Many people feel lost for much of life. They do not know who they are or why they are here—they lack meaning and purpose for their own individual life. In the early part of the last century, American psychologist David Seabury explained that two questions lie in the center of each person: “Who am I?” “What is it all about—this…
We just celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, and now it is time to say goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019. But the question is: What old baggage are you dragging with you into the New Year? What regrets, mistakes, failures, hurts, or losses do you need to say goodbye to, let go of, so you can embrace the…
A friend once told me how he carried a pistol around in his car for six weeks, planning to kill himself. In his book, Out of Confusion, he writes, “I was broken and hurting badly. I had failed in everything. There was nothing to look forward to and nothing to comfort me. I remember the time, it was nine o’clock…
The morning after our son died I awoke from my sleep praying in an unknown language. Suddenly English words flowed through my mind and I knew it was God speaking to me: “You can say David died, but I want you to know that my own never die. I came and took him; I always come and take my own. Don’t…
Traumas often leave negative pictures in our minds, often tormenting us for many years. Perhaps the neurons of the brain get stuck at the point of shock, and our brains won’t let us move on. Or perhaps a demonic spirit fastened itself to us in the moment of the trauma. Either way, Jesus Christ offers us His blood as a…
More than 2000 years ago, God provided us with the greatest tool of power ever given to humanity—forgiveness. Through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, forgiveness was made possible. The sacrificial blood of Christ was given in payment for all our failures. Forgiveness alone has the power to set you free from debilitating guilt, simmering resentments, and chronic…
Former Catholic priest, Francis MacNutt, found that many sins do not block God’s healing power to the same extent as does a lack of forgiveness. In his book, Healing, he said, “I understand better than I used to why Jesus laid such a heavy stress on forgiving enemies when he talked about prayer … He often seems to connect forgiving…
In the Gospels, Jesus Christ links forgiving others to answered prayers and well-being. And he warns that if we do not forgive from the heart, we will open ourselves to torturers—the domain of Satan. Recognizing the danger of unforgiveness, we need to consider the relationship of anger, resentment, and bitterness to our very real and practical life problems. Unforgiveness leads…
A few years after I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I still suffered from too many negative feelings and beliefs. I experienced jealousy, rejection, unloved, unable to connect to the feeling of love in my heart, emptiness, shame, guilt, and all kinds of fears—even though my church friends considered me a good Christian. So I began to pray…
In the Bible God promises to restore us to health and heal our wounds. Here is a healing encounter my husband Gerald experienced about 15 years ago. “I was in a situation where I felt very disconnected from the people I was with, people who were very close to me. That evening I prayed & asked the Lord what my…