Crossing Over

Wayne's Family

On Friday (13-May-2011) I had the privilege of visiting an elderly woman (Betty) who was about to cross over into the great peaceful unknown. A friend from high school (Wayne) has a daughter (Bethany) who contacted my wife (TammyM) and asked that I come and pray for her grandmother (Wayne's mother-in-law) as she was "going downhill" and wasn't expected to live much longer. I arrived at the NHC nursing home after work in the evening. When I approached the room, the door was ajar and I could hear the family talking softly. I opened the door and met Wayne's wife (Glenda) and their two daughters (Bethany & Lorrie); Wayne was on his way. They all thanked me for coming, although I wasn't really sure why, because I didn't know what they wanted me for. I sat with them a while and asked about Glenda's mother (Betty) who was lying in the bed semi-conscious with Bethany & Lorrie sitting beside her. Bethany was holding her hand. Betty had lived at NHC for a few years due to her deteriorating mental state. Wayne arrived. I asked them all what they wanted for Betty and they all agreed they wanted her to peacefully pass over to her real home, heaven. I did not feel up to what was happening, but I knew Jesus is always ready. I told them about my cousin, Rosemary, who, several years ago was in a terminal illness state. 

Rosemary's Story

Rosemary had had a life full of pain and sorrow and was then dying of lung cancer. Before she got really bad off she had called my mom (Janice) and asked to see me. I went to her home and she was already in the state of not being able so speak. I took her hand and asked her what she needed. She couldn't answer but just looked at me and squeezed my hand. I got the feeling it was about her eternal salvation, so I asked, "Rosemary, do you want to be assured of your salvation?" She immediately smiled, shook her head "yes" and squeezed harder. I led her in a prayer to Jesus. She cried and hugged my neck. A few days later she was in the hospital not expected to live much longer. She had suffered terribly. She had been unconscious for several days when I got to her in the hospital. There were a dozen or so family members around her bed. I asked the Lord to let me have some time alone with Rosemary and suddenly, even before I got to say "Amen" to the prayer, every single person in her room left! I was in shock. The Living God had heard me and inspired them all to leave immediately. I imagined an angel whispering in their ears that they needed to get some food in the cafeteria. I was greatly humbled. I walked over to Rosemary and bent down to her face and asked, "Rosemary, do you want to be healed? Or do you want to go home?" Suddenly her eyes opened and she looked at me and smiled. At that very moment a verse rose in my heart very loudly, "Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Psalm 116:15) and I knew it was the Lord speaking and that Rosemary wanted to go home. She closed her eyes. I read healing scriptures to her and prayed, "Father, let Rosemary's homegoing be glorious and without pain." As I prayed this, her family had started coming back into the room. Two days later, after resting peacefully since the prayer, Rosemary sat up in bed, smiled, looked around the room at her suddenly hushed family, spoke Jesus' name and went home without any suffering. Glorious indeed!

Betty's Story

This story greatly moved Glenda and the family I was now with. I told them of the Lord's great love for Betty (I was feeling it very strongly at the moment) and that it would be the same with Betty. She would go very peacefully and be received into Jesus' arms. I had them all gather around, Glenda, Wayne, their two daughters, Bethany and Lorrie. We all held hands with Betty completing the circle. We worshiped Father & Jesus and thanked the Spirit for His presence. Then I just prayed a similar prayer, "Lord, let Betty's homecoming be glorious and without pain and suffering." A very strong presence of the Lord made itself known in the room. Tears flowed. We all felt His love filling us. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Very humbling and sweet. Two days later, Betty simply fell asleep and crossed over peacefully with her family at her side holding her hands.

The day of her funeral I had been working out in the yard and was very dirty and sweaty, but my wife really wanted to go by and pay her respects. We drove by, but I was so dirty I didn't want to go in. My wife went in and visited and then came out crying. She said that Glenda said for me to get in there they needed to see me and didn't care I was a mess. So I did. Glenda and Wayne hugged me and thanked me for visiting when I did and told me about the way Betty passed away. It meant a lot to them and me. Again, I did not feel up to their gratitude nor the task to begin with. Humbled is all I can say, greatly humbled.

Such beauty, such passion, such gratitude, such graciousness, such kindness... such is our Lord Jesus.

30-Apr-2011 (Sat) - Wrist Cyst Healed

My Mom

Saturday, 30-Apr-2011, after working in the yard all day, I had settled down on the couch in anticipation of the upcoming NHL playoff hockey game between the Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks. My wife and daughters were in town and I was by myself. My cell phone rang and my mom (Janice; see pic right) was on the other end. She said she had a cyst come up on her right wrist a few days ago and it had gotten worse. It was now at the point that it was throbbing painful and she could not bend it without sharp pain. She asked if her and Amelia (my niece) could come over and if I could lay hands on it. Of course! We should be instant in season and out (2Timothy 4:2).

She just lives about 7 miles up the road, so she was here in a flash. She came in and sat down on the couch with me and demonstrated her pain. I could see the swollen portion. OK, let's do this. I commanded healing and told the cyst to leave and that Jesus had bore all her pain. Nothing. Commanded again. Nothing. Did this about half-a-dozen times... still nothing. But rather than get discouraged, as I could see my mom's face getting that way, it occurred to me something I've been meditating on lately. If you ever read the Bible much, one thing that strikes you as a huge difference between the Old and New Testaments is the epic feel you get about God the Father in the Old Testament. I mean, it is like God is B-I-G in the Old Testament; what with epic battles and the rise and fall of nations. I noticed David did not ever settle for a partial victory. After soundly defeating his enemies, he would even chase them. And when they regrouped, he would pursue, besiege, and run them completely out of the country or annihilate them. Of course, these things are types and shadows of our battles in the Kingdom of God. What God had given David was land, and he didn't rest until all enemies were banished from what God had given him. Likewise, my heart was encouraged by these thoughts. I thought, what God has given my mom (healing), I would not rest until the cyst was banished. I thought the God of the Old Testament, the BIG One, was the One Jesus worshiped; the One that worked so effectively through Him.

With this, I talked to the cyst and told it these things. I told the cyst I was here to stay and I was not going to stop until it moved. This time I put my hand on mom's shoulder because I didn't want the heat from my hands to heat up her wrist and give a possibly false indication of progress. I was so encouraged by David's example, that I felt my confidence soar. I commanded the cyst to be removed and for some reason I said, "I command veins to be healed right now!" Then I told my mom she was probably feeling something now. She was. She felt heat and cold surge and then a tingling started in her wrist and ran up her arm for about 3 or 4 minutes all while my hand was merely on her shoulder.

When she tested it, pain was reduced, she said, by 99%! Praise Him! She could no longer make it get the sharp pain she had before and there was now no longer any throbbing. Amen! She said, "I know we were connected to God. I know that what He started right here He will finish." Amen again!

I didn't get to talk to her until this morning (03-May-2011, Tuesday). She called me at work very excited and praising the Lord. She said she woke up this morning and her wrist was 100% healed; no pain, no swelling, nothing!

Thank You, Jesus, that you have provided for us and you are always willing for us to have the things you provided for us. Thank You, Jesus, that we have a divinely-given right to physical healing just like David had a divinely-given right to the Promised Land!

Infections, Wheezing & Pains From Surgery

Our Friend Becky

Saturday (23-Apr-2011) I learned that one of my wife's (TammyM) friends (Becky; see pic left) had to have emergency surgery due to a severely infected appendix. She started having pain and getting sick at her stomach and her family took her to the emergency room where they immediately admitted her and performed an emergency appendectomy. She was in recovery Saturday, but her white-blood-cell count was up and she was still in some pain. Me, my wife and one of my daughters (Kayla) went to visit her in her room. My wife fixed her hair and put some makeup on her while we all small-talked. Becky is a strong believer and has seen the Lord work in her life to perform miracles for many people. She asked for prayer and agreement that her infection would die and she would be free from pain. So we all laid hands on her and commanded pain to leave and infection to die. She felt some soreness leave immediately. The next day, after some tests, she was released to go home feeling much better. Amen!

Jennifer & Her Family

Later that evening I also learned that my sister's (Jennifer) husband's (Jimmy) dad (Big Jim) had just had surgery for a bad rotator cuff. (See pic right of Little Jimmy and his family) He had been in severe pain for several days. His surgery went well, but he was in a lot of pain. Also, while there, he picked up pneumonia and was wheezing pretty bad. He went back to the doctor who prescribed something for the pneumonia. Big Jim was raised in church and is a very sweet man. He was my late dad's very good friend and was present when my dad went home to Jesus. But, being raised in a Baptist church, he's been extremely schooled in many beliefs against healing. Me and Jimmy went to see him at home and before laying hands on him I discussed Jesus with him for a while. I gave him a testimony about healing and he said, "Well, maybe we need to go where that guy was because I don't think the Lord heals that fast around here." Of course, he said that partially jesting with a smile on his face. I asked him if he thought Jesus is the only One that truly represented Father God perfectly. He answered, "Yes, of course." I told him Jesus is the one that said we could do His works, and He never healed slowly. He had to agree. So, I laid hands on his shoulder and after feeling heat in the 3 holes he had in his shoulder from surgery, he said the pain went from about 8 to about 4 or 5. Amen! Then I commanded his lungs to clear and immediately told him to take a deep breath. He did and his eyes widened. He said, "Now the Lord is definitely doing something in my lungs. I'm not wheezing like I was." He took several deep breaths easily and couldn't make himself wheeze anymore.

Thank You, Father God, for your steadfast kindness toward us. I love You.

15-Apr-2011 (Fri) - Jesus At Hooters & 2 Backs Touched

Picture got your attention, didn't it?! LOL... Just the other day, I was in a restaurant (Hooters) with my daughters' dance team and my wife and all the parents. I felt a little ashamed to even walk in the place for obvious reasons but it was the only restaurant open at that late hour after my daughter's performance at the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach. I really felt the waitresses were totally being taken advantage of in a very disgraceful way. But while I was sitting there, one of the young dancers (about 15 years old) complained she had hurt her back in the last performance. It was really hurting her. I felt ashamed to be in the restaurant, inadequate, unprepared, etc. But I just thought... "That ought not to be for one so young!" And I simply said, "C'mere a second." She said, "What're you gonna do?" I said, "Just come here." On her way to walking to me, her back started heating up and tingling! I didn't even get to pray or lay my hands on her before Jesus started healing her. Her pain was removed.

Jesus is always the same even when we aren't. He heals in all situations and in every atmosphere. There is no atmosphere or human idea or emotion that can stop Him. We do not have to have the "right atmosphere" for Him to move. He's not offended by people, places or things. He works everywhere and with anybody and in any situation. Amen! So stop trying to "get the right atmosphere for God to move"! This is silly religious stuff and has nothing to do with the truth. God has ALREADY moved... it is now OUR move.

Yesterday (Thursday, 14-Apr-2011), I was in Georgia on business and one of my coworkers at a company down there was having back issues (he had a cane). Here's how I approached him. I said, "Hey, Joel, what's with the cane, buddy?" He said, "Well, I've hurt my back or something. Having to use the cane occasionally to get around as the pain shoots down my leg at times." I said, "Wow, man, I'm really sorry. Listen, I don't know what you believe, but I have something to ask you." He said, "What is it?" I said, "Well, I've had a bit of success at getting folks healed of back problems. It's a very casual thing. I just lay my hands on you and pray and we'll see what happens? If nothing happens, well, there is no harm done, right? And if something does, you could be out of pain. What do you think?" He said, "OK, sure. That sounds OK. Give it a try. It couldn't hurt." So I did; I commanded his back to be healed in  the name of Jesus. Then I checked, "Do you feel anything? Like heat or tingling or anything?" He said, "Well, I don't feel heat or tingling, no. But I do feel something. It is hard to describe." I said, "That's OK. Something is usually a good sign." He checked it a little and said it felt a little better. I said, "A little better is good, right?" He smiled and said, "Sure." Then he kinda looked up and just simply said, "Thanks." He was visibly moved by the love I showed him and not so much by the feeling in his back.

Jesus touches the whole man, body, soul & spirit. Joel felt both God's power in his own body and the love of God demonstrated in a simple act of praying casually for his pain. I told him we can do it again next time I came down, just in case he's not all the way better.

He thought that was a very nice gesture. Amen!

09-Apr-2011 (Sat) - Deadly Virus and Seizures

A couple of weeks ago one of my friends (GregC) put me in contact with a lady that lives near me. Her son (Isaac) was having seizures; he's only 4 years old. I met with them and we talked for a while about Jesus. I asked her if she had anything wrong with her. My intention was to boost her faith that this was real and we were not just going to pray like most. She said her ear was stopped up and painful to touch. I prayed for her ear and commanded the pain to leave... it did! She felt a pressure change inside and it was no longer painful to touch. This, I believe, boosted her faith quite a bit! So then we laid hands on her son and rebuked seizures and the spirit of infirmity. Today I got this message from her:

"Praise report: Isaac is doing really well right now. I have not noticed any seizure activity at all of any kind for about a week now. Most of his tests for several serious and life threatening disorders have come back normal. We are beginning the diet on the 18th, but wouldn't it be great if in the hospital they found that he did not need it!!"

Amen! Thank You Jesus.

Also, a few weeks ago, another friend of mine (Chuck) called me and asked me to pray for his friend (Butch) who had some extremely rare kind of highly contagious virus. Butch was in ICU and basically thought to be on his death bed. I asked if I could go see him. Chuck said they probably wouldn't let me in because it was so contagious. I asked the Lord about it and I felt like it was the right thing to do, so I went to the hospital and asked if I could go in with his wife (Cheerie) and lay hands on him. I explained to Cheerie that I wasn't going to ask God to heal Butch, but I was going to do the works of Christ and command his healing because I already knew what God wanted. There were several people from her family and church there and some of them overheard me telling Cheerie the gospel of healing.

Cheerie very willingly took me to his room in ICU. The glass panels to the room were shut with big warning signs on them. We put on a mask, robe, gloves, hat and shoe covers before we entered. I spoke to Butch (though he was unconscious) and told him Jesus wanted him well. I basically taught the gospel out loud to him just to let him know in the spirit. Then Cheerie and I laid our hands on him and commanded his healing. I didn't see any response other than Cheerie was moved. Before we left the room we had to remove all the garb and put it in the biological hazard canister.

That very night his kidneys began to function again! It was a slow process, but immediate improvement was an exciting thing after he had done nothing but go down hill. Turns out his teenage son kept telling everyone that his dad was not going to die! Amen!

I got this message this morning from one of his friends:

"Praising God this morning!!! Our sweet friend, Butch Cooper is improving so beautifully! His trach and dialysis port were both removed this morning! :) Yay God! ...and he just told Chuck to bring him fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy & biscuits back this evening for dinner! He is truly a miracle! Thanks for praying for him!!!"

(10-Aug-2011 UPDATE): I got this text message about Butch from a friend of mine (Chuck):

"Hi Greg. Cheerie Cooper sent this update for Butch. She wanted me to let u know. See ya later: 'Chuck, please join Butch & I in a time of praise to God. He just returned from his visit to the pulmonologist (Mr. Pessimist) with the X-ray showing very little scaring left in his lungs. God is great! Please let Greg Kiser & your mom know about this wonderful news...'"

Never lose hope, and never stop pressing. Jesus taught persistence in many places. It is not that we are persistent with God, for God wants the person healed much more than you do. In fact, Father God has already provided healing for every single person that will ever live. It is a matter of us receiving His finished work in Jesus Christ. So what do we persist against? Against everything that opposes the will of God. And the will of God is very clear:

1 Timothy 2

3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  

 The word translated "saved" in the above scripture is the Greek word sozo, and it means "whole." It is not just referring to the limited meaning of "getting to go to heaven when you die" that many preachers and Christians put on it. It simply means to be saved from all manner of harm. It's very first 3 uses in the New Testament show the wide variety of its application:

Saved From Sin

Matthew 1

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

Saved From Physical Danger

Matthew 8

25 So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We’re going to die!"

Saved From Sickness

Matthew 9

21 for she said to herself, "If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!"

Thus to limit the meaning to just getting to go to heaven when you die is not Biblically accurate! Now, go above and read  1Timothy 2:3-4 again. Now you can see that God is not willing that any should suffer for their sins. He is also not willing that any should die in accidents. He is also not willing that any should be sick! He wants for His children what any good parent wants: Forgiveness, safety and health!

The Bible is amazingly simple when we let it be. 

30-Mar-2011 (Wed) - More Torn Tendons and an Update

My wife's (TammyM) brother (Mike) tore a tendon in his foot playing basketball the other day. He said it felt like someone drove a nail into his heel. It made a grotesque popping noise when it happened. He went to the doctor and the doc told him it was partially torn, but if he would immobilize it, it would probably heal. So, he gave Mike a special boot to wear. Mike wore it one time. He said it did a great job, but he just didn't want to wear it. My wife and I went over to Mike's property and was helping them move a few things. After we were done he complained his heel was about a pain level 8 (1-10)! So I said, "Can I pray for it? Sometimes I can get the pain to go away." He recalled, "You did that to me once before when I hurt my foot about a year ago at a family picnic. So, sure, go ahead." I laid hands on his foot about 3 times and nothing much seemed to be happening. So, I tried what I like to call the Curry-Blake technique... LOL. I told him I was going to lay hands on it, tell the pain to leave in Jesus' Name and then I wanted him to immediately put pressure on his heel. So I did, and he did. He said, "I'm not kidding you, that worked." He stood up and walked around and said, "It doesn't hurt anything like it did." Yay!

Curry Blake describes this as allowing the River of Life to flow out of you and removing your hand before it "flows or bounces back." A strange description and odd idea, yes, but sometimes it seems like the right thing to do. I've tried this several times and so far it has worked. Jesus really does describe the divine life flowing out of believers as a flow of a river:

John 7:37-39 - On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been received because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Also as a note regarding the nurse (Vern) I prayed for here: He grabbed me at the nursing home the other day and said, "Guess what happened!" I said, "You can hear?" He said, "Yes! 100%. I woke up to the sound of the clock... not the alarm, but the ticking! I turned my head and I discovered I could hear out of my right ear."

Thank You Jesus for continuing working even after we leave the person we pray for!

John G. Lake on Resolve

"Last evening in the healing rooms, just at six o'clock, I was visited by a woman who I met four or five months ago in the Deaconess Hospital. The dear lady had been given up to die. She had been examined by X-ray, and a large cancer in the stomach was discovered. They told her there was nothing to be done for her. So the dear husband sent for me to speak a kindly word to his supposedly dying wife. I did not understand what I had been sent for and when I got to the dear soul I supposed I had been called to pray the prayer of faith for healing.

"I said, 'Dear Mother, you do not have to die.'

"'But', she said, 'the doctor says so. The X-ray shows such a sized cancer. I guess, brother, I will have to die.'

"And I said, 'It is a lie. You do not have to die.' For two or three months we battled against that condition in the woman's soul. The Spirit of God would come upon her every time we prayed. Her pains would disappear, she would go to sleep, etc., but she was not really healed. That went on week after week and month after month until I was almost worn out before her soul raised to take victory. But last night she walked into the healing rooms. She told me that she weighed only seventy-five pounds when I met her and that now she weighs one hundred twenty pounds. She went to the hospital this week and had the same physician X-ray her. When they saw the picture they said. 'There must be some mistake.' And they got the original and examined it. They could not understand it.

"She said, 'Doctor, I found a new Physician, the Great Physician, the Christ of God, and I do not care about your plates. I know the cancer is gone.' But the plates showed it was gone. The woman has gone back home a happy woman. But, beloved, the victory only came when the consciousness of the power of the living Christ took possession of that woman's heart. Blessed be God.

"Not a dead Jesus, but a living Christ!"

MY COMMENT: Where are the MEN/WOMEN of God with that kind of resolve? I have decided where ONE of them lives.