Tag Archives: Prayer

Guillain Barre Syndrome was the thorn that brought me to Jesus

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Belief, Christ, Christianity, Faith, God, Health, People, Prayer, Relationship, Religion, Repentance, Salvation, Truth, Video

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Every believer in Jesus Christ, has a story to tell about how he or she came in contact with Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul had his experience (then Saul), while on his way to Damascus to persecute the Church.

“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shined round

Icon of Jesus Christ

Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul why persecutes thou me? And he said, “who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutes; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” And Paul trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou has me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do (Acts 9:3-6).

Many of us grew up in Christian homes, where the gospel was taught very early in our lives. Still, some of us grew up in homes where the gospel was never mentioned at all.

I grew up in what I would call; a semi-Christian home–mom was a praying woman, and Dad was a dreamer. I never saw my dad in church, but that did not stop Mom from indoctrinating me and my brother with the gospel of Jesus Christ. She made sure we knew all the popular church songs and Bible stories. Each week she would drill the Sunday School Golden Text into our heads, and when called upon, the Golden text was to be recited without error.

Mom was truly fired up for Jesus, but she never allowed her children to know Jesus Christ for themselves. She completely ignored the simple fact about Christianity: To be a follower of Christ, everyone has to have an awakening and a personal contact with Christ. Each of us must have our own Damascus road experience. Without that experience, you are doomed to fail because the moment you decided to follow Christ your enemies increased a 100 fold.

I never had a personal contact with Jesus as a young child. I was merely following Mom’s orders. It was not until I was stricken with a very dangerous autoimmune disease called Guillain Barre Syndrome. (That’s what the doctors told me, but years later I discovered that I was poisoned). I thought I was going to die. The enemy had me cornered and the doctors who were attending to me had never treated anyone for this disease before. I had no place to turn to, so I called upon the Church and Jesus Christ–Jehovah Rapha.

The church came and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed for my deliverance. Today I am rejoicing in the Lord, completely healed and delivered from Guillain Barre Syndrome: 

I can truthfully confess that prayer works. My God is ever faithful. Whatever he says, he will do.”Oh Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me” (“Psalms 30:2 ). I am now a new person and a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Do you think you should blame God for anything?

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Belief, Christ, Christianity, Faith, God, People, Prayer, Trust, Truth

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English: Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames, circa 1...

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

I cannot possibly put a number on how many times I have heard people of all stripes blamed God for tragic events that have occurred in their lives. It is a common practice for people to blame God for unexpected tragedy or natural disaster. Christian or secular, the question is always; why? Why did God allow this or that? Why did God send this or that? Why? Why? Why didn’t God stop this or that? Some people even attempt to use tragic events to prove there is no God.

Frankly speaking, I do not think you should blame God for anything. He is a fair and just God, and whatever He promises He will do. In the days of Noah, He promised a great flood and the flood came. In the days of Abraham, He promised to destroy Sodom and He did.

God never promised us earthquakes, and tornadoes, typhoons and tsunami. He never promised diseases—heart attack, brain tumor or cancer. He promises eternal life and eternal damnation: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (John 6:23). “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29).

Recently I stumbled upon a religious radio program—just in time to hear the preacher‘s comments on a friend of his whose wife was stricken with cancer. The preacher stated that his friend approached him and asks him why God allowed his wife to get cancer. His response was rather surprising! I thought he was going to say he did not know; as that would have been my choice, and the easy way out. Instead, the preacher said he told his friend that sickness and disease are not in God’s plan for us. He then quoted Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).That is reassuring? I thought to myself. I suddenly realized that all the myths and misconceptions about God are a result of lack of knowledge about God’s Word.

God is a just God; He will never do anything that He did not promise. Tragedy and disaster brings misery but misery is not in God’s blueprint for us.

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The Filter of God’s truth

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Belief, Bible, Christ, Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus, People, Trust, Truth

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Detail - Glory of the New Born Christ in prese...

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“But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:14-15).

One of the greatest errors that a follower of Christ can make is to believe something that is a lie. There is a powerful filter that God has given you to keep all lies from setting into your thinking process.

The filter that is available to you is God’s truth. When a thought first enters your mind there is an important question you must ask, “Is this thought the truth?” But your answer to this question cannot be based upon your reasoning, because truth transcends reason; your answer cannot be based upon your experiences, because they are too subjective; your answer cannot be based upon your circumstances, because they are always changing.

The answer can only come from God’s Word, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. “. . . If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:31-32).

The truth is constant, it cannot change, and it doesn’t retreat like humans do. It is always staring you in face and eating at your conscience like a mouse nibbles at cheese.

Truth

There are times when the truth is not what we want to hear,
Then perhaps question it, almost before it reaches the ear.
When the truth’s been disguised, it’s difficult to recognize,
Then as it’s revealed, it may catch some people by surprise.

Truth of the activities of some, if known, would cause shame,
Instead of being what they pretend, mud would be their name.
As the truth’s known, some may receive credit that’s past due,
For they’re behind the scenes doing those things others want do.

The place to go if the fountain of truth we seek to discover,
Is God’s Word, for there it is contained from cover to cover.
God’s instruction book to man that he can live a truthful life,
Dealing with the events that could cause him trouble and strife.

Jesus is the way, truth and life, only through Him is God reached,
And that’s the way it is, no matter how differently it’s preached.
He said, trust him, we’ll know the truth and it will set us free,
Although He said this some years ago,

Let not your heart be troubled

30 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Belief, Christianity, Faith, God, People, Religious Studies

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Cover of Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

And Jesus said to His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” (John 14:1).

Those are the words Jesus used to console His disciples, who were apparently troubled after He had broken the news to them that He had to go back to His Father.

It seems the disciples were doubtful that they could make it on their own—their hearts were troubled. After all, they had been with Jesus since the beginning of His ministry, and had gotten accustomed to having Jesus ministering to them, and providing for them—He was their source for everything.

Jesus knew His disciples were troubled. He could tell by the look on their faces. He knew that a troubled heart is a doubtful heart, so He immediately tried to dispel the doubt with the reassuring words of: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.” The disciples, I am sure, were delighted to hear those words. Still, they were not enough to convince them. Doubt and fear had overtaken their thought process, and they could not see themselves surviving without Jesus (See John 14:18-24).

One of the ways “troubled” tries to attack you is to plant the seed of doubt in your heart. The presence of a “troubled” heart is due to the absence of a believing heart. But faith is like a strong gate that keeps all unwanted visitors out of the fortress of our hearts, while keeping safely within, all the welcomed promises of God’s kingdom. Isn’t that beautiful?

Jesus never wants the visitor named “troubled” to gain any entrance into your life. “Troubled” wants to stir you up inside, like the river rapid. “Troubled” wants to attack your emotions and keep you disturbed and miserable. “Troubled” uses weapons of fear, doubt, and perplexity. “Troubled” will try to harass you, annoy you, and defeat you.

But faith has mightier weapons! Faith’s victory is in the stillness, the calm, the quiet, the rest, and the peace of Jesus Christ within you.

Living in the Light of Jesus

25 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Belief, Christianity, Faith, God, People

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“You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light” (Psalm 18:28 NIV).

When God lights up your life, He lights up your spirit with His glory. When you were outside of Christ you lived in spiritual darkness. God was a person you did not know, He had a voice you did not hear, and He worked in ways you could not see. Your spirit was like a candle in need of the flame of God’s love.

But when God places His light within you everything changes. The voice of God becomes discernible, the ways of God become understandable, the presence of God becomes enjoyable, the will of God becomes desirable, and the fellowship of God becomes delightful.

The beauty of being in the light and living in the light of God is that you can live in unhindered communion with Him.

In the darkest of the night,
when it’s most difficult to see,
I follow the light of Jesus . . .
It’s the only path for me.

He shines His light of goodness,
upon the narrow way.
He gives me Hope eternal,
at the break of each new day.

Whenever I’m lost and stumble,
without direction, and in despair.
I follow the light of Jesus,
knowing He’s the One Who truly cares.

Whenever afflictions strike me,
and I’m sick and feeling defeated;
I call upon His strength,
when mine is depleted.

Whenever trials and tribulations
seem to oppress and blind, so that I can’t see,
I follow the light of Jesus,
the only light which sets us free.

—-Sandra Lewis Pringle