Can a Christian Have A Demon?

Can a Christian Have a Demon?

To answer the question, No! A Christian (any Christian) has more than one demon. The early church knew it, and after preaching the gospel and having people converted, they would pray for their healing and they would cast demons out of them.

And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew  10:7-8)

We are spirit, soul and body. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

When we become born again, the spirit of God comes to dwell in our human spirit. Thus, our spirit is cleansed of all evil spirits that might have been there. This is why the born again experience. We feel renewed because the darkness in our spirit has departed and in its place the light of God has come in.

But our soul and body stay the same. We now can continue the process, in receiving in our soul and healing in our body. Some people stop at the born again experience of deliverance. Consider again the above Matthew scripture. The preaching of the Word comes first, and it brings the born again experience. But Jesus did not stop there. He said, besides that, to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils. If the born again experience would have taken care of the diseases and the demons, he would not have said what he said.

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O, woman, great is thy faith: be unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:21-28. See also Mark 7:24-30)

a) Here is a woman that clearly was not from the children of Israel. This is why the disciples did not want to minister to her and wanted her to leave.

b) Her daughter had a demon, and the woman was pleading for deliverance.

c) Jesus did not even want to talk to her. When He finally talked, he said he came only for the Jewish people.

d) When the woman insisted, he said the woman wanted “the children’s bread”.
In other words, deliverance, which is what she wanted, was only for the children of God.

e) The woman’s insistence and faith in Him qualified her to be counted as a child of God, so she received her child’s deliverance.

If deliverance then, is for the children of God, then deliverance has been provided by God because it is needed. Christians do have demons.

How Curses Affect Christians

How Curses Affect Christians

Christians are affected by curses. A curse brings a demon. When a demon cannot be cast out, many times it is because the demon entered with a curse, and the curse is the legal right that the demon has to remain in the person. Because of this, the curse needs to be broken so that the demon can be cast out. A curse is broken in the name of Jesus. He is the curse breaker.

Lately I have heard evangelists talking about breaking curses, but they do not mention that a demon has to be cast out. The only thing that is done by breaking a curse is this: taking the legal right away from a demon, so that you can cast the demon out. You see, the demon comes with the assignment of working whatever the curse entails.

For instance, if it is a curse of death, the demon is assigned to work toward killing the person, or putting the person in a situation of death. If it is a curse of barrenness, the demon comes to work in such a way that the person cannot conceive a child. So if you break the curse, but do not cast the demon out, the demon, although it does not have the right to be there, will continue to do the work it was assigned to do.

There are different kinds of curses: (1) Biblical curses; (2) Witchcraft curses; (3) Curses by people who are not witches; (4) Self-imposed curses.

The above kinds of curses can come upon us by our own sins, by witchcraft works placed upon us, by what people express about us or by what we say about ourselves. And all of those curses can be inherited also. We have inherited curses, and we add to those, and then we pass them along to our children.

Biblical curses: The Bible imposes curses when people sin. A lot of curses in the Bible are unto death. Take a look at Deuteronomy 28–it has many curses. These curses are there for those who do not obey God’s commandments. Jesus became a curse on the cross so that now those curses can be broken. But beware, we need to heed the commandments or the curses come back.

Witchcraft curses: Curses placed on us by witches, any kind of witchcraft. A lot of people are involved in witchcraft. And a lot of people go to witches for the solutions to their problems, and if you are the problem, you will be receiving a witchcraft curse.

Curses by people who are not witches: People can place curses just by what they say or express about other people. I call this kind of curses “spoken curses”. Of this kind the worst is what is called “Charismatic Witchcraft” or “Psychic Prayers”. These are the curses which come from ignorant Christians, who pray their will instead of the Father’s will. When a Christian prays a selfish prayer about another person, God does not hear that prayer but the devil does, and it gives the devil a legal right to send a demon to that person. Many Christians pray this kind of prayer, and God is not happy with that. Be careful how you pray!

Self-imposed curses: What you say about yourself may become a curse. If you say something negative about yourself, you are giving the devil permission to send you a demon. Be careful also what you speak on your children and your family.

Soul Ties

Soul Ties

A soul tie is like a bridge between a person and another person, or animal or object. It is more common between person and person. There are godly soul ties and evil soul ties. An example of a Godly soul tie is the relationship between David and Jonathan:

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 18:1)

We may have evil soul ties with parents, grandparents, husbands, wives, children, friends, lovers, teachers, etc. Generally, if we have had a sinful or bad relationship with someone, we have an evil soul tie with that person. Some soul ties are stronger than others. A soul tie allows demons to go from one person to another. Evil soul ties are very common and when deliverance is ministered, evil soul ties need to be broken in order to cast out demons. As with curses, evil soul ties are broken in the name of Jesus. He is the Curse Breaker and the Deliverer.

The demons that come from a soul tie with another person call themselves “the evil soul of x”. For instance, in you have an evil soul tie with John Doe, the demons that entered you because of that soul tie call themselves “the evil soul of John Doe”. In casting out the demons that came with that soul tie, we need to cast out the evil soul of John Doe, because that is what the demons call themselves.

A person might form a soul tie with someone who cut or perforates their skin, for instance. This is because the cutting of skin is prohibited in the Bible (Lev 19:28). The person did not do it, but allowed the other to do it. A soul tie is formed. Also, a person enters into a covenant, a pact, or swears for instance to be a friend forever and cuts skin to mix blood, there is an evil soul tie formed. Sometimes the person does not know the name of the one who pierced their ears. We can break the evil soul tie by saying, “I break the evil soul tie that Joan has with the person that perforated her ears, in the name of Jesus”. And then I cast out the evil soul of the person who perforated her ears, in the name of Jesus.

A person who has an inordinate feeling about an animal or an object, has an evil soul tie with that animal or object. The same procedure can be used to break the evil soul tie and cast the demons out.

Strongholds

Strongholds

Stronghold: A place having strong defenses, a fort, a fortified place, a place of security. (Webster’s Dictionary)

Or else, how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:29)

A stronghold is the strong man’s house. The stronghold and the strong man is about the same. In my experience, I have found out that a stronghold is formed when a person believes a lie from Satan.

I have a friend that was at an evangelistic meeting once, and she heard something from the evangelist that did not make her feel at peace. She asked the Lord, and He explained, “He has believed a lie”. Believing a lie from the devil is the greatest obstacle to receiving deliverance. Believing a lie is a stronghold, the demon that dwells in the stronghold is the strong man, safe and secure in his fortress. Who is the strong defense of this demon? The person who has believed the lie.

Once I ministered to a woman and she had lots of deliverance. From the beginning the flow of deliverance was strong and she was delivered from many demons. A few days later she called me and said that the demon she most wanted to leave did not leave. We met again and she told me the demon was shyness. I started ministering to her and nothing happened. This time there was not a flow of deliverance. She started telling me then how she was very shy since she was a little girl. She told me how very shy she was…how shy she had been…she was SO shy that….etc. I was getting irritated at how much she repeated that she was shy. Then the Lord told me, “Tell her that she is not shy. Tell her that I did not make her that way. Tell her that it is not her personality, that it is a demon”. When I started to tell this, I could see in her eyes that she had received a revelation, that now she knew something that she did not know before. The demon manifested immediately and told me “I’m not a demon, I am her personality.”

I could not get the demon to manifest before, but now he came out into the open. What was the difference? She stopped believing the lie of the demon, which was, “This is your personality, you are shy.” When she stopped believing the lie, the stronghold was torn down. The strong man did not have a fortress and lost his defense. After that, I could cast the demon out.

Another time, I could not convince someone that a certain personality trait was not Godly. She was proud of the personality trait that was in her family. She thought, along with the family, that it was a very good quality to have. This lady had just been having deliverance when this demon manifested. The demon would not come out and she defended it. I could not convince her, she preferred to believe the lie and so she did not get any more deliverance. I could not tear down this stronghold.

If you prefer to believe a lie from Satan, there will not be deliverance for you. The Lord will not deliver you. I can try and try, but nothing will happen, because Jesus is the deliverer. Ask the Lord to show you what lies you have believed and still believe. Once you know them, thank God for telling you and seek deliverance!

How To Keep Your Deliverance

How to Keep Your Deliverance

Think about it: your demons entered you and set up house pretty effortlessly, but it’s going to take effort on your part to keep them from returning and making you captive again. Here’s what you must do.

Lead a Holy Life.

This requires a change of paradigms, a change of lifestyle. You need to change what you think, you need to change what you believe, and you need to change what your preferences are.

Growth requires change. Growing in Christ requires that you take stock of your self, rid yourself of old ungodly habits, thoughts and actions, and replace these with the new things God is offering you. Throw away the old you and put on the new you. God wants you to grow to the stature of Christ, and to do this you need to achieve holiness.

You may need to rid yourself of old friendships that induce you to sin. You may need to change some habits. You may need to change your manner of expressing yourself. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in this transformation.

One example of changing old habits might be making a decision not to watch R-rated movies any longer, because of the graphic language and sexually explicit content. Do you think the Lord would consider watching R-rated movies a part of living a holy life? The Word says for us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I doubt that watching R-rated movies renews our minds in a godly manner. These are the kinds of subjects we have to take stock of and change.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (Peter 1:15-16)

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him: (Colossians 3:9-10)

Read Your Bible.

Read your Bible every day–not only read it, but study it, absorb it, make it a part of your daily thoughts and your being. You will get to know God by studying His Word.

Pray.

Praying is not repeating the same things over and over, like “Our Father who art in Heaven”, etc. You would not talk to a friend this way. If you kept repeating yourself to a friend, he would not want to be around you any longer!

Prayer is conversing with God. Sometimes prayer is just being in the presence of God in a meditative attitude, but not saying anything. The goal of prayer is to have a relationship with Him that moves you closer to Him. You need to take the steps toward establishing this relationship.

Resist the devil.

You will know when a demon wants to come back in. Resist him. Speak to the demon and rebuke him in the name of Jesus. Demons will tempt you. You need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might to resist. By submitting to Him and obeying Him, you will be able to resist.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (James 4:7-8)

The need to keep your deliverance.

Upon receiving deliverance, you probably heard some demons give their names as they were expelled. If the minister asked the demons what their assignments were in your life, they might have said what it was that they pressured you to think, believe or do. Once you have this information, you have an advantage that you did not have before: now you know what areas of your life need strengthening. You know that you must be alert to resisting demonic attacks in those areas so that the demons cannot enter you again.

Do not take this information lightly. You need to study it, meditate on it, pray about it and make a determination not to let those demons enter you again.

I have ministered to people who did not believe that what the demon was compelling them to do was sinful. Sometimes the compulsion or the behavior does not appear to be a sin, but the demon knows his subject’s weaknesses and has an ulterior motive. If the person analyzed the facts, he or she would realize that the demon was manipulating a symptom and not the real disease of the person’s soul. So, the demon is cast out, and the person goes back to doing whatever it is that brought that demon to them in the first place. The demon comes back in.

In one case, I was with a lady the day after the deliverance from such a demon. A circumstance arose where she was tempted to do “the symptom”. She wanted to do it and I restrained her, asking her if she did not remember what the demon had said the previous day. She got frustrated and mad, but then continued to do what she wanted. Some time later, she needed deliverance again, and the same demons came out. Despite my advice and counseling, I had to minister to her again, expelling the same demons. The result is that she is not living a life of victory.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43-45)

When I was a new Christian, I read this scripture and could not understand it. Every time that I read it, I could not grasp the part about the house being “clean”. Why would the demon, an unclean spirit, come back to a “clean” house? One day, the Lord explained to me, “I was talking about a hotel room.”

There were hotels in Jesus’ times and even before. If you remember the Christmas story: “There was no room at the inn”. And hotels had the same procedures as they do today. Before admitting a new guest, they needed an empty room. And when the room was empty, they needed to clean and garnish it: clean sheets and towels, clean glasses, soap, etc. Then the room was ready to receive the guest.

When the demon comes out of a person (his house), it tries to come back. If the person has not changed and continues in sin, the house is ready to receive the guest. Then the situation might be worse than before. The “seven other spirits more wicked than himself” are explained thus:

And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. (Leviticus 26:18)

And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Leviticus 26:21)

Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. (Leviticus 26:24)

Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. (Leviticus 26:28)

Reasons for not Seeking Deliverance

Reasons for not Seeking Deliverance

In our ministry, we encounter all kinds of reasons that God’s people turn down or are unable to receive His gift of freedom. Some are as follows:

We don’t believe demons or curses are the cause of our problems.

Or if we believe they are the cause of our problems, the demons are not inside of us, therefore we believe there is nothing to cast out.

We don’t want to deal with painful memories, character weaknesses, or unconfessed sin.

In order to get our freedom, we have to deal with life’s traumas and areas in our lives that we may or may not know are hindrances to our forward movement in life. This takes some courage to come face-to-face with sad memories or character flaws. We have to allow God to reveal those things and deal with us, and it may require repentance and brokenness.

We don’t want to get outside of our comfort zone.

This is a continuation of #2. You’ve probably heard clichés like “no pain, no gain” or “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Well, it’s true. If you don’t get outside your comfort zone, you will never grow. If a caterpillar stays inside its cocoon, it will never become a butterfly (and it will also die). So meditate on this. Courage and bravery is what wins battles, not sitting on the couch.

We are not teachable and won’t take correction.

Many times the reason we are in the predicaments we are in is because of pride. If we don’t receive a teaching or a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit through a minister that may cause us to feel convicted, we won’t get our freedom. And if we receive the word but don’t apply it to our lives, we won’t get our freedom.

We have been taught wrong.

Because the church is in the Laoedicean age, the body has not been taught the truth about the spirit world. So religious spirits are invading Christians to create a stronghold of unbelief, and it’s very hard to make the paradigm shift from the knowledge of the carnal world to the understanding of the spiritual world.

We like our demons.

We might have certain well hidden sins that we are not ready to give up. Certain likes and desires or ingrained habits or thoughts that are not right in the site of God. Until we are ready to surrender to and trust completely in Jesus, we won’t get our freedom.

We are lazy or complacent.

Demons can keep us in that lukewarmness that Jesus spoke about in the book of Revelation – the type of Christian He is going to spew out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16). Don’t be that Christian!

This is just a partial list. Do you see yourself in any of these? If so, get into some serious prayer-conversations with God and ask Him to help you change your heart. Cry out to Him, He will hear you and help you.

Life and Death and our Words

Life and death are the in the words we speak…Do we believe it?

The Bible says:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)

There are several things here that are puzzling. This scripture says that the tongue has power. I never really thought of the tongue having power. The scripture also poses the thought of loving your tongue. Loving your tongue? Why would anyone do that, I’m kind of indifferent toward it myself; it’s just a tool I use to eat with and talk with. And eating its fruit, what does that mean?

To try to clarify these things, let’s look at the definition of power from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: the ability to act or produce an effect. And the definition of fruit in this context is: “The effect or consequence of an action or operation: PRODUCT, RESULT.”

The Amplified Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”

So, how can our tongues be powerful enough to hold life and death?

As you recall, the Bible talks a lot about God’s word. God created everything with only His spoken word. The scripture says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

And:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:60)

That’s pretty powerful. The Lord said in Isaiah:

…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

God’s words have a purpose and they will accomplish something. Couldn’t this also apply to us so we are made in His image?

And in Matthew:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

Think about this and imagine the earth just being destroyed and disappearing – what a cataclysmic thing that will be – but spoken words will never pass away? That’s pretty mind-blowing.

And look at this:
That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) All you have to do is “confess with your mouth” and you will be saved. Those are some pretty powerful words, confessing that Jesus is Lord and you’re saved from eternal damnation. Words are powerful.

When Jesus was in his earthly body, he spoke powerful words all the time, healing the sick with His word, casting out demons with His word, forgiving sin and iniquity with His word, rebuking the devil with His word, and on and on. Speaking life pretty much all the time, except…remember the story of the fig tree in Mark Chapter 11:

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22″Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23″I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

So, Jesus spoke death to the tree with only His word. He didn’t have to use poison or root killer, he just spoke to it. Words have power.

Let’s look the story about the Roman centurion in Matthew Chapter 8:

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

This centurion understood authority! The authority we have with our words in Jesus’ name!

Look at how many Psalms and Proverbs and other wisdom scriptures there are about what we say, and these are just a few. Do you think the Lord was trying to tell us something?

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. (Proverbs 4:24)

Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (Proverbs 10:14)

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. (Proverbs 11:12)

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. (Proverbs 15:2)

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. (Proverbs 16:23)

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. (Proverbs 17:27)

A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Proverbs 18:7)

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. (Proverbs 21:23)

Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. (Ecclesiastes 10:12)

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD ; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)

You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! (Psalm 52:4)

Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you. (Job 15:6)

Let’s see what else Jesus said about the spoken word in Matthew Ch. 12:
33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Now, you might be thinking, “oh well, He was just talking to the Pharisees, they were evil anyway. This doesn’t apply to me.”

More scriptures in Matthew:

11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles [him]. 18But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles [him].

Now, child of God, why would you want to defile yourself?
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)

I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. (John 8:51)

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:2-10)

For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. (1 Peter 3:10)

But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. (Luke 6:49)

He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (Luke 11:28)

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does. 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. (James 1:22-26)

Amen!

The Game of Life

The Game of Life

This is the story of a woman gambler who lost the game of life. I am going to call her Consuela. We were both from Cuba. Consuela invited her Cuban friends to come over once a week to play cards.

One day, Consuela had an accident with a leg injury, leaving her unable to drive, so she invited me, my mother, and another lady named Martha to play cards at her house.

Consuela knew I was a Spirit-filled Christian. The other ladies were Catholic, and Consuela explained to me that her husband was an atheist and did not let her practice Catholicism or anything else.

One day at her house, I asked her if she would let me pray for her legs. She agreed, and I asked her to sit straight up in her chair so I could lift her legs and see if they were the same length. The legs were obviously different lengths, in the amount of an inch or so. My mother and Martha were around us watching closely, and they saw the difference.

I prayed for her legs, and there was a sudden movement as both legs became the same length. Consuela said excitedly that she could feel a pull in one of her legs. Her eyes were like saucers, I guess from trying to decide whether to believe the miracle or not. Martha, on the other hand, started walking in circles with her hands in her face, crying “Oh, my God!!” non-stop. My mother bit her lip, and I could see her mind going at full speed looking for an explanation that was logical and earthly, and not finding any, she went back to her chair and sat in silence.

The whole group of card-playing ladies really never fully accepted me because I was “a holy roller”. I had written a booklet especially for them which I titled, “A Letter To My Catholic Friends”. It was intended to explain why I was not a Catholic. I had it printed and gave one booklet to each lady. My supernatural testimony was there, which was enough for someone to ask some questions, but it elicited only one comment from one lady who did not agree with me on one minor point.

About two years later Consuela invited a new friend to her house and threw a party so she could introduce her new friend to us.

Not long after that, I went to Consuela’s house with a relative of mine who had not been there. Consuela wanted to show her the house (I went along for the tour) and she opened a cabinet door where there was a hidden altar. She promptly shut the door, but I can’t believe she had forgotten that the altar was there. It was almost like she wanted me to see it.

I knew what this altar was. It was a Santeria altar, Santeria being a specific form of witchcraft from Cuba. I acted as if I did not see it and did not question her about it.

She already had experienced the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the miracle on her leg done in His name, and she never mentioned it or asked any questions about it. I realized that the new friend was inducing her into Santeria.

Consuela had always been an avid card player. She was the one who insisted on playing for money. Although she was very affluent, she would get angry if she did not win.

At our table, she was the best player, and I came in a close second. But I played primarily so I could bring my mother, as this was her only weekly outing and she enjoyed it. Secondly, because I enjoyed solving any kind of puzzles like card games. And thirdly, because of the fellowship.

I did not mind if I lost, but I tried to play the best I could. This was a dumb card game, the kind that children play. It was nothing like poker or bridge–just a step up from Old Maid.

We had played the same card game every week, and by now I knew the average time it took to win a game. One day, Consuela started to win games faster than normal. I found it strange and started observing her. When it was her turn, she would pick a card from the pile in expectation. And sure enough, it was the card she needed. I would watch her lay her cards down with an expression of triumph in her face.

I got a funny feeling, like there was something abnormal happening. Just then, the Holy Spirit told me, “witchcraft!” Very low, and shielding my face with the cards in my hand, I said, “I break the power of this witchcraft, in the name of Jesus.”

Things started to change. I watched her. The cards she was picking were not as she expected. At the beginning she showed unbelief, as if there was something wrong. Then she got angry.

I can’t remember who won that game. I went home and forgot all about it.

The next time we played, she started winning right away. She would lay her cards down when the rest of us were barely starting. Then I remembered what happened the week before, and again I commanded the power of witchcraft to be broken in the name of the Lord Jesus.

This time, Consuela knew it was not a coincidence. She started looking around the table, and she zeroed in on me. She knew I had done it, got very angry, and did not want to play with me again. She formed a new table with other ladies and left me and my mother out.

I wonder about those poor ladies losing every game they played, not knowing what was really happening.

Consuela had made a pact with the devil to satisfy her desire to win. A pact with the devil, selling her soul for four dollars a game. And that, after witnessing the power of God in her own body.

Recently I saw her at a restaurant with a young lady. When she looked at me, I saw fear in her face. She left the restaurant as fast as she could after finishing her meal.

I hope something happens that causes her to repent and bring Jesus into her life. If that does not happen, I wish her a very, very long life.