Do you take prescription meds? Does someone you love take prescription meds? Did you know prescription meds is the number three cause of death in America according to the Journal of American Medicine?

Are birth control pills safe? Any drug that artificially manipulates the natural hormonal activity of the body will have negative implications and side effects.

What is the birth control pill? How Does it work? Is it Safe? by Paul Weckenbrock, R. Ph.

The birth control pill is any drug which uses artificial hormones to keep a woman from getting pregnant or from staying pregnant by interfering with her normal fertility.

Are all forms of the pill the same?

No. There are several types of the pill on the market, but they basically break down into two groups: combination pills and the progestin-only minipill.

The combination type contain two artificial steroids that mimic the effects of naturally occurring hormones, estrogen and progesterone. Some pills work in a monophasic way, keeping the dosage of hormones the same throughout the pill cycle. Others work in a biphasic or triphasic manner which alters the dosage of artificial hormones two or three times respectively through the cycle of pills, attempting to produce fluctuations similar to what a fertile woman would undergo naturally.

The progestin-only minipill uses only one artificial hormone, progestin, which is a steroid that has a progestational effect similar to natural progesterone.

How does the pill work?

The pill is designed to interfere with several normal functions of fertility in order to make a woman 1) unable to conceive due to temporary sterility or sperm immobility, and/or 2) unable to carry a pregnancy to term [an early abortion].

This process can be accomplished in various ways.

Suppressing ovulation: When a woman ovulates, hormones released from the pituitary , a gland located at the base of the brain, stimulate her ovaries to ripen and release an egg. The combination pill usually interrupts the release of these pituitary hormones resulting in no egg being released from the ovary, thus preventing pregnancy from occurring. With no egg available for fertilization, the woman is chemically sterile. The progestin-only pill, however, has a weaker effect. It generally does not suppress ovulation.

1. Inhibiting Implantation: Another important aspect of fertility is the process by which the lining of the uterus is replenished and maintained. After an egg is fertilized, it normally implants in this lining [endometrium], drawing nourishment and sustenance. The progestin component of the combination pill and the progestin-only minipill cause the inner lining of the uterus to become thin and shriveled, unable to support implantation of the embryo [newly fertilized egg].

2. Impeding Sperm Migration: Preceding ovulation, a woman’s cervix produces a watery mucus through which sperm swim to meet the egg. The mucus also provides nourishment to sustain the life of the sperm cells. This mucus thickens under the influence of a progestin and so impedes sperm migration.

3.There are two other factors in a woman’s fertility that may be affected by the pill.

Making changes in the Fallopian Tubes: Progestins lower the efficiency with which the fallopian tubes propel eggs from the ovaries toward the uterus. This can cause the embryo not to reach the uterus in time to implant successfully.

4. Stopping a Pregnancy: After an ovary releases an egg, the woman’s cycle is controlled by a gland that is formed from the now-empty egg sack, the corpus luteum; this normally functions long enough to give an embryo time to implant in the uterus and for the placenta to begin to support the pregnancy.

However, hormones from the pill can cause the corpus luteum to function inadequately, allowing the lining of the uterus to be shed before the embryo can successfully implant.

In summary, a woman’s natural fertility requires several systems and organs to coordinate smoothly. The synthetic chemicals in any type of birth control pill interfere with this coordination, adversely affecting her normal fertility and any accidental conceptions.

How effective is the pill?

In theory, the pill reaches an effectiveness of over 99%, but in practice the rate is much lower. Between 1.9% and 18.1% of women will experience an unplanned pregnancy in the first year of using the pill.

Surprise pregnancies with the pill are due to a number of factors. Interactions between the pill and some other medications interfere with the proper blood levels of hormones necessary for their birth control effect. These drug interactions may be significant with the commonly used low dose pill where slight alterations in hormonal blood levels can result in more frequent ovulations and hence unplanned pregnancies. Another factor in pill pregnancy rates is not following directions, sometimes due to the lack of motivation, especially in younger women [ages 15-24].

Is ovulation always suppressed?

No. Ovulation occurs in 2% to 10% of cycles of women taking the pill. If 60 million women worldwide are on the low-dose pill, there would be 1.2 to 6 million ovulations per cycle. This is known as breakthrough ovulation, and it is even more frequent with the progestin-only pill.

What happens when ovulation does occur?

When the pill fails to prevent ovulation, the other mechanisms come into play. Thickened cervical mucus may make it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg; however, if the egg is fertilized, a new life is created. The hormones slow the transfer of the new life through the fallopian tube, and the embryo may become too old to be viable when it does enter the uterus.

If the embryo is still viable when it reaches the uterus, under-development of the uterine lining caused by the pill prevents implantation. The embryo dies and the remains are passed along in the next bleeding episode which, incidentally, is not a true menstruation even though it is usually perceived as such.

Does this mean the pill can cause an early abortion?

Yes. Preventing the newly conceived life in its embryonic stage from being transported to the uterus and preventing implantation in the wall of the uterus are the abortifacient properties of the pill.

Why haven’t I heard about this before?

The Pill manufacturers and many in organized medicine are mainly concerned about the pill’s medical side effects and its effectiveness in preventing pregnancies and are less concerned about how the drug achieves its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, many otherwise pro-life physicians and pharmacists find it hard to admit that these abortifacient properties exist because they would have to discontinue prescribing and dispensing the pill if they were to remain consistent in their respect for life at all its stages of development.

Pro-abortion organizations and their lawyers readily admit the early abortion potential of the pill. In February 1992, writing in opposition to a Louisiana law banning abortion, Ruth Colker, a Tulane Law School professor, wrote, "Because nearly all birth control devices, except the diaphragm and condom, operate between the time of conception ... and implantation ..., the statute would appear to ban most contraceptives." In 1989, attorney Frank Sussman argued before the U. S. Supreme Court that " ... IUDs [and] low dose birth control pills ... act as abortifacients."

Is It Safe? What are the common side effects of the pill?

There is a range of risks from serious or fatal to minor and trivial. The following is a list of the most common side effects experienced by women taking the pill. These effects are dose related and not every woman will experience them, but the risks still exist. The synthetic estrogens of the combination pill cause many of these; the progestin causes others and is the only risk factor in the progestin-only pill.

Heart and blood abnormalities

Blood clots can form, restricting or blocking the flow of blood to critical organs and other body systems, possibly causing permanent damage. For example, a blood clot in the heart would cause a heart attack; in the brain it would cause a stroke or brain hemorrhage; a clot which moved from elsewhere in the body and lodged in the lung would cause a pulmonary embolism; in the kidneys a clot would cause a renal artery thrombosis and kidney damage; in the retinal arteries it would cause temporary or permanent blindness.

Studies continue to indicate approximately a 2-fold increased risk of fatal heart attacks among users of the current low-dose pill when compared to non-users. This risk is lower than the risk experienced with the older high dosage pill, but it continues to be significant. Similarly, the risk of a fatal brain hemorrhage is increased 1.4 times when comparing users to non-users. Among women who smoke, there is a 12-fold increase in fatal heart attacks and a 3.1-fold increase in fatal brain hemorrhage.

High blood pressure and alterations in the blood clotting mechanisms may be seen in women on the pill. This may contribute to a 3-11 times increased risk of developing blood clots in Pill users compared to non-users. The risk is especially great for women who smoke and/or are over 35 years old.

Cancer

Breast cancer has been repeatedly associated with using the pill.

Breast cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years, especially among young women. Breast cancer will kill more than 44,000 American women this year alone, a 1991 report noted, predicting 175,000 more new cases, especially among young women.

Why is there such an increase of breast cancer among younger women? Note first that women rarely develop breast cancer shortly after they start taking artificial hormones. It is generally not until ten or more years after usage was initiated that women develop breast cancer. Then note that in the United States, since the mid-1970s, it has been common for the pill to be prescribed for girls in their teen years.

Common sense connects the link between giving the pill to young girls in the 1970s and the later increase in breast cancer 15 to 20 years later among women in their late twenties and thirties. This conclusion was demonstrated in a study which found that Swedish women who took the pill in the 1960s incurred a five times greater increase in breast cancer when compared to non-users.

The increased risk of breast cancer is seen in younger, nulliparous women [never having borne children], and in long duration groups [greater than five years] of pill users. Large tumors and a worse survival rate are associated with the pill’s use at an early age.

Will the newer formulated low-dose pills decrease the incidence of breast cancer? A consensus of understanding has not been reached, and another 10 to 20 years of experience with women using this form of the pill must be gained before more definite conclusions can be reached.

Breast tenderness, enlargement, lumps, and milk secretions also may occur in women using the pill. Doctors are warned not to prescribe the pill to women who are known or suspected to have breast cancer. It is difficult to say what aggravating effect the pill’s hormones would have over a truly random sample of women taking the pill.

Cervical cancer and cervical dysplasia increase among women who use the pill. How long the pill has been taken, how many sexual partners a woman has had, at what age she began having intercourse, whether she smokes, the hygiene of sexual partners and the transmission of the human papillomavirus [HPV] are also factors in cervical abnormalities. Because of these several factors, the connection of the pill and cervical cancer may be clouded over. However, there is no doubt that the promotion of the pill has resulted in early intercourse which may be the more direct cause of cervical cancer.

Endometrial and ovarian cancer appear to have a lower incidence in both women on the pill and in those who have been previous users of the pill. Much of this data comes from studies of women who were using the higher dose estrogen/progestin pill. Currently the low dose monophasic and triphasic pills [less than 50mcg of estrogen] are the only birth control pills available on the U.S. market. It is not known if a similar protective effect will be experienced with the currently used pill. More time is needed to study this issue, and the slight protective effect is hardly a reason to take the Pill at the risk of so many other side effects.

It should also be noted that these forms of cancer are rare and primarily occur among postmenopausal women in their fifties and sixties. Second, these cancers tend to occur in those women who had long cycles [i.e., with a prolonged estrogen-dominant phase] or those who have a family history of these types of cancer. Third, extended breastfeeding amenorrhea offers the same type of protection against these cancers since the menstrual cycle would be suppressed and therefore the exposure to estrogen suppressed.

Liver tumors in younger women [15 to 40 years] have increased as the use of oral contraceptives has increased. Almost unheard of in this age group before the use of synthetic hormones became commonplace, liver tumors usually do not occur until the sixth decade of a woman’s life.

A study by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer found a large peak in the 26-to-30-year age group which corresponds with the increased use of oral contraceptives in this age group. Liver cancer in women on the pill is typically associated with those over 30 who have used it more than four years, but cases of liver cancer in younger women have been cited.

Other cancers: Skin cancer [melanoma] has also been found to increase among women on the pill. Naturally occurring estrogen is involved with maintaining healthy skin tissue. It is reasonable to suspect that exposure to the more potent synthetic estrogen in the pill increases the risk of this type of cancer.

Cycle irregularities

Women who take the pill have been reported to experience bleeding or spotting in mid-cycle, changes in menstrual flow, and even loss of menstruation, which can lead them to wonder if they are pregnant. For some, painful menstruation [dysmenorrhea] has been reported to worsen, even though many women take these hormones in an attempt to relieve the problem.48

Although some women are given the pill for irregular cycles, it does nothing to improve the underlying problem causing the irregularity. Often the irregularity returns when the pill is discontinued, sometimes more severely.

Are there other side effects?

Yes. Some side effects are minor while some may be more severe and call for discontinuing the drug.

The following adverse effects have been experienced by women on the pill:

Headaches, migraines, mental depression [even to the point of suicide and/or suicidal tendencies], a decrease or loss of sexual drive, abdominal cramps, bloating, weight gain or loss, and water retention; nausea and vomiting [in about 10% of users]; symptoms of PMS, vaginitis and vaginal infections, changes in vision [temporary or permanent blindness, and an intolerance to contact lenses]; gall bladder disease and either temporary or permanent infertility, when discontinuing the pill, in users with previous menstrual irregularities or who began the drug before full maturity. Several of the symptoms, such as migraine headaches, contraindicate the use of the pill because of life endangering complications.

Consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference at your public library or consult your pharmacist for a more complete list of the pill’s harmful effects.

Is the pill safer than pregnancy?

No. The health risks of the pill outweigh by far the risks of pregnancy and childbirth to a woman’s health, and any claim to the contrary is based on erroneous comparisons between healthy women on the pill and women who do not receive normal care during pregnancy.

A precondition for obtaining the pill is routine medical care and checkups. For example: if such a woman on the pill is diagnosed as precancerous, or if some other side effect is exhibited, she has the advantage of early detection. However, many pregnant women do not receive routine medical care. A clearer picture of the safety of the pill compared to the safety of pregnancy would be made if healthy women receiving routine medical care during pregnancy and delivery were compared with women receiving routine medical care while taking the pill.

The mortality statistics of childbirth have continuously declined since the early part of this century, mostly due to better maternal healthcare. Most of the high risk pregnancies and deliveries occur to women who have not sought proper medical attention. This is most evident in the third world where adequate health care is sparse.

Mortality statistics of pregnancy and delivery, usually called maternal mortality, include the mortality rates due to abortion. Abortion is clearly used as birth control, preventing the birth of the child; therefore it must be included with the mortality statistics of birth control methods. In one study, 25% to 50% of the reported maternal mortality was a result of deaths from abortion.

Fifty percent of woman taking the pill discontinue it within the first year because of side effects, the development of benign breast disease, or some abnormality of the sexual organs. Studies of pill usage do not include these women, and the result is an unbalanced picture of only the healthiest of women who tolerate the pill. This is compared with the general population of women who are pregnant.

The fact is that there are 13.8 million women in the U.S. and 60 million women worldwide who use the pill [conservative numbers]. And there are 7.9 pill-related deaths per 100,000 women ages 15-44.

Therefore, one can calculate that there are over 1090 deaths each year in the U.S. alone simply due to the pill.

But I’ve heard there are no side effects with the pill I use.

All drugs, including all brands of the birth control pill, have potential side effects. There is no telling in advance how any particular woman will react to the pill, but there is a good chance of some type of reaction. It is possible that a woman will be unaware that there is any connection between the reaction and the pill especially if it takes years to manifest itself.

Aren’t there any therapeutic benefits from the pill?

The only indication, or use for the pill that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration is the prevention of pregnancy in women ... as a method of contraception. Some unapproved uses, considered experimental, include its use as a morning after pill [causing an early abortion], and for relief from the symptoms of mild endometriosis.

I’m breastfeeding my baby; can I use the pill?

No. Artificial hormones pass from breast milk to the baby; the pill also decreases both the quantity and protein content of the milk produced.

What is my alternative to using the pill?

Natural Family Planning is safe, healthy and effective and it’s also inexpensive. A woman observes and records changes in her basal body temperature, the normal flow of cervical mucus, and if she wishes, the physical changes in the cervix itself. She then cross-checks these signs of fertility to follow, day by day, the natural course of her fertility cycle. No drugs, no devices, no surgical procedures, no threat of death, no side effects, no chemical abortions!

Does NFP really work?

Yes. Married couples can achieve a 99% effectiveness if they learn the method, correctly interpret the fertility signs, and follow the rules. One positive side benefit for couples who are committed to making this method work is the potential for a healthier marriage — psychologically, physically and spiritually.

How can I find out more about Natural Family Planning?

Contact the national office of The Couple to Couple League, P. O. Box 111184, Cincinnati, OH 45211; toll-free (800) 745-8252, local (513) 471-2000.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive  regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

As atrocious and inhumane as slavery was, this Senate resolution was not mentioned on one major news television outlet in America.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday, June 18, 2009, passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for the wrongs of slavery. The nonbinding resolution sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is similar to a House resolution adopted in 2008 that acknowledged the wrongs of slavery but offered no reparations.

The House will have to vote on the issue again because the composition of that chamber changed after the November 2008 elections. The resolution was approved on a voice vote.

Because it is nonbinding, it does not have to be forwarded to the President of the United States for his signature. Several states have passed similar resolutions, but the House resolution was the first time a branch of the federal government did so.

Harkin's resolution acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery, and Jim Crow laws, and apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enacted mostly in U.S. Southern and border states between the 1870s and 1965 that denied African-Americans the right to vote and other civil liberties, as well as legally segregated them from whites.

Some members of the African-American community have called on lawmakers to give cash payments or other financial benefits to descendants of slaves as compensation for the suffering caused by slavery.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we encourage you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

You hear a lot about forgiveness and how we need to release those who have sinned against us. But what if the person you need to forgive is yourself? What if you can’t move forward because of something you know you’ve done wrong and it haunts you? When taking people through biblical, integrated healing and deliverance it's been learned over decades that the most difficult thing for people to do is forgive themselves.

There are always three parts to forgiveness: 1) forgiving others and others forgiving you; 2) forgiving or really releasing God [cause many of us are ticked off at the Lord and just afraid to admit it; it's okay you can admit it, you will not be sinning or loose your space in line to get into heaven]; and 3) forgiving yourself.

Satan speaks many lies to us that simply are not true. So what does he speak? He says the following lies to us.

a) What I did so such a big sin the Lord cannot forgive it.

b) I knew better and still did it, so it's not forgivable.

c) I've continued to repeat this same behavior and I'm so ashamed, I just can't ask for forgiveness again.

d) I've downed others and have now done what I said I wouldn't do. I'm a terrible person.

Remember, that these four things I wrote above are lies from satan. And the Bible clearly repeats that the father of lies is satan. So I encourage you today to release yourself from false guilt and accept the forgiveness that is available for you today.

Cry in private if you need to and wail out your pain. Write yourself a letter to get it mentally out of your head. Speak the words out loud saying you forgive yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to supernaturally work the self-forgiveness down into the granules and crevices of your hurting, almost numb, heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring life, no abundant life, into your heart, mind and life.

Author and speaker Joe Beam joins us to deal with a listener's question about this important topic here!

http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_ProgramDetail.aspx?id=39286

This forgiveness audio features Joe Beam is an internationally-known inspirational speaker and best-selling author.

He founded Family Dynamics Institute in 1994 and in 2008 he founded LovePath International, and serves as its president.

He has spoken to millions of people worldwide in personal appearances as well as appearances on television and radio, including ABC's Good Morning America, Focus on the Family, the Montel Williams Show, NBC's Today Show, The Dave Ramsey Show, and The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. After earning his bachelor's degree [Magna Cum Laude] from Southern Christian University, Beam did graduate studies in Clinical Psychology at the University of Evansville.

He is currently involved in research to complete his Ph.D in Biomedical science at the University of Sydney. He has authored many magazine articles, corporate training programs, and is the author of several books, including the national bestseller Seeing the Unseen, Getting Past Guilt, and Becoming One: Emotionally, Spiritually, and Sexually.

Thank you for taking your time to read this blog on Healed People, Heal People. If you're not a member of this site, we invite you to join for free here.  You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths. If you know others who might be benefit from the contents of this article, please send them the link to this article.

Signed,

The Cross, A Place of Exchange

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Apostle Of Hate — Minister Of Healing By Melanie Hemry

Eagle Mountain International Church, Incorporated, aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries

"Is this Johnny Lee Clary?" A voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yes ..."

"The Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Oklahoma?"

"That's right."

"Mr. Clary, I'm calling on behalf of a local radio station. We would like to invite you here to the station next Sunday evening for an interview. The program will be live. During that time, we would allow you to read your literature and share your views openly."

Share my views on the radio? There's no telling how many new kids I can recruit! Johnny leaned back in his chair and propped up his feet.

"I'd be most honored to be your guest," he answered, a slow smile spreading across his face. Unlike most Klan members, Johnny Lee didn't shun publicity. He hadn't even minded when television cameras followed him around to schools in the Oklahoma City area, where he recruited kids. The way he looked at it, a man ought to stand up for the truth. And one thing Johnny Lee Clary knew for certain - the Ku Klux Klan stood for the truth.

Seeds of Hatred

His own education in that "truth" began early. He'd been only 5 when he looked out the car window in amazement. "Look, Daddy!" he'd said. "There's a chocolate-covered man!"

His daddy blew cigar smoke out the window in disgust. "That's not a chocolate-covered man," he said. "That's a n-----. Can you say, 'n-----'?"

Johnny Lee had leaned out the window and shouted, "N-----!" His daddy laughed and patted him on the back.

Johnny Lee's training continued when his Uncle Harold would visit from Georgia and tell his stories about the KKK. "I shot a black man for crossing my property," he once bragged to Johnny Lee's father. "The police didn't care that I shot him. But they did fine me for firing a gun in the city limits!" The two men laughed until their faces were red.

Johnny Lee's dad wasn't a member of the Klan. He couldn't be. He was Catholic. One group the Klan hated almost as much as blacks and Jews was Catholics. Johnny's daddy never attended Mass, but he made sure that Johnny Lee was on the Sunday school bus every week to the First Baptist Church.

That is, until the day Johnny Lee leaned out the bus window and screamed, "N-----!" to a black child on the street. That day, Johnny Lee's Sunday school teacher pulled him aside and taught him a song. At home, he proudly sang it for his father.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white ..."

Johnny Lee's daddy never let him go back to that church. He found one closer to home -- an all-white church.

Everyone in their neighborhood hated Johnny Lee's family. The neighbors considered them white trash. Of course, nobody dared call them that. They were afraid to.

The Clary family's popularity took a sudden turn, however, when a black family bought a house in the neighborhood. The whole neighborhood came to Johnny Lee's daddy and asked him to help them get rid of the family. They were willing to buy them out, if they'd leave.

Unfortunately, the neighbors' sudden acceptance of the Clarys didn't make Johnny Lee's family any happier. His parents fought constantly. Their marriage ended tragically when, one night, 11-year-old Johnny Lee walked into a room to see his daddy holding a gun to his head. "Daddy, don't!" he screamed, then watched as his daddy shot himself to death.

After the funeral, Johnny Lee went to live with his older sister in California. But he wasn't happy there. As the months passed, Johnny Lee became more and more lonely. That's when he saw a talk show host interviewing David Duke, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Remembering his Uncle Harold, Johnny Lee decided to contact the Klan. Within a few weeks, a man knocked at his door.

"I'm a friend of David Duke," he said. The man sat down and talked to Johnny Lee. "What do you like? Tell me about your life."

Johnny Lee was in awe. Someone wants to hear what I have to say!

"Son, you've had a hard, horrible life," the man said. "What you need is a family. A real family. That's what the Ku Klux Klan is -- a fraternal order. That means family."

Week after week, the man took Johnny Lee to his house for meetings. It was almost as if he had a father again. Between meetings, Johnny studied about the Klan. He was amazed to learn what prominent people were former Klansmen, including at least three U.S. presidents.

Johnny Lee trembled with excitement the day he joined the KKK. He was 14 years old. By age 20, Johnny Lee had worked his way up in the organization, first serving as Duke's bodyguard and later, becoming the Grand Dragon of Oklahoma.

"It was 1979 when I was invited to do the radio interview," Johnny Lee recalls. "I was so excited, I told everyone to tune in. Then, a few days before the interview, I was listening to the radio when they announced the upcoming debate between myself and the state president of the NAACP, the Rev. Wade Watts!

"I'd never actually met a black man. But I knew what to expect: A man in African robes sporting a huge Afro, a button that said, 'I hate white people,' and a sign, 'Black is beautiful.'

"I wasn't prepared for a nicely dressed, older black man carrying a worn Bible."

On the day of the debate, Rev. Watts walked up to Johnny Lee -- his hand outstretched. "Hello, Mr. Clary. I just want to tell you I love you, and Jesus loves you."

Stunned, Johnny Lee shook the man's hand without thinking. The physical touch of a Negro is pollution, he thought.

"Don't worry, son," Rev. Watts said with a grin. "It doesn't rub off."

He has a sense of humor ...?

"Why do you feel the two races shouldn't mingle?" the interviewer asked Johnny Lee as the debate began. "Because Christ ordered it," he explained.

"Son," Rev. Watts interrupted, "where did you get that idea?"

The only Bible verses Johnny Lee knew were the ones outlined in the KKK literature. Speaking slowly, Johnny Lee quoted, "What fellowship hath light with darkness...."

Rev. Watts explained that the scripture was referring to the believer and the nonbeliever, and to sin and righteousness. Then he asked Johnny Lee, "What color skin do you think an Ethiopian has?"

"Black as the ace of spades," Johnny responded.

"I'm glad you said that," Rev. Watts answered. "If you'll look in Numbers 12, you'll see that Moses married an Ethiopian woman. His sister, Miriam, didn't like it either. She talked against Moses and was struck with a horrible disease." He paused for a moment. "You can imagine what is going to happen to you."

Johnny Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair. This wasn't turning out the way he expected. "Look here," he said, "white people are smarter than black people."

"How do you figure that?" Rev. Watts asked. Johnny Lee told him about an intelligence test that proved white children were smarter than black children.

"What color were the men who came up with that test?" Rev. Watts asked.

"It doesn't matter what color they were!" Johnny declared.

"Well, then," said Rev. Watts, "if it doesn't matter, I'll give you a test right now, and we'll see if you can pass it."

"If you think you're so smart, go ahead."

"How long is the average cockroach?" Rev. Watts asked Johnny Lee. "Do roaches walk, or do they fly? How long does it take a mess of chitlins to cook? What are chitlins?"

"Rev. Watts, you rigged that test," Johnny Lee fumed. "White folks aren't supposed to know that stuff."

"Mr. Clary, now you're getting my point."

Johnny Lee had to do something to get control of the interview. "Look," he said, trying to stay calm, "Thomas Jefferson helped pen our Constitution, and he said emphatically that the two races should never mix."

"I'm impressed that you know so much about our forefathers, Mr. Clary. Does the name Sally Hemmings mean anything to you?"

"No."

"She was Thomas Jefferson's mistress," Rev. Watts said. "They had seven children. She was his personal property. His slave. She was as black as the ace of spades."

"I'm not going to stay here and listen to any more of this!" Johnny fumed, storming out of the room.

Johnny Lee was surprised later when he saw Rev. Watts holding a baby girl. Lifting up the child, Rev. Watts said to Johnny Lee, "This baby's parents were teenagers. Her mother was white and her daddy was black. The boy's family said they wouldn't have a white child in their home, and the girl's family said they wouldn't have a black child in their home. So I adopted her. Tia is my baby now. Mr. Clary, how can you hate this baby?"

Johnny Lee turned to leave.

"You can't do enough to make me hate you," Rev. Watts said to Johnny Lee. "I'm going to love you and pray for you, whether you like it or not."

A short time later, Rev. Watts' church was burned. His family was plagued with vicious, hate-filled phone calls, and often found notes ..."KKK is watching you."

"During the next 10 years, I gained more and more power in the Klan," Johnny Lee remembers. "Yet during those years, we never stopped persecuting Rev. Watts. The only thing that bothered me was a recurring dream I had of that baby girl. She was beautiful. And she was the only seed of doubt in my life. Somehow, it didn't seem right to hate her. It didn't seem right for her to die. But I knew the Klan's final solution included extermination of the race -- including babies.

"I didn't let that seed of doubt hinder my work, though. When Rev. Watts joined ranks with an Oklahoma senator to make the Klan's racist hot lines illegal, my blood was boiling."

Johnny Lee called Rev. Watts. "I know you're behind this," he said. "We're coming to get you, and we're going to beat you ..."

"Hello, Johnny Lee! How's the family?"

"I said we're coming for you!"

"You don't have to come for me, I'll meet you. How about Pete's Place out on Highway 270?"

"Uh ..."

"Johnny Lee, they have the best home cooking you ever tasted. And apple pie that'll make you cry for more. Iced tea in those Mason jars. I can taste it now."

"Did you hear what I said?" Johnny Lee demanded. "We're going to beat you!"

"You be sure and bring all the boys..."

"I said we're going to beat you!"

"I heard you, and that's just fine. But first, I want to buy you boys dinner. Did I tell you about their potatoes?"

Johnny Lee hung up. "What did he say?" the Klan members asked.

"He talked about home cooking, apple pie and iced tea. Said he wanted to buy our dinner."

"That old man's gone pure crazy," someone said. "Let's leave him alone."

And they did.

"During the months that followed, a girl I had dated challenged me to go to church," Johnny Lee recalls. "I decided to take her up on it, so I called an elder at Crossroads Cathedral in Oklahoma City. He met with me, and led me to the Lord. I asked Jesus into my life and received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. A month later, someone asked me to speak at a Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship. I hadn't even broken ties with the Klan.

"Soon, word of my salvation reached the media, and a local newspaper asked for an interview. I gave it, and the next thing I knew I got a phone call from the Klan. I broke into a cold sweat when they said they were coming after me. I was scared."

"What are you doing, Clary?" they asked when they arrived.

Frightened for his life, Johnny Lee turned his back on God and the Church, and begged forgiveness from the Klan. He was given a second chance.

In 1989, Johnny Lee was appointed Imperial Wizard of the KKK.

"I wanted to unify all the hate groups - the different factions of the Klan, the Skinheads, the Patriots, the Neo-Nazis, the Militias, the Populists and the Aryan Nations - under one common organization," Johnny Lee recalled.

He spent months arranging a national meeting of all the white supremacist groups. Finally, all the players were in place.

What Johnny Lee didn't know, however, was that the FBI had tapped his phone and knew his plan. They arrested him on his way to the meeting.

Without his presence, the meeting fell apart. By the time Johnny Lee was released and arrived at the rally site, the different factions were fighting among themselves.

Johnny Lee surveyed the scene in disgust. I gave up my wife and child for these people. I gave up my life for this organization, and all they want to do is kill one another.

On his return home, Johnny Lee faced staggering legal battles and attorney fees. He was also disillusioned.

Where was the loyalty? he wondered. What happened to brotherhood? Wasn't the Klan supposed to be family?

Soon afterward, Johnny Lee resigned as Imperial Wizard, and walked away from the Klan. He took a good look at himself, and didn't like what he saw.

"I'd hit an all-time low in my life," Johnny Lee recalled. "Whenever I applied for a job, people just laughed."

As the months passed, Johnny Lee became more and more despondent.

Then he had a thought: Daddy escaped it all. I could go be with my dad, then I wouldn't have to worry about some Klansman putting a bullet in me.

Johnny Lee loaded his gun and put the barrel to his head.

The afternoon sun filtered through the closed blinds, casting tiny lines of light onto a Bible that lay gathering dust.

The only happiness, the only peace in my life, were those few months at Crossroads Cathedral, Johnny Lee thought. But now, it's too late for me ... The dusty Bible caught Johnny Lee's eye. He put down the gun, and picked up the Bible. It fell open to Luke 15 -- the story of the prodigal son.

Johnny Lee read the story once, then again, then a third time.

"I know what You're trying to tell me, God," he said, weeping. "That younger son turned his back on his father and wasted his life. But when he came home, the father welcomed him. You're telling me I can come home.

"God, I have no one else to turn to except You. I ask You to forgive me for the way I lived ... for all the hatred. Please, come into my heart, Jesus, and change me."

In the space of a heartbeat, the weight of years of hatred melted off Johnny Lee Clary. Weeping openly, he raised his hands and worshiped God. Then he picked up the Bible and read for hours.

"I was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, too far to drive to Crossroads Cathedral," Johnny Lee recalls. "I visited a few churches, and although I enjoyed them very much, I knew none of them was where I was supposed to be. Each one had an all-white congregation. I knew God would never allow me to join an all-white church.

"That week, I saw an ad in the newspaper, 'Victory Christian Center - A Church For All Races.' The next Sunday, I walked into that church and knew it was right. There were blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Filipinos, every race seemed to be represented."

Johnny Lee joined the church.

"This time, I didn't tell anyone who I was. Eventually, someone recognized me, and I wrote a letter to the pastor, Billy Joe Daugherty, explaining that I'd been the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He wrote back, encouraging me to spend time getting grounded in God's Word.

"God helped me get a job and, for the first time since 1982, I was happy. In addition to listening to the Word at church, I was introduced to the teaching of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. I tuned in to their Believer's Voice of Victory program, bought their tapes and learned about faith.

"In 1991, during one of Pastor Billy Joe's sermons, the Lord called me to preach. Billy Joe's wife, Sharon, walked over to me and announced, 'God didn't save you for you to sit in Tulsa. He's commanded you to go into the world and get people saved.' "A few weeks later, Johnny Lee heard the Lord again. Call Rev. Watts.

He did.

"Hello, Johnny Lee," Rev. Watts said warmly.

"Rev. Watts, I wanted you to know that I resigned from the KKK in 1989. I gave my heart to Jesus, and I'm a member of Victory Christian Center, an interracial church. My mind is being renewed, and God has called me to preach."

"Well, praise the Lord, son!" Rev. Watts said. "Would you do me the honor of speaking at my all-black church?"

Johnny Lee choked back the tears. "I'd love to."

When Johnny Lee arrived to speak at Rev. Watts' church, there were cameras and news reporters everywhere. Once inside, Johnny Lee Clary stepped up to the podium and looked out over the sea of black faces. He saw people made in the image of God, souls that Jesus had died to save. The contempt he once felt had been replaced with a love so great, so powerful, that his knees felt weak.

This, he realized, is what real unity is all about. It was not what he had tried to do through the KKK. Real unity is only possible through love.

Johnny Lee told his story, and what Jesus had done for him. Afterward, a teenage girl ran down the aisle. "I want to know the same Jesus you know," she said.

As the altar filled with people wanting to know Johnny Lee's Jesus, he heard Rev. Watts weeping.

"Do you know who that is?" Watts asked, pointing at the young girl Johnny Lee had just led to the Lord.

"No," Johnny Lee answered.

"That's Tia," Rev. Watts said. "She's the baby I shoved in your face that day at the radio station!"

Johnny Lee turned to look at the beautiful face beaming at him. She was the baby he couldn't hate.

Rev. Watts and his wife had 13 children. Nine of them had given their lives to Jesus. In the throng of people who crowded the altar that night, Johnny Lee was privileged to introduce the other four to the Lord Jesus.

After the service, Rev. Watts and Johnny Lee embraced. An elderly black pastor wrapped his arms around a young, white, former Klansman. They both wept.

"All those years I prayed for you!" Watts said. "I never dreamed that God would use you to bring my own children into the kingdom!"

It's been more than six years now since Johnny Lee preached at Rev. Watts' church, and many things have changed. But both men still work untiringly - to spread the gospel and promote racial reconciliation.

Today, Johnny Lee Clary's greatest thrill in ministry occurs when he ministers alongside Rev. Wade Watts. His second greatest thrill is being a godfather to young Tia Watts.

Johnny Lee Clary stands amazed that one man - the man he persecuted - prayed him out of hell on earth and into heaven for eternity. Before, that kind of love was unfathomable to Johnny Lee. Now, it is a way of life.

Copyright © 1997-2004

Pastor Johnny Lee Clary's Testimony

Johnny Lee Clary learned to hate at a very young age. He was raised in a family filled with racism, anger, and bigotry. As a young teenager, after his father committed suicide and his mother abandoned him, Johnny found himself alone and looking for someplace to belong. At 14, he was seduced by the teachings of the notorious David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, and he joined the organization.

As an impressionable young man, Johnny became so enthralled with the sense of belonging and a need for “family” that he participated in KKK events as a security enforcer. His exuberance and dedication led to him being appointed as David Duke’s personal bodyguard.

Johnny continued to advance in the organization, reveling in the feeling of finally fitting in. He went on to spend nearly 17 years in the Klan, as State Organizer and Public Relations spokesman for Imperial Wizard Bill Wilkinson of the Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; then becoming Grand Dragon of the National Knights of the KKK; then Heartland Director and right-hand man to White Aryan Resistance leader Tom Metzger (by all accounts, one of the most violent men ever to preach hatred); and finally, to becoming one of the most nefarious national Klan leaders in America after being elected to the very top: Imperial Wizard (national head) of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a branch that originated in Mississippi and was considered to be the most dreaded Klan faction in history (and widely acknowledged by law enforcement as the most violent and militant of all the Klan), taking responsibility for bombings, murders, and countless other crimes—all in the name of hatred and racism. To this day, the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are considered the real Ku Klux Klan.

As the Klan’s national leader, during many appearances on such television programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Morton Downey, Jr. Show, and many others, Johnny advocated, supported, and defended racism and violence.

But then, the destructive mindset and lifestyle he had lived for so many years began to take its toll. Riddled with torment, angered over a false arrest in Tennessee on a weapons charge, disgusted with internal bickering between the various white supremacist organizations, and the discovery that his girlfriend was an informant for the FBI, Johnny Lee left the Klan.

But life does not always repair so easily. Over the next few years he found himself derailed by issues related to his alledged daughter, two divorces, losing all of his friends, the FBI doubting his exit from the Klan, and struggling just to make an honest living. These challenges, combined with his feelings of guilt over the life of violence, prejudice, and hatred he had lived for so long, led Johnny to alcohol.

On the verge of committing suicide one night, he cried out to God to deliver him from his nightmarish existence. And God answered. From that point on, Johnny Lee used his life, his experiences, and his near destruction to help others leave the same evil path that he had walked for so long.

In 1995 Johnny was appointed by Roy Ennis to serve as West Coast Director National Director for the Congress Of Racial Equality. Since then, he has spoken at innumerable Universities, High Schools and churches, and has been a featured speaker for Youth Alive and Teen Challenge. He lectures for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, educating officers on the mindset of white supremacists and how to best fight against domestic terrorism.

As a renowned international speaker, he has set records for the largest crowds of any motivational lecturer in Australia other than Billy Graham, with literally thousands receiving his message of hope, healing and forgiveness for racism, low self-esteem, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse.

Johnny Lee Clary resides with his wife Melissa in Miami, Oklahoma. He has appeared on the Billy Graham Radio Show, on the television programs including:

Geraldo Rivera
Fox News
Alan Colmes
Sally Jesse Raphael
Jerry Springer
Rikki Lake
Queen Latifah
Montel Williams
Phil Donahue
A&E Investigative Reports
ABC World News Tonight
Bertrice Berry
The Today Show
A Current Affair
The 700 Club
CNBC The Big Idea w/ Donny Deutsch

He has also been a regular guest on TBN’s Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America’s top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, GuidePost Magazine [September 1998], Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Johnny’s book, Johnny Angel: My Life and Death at the Top of the KKK … a true story is available on his Web site.

Contact

By phone: Australian mobile 041 121 3232 - United States 918 919-0105
Postal address: PO Box 972 Miami, Oklahoma 74355-0972
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Copyright © 2007 - 2009 Johnny Lee Clary
Site Design: Visreal Productions +617 4661 5222

Beloved reader, thank you for taking your time to read this blog. If you're not a member of this online Healed People, Heal People community, we invite you to join for here free. There are weekly updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truth.

What is a demon?

Demons have distinct and unique personalities just like human beings. Remember that neither satan nor his demon spirits are things. Neither should they be taken lightly. Demons are beings who have all the normally accepted marks of personality: they possess will, intelligence, emotion, self-awareness, and the ability to speak.

Satan is the leader of all demons. Because satan is prideful, his demons follow his lead, which means all demons have a degree of pride like their leader. Demons even compete against one another while operating in your life. The name of the demon reveals its characteristics or manifestations. See the following examples.

Lucifer - Isaiah 14:12

Prince of the power of the air - Ephesians 2:2

Ruler of the demons - Matthew 12:24

Destroyer - I Corinthians 10:10

Angel of light - II Corinthians 11:14

Serpent of old - Revelation 20:2

Great dragon - Revelation 12:9

Devil - Revelation 12:9

Wicked one - Matthew 13:19

Father of lies - John 8:44

Murderer - John 8:44

The following are examples of the characteristics of demons in the Bible.

Here the demon exercises his will, a 1st characteristic
In Matthew 12:44, the demon who has gone out of a man says, "I will return to my house from which I came." The demon here exercises its will to make a decision, and then follows it up with the corresponding action.

Here the demon shows emotion, a 2nd characteristic
In James 2:19 it reads “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" Trembling is an outward mark of strong emotion. Derek Prince writes that at times he has seen a demonized person, who when confronted with the authority of Christ, began to tremble violently. This may be an outward manifestation of fear of the demon inside.

Here the demon shows intellect, a 3rd characteristic
Demons have knowledge not derived from natural sources, rather evil sources. The first time Jesus confronted a demonized man in the synagogue in Capernaum, the demon spoke out of the man and said in Mark 1:24, "I know who You are - the Holy One of God!" It was more than a year before Jesus' own disciples began to realize what this demon had discerned immediately.

Here the demon shows self awareness, a 4th characteristic
When Jesus asked the demonized man in the country of the Gadarenes in Mark 5:9, "What is your name?" a demon answered on behalf of itself and the other demons, "My name is Legion; for we are many." The demon was aware of both its own identity and that of the other demons occupying this man.

Here the demon shows their ability to speak vocally, a 5th characteristic
In the first three gospels and also in Acts, we see several examples of demons able to speak through the vocal organs of the people they are occupying. The demons could and still do answer questions and carry on a conversation. Normally we regard the ability to speak as a distinctive mark of personality.

Demons display a wide range of character traits. Some are vicious, violent, supernaturally strong. Others are weak, cowering, even ridiculous - characteristics one would not expect to find in a demon, which is a fallen angel.

Where did demons come from?

If mankind, Adam and Eve, had never sinned, we would never have been vulnerable to demons. From the beginning, ever since man, Adam and Eve, turned from God in rebellion, all males and females born have been subjected to two main spiritual evils: sin and demons.

Where do demons live?

Each demon desires to express himself through a human body, preferably yours. A demon is not happy unless he has a human body, again, preferably yours. Because demons do not possess physical bodies of their own, demons seek to inhabit or use the bodies of humans or animals.

How do demons work?

God can be everywhere at the same time. Satan cannot be everywhere at the same time. Since satan was booted out of heaven, there has been a fight for dominion. Satan tries to accomplish his goal of dominion of your life through demons since he cannot be everywhere at the same time.

He, satan, dispenses or assigns his demons or demonic spirits to babies in the womb, people, you, your family, your church, cities, denominations, governments, countries, hospitals, institutions, leaders, through music, through television, through drugs, through immoral sex, through perverted sex, through alcohol, etc. In very simple terms, God represents the light or the good and satan represent the dark or the bad. Just as God and His Holy Spirit is active daily, so is satan and his demons or demonic forces and principalities.

What can I do about demons?

There is an urgent need for Christians to learn all we can about the nature and activity of demons. This knowledge is important for all believers, since none of us can claim immunity from the attacks of demons.

It is especially important for pastors and other Christians certified in integrated healing & deliverance to be trained and available for each Christian who desires help. Only with trained, revelatory knowledge are those called to healing and deliverance able to make a correct diagnosis and apply the appropriate remedy so Christians can experience freedom ministered by the Holy Spirit.

Are demons associated with illnesses or health challenges?

Many sicknesses are actually caused by demons, and they should be treated as such. Let's look at a scriptural example where this actually happened.

In Luke 4: 38 – 39, it reads "And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them."

If this fever was only a physical problem, then how foolish to rebuke it! It makes no sense whatsoever to rebuke an inanimate thing. One can only rebuke something having intelligence, and Jesus knew that a spirit caused this fever. The fever left Peter's mother-in-law because it had to obey Jesus' authoritative command.

How many demons are there?

The Bible specifically names many, many demons and there are also categories of demons based on their function. For example, if a person [illegitimately] controls things and people, the specific demon in the Bible that's operating in this person is the Jezebel demon [you understand that Jezebel is really a super stronghold because four demons make up the Jezebel head.]

When you are engaged in spiritual warfare, it is important to know your enemy. Part of spiritual warfare is getting rid of your demons on a lasting, permanent basis. Demons manifest themselves through you, your family and your church members under many different names. The following evil spirits, demons, or devils are mentioned in the scriptures, but this list is not exhaustive. Each one is a personality, and the word used expresses their nature:

The nature of specific demons shown in the Old Testament that remain active today.

Jealousy/feelings of jealousy - Numbers 5:14, 30

Ill will/evil - Judges 9:23

Distressing/evil - I Samuel 16:14-23; 18:10; 19:9

Lying/deceiving - I Kings 22:22; II Chronicles 18:20-22

Perverse/distortion/dizziness - Isaiah 19:14

Deep sleep - Isaiah 29:10

Heaviness/fainting/despair - Isaiah 61:3

Harlotry/prostitution - Hosea 4:12; 5:4

Unclean/unclean/impurity - Zechariah 13:2

Familiar - Deuteronomy 18:11

Sorrowful - I Samuel 1:15

The nature of specific demons shown in the New Testament that are still active today.

Mute/robbed of speech/Deaf and dumb/ deaf and mute - Mark 9:17; 9:25

Infirmity/causing sickness/ crippling - Luke 13:11

Divination/predicting the future - Acts 16:16

Deceiving/deceitful - I Timothy 4:1

Fear/timidity - II Timothy 1:7

Error/falsehood - I John 4:6

Unclean - Matthew 10:1

Divination - Acts 16:16

Bondage - I John 4:6

Deceiving - I Timothy 4:1

Error - I John 4:6

Death - Hebrews 2:14-15

Are there new demons?

No, there are not new demons. The demons established in the Bible are it, but that's a whole lot of them! Demons can take on many, many, many manifestations in each person's life.

How do you identify demons?

The easiest way to identify a demon is by how it manifest in your life. There are many lists of demons, strongholds and generational curses. Again, the easiest way to identify each demon in your life is by how it manifests in your life. For example, one lady was severely overweight and she struggled with her weight for years. When she came for healing and deliverance, the demon was simply identified as the sugar demon. See how simple that is.

Why are so many Christians scared of demons?

Christians are scared of demons because:

a) you may not understand your authority based on scripture - An excerpt of Luke 10:18-19 reads, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Christians are scared of demons because:

b) you may have a fear of using your authority once you know your authority; fear is a stronghold that is controlled by the demonic.

Christians are scared of demons because:

c) you may believe the authority the scripture states is for all other believers except you; this unbelief is a stronghold that is controlled by the demonic.

Christians are scared of demons because:

d) you may be deceived into thinking the demons active in your life will not obey your command when you use your authority; this is a lie. Satan is the father of lies. Demons are under the leadership of satan. So, this lie you believe is from what, the demonic.

Christians are scared of demons because:

e) you may not understand your position based on scripture - An excerpt of Romans 8: 16-18 reads that you are the child of God and a joint-heir with Christ.

Christians are scared of demons because:

f) you may choose not to exercise your authority daily; angelic and demonic activity take place 24-hours a day. As a Christian, you are automatically enrolled in a battle known as spiritual warfare. There are only two positions in this Christian battle, offense and defense. Most Christians choose, by default, to live their lives operating on the defense and in response mode. Most Christians choose to be passive in the battle. Why are you passive? Because your church does not regularly teach and train the church body and regularly teach and train those called to healing & deliverance how to engage in spiritual warfare daily.

Christians are scared of demons because:

g) you may have been deceived into thinking that demons have more power than you do -- as a child of the King who inherited all spiritual blessings. Smile -- I'll let you find this scripture reference : )

Christians are scared of demons because:

h) you may choose not to read and study your Bible regularly to be reminded of and operate daily in your God-given authority. Meanwhile, you, your family, your church and your country suffer needlessly. It really ain't that deep yall -- sorry about the incorrect language here.

Why do so many churches not teach on the demonic?

God is not interested in our church membership or denominational labels – we all use the same Holy Bible where all of these scriptures in this article can be found. No believer wants to be exposed and many of our sins, including our private, secret sins, create shame. Confidential, healing and deliverance ministry does not expose you, the person, rather it exposes the demonic strategy that’s been operating in your life and keeping you in your private bondage.

You think what you’re going through is not transparent to other believers, but it is. The Holy Spirit is still waiting on you to surrender -- at any minute of any hour of any day. You know what the beauty of confidential, integrated healing and deliverance is? It will be the last time you deal with the pain, the shame, the secrets, the coping mechanisms. You may remember, but the pain historically associated with the memories, the experience, is over!

There are three parts to the God-head: 1) God the Father; 2) God the Son; and, 3) God the Holy Spirit. In the church, we are comfortable with the first two parts of the God-head, but many churches are not comfortable with teaching and training about the third part of the God-head, the Holy Spirit.

Any church that does not teach, train and operate in the supernatural realm of the Holy Spirit and regularly teach and train those called in to healing and deliverance is a crippled church. Why is the church crippled? Because the leadership and the membership will not have an available arm of ministry where hurt people can be healed. And you know that every breathing human in the church has something the need healing and deliverance from, right? After all, the church is a hospital for the spiritually sick.

What is the purpose or goal of demons?

As stated in John 10:10, the thief [satan and his demons] come to steal from you, and to kill you, and to destroy you. This is true for every human born, which includes you and every person in your family lineage. Satan and his little demons are so pleased the more you choose to remain unlearned about him and his demons. Why does this please satan? Because he can continue to have dominion in your life or parts of your life. All the while, you continue to blame things in your life on coincidence, bad luck, you being different or you just can't stop doing something.

Why is it critical for you to understand demons as a Christian?

Picture a green plant in a flower pot. Most Christians when dealing with life’s issues deal with the symptoms. The symptoms are the green leafs on the plant. Integrated healing and deliverance deals with the roots of the plant in the flower pot that you cannot see. The green plant represents your life. The demons represent the roots of your life challenges and problems. Unless the roots of your life issues are identified and dismantled, you continue to see manifestations in your life.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say there’s a person who has a drug stronghold. Typically, you’ll hear people talk about the drugs, the lack of responsibility the person shows, how the person steals, how the person will not keep a job, etc. While all of those things are a reality, none of those symptoms are the root(s) of the person’s problem. Integrated healing & deliverance targets, identifies and dismantles the root system of your life’s problems.

What do demons hate?

Demons hate many things, but I’ll share four things. One, demons hate God. Two, demons hate believers using a heavenly prayer language because they cannot understand what’s being prayed; demons can understand you praying in English or your native language. Three, demons hate scripture, which is why scriptures must be used when actively dealing with the demonic. And four, demons hate humans, which includes you.

Demons do not play fair in your life. Demons show you, your family and your church no mercy. May I ask the next logical question? Why do you choose, by default, to exercise grace toward the very demons that are still stealing, killing and strategizing to destroy you, your family and your church? Have no mercy on demons in your life; be brutal with them in exercising your authority!

How do demons manifest or show themselves in daily life?

Click here to listen to the audio titled Some Ways Demons Enter Your Life.

How do demons relate to generational curses and strongholds?

Exodus 20:5-6
… For I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me.

Exodus 34:7
… visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.

Numbers 14:18
… visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fouth generation.

Deuteronomy 5:9
… visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Now, why did I share these four scriptures with you? One, because they are true because they are in the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Two, because these scriptures clearly establish generational curses.

Each of you reading this article have parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so forth. Because none of us came from perfect families, that means that both sins and iniquity were present in their lives. More than likely, most of us didn’t even know the people extending back to the 4th generations on our mom and dad’s side of the family.

One thing you must understand about God is God sees me and you as part of a family unit. We are born into a family unit and remain in a family unit until we die. You can’t get into the world bypassing a family structure. Most of us think of ourselves as an individual. I’m sorry, but that’s not how God views us. We are all connected, and initially that’s through the family structure, which links you into the generations referenced in the four scriptures above.

So, what’s the bottom line here? Did every person in your family on both sides of your family repent and confess of all their sins and iniquities. Probably not. Because each of us is born into our families, the iniquities of our parents and the other people unto the fourth generation weigh against us from our inception in the womb. What does this word iniquity mean? Iniquity is inner heart tendency from your fore fathers sins pressing, weighing, leaning against you to do the same thing [sins] they did.

Do you and I have to give in to the pressure? No, but many times we do. Why does this pressure exist? Well, satan’s job is to kill, steal and destroy your life. We know that satan doesn’t play fair, that’s a given. Well, how early should satan start working on you? As early as possible. Well, how early is that? He, satan, starts when you’re in the womb, the moment of conception plotting and strategizing on how to take you out.

Click here to listen to the audio titled Demons Entering Through The Womb. Be encouraged to listen to this; it is a good, sound, biblical teaching.

Well, how does satan know what to try on you? One thing we know about satan is he looks at what’s worked well historically, generationally in taking out your family. Since your parents, grand parents and those back to the fourth generation probably didn’t do anything about their generational curses, he automatically starts with those sins and iniquities to see if you’ll give in to the pressure and follow suit – yet adding on another generation continuing the bondage.

Well, reader, most of the time, this works so flawlessly, that satan and his demons have very little work to do in our lives. So the question for you reading this article is, what are you going to do about the operation of generational curses in your life? You can try to deny them, but that is not effective.

How do demons relate to generational curses? One way generational curses have power is they are held in place to operate through the demonic realm.

In many cases demons transmit from one family generation to the next family generation, and so forth, through a) genes; b) the environment children grow up in [we all were children at one point]; c) the universal, biblical law of sowing and reaping [that is active in every single family]; and d) demonic oppression.

Can the transference of demons occur?

Yes. In some cases, the transference occurs during a formal, ritualistic ceremonies.

How do I get demons out of my life?

Temporarily, you can bind demons and temporarily stop their mission, which is to block you from receiving God has for you. Why do I purposely use the word temporary with demons. After you bind any demon, you should complete the process by commanding each demon from your life.

If you don’t do this, then the binding process is temporary, which means each time you see the demon manifest, you’ll need to rebind. This can become laborious, so it’s just makes sense to complete the process by commanding the demon the leave. Commanding each demon active in your life will not take place until you take care of the root reason(s) that gave each of the demons entrance into your life.

Matthew 16:19 reads, And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

What are demonic voices?

As a Christian, you should know the different ways the Holy Spirit can speak. A few examples of how the Holy Spirit speaks to us are following:

a) in a still small voice, Acts 9: 3 – 7;
b) by external or outward visions, Joshua 5: 13 – 15;
c) with dreams, Daniel 2;
d) through and inward vision, John 8:38;
e) via personal prophecy [that should be tested and prophecy can be conditional], I Corinthians 12: 7 - 11;
f) illumination of scripture;
g) hearing His voice audibly, I Samuel 3:10; or
h) in any way He chooses.

Remember these are only a few ways you can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. Many times many, many, many Christians are challenged in hearing the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. Why?

a) Unrepented or unconfessed sin hinders you from hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit

b) You feeling unworthy to hear the voice of the Lord;

c) You being afraid [fear] to hear the voice of the Lord;

d) You don’t even believe you, as a Christian, are able to hear the voice of the Lord, so this is boldface unbelief.

e) Not spending regular, daily, intimate time with the Holy Spirit makes His voice foreign to you. As in every relationship, we learn to recognize someone’s voice by hearing it over and over again. This is even true for the Lord’s voice.

John 10: 4 – 5, 16 – When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice … They too will listen to my voice …

f) Your unexpressed disappointment or anger towards the Lord can hinder you from hearing His voice.

g) The presence of demons operating in your life block your spiritual eyes and ears. There are certain demons that specialize in trying to prevent our receiving anything from God.

h) Read I Samuel 3:2-10 where Samuel did not recognize the voice of the Lord

How do demons strategize?

One strategy demons use is to see what has worked successfully on those in your family lineage – particularly your parents, grand parents, and so forth. If no one in your family line has broken the generational curses held in place by the demonic, the curses continue.

A biochemist once explained to Derek Prince, "A human body is attacked regularly by cancerous cells. When that body is healthy, its immune system identifies and attacks the cancerous cells, and they are unable to harm the body. But when the body has been weakened by illness or some kind of emotional shock, the immune system is unable to do its job effectively, and some form of cancer can develop somewhere in the body."

Immediately Derek Prince said to himself, that's just how it is with demons!

A second strategy demons use | Demons continually seek to invade you, but when you are spiritually healthy, the spiritual immune system within you identifies and attacks the demons, and they are not able to move in and take control of you. Any kind of unhealthiness or emotional weakness on the other hand, makes you vulnerable to demonic attack.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free here. If you know a Christian who could benefit from the information in this article, please end them the link.

Sources

Restoring The Foundations: An Integrated Approach To Healing Ministry, 2nd Edition, by Chester and Betsy Kylstra
Demons and Deliverance, by H.A. Maxwell Whyte, Copyright 1989, Whitaker House
They Shall Expel Demons, by Derek Prince, Copyright 1998, Chosen Books
Life In Jesus Ministries’ Web site
Demons And You by Mike Green at the following email address This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pure Herbs can be applied to the infants abdomen, chest and soles of the feet. But you should only apply the Pure Herbs to one area, not all three. This will give the same effect as taking them internally. You only need apply a small amount to cover the area. Please use a little Vitamin E with Selenium along with the herbs.

Pure Herbs to Calm children | All Cells Salts, Chamomile, Fenugreek

Pure Herbs for Colic | Ginger, Fenugreek, Thyme, Papaya Mints, Indian Tobacco [externally on the abdomen]

Pure Herbs for Croup | Externally rub Oil of Cajeput, Garlic & Mullein Oil, Indian Tobacco on chest. The combination of these herbs will give relief.

Pure Herbs for Iron Source | Bilberry, Chickweed, Mullein [dark grape juice and black cherry juice], HI.I.-W

Pure Herbs for Mucus Infection | Cleansing Corrective Extract-W [can be rubbed on the chest] and Oil of Cajeput can be rubbed on chest, F.V.E-W

Pure Herbs as Liquid Multi-Vitamin | Alfalfa, Chlorella, All Cells Salts, Formula M, Vita Lixir, V.M.-W, Spirulina

Pure Herbs for Whooping Cough-Type Problems | Black Cohosh, Evening Primrose, Gravel Root, Pluerisy Root, Kava Kava Combination, Knitbone & Fenugreek, Wild Cherry Bark, Yerba Santa Combination

Children's dosage

For children 25-50 pounds, use 1/3 of the dosage given.

For children 51-75 pounds, use 1/2 of the dosage given.

For children 76-100 pounds, use 2/3 of the dosage given.

For children above 100 pounds, use full dosage given.

For infants and small babies

Usually, a practitioner works with one drop on the tongue at a time, then the affect is noted before administering more. Wait a few minutes before you give more and, in general, do not exceed 5 to 10 drops at a time.

External use for everyone

If using the herb externally, use whatever is necessary to cover the area, such as the soles of the feet, the length of the spine and back of the neck, on the chest and/or abdomen.

This information is about historical observations and historical information relating to herbs. This information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice by licensed physicians. A person should consult a physician regularly in all matters relating to medical problems, especially in matters of diagnosing, treating or curing diseases or other physical or mental conditions. This information has not been verified by the American Medical Association or the Food and Drug Administration.

In May on Twitter, I commented on i-n-t-e-g-r-a-t-e-d healing & deliverance. Here's what it is. Typically, when churches have deliverance service, it's either impromptu [during alter call] or it's a planned deliverance service. Both are fine because it's at the direction of the Holy Spirit.

What's been learned by those who are veterans in healing and deliverance is many times parishioners don't stay healed and delivered for a long time or permanently. You know as well as I that those services are exhausting and a lot of work.

Neither the pastor nor the parishioner wishes to continue redo-ing and redo-ing healing and deliverance on the same person for the same issue.

It's even a bit disheartening to see when the person returns back to whatever they were healed & delivered from -- even if they elect not to return for another healing and deliverance service.

Naturally, the healing and deliverance veterans within the body of Christ globally asked, "Well why isn't the healing and deliverance lasting?"

Many books, articles and even ministries have been started around the world in response to this one question.

Allow me to transition to me for a moment, please.

There's nothing like my own story.

My life bottomed out a few years back.

That's the simplest way to put it.

I went to talk to my [former] pastor, a great man of God and gifted leader to this day.

He understood, prayed with me and I left.

I told him I knew something was wrong in the spiritual realm.

One thing I like about him, still, is he'll admit when he doesn't know something.

Well remember -- my life was a wreck and I needed answers, which no one could offer.

I have a [former] church member in OH who said, "Child, when you need help, you gon' find somebody to help you, somewhere, you don't care how long it takes you, you will not stay broken."

And she's right.

If the Holy Spirit is our all-in-all, then it didn't make sense that I had to operate in such a broken state daily.

Long story short, I took about six weeks to fill out an application for integrated healing and deliverance ministry. I also completed prerequisites so I’d be prepared to go through the ministry.

Integrated means two healing and deliverance ministers, also known as my ministry team, spent one week exclusively with me. There were also intercessors and prophetic intercessors praying for me, which I didn’t know until the last day. I never met them. They were interceding for me weeks before I arrived and definitely the week I was there.

They prayed and studied over my application before I arrived in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

There were prophetic intercessors and intercessors [that I never met] prayed specifically regarding me for insight from the Holy Spirit.

Their focus was, Holy Spirit help us, identify, show us the roots of where her issues began in her life that are still affecting her to this day.

1st - That being said, they went back four generations in my family, on both sides [this is why it took 6 weeks for me to fill out that application]. They examined, studied and co-labored with the Holy Spirit regarding my family lineage to identify active generational curses that were affecting my life; we broke all those generational curses.

It's so nice to use past tense now -- that were affecting my life. HA-LE-LU-JAH! The reality is, any person who is breathing who hasn't broken generational curses, is living actively with generational curses. It takes a good 40 minutes of simple teaching to show this reality to any Christian breathing.

Exodus 20: 1 - 17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21

2nd - They [my ministry team] identified all the ungodly things [better known as lies] I believed about myself, other people [family, friends, white people, enemies, church members] and even God [based on my earthly experience with dad]. Just about every person [even if it's subconscious] draws some conclusions about God based on their relationship with their earthly father no matter how good, great, bad, absent or devastating he was.

Women, in particular, [even if subconscious] draw conclusions about God based on relationship with men, brothers, husbands, dad, step dad, pastor, etc. [doesn't take long for me to find this by studying a person's life with the Holy Spirit]. Again, co-laboring with the Holy Spirit, we changed those many beliefs into godly beliefs.

That is, what the Lord say is true about me, my family, my friends, white people, my enemies, men, what God says about Himself and my church members. This is a lot of work; the sentences here don't do this justice, but I have to keep it moving here.

Isaiah 55:7 | Romans 12:2 | Psalm 139:17 | I Corinthians 2:16 | Proverbs 23::7 | Hebrews 11:16

3rd - Oh Lord, this is the part I don't like here. You and I both know what it's so darn hard for people to forgive. You, me, the Bible and integrated healing & deliverance ministry teams around the world, agree that forgiveness is the key to freedom. Then why so many people keep having a forgiveness problem. It's preached about every single day -- 24 hours a day, on radio, tv, internet, streaming sites, tons of Bibles, tracks, CDs, christian music.

Why? why? why? why?

Even if a person cannot articulate it, it's the pain/hurt associated with the person or situation that they can't get beyond -- that the wall blocker. This lady said to me about 10 weeks back, Christians just outta live right, they know better -- then she quoted me some scriptures. I responded to her [as I was walking my four daily miles in the mall] that nothing matters day-to-day to any person in any kind of pain except how to get through the day dealing with their pain.

Yep, folks are married and yes their families should be first, but dealing with the pain takes precedence. We both know there are tons of ways people deal with pain. This brings up to the next part of integrated healing and deliverance ministry. The ministry team co-labors with the Holy Spirit [in private] to deal with the roots of the person's pains.

Ugh - I hated this part! Much needed, but I really didn't want to do this. Thereafter, forgiveness flooded like the waters of the Niagara Falls! to this very day.

4th - The ministry team taught me in scripture my authority in dealing with the demonic activity in life. Now why I'd never learned this in church for three decades still fathoms me to this day, hell, almost makes me mad. Many churches and pastors generalize and talk about freaking freedom all the time and never gave me the tools to know how to engage daily with the warfare in my life. Can you believe this? Can you believe this?

Do you know how many seminars, conferences, conventions, counselors, years of Bible studies, institutes, books, tv programs, pamphlets, ministries ... I've gone through in three decades.

This is almost similar to the trillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry. Just give people drugs for a life time to treat the symptoms, but never the root cause -- all the while the meds are killing them daily and causing even more problems.

The church -- just tells people they need to be free, have deliverance services ever so often to deal with the surface issue temporarily [but never dismantle the spiritual roots so the symptoms will be forced to die]. Well, the ministry team taught me what demonic oppression was and we commanded the demons out.

Lastly, they showed me how to take the offense instead of always living my life in a posture of defense and reactionary mode.

The integrated approach to healing and deliverance taught me how to stop operating day-to-day in the natural with people and address the spiritual [demonic] behind people's action.

As you and I know every thing is spiritual. Let me underscore that again, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g is spiritual. The more Christians operate day-to-day in the natural, the more they are frustrated, tired and defeated.

Yep, I know we tell people to pray, and that's very much needed. But as we know, demons do not respond to prayer, demons only respond to authority. Authority which most Christians have no idea how to use daily. And no pastor and no counseling ministry in a church has the time to deal with this level of activity in every member's life.

That changed my life!

One week being taught was fundamental biblical tools every Christian should have and use every day -- changed my life and a 180 turn was made. I went back there [two years] to the int'l school to learn integrated healing and deliverance and I graduated with a certification in integrated, biblical healing and deliverance.

I'm sharing this because I get tired of folk living in bondage.

So many leaders in the church just aren't aware, but with the use of technology and continuing to co-labor with the Holy Spirit -- the body of Christ, at-large, and by denomination will have knowledge of integrated healing and deliverance.

And you know what the benefits of integrated healing and deliverance are to a pastor.

a) Fewer visits from your parishioners for the same issue, which means more time for you and your family

b) The believer is empowered to deal with their own issues

c) Your church operates in more freedom because the members have lasting healing

d) People see the fruit of the healing and start asking the others, how'd you get like that, so multiplication begins

e) There's no way for the church not to end up having a healing and deliverance ministry team that serves the body [or even the community] which changes families and heals up the bride of Christ so she [the church] is without a spot or wrinkle

So many people are so deceived daily as you well know.
They think they are just having bad luck.
They think this is just the way it is.
They think folk just got personality problems.
They even think their common illnesses are just inherited through the family [rather than an extension of a generational curse that controlled by demons].

There are healing and deliverance teams literally all over the world.
Either people can come to us or we go to them any where in the United States or other countries.
We are equipped to come to churches to train leaders in a group setting [healing and deliverance seminars].

Audio Teaching | Why We Fight With Those We Love

You're all too familiar with how we can sometimes be kinder to people we don't know -- at work, at church and in the community -- than we sometimes are to our own family, children, siblings and spouse.

Why? Because they know more about us than anyone. And, yeah, sometimes they tend to not forget even when we've confessed and the Lord has forgiven us. The consequence -- quarrels and fights that others are usually exposed to. Darn.

Please click the audio file above [where the blue text is] and download this pdf, Why Do We Fight With Those We Love, that includes study notes with scriptures to accompany the audio.

Thank you for taking your time to listen to this audio and work through the study notes. If you're not a member of Healed People, Heal People, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

Wow, this is a subject that tugs close to my heart strings, how about yours? Do you know how many people have blocked emotions? I do. Guess I kinda used to be one of them. I remember saying, I just really don't like crying -- especially not in front of people.

Well, why not? The Lord created emotions, actually in the book of Genesis. There must be a reason He created tear ducts, and even biologically and physiologically there's a reason for them. I've typically preferred crying alone, you know, it's private, no one sees you and if it messes up your make up, you can straighten it up. Right now, my mind rolls back to two crying episodes I had where I just couldn't control the tears.

First crying episode

I was on a business trip in South Carolina and I was tired after landing at the airport.
I was exhausted emotionally and mentally.
I decided, I'm not going to work today, instead I'll eat lunch and rest, after all, I don't know anyone in this city.
I ate lunch and when I finished, a stranger in the restaurant walked up to me and said, "Baby, the weight on you is so heavy, I felt it across the restaurant and I've been sitting over there praying for you."
I remained quiet, I didn't know her.
She asked while standing at my table, “May I pray for you?”
I said yes and she began to pray while touching my hand [the waitresses are now looking because they know we didn't come in together].
Bear-sized tears began racing from my face because this woman called out everything that was wrong with me and I didn't know her.
Yes, people in the restaurant are really looking now.
After praying the lady said, do you have car, did you come here in a car.
I said yes, my rental is outside.
She said, go in the car, roll up the windows and cry as hard as you need to.
I did just that.
I exited the restaurant, drove across the street to a bookstore parking lot, went way in the back of the parking lot -- and baam, I wailed like an animal in the forest who was wounded and no one was there to rescue them.
I'll never forget that cry.

Second crying episode

I'm now in another state years later and I spontaneously decided to have a meal with a lady I'd met like about two days prior.
I'd been doing some reflecting on my life and thought I was fine.
The Lord was dealing with me on an issue I really didn't want to talk to people about.
After all, nothing is ever going to change, so why bother even addressing it.
Sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are right?
No, wrong!
Why is that wrong, because what I believed DID NOT align with The Bible, the Word of God.
If what I believe doesn't align, then what I believe is not true.
The Word of God is true, it is the truth, which meant what I believed was a lie.
Yes, it had been a reality for a long time, but it was a lie I believed because the situation had been that way for so long.
Well, let me tell you.
I sat at that meal table with just about a perfect stranger.
We were eating.
And I tried to be civil and talk, do the small talk exchange.
Lord, that didn't last for two minutes.
The tear ducts RIPPED and there was no way I could conceal the tears.
This wasn't a simple cry, the veins in my soul had ruptured and here I am with a complete stranger.
It's a beautiful thing when you can communicate with a person -- human spirit to human spirit -- without using any words.
Really in this particular situation it was the spirit of the Lord in me connecting with the Spirit of the Lord in her.
That lady rubbed my right shoulder and the top of my back.
She didn't say a word.
Underneath my breathe I eked out the words repeatedly, "They are not better than me."
I just kept repeating that because that had been my inner struggle that started centuries before I was born.
I just bought into the lie because it had been passed down generation to generation to me -- and in ignorance I accepted it.

Well, Beloved reader, I simply share with you today, you have the freedom and are released to cry.
Cry in public.
Cry in private.
Cry with friends.
Cry with enemies.
Cry with your spouse.
Cry with the Lord holding you.
Cry in your car.
Cry in the bathroom stall at work.
Cry in your woman's lap.
Cry on your man's shoulder.

It's okay; you are now released and have the freedom to cry.

Beloved reader, thank you for taking your time to read this blog. If you're not a member of this online Healed People, Heal People community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truth.

Scriptures: Matthew 6: 31 – 33; Psalm 37:4

Have you ever allowed petty differences to interfere with relationships? Marriages are breaking up and churches are breaking up and fellowship groups are breaking up and prayer partnership groups are breaking up Over petty things where people are not mature enough to say when it’s all said and done, “I need you.”

You will run into Christian people and non-Christian people who inadvertently disrespect you or inadvertently make you feel bad.

Let’s take a look at Hannah in I Samuel, chapters 1 and 2, who’s making her annual trip to Shiloh.

According to scripture, Hannah has been weeping, praying and pouring out her heart to the Lord.

Her mouth continues to move; Hannah’s voice is just above a whisper.

Since you’re probably familiar with this scripture, you remember that Eli thought that Hannah was drunk because he saw her lips moving and she wasn’t speaking to anybody else. Eli could not figure out why Hannah was murmuring to herself. In what Eli had experienced in his life, the only reason a person muttered to herself or himself, was they’d had some wine.

Eli made a presumption about Hannah.

Okay, the key word here is presumption.

Eli assumed what he thought, was so, based on what he saw -- that is, what he presumed about Hannah.

Eli drew conclusions about Hannah without having any facts.

Has anyone made presumptions about you and been wrong?

Has anyone disrespected you and been dead wrong?

Has anyone thought they knew what you were thinking, didn’t check with you to substantiate the facts, and they were wrong?

Have you ever had somebody look at you and based on what they think they see, then reach conclusions and operate on assumptions about you – they even begin to talk to other people about you based on presumptions.

You are aware there are some people who decide they know what is going on in your life based on what they think they perceive.

Now remember, Eli was a called man of God.

He was anointed and appointed by God – this is very important to remember.

Presumption has no place in the kingdom of God, and Eli, a man of God in a position of authority, presumed.

When you presume to know what people are thinking,
When you presume why they are doing something,
When you presume what’s really in their hearts, you dishonor the integrity of these very people.

Eli said to Hannah, a precious woman of God, “How long have you been drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
Eli did not ask Hannah any questions to gather facts and to be respectful of her.

He did not ask, “Have you had some liquor Hannah [this one time]?”
He did not ask, “Do you drink regularly?”
He did not ask, “Are you in a drunken state Hannah; I’m concerned about you?”
Eli presumed Hannah had been a habitual drinker.
Now -- if we’re remotely honest, most of us would have been insulted and offended, especially since Hannah was tarrying before the Lord.

Can’t you just imagine how Hannah could have felt?

Do you wanna know why I had to type this article for you, beloved reader?
Do you wanna know why I so respect Hannah, dear reader who’s still being healed and delivered just like me?

Hannah was focused.
Hannah was so focused, she didn’t forget her purpose.
Hannah was so focused, she chose not to operate in offense.
Hannah was so focused, she chose to interact with Eli in a posture of l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e submission.
Key word = l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e.
Hannah was so focused, she remembered and let Eli know that she needed him to achieve her goal.

Beloved reader, you can’t afford to take the well-intentioned people in your life and begin to set them aside, and break fellowship and relationship with them, so that you end up isolated and unto yourself. The enemy knows when you are walking by yourself, you can get ambushed. You and I are prime prey for the enemy when we isolate and withdraw.

When we have Christian companions walking with us, the enemy has to think twice about attacking us. He knows the power of agreement. He knows the power of unity. He, satan and his demons, takes the good intentions of people that cause us to be so offended and cause us to feel so disrespected that we dis-fellowship with these Christian and non-Christian people. Oouchh!
Ecclesiastes 4

Beloved reader, some of the people who are getting on your nerves, not all of them are your enemies. Some of them are people God has brought into your life, but you have to learn how to navigate. For example, Peninnah, was a bona fide enemy of Hannah. Eli was not Hannah's enemy, although she could have easily chosen to exclude or distance him from her life. Hannah knew Eli was a divinely appointed person in her life.

Beloved reader, building good, solid relationships is not easy. You know this, I know. Don’t let taking flight, be your first tendency. It takes work, on your behalf, to be big enough, to be mature enough, to work through some of these l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e offenses. And yes, the person, the people, were wrong.

We need the imperfect Christian people, God has appointed in our lives.
We need the imperfect Christian people, who will presume sometimes and come to us in attack mode.
We need one another desperately.
You need the support of those God has raised up to be in your life – to achieve your destiny, to get through this mental valley your in.

Do you have enough grace in you, to initiate the process and go get the issue straight with the person?
If you don't, let's ask the Holy Spirit to impart more grace to us for a specific issue with a specific person.
Oouch!

As Christians, the last place we expect to be disrespected is in the church and by church members.

But may I share something with you beloved reader, the majority of Christians who come for personal, confidential, integrated healing and deliverance ministry, have been disrespected or even abused repeatedly by Christians in leadership positions either in the local church or in the marketplace i.e. your neighborhood, your professional groups, your workplace, your exercise partners, your family, etc.

If you’ve not read I Samuel 1 – 2, be encouraged to read it so you can know how Hannah respectfully and calmly explained to Eli her issue, her condition and her need of his help in her life. Hannah even goes a step farther, and reconciles. Oouch!

Thank you for taking your time to read this blog on Healed People, Heal People community. If you’re not a member of this online community, we encourage you to join for free.

Recommended book | The Bait of Satan by John Bevere

What you have read are my typed notes from the series Kingdom First Living, Volume I, Part 5, from Enduring Truth, the teaching ministry of Pastor Paul E. Sheppard. You can listen to the audio of this teaching here.

If you’re not a member of this Healed People, Heal People online community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.