Category Archives: Faith

Faith is what spurs us to reach higher, stretch further, dig deeper, and press our natural boundaries in hopes that we can exceed all expectations.

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He Was There All Along

Today, my cousin Jesse started whispering and he wrote ‘JES’ when asked his name. He will be moved to a rehab facility tomorrow. (Note: his nurse told me a week ago ‘no way would he ever be a candidate for rehab with a brain stem injury like his’.) My sister also asked him if he remembered me flying in and reading the bible to him as he woke up from his coma-HE DID! I recall as I was singing to him, a nurse said ‘you know, he’s not in there. he can’t hear you.’ And I turned to the doctor and said ‘whether it’s from his physical body on this hospital bed or his spirit hovering above, I believe Jesse knows I’m am here’. What reassurance to hear my cousin confirm it… he was there all along.

This morning I was reading in Acts 3&4 about the lame beggar being healed and I just boldly declare this “if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.” Acts 4:9-10

My heart is so very touched by every one of you who have prayed and continued praying. I’m so deeply thankful for you. I lift you each up in the name of Jesus and pray your heart receives such compassionate love for your faith. It’s because of your prayers and belief in God’s living word of miracles and healing that my cousin is more than alive today. Praise you Jesus! My Abba, Father… You, my King are deserving of all the praise and glory that comes from this healing we believed in and entrusted you for. We lift you up higher… We point to you.

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The Glory In Impossibility

What mercy, what graciousness! By the strength and healing from God, my cousin gave the first hug to his daughter. Jehovah Rophi, what astonishment and wonder you have left us! Praise you Jesus!

We fall short of understanding or really grasping what kind of power Christ through us means… TODAY. We’re talking mountains move, oceans rise, the earth trembles… People get healed! And the greatest mercy of it all is that Christ makes it possible… And available for the believing everyday! EVERY SECOND of every minute of every hour of every day!

Praise you Jesus! Praise you Jesus! Praise you Jesus! Tears of joy… praise and surrender… You oh Lord, are truly one magnificent God! You, only you! I am stunned in wonder and amazement… we are not worthy of such mercy.

My sister visited my cousin today and here’s what she had to say… “Just had the most amazing experience with, Jesse. We went to visit him with Evyn (her 6-month baby girl) for the first time. I started to get a little discouraged because he wasn’t responding to us at all. We have been hearing stories of smiles, hugs, sitting up in bed…then we asked him to give us a thumbs up. He did! Then he started turning to us when we said his name. He even reached out to me and put his hand on my stomach and then grabbed my hand and held on. Then he started pulling himself up to sit up using my arm! THEN!! My favorite part-we told him we were going to leave and Evyn squealed a little. Jesse broke out a genuine Jesse grin, brought his arm up into the air, and waved goodbye to us. The only word I have for this day-miraculous.”

God gets all the glory when humanity says impossible. I dare you to believe it is possible in Christ.

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His Faceted Brilliance

The Lord just captures my heart and mind with such stunning radiance, I am awestruck by the wonders of His work. Isn’t He just… amazing! When I close my eyes, His acts look more like a diamond with many chiseled facets that gleam a different light depending on the angle you’re viewing the Rock from. If you stand back and view a diamond from the side, you see it really only points in one direction.

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What’s simply amazing is how the great Author makes the millions of us each feel loved and known. In one act or display, like a sunrise, He shines in my direction with such an intentional, personalized ray of light… the message my heart hears is God speaking a very handcrafted word directly to me. And yet to another person standing near, viewing the same sun… from their angle, it shines a different facet of light that speaks a very intimate message from the Lord and looks completely different from my own. The light looks different from wherever you are standing, but one thing is for sure, every glimmer is unique and on purpose.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'” Isaiah 43

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me…” Psalm 139

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Lord, you are, even more beautiful than diamonds…

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The Power of Prayer

Praise report: My cousin Jesse is looking around and smiling!

You! You, Jesus, only You, my God can heal the ‘impossible’!! You amaze me… the only one worthy of honor and glory… praise you Jesus, praise you… Holy holy holy you are!

The doctors first said Jesse wouldn’t wake up. When he did, they said Jesse would live in a vegetative state with no cognitive skills… And now he’s smiling! Oh my, our God is one great Healer!! I stand amazed… my eyes dazzle in wonder… His healing on display… just marvelous He is!

At the name of Jesus, it was done! God has blown us away with such majesty in the face of tragedy… testimony of the Almighty… proof that petitioning in prayer has power!

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Searching For Your Hand

Praise you Jesus for your healing power… thank you Lord for your light shining through the darkness to a world searching for your hand at work! We give you all the glory! Through my tears I am not letting the enemy steal my joy in Jesus. Thank you God for still being faithful. And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:13

There’s so much uncertainty with my cousin’s brain injuries; we’re caught between hope and realism. Being with family and at hospital with my cousin, oh, it was just one of the greatest gifts and warmed my heart so much. I hung up encouraging posters in his line of sight, played Jesse’s favorite music for his ears to hear, held his hand and massaged his legs for his skin to feel, and read stories of healing from Matthew– speaking in prayer those words in the name of Jesus over Jesse’s life. Either way, whether it’s from his body in that hospital bed or his spirit hovering above, I believe my cousin sees and knows he is loved and that’s all we can do. To God be any glory from the miracles/healing that occur.

Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

I opened the door to my house, it was very quiet, evident that I left in a hurry and hit me what all just happened. It feels like everything in my life stopped for a moment but the world kept spinning. I’m pretty tired and a bit lost to not be at the hospital when there’s someone in need, but I understand the Lord has it all in His hands and my prayers from hundreds of miles away still have power too. Overall, the joy of the Lord has remained my strength! So if you’re wondering how to pray for me, pray for God’s companionship to comfort me in the quiet and mercy from others as my heart feels a bit ‘needy’ during this time.

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I Believe

This morning my family has received grave news about the condition of a dear cousin of mine. Almost a week ago he was in a traumatic motorcycle accident-no helmet. At the scene, paramedics reported posturing which is an indicator of severe brain stem trauma. At the hospital, he was put into a sedated coma as the brain continued to swell. My mama called to tell me the news and all I could do was run home and fall to my face in prayer and tears, petitioning for God’s grace on my cousin’s life. Hours flew by, the night folded, I fasted and faded in and out of praise, prayer, petitions, tears, joy and peace until the following afternoon.

I’ve reached out to every large prayer ministry I can find and shared my cousin’s story. I just believe these petitions in prayer will pull at the heart of God.

A couple days ago, the doctor’s lifted the sedation to wake my cousin up. But this morning, after no sign of life in his body, the neurosurgeon has said my cousin is ‘gone’ and the brain stem is beyond repair. I just want to collapse in a pool of tears as my heart hurts for the sweet times we had even within this last year. God used my cousin Jesse in such a special way at Christmas time, to encourage my aching heart. This cannot be the end.

In the guest room of my house, I play a Christian radio station 24/7. As I sat on the floor wondering what to do next, I heard the station running a donation drive and felt compelled to ‘make life’ in the face of death. So I picked up the phone and asked to make a donation in honor of my cousin–not memory. I told them I wanted to help give life to others who find encouragement and a life with Christ through positive Christian radio, and that even in the wake of those words of death concerning my cousin, I just proclaim life in the name of Jesus through this experience.

As my family is now in the process of making a decision to remove my dear cousin Jesse from ventilator support, I am preparing to fly home to be with them in this difficult time. My heart can’t get there fast enough as one by one I hear their tears of grief over the phone. My heart too breaks so deeply. It’s a very lonely place to be when you’re hundreds of miles away from family during a tragedy. I am in tears but I hold onto to God so tightly. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I believe in the healing power of Christ… still.

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A Prayer of Healing

All I can do is fall to my knees.

In the name of Jesus, I speak healing on behalf of my brother in Christ Jesse March. In the midst of physical weakness, may the Lord God Almighty be revealed strong. May every brokenness in that body be made whole, and the Great Healer show His glory through what can only be a supernatural healing from the Great I Am. Your word, oh Magnificent God tells us of miraculous works that bind up every wound, a restoration that makes things new… Even better than before. We believe it, and speak it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Luke 18:42

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:22

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. Matthew 8:13

Heal me, Lord , and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14

Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Matthew 19:2

He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Psalm 107:20

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. Matthew 21:14

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His Plan Revealed

Isn’t our God just remarkable? I mean, if you think about it, He takes the time to walk hand in hand with each one of us everyday when there’s an entire world to take care of. We are on His mind from the rising of the sun to the next rising… not even in the darkness (when the sun goes down or when our sin rises up) does He set us aside. I’m just in so much awe of how amazing He really is. I cannot pour out praise enough for what a magnificent God He is!

I have to share about a most incredible experience God gave me this last week. He just consumed me with answers to prayers in one sweep, in the most unlikely way you can imagine! To make a very long story short, a trip to Verizon Wireless to restore service on my phone ended in the sales rep delivering messages from God over an hour and a half. Yes, that really happened! Prayers I’ve been praying, answers I’ve been seeking, the depths of my heart only God could reveal began to unfold right there!

How did that happen you might be wondering? Well, I’m not sure. I was sharing a testimony to the sales guy of God’s hand at work with my broken phone and a few seconds in he grabbed a pad of post it notes and began writing messages down. I asked what he was doing and he simply responded ‘you’ll figure it out later… keep talking’. So I continued with my story of praise to the Lord and post it after post it, this guy began revealing God’s direction for my life, the source of conundrums that have been perplexing my thoughts, what the future has in store, gifts He has anointed me with and interpretation of the crazy dreams I’ve been having recently. There were details delivered from my prayers; things that made me laugh, blush, raise eyebrows and be overjoyed. Only God… only God.

I’ll start to share some of those in the days to come, as they’ve already begun to unfold. But all I can think of right now is this prayer…

Restore us again, O God of our salvation…revive us again, 
that Your people may rejoice in You.
Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD, 
and grant us Your salvation.

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, 
for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints; 
but let them not turn back to folly.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, 
that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; 
righteousness and peace kiss each other. 
Faithfulness springs up from the ground, 
and righteousness looks down from the sky. 
Yes, the LORD will give what is good, 
and our land will yield its increase. 
Righteousness will go before Him 
and make His footsteps a way. Psalm 85: 4-13) (ESV)

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A Secret Life

There are times throughout scripture that Jesus tells us about this secret relationship we have with God. He reminds us ‘your Father who sees what is in secret will reward you’.  The essence of sacred intimacy is what happens between two in secret.

I’ve been stirring about the swarm around social media recently. Sometimes we start treating our online platforms as a diary instead of a network of public forums. For instance, in our spiritual life, when God is doing a really intense and beautiful work in us, we start telling those things before He’s even made the point and gotten it down deep into our belief system and into the depths of inner transformation. It’s like we start telling the secret before He’s even done the secret work in us. We call ourselves healed while we’re still healing… and then we shut the work down because “we’re done with that, over it”. We move on to the next thing but God never even got to finish the work that He was after. At some point the struggle comes up again and we’re brought back to that place.

It is true we are supposed to share our faith… we have the word of the testimony, but sometimes we need a little time on the other side to see if there’s really been a completion of God’s work, a lasting inner transformation that we can express and share. Developing a sacred secrecy in our relationship with Christ is a special place of safety in His presence… it gives us grace while the good work is still being completed.

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What Good Love Looks Like

I saw this story on ’60 Minutes’ last night and it touched my heart dearly. I cried and thought, now that’s what good love looks like. After 75 years and it still seemed like all a dream…

The video is called “A Letter From Fred”. It’s about a song he wrote for his wife after her passing, which ended up winning a songwriting contest held by the local recording studio. http://vimeo.com/70426141