When you smoke, you inhale up to 4,000 toxic chemicals. After you meditate on the list below, you will hopefully consider healing and deliverance to quit smoking permanently.

Acetone - paint stripper

Ammonia - floor cleaner

Arsenic - white ant poison

Butane - lighter fluid

Cadmium - used in car batteries

Carbon monoxide - car exhaust emission

DDT - insecticide

Methanol - rocket fuel

Napthalene - mothballs

I began smoking cigarettes as a teenager when I was a 7th grader.

My parents smoked and several of my friends.

It looked like such an enjoyable thing to do as well as looking cool and grown-up.

Almost needless to say, a habit of 5-7 a day soon became a ritual.

As the years progressed, I got pregnant with my second child and was encouraged by my doctor to quit and I did.

Since my husband was a smoker, it begin to appeal to me again.

Admittedly, trying not to smoke once you have been a smoker and you live with a smoker is challenging at best through human efforts.

So, I started smoking again.

Another doctor encouraged me to quit since I developed high blood pressure/hypertension.

Even though I only smoked 1 cigarette a day after supper in the restroom so my children wouldn’t see me, it was still a habit and just as difficult to quit.

This time, I prayed for the Lord to take the desire away.

As of today, I haven’t had another cigarette since.

That has been at least 15+ years ago.

For whomever may be wrestling with the smoking habit, I encourage you, my sister, brother, or future Christian, to believe the Lord will deliver you, too, if you sincerely desire to be delivered.

Signed,

Smoke-free Sister

Prayer for freedom from smoking including renouncing

A biblical complete set of instructions for the smoker who is dying to give up smoking!

Why is it so difficult to stop?

Jesus said that the devil is a murderer from the beginning and cigarettes are one of his preferred methods of killing humans since it is such a slow, seductive, and finally painful process.

As we study the origins of smoking tobacco products it becomes clear that there are many spiritual roots, which hold a person in bondage to this habit. The benefit of the following teaching has been proven over several years and as readers exercise their freewill to pray and cut off the spiritual roots associated with smoking, freedom will result. Let's start with a story.

True story
When I was only about six, my older brother found a brand new packet of cigarettes beside the road and we felt very grown up as we smoked almost the whole packet between us.

By the time dad arrived home from work we both were very sick and probably looked green. When he smelt the tobacco and enquired if we had been smoking we lied at first but were questioned till the truth came out!

I am so glad, now, to have been put off smoking by that experience. Although I did experiment with cigars and a pipe in my 30s, I couldn't forget how sick I had felt as a child. I have since seen a lot of sick and spiritually bound friends who have ignored the warnings on tobacco and cigarette packets.

Out of concern for two friends who were heavy smokers, I studied the historical spiritual roots of smoking tobacco and was amazed.

Soon after finishing my research, I prayed with a taxi driver who wanted to quit smoking explained the history of tobacco etc. and he was set free of his habit of years through deliverance ministry, dealing with the various roots.

Many other friends have seen the victory, but some only partially since I have found that you must deal thoroughly with the roots of this dying habit.

In many countries the law requires that warnings be printed on cigarette and tobacco packets e.g. Smoking causes lung cancer. Smoking causes heart disease. Smoking causes fatal diseases, etc.

True story
One morning as I sat having morning tea with a friend, I asked him how he could still use cigarettes in spite of the warning on each packet that it causes fatal diseases. My friend got very upset and almost shouted, "It does not say causes!"

I asked him to read what his packet said and he read aloud with amazement, "Smoking causes lung cancer." He paused, looking quite stunned. "I've never seen that word causes before!" he said quietly. The demons of addiction had blinded him to the truth.

So first, it's helpful to understand the spiritual background to smoking; and therefore, why it is so difficult to stop.

1. Biblical roots

This sin is described in Deuteronomy: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer [one who consults the dead] or all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee."
Deuteronomy 18:10-12

Incense = Idolatry. Also, the burning of incense like tobacco is described as a form of idolatry in the Bible and is condemned as an abomination to God.

"He that killeth an ox [is as if] he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, [as if] he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, [as if he offered] swine's blood; he that burneth incense, [as if] he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose [that] in which I delighted not." Isaiah 66:3 - 4

Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
Jeremiah 44:23

"A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable [things is in] their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.

These [are] a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. Behold, [it is] written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom." [Lungs?]
Isaiah 65:3 -7

The incense that we should burn is prayer; Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense; [and] the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 141:2

Next, the great Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus, had to smoke the Indians peace pipe of tobacco before he would be accepted by the North American Indian tribes. So now we can see the typical.

2. Emotional roots | Most smokers will acknowledge that they have taken up the habit through fear of rejection by their peer group who were experimenting with smoking and thought it was cool. When they are rejected, people seek a comforter and tobacco smoking, like over-eating, masturbation, drug taking, even expressing violence can be the false comforter they turn to.

Christopher Columbus took the tobacco curse back with him to Europe in the 16th century, where one of its early uses was as a medicine, and from where its use spread throughout the world.

3. Chemical roots | The tobacco plant [nicotiana tabacum] is a member of the group of plants described as the solanaceae group. Solanaceae means comforter and nicotine is renowned for the sense of false comfort that it gives to the addict, yet nicotine is used as an agricultural insecticide. This group of plants includes the potato and the deadly nightshade or belladonna plant.

4. Bodily roots/effects | Nicotine causes disorders of the respiratory system, dizziness, increased blood pressure, and disturbances of hearing and vision.

It seems that the first thing that the spirits behind smoking do, is to mask the true taste of the tobacco. The taste, which is disgusting to a non-smoker, becomes attractive to a smoker.

A simple prayer asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the true taste of the tobacco is sometimes enough to cause a smoker to seek to be free of the habit. However, without prayer, and once hooked, smokers usually carry on smoking even though the smell rejects non-smokers.

True story
One of my nephews was a smoker, a drinker and loved rock music. However, we loved him enough to pray for him as a family one day; binding satan, all spirits of addiction to nicotine through smoking, alcohol and rock music, in intercessory prayer. He was not present!

We prayed that God would let him see these things for what they are, to taste the true taste and to help him to find the real Comforter, God's Holy Spirit. Only two weeks later he became a Christian and his testimony was that he had tried to drink a Bacardi and Coke but it tasted like poison.

He reached for a cigarette but couldn't smoke it as it tasted disgusting, and that when he looked at his rock music posters in his bedroom, he saw how evil they were for the first time. So, he got down on his knees and prayed and asked Jesus to come into his life and; "Boy, did He come!" He testified to us.

"While smoking tobacco directly destroys the lungs, nicotine slowly damages the arteries and the heart. In its pure form nicotine is one of the most powerful poisons known. A direct link between lung cancer and tobacco was established in 1950." [Penguin Hutchinson Reference Library.]

Having achieved his end to slowly kill the unaware smoker, satan then offers those who want to try to give up, his alternative remedies. These often only lead to greater bondage eventually. Products like nicotine patches [the poison without the pong!], a program named after an Egyptian false god, i.e. the Isis program, and Hypnosis.

Hence, many people get out of the frying pan and into the fire. The real cure = cut out the roots of this multiple bondage til the tree falls over.

Perhaps you need to repent of:

1) the fear of rejection by [a peer group];
2) lying [to anyone like parents];
3) rebellion against [anyone like parents];
4) self-will;
5) lack of self-control; and,
6) seeking false comforters.

Renounce:

1) All historic roots;
2) Communication with familiar spirits (even in ignorance);
3) challenging or worshipping death;
4) burning incense, therefore Idolatry; and,
5) damaging the temple of the Holy Spirit. Your body is where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Renounce the ungodly lie
"Man, this is living."
Then believe, speak and confess the truth
Smoking is death in disguise

Renounce the ungodly lie
"I'll be accepted."
Then believe, speak and confess the truth
"Cigarettes make you stink."

Renounce the ungodly lie
"Smoking just comforts me."
Then believe, speak and confess the truth
"Smoking is an addiction."

Renounce the ungodly lie
"Cigarettes tastes great."
Then believe, speak and confess the truth
"Cigarettes taste like poison."

An excellent way to help you quit the habit is to put a small New Testament Bible in the pocket where you would normally keep your smokes. Then you have three choices when the habit to reach for a smoke nudges you.

1st choice: Read God's Word, which is health and medicine to all your flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22

2nd choice: Read God's Word, and smoke, or

3rd choice: Smoke and ignore God's medicine. Die young!

However, don't let the devil make you feel condemned if you can't immediately quit a long-standing addictive habit. Ask Jesus to help you one day at a time. Perhaps hum the tune when you feel like a smoke! "One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking of you." Pray!

The following steps will help you to freedom. These are based on the principle of drawing nigh to God, resisting the devil and then, God’s Word promises that, he shall flee from you!

1. So call on the Lord and ask Jesus to help you one day at a time. Remember that His Holy Spirit is The Helper.

2. Throw away all items associated with smoking, even ashtrays, and all eastern incense and idols.

3. Tell every spirit associated with your addiction to leave you and never to return, in Jesus' name!

A true testimony

"After 17 years of smoking, I have stopped!" I didn't just give up - I just got on a winning team. Jesus did the work for me. This testimony is not a condemnation of smokers - I pray it will help someone, somewhere. During the 17 years that I was chained to nicotine I tried all sorts of methods to give up - hypnosis, Isis, patches, cold turkey, cutting down, etc. -- and contrary to advertising myths, you don't get your money back.

I was amazed at how I could do without practically everything else except my beloved cigarettes [my best friend]. I would even choose buying a packet of cigarettes over something my baby needed. And when I was really desperate, you guessed it, I rolled those butts up! After failing so many times and everyone sick of hearing I'm giving up smoking' song - I sought deliverance prayer.

First I had to pray about praying - to learn what might be behind my bondage. This led me to remembering that I had enticed others into smoking when I was a kid, so I needed to apologize to God for this and ask His forgiveness as well as for deliverance from the spiritual bondage.

I believe, because I had been baptized in the Holy Spirit, prayer was able to release me from the cravings. Although this was just the beginning, it marked the start of the battle. The sword had been drawn - my job was to determine who, or which side, I was giving the sword to. The choice was mine.

Here's what I mean. Every time a trigger set my mind off about smoking I started to think praise and worship thoughts towards Jesus - thanking Him for setting me free and breaking the chains of bondage. I would just keep doing this until the thoughts of smoking were no longer there. Initially I was doing this a dozen times a day, maybe two or three times in a row. It was a battle, but one I was allowing Jesus to fight for me.

Three times I was lazy and allowed my mind to entertain the smoking triggers - three times after receiving prayer I had a cigarette. Although it's important to point out that I didn't crave nicotine, but I had entered the trap. I had allowed the thoughts to penetrate and lead to no good.

Over a year later, I still get the occasional trigger and each time I thank Jesus for continuing to break those chains. I can't believe I haven't smoked for so long and neither can members of my family. They honestly thought that I was so spiritually attached to it that I would be smoking until the day I died.

In fact the very experience has spoken volumes to my grandmother who has strengthened her own faith through this and also my sister who has given her heart to the Lord because she has seen through this just how real He is. How real Jesus is! This testimony is written by Awhina Leca, but belongs to God. Please feel free to copy it and share it.

Another young woman named Juliana writes after being delivered of her smoking habit." It was a miracle! I could not resist smoking before, and now, there I was, throwing the lighter away over the hill." "Coises! These Christians are getting free! Soon there'll be no houses' left for us demons!"

Other scriptures relevant to smoking

John 8:44
... you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. [NIV]

John 8:44
For you are the children of your father the devil and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and a hater of truth -- there is not an iota of truth in him. When he lies, it is perfectly normal; for he is the father of liars. [TLB]

John 8:45
And so when I tell the truth, you just naturally don't believe it! [TLB]

Deuteronomy 18:10-13
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.

Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. [NIV]

Deuteronomy 18:10-13
For example, any Israeli who presents his child to be burned to death as a sacrifice to heathen gods must be killed. No Israeli may practice black magic, or call on the evil spirits for aid, or be a fortune teller, or be a serpent charmer, medium, or wizard, or call forth the spirits of the dead.

Anyone doing these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord, and it is because the nations do these things that the Lord your God will displace them. You must walk blamelessly before the Lord your God. [TLB]

Isaiah 66:3-4
But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol.

They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me." [NIV]

Isaiah 66:3-4
"But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. God will not accept their offerings. When such men sacrifice an ox on the altar of God, it is no more acceptable to him than human sacrifice. If they sacrifice a lamb or bring an offering of grain, it is as loathsome to God as putting a dog or the blood of a swine on his altar!

When they burn incense to him, he counts it the same as though they blessed an idol. I will send great troubles upon them -- all the things they feared, for when I called them, they refused to answer, and when I spoke to them, they would not hear. Instead, they did wrong before my eyes and chose what they knew I despised." [TLB]

Isaiah 65:3-7
A people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!'

Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day. "See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps; both your sins and the sins of your fathers," says the Lord. "Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills, I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds." [NIV]

Isaiah 65:3-7
All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in many gardens and burning incense on the rooftops of their homes. At night they go out among the graves and caves to worship evil spirits, and they eat pork and other forbidden foods. Yet they say to one another, 'Don't come too close, you'll defile me! For I am holier than you!'

They stifle me. Day in and day out they infuriate me. "See, here is my decree all written out before me: I will not stand silent; I will repay. Yes, I will repay them not only for their own sins but for those of their fathers too,' says the Lord, 'for they also burned incense on the mountains and insulted me upon the hills. I will pay them back in full. [TLB]

Jeremiah 44:23
The very reason all these terrible things have befallen you is because you have burned incense and sinned against the Lord and refused to obey him." [TLB]

Psalm 141:2
Regard my prayer as my evening sacrifice and as incense wafting up to you. [TLB]

Proverbs 4:20-22
Listen, son of mine, to what I say. Listen carefully. Keep these thoughts ever in mind; let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they will mean real life for you and radiant health. [TLB]

Miracle prayer

Lord Jesus, I come before you just as I am. I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In your name I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce satan and his evil spirits and all their works. I give you my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I believe that God the Father raised you from death and that you are alive to save me right now.

I invite you into my life, Jesus, and I accept you as my Lord God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come, Lord Jesus, cover me with your precious blood and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I love you, Lord Jesus. I praise you, Lord Jesus. I thank you, Lord Jesus. shall follow you every day of my life. Amen.

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

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

E.H.-T. [Emotional Health-Thompson] | Herb no. 1 for memory

E.H.-T is a combination her that was put together by Practiced Herbalist, Joan Thompson. This is a new formula for optimal mental and emotional health. Excellent results have been achieved when used for the relief of clinical depression, manic depression, ADD [attention deficit disorder], fibromyalgia, phobias, and stress related problems due to long term illness. This blend is also helpful for sleep disorders, improvement of memory, increased alertness, and stress relief.

The following natural herbs make up this combination herb E.H.-T: St. John’s Wort, life everlasting, [cudweed], gotu kola, rice bran, lady’s slipper and Kava Kava.

Dose | Adults: 80 drops in am, 40 in afternoon and 40 at bedtime. For children: one drop per pound divided into three equal doses. Infants: use a couple of drops on the soles of the feet and up and down the spine. Results are achieved in three to six weeks so be patient. It is important to maintain blood levels while in treatment. E.H.-T should not be used in conjunction with any other prescription medications for nerves or depression.

To order E.H.-T, click here.

MEL.-W | Herb no. 2 for memory

MEL.-W [for the production of melatonin and numerous neurotransmitters.] The object is to regulate body rhythms, coordinate glandular action, and improve overall brain function. This formula also nourishes the involuntary nervous system as well as the glands of the head. This is a brain and nerve cocktail with a glandular coordinator.

This combination herb consists of the following natural herbs: alfalfa, parsley, chamomile, gotu kola, barberry, black walnut, bee pollen and maca.

Dose | 40 drops (3) times per day. If bigger problems 1 tsp. (3) times per day. For children : One drop per pound divided into three doses.

To order MEL.-W, click here.

Gingko Combination | Herb no. 3 for memory

Gingko has been clinically tested and findings reveal that long and short term memory are improved. It is also beneficial for a condition known as cerebral vascular insufficiency. It is known to help senility, Alzheimer's, dizziness, headache, lack of vigilance, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, depression, angina, and asthma.

Gotu kola reduces brain fatigue, and revitalizes worn out bodies. Mental disorders, blood pressure problems, and brain restoring powers have all been contributed to gotu kola. Blessed Thistle is an oxygenator to the brain, heart, lungs, and blood system.

This oxygenation helps produce energy and a sense of well being, as memory and body function are aided greatly by proper oxygenation. Blessed thistle also acts as a catalyst for all other herbs. Bad cells can not exist in an area of good oxygenation.

The Gingko Combination herb consists of the following natural herbs: gingko, gotu kola, and blessed thistle.

Dose | 40 to 80 drops (3) times per day. Children protocol: One drop per pound divided into three equal dosages.

To order Gingko Combination, click here.

Kava Kava Combination | Herb no. 4 for memory

Kava Kava is helpful for anxiety, depression and sleeplessness, has a mild tranquilizing effect that helps to relax the mind, clarifies the thought process and soothes the temperature. By relaxing the skeletal muscles, it is helpful for headaches caused by tense neck muscles.

Also, it has an anti-spasmodic action that relieves the coughing of whopping cough, and erases the symptoms of asthma and bronchitis. St. John’s Wort is a great nervine used to regenerate nerve tissue, treat depression and stabilize the mood.

Nerve problems of all types are helped, including neuralgia, tremors, and anxiety attacks. Gingko has been clinically tested, and findings reveal that long and short term memory are improved, and it is also beneficial for a condition known as cerebral vascular insufficiency.

It is known to help senility, Alzheimer's, dizziness, headache, lack of vigilance, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, depression, angina, and asthma. If you are under a lot of stress, feeling overwhelmed, depressed or anxious, then this is the formula for you.

Kava Kava is an herb made up of the following combination herbs: kava kava, St. John’s Wort and Gingko.

Dose |40 to 80 drops (3) times per day. Children per protocol: One drop per pound divided into three equal dosages

To order Kava Kava Combination, click here.

Ginkgo | Herb no. 5 for memory

Ginkgo - The leaves and other parts of these ancient trees, of which there are two kinds, male trees and female trees, have been found fossilized in layers of rock from the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The ginkgo tree was thought to be long extinct. Then, during the last century some seeds turned up in a hollow rock in China. No one knew what kind of seeds they were. They were planted and they grew! Low and behold, they turned out to be the seeds of the long extinct ginkgo [ginkgo biloba] tree.

Recent clinical testing has revealed both long and short term memory are improved, for all ages and body conditions, by the use of ginkgo leaves. Tests indicate ginkgo solves the memory problem caused by a condition known as cerebral ischemia [brain anemia] where the blood vessels to the brain do not carry enough blood, also sometimes described as cerebral vascular insufficiency.

Whatever it is called, the results are impaired mental performance. Tests indicate ginkgo solves this problem. Tests also indicate, one of the ways ginkgo solves this problem, is by acting as a vasodialator [an agent which opens constricted blood vessels]. The importance of proper circulation in the maintenance of good health and the reversal of diseases can hardly be underestimated. We are indeed grateful for this gift to memory and its presence with us again today.

Fossil records indicate, in the ancient past,ginkgo grew throughout North America and many other regions. Many people now have a ginkgo tree again for its beauty and thick shade. You might say, it has come home. Ginkgo's role in memory improvement is to bring oxygen and blood sugar to the brain and thus, normalize brain function.

Those who suffer from hypoglycemia [low blood sugar], hyperglycemia [high blood sugar] and Alzheimer's disease  [thought disturbances occurring in the onset of senility] are benefited by ginkgo's assistance in the proper release of energy to the nervous system for normalization of mental activity.

A Textbook of Natural Medicine, Vol. I, Ginkgo biloba, published by Bastyr College, Natural Health Sciences, Seattle, Washington, 1993, Drs. Pizzorno and Murray, presents extensive and careful research to show, as circulation to the brain normalizes with the use of ginkgo, these conditions are reversed: "... senility, dizziness, headache, lack of vigilance, macular degeneration [deterioration of the fine focus area in the back of the eye], diabetic retinopathy [fat in arteries causing poor circulation and subsequent deterioration of the image reception area in the back of the eye], ringing in the ears, hearing loss, depression, short term memory loss, angina [heart pain due to reduced blood supply], intermittent claudication [klaw-duh-ka'-shun, pain in the calf of the leg(s) due to insufficient blood circulation], impotency [when due to arterial insufficiency] and asthma [ginkgo acting as an anti-allergy agent]."

This information clearly indicates, ginkgo can be taken for prevention of problems as well as their reversal. Certainly, in the prevention of strokes and heart attacks and those conditions mentioned, ginkgo should be considered as a valued herb.

Dose | 40 to 80 drops 3 times per day as maintenance. 80 to 120 drops 3 times per day in therapeutic use for the reversal of serious conditions.

To order Gingko, click here.

Gotu Kola | Herb no. 6 for memory

Gotu kola is a tiny, delicate water lily from the island of Sri Lanka [ormerly Ceylon] off the southeastern coast of India. This is the plant the famed elephants of Ceylon snatched up a mouthful of before going into the water for their frolic.

The memories of these elephants were said to be phenomenal and the subject of many stories and much amazement. Guess what? People can eat Gotu Kola leaves also and their memory can improve. Memory temporarily winking out is not just a problem of the aged, as you well know. Younger folks just don't talk about it.

If you would live, and live well, for a very long time you must have a very powerful nervous system and this is what gotu kola produces. Gotu Kola reduces brain fatigue and revitalizes worn out bodies. In many religious orders, Gotu Kola is used to correct conditions of the skin that look like fish scales [ichthyosis], and parasitic swellings of the body [elephantiasis], leprosy, syphilitic ulcers and bruises.

Mental disorders and blood pressure problems have also yielded to the blood cleaning and brain restoring powers of gotu kola. Gotu kola also deserves its reputation as a poison antidote.

Dose |Therapeutically and for memory, 20 to 40 drops three times per day after meals, but you must remember to take it. For a stronger nervous system, brain, and memory, a year of use can made a great difference and thereafter, 20 to 40 drops per day as a maintenance.

To order Gotu Kola, click here.

B.& N.C.-W [brain and nerve cocktail] | Herb no. 7 for memory

The combination herb is used to feed and repair the glands in the brain, [pituitary, pineal and hypothalmus, as well as the brain itself] and the autonomic nervous system [involuntary nervous system composed of its two divisions, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems]. In the eye, the autonomic nervous system is shown as a ring [the autonomic nerve wreath] about a third of the way out from the pupil toward the edge of the iris [brown or blue part of the eye].

This combination of herbs provides alfalfa to clean and feed the pituitary, barberry for the hypothalmus, chamomile for the pineal gland, gotu kola [does not contain caffeine] for the entire brain and memory, parsley for the involuntary nervous system and black walnut with its cleaning and corrective electrical properties for all of the nerve tissues. If you don't know what else to do, clean the blood and the bowel. Clean and nourish the nervous system and repair it at the same time.

The brain and nervous system function better when they are clean and nourished. You feel better. People seldom eat any food for the purpose of a body part or parts. They eat their food with their tongues and eyes. You can be different and consciously eat something just for your brain and nerves. B.& N.C.-W can also be of assistance in getting off of drugs.

The B. & N.C.-W is a combination made of the following natural herbs: alfalfa, parsley, chamomile, gotu kola, barberry and black walnut.

Dose |40 drops, 3 times per day. Also rub on temples, around the ears and back of the neck in quantities needed, 3 times per day.

To order B. & N.C. -W, click here.

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. There are regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truth.

Herbs are plant food substances. This is not a scientific definition, it is a practitioners definition. It is used by the people who make recommendations about how to build better health naturally. Herbs have been used since people began eating. They are not new and they were used long before there were people who called themselves doctors or scientists and they worked and they still do.

There is a solution to every physical problem. It was meant to be that way. It is not experimental. Since there are so many physical differences between us, it stands to reason one herb may do more for a certain person than another but do not despair. There is an herb for you too. Often there are many herbs that are especially helpful for you, just waiting, to be discovered.

Luckily when eating an herb if the wrong one is taken, nothing much happens and if you do eat too much of it, body mechanisms usually reject it and you leave it alone.Part of the fun is discovering your herb or herbs and in the process an acquaintance with herbs that help other people is gained.

One of the ways to tell what an herb will do is to taste a little of it. This is much easier to do with a liquid herb than a tablet or a capsule but in any case it should be done before you ask anyone else to try an herb so it will at least be known if what the label says is in the bottle, is in the bottle.

Please accept this offer to build better health naturally. The information was written because you are respected and appreciated, and loved. Someone does care about you and would like to see you well. Herbs are your birthright. Discover yours. - Dr. A.B. Howard

FIRST PURE HERB FOR CHARLIE HORSES

INDIAN TOBACCO - Lobelia

Uses | Specific for asthma, powerful nervine, cramped muscles, charlie horse, abdominal cramping, antispasmodic, nervouse agitation

Indian Tobacco is perhaps the most serviceable, responsible and reliable herb of the herbal kingdom. It is a wonderful catalyst [regulator], and as Dr. John Christopher remarked it is one of the thinking herbs.

It has the power to coordinate, direct and assist ths use of other herbs or act alone, which makes it an herb of much leverage. It's usefulness has encouraged much jealousy from the physicians of lesser ability. Doctors who did not recognize its true properties branded it as poisonous. In active practice, it is seen that the extract under the tongue will, within seconds or minutes [in severe cases], stop spasms, convulsions and asthmatic attacks.

With use, it easily directs itself and the other herbs to handle the body's condition needing help first and the lesser conditions next. It may also be rubbed on the chest and spine when it cannot be taken by mouth. In those cases where Indian Tobacco does empty the stomach, since it is an antispasmodic, the emesis [throwing up] of putrid material, does not even cause bruising.

Indian Tobacco will not act as an emetic [stomach pump] unless an emetic is necessary, and then it will act strongly upon the putrid stomach, to empty it without bruising. When rubbed across the entire abdominal area, it will relieve any associated, painful gas.

Indian Tobacco is very helpful in food poisoning. Indian Tobacco is an antagonist to poison, whether animal or vegetable in origin. Indian Tobacco is at once, both tranquilizing and energizing. This peculiar concept, but experience has proven it to be true.

For relief of menstrual cramping or relief of charlie horse [painful crampin leg muscle] or any muscular cramping, apply liberally to the area and quickly rub in. When externally applied, please use a good quality extract, not a watery one for the action to be accomplished.

Dosage | One to 20 drops, one drop at a time on the tongue. [First, brush a little peppermint oil on the tongue if sensitive stomach.] Externally, use as much as required.

To order this pure herb Indian Tobacco, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SECOND PURE HERB FOR CHARLIE HORSES

HI.K.-W [high potassium]

Generally when a person has charlie horses, the calcium and/or potassium in the person's body is low. Naturally, the person should consume organic foods that have potassium and calcium.

When a potassium supplement is needed think of HI.K-W [K is the chemical symbol for Potassium in Latin]. Stabilize blood sugar, gain muscular strength, prevent cramping muscles, reduce and or balance out sodium intake, and lose taste for regular salt in the process. Build muscular strength without serious exercise. Give to hyperactive children to normalize blood sugar levels and behavior. Build and restore genuine vigor and reserve energy when taken regularly for 4 to 6 months. Energy boost. Does not burn tissues like regular salt substitutes, as it is all from natural vegetable material and balanced in minerals, with an emphasis on its potassium content.

What's included in this combination herb | Dulse, peppermint, parsley, dandelion leaf, yarrow.

Dose | 10 to 40 drops or more, as needed, with meals

To order this natural combination herb HI.K.-W, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

RETURN POLICY
Due to FDA regulations regarding food products, Pure Herbs Ltd. has a no return policy.

If there is an herb you're interested in that's not listed, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . There is a natural herb for all conditions of the body and mind.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you're not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free. Once your a member, you can receive regular updates each time there's an update. There are regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

Do you take prescription meds?

Does someone you love take prescription meds?

Did you know prescription meds is the leading cause of death in America?

THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN AMERICA: CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE

Cause of death

9/11 terrorist attacks - 2,986 killed

Chernobyl nuclear accident - 4,000 killed

Murders each year - 16,000

Americans killed in Vietnam war - 58,226

Americans killed by Vioxx - 60,000

Americans killed by prescription drugs (each year) - 106,000

Americans killed by conventional medicine (each year) - 783,936

(page 99-112) “How dangerous are prescription drugs, really? The FDA insists they’re safe enough for widespread consumption, even when one drug, all by itself, has killed more Americans than the Vietnam War.

The truth is that the vast majority of prescription drugs are not compatible with human biology. Rather then working to support human biology, they typically attempt to hijack the body’s biochemistry to achieve a desired measurable result, and a silent massacre is enacted on the people.

Source: Natural Health Solutions by Mike Adams
Call 1-800-915-9355 to order

I decided to post this blog below because my life and my family's life has been adversely, negatively affected by being a part of the Masonic and Eastern Stars. Yes, I know the organizations are presented as community organizations, especially to Christians.

My life has done a 180 degree turn since I made the decision to renounce my family's historical and generational involvement in these organizations that are part of the occult. I made the decision to break the biblical, generational curses that are automatically active in your life once you join these organizations. Those in my family who have chosen not to do so still suffer to this very day.

They shrug their repeated life mishappenings as a bad day, bad luck, or whatever they choose to pawn it off on. The Holy Spirit can speak to you better than any person. I challenge you to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about your involvement or your family's involvements in any society or organization that has initiations or secrets. My dearly beloved believers in the body of Christ, the Bible is very clear about this subject.

While pastoring a church in Arkansas, I was asked to take a church that was on a spiritual and numeric decline.

I accepted the call, and in November 1990, 1 became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Columbia, Louisiana.

For the first few months, the chairman of the Pulpit Committee regularly visited my office telling me what I could or could not do.

He was especially opposed to door-to-door evangelism.

Soon I learned that a group of other men shared his views.

They criticized most of the former pastors and even explained in detail how they had "railroaded" a full-time youth pastor out of the church.

His removal was so slick, they said, that no one in the congregation knew what was happening.

Their message was clear, "Do what we want, or we will do the same to you."

They kept me so busy carrying out their plans, projects, and agendas that I had little time to
listen to God.

When I would move in the direction I felt God wanted, one of them would show up with all kinds of plans and projects. I was continually derailed from God's leading.

There was small numeric growth with these activities, but the church was spiritually dead.

Worship was oppressive, as if a dark cloud hovered over the services.

Throughout this time the chairman of the Pulpit Committee repeatedly gave me a funny handshake. I had no clue
what he was doing.

Finally, God began to speak to me that I needed to listen to His direction, not the direction of these men.

His Words were so clear, "Concentrate on worship, revival, evangelism, and making disciples."

When I first began to emphasize worship, I sensed resistance from the Minister of Music, who proudly wore his Masonic ring and tie tack.

Several months later, however, he went through a spiritual crisis and prayed to receive Christ.

Two weeks later he gave his testimony in church.

After his testimony, I stood to invite others to come forward and receive Christ.

I was shocked at what I saw.

Although there was rejoicing on a few faces, most were hostile - so hostile that it sent chills up and down my spine.

As I looked at their faces, I identified them as Masons and their Eastern Star wives.

"This is demonic," I thought. When I started two discipleship groups, there was tremendous resistance within the deacon body.

One deacon, who was also a Mason, tried to wreck every session.

When I emphasized a personal relationship with Jesus, he became combative and hostile.

He argued so much during Wednesday night Bible study that I had to switch to straight preaching.

Hungry for fellowship, I had been praying for months for a soul-winning partner.

God answered that prayer when the Music Minister expressed a desire to go out witnessing.

We went from house to house sharing Jesus, and quietly, without fanfare, his Masonic ring and
tie tack disappeared.

He told me that God had convicted him about being a Mason, and that he had formally renounced Freemasonry through a letter of resignation sent to the lodge.

Gradually, a group in the church began to catch a vision for having a personal walk with Jesus, learning discipleship, and evangelism.

The church services began to change.

I could feel God's presence in every service.

The Masons, however, were not rejoicing.

The one who had so frequently given me the Masonic handshake, called my home and threatened me that
if I didn't get the Minister of Music "calmed down," the deacons would "take care of him."

As one group in the church grew closer to Jesus, another group became increasingly resistant
toward what God was doing, and hostile toward me as pastor.

Seven couples began forming a wall of resistance.

Of the seven couples, two individuals were not Masons, nor members of the Eastern Star. One was a Seventh Day Adventist, and the other's father was a 32nd Degree Mason.

During this same period, a sister church was experiencing a touch of God, with the same resistance from Masons.

Not willing to participate in the battle, several couples left that church and came to ours.

They openly acknowledged that they had been upset because the Masons had squelched the moving of God in that church.

The Masonic group in our church immediately began a verbal attack against the newcomers.

One Mason summoned me to his house and warned me that the newcomers could cause trouble in our church because of their attacks on Masonry.

He revealed that he was a Mason and that there was not going to be a discussion of Freemasonry at First Baptist.

He warned that a previous pastor had tried to deal with the Masonic issue in the church and had created
problems as a result.

I located the former pastor and learned that he had maintained a bookstore which contained several books exposing Freemasonry.

One night someone broke into the store and stole all the books on Masonry.

"If Freemasonry is just a harmless men's fraternity, why get upset about a few books?

Why all the scrambling to hide books and refuse to even discuss Masonry?

If Masonry is of God, let's bring everything out in the open and see what wonderful things God has done in Masonry.

But if it is not of God, then there are many reasons to operate in darkness and secrecy."

These were my thoughts.

It was at this time we began experiencing demonic manifestations during the services.

Usually the demons would surface when I preached on our victory over Satan through the blood of Christ.

Any aspect of victory in the Christian life or salvation messages would stir up the demons.

During a series of messages on revival, and the filling of the Holy Spirit, there was considerable agitation.

All of those with demonic manifestations were either Masons or Eastern Star wives.

Hostility toward me began to increase, all directed by the Masons.

Deacons' meetings became nothing more than open season on the pastor.

Again, led by the Masons.

Finally, the man who had given me numerous Masonic handshakes came to my office, tearing into me about the spiritual atmosphere that was developing within the church.

As he was verbally attacking me, suddenly a force, as it were, came out from him and hit me.

Evil surrounded me. I sensed oppression.

Within two days the oppression became deep depression.

All that week I read books on spiritual warfare to educate myself on what was happening.

By Sunday a black cloud of spiritual oppression had settled over the entire church.

I told no one of my encounter with the Mason, yet several people verbally expressed that things were different in the church.

This oppression continued for eight months, while life for me and my family was a living hell.

It was as though sharks could smell blood and were coming in for the kill.

Vicious attacks by the Masons were leveled against me and my family, and against all who
supported me.

I became so physically ill that I had to enter the hospital for two weeks.

The church decided to give me a three-month sabbatical, which at first seemed compassionate.

It soon was evident that this generous action was a disguise to buy time, so that the Masons could remove me from the church.

When I returned from my sabbatical, the deacons informed me that I was no longer pastor - that the church would have to vote me back in.

This was one of those instances in which a few deacons decided their own agenda privately.

No one else knew what was going on.

This is the way satan works - always in the dark, in secret, behind closed doors.

satan lost temporarily.

The vote was never taken and I was permitted to resume preaching.

Two months later, at a monthly business meeting, the Masonic group succeeded in voting me out.

The members voting against me included many who had rarely come to church, and some I had never seen before! I was not permitted to speak, and the meeting was so hostile that I thought I was going to be mobbed.

Those who were yelling, screaming, and jumping out of their seats were one and all Masons and their Eastern Star wives.

Shortly after leaving First Baptist I had a counseling session with Dr. Mark Bubek, who is well known both nationally and internationally for his experience in spiritual warfare.

After hearing about the man who regularly harassed me in my office, his first question was, "Is he a Mason?"

He confirmed that I had been under heavy demonic attack.

I never preached against Masonry, so the attack was not a counterattack.

It was simply that the spirit behind Freemasonry opposes anything God-sent, Christ-exalted, Spirit empowered
that brings revival to the church.

Yes, the Masons reacted negatively to my messages on grace.

They were infuriated when I suggested man could not earn his way to heaven.

They were not opposed to inviting people to church.

They were opposed to the evangelism that was taking place in church, once the visitors arrived.

And they were greatly offended by the fact that people in the church were going door-to-door in the community, asking people if they knew that they had eternal life.

The Masonic message is one that abhors a Christian life that has Jesus Christ at the center.

The Masons in Columbia regard First Baptist as an extension of their lodge.

Well, they have preserved that extension, for today First Baptist has disintegrated into a handful of men and
women, primarily the Masonic and Eastern Star group.

The price of their success was the destruction of a house of God, and the persecution of its pastor and many God-fearing people.

Such is the spirit and purpose of Freemasonry.

What are pastors to do? First, take a stand on Freemasonry. Second, write your position in a letter and mail it to your
national headquarters.

By Stuart Bedillion

Stewart Bedillion
Ephesians 5:11, Inc., Box 291, Fishers, IN 46038
Email | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Order video | http://www.ephesians5-11.org/videotape.htm

Copyright 1997. This testimony is used with permission. It is from the 1998 reprint of The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry, by Charles G. Finney. It was originally published in 1869. The book is available from JKI Publishing at (800) 333-5344.

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You may have read or heard of news articles about aluminum being a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease, paranoia and learning disabilities. Alzheimer's disease robs one of memory and life. It has to be one of the most terrible and dehumanizing things that torments our modern society.

Aluminum has a special affinity or liking for the brain and nervous system and heads straight for them. This pollutes and interrupts their function. Herbal practitioners have also confirmed that the glandular functions of many men and women have been restored when aluminum contamination is flushed from the body.

Many baffling and confusing conditions that have not responded to anything all of a sudden clear up. You may ask, ‘Where does all this aluminum contamination come from?’

That is a fair question. Here are a few of the most common sources: soda pop, beer, etc. in aluminum cans, baking powder used in our baked goods, aluminum drying agents in powdered food to prevent caking, aluminum cookware, baked potatoes and other foods baked in aluminum, over-the-counter preparations for upset stomach that contain aluminum-hydroxide, industrial manufacturing processes that dump aluminum into our air and water and don’t forget one of the worst things for a woman’s body, underarm antiperspirants made with aluminum-chlorhydrate.

You have to figure whatever you put under your arm will wind up in the breasts and other parts of the body. You can see this is especially bad for
women, and imagine the problems it can cause with the breasts. Put another way, we can safely say that most cancers in the body are caused by poisons.

Perhaps a little aluminum now and then does no great harm, but constant use of it, especially from so many man-made resources, can constitute a health threat. It is not just people who suffer from aluminum poisoning.

You hear much these days about bones not being able to retain enough calcium. It may interest you to know that aluminum competes with calcium for absorption in the body and lowers the female hormone, estrogen. Our dogs and cats fall prey to this aluminum contamination as well.

Manufacturers of pet food, especially the dry type in bits, commonly use aluminum to keep it dry. Interestingly enough, despite all the piles of scientific evidence from animal hair and skin analyses, our Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute for Health have shown no interest in investigating this situation.

If you notice that your pet has dry lusterless hair, is listless, has no energy, chewing wallboards and such and attempting to catch unseen things
in the air, suspect aluminum poisoning. Their blood tests quite often show, along with aluminum, pancreas, liver and kidney damage. Home-made dog foods can help a lot.

For people and pets, the use of sea vegetables, especially one known as Bladderwrack, does wonders for flushing aluminum out of the body. This can be added to one’s diet rather easily. For a person, 10 to 40 drops of a type of algae, liquid Bladderwrack [known as an extract] or one to four capsules per meal.

And for a pet, depending on size, one to ten drops per meal or one to four capsules per day. While you are detoxifying dangerous metals, it may
also be wise to keep in mind using still another type of algae. Chlorella can be used to detoxify heavy metals such as mercury or lead. Where you find one type of metal poisoning, you often find others.

Chlorella can be taken in the same amounts as Bladderwrack. Please be patient. It may take awhile, even months, but at least it is comforting to know you are on the right road. Is it any wonder that our bodies have become polluted as we have polluted the earth with our modern drive for profit and better living through chemistry? Thank the Creator that herbal remedies have been provided for the relief of maladies of our
own making!

Remember When and Golden Days are Pure Herbs that are useful in removing metals/aluminum from the body.

This article was excerpted from the April 2011 Pure Herbs newsletter.

— Dr. Watkins

Keep the trash cleaned out of the body. Don't give the virus or germs a place to live. Keep the bowels clean. Please promote and allow at least two and preferably three easy and complete movements per day.

One to four capsules of the Pure Herb Cascara Sagrada each night. Start with capsule and increase if needed. Or one teaspoon of the Pure Herb C.C.E.-W each night.

Get rid of the virus flu and colds | Do not get dehydrated. Keep your body well supplied with plenty of natural vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Take one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Formula Max or the Pure Herb Formula M, three to four times per day. Drink plenty of fluids. Peppermint tea is great using one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Peppermint to a cup of hot water. The Pure Herb I.V.-H [Infection & Virus] for relief of flu suffering, one teaspoon two to three times per day.

Get your rest.

Use an herbal antibiotic. Choose any of the following: Strengthen the immune system. The Pure Herb IM.S.-W one teaspoon three times per day. Fight the flu. One teaspoon or more of the Pure Herb Bee Propolis and one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Olive Leaf every four hours while awake and one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Astragulus and one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Boneset taken the same way devastates viruses.

Also use 3,000 mg of the Pure Herb Vitamin C plus the Pure Herb Pleurisy Root every four hours and one teaspoon to one tablespoon of the Pure Herb C.C.-E.-W [Cleansing Corrective Extract] every four hours while awake. Also, 10 drops of the Pure Herb Sutherlandia every four hours while awake is very powerful.

Apply any of these Pure Herbs to a handkerchief and breathe deeply as needed -- Oil of Cajeput, Wintergreen Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Peppermint Oil or Five Oils. Apply these oils to the chest to breathe easier and break up congestion. Avoid chills.

When you eat, make sure you get some protein to build natural body defenses. Try yogurt, natural peanut butter, almond nut butter or ground sesame seed, also known as Tahini. These can be put on puffed rice crackers. You can also supplement with protein. Use any of the following Pure Herbs for protein: Bee Pollen, Five Good, Protein extract. One teaspoon to one tablespoon three times per day. Prevent the flu, one teaspoon of the Pure Herb Sweet Root per day.

Keep the immune system strong. Nourish the adrenal glands. This can make up more comfortable and get you well quicker. Choose any of the following Pure Herbs: Bee Pollen, Siberian Ginseng, Licorice Root, Sarsaparilla, Ashwaganda, Formula III, Stillingia, or especially for women, Three Bees. Take these at the rate of one teaspoon every four hours while awake. If you must be around sick people, take 40 drops of Pure Herb Juniper Berries per meal to avoid sickness.

The Pure Herb Formula F & F, if flu and fever or the Pure Herb Black Cohosh if chills and fever 10 to 40 drops hourly as needed. Also apply to spine.

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.

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.

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Psalm 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Help me sweet Jesus to write this article. Okay, beloved readers, a part of this Healed People, Heal People community. Why am I stammering at the keys on my keyboard today? The Holy Spirit taught me a lesson about 10 years ago that I will never forget. It’s about s-o-m-e people, good people, Christian people, loving people, those who love you, those who surround you on a regular basis, or those who may even be in your corner.

Psalm 118:8 declares it's better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man.

Okay, here goes.

We all have churches that are headed by pastors and leadership teams.

We all have family members, some of which we love, some we don’t care for too much – and some we just can’t stand [sorry, but it’s a reality for some].

We all have confidantes.

We all have those fun-to-hang-out with partners.

We all have those let-your-hair-down with friends.

We all have those kicking-it with buddies.

And we even have those select Christian people we like being around who will not check us when we are clearly stepping outside of the boundaries and principles of the Lord.

We even have accountability people -- we still have a choice in how much we disclose to them.

We all had or have secrets, some are not-so-big secrets, some are closet secrets, some are in-the-dark secrets, some are go-to-your-grave secrets, some secrets just cripple the hell out of you.

You decide what you do with your secrets. I can tell you this, the Lord never intended for us to carry the internal weight of the secrets. Many of our illnesses come from keeping secrets. Some of our constant mind racing comes from not being able to still the secrets.

Much of depression spurs from buckling secrets that people try to keep the lid shut down on. Many of your spiraling urges come from trying to holster your secrets. Many things we do to escape, including sleep, is to not deal with the harshness of our reality -- the secrets, the impending, unnecessary, illegitimate weights.

We all have those ride-and-die friends – no matter what, these friends will be there for us. Make no mistake about it, this is an extremely short of list people – it may even be one person – it may only be the Lord Himself.

But, beloved readers, you know what our Lord taught me 10 years ago that I’ve n-e-v-e-r forgotten?

Don't ever put anyone's word, advice, counsel, approval, consent, guidance or direction above what I say, says the Lord.

This was a very hard lesson for me to learn and live by.

Why?

Because some of those Christians who loved me, then, and still love me, now, gave me advice, counsel, guidance – that didn’t line up with the Word of God.

Did they love the Lord and do they love the Lord? Yes, these Christians did and do love the Lord.

Did I own a Bible? Yes, I did own a Bible, then, and; yes, I do own several Bibles now.

Did I know the Word? Yes, I knew the Word and; yes, I know even more Word now.

Did a little flicker go off inside of me when these loving Christians told me what I wanted to hear? Yes, the Holy Spirit pushed that flicker button inside of me. But, I knew what some of the loving Christians said to me over the years did not line up with the Word. [I'm not being sarcastic when I use the words loving Christians; I'm sincere.]

They padded their advice, lined their counsel and justified it with scripture – I think the Bible calls this itching ears, on my part. And let's mention this, there are a lot of Christians, even Christians in leadership positions, who are so wounded they believe life's experiences more than they believe the Word of God. And accordingly, they give advice, counsel, approval, direction based on experience. It's your responsibility to know the Word for your life. It's your responsibility to know when scriptures are being misaligned.

Now, what each of us reading this article knows, is that we tell people, even Christians exactly what we want them to know. An ole' pastor once told me, it’s just human nature to do this – tell folk o-n-l-y what you want them to know.

Beloved reader, do you disclose every single, slither of information to the people you’re seeking input from? I’ll leave that for you to answer.

I always flinch, in particular, when Christians say, “Follow your heart.”

Excuse me, beloved readers, I am not trying to be disrespectful, but that statement above is just plain dumb.

“Follow your heart.”

Do you know when I graduated from undergrad, I did a Bible study for two years just dealing with the different conditions of the human Christian heart.

You know what’s an even better question, beloved reader, Do you know what’s in your heart?

If so, how do you know what's in your heart? What have you done about the contents of your heart?

How often do you inspect your heart?

How often do you present your heart to the Holy Spirit?

Do you know what to do once the Holy Spirit has revealed the contents of your heart?

Well – I offer several versions of the scripture below.

Jeremiah 17:9 [NIV]
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [NASB]
The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [KJB]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [AKJV]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [ASV]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [Bible in Basic English]
The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

So, beloved reader, help me understand again why so many people, especially Christians, throw out the statement so casually, “Follow your heart,” or “I just follow my heart.”

I’m choosing to believe based on the Word of God and based on my experience in integrated healing and deliverance and based on the experience of veterans in the ministry of integrated healing and deliverance – that people, Christians, are simply making this statement, “follow your heart,” out of ignorance.

I used to wrestle with the following questions when I really respected and esteemed some Christians who gave me counsel. Now keep in mind these were internal thoughts I had in my mind about these Christians. I am still in relationship with the majority of these Christians.

Thoughts I had after receiving advice, counsel, direction from some respected Christians

- but, look at their position in the community, they are so visible
- but, look at how much they study the Word of God
- but, look at their leadership position in the church
- but, look at how much influence they have
- wow, I really need to stay in their good graces, they can help me
- but, they seem to be pretty close to the Lord, do what they say
- I know they wouldn’t tell me wrong, I’ll do what they say
- but, look at their walk with the Lord [what’s visible to me]

Beloved reader, what I have painfully learned from our Lord is this scripture, It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8

Why do I use the phrase painfully learned? Because I had to go around the darn mountain over and over – I sound like the Israelites, right? The first time I realized the advice from the respected, respective Christians landed me in hot water, why didn’t I confess to the Holy Spirit, “I’m sorry for not listening to Your whisper in my ear.”

Each time, beloved reader, I remember the Holy Spirit placing that little flicker inside of me saying, ”That’s not the way to go;” “Don’t ignore Me.” But I yielded again and again, beloved reader, because I respected Christian people more than I esteemed the Word of God. These respective, respected Christians said what I wanted to hear and what they said aligned with my desires, my will -- a recipe for impending disaster.

Now, in Psalm 118:8 the end of the scripture says, … than to put confidence in man.

Well, who is man?
Man is any human being breathing who is in your life, male or female.
Man is any human being, Christian or non-Christian.
Man is any human being in any income level.
Man is any human being on any status level.
Man is any human being in every rank of the Christian church.
Man is any human being in your family.
Man is any human being who is your friend.

The beginning of Psalm 118:8 says It is better to trust in the Lord …

Yall, I’m literally b-e-g-g-i-n-g you, trust the Lord.
If you don’t know how to trust Him, just tell Him, He already knows.
If you’re scared to trust Him in an area of your life, just tell Him, He already knows.
Wherever you’re deficient in trust, ask Him to build that in you for you since you’re not able to do so.
If you’ve not dealt with the issues preventing you from trusting the Lord, would you consider asking the Holy Spirit to reveal these things to you.
Would you consider receiving ministry for integrated approach to healing and deliverance for these issues?
Why?
So, you can experience freedom in this or these areas of your life.

Don’t have itching ears like I did; ask the Holy Spirit to remove your itching ears.
The Holy Spirit knows that we all have desires and dreams and wills.
He truly has better plans for us than we’re able to muster up for ourselves.
His plans for you don’t even involve manipulation and maneuvering and dodging.

Yall, I guess by now, you know I’m a born and breed [USA] southerner – that’s fine.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our spiritual blind spots.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas of our lives we’re in denial about.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas in our lives where there may be self hatred.
Then when He reveals, please, please, take action to do something about it.
If you don’t know what to do, I’m willing to find a resource to help you, if I can’t.

Yall, I understand that you may not disclose everything to people, but please, don’t lie to yourself. You desire the abundant life the Lord speaks of so often in scripture, right? Well, the abundant life is short circuited when we choose to do the following things:

- pretend you don’t know the Holy Spirit is nudging you
- cut corners to try to get what you want
- only disclose so much information and purposely conceal other pertinent information to those you seek counsel from
- you choose to turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit
- you choose to forget that some blessings and some promises of the Lord are conditional; Have you met the
condition(s) without compromising?
- wrongly use scripture, people, situations, [conditional] prophecy to justify something you want
Please remember that satan and his demons have strategy too for your life.
And his strategy is presented very nicely, not in a questionable fashion.

Whatever word, advice, counsel, approval, consent, guidance or direction you receive, even from Christians, put it before the Lord, please, before moving forward. And wait for His confirmation or His denial and His instructions.

Now, let me share this with you. I know the respective Christians throughout the years didn’t provide advice to hurt me on purpose. Although we’re Christians, we are humans. We have good days. We have days when we’re not as sharp, when we’re not on point. Well-meaning, God-loving Christians have been and can be used strategically by demonic in your life -- even without them knowing it and you knowing it.

We all recall when Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:23. Jesus was very aware that the demonic was working through Peter. Yes Peter, a man who literally was chosen and walked with Jesus. I'll keep this brief by simply asking these questions. Are your spiritual tools keen enough to discern when God-fearing Christians are off kilter who give you advice?

Do you even know what your spiritual tools are? What do you do to improve your spiritual tools? How often do you use your spiritual tools? Spiritual tools are similar to the physical muscles in your body. They becomes stronger the more you exercise them and use them on a regular basis. Spiritual tools become stronger they more they are stretched out of their comfort zone.

People ask me and you for advice in areas that we may be weak in. When you realize that a person is asking you for advice in an area you're weak in, do you disclose that this is one of your weak areas, up front? Do you or have you chosen to do what's in the best interest of the person by stopping the conversation and sharing in integrity that this isn't an area you're strong enough and disciplined enough to provide counsel, advice, consent, approval, direction or guidance.

You and I ask people for advice in areas that they are weak in, but we don’t know that because they don’t disclose it [the majority of the time]. And even when we see -- through people’s repeated actions that they’re weak in certain areas, we sometimes still choose to seek their advice, their counsel.

This is not wise, beloved reader. So this begs the question, why do we ask them? Because they’ll tell us what we want to hear. This is a clear sign of spiritual immaturity and/or lack of exercising godly wisdom in this particular area of your life.

Psalm 118:8 reads, It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Please do not esteem man, woman or Christians words higher than the Word of God for your life, please.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article, beloved reader.

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