With all the writing I've been doing about the Lakeland meetings with Todd Bentley, I wanted to take a moment to exalt the name of Jesus Christ for His true healing power!

In the first two pictures to the right, you can see various scars I used to have on my face. The most obvious ones are there on my chin. It's a little hard to tell, but there are also big scars on my cheeks, nose, and forehead--they're just sunburned, so they show up pink (click the images for a larger picture).

I received these scars from borderline third-degree burns (technically classified as second-degree) when I was 16 years old. The doctor said they would never go away, and my dermitologist said that in the slim chance that they would disappear, it would take 7 years because that's how long it takes a skin cell to replace itself. In the first picture, I was 17, and in the second picture, I was 18. Shortly after that, though, was the healing I'm about to share with you, which resulted in the third picture, taken when I was 19.

Three years into having the scars, I got upset with God--I don't recommend that, but it's just where I was at the time. I said, "God, what's the point? You're not getting any glory from these scars! Children are afraid of me. It's embarassing. Why would you make me live with these scars?"

Suddenly, a picture popped into my mind of Jesus after the resurrection when he told Thomas to put his fingers where the nails were and touch where the spear entered His side. I sensed the Lord saying, "I didn't just take the punishment for your sin so that you wouldn't have to face it, but I also--even now--bear the scars so that you don't have to!"

I quickly put my hands on my face and said, "Jesus, take the scars!" Nothing happened.

But I held onto that word from God and did the same thing every morning. Within three weeks, they disappeared completely--four years before the dermitologist said it was humanly possible! To this day, the only evidence I have of those scars is a little patch of white hair that grows in my beard (and I technically shouldn't be able to grow a beard because of the dead cells that once formed the scars!). And any time someone points out the white, I get to share this testimony with them! God is so awesome!

That's not the only time I've been healed, though. As a baby, I was diagnosed with a heart murmer, but my parents had our church pray for me and I was miraculously healed. As a matter of fact, my medical record still shows the heart murmer even though the doctors agree that I no longer have one!

Then there was my broken back that was healed about six months ago. Long story short, I dislocated some vertebrae and pinched some discs, which rendered me unable to walk or even move without excruciating pain. I spent two weeks sleeping on a mattress on the floor of our living room before I begged to be taken to my church. There, during the morning prayer time, I was laying on the floor in pain. My pastor prayed one of the simplest prayers: "Father, I hate seeing Art hurt like this! Would You please do something?" Immediately, I felt and heard a series of pops as my spine went perfectly into place! I returned to the physical therapist on Monday walking perfectly upright (only a slight limp from a pulled muscle in my hip). I got to share the Gospel with the therapist and his assistant, and the assistant rededicated her life to the Lord! She had not been to church since she was married about a decade prior, but now she could see the power of God!

I could go on for hours with these stories. I've been healed of tendonitis in my right shoulder, Attention Deficit Disorder, a degenerative tooth disease that was making my teeth fall apart, stomach ulcers, chronic sinusitis, and more. I KNOW God's healing power and the TRUTH that by the lashings Christ endured, we are healed! I can say with confidence that you too can be healed supernaturally in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!

Jesus Christ has all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and I feel it is important to testify to it--especially in the midst of so much speculation surrounding the physical healings taking place in Lakeland, Florida with Todd Bentley. I still do not endorse those meetings (you can read the other articles here at www.SupernaturalTruth.com to find out why), but I certainly do not deny the power of God to heal people physically!

Feel free to e-mail these pictures and testimony to your friends to show proof of God's healing power. I would like to open up the "comments" section of this blog post to people who have testimonies of their own healing or prayer requests for physical healing; and then I would like for us to praise God, rejoice with one another, and pray for the afflicted in Jesus' name. Let's get a true online "healing revival" going, and let's do it in the name of Jesus Christ with a clear presentation of the Gospel!

Blessings,
--Art--

Yesterday I watched another hour of the Lakeland Healing meetings with Todd Bentley (A re-run of Thursday night). I was actually very impressed for a good long time, and I feel it is only fair for me to report this. For most of the time I watched, Todd was speaking in Jesus' name and declaring many diseases healed. He told people that Jesus was healing them and to expect Him to touch them deeply. Granted, it was very emotional, but I can overlook that--God made our emotions, so why not use them?

But after the ministry time, when Todd had people get up on stage to testify, things took an ugly turn and Todd fell right back into the very things I've been speaking out against for the past week and a half.

Over and over, Todd reminded people of the "word of knowledge" he had that brought each person their healing and even once asked, "Do you know why this man is healed?" I waited in anticipation for a presentation of the Gospel, but Todd answered himself: "He got healed because I had a Word of Knowledge..." No mention of the Gospel. No mention of Jesus. But he did say that when he gave the Word of Knowledge, the healing angels of the Lord visited the man.

It grieves me to keep seeing these things because so much of it was on-track and opened wide such huge doors for a presentation of the True Gospel. But Todd Bentley keeps doing such subtle things that completely squash the revival-potential of this movement. I'm reminded of the popular sermon illustration in which the kids tell their dad that they want to watch a PG-13 movie, arguing that "there's only a little bit of bad stuff in it." The kids come home from school, and the dad has made brownies. The kids rush to the brownies, and the dad stops them. "Before you eat them," he says, "You should know one thing: I put a 'little bit' of dog poop in them...but it's only a little bit."

It's that "little bit" of problems I have with the Lakeland meetings that make me so disenchanted with Todd and everything going on there in Florida. I find it hard to rejoice that they have rented the "Joker Stadium" to house the thousands of people now flocking to the meetings from around the world. Why? Because it's only catering to the flesh.

Jesus performed many signs and wonders, but it was always to confirm His word--same thing with the apostles. If you are performing signs and wonders--especially at the magnitude of Todd Bentley--then you have an intense responsibility to speak the truth along with them. Yes, Todd is leading people in "God, save me" prayers, but there is nothing happening in the areas of exposing sin or inviting people to repentance. Physical healings fix the body and bless the soul. They are an external work. Preaching the full Gospel of Jesus Christ (including the need for repentance) is where the internal application comes. Unless there is an internal work, the event is nothing more than carnal and fleshly.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul addresses the church of Corith by saying that they are carnal and worldly because of their quarrelsome focus on following mere men. This is the same Corinthian Church about whom Paul said, "...you do not lack any spiritual gift..." (1 Cor. 1:7). They had the gifts, but they were earthly-minded. They focused on human leaders and how to meet the needs of their flesh. Yes, they believed in Jesus, but their focus was misplaced.

I see the same thing happening in Lakeland, Florida, with Todd Bentley. People are looking at Todd for an "impartation" and for the "10 anointings" he promised them (whatever those may be). There is a tremendous external application, but barely any internal application. It's carnal. It's fleshly. It's earthly-minded. And it is focused on a mere man instead of the pure, holy, and righteous Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

1 Corinthans 3:21-23--So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God (NIV).

Keep your eyes fixed on the Son of God, and don't be distracted by big names and external miracles. Seek God for the internal application of His Word.

I've been getting a flood of comments and e-mails regarding my recent posts about Todd Bentley and the Lakeland meetings--Keep them coming! But one issue has come up that I feel needs to be addressed publically: physical manifestations like shaking, jerking, squalking, and twitching.

I should start by saying that I have experienced a couple genuine instances in which God touched me in a physical way and I could feel His presence. Don't think I'm saying that such a thing is impossible. But in every case that I've experienced a touch from God, I had complete control over my physical body--have we forgotten that the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control? (see Galatians 5:22)

The only times that I could not control what was happening to me was when a demon was involved--either attacking me or coming out of me. Sort of makes you think about all the shaking and jerking we hear about at the Lakeland meetings, doesn't it?

The Holy Spirit produces self control, whereas an evil spirit causes a lack of it. Even where "speaking in tongues" is concerned, one has the freedom to yeild their tongue to the Holy Spirit--Acts 2:4 says that the believers "began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit ENABLED them"--not as He controlled them. Even where spontaneous utterances of prophecy are concerned, Paul said, "The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet." The Holy Spirit produces self-control; but we see plenty of cases in the Bible where an evil spirit "seized" a person, threw them into convulsions, or caused them to behave like an animal. The only time I see God being the initiator in a physical manifestation that results in a loss of control is where disobedience or unbelief was concerned--like when Zechariah was struck mute in Luke 1 or when King Nebuchadnezzar was sent into the wilderness as a crazy man in Daniel 4. I never hear of Jesus shaking or jerking--He always had complete control.

Several years ago, as a teenager, a friend and I took a road trip to Toronto to check things out. I have to be honest--what I saw there was similar in some ways to the Lakeland stuff, but there were some huge differences. Yes, there was a lot of self-hypnosis and silliness going on. TACF's Senior Pastor, John Arnott, even pointed it out by telling a story about a Sunday School teacher who accidentally spilled some gold glitter in the hall; and by the time she had returned with a vaccuum, there were fifteen people huddled around it, speading it on their faces, rolling on the floor, jerking, and making all sorts of noises. While I was there, people squalked like chickens and roared like lions--things that author and missionary Derek Prince said happened in Africa as evil spirits would take hold of witchdoctors and others involved in the occult. Nevertheless, at Toronto, I also saw a lot of true things being done, and the credit was always emphatically given to Jesus Christ. Very real biblical truths about the love of Father God were highlighted, and many hearts have been healed as a result. My point is that in Lakeland, as with Toronto, we need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Again, I've followed Bentley's ministry since before anyone knew who he was, and I know from observation and discernment that his gift of healing was bestowed by the Holy Spirit. As I've said before, if someone get's healed in Lakeland or over the Internet through what's happening there, I praise God for it and give Him all the glory. We must give the honor and credit to Christ. But the teachings, ministry methods, and unhealthy focus on spiritual beings at the expense of Jesus Christ should be adamantly opposed as false.

As I've said, the first danger is that Todd's healing gift seems to give credentials to his teachings, and many of these are pretty out-of-whack. But I also believe I need to bring light to some of the physical manifestations that people are exhibiting. To be honest, I don't think these manifestations are originating with Bentley--I think they're risidual from the attacks of the enemy that were wrought on the Toronto and Brownsville "revivals." When I visited Toronto, I fell into the trap of seeking the manifestations until I realized it was a ploy of the enemy to distract people from the truth of what God was wanting to do there.

I could see the plan rather clearly: get the people to focus on fruitless shakes and jerks in their physical body so they won't pay attention to the spiritual application. Not only that, but the enemy knew that if people could be duped into synchretism--in which these manifestations are seen as being synonymous with what God was genuinely doing--then it would turn a lot of "discerning" people off to the movement altogether and the Body of Christ would be divided.

Guess what? This is what happened. The manifestations became so entwined with the actual working of God that people felt they had to either embrace all of it or reject all of it--there was no in-between.

Real discernment from the Holy Spirit is not used to accept or renounce a big-picture; that can be done with our human minds. Black and white bricks can be separated by hand, but black and white paint can only be separated by a miracle. "Brick-style" discernment is based on human logic, whereas "paint-style" discernment is based on the Holy Spirit. Brownsville, Toronto, and Lakeland are a soup of gray paint, and we can't approach them with human logic. That's why the bulk of people's writing about such things seem to be polarized--either for or against the entire thing. They say, "Well, it's not black, so it must be white..." or they say, "It's not white, so it must be black." As a result, Christians are divided by it and the devil has succeeded in bringing confusion to the Body of Christ. You cannot apply "brick-style" discernment in a "paint-style" issue. Instead, we must seek the Holy Spirit for true heavenly discernment about what we can accept and what needs to be renounced. To deal with it like a brick brings division, but to deal with it like paint brings purity.

Approach the Lakeland meetings with prayer and discernment--and remember that we're a Body made up of many parts. If you see something in my posts in which I'm mistaken, please let me know. But if you see something here you hadn't thought of, take it to the Lord in prayer and search the Scriptures to see if what I have to say is true.

Let's keep praying for Todd! God bless!

Why do we call shaking, rocking, jumping, laughing, and shouting "revival"? For that matter, why do we automatically suppose that the evidence of spiritual activity is somehow synonymous with "revival"? I'll admit, many of these things may indeed happen in the midst of a true revival, but they are not necessarily evidence that God is moving. As a matter of fact, they can just as easily be evidence of demons (there are plenty of cases of this in the Bible).

The things we're seeing in Lakeland, although exciting and emotionally gripping, are not true revival. Real revival takes place when the Spirit of God grips the hearts and souls of both the churched and the unchurched with repentance. It starts in the house of God (meaning "Christians") and spreads to the lost. Real revival takes a fiery boldness on the part of its leaders to preach the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ--exposing sin for what it is and bringing people to realize their desperation for our Father in heaven.

If that makes you shake, cry, laugh, or shout, then I'm all for it. And if healing, miracles, "words of knowledge," prophecy, and the like are happening in the midst of such a movement, then clearly they are from God.

But what we see happening in Lakeland are all the signs, wonders, and manifestations without much of the repentance. Yes, people are responding to "salvation calls," but the prayers they're led in have a sad lack of a "repentance" theme. So let me ask you: is this "revival?"

Now I have to be careful here, though, because I don't want to fall into the trap that I've seen on so many sites recently. It's very easy to speak out against the meetings and spout opinions of what I think about them, but Proverbs says that "a fool delights in airing his own opinions." The Internet is littered with opinions, and I want to make sure that I'm remaining in the realm of discernment. The popular opinions right now seem to be polarized--either people are head-over-heels for what's happening in Lakeland, or they have condemned the whole thing; but I feel from the Lord that it's more complex than that.

As I shared yesterday, I sense that Todd Bentley's healing gift is from God, but he has unfortunately stepped outside his gifting and been led astray in regards to his ministry methods, teachings, and many of his "revelations." We need to pray for our brother and believe God to bring transformation into his life. Please keep in mind that it would be wrong for us to slander our brother in Christ--these blog posts are meant to bring clarity, maturity, and true revival to the Church--not more divisions.

I honestly believe that out of this movement in Lakeland, Florida, God can raise up a TRUE revival of repentance in America and ultimately the World! But it will require a few things. First, something will need to happen that ensures Jesus Christ gets the glory and not Todd Bentley--either Todd will repent, or his sin will be exposed. Second, we need to make sure the Church is not shooting flaming arrows at each other--I hope everyone can see that my intent in these last three articles has been to promote the truth and encourage prayer for our brother Todd--not to slander him or his ministry. Thirdly, we the church need to start repenting for our own sins and cry out to God in desperation. We need to "hunger and thirst for righteousness." And we need to get out in our own spheres of influence and share the True Gospel with anyone we can.

I say, let Lakeland be what it is; but let the Church be what it is! If the events in Lakeland stir people up and cause the world to hunger for spiritual things, then I praise God for it! But if people get stirred up for spiritual things and the Church is not ready to meet that need with the Truth, then we will be just as guilty for missing the opportunity God has opened up. We must be a people actively pursuing true revival!

So here is my challenge to you: Pray for Todd, pray for America, pray for the whole world, and look actively for the slightest spark of spiritual hunger in every person you meet--then point them to Christ. I've been saying for years that the next "great revival" will be a grassroots movement that can't be pinned on any one person or ministry. Now is the time for the Church to rise up and bring true revival to the world!

I've spent some time praying about what is going on in Lakeland, Florida, with the so-called "Healing Revival" (Also known as the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring"). What I'm about to share will probably burn some bridges that I've been forming recently with various ministers around Michigan; nevertheless, the truth must be shared. I know I have a lot of readers, and that puts me in a place where I am held even more accountable to God than otherwise. Therefore, I must be faithful in my commitment to the truth even if it may result in fewer ministry opportunities in the future.

Enough setup--let's get down to business. Thursday's blog post brought the most significant influx of new visitors this site has ever seen; and in that post I made a solemn promise to you:

If this current movement is truly from God, then no one will be able to stop it. And if Todd Bentley is a false prophet, then I can guarantee that God will expose him for what he is. But unless this happens, I have to say, "Amen! So be it! May this be the beginning of the revival we've been crying out for! May the healing power of God be poured forth from heaven on a global scale!" If God reveals differently to me, then I will certainly speak out against these meetings, but I will not do so apart from genuine revelation.

Well, over the weekend, I believe I may have gotten some of that genuine revelation. Believe it or not, it didn't come while reading articles condemning the meetings in Lakeland--it came while reading things from the people who support it!

Of particular interest to me was an angel Todd Bentley reported to have seen, which another minister, Bob Jones, said was named "Winds of Change." Here's what Charisma Magazine reported about this:

Bentley, who looks more like a gang leader than the founder of a Christian ministry, came to Lakeland on April 2 and has shown no sign of leaving since an angel, he said, visited him the day after he arrived.

Prophetic minister Bob Jones told Bentley he believed the angel’s name was "Winds of Change"--the same angel, Jones said, that visited healing evangelist William Branham in the 1940s. (source: charismamag.com)

I don't know how much you know about William Branham and his healing meetings, but I see some significant correlations between his ministry and Todd Bentley's. So I want to give you a short history lesson about William Branham and the "Voice of Healing" revival of the 1940s and '50s.

This particular movement is rarely talked about today, but it involved a handful of traveling ministers who brought significant demonstrations of God's power to their meetings--and William Branham was a key player. David Harrell, Jr., in his book All Things are Possible (1978) said of the leaders of this movement:

Most were dedicated to back-breaking work and spent long grueling hours in the centers of the platforms of the big tents praying, clapping, shouting, pleading with the crippled to walk, commanding the blind to see....It was an exhausting, grinding, draining way of life. William Branham was a broken man after little more than a year; Jack Coe was physically exhausted at the time of his death; A.A. Allan, an incredibly tough campaigner, tottered constantly on the brink of psychological collapse; the resilience of Oral Roberts became a legend among his peers.

Why did these men suffer so much for the sake of ministry? People were genuinely being healed--there were even cases of the dead being raised to life. If this "Healing Revival" was from God, why did these men end up so mentally, emotionally, and physically wrecked?

Many Christian historians seem to offer the same answer: things often went downhill when these men tried to operate outside their specific giftings.

Where Branham was concerned, people were known to fall asleep while he preached--he was that boring! So Branham had his associate, Baxter, do all the talking. Baxter would preach the gospel, and then Branham would come to the microphone and start pointing at people, calling them by name, identifying their ailment, and declaring them healed in Jesus' name (there were no "information cards" handed in beforehand or anything else that could explain this--it was genuine revelation). Many documented cases of healing came forth with medical records to prove their reality. God was certainly moving!

Unfortunately, a series of events that started in 1955 led Branham down a dark road. His ministry faced deficits, and in 1956, the IRS was taking action against him for tax evasion (which he was actually not guilty of--as it turned out, some ministry associates were taking advantage of him. Branham was living on $7,000 a year even though $80,000 was funneling through his ministry.). As William Branham struggled with the emotional impact of these financial issues and the betrayal of his collegues, and as opportunities for ministry became increasingly competitive with the onset of new "healing ministers" toward the end of his ministry, Branham started to drift off the deep end.

Before long, Branham's personal doctrine was skewed severely, and he began to teach some heretical things. He denied the existance of the Trinity, he taught that hell wasn't eternal, and that Eve had engaged Satan sexually while in the garden of Eden. The false teachings didn't stop there, but it goes without saying that Branham's ministry went steeply downhill.

Back when Branham stayed within his gift and only focused on healing, God used him mightily in ways that we haven't seen since. But as soon as he stepped outside his gift and started preaching and teaching, Branham actually developed a cult following who worshipped him as Jesus Christ and baptized people "in the name of William Branham!"

So as I was praying about the current "Lakeland Healing Revival" and Todd Bentley's role, I asked the Lord what to think of it all. Please weigh this for yourself and feel free to confront me publically if you believe I was deceived, but I felt the Lord say to me, "Todd Bentley's gift of healing is true; but his method of ministry is unnecessarily theatrical and many of his teachings are littered with falsehoods."

After sensing this from the Lord, I started digging through Internet articles written by Todd Bentley, and what I found disturbed me. He shared more about visions he had experienced than he did about the actual Word of God. And never once did I find a place where he added a disclaimer like I did in the previous paragraph, offering his "revelations" up for scrutiny by the Body of Christ. Instead, he just spouted strange teachings--like when he said that he met with the Apostle Paul at his little wooden shack in heaven, and Paul told him that the Book of Hebrews was written by him and Abraham together as he had supernatural heavenly visits with this patriarch of the faith. (see the original article here.)

What?

Now, I have to be honest with you, I have had heavenly encounters myself, but I only ever saw Jesus during those visits. For that matter, the experiences I had always led to action--souls were saved, people repented, and even animals were raised from the dead--but never once did I come out of those encounters with a new teaching or some erroneous claim about something no one else knows. Not to mention that each of those encounters was somehow confirmed to be true (by an outside source) within minutes of having the experience. Heavenly encounters, visions, trances, and the like are real, biblically-supported occurrances that can take place in the life of a believer; but they can also be counterfeited by demons, and I'm afraid Todd Bentley has fallen victim to some of these spiritual illusions.

If you or someone you know has been healed as a result of the Lakeland meetings, praise God! You have not been healed by evil spirits--I believe this was definitely of God. However, be very careful about how closely you follow the words and actions of Todd Bentley. He is a Christian who has been largely deceived by powers and principalities in the spiritual realm, which has caused him to step outside his gifting. We need to pray for Todd Bentley that God would rescue him from the same trap as William Branham.

In closing, I want to make a few contrasts between William Branham (while he was still ministering within his gifting and God was moving powerfully) and what we see happening right now with Todd Bentley.

According to John Crowder (who I'm afraid is falling into the same trap as Bentley) in his book The New Mystics, "Branham never raised his voice when he was speaking, nor did he use any showy tactics." Todd Bentley, on the other hand, parades about the stage slapping people in the forehead and yelling "BAM!" I watched some of it on GodTV and was actually a little repulsed by his showmanship. One elderly woman fell over, and Todd said, "She doesn't know why she fell over!" The ushers helped the old woman up, and she said, "Yes I do know why I fell over: you pushed me!"

Also from Crowder's book: "Often, if the anointing was not present, Branham would simply cut his meetings short and walk out, leaving thousands frustrated. Branham sometimes did this if he felt the congregation was looking too exclusively at him to effect the healings." Todd Bently, however, seems to overlook the absence of the Holy Spirit. One person who I found in an online forum observed, "...when a severely inflicted person comes up on the stage for healing and doesn't 'fall over' when he screams BAM in their face, [Todd] immediately changes the subject, either by calling out another 'word of knowledge', or telling everyone that the atmosphere is changing, either an angel has shown up or a new glory is filling the place."

Likewise, Branham was not a self-promoter during the healthy days of his ministry. But with Bentley, I see that he is strongy promoting his meetings and telling the young people to get the message out through their MySpace and FaceBook accounts. He said, "Young people, announce it to the world!"

The Todd Bentley that I'm seeing today looks more to me like the latter William Branham than the former. There is nothing--other than the healing miracles themselves--that I can compare to William Branham when his ministry was healthy; but there are plenty of correlations with the post-1956 Branham, who taught extra-biblical falsehoods, was a self-promoter, and operated outside his gifting (leading thousands astray).

I love Todd Bentley, and I am not here to slander his name. I believe that he could repent very quickly and be used mightily for the Kingdom of God. However, if he continues on this path, I fear what the result may be. Please, brothers and sisters, be careful with Todd's teachings and so-called "revelations." I believe Todd has a healing gift from God, but that does not automatically validate his teachings. Unfortunately, his healing gift seems to add weight to what he has to say, and people believe him all too quickly. The only reason Todd can heal people in the name of Jesus while simultaneously teaching such odd things is that "God's gifts and His call are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).

Please be discerning, friends. Chew the meat and spit out the bones. If you want to attend the meetings in Lakeland to receive a healing touch from God, then I will certainly not stop you; but PLEASE be careful to test the spirits and weigh every word out of Todd's mouth.

As much as my life has been impacted in the past through Todd Bentley's ministry, I, for one, can no longer defend it.

A notable event has stirred up in the little town of Lakeland, Florida. On April 2, Todd Bentley began a series of meetings that have now lasted nearly a month due to the intense spiritual activity taking place. I usually prefer not to write lengthy blog posts, but I believe this is a topic that warrants it.

I have scoured the Internet for credible information on these events, and I find that people seem to be either gung-ho for it or dead-set against it. As you are all aware, I believe very much in the supernatural, but I am also a strong proponent of what is actually true rather than what is counterfeit. Therefore, I want to present both sides of the coin, and then offer what I believe the Word of God has to say about such debatable matters.

So far, the most objective information I've found (although largely supportive of the event) came from Charisma Magazine, which presented this report:

Thousands of people longing for a physical or spiritual touch from God are flocking to central Florida for ongoing revival meetings that some have dubbed the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring."

The services, which are being broadcast live daily on GOD TV to millions of potential viewers, reveal the excitement radiating from this area of the Sunshine State, prompting some people to jump on planes and fly in from across the country and even from abroad.

Todd Bentley, the 32-year-old Canadian healing evangelist with a boyish grin responsible for the meetings, reported on Friday that people’s faith alone has healed them even while they were booking their flights online or boarding planes bound for Lakeland, a city of about 90,000 between Orlando and Tampa along Interstate 4.

The 700-seat sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church can no longer contain the crowds. More than 1,000 worshipers stood inches apart at Friday night’s service, jamming every aisle and altar area. Their bodies rocked back and forth, and their faces wore peace-filled, lovesick and euphoric expressions.

The cars parked outside were also inches apart, with every grassy parcel of land on bordering properties used for overflow. During worship, song lyrics on PowerPoint were replaced with a warning to drivers parked at a nearby store that their cars would be "towed immediately."

"We are all shocked that each night a minimum of 60 percent [are] first time [visitors]," Strader said yesterday.

Fire marshals locked the church doors at last night’s meeting, forcing 400 people to remain in front of the church. The crowd watched the service on a large TV, and more than 200 waited until midnight for Bentley to come out and pray for them, Strader said....

At Friday night’s meeting, the mother of a 6-year-old girl said her daughter broke her elbow about two weeks ago and was healed after a word of knowledge from Bentley. The little girl told the crowd: “Jesus came out of heaven and touched my elbow.” The girl’s before-and-after X-rays are posted on YouTube [Art: I should interject here that I've seen this video, and there is nothing visible to the poor quality camera--all you can see is a lot of excitement among the people viewing the X-rays. That doesn't mean they're not real; it just means it's not worth looking up].

Amber, a thin 15-year-old girl born with scoliosis, said she was healed and could now carry her schoolbooks as well as bend over and touch the floor, which she did publicly during the meeting. One man said he was healed of Hepatitis C. An elderly woman said she went to the doctor for confirmation first before telling the crowd she was healed of glaucoma.

Others on Friday night said they were healed of rheumatoid arthritis, panic attacks, ruptured discs, deafness, post traumatic stress disorder, cancer, leukemia and emphysema.

After a half hour of testimonials Bentley asked the crowd “to give the Lord the glory.” For at least 40 minutes people continually cried the words “holy” and “glory” in a chorus.

Some worshipers fell to the floor weeping. From behind his keyboard, a blonde-locked worship leader named Roy Fields led the procession, his face beaming heavenward.

“What is happening is so much bigger than anyone in this building,” Bentley said from the stage where he was kneeling. “I hear the angels joining in. … The Holy Spirit is taking over.”....

The meetings have been extended due to swelling crowds. Bentley announced Friday the revival would continue daily through at least May 4. He also said he believes the same revival will hit Kansas City, Mo., next.

—Paul Steven Ghiringhelli in Lakeland, Fla.

Charisma Magazine's perspective on the revival appears to be rather positive. It even had quotes from John Arnott and John Kilpatrick from Toronto, Canada, and Pensecola, Florida respectively. These men were instrumental in big "outpouring" events of their own--and they too were highly criticized and scrutinized for their meetings and the strange things taking place.

As it turns out, there was a well-documented prophecy given to Todd Bentley before the Lakeland events at a meeting in Australia. A pastor from New Zealand, Rob DeLuca, foretold the "healing revival" that would break out in Florida and spread around the globe (the picture to the right was taken while this prophecy was being given). Whether or not this prophecy was actually from God has yet to be seen; but as you'll see in a moment, there is a healthy way we should respond until it is either fulfilled or proven false.

I've also found people, like Andrew Strom, who are sharply against what is happening--although this does not surprise me because Andrew Strom has been pointing out fallacies and heresies in the prophetic movement for some time (many of them valid, admittedly, but some of them overblown). Strom asked in a recent e-mail regarding this movement in Florida, "Have we completely forgotten the warnings of 'Lying signs and wonders' in the Last Days?" I believe this is a fair warning, and we would be wise to stay on our guard about such matters, but we have yet to see if this is actually the case in Lakeland.

Strom has a lot of criticisms about Todd Bentley's ministry, but I do not believe this necesarily means God has not been using Todd to perform genuine miracles (see my article titled Spiritual Power and the Nature of Christ). As much as Andrew Strom is doing well to keep our eyes focused on Christ and free from false teachings, he also has issues in his life that could be criticized (though I do not believe it is my place to share these things in a public forum like this without addressing him personally first). The point I'm making is that no one is perfect, and we need to be discerning of what God may or may not be doing rather than judgmental of the individual(s) He might be using to carry out the work.

Finally, as promised, I want to present how I believe we should resond to this activity in Florida.

In Jeremiah 28, we learn about a false prophet named Hananiah who proclaimed, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'" (Jer. 28:2-4).

So the false prophet Hananiah prophesied peace in a time when the true prophet Jeremiah knew better. But what was Jeremiah's response? Did he condemn Hananiah? Did he rebuke the false prophet's words? Nope.

Jeremiah 28:5-17--Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. He said, "Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true."

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, "This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.' "

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.' "

In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died. (NIV)

Three things stand out to me in this passage. First, Jeremiah shouted, "Amen!" to the prophecy of peace and affirmed that he too wanted the word to come to pass. Second of all, Jeremiah makes the point that if a person prophesies war and disaster, that's nothing special; but if they prophesy peace, then they are only recognized as true if their prediction comes to pass. And thirdly, God brought judgment on the false prophet as foretold through the true prophet.

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 13:6,7 tells us, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (NIV). If we are truly a people of love, then we should rejoice with the truth...but we should also always trust and hope. In love, I believe we should trust Todd Bentley and hope that this truly is a move of God.

If this current movement is truly from God, then no one will be able to stop it. And if Todd Bentley is a false prophet, then I can guarantee that God will expose him for what he is. But unless this happens, I have to say, "Amen! So be it! May this be the beginning of the revival we've been crying out for! May the healing power of God be poured forth from heaven on a global scale!" If God reveals differently to me, then I will certainly speak out against these meetings, but I will not do so apart from genuine revelation. For now, let's pray that God would reveal the truth of Jesus Christ and save thousands of souls in the midst of what is happening with Todd Bentley in Lakeland.

Have you ever heard someone explain a commonly misunderstood concept, and then your new understanding seems to haunt you? Such is the case for me when it comes to "Binding and Loosing," which many Christians talk about but few understand. When I was around 11 years old, we had a minister visit our church from Texas, and he spoke about these two words. Like a good little Christian, I went home and researched the message for myself, and it checked out. Believe it or not, most of us have a completely backwards understanding of these terms.

Here's the origin:

Matthew 18:18,19 - "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (NIV)

We very often use this verse to justify phrases like this:

• "I bind you, Satan."
• "I loose the Holy Spirit"
• "Father, bind the enemy"
• "Lord, loose peace"

The list could go on, but you get the idea. The problem is that we've been basing our understanding of these words on the English definition rather than the original Greek.

In the Greek, the word "bind" is "deo," which means to knit, tie, and wind--like "binding" a Christmas tree to the roof of your car or "binding" together the pages of a book. It is a matter of tight connection. This verse isn't instructing us to "bind" the devil. But Acts 20:22 uses the word "deo" correctly when Paul says, "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there" (NKJV). Jesus' original instruction was saying to knit ourselves with, tie ourselves to, and wind ourselves around His Holy Spirit.

As for the word "loose," the Greek word is "luo." We seem to use this instruction from Jesus to "loose the Holy Spirit" before a meeting, etc. I don't know who decided this is what it meant, but I didn't know the Holy Spirit was stuck! In reality, the Greek word "luo" means to break up--to destroy, dissolve, loose, and melt.

We now see that Christ is giving us the power to destroy the forces of darkness--not just tie them up! Whatever we destroy, dissolve, and melt on earth will be destroyed in heaven! When we cast out an evil spirit on earth, that spirit has also lost any audience it might have in heaven! If we "luo" that spirit here, we "lou" it there! That spirit cannot approach God (like Satan did in the book of Job) and barter for the right to attack a person spiritually. To "luo" is to destroy!

To see this word used in a different context, pay attention to the words “destroy” and “destruction” in 2 Peter 3:11,12: “Since everything will be destroyed [luo] in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction [luo] of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” Now that's luo!

Overall, Christ is really talking about the spiritual pacts we make; are we knitting ourselves with God and destroying the demons in our lives, or are we tying ourselves to evil spirits and dissolving our connections with God? Christ gave us the power to bind and to loose spiritual things. This is the power to attach and destroy. It is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit to become intimately enmeshed into our lives. On the same token, though, it is the objective of Satan to attain that same goal.

Who are we binding ourselves to?
Who are we destroying?

Galatians 5:24,25—Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV)

I recently read a short article that impressed me on one point (even though the rest of it was a little weird). The person said that angels and demons are not supernatural. The word "supernatural" implies something that is "above and beyond" creation, but angels and demons are created beings. In other words, the only being who is truly "supernatural" is God Himself!

Angels and demons are natural, created beings, completely spiritual in nature (with no physical bodies, although they can sometimes appear physically). Humans are created both physical and spiritual in nature; but just because we have a spirit doesn't make us supernatural either. We were created, and so were the angels and demons that war for our souls. Only God is truly supernatural.

Why is this important? Because it puts things into right perspective! To quote the words of one of my favorite songs, "In Christ Alone," "No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand!" HE IS SUPER-NATURAL! My God is ABOVE nature! He is ABOVE all created things!

As children of a supernatural God, we need not fear ANYTHING natural--He created it all and can intervene at any moment! His power and love are above and beyond EVERYTHING that has been made!

Romans 8:38-39--For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (NIV).

---

ABOVE ALL

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

© 1999 Integrity's Hosanna! Music/LenSongs Publishing

There's a new video online now! Last weekend we held an Encounter Weekend retreat where I was blessed to be invited to lead worship and teach three of the lessons. One of them was called "Knowing your New Best Friend: the Holy Spirit."

If you want to have a deeper relationship with the Spirit of God, then I highly recommend you take some time to watch this video. With the ministry time included, it's 45-minutes long, so make sure you've got some time to watch.

You can access this teaching through the video page at http://www.supernaturaltruth.com/video.htm. It's the second video from the top of the page.

Be blessed!
--Art--

When we read about Jesus in the Gospels or about His apostles in the book of Acts, we find several places where they were involved in casting out demons. We even find places that say "many demons" were cast out! In fact, some people had multiple demons opressing them. And Jesus told His disciples (which includes you and me) that we have authority over all the power of the enemy. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus Christ, we can heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons.

Such activities were so common in Bible days, but these days it seems like we pretend demons are nothing but figments of an uneducated person's imagination. And yet, all over the world we see dramatic evidence of their existance.

I'm reminded of the many cases in Africa and South America where people are inhabited by spirits that make them behave like animals--eating grass, crawling on all fours, slithering like a snake, clawing at people, and making bizarre noises. When the spirit is cast out in Jesus' name, these people come to their senses and testify to the power of God.

This isn't the only way demons work in other countries, but it is very common. And yet we rarely see such things in America. Demons try to be more clever here. Instead of dramatically demonstrating their influence over a person, they do so sneakily and subtly. And here's how:

In Genesis, we are told that God formed man from the dust of the ground (body), breathed into him the breath (Hebrew: "spirit") of life, and man became a living soul. Body, spirit, soul. From this description, we learn that the soul is the product of the body and spirit coming together. As a result, our soul (which consists of our mind, will, and emotions) can be directly affected by the condition of our body or spirit at any given moment.

In a healthy Christian, our spirit is fully alive in Christ and supercedes the condition of our body so that our soul obeys our spirit. But if our spirit is not alert and drifts off to sleep, our body takes over and our souls become slaves to our impulses and physical condition.

Now, if our soul is the result of our body and spirit coming together, what do you suppose happens when an evil spirit comes into the mix? Well, for one thing, we get confused on a spiritual level. For another thing our soul gets affected, causing us to have tainted emotions, evil thoughts, and unwise choices. Furthermore, our body can be effected. Just as our human body is given life by our human spirit, it can also be adversely affected by an evil spirit.

Demonic activity is no less common today than it was 2000 years ago in the Bible. If anything, it is more prevalent because the end is approaching and Satan knows his time is short. In America, demons produce mental disorders, clinical depression, strife, envy, and other things that seem like they're just natural parts of who we are. We try to physically suppress their effect on the soul by taking pills and changing our diet, but we often end up in worse shape than we were in before.

In the past three weeks I've had the opportunity to see four people instantly set free from clinical depression as I took gentle authority over the evil spirit, cast it out, and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill that void in the person's life. In fact, I too went through a few hours of unexplainable depression on Sunday until my girlfriend Robin took authority in Jesus' name and cast the evil spirit away (this may have been one of the spirits that was cast out of the others, which should remind us that we need to stay clothed in the armor of God).

My encouragement to all of you is not that you would go out looking for depressed people and casting out demons. Jesus said we need to be careful about that because if the person does not also get their life filled up with God and repent, the evil spirit will vome back with seven more demons worse than himself. I've seen this happen in the past too, so I'm very careful about this.

Another word of caution is that we need not tell the person, "You have a demon." This could be just the thing that demon needs to make the person leave or put up walls. Instead, offer to pray for them and then take authority during your prayer. Tell the spirit to leave in Jesus' name and invite the Holy Spirit to bring healing and transformation to the person. By the way, "taking authority" does not mean yelling, or being angry, or jumping, or doing anything else dramatic. In a confrontation, the person with the most authority is often the one who is most calm. Tell the spirit to leave and not come back. Speak on behalf of Jesus Christ, and make that point known. It's that simple. No hype, just authority.

So if you know someone who is struggling with an evil spirit in any way, I tell you on behalf of Jesus Christ that you have been given the authority in Him to cast out demons. But also seek the overflowing power of the Holy Spirit, and put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6) so that you may remain protected and not vulnerable (otherwise you might wind up affected by the same demon like I was in the story earlier).

God bless!

JESUS IS ALIVE! Not only that, but Jesus IS resurrection personified:

John 11:25-27--Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world" (NIV).

After saying these words, Jesus went to Lazarus and raised him from the dead!

Those of you who follow this blog are probably aware by now that I like to spread around stories about the dead being raised to life in Jesus' name. As of 2005, there were documented cases in 52 different nations of the dead being raised to life by Christians. In some of these countries, there are hundreds of cases--for instance, Mozambique, Africa, where Rolland and Heidi Baker minister the love of Christ to thousands of children each year. Heidi has been known to hold dead babies and children in her arms, sobbing over them and praying until God gives them back their life.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life! Jesus didn't just die; He rose to life! And that means He is physically seated at the right hand of our Father in Heaven right now! Furthermore, through the Holy Spirit, we have access to that same resurrection power both for ourselves and for others.

Romans 8:11--And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Matthew 10:8--Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

My challenge to you this Easter Sunday is that you would seek the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit on a personal level; and do not be afraid to demonstrate His power and love on a practical level! Jesus is the resurrection and the life; and it's about time people in America and abroad start truly realizing it!

Yet another person raised from the dead in America--and this time the secular news picked up the story!

Below is a link to Channel 7 News in Miami / Ft. Lauderdale. This is an official newscast from February 1, 2008 that a friend of mine forwarded to me. In it, a Florida cardiologist, who is also a Christian, shares about how he prays for his patients and how the Lord led him to pray for this man even after he was verifiably dead! The cardiology team had worked on him for 40 minutes, his face and limbs were "pitch black with death," and then the Christian doctor prayed for him in Jesus' name!

The link below will take you to a text-based page containing a manuscript, but at the top of the article is a button that says "watch the video." Here's the link:

http://www1.wsvn.com/features/articles/specialreport/MI75423

Enjoy!

As my regular readers are probably aware, we recently started the Wildfire School of Supernatural Ministry here in Canton, MI. I just wanted to share a couple testimonies about what God is doing through this ministry and how you might soon be able to participate!

First of all, we had 20 people at last night's meeting, which was exciting to say the least. There's always that human side of us that likes to look at numbers, but I personally gauge a meeting's success on quality and effectiveness rather than attendance...but that doesn't change how cool it was to have such a big group!

I shared for about a half-hour on "Hearing God's Voice" and the many ways in which He communicates with us. We also talked about the importance of weighing each "word" and the value of confirmation.

Then we spent the next hour or so practicing what we had learned. We split into three smaller groups and shared with each other the things we felt the Lord might be saying. Sure enough, God showed up! By the end of our "practice" time, every single person had heard from God for someone else and also through someone else.

Not only that, but our host's son came home from work in the middle of our small group time and we invited him to join our group. Long story short, he gave his life back to Christ and agreed to come to our men's group on Wednesday!

Well, when we had finally wrapped up our interaction, we gathered back together as a large group to pray and worship God for specific things He did that night. Through this prayer time, we got to hear some of the testimonies of how God confirmed things, healed hearts, broke generational curses, cast out demons, and more--all within that simple hour of listening for His voice!

One last little testimony is that we asked the Lord if there was a specific place to which we should go out to eat. Three people felt they sensed the Lord saying "Denny's," but one young lady said she immediately thought of the local Arabic restaurant named "La Shish." Through further group-wide discernment, we agreed to drive to the parking lot of La Shish to pray and then progress to Denny's to have dinner. And guess what? When we arrived at La Shish, they were completely shut down--permanently! So it was confirmed that we weren't supposed to eat there! Anyhow, we used the opportunity to dedicate the land and building to the Kingdom of God and asked the Lord to use it for His glory. As simple as this little story sounds, I really do believe the Lord had us there for a reason!

Now, I also promised earlier that I would share how you might soon be able to participate (no matter where you live!). First of all, we have just recently started teaming up with a state-wide ministry called "Transformation Michigan." Through this group, we've also started partnering with the Supernatural Training Center, which will be launching this summer in Grand Rapids, MI. As for the Wildfire School, a training manual and leader's guide are currently being developed so that people connected with Transformation Michigan, the Supernatural Training Center, and other ministries can start developing "satellite schools" all over America and even the world! In this way, the school itself, and ultimately the Kingdom of God, will be able to spread like "wildfire" (hence the name!).

And here's how you can participate right now: If you have any ideas for what types of matrial should be in the training manual or leader's guide, or if you feel the Lord might be speaking to you about anything we're developing here, please e-mail me at Art@WildfireChristian.com.

Thanks a million, and God bless!

Recently our small group has been talking about "vision" and God's desire to multiply His Kingdom in us and through us. As I mentioned a couple days ago, the result has been the planting of a new men's group and ladies' group.

Well today I want to tell you about a new opportunity. I know I have some readers as far aways as Colorado and even Australia, but for now this announcement will only benefit the ones here in southeast Michigan.

The vision God gave me was to develop a School of Ministry that is free for all participants. And it's not supposed to be "just another program" that fills peoples' heads with knowledge but never applies it! Instead, this will be an opportunity to get out onto the streets with other Christians to demonstrate the supernatural power and love of God.

And so, over the last week--after much prayer, fasting, and counsel--the Wildfire School of Supernatural Ministry has been launched! We'll be meeting every 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoon to discover our spiritual gifts and take to the streets to minister to the lost!

So if you're interested in attending, please let me know.

For more information, please go to www.WildfireChristianity.com.

The spiritual realm has a profound impact on the natural realm. Before the world was created, Genesis says that "the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the surface of the deep, and the earth at that time was "formless and void." But now the earth has been created, and it has form and activity. Why? Because instead of God being over the earth, He now exists "in and through all things."

Colossians 1:16,17--For by [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (NIV, emphasis mine).

Even our "smartest" scientists still marvel at the fact that atoms don't explode! The nucleus of an atom consists of only positive and neutral particles, and the electrons orbiting it are negativly charged. Any kid who has ever played with magnets knows that the "like poles" repel each other. Scientists merely credit this to some "mysterious force" which they have labeled "the strong force" as if they understood what they were talking about:

Remember, the nucleus contains neutrons and protons. The neutrons are electrically neutral, and so the electric force won't hold them in. Furthermore,the protons are all positively charged, and so they all repel each other. So if the electric force was the only force involved, you couldn't create a nucleus. You could try to push all those protons and neutrons together, but as soon as you let go, the protons would all shoot away from each other, and the neutrons would drift apart as well. There has to be some other force that holds protons and neutrons together.

Of course, since the electric force is constantly trying to drive the protons apart, the force that holds them all in must be stronger than the electric force. And keep in mind, the electric force gets stronger as charged particles get closer together, and the protons in a nucleus are very close together. As a result, the force that holds protons and neutrons together must be very strong. Well, in a brilliant stroke of imagination, physicists have named this force "the strong force."

The strong force is a force which attracts protons to protons, neutrons to neutrons, and protons and neutrons to each other. (Source: What Holds an Atom Together?)

Physicists have given their observation a name, but we know it is the result of a Person: Jesus Christ, in whom all things hold together! He IS the "Strong Force!" And as the article says, clearly this "strong force" must be more powerful than the electric force!

Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding California wrote in his book When Heaven Invades Earth that the reality in the spiritual realm is superior to the reality of the natural realm. That doesn't mean that the natural realm is "not real" any more than the "strong force" makes electricity "not real." It simply means that it is a superior reality that is more powerful. Bill Johnson writes in Chapter 4:

Real faith is not living in denial of the natural realm. If the doctor says you have a tumor, it's silly to pretend that it's not there. That's not faith. However, faith is founded on a reality that is superior to that tumor. I can acknowledge the existence of a tumor and still have faith in the provision of His stripes for my healing...I was provisionally healed 2000 years ago. It is the product of the kingdom of heaven--a superior reality. There are no tumors in heaven, and faith brings that reality into this one.

That's why Jesus taught us to pray: "...Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven." The will of God is a superior force to the will of the enemy. "...The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Our God defys even the laws of nature--the laws which He created, by the way--to demonstrate His power. This is the source of all true miracles.

It's time that we allow God to expand our faith. We need to be able to admit the reality of that which exists in the natural realm, but we must also, by faith, be ambassadors of Christ who draw on the superior reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, which exists in the spiritual realm.

Let Jesus Christ bring you into such profound relationship with your Father in Heaven that you can trust Him in any circumstance. But it's not just about your faith. Jesus said the tiniest bit of faith is enough to move a mountain, and yet there is even a force superior to your faith: "...faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:3). And it's not even about your ability to love: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins"(1 John 4:10, NIV).

God's love for you is greater than you could ever imagine, and He loves to give good gifts to His children. If you have a "love" relationship with your Father in Heaven, then ANYTHING is possible! His reality is superior to ours!

Get set free by Jesus Christ. Get to know God. Get filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. And you will begin to encounter the superior reality of the Kingdom of Heaven.!

The Current Prayer and Fasting Movement

I was just reading Lou Engle's Blog (from "The Call" and Jhop), and I came across something that stirred my spirit:

I believe history books may well record that 2008 was a year of the great prayer reformation in America. We look back a hundred and fifty years, and 1857 is recorded as the year of the great prayer meeting revival. A million souls were converted, and four years later, the civil war began. The great harvest was swept in, preparing for 600,000 men to die on the battlefields of the civil war because of the shedding of innocent blood of the slaves. It was America’s day of reckoning. I believe that we could be h