Does God Still Heal Today?

By Gail Smith

Do you believe God heals today? By that, I mean do you believe that our God still performs miraculous, supernatural healings for people alive today, in  year 2013?  There was a time when I believed that God no longer worked in supernatural ways to heal people.

I recently had the privilege of doing some research for authors Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk on a book just published, "I Believe in Healing". Cec has written over 125 books, including "90 Minutes in Heaven and Gifted Hands."  My job on this book was to look for documented, divine healings by God, before the year 2000.

Subtitled “Real Stories from the Bible, History and Today,” "I Believe in Healing" is an exhaustive collection of healings ranging from the very earliest recorded healings to stories of people today that can’t be explained by natural means, reminding us that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
I say “exhaustive” because as one involved with the research I can tell you that I was blessed to spend many hours searching, reading and documenting these healings, online and in books, too. From barren Sarah (Gen 11:30) to the acts of the apostles, to first century healings, continuing on to Saint Bede, Kathryn Kuhlman and C. H. Spurgeon, God’s power and compassion has been reaching out to touch the sick, the blind, the lame and others with divine healing throughout all of time.

If you should be looking for evidence that God still heals today, this book will answer questions, give examples and save you a lot of time.

Written in two large sections, Part 1 “Stories and Testimonies of Healing” is just that, while Part 2 answers “Questions About Healing.” You can click here to see chapter titles and the “Table of Contents.”

As for me, I became a believer in healing a long time ago, thanks to the ministry of an extraordinary pastor, Ron Dunn. And if I hadn’t changed my mind way back then, I certainly would have believed after reading 20 centuries worth of healings, or at least a tiny fraction of them.

What a great job I have-- it was an incredible blessing for me to be able read story after story of people who were touched by God in so many miraculous ways. No matter the time, place, or circumstances of those in need, God is still at work. My faith has been strengthened, my heart has praised God and my life has been enriched by a growing awareness of God’s magnificent works of healing down through the ages.

I’d like to invite you to experience the same blessing. Take a look at "I Believe in Healing". You’ll find biblical answers to the most common questions about healing as well as amazing acts of God’s mercy and grace.

REACHING FOR JESUS

By Marie Tschopp

Scripture reading:  Mark 5:24b-34

Have you ever wanted something so badly, you were willing to do anything to get it? 

 
Florence* did.  For twelve years her menstrual bleeding wouldn’t stop.  In Biblical times, women on their periods were considered unclean—just like lepers.  Florence was not allowed to touch anyone, and no one was allowed to touch her.  Her husband most likely divorced her long ago.  If she had children, she couldn’t hold them, kiss them goodnight, or wipe away their tears.  Friends probably pointed fingers and whispered cruelties about a sexual sin causing her condition.

 
Florence went to several doctors who took her money, abused her body, and stole her hope.

 
The slow dripping of blood took its toll.  Side effects from anemia manifested—pallor, headaches, and heart arrhythmias.  Florence was tired, so very tired.  And desperate.

 
Then she heard Jesus was down by the lake.  Jesus—the prophet who made the lame walk again, gave sight to the blind, cast out demons, healed lepers, and raised the dead.  She thought, “If I could just touch the hem of his garment, I would be healed!” 

 
Against Jewish law, Florence elbowed her way through the crowd and, when Jesus was within reach, she stretched out her hand and grasped hold of his robe as if her life depended on it, for it did.   All of a sudden, she felt different.   The bleeding stopped.  Headache, gone!   Her cheeks flushed pink.  Gone was the fatigue, replaced with a surging energy she hadn’t felt in 12 long years.  Florence let go of Jesus’ robe and watched him walk away.   

 
Suddenly, Jesus stopped and scanned the crowd.  Florence knew he was looking for her.  What was he going to do? 

 
“Oh, no!” she must have thought.  She broke the law.  Would he take her healing back?  Florence threw herself at Jesus’ feet.  Trembling, she poured out her story. 

 
In some scripture readings, we hear Jesus call a woman, “Woman.”  Not here.  He called Florence “Daughter.”   After years of being ostracized from her family, Jesus accepted her as part of his own.   He told her that her faith had healed her, and that she should leave in peace and be freed from her suffering.   

 
Today, Jesus makes the same offer to us—If we are willing to go to him, reach out, and grab hold. 
 

*Name given by author, not Scripture

How to forgive myself

BY BRENDA LYSAK

I was miraculously healed of Crohn’s disease when I was twenty seven years old, eleven years after diagnosis. That was the first time I felt loved. Thus began about an eight year search for God. I started attending church again.

Remarkably I was invited by my banker, Dave to get right with God in an unusual way. This was about a three year business relationship. He treated me as an equal. I remember feeling normal around him, all the while on a downward spiral in my personal life.

I grew up in a home where we went to church three times a week but knew nothing of a relationship with God. It was an angry, abusive, and an emotionally neglectful environment. The only emotion I remember is hate. I hated anyone who might have had something to do with my existence.

One day as I sunk deeper into despair, I wailed to God to please help me to be born again; I felt too stupid to figure it out! Even though I had responded to alter calls in my youth, I was haunted by 2 Corinthians 5:17. “When you are born again the old passes away and everything becomes brand new.” The old had instead gotten older and there was certainly no sign of anything new. I experienced deep disappointment with this awareness. I couldn’t give or receive love, was devoid of joy, hope, and faith. I was a very depressed, negative person.

Not too long after that desperate prayer, Dave told me that he knew something that would change my life. Read Romans chapters one through six every day for thirty days. He said that about day fifteen, I would start to get it. And that’s exactly what happened. Romans 1:19 says “God has shown who He is in Creation and written the truth on our hearts. Therefore you have no excuse.”

My moment of awakening is still very fresh in my memory. As I was reading I realized that I had excuses. Suddenly they felt evil. I was filled with enormous guilt, which opened my eyes for the first time to God’s remedy. Every aspect of being saved is addressed in those early chapters of Romans and I fed on those truths day after day, learning that believing is what saves me. Proof or good works are the result of believing.

Dave then encouraged me to add the corresponding chapter of Proverbs each day to the six chapters of Romans I was reading. After I had that down he added five chapters of Psalms. The Word became my daily lifeline. My mind was being washed with God’s ideas. The grip of despair lifted the moment I confessed sin of disbelief and began to trust and believe in God, but I would not realize that until months later.

I became aware of my sin, and lost my preoccupation with other peoples’ sin. This renewal was happening in spite of continued miserable circumstances surrounding me. I was engulfed with shame.

About three months later I realized that I loved God and understood that I had a relationship with Him. This awareness was new to me in every way as I had not experienced normal bonding with a parent.

After reading the whole book of Romans I went to the ‘card catalog’ at the beginning of my Bible to find the next book to read, just like I did at the library. I chose a book in the Old or New Testament and read it like I read any book. Some books of the Bible were short so I read them in a day. Others took several days. I checked each one off with a date as I finished them until I had read each of the sixty-six books.

This resulted in a new measuring stick for truth. I was surprised at God’s take on religion. The gospels give a quick picture of who God is. What a surprise to discover that losers such as myself were exactly who God was particularly interested in. I experienced emotional healing during this time. I had been numb or shut down inside. I can still remember the place and moment I noticed the absence of shame.

Ever since I experienced God through his Word, I have been amazed at the fads of Christianity that sweep through the Christian community. One such fad is the idea that I can forgive myself. I hear people talking about the need to forgive themselves but have not heard of anyone actually accomplishing it. The Bible never speaks of it. Perhaps it is impossible. When we confess our sins, according to 1 John 1:9 we are promised forgiveness. Forgiving ourselves ceases to be an issue.

I am excited that salvation is not just getting my big toe into Heaven someday, but it is for today. I discovered from reading books of the Bible like a book, Salvation is multifaceted; I can be saved from myself, and from situations with people, and from my past. I have no excuse, nor do I need one. I can become healthy and whole in every way.

Brenda Lysak 

I am a Preschool teacher and Certified Barton Tutor for Dyslexia. It's taken me a lifetime to crawl out of the pit I was born in and the ones I crawled in myself. My biggest step of healing after being born again in my spirit has been developing a career within my interests and abilities. I am very busy with teaching but still working out my salvation with fear and trembling. I love to ski when I get a chance to get outside. It helps speed up the long cold Manitoba winters.

Introducing Michael Elmore

A SECOND CHANCE

Being overweight is an issue I have struggled with all of my life. Of course, I had been through the usual panacea of diets. Dieting and weight loss were like a never-ending yo-yo for me. I eventually tipped the scales at nearly 400 pounds and my life was miserable. What made me the saddest was the thought that within a handful of years I would die and not see my grandchildren grow up.

This led me to having bariatric bypass surgery for weight loss in April 2008. The surgery was successful except that eight months later I developed a vitamin B-1 deficiency. The result was that I woke up one morning with global amnesia, unable to walk or even talk. Eventually, doctors noticed that my blood serum B-1 level was mildly low and gave me an IV which I responded to almost immediately. Later, they told me that I had developed Wernike-Korsakoff's Syndrome, a rare disorder that usually occurs only in alcoholics.

After my release from the hospital the day before Christmas, I began a nine-month stint in therapy and a two years later, I have experienced a miraculous recovery. This is amazing since many Wernike-Korsakoff patients never fully recover and some have to spend the rest of their lives in care centers.

So what is the message behind my story? I have learned firsthand that God is my healer. I weigh 190 pounds now – not 400. I no longer have diabetes or any of the other health conditions I mentioned earlier, and the serious illness I had has resolved. I expect to see my grandchildren grow up and watch them have children. I have been given a second chance to live.

It's alright for men to admit that they haven't done such a good job of taking care of themselves physically and that they need a second chance too. The truth is that God has given all of us a second chance in Christ Jesus. Perhaps you have health concerns that you have not dealt with or have felt guilty about or been afraid to deal with. It is all right. I am familiar with those emotions and I am living proof that God can give you the second chance that you need.


Michael Elmore
Chaplain, pastor, author
The Occult Invasion of Healthcare
The Changing Face of Spirituality in Medicine
www.michaelelmoreonline.com