A long awaited post...

So first of all, I want to apologize to all of our faithful family, friends, followers, and fans out there who have been eagerly checking our blog daily, just wishing--wishing upon a star--that there would be a new post.  And for the past few weeks, you have unalterably been met with disappointment...until NOW.

But seriously, we know that this blog has been a blessing to many of you.  And it and you have been a blessing to us.  So...sorry about the long interval between posts.  But, that said, it's time to move on...

The past few weeks have been good, interesting.  You may remember that shortly after starting this blog, a couple months ago now, I started taking a low dose of Prednisone to help relieve my joints and the rest of my body from inflammation.  This has allowed me to go after all of my underlying infections more aggressively without suffering from the usually increased inflammation that comes from the infection die-off.  So that's a very good thing.  Also, I have continued receiving IV Amino Acids and minerals over the last few weeks, and those have been very beneficial.  I always notice an increase in strength and energy and a decrease in pain right after receiving those.

The effect of all of this is that I have been feeling better lately than I have in months.  Maybe even reaching a year now.  I have been able to leave the house with relative ease, cook dinner, do the dishes, go to church events, CHANGE REBECCA'S DIAPERS!  I know it sounds weird, but that is such a huge blessing and privilege.  You don't really realize it until you go for months without being able to do it because your hands hurt too much.  And Rebecca actually gets excited for Dadda to do it.

Also, I've been exercising on our stationary bike, ranging from once a day to once every other day, depending on how my knees feel after each workout.

That's how I'm feeling, in a nutshell.  I could go into more detail and describe some more things I'm doing, but we have another doctor appointment this Friday, and we plan to write more extensively about all of that.  The main reason I wanted to post this today is that I feel God has put some things on my heart.

We've tried to be abundantly forthright in conveying our beliefs about healing.  The overwhelming evidence from the Bible suggests that Jesus is our healer, and just as he healed hundreds when he walked the earth physically, he wants to heal thousands in our day through his Spirit.  I know we all have experiences that tell us otherwise.  We ourselves are sick, our loved ones are sick, we've even LOST people to sickness.  How then can we really believe God...I mean ACTUALLY BELIEVE with full conviction...for our healing?

The best answer I can come up with for now is that we must fight to hold on to the Bible as truth in the face of contradictory sensory experience.  As our pastor explained a couple weeks ago, we live in a time when the physical world as we know it has not yet ended, a world which is ruled by Satan according to the Bible.  But we also live in a time when the Kingdom of God has already arrived with the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  And as believers, we live seemingly with one foot in each world.

I believe that Jesus has called us to fight to advance his kingdom and all of its benefits further and further into the world that has been under Satan's power for so long.  That includes bringing healing to the sick.  I love 1 John 3:8, "For this reason the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

For the last couple of months, Corrie and I have been extremely excited about what God has been stirring in our church.  Back in January, we had a renewed desire to see God start a healing ministry in and through us.  Of course we want my healing, but we also want to see him lift up the weak, diseased, broken, and helpless around us.  One Sunday, after our church service, we were speaking with our pastors sharing our desire with them and saying that we were wanting to get some people together to start asking God to do this in our church.

Come to find out, this very same thing has been on their heart for the last three years, but it wasn't until the week before our conversation when God finally told them to start seeking him diligently for healing.  We were pumped!  We feel as though this desire that we have for a healing ministry is not just from ourselves, but from Him.  And He is giving it to others in our church as well.

Since then we have had two prayer meetings with 15 - 30 people in our church to come before the Lord and ask him to release more of his healing presence and power among us.  What amazing times they have been!  God is really building up faith among us to believe Him for more than we ever have.  And, if His word is true, we can know that he will NOT disappoint.  "I will not give you a stone if you ask for bread."  "Whatever you ask in my name, believe you have received it, and it will be given to you."  "You will do greater works than these."

Our church's "kick-off event" (for lack of a better term for it) in this area of healing is coming up on April 13, when we will invite any and all who need healing in their lives, be it physical, mental, or emotional sickness, to come and receive prayer to be healed and set free.  I believe we will see miracles that day.  And for those who don't receive healing that day, we will continue to fight for it, to chase it down in prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit until it comes.  As Jesus said, "from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent press in to it."  So we will pursue these marks of His kingdom on behalf of the hurting with a violent passion.

Since this whole thing began back in January, an image has been repeatedly coming to my mind. It's a simple image of Jesus standing on the mountains that overlook Santa Cruz with his sword drawn and fire in his eyes, as though he were ready for battle.  And the sense that I get from this is that he is ready and soon coming to fight for this ground of healing with us.  That he will soon destroy works of Satan in the lives of the sick and hurting in our community.

Does this mean we will stop our current medical treatment?  No, because as long as we are following the leading of the Spirit and submitting every aspect of our pursuit of health to him, I believe that it is all part of the Lord's work in reversing sickness.  However, it does mean that HE is our first and only cure.  If he tells us to stop all treatment and pray, we will.  If he tells us to see this doctor or that doctor, then we will.  But I think that as we pray and believe for healing more and more, we will see more miraculous healings from his hand.