By Manny Vazquez, M.S., LMFT, Christian Counselor, Ministering to Others with the Gifts of the Spirit

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in our LORD Jesus Christ:

Today, our Blessed LORD drew my attention to Romans 8:12-17:

“So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (from the Holman Christian Standard Bible [HCSB] version of the Holy Scriptures)

Dear Christians, what does it mean to you that you should live according to the Spirit? In this passage from Romans, Paul records a wonderful promise from the LORD, that if we live by the Spirit, we will live, and he literally means forever. Many Christians have understood this to mean that we will live forever in Heaven once we die. But this Eternal Life is not only for the future but for the here and now. Dear Follower of Christ, you can have an abundant life this side of Heaven. Did you know that? Do you live like that?

Many people (Christian and non-Christian alike) are sick, and many of these will die of their disease. What if I told you that I’ve known many Christians who were healed of deadly cancers? I knew one woman who had been diagnosed with uterine cancer and given two years to live. She prayed effectively and fervently that the LORD would heal her, and her church prayed effectively and fervently that our LORD would heal her. That was five years ago. When she went to get treatment for the cancer, her doctors could not find the cancer. The doctors concluded that she must’ve been misdiagnosed, the most common assumption made by doctors when they cannot find a disease that was most definitely there earlier. However, to this day, this friend of mine has the paperwork from the previous doctors that conclusively proved that she had uterine cancer, not to mention that she was in tremendous pain.

Another dear Sister in the LORD at church told me that she once had stage 4 cancer throughout her body. She said she rid herself of resentment that she had been carrying, and through fervent prayer, the cancer left her body. I can tell you example after example of these types of healings. The explanation from the medical community is always the same: it must have been a misdiagnosis. Fools! They do not know the power of God.

There are many theologians, some of whom I respect greatly, who have stated that miracles ceased in the first century, immediately after the “Apostolic Age.” While I understand why these theologians would say these things (I believe they are mainly concerned with charlatans who go around and charge money for miracles), but these assertions could not be further from the Truth. Our Precious Holy Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and He continues to act in the lives of His People. I know science tries to explain away miracles, but as God’s people, we know the Truth, that the ministry of God’s Spirit continues to this day.

Miracles will never cease. They will continue before and after Christ returns. Our Precious Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost will always act amongst His people. He shows us the Way; He guides us in the Holy Scriptures, so that we understand them fully. Even with this guidance, every theologian in history has taught heresy in some form or another, because all have had sin in their lives that has clouded their thinking.

I firmly believe that as the Second Coming of God gets closer and closer, Christians will be more able to shake off the shackles of sin, so that we can see the meaning of the Scriptures more clearly. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I am finding great joy in reading the Word of God. Before, it wasn’t that I dreaded reading the Bible; it was that I had a hard time comprehending it, so I would put off reading it. Now, as I have grown closer and closer to God, the Spirit is ministering to my spirit about His Word, and I am able to read it better, understanding it more fully everyday. I am comprehending new things in the Word all the time.

How about you? Do you find that reading the Scriptures is tedious? I will never judge you for your sin, but the question you need to ask yourself is, am I walking as closely with God as I can? I guarantee that the closer you get to our LORD, the more His Spirit will minister to you, and the more He will draw you into His fold. Amen and Amen and Amen.