Jermaine

Acts 4:12

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Last night I was led to talk with a couple of security guards at the prison. They were guarding the main gate for the night shift. I explained that although we often preached inside the prison, tonight I wanted to chat with them.

They were both pleased that I had a bible for them. Jermaine was quite taken aback because although he explained his ‘backslidden’ state he said that he had asked Jesus to help him over the last two days and he had actually just asked Jesus for a bible; then I walk in and hand him one ...

I always get moved by testimonies like this because I think I am doing something out of my own choice and it seems like Jesus has had things arranged long before I ‘decided’ to go out ...

We began chatting about Jesus and how ‘His Kingdom is near’ and why sometimes we as practising Christians miss the very things that Jesus wants us to know about Himself. We had a great discussion about why people are so scared of things that cannot be reasoned with human logic and science. In fact the LORD led us along a very special thread that seemed to illuminate and take root at precisely the moment Jermaine needed to excuse himself and let a vehicle gain access through the boom-gate; as he walked away, he limped ...

I asked Jermaine if he had a problem with his leg and he explained that he had a sharp pain in his heal that would not go away and it makes his duties unbearable, in fact he said that he had just been complaining about the pain to his colleague Pretorius.

We prayed in Jesus Name for his pain to go. Jermaine then proceeded to repeat the words “No Ways !” a few times and laugh contagiously. It was great. Jesus is so awesome. His pain had gone completely.

We then prayed for Pretorius because his one leg was shorter than the other. In fact before praying I asked Jermaine to ensure that he was comfortable with what I saw by lifting Pretorius’ legs up and looking at his heals. Jermaine agreed that he could clearly see the problem of one being shorter that the other.

We prayed and Germaine looked in amazement when Jesus sorted out Pretorius’ leg length/hip issues. This followed with more “No Ways !” , contagious laughing and an occasional 360° spin. What a cool time of fellowship ...

Mark 1:14-15

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I left two new friends grinning and holding tight to their bibles; both with firsthand experience of the mercy extended by Jesus Christ our Saviour.

CHRIS

Pure Love

After healing a cripple in the Name of Jesus, Peter and John found themselves in front of the authorities having to explain this seemingly strange (yet wonderful) event. Peter declared the following to the authorities:

Acts 3: 16

”By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ Name and the faith that comes through Him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”

After being flogged, Peter and John realised that they needed assistance to fulfil the very task at hand - to build the LORD’s Kingdom. They prayed for certain things to be in place ...

Acts 4: 29 -31

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

Peter, John and the other believers who prayed this prayer knew that peoples’ hearts were as hard as stone and that it would take the very Name and Hand of the LORD to reveal mysteries in the physical, to get the spiritual attention of people. That is why they prayed for (amongst other things) for the LORD to ‘Stretch out His hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of His holy servant Jesus’.

In the same way and with the same mandate of the Great Commission, so too should we pray this prayer; knowing that without Him, we are nothing, but with Him, we are everything.

There have been so many examples of peoples’ lives being changed within the Ladies Prison Ministry after they have witnessed the LORD’s hand of healing. We have seen over 50 physical healings in the Prison alone. Things seem to have moved into a new dimension where our expectation and trust (faith) in Jesus is really starting to move mountains. He never fails to amaze us with His love, grace and tenderness.

Often I sit quietly at night and find my heart thumping with a feeling of excitement mixed with a deep appreciation for being able to witness Him at work. Then I start to consider the balance of being a husband, a father, an employee, a soldier for Jesus, a leader at Church ... in my own strength I would have burned out long ago. By His Grace I somehow find the balance.

One thing I know for sure is that it is His plan and when we submit to Him and make ourselves available to be part of growing His Kingdom, for His Glory and not ours, incredible things start to happen.

So much has happened in the last 3-weeks that I just could not find a way to describe it all. The more I look, the more He is there. The more I trust, the more He blows my mind.

Even last night at the evening service at Muizenberg, a young man’s neck was healed and a ladie’s knees were healed. She giggled with excitement ... that is our Jesus. Pure Love.

Praise Him!

Romans 12: 1-2

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

His Kingdom, His Power, His Glory.

CHRIS