his mother’s diagnosis.

Dodie is careful not to advise everyone to go the route she chose. “Do whatever you feel peace about in your heart,” she says.

She and husband believed in miracles, believed what the Word of God has to say about healing. She knew that this would be a supreme test of her faith. She couldn’t rely on the faith of her husband or the great healers of the day that they knew personally. It would be up to her to exercise her faith.

She made choices about how to live. She only slept at night, never napped or succumbed to how she felt. Even at 89 pounds, she determined not to act sick. When she went home from the hospital after receiving her diagnosis, she said to her husband John: “Darling, you are the head of this house. You are going to have to take authority over this cancer in my body. We must agree that God is going to heal me and make me whole.” So they did. John anointed her with oil and together they prayed a prayer of agreement, taking authority over the cancer in her body.

“That is when my healing began,” she said.

In her journey back to health, even though it took a long time for her symptoms to go, she believed in her heart she was healed. She prayed and examined her heart. She wrote letters of forgiveness to those she might have offended and forgave others. She did everything she knew to do to have a positive, hopeful attitude.

She placed a picture of herself riding a horse, healthy and smiling by her bedside as a reminder.

She also went out and prayed for others. James 5:16 says, “Pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

When you are fighting a battle, if you will give out of your need, God will cause your answer to come to you quicker. Acts of service help to shift focus from yourself to others.

Believing that God’s Word could not lie, she had complete confidence in the words between the pages. Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Day by day she gained hope and encouragement from the promises in the Bible. The Word became her life. She read and confessed the scriptures daily.

Occasionally, she wavered and became weary. Her husband asked her if she stopped believing in her heart. “No,” she replied. Then, he said, “Your heart is established. Resist the thoughts from the devil and he will flee from you.”

Did she battle fear? Oh, how she battled fear! Satan would torment her with the doctor’s words, “You have only a few weeks to live ….” But she learned to replace those thoughts with God’s Word. “With long life will He satisfy me, and show me His salvation.” Psalm 91:16

She quoted scripture continually and the devil challenged every step of faith she took. He would whisper things like, “It hasn’t done you one bit of good to confess the Word of God, has it?”

These were just some of the things she went through in her battle over cancer. Today, she is healthy and is seen regularly on television. I recommend getting a copy of this booklet from Joel Osteen’s Ministry and read for yourself this incredible victory of faith and perseverance.

 

 

 

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Healing Isn’t Always An Easy Fix

Category: Uncategorized

Anyone who has read my blog posts knows I am passionate about healing. Passionate for people to know that God heals today, that He is the same today as He was when He walked the earth. I believe that there are spiritual roots to sickness, like the unforgiveness and grudge holding I’ve spoken of before. I do. I really believe that when we clean up our own “stuff” — pride, jealousy, offense, selfishness and laziness, to name a few, we will be healed. And yet, I wish it were that simple.

Be in Health, a ministry I have learned a lot from, teaches about spiritual roots. There are difficult roots to heal from–like a wife who has not been “covered” by her husband’s headship. Or someone who does not feel loved. Yes, not feeling loved is the root of several illnesses. Ungodly order in the home is another root–that is when a home is not operating the way God has prescribed, with a father as the head and the mother his helpmate. It may sound old fashioned in today’s culture, but God’s way is never out of fashion.

Sometimes our life circumstances are beyond our control. Sometime we are brokenhearted or wounded without cause, or we are stuck in a situation where there is no relief, at least for a time. I am thinking of care givers, who for extended periods are under a lot of stress, or a single mother, trying to do it all for her family, or someone in the throes of divorce. We can think of any number of situations where life is out of our control and we are stuck  in the muck.

Maybe you are working through healing a broken heart. You’ve been trampled on by someone who should have loved you, but they didn’t. That kind of rejection isn’t healed with the snap of fingers. It takes time. It takes tears. It takes talking to God over and over, and casting your cares on Him.

In the last couple of weeks, I have heard of the healing of soul wounds by Katie Souza, who heads Expected End Ministries. Our soul is our emotions, our hearts and minds. And these deep places can have wounds that are often overlooked. I’ll be honest. I’m just starting to explore this exciting avenue of healing. So stay tuned for more in the future of how our God heals even our deepest hurts and traumas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Healing from bitterness and holding grudges.

Category: Uncategorized

Recently I attended a conference where several healing ministers spoke. One was Pastor Rodney Hogue. His church is in northern California and last September Rodney was a member of the team I traveled to Brazil with. He’s written a little, but powerful book on Forgiveness.

He addresses the question, what do you do when you have a stronghold of bitterness, that is, a pattern of holding grudges against people for long periods of time? We all know people who do this. Maybe it’s a family member, or your boss, or even your best friend. compassion empowersIt seems that no matter what is said or done to right the wrong, they continue to hang on to the offense, like an attack dog gripping a juicy hunk of meat. Just try and pull it away!

Of course, the first step is to repent for agreeing with the sin of bitterness. To renounce the sin, cast it out and receive God’s forgiveness. But for many, the pathways formed in the brain by a long-time habit make it almost impossible to change the pattern of grudge holding. So what is a person to do?

Pastor Rodney says whenever you tear down an ungodly stronghold like bitterness, you must rebuild with a Godly stronghold, rebuilding in the opposite spirit. So what is the opposite spirit to bitterness?

Compassion. Compassion requires you to feel God’s love for them and see them through His eyes rather than ours. It means to see their value and significance from God’s point of view. This requires time and attention to not only dismantle unwanted thought patterns, but to renew the mind to build godly thought patterns.

This is a principle for living in freedom and is necessary in order to renew the mind and change the heart.

There are things we can do to starve bitterness and feed compassion.

1. Acknowledge God’s will to forgive. The burden to forgive is on the offended. Mt 5:38-41.

2. Meditate on God’s forgiveness for you. Find a scripture that speaks to your heart about forgiveness and take time to ponder it, to let it sink in deep into your heart.

3. Receive the grace to demonstrate mercy just as God has done for you. Colossians 3:13.

4. Determine to forgive BEFORE an offense occurs. There are opportunities all day long to take offense. A misspoken word, a tone of voice, a joke that pierced, but it is possible to declare that we will not be offended, and let it go. This is the one I am working on. Sometimes I have to say over and over, “I will not take offense. I will not take offense.” Slowly, bit by bit, I am finding victory. You can, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Twelve Years of Misery. Healed by Jesus.

Category: Chronic illness

In Mark 5, we read the story about a woman who had a gynecological problem for 12 long years:

“And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse, after hearing about Jesus, came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, ‘If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.’ And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my garments?’ And His disciples said to Him, ‘You see the multitude pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.'”

As I reflected on this story, I realized there are some important principles for us to digest. First, the woman’s problem was chronic. Twelve years worth. Do you have a chronic physical problem?

She had endured much at the hands of many physicians. She had searched and searched for a cure. Perhaps she had friends that suggested the latest, newest treatment, diet, or therapy. She’d tried it all. How about you? Have you tried all kinds of things to heal your problem?

She spent all that she had. Ouch. She’d exhausted her financial resources, given it all to find that elusive cure. Have you spent buckets of money looking, searching for anything to bring relief?

After doing all that she knew to do, she was only getting worse. The bleeding wouldn’t stop. She had to be frustrated. It was draining her of energy and she was oh so tired of dealing with this affliction day in and day out. Undoubtedly, she was at her wits end. Ever felt that way?

Then she heard about this traveling preacher named Jesus. It was a long shot, but why not? She’d tried everything else. She decided to do everything she could to get close to him. He had healing power, right? So she pushed and squeezed her way through the crowd. She was so close, but everyone was pressing in. If only she could get close enough …. For us, Jesus is a mere whisper away. We don’t have to push and claw to get at Him. He is right there.

She had to be excited. With her own eyes, she’d seen others touch Him and get healed. In fact, everyone He touched was healed. It was her turn! If only she could reach Him–and then she did. She persisted, and reached her goal. She had touched the Master! Do your prayers touch the Master?

Jesus sensed the healing power surge out of Him. And she knew it too because the bleeding stopped.

She told Him her whole story, her long journey in getting to Him. With compassion, with power and love, He told her that her faith had made her well. And how about you? Is your faith strong enough, active enough to bring healing? This woman didn’t care what others said. Maybe her family ridiculed her for seeking out this guy Jesus. Made fun of her for looking for a spiritual solution. We all have those people in our lives. Ignore them and ramp up your faith.

This woman tried everything until finally, she tried Jesus. What if she had gone to Him first? Think of what she would have saved. Twelve years of misery dealing with bleeding. All those doctor visits. The time wasted. All those uncomfortable treatments. And the money! She’d still have a savings account if she’d gone to Jesus first.

Let this powerful story be a reminder. Next time you have an ailment, go to Jesus first. Forget the advice of naysayers. Believe in His power and love to let your faith make you well.

 

 

 

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“War of Whispers” a novel about thoughts and healing

Category: Thoughts, Uncategorized

martha at book table

 

 

Last weekend, my new novel, War of Whispers was launched in Rancho Bernardo, California. It was a great time of old and new friends gathering to celebrate the birth of this novel, several years in the making. It is Book One in the War of Whispers Trilogy and you can read the first chapter here on this site. The story deals with several issues but primarily I wanted the reader to become more aware of what he or she is thinking. Because like it or not, there is a war going on for our minds. I illustrate this truth through the guardian angels, Arman and Zuriel, as well as their dark-side counterparts. In the spirit realm, they struggle back and forth to win Kat’s thinking. Because whoever gains her agreement, gains her heart.

People have told me that the story has made them more aware of their thoughts–how some are ours and some are not. We have opportunities every day, all day to take our thoughts captive as 2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us. Just yesterday someone said something to me in an email that could be considered offensive. I made a conscious choice (plus it did occur to me that I better practice what I preach) to take my thoughts captive and shelve them until I could respond. That’s what I did. I went about my afternoon and didn’t think about it again until later. After another email exchange, the problem was cleared up, and I was once again reminded that by obeying scripture, I am so much better off. I saved myself a whole lot of frustration and angry, hurt thoughts.

Who knows? Maybe I wrote this book to remind myself of what I need to do all the time: to “ten five” my thoughts.

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Doubt and unbelief — blocks to healing

Category: Doubt, Unbelief

wheelchairIn my last post I told about my healing ministry trip to Brazil. Why, you ask, go to Brazil? There are plenty of sick people right here at home.

How true. But what’s the faith level for healing in America? Does your family ask God for healing when they need it? Your friends? How about you? Do you run to the doctor first, or to God? Your answer reveals the truth.

The reason Global Awakening goes to Brazil is because the people there have not been taught that healing is obsolete or not for today. They believe what the Bible teaches, and they believe that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. It’s that simple.

And I have to tell you that it was plain ole FUN to be a part of God’s healing plan for people. To be used as an instrument for His good works, well, I’m hooked.

The good news is that revival is coming to America. Healing is coming. Signs and wonders are coming. Even big name evangelists, one I am thinking of in particular, is leaving Africa to come to America for his crusades. I am overjoyed at the prospect.

After I landed in the states coming home from Brazil, I went through Customs. The officer asked me what I brought back. I said, “Absolutely nothing” (material goods, that is). Seriously, I think he was dumbfounded. So he asked me what I did when I went there. “I was on a healing mission.” “What’s that,” he asked. So I told him. He asked if I’d seen any miracles. I told him the wheelchair story. His reply was like being splashed with ice water .

“But isn’t all that stuff STAGED?”

I laughed and said,”No, it wasn’t staged. It was simply the healing power of Jesus Christ.” He got a weird look on his face, then stamped my passport and waved me through. I walked away and thought, Welcome home. It occurred to me that he represents many in America, taught to be skeptical of God’s mighty workings. But soon, that will change.

I’ve seen evidence first hand of how God is at work today. I will follow His ways and believe that He is the giver of good gifts to His children who ask.

 

 

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Healing in Brazil with Randy Clark

Randy ClarkThis past Tuesday I arrived home after almost two weeks in Brazil with Randy Clark’s organization, Global Awakening. Eighty other people from around the world met up to minister to the sick and needy of Sao Paolo, Ribeirao Preto and Uberlandia. It was amazing, inspiring and a privilege to pray for so many and SEE results.

One night, two wheelchairs were wheeled in. One with an 8 year old boy who had never walked; the other with a young woman of 25, depressed and invalid in her chair. Okay, I remember thinking, is my faith big enough? As it turned out, others prayed for them, while I focused on a woman with terminal liver cancer.

When I looked up, the 8 year old boy walked out of the room with his parents, wobbly but ecstatic to be on his own legs! Imagine the **JOY**!

The young woman was bound up by unforgiveness, but at the urging of the prayer team, let go and repented for her bitterness. As she did, her legs began to move and a smile replaced her depressed face. Soon, she too was up and walking, praising Jesus. Our God reigns!

There were many prayers for healing we will not know the results of on this side of eternity. Like the teenage girl I prayed for who wanted to be a ballerina but was told by a doctor that she had bad knees and couldn’t dance. She didn’t even want to come forward for prayer, but I urged her to ask Jesus. After all, He is the One who put the desire in her heart to dance. The pain left her knees and I am believing that one day soon she will be dancing for the Lord.

Or how about the baby with a colon problem? The girl with no kidneys, on dialysis? Or the man with Alzheimer’s? We may not know the outcome today of our prayer, but in faith, I believe God is at work healing their bodies.

We did have one wonderful end to a story that carried over from last year. A young woman was in a motorcycle accident the night of the healing service at her mother’s church. The mother got the call that her daughter’s skull had been split open, and that her gray matter had bulged out. In fact, the daughter had been dead for 20 minutes. The team prayed, declared and believed. There was no way of knowing when they left Brazil what happened to the daughter.

But this year, the mother returned with her daughter, who had been raised from the dead by the prayers of the faithful. Her brain function was completely normal and she claimed God’s healing. You would never guess by looking at her what a horrific accident she’d been in.

Hallelujah!

 

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Piercing vs. wounding. What’s the difference?

I had never heard of the concept before: the difference between being a victim that is pierced by the hurtful actions or sins of another versus being wounded by those actions. But it makes sense, so bear with me. We all have experienced the hurt and pain of another’s inconsiderateness, oblivion or even intentional slings and arrows. Every human alive has knowledge of this because we live in a fallen world where sin abounds.

Piercing means to enter painfully or sharply. Wounding means to damage underlying tissue and it occurs by taking ownership of the piercing, letting it go deep to the underlying tissue of your heart and soul. Piercing comes first, and if we don’t deal with that, it can go into wounding. So how do we avoid that? When we are pierced with hurt, we deal with it. We forgive, we repent if we need to and then, we let it go.arrows

Zechariah 13:6 speaks of Jesus: “And one shall say to him, what are these wounds in your hands? Then he shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'”

Hmm. From the house of my friends. In other words, people close to us. Don’t those wounds hurt the worst? I think so.

The Bible also refers to the “fiery darts of the devil.” I immediately picture arrows, sharp points, hurt then infection if left undealt with.

So take any piercings to the Lord. He, after all, has already taken them on the cross. Already dealt with them. Allow Him to love you by carrying them for you.

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Can’t Forget? Emotional Healing Needed.

Ever have trouble forgetting a painful incident? I do. I can forgive, say I’m letting it go, but the stubborn memories won’t leave. I remember every detail of the hurtful encounter to the point of tears. Does that mean I haven’t forgiven the offender? Not necessarily. It may simply mean that my soul (mind, will and emotions) needs healing.

Jesus said He came to heal the brokenhearted. At times in my life, I have felt brokenhearted, so very disappointed in another and in utter shock at their treatment of me.

Recently a friend said something extremely hurtful to me. I was caught off guard, stunned at the tone of voice and the sharpness of the words. Where in the world did that come from, I wondered? My first knee jerk impulse was to withdraw and abandon the friendship. But instead, I chose to forgive her by an act of my will. Done. But what about the sting that remained whenever I thought about it?

When we hear the word healing, immediately we think of our physical bodies. bandaged teddy bearBut what about the other parts of us? Those invisible but powerful body parts we often forget? Forgiveness is spiritual healing. But what about our souls? Do we pay attention to our soul healing?

I asked the Healer of our souls to come and heal my heart, to remove the sting, to let His love bandage me. I like pictures, so I visualize Jesus walking toward me in a brilliant shaft of light. It is so bright I can’t recognize the features of my Lord’s face. And in that brilliance of His glory, the pain and hurt dissolves. The sting, the arrows, the rejection, the abandonment, the fear, all of it, gone.

For you, maybe a simple prayer inviting Him to heal your heart is enough. Ask Him what would work best for you. Blessings on your soul.

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Veteran’s Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) Healing

I don’t know about you, but I used to think that there were some conditions that are out of the realm of healing. Like PTSD. But in this video, Randy Clark interviews a vet who was plagued by this terrible disorder. Watch it and be encouraged. Send it to veterans so they can be encouraged to seek healing from Jesus. This was at Bethel Church in Redding, California.

http://youtu.be/hqIjfV887oI

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