I want to encourage you today that everything begins with thoughts, so we need to be careful to have godly and uplifting thoughts. The apostle Paul wrote:
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil 4:8).
Everything you see in the natural realm began with a thought. Your smartphone began with someone having a thought to create such a device and now you have it in your hand. Your motorcycle or other form of transportation began with a thought, and so did the ideas of the internet and of email communications.
A thought becomes a word.
A word becomes an action.
An action becomes a habit.
A habit becomes a lifestyle.
A lifestyle becomes a destiny.
It all begins with a thought. Since there is a direct correlation between our thoughts and our destiny, let's train ourselves by the grace of God and the renewing of our minds through the power of the Holy Spirit to think thoughts that please the Lord, according to His Word.
Jesus said that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Lk 6:45). This teaches us that spoken words reveal whether a heart is filled with goodness or evil, as the mouth inevitably overflows with what is stored within. Therefore, whatever the heart is full of will directly determine your destiny, and whatever you fill your mind and thoughts with will ultimately become your future.
Closing Words
A practicing neurosurgeon named Dr. W. Lee Warren has written a book called The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life, which explains how it is possible for you to make structural changes to your own brain so it’s healthier and less prone to depression, anxiety, grief, worry, and other issues that make you unhappy and keep you stuck. It shows how modern neuroscience has now proven that what I have taught in this article is true, and gives you practical keys to doing what he calls self-brain surgery to change the way your brain is wired.
Do You Want to Know Him? If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says? “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
In another article of mine, I wrote about how Thoughts Directly Affect Your Destiny, and I would encourage you to read it. A practicing Christian neurosurgeon named Dr. W. Lee Warren teaches how you can break addictions in your life by changing the way you think, and how the science actually proves this to be true. Here is an excerpt from Dr. Warren's interview with Dr. Ben Carson, in which he spoke about addictions. He said:
"Addiction is a hijacking of the brain's reward system, right? It's this trick that we play on ourselves that says that we're going to get some helpful neurotransmitters if we engage in this act or ingest this substance. But what the truth is, it's never been about the delivery of joy. It's about the delivery of the reward mechanism that's been hijacked. Therefore, addiction turns into this seeking the release of a neurotransmitter that gets harder and harder to get with the same dose of the thing that we're after.
"And so what we have to do then if we want to break addiction is we have to get a different set of thoughts around the reward that we really want. So what I really want is that calm sense that I get from alcohol. But when I drink alcohol, I find instead of the calm sense lasting very long, the next day I'm hung over. I don't feel good. I've spent money. I've said things I shouldn't have said. I've done things I shouldn't have done. And the reward didn't pay off like I thought it would.
So, we have to interrupt the cycle and say, 'No, if I want the reward of feeling better, being calmer, not being as stressed, I need to change the way I'm getting that neurotransmitter release.' So, my brain learns that the way to get real joy is by engaging the system in the correct way. So, again, it comes down to the decision of what you're going to think about because what you think about turns into what you do.
"So there's this fascinating thing in Ephesians chapter 4 starting in verse 17 where Paul talks about what he calls the Gentiles, you know, the people that aren't saved, don't know God. And he says they do all these things, drunkenness and orgies and and all these terrible behaviors that they do. But then he says all of that stuff comes from the way they think. He says don't be like them. They're lost in the futility of their thinking. So all the behavior that gets us in trouble starts with the things we're thinking about.
"And then he says in Ephesians 4:23, he says, 'No, don't be like that. Be renewed. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.' So if you don't want to end up with behaviors that give you trouble, addictions or whatever, it starts with redeeming and changing what you're thinking about all the time, by choosing to get the reward in the right way. Andrew Hubberman said, 'Anything that gives you dopamine that you didn't have to work for will progressively control your life.' And that's a good way to sum it up. That's what I'm trying to say."
Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like my posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.
Do You Want to Know Him? If
you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and
believe in Him. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says? “Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
Rewiring Hope: How Dr. Lee Warren Connects Neuroscience, Faith, and Healing
In a powerful conversation on the Christian television program 100 Huntley Street (video podcast), neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Warren shared how personal tragedy, trauma, and groundbreaking neuroscience transformed his understanding of the human mind — and ultimately, his faith.
Dr. Warren’s story is marked by extraordinary hardship. In 2005, he served in Iraq as a combat neurosurgeon with the United States Air Force, performing more than 200 brain surgeries in a tent hospital while surviving over 100 mortar and rocket attacks. Though he returned home physically safe, the psychological toll lingered.
“I came home internally shattered,” he explained. “The PTSD flashbacks and fear made me feel unsafe even when I was safe.”
Years later, an even deeper tragedy struck. Dr. Warren and his wife Lisa lost their 19-year-old son, Mitchell, who was stabbed to death. The unimaginable grief plunged the family into despair and forced Dr. Warren to confront difficult questions about suffering, healing, and the relationship between the brain and faith.
When Science and Faith Collided
The turning point came shortly after Dr. Warren returned to work. At the medical building where he practiced in Alabama, researchers were conducting functional MRI studies — scans that not only show the structure of the brain, but reveal which areas become active during certain thoughts and emotions.
During one demonstration, researchers asked a participant to recall the worst experience of her life. Immediately, the fear and anxiety centers of her brain became highly active. Her blood pressure and heart rate increased as her body physically reacted to the memory.
Then researchers asked her to think about the happiest moment she could remember. Within moments, the fear centers calmed, other regions of the brain lit up, and her body relaxed.
For Dr. Warren, the implications were profound.
“I realized mind and brain are not the same thing,” he said. “Thought changed brain, and brain changed body.”
As a Christian, he suddenly saw striking parallels between neuroscience and Scripture. His wife Lisa connected the experiment to Philippians 4, where believers are instructed not to dwell in anxiety but instead focus on what is true, noble, lovely, and praiseworthy.
That moment sparked a revelation that would shape Dr. Warren’s work for years to come: changing thoughts literally changes the brain.
The Power of Neuroplasticity
Modern neuroscience calls this process neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life.
For decades, scientists believed the brain was largely fixed after childhood. Today, researchers understand that the brain is constantly changing based on repeated thoughts, behaviors, and experiences.
“The more you think about something,” Dr. Warren explained, “the more automatic it becomes.”
He referenced the well-known neuroscience principle often summarized as: neurons that fire together wire together.
Negative thought patterns, fear, trauma, and hopelessness can strengthen harmful neural pathways over time. But hope, gratitude, truth, and purposeful thinking can create healthier pathways instead.
Dr. Warren believes this discovery aligns remarkably with biblical teaching.
“The Bible said 2,000 years ago to take your thoughts captive,” he noted. “Now neuroscience is showing us why that matters.”
Healing Through “Self-Brain Surgery”
Dr. Warren describes this intentional rewiring process as “self-brain surgery.”
The concept is simple but powerful: every thought a person repeatedly entertains shapes the brain structurally. According to Dr. Warren, people are already performing “brain surgery” on themselves every day — either in ways that help or harm them.
He warns that many automatic thoughts are unreliable.
Research suggests humans experience tens of thousands of thoughts each day, and many are biased toward negativity or fear. The brain’s job is often to scan for danger, which can distort reality and reinforce anxiety.
“Feelings aren’t facts,” Dr. Warren emphasized. “They’re chemical events in your brain.”
Learning to step back and evaluate thoughts — a process psychologists call metacognition — allows people to challenge destructive mental patterns rather than automatically believing them.
For Dr. Warren, this became deeply personal during grief.
After Mitchell’s death, thoughts like “I’ll never recover” or “This pain will define my life forever” constantly surfaced. Instead of surrendering to those thoughts, he began intentionally replacing them with truth rooted in Scripture and purpose.
He and his wife started focusing on how Mitchell’s life could continue impacting others through their story and ministry. Slowly, hope began to return.
“It felt like climbing a ladder out of a dark hole,” he recalled.
Thoughts Shape Reality
One of Dr. Warren’s most compelling insights involves the brain’s filtering system.
He explained that the brain constantly sorts incoming information based on what a person is focused on. If someone expects danger, disappointment, or failure, the brain begins highlighting evidence that confirms those beliefs. Conversely, focusing on gratitude, opportunity, and hope trains the brain to notice positive realities that were always present.
“Reality becomes what we tell our brains we’re looking for,” he said.
This perspective does not deny pain or suffering. Rather, it offers people agency in how they respond to hardship.
For trauma survivors, people struggling with anxiety, or anyone who feels trapped by a diagnosis or label, Dr. Warren insists there is hope.
“You are not stuck with the brain you have,” he said. “Your brain is waiting for better instructions.”
A Message of Renewal
Throughout the interview, Dr. Warren repeatedly returned to one central theme: transformation begins in the mind.
Drawing from Romans 12 and Ephesians 4, he emphasized the biblical call to renewal — not simply behavior modification, but a complete reshaping of thought patterns.
In his view, neuroscience is increasingly confirming truths Scripture has proclaimed for centuries: gratitude changes the brain, hope improves resilience, and intentional thinking affects emotional and physical health.
“Science bends toward truth over time,” he said. “Scripture has been pointing at truth all along.”
For viewers carrying grief, anxiety, trauma, or discouragement, Dr. Warren’s message was both scientific and spiritual: healing is possible, and change begins with what we choose to believe.
“Your brain will build the world you continually remind it is true,” he said. “You can change your life by changing what you think about.”
Attribution Notice:I created this article with the aid of Generative AI using the transcript from an interview of Dr. W. Lee Warren on 100 Huntley. The image was also created using Generative AI, as well.
Do You Want to Know Him? If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says? “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
In today's cultural discourse, a pervasive narrative suggests that the human mind is inherently fragile. Modern culture frequently implies that our brains are weak, frail, and in need of constant, specialized curation—shielded by "safe spaces" and managed through endless counseling.
However, 21st-century neuroscience is beginning to tell a vastly different story, one that aligns remarkably well with ancient spiritual wisdom.
On a recent episode of the podcast Common Sense, host Dr. Ben Carson, a renowned retired neurosurgeon, sat down with fellow neurosurgeon, veteran, and author Dr. Lee Warren to discuss a revolutionary paradigm: Your brain is not fragile. It is structurally designed to be rewired, transformed, and strengthened through the power of your thoughts and faith.
Neuroplasticity: The Science of a Renewed Mind
For decades, medical students were taught a rigid doctrine: the adult human brain is fixed. It was believed that you are born with a set number of neurons, and if you experience trauma, stress, or possess the "wrong" genes, you are simply left to manage a broken system.
"But 21st-century neuroscience is teaching us a different story," Dr. Warren explains. "We're learning, as Scripture has said all along, that you really can actively change what your brain is structurally, and the thing that drives that change is the stuff we think about."
This concept is known as neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
Taking Thoughts Captive
Dr. Warren bridges this cutting-edge science directly to biblical principles, noting that neuroplasticity is the physical manifestation of what Scripture calls "renewing the mind" (Romans 12:2) and "taking every thought captive" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
When an individual intentionally changes their thought patterns, they alter the neurochemical environment of their brain. This means that chronic anxiety, depression, and stress are not necessarily permanent identity markers; they can be systematically dismantled by directing our cognitive focus.
The Physical Power of Prayer
The intersection of faith and neuroscience isn't just theoretical—it is measurable. Dr. Warren highlights the groundbreaking neuroimaging research of Dr. Andrew Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania.
Newberg conducted functional MRI (fMRI) and spectroscopic scans on individuals before and after a six-week period of practicing prayer or meditation for just 10 minutes a day. The results were staggering:
Brain Structural Growth: The hippocampus—the region of the brain responsible for emotional regulation, resilience, and peace—increased in size by 22%.
Physiological Resilience: As the brain structurally changed, subjects demonstrated a heightened ability to efficiently process hardship and stress.
"Literally when you pray, when you engage with God, He makes your brain better able to handle hardship and stress," Dr. Warren notes. "Faith and neuroscience intersect in the way that God has designed our brains to get better when we take Him seriously."
The Screen in the Scanner: A Personal Turning Point
The reality of this science became intensely personal for Dr. Warren following a catastrophic family tragedy: the murder of his 19-year-old son, Mitch. Devastated and battling a profound crisis of faith, Dr. Warren found himself questioning God.
A month after the tragedy, still deeply grieving, he and his wife, Lisa, attended an fMRI research session at Auburn University. What they witnessed on the scanner monitor permanently altered Dr. Warren's approach to trauma.
The Anatomy of Thought
A test subject was placed in the MRI machine and given two specific prompts:
Watching this sequence play out in real-time, Lisa turned to Dr. Warren and referenced Philippians 4: If you don't want to be anxious, choose gratitude instead.
"God sort of revealed this idea to me at that moment," Dr. Warren recalls. "If you want to feel different than you feel right now... you're going to have to change the perspective of what you're looking at."
Suffering as an Engine for Hope
This realization completely shifted how Dr. Warren viewed human suffering. In the operating room, neurosurgeons intentionally make structural changes to a patient's brain to heal them. In daily life, individuals can use their thoughts to do the exact same thing.
This cognitive training relies heavily on the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that often gets "stuck" during complex grief or emotional trauma. Neuroscience shows that this region strengthens when a person forces themselves to do hard things—like choosing to get out of bed, choosing to go for a run, or choosing to look for meaning amidst pain.
This biological reality perfectly maps onto Romans 5:3-5: Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
The Concept of "Anti-Fragility"
Humans are not fragile; we are anti-fragile. Unlike an object that breaks under stress, the human mind requires a certain degree of hardship to grow, adapt, and build robust resilience.
Dr. Carson contextualizes this using a physiological example: if a tiger walks into a room, your body instantly activates a massive, stressful fight-or-flight response. But if you are immediately told, "That's a friendly, trained tiger," your brain processes the new information, and the entire physical panic dissolves. We possess immense control over how we react to our environment, rather than letting the environment control us.
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction
This framework of rewiring the brain also offers profound hope for those battling addiction. Addiction fundamentally hijacks the brain's reward and dopamine systems, creating a loop where an individual seeks an automated neurotransmitter release from a substance or behavior.
To break an addiction, the cycle must be interrupted at the thought level. By intentionally changing the thoughts surrounding the desired reward, the brain can be retrained to find genuine joy and dopamine through healthy, constructive channels. Dr. Warren points to a powerful quote by neurobiologist Andrew Huberman to summarize the trap: "Anything that gives you dopamine that you didn't have to work for will progressively control your life."
When we rely on passive, cheap dopamine, we surrender control. When we actively discipline our thought life, we reclaim it. (For more on this see Neurosurgeon Explains How to Break Addiction).
Becoming Your Own "Brain Surgeon"
In a culture that overwhelmingly prioritizes comfort and external validation, Dr. Warren’s ultimate message—outlined in his book, The Lifechanging Art of Self-Brain Surgery—is one of personal agency and faith.
While seeking professional help from counselors, pastors, or psychologists is invaluable when navigating immense trauma, the ultimate responsibility for change remains internal. No therapist can change your mind for you.
Rather this is something you must do yourself through metacognition—thinking about your own thinking—to change your mindset.
By actively partnering with God, taking thoughts captive, renewing your mind through prayer, Bible reading, Scripture meditation, practicing the Word, and leaning into the anti-fragile design of the human nervous system, anyone can navigate catastrophic hardships and emerge with renewed purpose, deep resilience, and a completely rewired brain.
You can trust the Word of God to be true. Science continues to prove it, as technological advancements like functional MRI and spectroscopic scans update old theories that once contradicted Scripture. You can truly renew your mind.
Scriptural Meditation
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God –this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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." (Rom 12:1-2)
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor 10:5)
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Rom 5:3-5)
"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking." (Eph 4:17)
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph 4:22-24)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:6)
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things." (Phil 4:8)
Attribution Notice: I created this article with the aid of Generative AI using the transcript from an interview of Dr. W. Lee Warren on the program Common Sense with Dr. Ben Carson. The image was created using Generative AI also. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.
Do You Want to Know Him? If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says? “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
Possible Research Trail for Knowledge-base to be able to Develop SARS CoV-2 or a similar Virus Is this what was done? Perhaps we will never know
We do know that Dr Anthony Fauci financed some of the research through the US NIAID grants to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and later to EcoHealth that was diverted to Wuhan Institute of Virology. See the actual grants here: Fauci NIAID Grant to EcoHealth to Wuhan Institute of Virology Lab originally posted at: HHS Original Link.
Why would Dr Fauci fund "gain of function" research? Was it to prevent a pandemic and simply create a vaccine? His associations with Bill Gates and the "Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" are very strong and involve millions in donations to the NIH, the W.H.O., and other organizations that Fauci participates in as a board member. The Gates Foundation has funded several vaccine manufacturers at the same time he is pushing for global mandatory vaccination of every person on Earth.
Fauci as well as representatives of the Gates Foundation, the Chinese CDC, and representatives of other nations sit on the board of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). They worked to create a report that discussed the deliberate release of a lethal respiratory pathogen. The GPMB was assembled in 2019 in response to a request from the office of the U.N. secretary-general and the W.H.O. and created its report in September 2019: "A World At Risk - Annual Report on Global Preparedness for Health Emergencies." See: Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) September 2019 Report.
We do know that Gates and many other elites have often expressed their dedication to global vaccination programs, depopulation, eugenics, and a more authoritarian global governmental model.
Selected Journal Articles with Research Done by the Chinese Scientist they call, "the Bat Lady," Shi Zhengli
Just the titles give us insight into the general trend of her research but read them for yourself if you wish. There are dozens and dozens more that were done, but this presents a picture of how scientific knowledge has been advanced. This knowledge can clearly be used to save lives, to create vaccines, to understand disease, but might have another use known as "dual use" applications.
2009
Differential stepwise evolution of SARS coronavirus functional proteins in different host species.
BMC Evol Biol. 2009 Mar 5;9:52. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-9-52.
Tang X1, Li G, Vasilakis N, Zhang Y, Shi Z, Zhong Y, Wang LF, Zhang S. United States National Institute of Health Article
There's been a lot of discussion of the "Spike" protein where the virus attaches within the cell. Understanding that is necessary for the creation of a virus that will infect a human.
Immunogenicity difference between the SARS coronavirus and the bat SARS-like coronavirus spike (S) proteins.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Sep 18;387(2):326-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.07.025. Epub 2009 Jul 16.
Zhou P1, Han Z, Wang LF, Shi Z. United States National Institute of Health Article
2010
We are told that the organs with the most ACE2 receptors are where the virus most attacks people.
Angiotensin-I Converting Enzyme 2 [ACE2] proteins of different bat species confer variable susceptibility to SARS-CoV entry
Arch Virol. 2010 Oct;155(10):1563-9. doi: 10.1007/s00705-010-0729-6. Epub 2010 Jun 22. Hou Y1, Peng C, Yu M, Li Y, Han Z, Li F, Wang LF, Shi Z. United States National Institute of Health Article
Intraspecies diversity of SARS-like coronaviruses in Rhinolophus sinicus and its implications for the origin of SARS coronaviruses in humans.
J Gen Virol. 2010 Apr;91(Pt 4):1058-62. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.016378-0. Epub 2009 Dec 16. Yuan J1, Hon CC, Li Y, Wang D, Xu G, Zhang H, Zhou P, Poon LL, Lam TT, Leung FC, Shi Z. United States National Institute of Health Article
Identification of key amino acid residues required for horseshoe bat Angiotensin-I Converting Enzyme 2 [ACE2] to function as a receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
J Gen Virol. 2010 Jul;91(Pt 7):1708-12. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.020172-0. Epub 2010 Mar 24.
Yu M1, Tachedjian M, Crameri G, Shi Z, Wang LF. United States National Institute of Health Article
Hmm. Key amino acids needed for SARS Coronavirus to attach to ACE2 receptors They just need to understand these things for the good of the world, don't they! Or to kill people?
2013 Identification of immunogenic determinants of the spike protein of SARS-like coronavirus.
Zhou P1, Han Z, Wang LF, Shi Z.
Virol Sin. 2013 Apr;28(2):92-6. doi: 10.1007/s12250-013-3292-y. Epub 2013 Apr 11. Virological Sinica Research Article
2015 Two Mutations Were Critical for Bat-to-Human Transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.
J Virol. 2015 Sep;89(17):9119-23. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01279-15. Epub 2015 Jun 10. Yang Y, Liu C, Du L, Jiang S, Shi Z, Baric RS, Li F. United States National Institute of Health Article
Article states: "Understanding the bat origin of human coronaviruses is helpful for the prediction and prevention of another pandemic emergence in the future."
Hmmm...
2016 Coronavirus: epidemiology, genome replication and the interactions with their hosts.
Virol Sin. 2016 Feb;31(1):1-2. doi: 10.1007/s12250-016-3746-0.
Shi ZL1, Guo D2, Rottier PJ3. United States National Institute of Health Article
2017 Cross-neutralization of SARS coronavirus-specific antibodies against bat SARS-like coronaviruses
Sci China Life Sci. 2017 Dec;60(12):1399-1402. doi: 10.1007/s11427-017-9189-3. Epub 2017 Nov 10. PMID: 29134417 PMCID: PMC7089274 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-017-9189-3
Zeng LP1, Ge XY1, Peng C1, Tai W2, Jiang S2,3, Du L4, Shi ZL5. United States National Institute of Health Article
"... our results have demonstrated that most SARS-CoV RBD-specific antibodies tested in this study could cross-neutralize SL-CoV strain WIV1, but not SHC014. While SARS-CoV and WIV1 have comparable RBD, the RBD of SHC014 is much more variable, as previously noted (Figure S1 in Supporting Information). More specifically, the RBD of SHC014 has a difference of 24 amino acids (aa) compared to that of SARS-CoV, while the RBD of WIV1 only has a difference of 8 aa. This may explain why SHC014 could not be cross-neutralized effectively by most antibodies (mAbs or pAbs) targeting SARS-CoV RBD.
The fact that SHC014 retains its ability to infect human cells implies that the available antibodies and vaccines based on SARS-CoV RBD will not protect the next SARS-like disease caused by bat SL-CoV SHC014 strain. Thus, further development of effective vaccines and treatments for potential infection by the SL-CoV strains, as represented by SHC014, is urgently needed.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81290341, 31621061 to Zheng-Li Shi), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDPB0301 to Zheng-Li Shi), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of National Institutes of Health grant (R01AI110964 to Zheng-Li Shi), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC1201000 to Shibo Jiang) and NIH grant (R01AI098775 to Shibo Jiang and Lanying Du)
2018 Serological Evidence of Bat SARS-Related Coronavirus Infection in Humans, China.
Virol Sin. 2018 Feb;33(1):104-107. doi: 10.1007/s12250-018-0012-7. Epub 2018 Mar 2.
Wang N1,2, Li SY3, Yang XL1, Huang HM3, Zhang YJ1, Guo H1,2, Luo CM1,2, Miller M4, Zhu G4, Chmura AA4, Hagan E4, Zhou JH5, Zhang YZ5,6, Wang LF7, Daszak P4, Shi ZL8. PMID: 29500691 PMCID: PMC6178078 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-018-0012-7 United States National Institute of Health Article
"This study was jointly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant (81290341) to ZLS; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (Award Number R01AI110964) to PD and ZLS [Shi Zhengli], United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project Grant (Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-A-14-00102) to PD; and Singapore NRF-CRP Grant (NRF2012NRF-CRP001–056) and CD-PHRG Grant (CDPHRG/0006/2014) to LFW."
Discovery of Novel Bat Coronaviruses in South China That Use the Same Receptor as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
J Virol. 2018 Jun 13;92(13). pii: e00116-18. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00116-18. Print 2018 Jul 1.
Luo CM, Wang N, Yang XL, Liu HZ, Zhang W, Li B, Hu B, Peng C, Geng QB, Zhu GJ, Li F, Shi ZL United States National Institute of Health Article.
" Our study expands the host ranges of MERS-related CoV and represents an important step toward establishing bats as the natural reservoir of MERS-CoV. These findings may lead to improved epidemiological surveillance of MERS-CoV and the prevention and control of the spread of MERS-CoV to humans."
Acknowledgements: We thank Lanying Du for the mouse antiserum and monoclonal antibody against MERS-CoV-spike. This study was jointly funded by the Scientific and Technological Basis Special Project (2013FY113500) from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China to Z.-L.S., a USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project grant (Cooperative Agreement no. AID-OAA-A-14-00102), NIH grants (R01AI110964 to Z.-L.S. [Shi Zhengli] ; R01AI089728 and R01AI110700 to F.L.), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31727901) to Z.-L.S.
2019 Origin and evolution of pathogenic coronaviruses
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2019 Mar;17(3):181-192. doi: 10.1038/s41579-018-0118-9.
Cui J, Li F, Shi ZL [Shi Zhengli] . United States National Institute of Health Article
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are two highly transmissible and pathogenic viruses that emerged in humans at the beginning of the 21st century. Both viruses likely originated in bats, and genetically diverse coronaviruses that are related to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were discovered in bats worldwide. In this Review, we summarize the current knowledge on the origin and evolution of these two pathogenic coronaviruses and discuss their receptor usage; we also highlight the diversity and potential of spillover of bat-borne coronaviruses [meaning from bats to other species], as evidenced by the recent spillover of swine acute diarrhoea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) to pigs.
Attribution Notice: Unless otherwise credited, all material copyright of Hospice Patients Alliance ("HPA"), which is a nonprofit, charitable 501 (c) (3) Patient Advocacy Organization located at 4680 Shank Street, Rockford, MI 49341. Used by permission.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org
The deadly, novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, is claiming the lives of thousands of people around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now officially declared it to be a global pandemic, which experts say will touch every nation. One expert epidemiologist compared it to the Spanish flu of 1918, which lasted two years and killed an estimated 65 million people, but possibly as many as 100 million. He also compared it to World War II.
The infection rate is very high and so is the mortality rate -- 10 times more deadly than the seasonal flu 1, and it is spreading like wildfire. In Italy for example, they went from 3 cases to 3,000 cases in 2 weeks, and during a two week period it went from 250 cases to 10,000 cases, which is why that entire country is in total lock down mode right now. Likewise, Spain, France, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Argentina, Russia, and Israel are also under nationwide lock down as well. The virus is ravaging the Middle East with Iran warning of potentially millions of deaths from it. President Trump has declared a national emergency in the US, which gives him over 120 special powers to deal with the crisis. The governor of the state of Washington publicly stated that his expert advisers are telling him that if he doesn't take measures to slow the spread of this pandemic, he could potentially have 64,000 cases in his state alone by May. In the state of New York, they are taking drastic measures as well, including a 1-mile radius detainment zone around New Rochelle in Westchester County. All flights to the US from the UK and Europe have been stopped for now, and many other drastic things that are being done to stop the spread of this disease.
There were a couple of cruise ships where some of the passengers had tested positive for the virus, and because of that the entire ship was quarantined, requiring everyone on board to remain in their cabins for 14 days. One of those cruise liners was off the coast of Japan and another one was off the coast of California recently. Another example was recently in Bethlehem, Israel, in which there were tourists staying at a hotel where seven people were suspected of having the virus. All those tourists were required to remain quarantined in the hotel for 14 days with the ones who were suspected to be positive.
I am not promoting hysteria, but have done a great deal of research on this virus. Due to its 14-day incubation period, it is also very stealthy in that a person can initially be contagious without symptoms for up to two weeks, making them an ideal spreader to infect unsuspecting people around them. This probably helps to contribute to its very high infection rate, which could be as high as 83%, because people don't know to avoid these carriers who show no symptoms of the disease.
Reason
First of all, as I wrote in my previous article, I believe the The Seven Seals Are Being Opened in Real Time, and the coronavirus is one of the plagues that has been released as part of the fourth seal. It has already been foretold in Scripture, and I believe it will result in many more deaths.
As I look at the seven seals of revelation, especially the first several seals (eg., the first five), they seem to me to all be related to the evil acts of man. In other words, they all seem to be man-made by evil people. All this is allowed by God to help people wake up and realize that Jesus Christ is coming back soon. We are in the last days. The Lord is calling on everyone on earth, including those who know Him and those who don't know Him, to stop doing the things of the world and repent and pray, because Jesus is coming back very, very soon.
Origin
As for the origin and how the virus got started, I believe there is ample evidence that it was man-made (attenuated in a lab).
China's Wuhan Institute of Virology has a BSL-4 lab, which reportedly had been working on genetically modifying the SARS virus to give it a gain-of-function. According to the US National Library of Medicine, "Gain-of-function (GOF) research involves experimentation that aims or is expected to (and/or, perhaps, actually does) increase the transmissibility and/or virulence of pathogens."
"...a team of researchers from Norway and the UK have published their findings that COVID-19 was absolutely manmade. Their two main conclusions:
the mutations that would normally be seen in the course of animal to human transmission have no occurred in the coronavirus, indicated that it was fully “pre-adapted” for human infection and transmission; and
the coronavirus has insertions in its protein sequence that have never been detected in nature and contribute to its ability to cause infection and disease."
It is suspected that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) was leaked either intentionally or accidentally from the BSL-4 lab in Wuhan. According to Newsbreak, "The taxpayer-funded NIH (National Institutes of Health, where Dr. [Anthony] Fauci is a top official) is now known to have funded bat coronavirus research (SARS-CoV) at the very same BSL-4 Wuhan laboratory that is widely believed to have manipulated and released the Wuhan coronavirus that’s now devastating the planet." Under Obama the NIH gave $3.7 million to the Wuhan lab that is located only 20 miles from the food market where the outbreak allegedly started (Also see here).
It has been reported that they had sloppy lab practices and scientists were taking lab animals (like dogs) home as pets, selling some in the market, which may have been used as food, and not properly burying carcasses of the animals that died. As a result, the world is now experiencing the health and economic consequences caused by this virus. The world as we once knew it has been forever changed, including our freedoms, as this will have a seminal effect like 911 did.
I recommend watching the video in the first link below, and if you still don't believe it is a bio-weapon, then check out the other two articles as well:
A thirty-three year old Chinese doctor Li Wenliang was silenced when he first warned about the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Chinese police stopped him after he attempted to sound the alarm in December 2019 over the outbreak at Wuhan Central Hospital, where he worked. Obviously the Chinese government didn't want that news to get out. Dr. Li later announced that he himself had become ill with the coronavirus, from which he died on February 7, 2020. His employer announced his death on Weibo, the Chinese social media site. He has now become a national hero for being a courageous whistle-blower in that repressive communist country, where there is no freedom of speech.
Moreover, US intelligence now reveals that communist China endangered the rest of the world by lying about the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak there 2. Revelations have surfaced about the regime’s malfeasance in covering up COVID-19, which means they are under-reporting the number of cases and deaths. This led medical authorities in other countries like the US to think that the outbreak was not going to be as serious as expected, until they saw the true numbers coming out of Italy and Spain. Meanwhile the Chinese Communist Party has sought to to turn the story around, making itself seem like the true hero and even a victim of the US military.
Divine Revelations
The Scriptures say: "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." (Act 2:17). So in these last days, the Lord is giving people dreams and visions. I believe the Lord has even given people divine revelations to confirm what we already know about COVID-19, which is that this virus is being used by evil people seeking to depopulate the world. Let me give you some examples.
Coronavirus dream. Message to every nation.
In this first video, a brother in Christ tells of the dream he had about the coronavirus in January. He was not going to share it initially, because I suppose he didn't think anything major would become of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
In the dream, he was trading with two Chinese men, exchanging currencies, and they seemed displeased with something about the trading deal. He then saw that they had five pipes leading from the coronavirus to a factory, apparently to pump the virus into the factory, in order to sicken and kill the workers there. The workers noticed the pipes and didn't understand how they got there. Then he saw a sixth pipe leading into an office building. This one was under the floor and began to cause the floor to boil, which they noticed. They showed a white guy in the office the boiling on the floor, and he downplayed it, saying it was probably just water, which it obviously was not. Then suddenly it boiled over into an explosion that filled the entire room. Later the man who had the dream was made to know that the two men who instigated this ended up dying from the virus, too.
My interpretation:
His interaction with the two Chinese men seems to represent the US trade war with China. The pipes from the coronavirus to the factory and the office building could possibly confirm it was an intentional leak. The factory represents the Chinese manufacturing sector and the office building represents the Chinese corporate sector. The white guy represents the way Americans have downplayed the virus and continue to do so even as it has become a global pandemic. He may possibly represent an American or Americans who were in China on business when people in those offices were getting sick and it exploded all over the place. That explosion all over the place may also represent the way it spread to the whole world from there.
A Dream About Corona Virus
In this second video, a sister in Christ also had a dream about the coronavirus. In the dream, she was in China walking through some kitchens of restaurants. She saw someone go into one of the kitchens with a white powder and place it on a shelf. She was made to understand that the white powder substance was the coronavirus. One of the cooks then added a small pinch of the powder to someone's food, which was then served to them, after which the guest immediately fell over dead. Men then came into the restaurant, put the man into a body bag, took him out the restaurant through the kitchen and out the back door. They put the body into a van, drove up a hill and then stopped and threw the body out onto the ground, which rolled down a hill and off a cliff. This whole process was repeated with more guests in the restaurant. There were also men seated secretly among the guests who were there to monitor this diabolical scheme and ensure it was being carried out. She tried to stop the people who were doing this, but they could not hear her and continued to kill more and more people. She knew that many dead bodies were piling up at the bottom of the cliff where they had been thrown. She also saw other guests in the restaurant watching news on a television screen about many people dying, many of them falling dead in the streets.
My interpretation:
Her dream seems to indicate once again that this virus is a biological weapon of warfare designed to kill people, and that it has been made by evil people who have intentionally infected the civilian population with it. The instant death they experienced may indicate the high fatality rate caused by the coronavirus.
Remedy
In this last video (now removed by Youtube), the Lord appeared to a sister in Christ in her dream and gave her the cure for coronavirus. He placed before her fresh ginger, fresh okra, and fresh garlic, and told her this is what people need to take to be healed from the virus. He warned her that people should not look to the government for help from the virus, because the government would only kill them.
My interpretation:
I believe the Lord did show this woman a homeopathic remedy for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). I believe these foods will in fact boost immunity and enable people to avoid getting the virus in the first place, as well as be healed from it if they do get sick with the virus. The intestines or "gut" are key to a healthy immune system, and as the sister stated, her research after the dream showed that okra helps to replenish good bacteria in the gut to boost immunity. It is also well known that garlic has anti-viral properties.
The Lord's warning that the government will only seek to kill the people is a confirmation that this is a bio weapon and that the government is behind it. It also confirms that government solutions will only kill more people. Of course, this remedy has not been evaluated or approved by the evil FDA, but that doesn't mean it won't help you get healed from the coronavirus. This is not medical advice, but taking these foods certainly won't hurt you.
I might also add that getting about 15 minutes per day of sunshine during the summer months (March to October in the USA) helps your body generate vitamin D (known as the sunshine vitamin), which is then stored in your body for use throughout the year. This stored vitamin D is used by your body during the months when you cannot generate vitamin D naturally, due to the lack of direct sunlight. Medical studies have shown that vitamin D3 (not D2) can help to defend against respiratory infection. Since the coronavirus causes pneumonia, it is important to have proper levels of vitamin D3 in your system. One study in a hospital many years ago showed that during an outbreak of the flu, the patients in one particular ward, who had received vitamin D supplements, did not suffer from the respiratory illness that plagued the other wards in that hospital. Of course, you can take vitamin D3 supplements in various forms to boost the levels in your system generated by sunlight. For example, you can take Cod liver oil with vitamin D; but do your research, since there are various kinds of vitamin D, but D3 is the best. You also don't want to have too much of it in your system, as that would be unhealthy. On the other hand, you want to get sufficient doses of it in order for it to be effective, and you need to have sufficient levels of other substances (eg., vitamins A and K, plus magnesium), to enable your body to absorb the D3.
I also recommend eating a healthy diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, which are good sources of vitamins and fiber. And avoid foods that can damage your body and/or cause poor health conditions, such as the ones I call the white poisons, namely refined sugar, dairy, refined table salt, and processed white flour. For more on this see White Poisons and Some Foods Damage, Others Heal.
I believe the most important remedy to keep from getting this disease is to repent of all your sins, give your life to Jesus Christ, and ask for His covering of protection over you, according to Psalm 91. Ask for His precious blood to cover you and protect you. His sinless blood that was shed on the cross for you will cover and protect you from this disease. Pray and seek the Lord, as prayer is key to your spiritual and physical well being. And go about your day praising the Lord, as praise is a powerful weapon of spiritual warfare.
Overreactions
There is certainly a lot of hype and hysteria surrounding the novel coronavirus, which is not good and not of God. I am not advocating fear, panic, or hysteria. And there certainly has been a big impact to the economy from it so far, namely the worldwide stock market crash (eg., Black Monday on March 9, 2020, etc.) and widespread fears of another recession. COVID-19 is also wreaking havoc on retail supply chains globally, resulting in various product shortages. The mass panic buying that is happening is also helping to contribute to those shortages. Some businesses are even temporarily laying off employees or sending staff home on administrative leave.
Additionally, the draconian measures being taken by the government to combat the pandemic will lead to a loss of freedoms in the long-term. They are already implementing screenings, monitoring of people, mandatory quarantines, drive-through testing, border closures, school closures, nursing home visitation bans, postponed elections, travel restrictions, and strict guidelines on gatherings of more than ten people, including private family ones in homes and those in public places such as restaurants and churches. I believe that eventually they will implement forced vaccinations, too. People will become desperate for a solution to this global crisis and look to the government to save them, which will set the stage for the emergence of the antichrist and his mark of the beast system.
Medically speaking, in terms of outcomes, on one end of the spectrum it can be as mild as the common cold for most people, and they feel better in two weeks, but on the other end of the spectrum is acute respiratory failure and death. Since the virus has already mutated 262 times to boost its own survival, which is a very high mutation rate, there are different versions of the disease being transmitted. This obviously poses a major challenge to the human immune system to develop ongoing immunity to an ever-changing virus, which could be the reason why it is so deadly and why doctors have observed a high rate of reinfections among those who recovered from the virus. An article from a Beijing, China-based media group called Caixin, reported that "14% of recovered Covid-19 patients in Guangdong tested positive again.”
Moreover, it has also been reported that even those who have recovered from the illness have ongoing damage to certain organs. According to Science Alert, those who recover fully from COVID-19 can still suffer from reduced lung function, possibly up to a 20-30% loss of function. They may gasp for air when walking quickly due to substantially weakened lung capacity, according to a Hong Kong study.
Regardless of what you believe to be the source of this virus, or whether you believe this virus poses a serious health threat, you should at least be able to agree that the reactions of society and the government (as mentioned above) to the pandemic will probably affect your daily life in some way. This perhaps poses the greatest risk to most of us, in terms of the highest probability of occurring and the most severe impact.
In this article, I do not seek to promote panic, but am simply stating what the potential is for this pandemic. The data I have analyzed indicates that things could get a lot worse in terms of potentially millions of people dying and long-term impacts to society.
If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, then you do not need to be fearful of this pandemic. If you have been fearful, then you should repent for your fear and ask the Lord to forgive you. Have faith in God, pray, and trust in Jesus to protect you.
Putting it All Together
This is an unprecedented time in our nation's history and the history of our world. It is not business as usual, but rather apocalyptic days we are living in. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please get ready for the rapture, because Jesus Christ is coming back very, very soon. If you don't know Jesus, then now is the time to give your life to Him. I believe we are seeing the end time plagues foretold in Scripture, and that the seven seals are being opened. I believe the coronavirus is part of the fourth seal. I also believe it is a man made, bio weapon intended to cause maximum casualties. I do not believe the government has the answer for this problem. Jesus is calling upon everyone in the world, those who know Him and those who don't, to stop doing the things of the world, repent, pray and believe in Him, because He is coming back very, very soon.
2 Death rate for seasonal flu is around 0.1% in the US, but the death rate for COVID-19 is 29.6% worldwide (excluding mainland China), according to Worldometers. That is actually 296 times (29,600%) greater than the seasonal flu death rate. Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is calculated during the epidemic using the formula: CFR = deaths / (deaths + recovered) which, with the latest data available, would be equal to: 20,781 / (20,781 + 49,354) = 29.6% CFR (worldwide excluding China). Moreover, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in the USA is 1,295 / (1,295 + 1,868) = 41%. That is 410 times (41,000%) more deadly that the seasonal flu. As of April 2, 2020, the CFR is 95.6% in the UK, 84.6% in Netherlands, and 73.2% in Sweden! Therefore, when I state that COVID-19 is 10 times more deadly, it is a huge understatement.
Attribution notice: Scripture quotations from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.
Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. This article is not to be construed as medical advise. This is only to provide
you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which
you will be accountable to God. I highly recommend watching the video featuring renowned virologist and author Dr. Judy Mikovits called Plandemic, a film about the global plan to take control of our lives, liberty, health & freedom.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org
Some people doubt the genuineness of the ministry of healing, because they say that some people, who initially claim to be healed, later turn out to not be healed. However, what they fail to realize is that when you receive anything from the Lord, you have to do your part to keep it.
Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (Jas 1:17). But the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy (Joh 10:10), and he will try to steal from us the perfect gifts we have received from the Lord.
Let's take for example, the gift of salvation. Consider a person who repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of his sins, and afterward receives an assurance of his salvation. That person experiences peace that passes all understanding and joy unspeakable. However, do you think the devil is going to say, "Oh, that person got saved, so we lost him. Let's leave him alone and move on to someone else."? No, he is persistent and tries to capture that soul back to himself once again.
Once a person is saved, the devil tries to tempt him to sin. And if he does sin, then the devil tries to make him doubt his salvation. The devil will tell that person, "You did this, and this, and this. You're still sinning. You're not saved." If the person listens to the enemy's voice, and does not fight back, he will begin to doubt whether he is really saved. I have seen this happen. And even if you remind the person of the joy unspeakable he had when he got saved, he may say, "Well, that was a questionable experience." That's because they have chosen to believe the devil's lie rather than the Word of God, which says, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved...for 'whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Rom 10:9,13).
Jesus said, "These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them." (Mar 4:15)
That's why we must encourage one another. We must disciple new believers, and teach them that they are in a spiritual battle, and how to fight using the full armor of God. "And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph 6:17). When the devil comes to tell you that you are not saved, you must know that you are saved, and declare out loud that you are trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ, trusting in the cross, trusting in His name. You declare out loud what the Word says, such as Rom 10:9,13 and 1 John 1:9 that says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9)
Consider the woman with the issue of blood, who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. The Scripture says, "Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction." (Mar 5:29). Notice that she felt in her body that she was healed. There was physical evidence that she could perceive. That often happens when someone gets healed. They may feel a heat or a warmth. They may feel that a lump is no longer there. They may notice that the pain is gone. They may try to do something they could not do before and find that they are now able to do it. In any event, regardless of the evidence, they perceive in their body that they are healed.
Let me remind you that the person who prays for the sick must exercise faith, which is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen (Heb 11:1). So too, the one who receives the healing must exercise his faith. However, the devil is not going to take that sitting down. He wants to kill, steal, and destroy. That's his nature. So he sets about trying to make the person doubt the healing he has received. This temptation may begin immediately after the healing, or soon afterward.
The devil will try and give the person a pain or other symptom that he used to have before he was healed, and then try to tempt the person to believe he is not healed. The healed person must fight to keep the devil from stealing his healing. It's spiritual warfare. In the spiritual warfare, the healed person must take up the full armor of God and use it, especially the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. For example, he may say, "By the stripes of Jesus I was healed." (1 Pe 2:24).
This is why when someone I pray for gets healed, I often admonish them to hold onto their healing and I give them spiritual medicine to take each day. The spiritual medicine is comprised of some Scripture verses about healing that the person can recite aloud at meals daily, just like they might take natural medicine with meals. The meal time is a reminder for them to take this spiritual medicine. This helps them to learn to keep their healing, so the enemy doesn't steal it.
Let me illustrate this analogy below in a chart:
Salvation
Healing
Person exercises faith to be saved, along with repentance
Person exercises faith to be healed, and does something he could not do before.
Person experiences an assurance of his salvation and receives a witness from the Holy Spirit.
Person feels in his body that he is healed of his infirmity.
The devil comes to make the person doubt his salvation. He will provide the person with evidence to back up his assertion.
The devil comes to make the person doubt his healing. He will provide the person with evidence to back up his assertion.
What happens next in the chart above depends on the individual. The one who has been saved either let's the devil steal the seed of God's Word that was sown in his heart, or he fights back with his faith and the Word of God, persistently holding on to his faith in Christ. The one who has been healed either let's the devil steal his healing or he maintains his healing by faith and fights back with the Word of God.
I want to emphasize that not every healing experience is exactly the same, and not everyone will feel in their body that they are healed at the moment they receive prayer. Sometimes you have to receive it completely by faith and don't have any immediate evidence to prove you are healed.
Therefore, if someone says he has researched certain people who have received healing and found that they were not actually healed, we must keep in mind what I have just explained. Receiving a healing is one thing and keeping one's healing is another. We cannot blame the one who prayed for the sick if the person does not keep his healing. I admit there are fakes out there who claim to heal the sick but do not. The devil can counterfeit the real thing. But there are still genuine gifts of healing and miracles, and we must not doubt that, just because certain people did not keep their healing.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
