And then a certain lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]? 26 Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it? 27 And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. 28 And Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God]. 29 And he, determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?  Luke 10:25-29 AMP

This lawyer tried to trip Jesus up and expose Him by asking an argumentative question. However the lawyer was the one whose heart was exposed. Jesus knew the Word of God and submitted Himself to it. He did not preach His own doctrines or draw people after Himself, but He always pointed people to the Father and to the Word of God. Jesus answered the question with a question, “What does the Word say? What does the law say?”

The lawyer quoted the law in reply, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus told him, “That’s exactly right – now go and do it!” This embarrassed the lawyer, because he was looking for an argument and he wanted to put Jesus on the spot. Instead Jesus put him on the spot. Instead of shutting up and leaving, he tried to save face and maintain his pride by asking, “Who exactly is my neighbor?” Jesus answered with a story.

Jesus, taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened. 31 Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down along that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite likewise came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity and sympathy [for him], 34 And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii [two day’s wages] and gave [them] to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I [myself] will repay you when I return. 36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers? 37 He answered, The one who showed pity and mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.  Luke 10:30-37 AMP

Here this man was beaten and robbed and left for dead out on the open road. A priest came by and saw him, but did nothing to help him. All he did was move as far over to the other side of the road as possible and hurry by. A Levite came by after that and did the exact same thing. Then a Samaritan came by. He did not do what the priest and the Levite had done – he stopped and helped the man. He dressed and bound his wounds, placed him on his own transportation – his beast – and took him to an inn. He gave the innkeeper money and instructed him to take care of the wounded man. He promised to come back by later and to reimburse the innkeeper for any further charges he might incur taking care of him.

This was not a small thing he did. He was on his way conducting his business and this man was a perfect stranger to him. He went out of his way to help this man; he spent his time and his money on this man who was nobody to him. He could have hurried away and minded his own business like the others, but he didn’t. Maybe he thought to himself, “If I had been coming down this road a little earlier, it might have been me lying helplessly on the road right now!” and he had compassion on the man. The priest and the Levite may even have felt sorry for the wounded man, but not enough to inconvenience themselves in any way. The Samaritan did not just feel sorry for him, he did something about it.

The Jews despised the Samaritans and looked down on them. They thought that they were better than them and that they weren’t “saved” and yet the Samaritan, alone, proved himself to be the good neighbor. He showed himself to be a man of character and integrity. It is not our heritage, our title, or position that matters to God. He is pleased when we walk in love an when we are humble and kind. It is our generosity of spirit that matters above all else.

Withhold not good from those to whom it is due [its rightful owners], when it is in the power of your hand to do it.   Proverbs 3:27

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.   1 Corinthians 12:27-31 NIV

 

God has a place for every one in His body. You are not all clones of each other. You are unique, you are different, and you need to be content to be different. You will never be happy until you accept yourself as you are and stop comparing yourself to other people.

 

God loves you as you are and He wants you to be like Him and to walk in His love toward others. There is no place for competition in the Body of Christ. The gifts and the calling of God only function as they were intended to function when they are motivated by and operated in the love of God.

 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV

 

Without love, you are empty – you are only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal – you make a lot of noise, but produce nothing of value! Without love, anything you do for the kingdom of God is pointless and valueless – it is wood, hay and stubble, ready to be burned up at the last. Love is the “more excellent way.”

 

Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and that they are getting to know him better. 8 But if a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God-for God is love.  1 John 4:7-8 TLB

 

Whoever does not love others does not know God, because God is love. God is not the source or inspiration of this person. The absence of God’s love in their life is proof of that.

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, 5 never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. 6 It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. 7 If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him. 8 All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, but love goes on forever.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 TLB

 

People have a lot to say on the subject of love, innumerable songs and poems and books have been written on the subject of love, but they still have no idea what true love is. True love is God’s love. It is completely unselfish – in fact it is devoted to the well-being of the one being loved. God’s love gives value where there was none before – He sees you and me as valuable and precious and He treats you and me as valuable and precious when we are nothing of the sort. 

 

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  1 Corinthians 13:8-11 NIV

 

Contrary to religion and tradition and the devil, the gifts of the Spirit have not “passed away.” If they were “passed away” then we would all be perfect and we all know that we are far from perfect. You will never be perfect until you see Him face to face! The gifts of the Spirit are still available to you today and will continue to be available as long as the earth remains as it is. Even so, the gifts of the Spirit are only needed here on earth, but love goes on into eternity.

 

1 Corinthians 14:1 says that we should, “follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts.”  You should not refuse God’s gifts, but you should eagerly seek them, allowing God’s love all the while to have its way in you.

 

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.   1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NIV

 

God’s love, operating in you, causes you to come to a place of spiritual and emotional maturity. Faith, hope and love will stand the test of time, but love is the most important thing you can possess even into eternity. You will always need faith. You will always need hope. You will always need love. But love is the most important thing you can possess. God’s love will never let you down.

 

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:1-12 KJV

The Lord God, Creator of the Universe, sent His one and only Son to earth in the form of man, born of a virgin, to live, and to die for His enemies – in order to make them His friends. He came to save us from Hell and give us a way into Heaven. He did not have to do anything for us – He could have just left us in our sin and rebellion. But He chose to come down to our level to reach out to us and help us. The Father sent Jesus to cut an unbreakable covenant between God and man so that we could live in His presence forever.

Jesus was sent to His own people – but they did not receive Him (John 1:11). Instead, it was them who had Him put to death. He was despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, wounded, bruised, chastised for our peace, oppressed and afflicted. Those who took His life thought that He was smitten and afflicted of God. They thought that they were doing God a favor by destroying His life, but they did not know that it was all part of God’s great plan. Jesus was cut off out of the land of the living, He was stricken for the transgression of His people and He made His grave with the wicked. He died the death of a sinner.

But the Bible says that it pleased the LORD to bruise Him. It says that He put Him to grief – that He made His soul an offering for sin. It also says that He would see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. Why would it please God to see his own Son, Jesus suffer and die? Because there was a method in the “madness.” God sent Jesus to die and to go right into Hell in order to destroy the power of the enemy. The devil thought he had the Son of God in his control. He thought that he had neutralized the Seed that was sent to bruise his head (Genesis 3:15). But Satan fell into God’s perfect trap. God tricked the devil, stripped him of his authority and control, the keys of death, Hell and the grave, and his claim to us – God’s creation. We were created and originally intended to serve God and bring honor to Him – not to bow our knee to a fallen angel! If Satan and his minions had known what was waiting for them they would not have crucified Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:8).

Hell could not hold Jesus, because He had committed no sin. Hell cannot hold a righteous man! The Bible says that by His knowledge shall the Lord’s righteous servant justify many, for He would bear their iniquities. Because of His obedience and the things He unselfishly suffered, the Lord said that He would divide Him a portion with the great, and He would divide the spoil with the strong – because He had poured out His soul unto death, He was numbered with the transgressors, He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

It pleased the Lord to bruise Jesus, to see Him suffer under the burden of our sin and to see Him die the death of a sinner – not because the Lord is a sadist, but because Jesus was made a sin offering for you and me. He was bruised in our place. His life and His blood were poured out on the altar to purchase your and my salvation. As painful as it was to watch His Son suffer, such was the joy of the Father, knowing that soon He would welcome millions of us into His eternal presence because we chose to receive the gracious gift of His sacrificed Lamb!

For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; at the deeds of Your hands I joyfully sing. How great are Your doings O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep. A man in his rude and uncultivated state knows not, neither does a [self-confident] fool understand this: That though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to be destroyed forever.

But You, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold Your adversaries, O Lord, for behold Your enemies shall perish; all the evildoers shall be scattered. But my horn (emblem of excessive strength and stately grace) You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil. My eye looks upon those who lie in wait for me; my ears hear the evildoers that rise up against me.

The [uncompromisingly] righteous will flourish like the palm tree, [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in

Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable and incorruptible]. Planted in the house of the LORD, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. Growing in grace, they shall still bring forth fruit in old age: they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. [They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Psalms 92:4-15 Amplified Version

There are people who try to fight against God, but they will never succeed. Everyone who opposes God, opposes themselves and are eventually and inevitably, destroyed. Those who bow their knee before the Lord and who submit their lives into His hands are made righteous and therefore they have a reason to joyfully praise Him. This psalm is not just talking about righteous people, but about uncompromisingly righteous people.

Those people who are uncompromisingly righteous, live their lives by this principle, “God’s will – nothing more, nothing less, nothing else!” They have made the choice to give all to the Lord, holding nothing back. When you are uncompromisingly righteous, you are on God’s side and He is on your side. When God is on your side, His enemies have no hope of defeating or destroying you! Even though they plot against you and even though they lie in wait to ambush you, you will be aware of their intentions and be able to avoid the trap they lay for you.

When we are uncompromisingly righteous, not only is the Lord the One who delivers us from the attack of the enemy when it comes, but He is also able to show us their plan beforehand, giving us the opportunity to avoid the attack altogether if we obey Him. Verse 11 (NKJV) says, “My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me.”

The Lord exalts the horn of the uncompromisingly righteous. The horn is a symbol for strength and for positions of prominence and security. The uncompromisingly righteous will be promoted into positions of honor and they will experience the gracious favor of the Lord. They are anointed with fresh oil. They don’t get burned out or worn out, because they allow the anointing of the Holy Spirit to continually refresh them. The uncompromisingly righteous are prosperous and fruitful. They live long, productive lives. They are well respected. They cannot be removed from their place, neither can they be swayed or corrupted.

The uncompromisingly righteous are firmly established in their faith and their commitment to the Lord. Nothing can remove them from their place in the presence of the Lord. Nothing can turn their heart away from God. Their heart is fixed. They just grow stronger and stronger in the Lord. They continue to bring forth fruit, even in old age. They get better, not worse, as they age. They remain spiritually strong, experiencing an abundance of trust, love and contentment in their lives and their relationships.

The Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is our Rock – immovable and unchangeable. There is no unrighteousness in Him at all. The uncompromisingly righteous are living memorials, demonstrating to all that the Lord God is upright and that He faithfully keeps His promises.

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 NKJ

As we read this passage we can see that Jesus had purpose in His life. He knew exactly what He had to do and the Bible says that when the time had come, He steadfastly, or resolutely, set His face to go and do what He was born to do. When the passage says that He “steadfastly set His face,” it is telling us several things about Jesus.

Number One – He knew what His purpose was.

Number Two – He was committed to that purpose.

Number Three – He let nothing distract Him from going to fulfill that purpose.
He had made a quality decision. One of the things that I have begun to realize more and more, over twenty years of ministry is that the reason why some people do and some people don’t make it in their endeavors and in their walk with God is that they are double minded most of the time. You have to make up your mind what you want and go for it. If you don’t know what specific path God has for you personally – don’t sit and wait – doing nothing – go and do what the Bible already told you to do! As you get up and GO into the entire world, the Lord will lead you to the next point in your journey. Only a moving ship can be steered, but those that are anchored in the dry docks of indecision will go absolutely nowhere.

You need to make a quality decision. A quality decision is one from which there is no turning back. It is set in stone. You make up your mind and you don’t change it for anything or anybody or any pressure or any persecution. We need to make this kind of decision concerning every aspect of our life in order to be successful in life and in order to overcome the plans the enemy tries to have for us.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man supposes that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8 NKJ

Let me give you some examples of moments in a person’s life, when it is crucial to exercise a quality decision, so that he or she will not be an unstable person and make a mess of their life.

Number One – When someone accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior, it must be a quality decision. Otherwise they will be lukewarm, wishy-washy believers – one day up and one day down. One day they will proclaim Him Lord and the next day, when pressure comes, they will deny Him. They will serve Him one day, and the next, when the fleeting pleasure of sin calls to them, they answer the call. Make up your mind whom it is that you will serve!

Number Two – A quality decision needs to be made when two people enter into a marriage covenant. If this is not a quality decision, then you will be thinking and talking divorce at the slightest conflict. You cannot be selfish and you cannot always have your own way. You are two completely different individuals. You will feel differently about different things. Make a quality decision to work at your marriage and resolve issues – not to run away from them and each other.

Number Three – Everyone must make a quality decision before they enter the ministry. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62 NIV

Number Four – In a vocation (a job or career) you must be single minded or else you will be unhappy all the time. You will always be looking for the greener grass on the other side of the fence instead of focusing your talents and energies into the task at hand and doing the best job that you can. You cannot be half-hearted about it. Either stay where you are and work hard, or if you hate your job, hurry up and make the change. Once you make the decision, then you need to bloom where you are planted.

There are many other areas that I could bring up. However I wanted to give you some practical, everyday examples that will help you live a life of stability, consistency and joy. Remember you are in it for the long haul. Your life is a steady marathon, not a fleeting 100-yard dash! We have our eyes on the finish line and run we will! Make a quality decision today about every area of your life, that you will do it God’s way and that you will be consistent. You will see stability, peace, and success come to you in everything!

Foundation Scriptures: Psalm 65:9-13 9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.

10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. 12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

As we look back on the past year, we see the hand of God manifested in an awesome way. We saw many souls saved and we also saw the miraculous supernatural provision of God, so that the work of God could be accomplished. The psalmist said that God crowns the year with His goodness or bounty.

I Predict

I predict – God’s awesome plan will be revealed, The Word will grow strong and many by the Spirit will be sealed. They will come to maturity, the deep things they will know, they will walk in the realm of the supernatural and the glory of God they will show. There will be a demonstration of the mighty Holy Ghost, as we draw nearer to the Coming of the Lord. The Lost shall come in to be cleansed from their sin, all heaven shall rejoice for they’ll make the right choice. The River will flow, to other lands it will go, new churches springing up new wine skins, raised up by God, for the end time harvest that must be quickly brought in. The time is growing short and the end of all things is at hand, and the power of God will be seen in the Land. This work God will do is quickly speeding up all things, by His power, So that all that heaven has planned will be accomplished in this hour.

The plan and purpose of God will be seen, and the gap between the godly and the unrighteous will be greater. Evil men and seducers will wax worse as a hunger for the ways of evil will grow, and men against the purpose of God will go. This is not a time to quit or be fearful, but in faith, to arise and press onto the mark of the prize of the high calling that is found in Jesus Christ.

What does the year hold? Many will ask. Will this be the end will this be the last? All I know is He will accomplish all before we go. The year will be crowned, with the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord. And the righteous will be blessed, those that work with His Word. Signs & Wonders will follow them, everywhere they go. And God will be their shield and buckler, and exceeding great reward.

Mark 11:11-14 (NKJ) 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.

13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. And when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. Mark 11:20-24 (NKJ) 20 now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.” 22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says.

24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Rodney Howard Browne teaches us that Jesus spoke to the fig tree, cursing it, as He passed by. The next day it was withered away. His disciples were amazed, but Jesus was not. Jesus was present when the world was created. It was created by and through Him.

God spoke and the world came into being. John 1:1-3 (NKJ) says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that were made.” Hebrews 11:3 (NKJ) says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Jesus spoke to things and they did exactly what He commanded. He instructed us to do the same. He said that we must speak to objects in faith and they would obey. Jesus said that if we believe without doubting as we tell the mountain to move – that it would move.

Jesus spoke to the fever and it left Simon’s mother-in-law in Luke 4:38-39 (NKJ) “Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.” Jesus rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea in Mark 4:36-40 (NKJ)

“Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

No matter what situation you are facing – according to the Word of God – you must speak to it, in faith, and it must change. As long as you are obedient to the Word of God in every area of your life you can command every situation in your life to line up with the Word of God. Speak to your body – command it to be strengthened and to function as God created it to function. Speak to sickness and disease – command it to leave. Speak to your finances – command the blessing on your financial affairs.

God is good. 52 salvations (in 3 days) but most of all the joy was ministering to a 25 yrs old man who lost his mom at the age of 7, after praying with him, he cried and thanked me. I have never experienced God’s glory like these past days. 90 % of salvations were young people who never attended church and hungry for God’s words. I just want to take a moment to thank RMI and pastor Rodney howard browne. This is a wonderful experience in my life that I will never forget.

Diana M.

Our team was assigned to the VA Hospital in Lake City, Florida, on Saturday, March 8. When we got to the VA, we found that the doors were closed there . . . they would not let us go into the rooms and pray with the people. The chaplain suggested that we go to the Domiciliary, a home for veteran’s, near the hospital. When we arrived there, we found that they, too, didn’t allow people to go room to room and pray for the people. However, we did speak and pray for an Activities Director there who was a Christian, and she said we could go to the Chapel, and that she would announce that people could come to the Chapel for prayer if they chose to do so.

We went and sat in the chapel and prayed and waited for people to come. The only one who initially came was a lady who “just happened” to be a friend of one of the men in our group. She had recently married a Jewish man, and she took her friend (a witness, and a relatively new Christian) down to her room to meet her new husband. So, the Jewish man received a witness, but didn’t accept the Lord that day. While they were in her room, one lady in our group mentioned the sense of horrible oppression and bondage in that place . . . it was as if the people weren’t free to talk to us, or even look at us. It was as if the enemy had bound them up to the point that they couldn’t even speak with us at all.

So, we prayed, took authority in Jesus mighty Name over all oppression, depression, and bondage over that place. We prayed that the Spirit of God would go down every hall, and into every room, setting people free, and allowing them to come and talk with us, be prayed for, and receive a witness. Shortly after we prayed, people started coming for prayer. We were sharing the Lord with them in the chapel, in the hall outside the chapel, and many of them were born again. Even some of the staff accepted the Lord.

As we were walking down the hall on the way out of the building, I met a man, and asked him how we could pray for him. He told me several requests, and I began to pray for him. Then, I asked him if he knew he was going to heaven. He wasn’t sure, but then said a very strange thing. He said, “I was possessed, but I’m not possessed any more”. I assumed that he had been visiting a church in the area a few weeks ago, and they prayed for him for deliverance, and he had been set free there. So I asked him to tell me about it. He said . . . “I was possessed till just a little while ago. I have been trying to get free of this thing . . . I couldn’t read my Bible, I couldn’t pray … but just a little while ago . . . after they announced that you all were here to pray for people, . . . I just got “un-possessed” . . . right there in my room. It left me. I’m free. I guess it was you all. I’m not sure. It’s just gone . . . I just got “un-possessed”.

I assured him that it was the Lord, and not us, and asked him to come down to the chapel and tell our group about what had just happened. He agreed, came and shared his testimony of being set free while in his room, and we prayed with him, and he invited Jesus into his heart. As we were about to leave, another man came out, and after we prayed with him, he wanted to pray for us. After his prayer for us, the Lord began giving him words of encouragement and words of knowledge and he began prophesying to each person in our group. He told us things that he couldn’t have known, had the Lord not revealed these things to him.

Each one of us left encouraged, excited about the Lord, and totally amazed at the power of the Lord to lift the oppression off an entire building, and go down the halls and into the rooms setting people free. I have been a Christian for a long time, and have done door-to-door and street witnessing before, but for the last few years have just stopped doing it. I’m not sure why . . . it was just easier to go to church and not get involved in people’s lives like you do when you go witnessing like that.

During the “Great Awakening Crusade” in Gainesville, I have truly been re-awakened not only to the responsibility, but the sheer joy and thrill of sharing the Lord with others. It’s as if the blinders were taken off my eyes, and now I see everyone as people needing to hear about the Lord. I plan to continue to share the Lord with people, and our church is gearing up to become part of the great army of harvesters. Praise the Lord for His Word, His Spirit, and His Power!

Eva A.

Last week, I wrote in for prayer help for a business calculus exam. I had asked people to pray for me that I could have focus of thought and clarity of mind. Well, GUESS WHAT?! After scoring 63 and 67 on my other two exams, this time I got an 83!!!!!!!!!!!! When the teacher handed me the graded exam, this evening, I almost screamed.

Thank you, once again (of many, many times) for praying for me. I appreciate it a bunch. Also, on a very serious note, I wrote in Sunday afternoon about a conversation gone bad. I had tried to take up a matter with someone and I wasn’t able to work things out with them. That person was completely unrepentant and in complete denial. It upset me. But later on that same day, I just felt this warmness surrounding me and I knew it was God comforting me.

Thank you for praying for me in this matter. I know my pastor and his wife must have prayed later that day, too. And thank you, Lord! P.S. And I’m getting wind that my husband’s former boss just might be starting to rethink things in his life and, I’m praying that he’ll come to know the Lord. We really like him and want nothing but good things for him and his family.

Julie S.