Signs and Wonders.

I have seen signs and wonders in my life that are undeniably from God. No one else except God could do the things I will relate to you now. And these are but a few of the signs and wonders that my family, others, and I have experienced.

Some may say “coo-koo!” but I encourage you to continue with an open but cautious mind. Testing the spirits to see if they be of God … proving things …

Proving things is very important because scripture (God’s message and direction to us) tells us to do so.

a.	Does the sign, miracle or wonder line up with the Word of God?
b.	Is God receiving the glory for this miracle or is a man or woman or group or ministry or whatever being exalted?
c.	Can you picture Christ performing this miracle?
d.	Does the miracle draw attention to Christ or to the person performing the miracle?
e.	Does this wonder cause you love and worship God more?
f.	What is the purpose for this miracle?
g.	Have you tested the spirits to see if they be of God? There are at least two tests given us in Scripture for testing spirits. (e.g. Did Christ Jesus come to earth in the flesh? Is Jesus Christ Lord of your life? Evil spirits cannot answer yes to either of these questions.)

Let me assure you I have no motive other than to share what I believe God is doing. Why so? Because some will likely be led to consider God with an open mind and discover the Truth or more of the Truth -- God is, and He is more than enough -- both now and in the REST of eternity. Besides, why should I silently contain such awesome testimony about the goodness of God?

There is eternal disaster in attempting to cast God in our image and making choices based on that ignorance. God is much more than we can even imagine but what we can know is plenty and worth the knowing. One thing for sure, we are created in His image -- certainly not He in ours. And another for-sure is that He loves us beyond measure.

With that bit of maximum truth (that I once did not know) -- I begin …

What is a sign?

Let the Holy Scripture speak to us:

And this shall be to you a sign … e.g. searh on the word "sign"

A wonder?

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

Many more … e.g. search on the word "wonder"

A literal sign and wonder from God (to a father and mother)

My Wife and I, a young grandma and grandpa, were led, through a set of unusual circumstances to fellowship with a small group of Christian believers. The people who led us into this small (para-church) group were themselves a small sub-group of Baptists who were seeking God with all their heart, soul and strength.

While the name of the para-church group is not important in this testimony, what God did through the group is. My wife and I worshiped and praised God more intensely as part of this group than ever before (well let’s call the group GRM so we can stop writing “this group”. We were trained and equipped as never before. Though we felt as infants on milk when we entered this group of prayer and praise warriors, we were welcomed and encouraged to grow in the Lord.

GRM had an ordained minister and a group of volunteers that did Bible based counseling. The people who came to the group for counseling were almost always coming as a last resort -- meaning they had tried everything else both secular and within the traditional church environment. I believe God led most if not all of the hurting and desperate people to the ministry.

After a while GRM invited my wife and I to “go through the ministry” so we could help as volunteer counselors under the ordained ministers supervision. This very thing seemed to be both my wife’s and my own hearts desire from the time we were small children. I had wanted to be a doctor, which first became obvious to me, when my Dad asked me what I wanted to be for the first time. I was about age 10. My wife chose nursing in college. She definitely has a heart to help others in dire need. In college I first chose psychology, then when I realized it was a moneymaking sham (in my opinion) and one that did not seem to have legitimate evidence of people being healed! It was more a let’s experiment with the sick and medicate them while we make a lot of money and take fullest advantage of those we are supposed to heal. I changed to computer science. Even then my one A in CS was in a class where I planned a computer help system that would calculate nutrition requirements and produce a balanced menu similar to what a trained nutritionist would do. My desire also is clearly an inner desire to help others be healthy the way God intends. I just did not have a clue how such a thing could be brought about.

So now let’s go back to the story line of GRM’s invitation to become a volunteer Bible-based counselor. I am VERY cautious about things involving my family. However, I knew these people by their lasting fruit. I had been with the GRM people for many months and could see nothing but the goodness of the Lord in what they had done and were doing for others in need. GRM had little in the world’s eyes. Even so, I obtained written information about GRM methods and did research before showing up with my wife for what is called a “deliverance session”.

Even as my wife and I went through the approximately eight hour intense session I had some lingering although seemingly small doubts about what was happening. And yet I sensed somehow that it was undeniably of God. The session consisted of a temperament questionnaire; family history and personal questions about things that could have generational consequences, intense prayer, an application of scripture to our lives and our renouncing anything of anything that scripture said would hinder us in fulfilling the destiny God intends for us.

When it was done, my wife and I were aware of a great difference within us. We felt free and cleansed, forgiven and more alive. We felt tremendous gratitude both toward the GRM minister and volunteers. I invited them to an immediate dinner of thanks. They accepted. Now it was a matter of exactly where we would meet to eat together. A place was picked and we all headed for that place in separate vehicles.

Somehow we all ended up at another place -- Chili’s in Round Rock, Texas -- about nine of us in all. We were seated and began to chat among ourselves about various things. The lady next to me had the strongest sense of discernment and at one point in this meal she happened to look up toward a high part of the wall. She asked, “Doesn’t that poster have your last name on it?” The poster did in fact have our family name on it and our family name is a relative unusual one in spelling and frequency. The name is sometimes interpreted to mean “Peace.” I looked more closely at the sign and saw words like behemoth and Bethany. My wife and I saw this as a sign to us that what we just did in the deliverance ministry was clearly of God.

Why so? Again, the family last name that was on the poster is not that common. The sign turned out to be from a theater in a town in Bethany, in another state. The word behemoth is one of the spirits mentioned in the book of Job (40:15-24). Behemoth is an evil spirit that had in the past become part of a generational curse in our family. The generational curse was broken just a little while earlier in the deliverance session. Our knowing the specific names for such evil spirits was where my doubt seemed to be, for example tartan, sargon, spirit of infirmity, legion, deaf and dumb spirit, leviathan, behemoth, this last one we recognize is a power of the air. Now I believe and then believed that there are evil spirits because the Word of God mentions them in various ways. Jesus cast out such spirits and told us greater works would we do because He goes to His Father. However, I was not certain that we could know their names or if that was necessary or required. Jesus did ask the name of Legion but not others and He did say that “this kind” meaning there is more than one type of demonic spirit -- some apparently more difficult than others. Ultimately the combination of, scripture, this poster, and my subsequent experience as a counselor helped convince me that spirit names in some instances of deliverance are important. God tells us so in His Word. That should be enough. For me the poster was special loving kindness that I must have needed to get me to the rest of the Truth that at that time I could not get deep enough into my heart. Thank you Jesus.

The probability of that specific poster being in that particular restaurant for us to see on that particular evening is probably beyond human calculation. I do not believe it is coincidence. The poster was produced around 1958, the movie “The Giant Behemoth” was produced in England. The poster came to the theater in MO and eventually to the Chili’s in Round Rock. Additionally, the posters were periodically changed.

There is more significance in the poster but it is not necessary to relate it all now. Here is a little more about it: Bethany, Mount of Olives, in Israel, is a place Christ Jesus visited and loved. Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives to the Father after He died and rose again -- all to save us, to free us from the curses, and even more. This poster had the word Bethany between the word for our family name, the Word that means Peace, and the horror films that were portrayed below. To us it was a clear and undeniable sign confirming that Christ was responsible for separating us from the generational curse of behemoth earlier in the deliverance session. The Words, “you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free”, became so real to us. This sign and wonder visibly -- in the here and now -- confirmed that God is with us so who can be against us. We will have trials and tribulations in this world, but we can come out of this world through Christ Jesus and with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is Peace like a river. We can have that Peace. This poster is a sign from God and has many dimensions of Truth for us. Christ Jesus put Himself between my family and the world of horror, trials, tribulation and so forth. He already took the sting out of death, the grave has no victory, evil has no power over us any longer -- unless we choose it over God. We do not intend to do so. We purpose to choose God each and every day, to give back to Him, rather than the world that opposes us, our first fruits of time, talent, whatever. He is faithful to multiply that which we give according to His promise unto the full coming of His Kingdom and His will on earth as it is in heaven.

How can we not revere, fear, love God? He is awesome beyond human comprehension while He shows His infinite love for us who are otherwise hopeless broken vessels of miry clay. For example, this sign and wonder confirmed to us that God knew at least in the early 1900s where my wife and I would be in 2000 and exactly what we would be doing on that day, even to where we would eat a meal, a meal not pre-planned or known by any of us until a few minutes prior to going. Even though we were supposed to go to another nearby restaurant but all ended up at Chili’s instead. Only one person in the group looked up, the one with high discernment. Discernment is of God’s Holy Spirit. In order for my wife and I to have seen the sign we had to be in communion with God and others. This person of discernment was seated at my left side, was talking to me so my last name was on the tip of her tongue and she would probably not have seen the name in the poster in any other seating arrangement. All these things were put into motion long before the event and foreknown to God but no one else -- only God can do such things. Hallelujah.

Yes, this event causes me to seek God’s face as never before -- and since, not just this event alone, but even more such events that are clearly only made possible by our Lord God Almighty. I am sure that Christ Jesus made a way for us to enter into the Holy of Holies because with His victory and His redeeming blood we are seen as sinless in the sight of God. Christ Jesus intercedes for us and is our advocate in heavenly places. Because of Him we truly live though we once falsely believed we lived but in fact were dead. Until we know the Lord we are dead people walking.

Once we know Christ Jesus as our personal Savior we are born a new creature who is free to live and grow spiritually and to commune with the Living God of the Universe and all creation. And though it is not as significant all things being considered, what happens in the spiritual seems to be followed in the physical and vice versa. There are deep things of God. As we begin the journey rightly with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, deep calls out to deep and within us begin a process that God’s message to us reveals is a changing from glory to glory. This process is wrought by God not us. If we are willing vessels He shapes and forms us in His timing and His way into the stature and image of Christ. God tells us He created us each one as unique beings in His image. Our choices once we enter the world system will be to shape or conform ourselves into something of our own doing which would be into something other than what God intended. Or, to allow God to shape us into the spiritual creature He designed us to become. We get to choose who we will serve, how long we will live, who we will follow, where and who we will spend now and eternity with. All choices. Our choices, not God’s and that is by His choice.

If God goes to this much effort to reveal himself more fully to a handful of people who are no more worthy of His grace, mercy, love and kindness than you are, what is keeping you from receiving the same type of wonderful consideration? Our choices? Choose Life. Choose Truth. Choose Light. Choose God. That is what the time you have on this earth is all about.

The Bible I read says there is no other way to the Father except through Christ Jesus. No one else has or could have paid the price for our sin except a sinless flesh and blood man. Christ came to earth from a place of perfection into a world that man forfeited to evil.

When I prayerfully read my Bible and purpose to do those things within its message -- God reveals Himself to me in many undeniable and wonderful ways. He makes it possible for me to do the right and pleasing things that I purpose to do in Christ Jesus’ precious Name. That is how I know it is Truth and that Truth contains the power of God unto salvation.

Now if this is the case, and the Bible tells me there is no other way to the Father but through Christ then I do love others who believe differently but I pray to the same Heavenly Father in Christ Jesus Name that they too will find the one way so they will not perish but have everlasting life -- not death, not misery, not hatred, not suffering, not anything except the goodness of God.

Everyone must choose and everyone will have done so quite soon. The harvest is great and plenteous but Christ Jesus’ command to pray the Father would send laborers into the harvest as white as the world will be answered. Will there be chaff separated from the wheat, goats from the sheep? Read the Word of God and know the answers that are of eternal consequence. God is good. This world is bad -- again, not God’s choice. God tells us in scripture what will happen. The world system struggles to keep everyone from reading His message of freedom. God has to separate the evil from the good at some juncture. Not to do so would, even in terms of limited human logic, seem cruel because people who choose evil hurt others intentionally and are hurt themselves by a greater evil.

Why would God let sin, abominations and perversions continue eternally? Scripture shows us He does not. He tells us the wages of sin is death. Does that mean we have to work to earn death. If so, stop working and accept God’s free gift of eternal life. We cannot earn a free gift. His plan for us is for good not evil to give us a hope and a future. Especially read the beginning and the end of the book. Good wins. And in the winning the good are determined, are revealed, are shaped and formed in a way that allows them to enter once again into the presence of God without perishing in the Light of His glory and grace.

Once you have read the beginning and end all the world system will not keep you from the rest of the Truth. The Bible is eternal. The Truth to be revealed in it is infinite and like all the things of God -- just gets better continually. There are dimensions that are not yet imagined by the human mind. Not yet. God has surprises for those who love Him -- see what the scripture reveals about this.

The literal sign (the poster from Chili’s) with my family name on it is precious because God did it specifically for my wife, family, and I. And to think I used to joke about a sign from God falling out of the sky telling us something so we could be sure. Your sign is there too already waiting for you to run into it, and when you seek the face of God, you will run into His gifts to you and only you. God loves you beyond measure. He wants you just as you are and He will do the rest. He tells us He is no respecter of persons. Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing (in the whole scheme of things eternally). The Bible tells us what we are with Him and that is for each of us to know for ourselves.

OBTW, we took pictures of the poster, and a few days later we were able to obtain the poster from the Round Rock Chili’s and we gave them two others for the one that means so very much to us personally. Thank you Jesus, Holy Spirit, and Heavenly Father. There is none like you. All glory, honor, and power are Yours eternally.

A second literal sign and wonder from God (to our son and daughter-in-law)

Against all odds, the Lord wrought deliverance to a couple suffering from a growing anger and rage problem that threatened to destroy. But the story would be quite incomplete if you did not know the sign and wonder that followed their deliverance...

Not one sign, but two literal signs that are undeniably from God. Two visual confirmations in the same extended family. Both visual confirmations followed a deliverance session.

Both sessions resulted in breaking of generational curses. Generational curses move down the family line ten generations … UNLESS... There is information in the Word of God about generational curses, and how Christ Jesus has already freed us from them. Read the rest of the story here.