Audio Teaching | Why We Fight With Those We Love

You're all too familiar with how we can sometimes be kinder to people we don't know -- at work, at church and in the community -- than we sometimes are to our own family, children, siblings and spouse.

Why? Because they know more about us than anyone. And, yeah, sometimes they tend to not forget even when we've confessed and the Lord has forgiven us. The consequence -- quarrels and fights that others are usually exposed to. Darn.

Please click the audio file above [where the blue text is] and download this pdf, Why Do We Fight With Those We Love, that includes study notes with scriptures to accompany the audio.

Thank you for taking your time to listen to this audio and work through the study notes. If you're not a member of Healed People, Heal People, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

Wow, this is a subject that tugs close to my heart strings, how about yours? Do you know how many people have blocked emotions? I do. Guess I kinda used to be one of them. I remember saying, I just really don't like crying -- especially not in front of people.

Well, why not? The Lord created emotions, actually in the book of Genesis. There must be a reason He created tear ducts, and even biologically and physiologically there's a reason for them. I've typically preferred crying alone, you know, it's private, no one sees you and if it messes up your make up, you can straighten it up. Right now, my mind rolls back to two crying episodes I had where I just couldn't control the tears.

First crying episode

I was on a business trip in South Carolina and I was tired after landing at the airport.
I was exhausted emotionally and mentally.
I decided, I'm not going to work today, instead I'll eat lunch and rest, after all, I don't know anyone in this city.
I ate lunch and when I finished, a stranger in the restaurant walked up to me and said, "Baby, the weight on you is so heavy, I felt it across the restaurant and I've been sitting over there praying for you."
I remained quiet, I didn't know her.
She asked while standing at my table, “May I pray for you?”
I said yes and she began to pray while touching my hand [the waitresses are now looking because they know we didn't come in together].
Bear-sized tears began racing from my face because this woman called out everything that was wrong with me and I didn't know her.
Yes, people in the restaurant are really looking now.
After praying the lady said, do you have car, did you come here in a car.
I said yes, my rental is outside.
She said, go in the car, roll up the windows and cry as hard as you need to.
I did just that.
I exited the restaurant, drove across the street to a bookstore parking lot, went way in the back of the parking lot -- and baam, I wailed like an animal in the forest who was wounded and no one was there to rescue them.
I'll never forget that cry.

Second crying episode

I'm now in another state years later and I spontaneously decided to have a meal with a lady I'd met like about two days prior.
I'd been doing some reflecting on my life and thought I was fine.
The Lord was dealing with me on an issue I really didn't want to talk to people about.
After all, nothing is ever going to change, so why bother even addressing it.
Sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are right?
No, wrong!
Why is that wrong, because what I believed DID NOT align with The Bible, the Word of God.
If what I believe doesn't align, then what I believe is not true.
The Word of God is true, it is the truth, which meant what I believed was a lie.
Yes, it had been a reality for a long time, but it was a lie I believed because the situation had been that way for so long.
Well, let me tell you.
I sat at that meal table with just about a perfect stranger.
We were eating.
And I tried to be civil and talk, do the small talk exchange.
Lord, that didn't last for two minutes.
The tear ducts RIPPED and there was no way I could conceal the tears.
This wasn't a simple cry, the veins in my soul had ruptured and here I am with a complete stranger.
It's a beautiful thing when you can communicate with a person -- human spirit to human spirit -- without using any words.
Really in this particular situation it was the spirit of the Lord in me connecting with the Spirit of the Lord in her.
That lady rubbed my right shoulder and the top of my back.
She didn't say a word.
Underneath my breathe I eked out the words repeatedly, "They are not better than me."
I just kept repeating that because that had been my inner struggle that started centuries before I was born.
I just bought into the lie because it had been passed down generation to generation to me -- and in ignorance I accepted it.

Well, Beloved reader, I simply share with you today, you have the freedom and are released to cry.
Cry in public.
Cry in private.
Cry with friends.
Cry with enemies.
Cry with your spouse.
Cry with the Lord holding you.
Cry in your car.
Cry in the bathroom stall at work.
Cry in your woman's lap.
Cry on your man's shoulder.

It's okay; you are now released and have the freedom to cry.

Beloved reader, thank you for taking your time to read this blog. If you're not a member of this online Healed People, Heal People community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truth.

Apostle Of Hate — Minister Of Healing By Melanie Hemry

Eagle Mountain International Church, Incorporated, aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries

"Is this Johnny Lee Clary?" A voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yes ..."

"The Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Oklahoma?"

"That's right."

"Mr. Clary, I'm calling on behalf of a local radio station. We would like to invite you here to the station next Sunday evening for an interview. The program will be live. During that time, we would allow you to read your literature and share your views openly."

Share my views on the radio? There's no telling how many new kids I can recruit! Johnny leaned back in his chair and propped up his feet.

"I'd be most honored to be your guest," he answered, a slow smile spreading across his face. Unlike most Klan members, Johnny Lee didn't shun publicity. He hadn't even minded when television cameras followed him around to schools in the Oklahoma City area, where he recruited kids. The way he looked at it, a man ought to stand up for the truth. And one thing Johnny Lee Clary knew for certain - the Ku Klux Klan stood for the truth.

Seeds of Hatred

His own education in that "truth" began early. He'd been only 5 when he looked out the car window in amazement. "Look, Daddy!" he'd said. "There's a chocolate-covered man!"

His daddy blew cigar smoke out the window in disgust. "That's not a chocolate-covered man," he said. "That's a n-----. Can you say, 'n-----'?"

Johnny Lee had leaned out the window and shouted, "N-----!" His daddy laughed and patted him on the back.

Johnny Lee's training continued when his Uncle Harold would visit from Georgia and tell his stories about the KKK. "I shot a black man for crossing my property," he once bragged to Johnny Lee's father. "The police didn't care that I shot him. But they did fine me for firing a gun in the city limits!" The two men laughed until their faces were red.

Johnny Lee's dad wasn't a member of the Klan. He couldn't be. He was Catholic. One group the Klan hated almost as much as blacks and Jews was Catholics. Johnny's daddy never attended Mass, but he made sure that Johnny Lee was on the Sunday school bus every week to the First Baptist Church.

That is, until the day Johnny Lee leaned out the bus window and screamed, "N-----!" to a black child on the street. That day, Johnny Lee's Sunday school teacher pulled him aside and taught him a song. At home, he proudly sang it for his father.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white ..."

Johnny Lee's daddy never let him go back to that church. He found one closer to home -- an all-white church.

Everyone in their neighborhood hated Johnny Lee's family. The neighbors considered them white trash. Of course, nobody dared call them that. They were afraid to.

The Clary family's popularity took a sudden turn, however, when a black family bought a house in the neighborhood. The whole neighborhood came to Johnny Lee's daddy and asked him to help them get rid of the family. They were willing to buy them out, if they'd leave.

Unfortunately, the neighbors' sudden acceptance of the Clarys didn't make Johnny Lee's family any happier. His parents fought constantly. Their marriage ended tragically when, one night, 11-year-old Johnny Lee walked into a room to see his daddy holding a gun to his head. "Daddy, don't!" he screamed, then watched as his daddy shot himself to death.

After the funeral, Johnny Lee went to live with his older sister in California. But he wasn't happy there. As the months passed, Johnny Lee became more and more lonely. That's when he saw a talk show host interviewing David Duke, the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Remembering his Uncle Harold, Johnny Lee decided to contact the Klan. Within a few weeks, a man knocked at his door.

"I'm a friend of David Duke," he said. The man sat down and talked to Johnny Lee. "What do you like? Tell me about your life."

Johnny Lee was in awe. Someone wants to hear what I have to say!

"Son, you've had a hard, horrible life," the man said. "What you need is a family. A real family. That's what the Ku Klux Klan is -- a fraternal order. That means family."

Week after week, the man took Johnny Lee to his house for meetings. It was almost as if he had a father again. Between meetings, Johnny studied about the Klan. He was amazed to learn what prominent people were former Klansmen, including at least three U.S. presidents.

Johnny Lee trembled with excitement the day he joined the KKK. He was 14 years old. By age 20, Johnny Lee had worked his way up in the organization, first serving as Duke's bodyguard and later, becoming the Grand Dragon of Oklahoma.

"It was 1979 when I was invited to do the radio interview," Johnny Lee recalls. "I was so excited, I told everyone to tune in. Then, a few days before the interview, I was listening to the radio when they announced the upcoming debate between myself and the state president of the NAACP, the Rev. Wade Watts!

"I'd never actually met a black man. But I knew what to expect: A man in African robes sporting a huge Afro, a button that said, 'I hate white people,' and a sign, 'Black is beautiful.'

"I wasn't prepared for a nicely dressed, older black man carrying a worn Bible."

On the day of the debate, Rev. Watts walked up to Johnny Lee -- his hand outstretched. "Hello, Mr. Clary. I just want to tell you I love you, and Jesus loves you."

Stunned, Johnny Lee shook the man's hand without thinking. The physical touch of a Negro is pollution, he thought.

"Don't worry, son," Rev. Watts said with a grin. "It doesn't rub off."

He has a sense of humor ...?

"Why do you feel the two races shouldn't mingle?" the interviewer asked Johnny Lee as the debate began. "Because Christ ordered it," he explained.

"Son," Rev. Watts interrupted, "where did you get that idea?"

The only Bible verses Johnny Lee knew were the ones outlined in the KKK literature. Speaking slowly, Johnny Lee quoted, "What fellowship hath light with darkness...."

Rev. Watts explained that the scripture was referring to the believer and the nonbeliever, and to sin and righteousness. Then he asked Johnny Lee, "What color skin do you think an Ethiopian has?"

"Black as the ace of spades," Johnny responded.

"I'm glad you said that," Rev. Watts answered. "If you'll look in Numbers 12, you'll see that Moses married an Ethiopian woman. His sister, Miriam, didn't like it either. She talked against Moses and was struck with a horrible disease." He paused for a moment. "You can imagine what is going to happen to you."

Johnny Lee shifted uncomfortably in his chair. This wasn't turning out the way he expected. "Look here," he said, "white people are smarter than black people."

"How do you figure that?" Rev. Watts asked. Johnny Lee told him about an intelligence test that proved white children were smarter than black children.

"What color were the men who came up with that test?" Rev. Watts asked.

"It doesn't matter what color they were!" Johnny declared.

"Well, then," said Rev. Watts, "if it doesn't matter, I'll give you a test right now, and we'll see if you can pass it."

"If you think you're so smart, go ahead."

"How long is the average cockroach?" Rev. Watts asked Johnny Lee. "Do roaches walk, or do they fly? How long does it take a mess of chitlins to cook? What are chitlins?"

"Rev. Watts, you rigged that test," Johnny Lee fumed. "White folks aren't supposed to know that stuff."

"Mr. Clary, now you're getting my point."

Johnny Lee had to do something to get control of the interview. "Look," he said, trying to stay calm, "Thomas Jefferson helped pen our Constitution, and he said emphatically that the two races should never mix."

"I'm impressed that you know so much about our forefathers, Mr. Clary. Does the name Sally Hemmings mean anything to you?"

"No."

"She was Thomas Jefferson's mistress," Rev. Watts said. "They had seven children. She was his personal property. His slave. She was as black as the ace of spades."

"I'm not going to stay here and listen to any more of this!" Johnny fumed, storming out of the room.

Johnny Lee was surprised later when he saw Rev. Watts holding a baby girl. Lifting up the child, Rev. Watts said to Johnny Lee, "This baby's parents were teenagers. Her mother was white and her daddy was black. The boy's family said they wouldn't have a white child in their home, and the girl's family said they wouldn't have a black child in their home. So I adopted her. Tia is my baby now. Mr. Clary, how can you hate this baby?"

Johnny Lee turned to leave.

"You can't do enough to make me hate you," Rev. Watts said to Johnny Lee. "I'm going to love you and pray for you, whether you like it or not."

A short time later, Rev. Watts' church was burned. His family was plagued with vicious, hate-filled phone calls, and often found notes ..."KKK is watching you."

"During the next 10 years, I gained more and more power in the Klan," Johnny Lee remembers. "Yet during those years, we never stopped persecuting Rev. Watts. The only thing that bothered me was a recurring dream I had of that baby girl. She was beautiful. And she was the only seed of doubt in my life. Somehow, it didn't seem right to hate her. It didn't seem right for her to die. But I knew the Klan's final solution included extermination of the race -- including babies.

"I didn't let that seed of doubt hinder my work, though. When Rev. Watts joined ranks with an Oklahoma senator to make the Klan's racist hot lines illegal, my blood was boiling."

Johnny Lee called Rev. Watts. "I know you're behind this," he said. "We're coming to get you, and we're going to beat you ..."

"Hello, Johnny Lee! How's the family?"

"I said we're coming for you!"

"You don't have to come for me, I'll meet you. How about Pete's Place out on Highway 270?"

"Uh ..."

"Johnny Lee, they have the best home cooking you ever tasted. And apple pie that'll make you cry for more. Iced tea in those Mason jars. I can taste it now."

"Did you hear what I said?" Johnny Lee demanded. "We're going to beat you!"

"You be sure and bring all the boys..."

"I said we're going to beat you!"

"I heard you, and that's just fine. But first, I want to buy you boys dinner. Did I tell you about their potatoes?"

Johnny Lee hung up. "What did he say?" the Klan members asked.

"He talked about home cooking, apple pie and iced tea. Said he wanted to buy our dinner."

"That old man's gone pure crazy," someone said. "Let's leave him alone."

And they did.

"During the months that followed, a girl I had dated challenged me to go to church," Johnny Lee recalls. "I decided to take her up on it, so I called an elder at Crossroads Cathedral in Oklahoma City. He met with me, and led me to the Lord. I asked Jesus into my life and received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. A month later, someone asked me to speak at a Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship. I hadn't even broken ties with the Klan.

"Soon, word of my salvation reached the media, and a local newspaper asked for an interview. I gave it, and the next thing I knew I got a phone call from the Klan. I broke into a cold sweat when they said they were coming after me. I was scared."

"What are you doing, Clary?" they asked when they arrived.

Frightened for his life, Johnny Lee turned his back on God and the Church, and begged forgiveness from the Klan. He was given a second chance.

In 1989, Johnny Lee was appointed Imperial Wizard of the KKK.

"I wanted to unify all the hate groups - the different factions of the Klan, the Skinheads, the Patriots, the Neo-Nazis, the Militias, the Populists and the Aryan Nations - under one common organization," Johnny Lee recalled.

He spent months arranging a national meeting of all the white supremacist groups. Finally, all the players were in place.

What Johnny Lee didn't know, however, was that the FBI had tapped his phone and knew his plan. They arrested him on his way to the meeting.

Without his presence, the meeting fell apart. By the time Johnny Lee was released and arrived at the rally site, the different factions were fighting among themselves.

Johnny Lee surveyed the scene in disgust. I gave up my wife and child for these people. I gave up my life for this organization, and all they want to do is kill one another.

On his return home, Johnny Lee faced staggering legal battles and attorney fees. He was also disillusioned.

Where was the loyalty? he wondered. What happened to brotherhood? Wasn't the Klan supposed to be family?

Soon afterward, Johnny Lee resigned as Imperial Wizard, and walked away from the Klan. He took a good look at himself, and didn't like what he saw.

"I'd hit an all-time low in my life," Johnny Lee recalled. "Whenever I applied for a job, people just laughed."

As the months passed, Johnny Lee became more and more despondent.

Then he had a thought: Daddy escaped it all. I could go be with my dad, then I wouldn't have to worry about some Klansman putting a bullet in me.

Johnny Lee loaded his gun and put the barrel to his head.

The afternoon sun filtered through the closed blinds, casting tiny lines of light onto a Bible that lay gathering dust.

The only happiness, the only peace in my life, were those few months at Crossroads Cathedral, Johnny Lee thought. But now, it's too late for me ... The dusty Bible caught Johnny Lee's eye. He put down the gun, and picked up the Bible. It fell open to Luke 15 -- the story of the prodigal son.

Johnny Lee read the story once, then again, then a third time.

"I know what You're trying to tell me, God," he said, weeping. "That younger son turned his back on his father and wasted his life. But when he came home, the father welcomed him. You're telling me I can come home.

"God, I have no one else to turn to except You. I ask You to forgive me for the way I lived ... for all the hatred. Please, come into my heart, Jesus, and change me."

In the space of a heartbeat, the weight of years of hatred melted off Johnny Lee Clary. Weeping openly, he raised his hands and worshiped God. Then he picked up the Bible and read for hours.

"I was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, too far to drive to Crossroads Cathedral," Johnny Lee recalls. "I visited a few churches, and although I enjoyed them very much, I knew none of them was where I was supposed to be. Each one had an all-white congregation. I knew God would never allow me to join an all-white church.

"That week, I saw an ad in the newspaper, 'Victory Christian Center - A Church For All Races.' The next Sunday, I walked into that church and knew it was right. There were blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Filipinos, every race seemed to be represented."

Johnny Lee joined the church.

"This time, I didn't tell anyone who I was. Eventually, someone recognized me, and I wrote a letter to the pastor, Billy Joe Daugherty, explaining that I'd been the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He wrote back, encouraging me to spend time getting grounded in God's Word.

"God helped me get a job and, for the first time since 1982, I was happy. In addition to listening to the Word at church, I was introduced to the teaching of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. I tuned in to their Believer's Voice of Victory program, bought their tapes and learned about faith.

"In 1991, during one of Pastor Billy Joe's sermons, the Lord called me to preach. Billy Joe's wife, Sharon, walked over to me and announced, 'God didn't save you for you to sit in Tulsa. He's commanded you to go into the world and get people saved.' "A few weeks later, Johnny Lee heard the Lord again. Call Rev. Watts.

He did.

"Hello, Johnny Lee," Rev. Watts said warmly.

"Rev. Watts, I wanted you to know that I resigned from the KKK in 1989. I gave my heart to Jesus, and I'm a member of Victory Christian Center, an interracial church. My mind is being renewed, and God has called me to preach."

"Well, praise the Lord, son!" Rev. Watts said. "Would you do me the honor of speaking at my all-black church?"

Johnny Lee choked back the tears. "I'd love to."

When Johnny Lee arrived to speak at Rev. Watts' church, there were cameras and news reporters everywhere. Once inside, Johnny Lee Clary stepped up to the podium and looked out over the sea of black faces. He saw people made in the image of God, souls that Jesus had died to save. The contempt he once felt had been replaced with a love so great, so powerful, that his knees felt weak.

This, he realized, is what real unity is all about. It was not what he had tried to do through the KKK. Real unity is only possible through love.

Johnny Lee told his story, and what Jesus had done for him. Afterward, a teenage girl ran down the aisle. "I want to know the same Jesus you know," she said.

As the altar filled with people wanting to know Johnny Lee's Jesus, he heard Rev. Watts weeping.

"Do you know who that is?" Watts asked, pointing at the young girl Johnny Lee had just led to the Lord.

"No," Johnny Lee answered.

"That's Tia," Rev. Watts said. "She's the baby I shoved in your face that day at the radio station!"

Johnny Lee turned to look at the beautiful face beaming at him. She was the baby he couldn't hate.

Rev. Watts and his wife had 13 children. Nine of them had given their lives to Jesus. In the throng of people who crowded the altar that night, Johnny Lee was privileged to introduce the other four to the Lord Jesus.

After the service, Rev. Watts and Johnny Lee embraced. An elderly black pastor wrapped his arms around a young, white, former Klansman. They both wept.

"All those years I prayed for you!" Watts said. "I never dreamed that God would use you to bring my own children into the kingdom!"

It's been more than six years now since Johnny Lee preached at Rev. Watts' church, and many things have changed. But both men still work untiringly - to spread the gospel and promote racial reconciliation.

Today, Johnny Lee Clary's greatest thrill in ministry occurs when he ministers alongside Rev. Wade Watts. His second greatest thrill is being a godfather to young Tia Watts.

Johnny Lee Clary stands amazed that one man - the man he persecuted - prayed him out of hell on earth and into heaven for eternity. Before, that kind of love was unfathomable to Johnny Lee. Now, it is a way of life.

Copyright © 1997-2004

Pastor Johnny Lee Clary's Testimony

Johnny Lee Clary learned to hate at a very young age. He was raised in a family filled with racism, anger, and bigotry. As a young teenager, after his father committed suicide and his mother abandoned him, Johnny found himself alone and looking for someplace to belong. At 14, he was seduced by the teachings of the notorious David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, and he joined the organization.

As an impressionable young man, Johnny became so enthralled with the sense of belonging and a need for “family” that he participated in KKK events as a security enforcer. His exuberance and dedication led to him being appointed as David Duke’s personal bodyguard.

Johnny continued to advance in the organization, reveling in the feeling of finally fitting in. He went on to spend nearly 17 years in the Klan, as State Organizer and Public Relations spokesman for Imperial Wizard Bill Wilkinson of the Invisible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; then becoming Grand Dragon of the National Knights of the KKK; then Heartland Director and right-hand man to White Aryan Resistance leader Tom Metzger (by all accounts, one of the most violent men ever to preach hatred); and finally, to becoming one of the most nefarious national Klan leaders in America after being elected to the very top: Imperial Wizard (national head) of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a branch that originated in Mississippi and was considered to be the most dreaded Klan faction in history (and widely acknowledged by law enforcement as the most violent and militant of all the Klan), taking responsibility for bombings, murders, and countless other crimes—all in the name of hatred and racism. To this day, the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are considered the real Ku Klux Klan.

As the Klan’s national leader, during many appearances on such television programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Morton Downey, Jr. Show, and many others, Johnny advocated, supported, and defended racism and violence.

But then, the destructive mindset and lifestyle he had lived for so many years began to take its toll. Riddled with torment, angered over a false arrest in Tennessee on a weapons charge, disgusted with internal bickering between the various white supremacist organizations, and the discovery that his girlfriend was an informant for the FBI, Johnny Lee left the Klan.

But life does not always repair so easily. Over the next few years he found himself derailed by issues related to his alledged daughter, two divorces, losing all of his friends, the FBI doubting his exit from the Klan, and struggling just to make an honest living. These challenges, combined with his feelings of guilt over the life of violence, prejudice, and hatred he had lived for so long, led Johnny to alcohol.

On the verge of committing suicide one night, he cried out to God to deliver him from his nightmarish existence. And God answered. From that point on, Johnny Lee used his life, his experiences, and his near destruction to help others leave the same evil path that he had walked for so long.

In 1995 Johnny was appointed by Roy Ennis to serve as West Coast Director National Director for the Congress Of Racial Equality. Since then, he has spoken at innumerable Universities, High Schools and churches, and has been a featured speaker for Youth Alive and Teen Challenge. He lectures for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, educating officers on the mindset of white supremacists and how to best fight against domestic terrorism.

As a renowned international speaker, he has set records for the largest crowds of any motivational lecturer in Australia other than Billy Graham, with literally thousands receiving his message of hope, healing and forgiveness for racism, low self-esteem, suicidal tendencies, and substance abuse.

Johnny Lee Clary resides with his wife Melissa in Miami, Oklahoma. He has appeared on the Billy Graham Radio Show, on the television programs including:

Geraldo Rivera
Fox News
Alan Colmes
Sally Jesse Raphael
Jerry Springer
Rikki Lake
Queen Latifah
Montel Williams
Phil Donahue
A&E Investigative Reports
ABC World News Tonight
Bertrice Berry
The Today Show
A Current Affair
The 700 Club
CNBC The Big Idea w/ Donny Deutsch

He has also been a regular guest on TBN’s Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America’s top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, GuidePost Magazine [September 1998], Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Johnny’s book, Johnny Angel: My Life and Death at the Top of the KKK … a true story is available on his Web site.

Contact

By phone: Australian mobile 041 121 3232 - United States 918 919-0105
Postal address: PO Box 972 Miami, Oklahoma 74355-0972
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Copyright © 2007 - 2009 Johnny Lee Clary
Site Design: Visreal Productions +617 4661 5222

Beloved reader, thank you for taking your time to read this blog. If you're not a member of this online Healed People, Heal People community, we invite you to join for here free. There are weekly updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truth.

By Redge Peifer

People everywhere carve out pumpkin faces, hang skeletons on their walls, buy costumes … getting ready for devil’s night and, of course, halloween. Do you know where halloween originated?

Halloween

The een in the word Halloween refers to the een or evening before the day known as All Saints Day. But, what kind of saints were these? The saints of the Bible. No, All Saints Day was originally a festival honoring the druid priests who were into the occult and who were priests of satan.

The Druids And Human Sacrifice

Halloween has clear connections with their primitive and savage rituals in 2 BC [the pre-Roman, pre-Christian Celtic communities of northern and western Europe, especially in France [Gaul], Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They were the builders of Stonehenge where they would bring humans to be sacrificed in Britain.

The druids worshipped pagan gods that included the sun god, the earth mother goddess and Sambain [lord of the dead]. Stonehedge was constructed to calculate the sun’s movements and then determine the most suitable day to worship the earth mother goddess – by the sacrifice of a human! The date selected was October 31, halloween! Think about it.

Reincarnation

The druids believed in reincarnation that is contrary to the teaching of the Bible. Hebrews 9:27 reads, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. According to their religion, the god Sambain judged the souls and decreed in what form their existence was to continue whether in the body of a human or in an animal. They believed that sinful souls of those who had died during the year had been relegated to the bodies of animals and through various gifts and sacrifices, their sins could be forgiven and the souls freed to claim a heavenly reward. It was common for horses to be sacrificed, but there were also a lot of human sacrificed.

Men, mostly criminal, but not all – were imprisoned in wicker and thatch cages shaped like animals or giants. The druid priest set fire to these cages and the men were burned to death. They eventually included women and children in their horrible sacrifices.

Sacrifice Of Children

Please note from the Bible that Molech is the demon directly associated with the sacrifice of children. Molech was the Canaanite god of fire. To bring this more current, beloved reader, Molech is the demon directly associated with abortions. In the Bible, Molech was a demon god, that’s still active today, who demanded the sacrifice of living children. As Christians, we understand that children are living at the moment of conception. Thus, abortions are the killing or sacrifice of living children.

They not only sacrificed unto false gods, but the druid rituals included eventually direct human sacrifices to the devil. They acknowledged him and worshipped him and multitudes of men, women and the little children were murdered.

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:3

And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
II Chronicles 11:15

And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.
II Chronicles 33:6

The Pumpkin

The men, women, or children to be sacrificed on halloween would simply be selected by the druids. They would leave a pumpkin on the doorstep of the house to replace the victim and to let the other members of the family know that no one else would be harmed. Now, every time you look at a pumpkin on somebody’s front porch, you’ll know what it really represents.

If you, your family, your friends or your church members have engaged in these occult practices, you should know you have opened the door to the occult. No one said that that satan or his demons play fair. If you open the door to the occult, then the respective demons enter. Demons do not leave because you come into knowledge. The Bible is very clear on how to break strongholds. The Bible is very clear about how to take of care demonic oppression in Christians. I strongly suggest you do so ... else you, your family, your friends or your church members are living with the presence of demonic influence. I'm more than pleased to answer any questions you may have. Please post your comments.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free. There are regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths. If you know parents who would value this information on halloween, please forward this article link to them.

In May on Twitter, I commented on i-n-t-e-g-r-a-t-e-d healing & deliverance. Here's what it is. Typically, when churches have deliverance service, it's either impromptu [during alter call] or it's a planned deliverance service. Both are fine because it's at the direction of the Holy Spirit.

What's been learned by those who are veterans in healing and deliverance is many times parishioners don't stay healed and delivered for a long time or permanently. You know as well as I that those services are exhausting and a lot of work.

Neither the pastor nor the parishioner wishes to continue redo-ing and redo-ing healing and deliverance on the same person for the same issue.

It's even a bit disheartening to see when the person returns back to whatever they were healed & delivered from -- even if they elect not to return for another healing and deliverance service.

Naturally, the healing and deliverance veterans within the body of Christ globally asked, "Well why isn't the healing and deliverance lasting?"

Many books, articles and even ministries have been started around the world in response to this one question.

Allow me to transition to me for a moment, please.

There's nothing like my own story.

My life bottomed out a few years back.

That's the simplest way to put it.

I went to talk to my [former] pastor, a great man of God and gifted leader to this day.

He understood, prayed with me and I left.

I told him I knew something was wrong in the spiritual realm.

One thing I like about him, still, is he'll admit when he doesn't know something.

Well remember -- my life was a wreck and I needed answers, which no one could offer.

I have a [former] church member in OH who said, "Child, when you need help, you gon' find somebody to help you, somewhere, you don't care how long it takes you, you will not stay broken."

And she's right.

If the Holy Spirit is our all-in-all, then it didn't make sense that I had to operate in such a broken state daily.

Long story short, I took about six weeks to fill out an application for integrated healing and deliverance ministry. I also completed prerequisites so I’d be prepared to go through the ministry.

Integrated means two healing and deliverance ministers, also known as my ministry team, spent one week exclusively with me. There were also intercessors and prophetic intercessors praying for me, which I didn’t know until the last day. I never met them. They were interceding for me weeks before I arrived and definitely the week I was there.

They prayed and studied over my application before I arrived in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

There were prophetic intercessors and intercessors [that I never met] prayed specifically regarding me for insight from the Holy Spirit.

Their focus was, Holy Spirit help us, identify, show us the roots of where her issues began in her life that are still affecting her to this day.

1st - That being said, they went back four generations in my family, on both sides [this is why it took 6 weeks for me to fill out that application]. They examined, studied and co-labored with the Holy Spirit regarding my family lineage to identify active generational curses that were affecting my life; we broke all those generational curses.

It's so nice to use past tense now -- that were affecting my life. HA-LE-LU-JAH! The reality is, any person who is breathing who hasn't broken generational curses, is living actively with generational curses. It takes a good 40 minutes of simple teaching to show this reality to any Christian breathing.

Exodus 20: 1 - 17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21

2nd - They [my ministry team] identified all the ungodly things [better known as lies] I believed about myself, other people [family, friends, white people, enemies, church members] and even God [based on my earthly experience with dad]. Just about every person [even if it's subconscious] draws some conclusions about God based on their relationship with their earthly father no matter how good, great, bad, absent or devastating he was.

Women, in particular, [even if subconscious] draw conclusions about God based on relationship with men, brothers, husbands, dad, step dad, pastor, etc. [doesn't take long for me to find this by studying a person's life with the Holy Spirit]. Again, co-laboring with the Holy Spirit, we changed those many beliefs into godly beliefs.

That is, what the Lord say is true about me, my family, my friends, white people, my enemies, men, what God says about Himself and my church members. This is a lot of work; the sentences here don't do this justice, but I have to keep it moving here.

Isaiah 55:7 | Romans 12:2 | Psalm 139:17 | I Corinthians 2:16 | Proverbs 23::7 | Hebrews 11:16

3rd - Oh Lord, this is the part I don't like here. You and I both know what it's so darn hard for people to forgive. You, me, the Bible and integrated healing & deliverance ministry teams around the world, agree that forgiveness is the key to freedom. Then why so many people keep having a forgiveness problem. It's preached about every single day -- 24 hours a day, on radio, tv, internet, streaming sites, tons of Bibles, tracks, CDs, christian music.

Why? why? why? why?

Even if a person cannot articulate it, it's the pain/hurt associated with the person or situation that they can't get beyond -- that the wall blocker. This lady said to me about 10 weeks back, Christians just outta live right, they know better -- then she quoted me some scriptures. I responded to her [as I was walking my four daily miles in the mall] that nothing matters day-to-day to any person in any kind of pain except how to get through the day dealing with their pain.

Yep, folks are married and yes their families should be first, but dealing with the pain takes precedence. We both know there are tons of ways people deal with pain. This brings up to the next part of integrated healing and deliverance ministry. The ministry team co-labors with the Holy Spirit [in private] to deal with the roots of the person's pains.

Ugh - I hated this part! Much needed, but I really didn't want to do this. Thereafter, forgiveness flooded like the waters of the Niagara Falls! to this very day.

4th - The ministry team taught me in scripture my authority in dealing with the demonic activity in life. Now why I'd never learned this in church for three decades still fathoms me to this day, hell, almost makes me mad. Many churches and pastors generalize and talk about freaking freedom all the time and never gave me the tools to know how to engage daily with the warfare in my life. Can you believe this? Can you believe this?

Do you know how many seminars, conferences, conventions, counselors, years of Bible studies, institutes, books, tv programs, pamphlets, ministries ... I've gone through in three decades.

This is almost similar to the trillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry. Just give people drugs for a life time to treat the symptoms, but never the root cause -- all the while the meds are killing them daily and causing even more problems.

The church -- just tells people they need to be free, have deliverance services ever so often to deal with the surface issue temporarily [but never dismantle the spiritual roots so the symptoms will be forced to die]. Well, the ministry team taught me what demonic oppression was and we commanded the demons out.

Lastly, they showed me how to take the offense instead of always living my life in a posture of defense and reactionary mode.

The integrated approach to healing and deliverance taught me how to stop operating day-to-day in the natural with people and address the spiritual [demonic] behind people's action.

As you and I know every thing is spiritual. Let me underscore that again, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g is spiritual. The more Christians operate day-to-day in the natural, the more they are frustrated, tired and defeated.

Yep, I know we tell people to pray, and that's very much needed. But as we know, demons do not respond to prayer, demons only respond to authority. Authority which most Christians have no idea how to use daily. And no pastor and no counseling ministry in a church has the time to deal with this level of activity in every member's life.

That changed my life!

One week being taught was fundamental biblical tools every Christian should have and use every day -- changed my life and a 180 turn was made. I went back there [two years] to the int'l school to learn integrated healing and deliverance and I graduated with a certification in integrated, biblical healing and deliverance.

I'm sharing this because I get tired of folk living in bondage.

So many leaders in the church just aren't aware, but with the use of technology and continuing to co-labor with the Holy Spirit -- the body of Christ, at-large, and by denomination will have knowledge of integrated healing and deliverance.

And you know what the benefits of integrated healing and deliverance are to a pastor.

a) Fewer visits from your parishioners for the same issue, which means more time for you and your family

b) The believer is empowered to deal with their own issues

c) Your church operates in more freedom because the members have lasting healing

d) People see the fruit of the healing and start asking the others, how'd you get like that, so multiplication begins

e) There's no way for the church not to end up having a healing and deliverance ministry team that serves the body [or even the community] which changes families and heals up the bride of Christ so she [the church] is without a spot or wrinkle

So many people are so deceived daily as you well know.
They think they are just having bad luck.
They think this is just the way it is.
They think folk just got personality problems.
They even think their common illnesses are just inherited through the family [rather than an extension of a generational curse that controlled by demons].

There are healing and deliverance teams literally all over the world.
Either people can come to us or we go to them any where in the United States or other countries.
We are equipped to come to churches to train leaders in a group setting [healing and deliverance seminars].

I had an unconventional business meeting late yesterday afternoon. There person and I had been trying to connect for some weeks, but you know how the schedule thing goes. So I asked the person would they be willing to try one of my unconventional meetings, and the person said yes. We did a walking meeting.

Two things were achieved. We exercised and completed our business. At the close of the walking meeting, the person asked, “How long did we walk?” I looked at my pedometer on the right side of my waist and replied, “7.25 miles.” There was silence by the other person.

One non-business thing I shared was it’s extremely difficult to identity Christians from non-Christians on any day of any week of any hour. We Christians have chosen so many times to blend in, we are now hardly, if at all, identifiable. Thus, there goes our salt, our savor, our ability to draw the unsaved. So, what are we going to do? Will we continue to choose to operate daily with no power?

II Timothy 1:7 paraphrased reads, For God gives you a spirit of power.

Are you a Christian who chooses to remain politically correct in your neighborhood – a primary place to be a light?

Are you a Christian who chooses to remain quiet at work repeatedly when others choose to be vocal repeatedly in sharing non-Christian values?

Are you a Christian who chooses to be too busy daily to learn 1 thing by studying in the Bible?

Are you a Christian who chooses to remain passive by not signing petitions that will uphold Christian values in our communities?

Are you a Christian who continues to choose to mismanage His time He allows you each day, which directly affects His kingdom business being achieved in your family, your church, your relationships, and your spheres of influence?

As Christians [who do not have children] and as Christians parents, it is our responsibility to provide safe boundaries and safe environments for our children and the children in your local church body.

John 10:10 paraphrased reads, The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy your children.

How does satan plan to steal, kill and destroy your children?

One way he strategizes on YOUR children in your home and the children in your church is he looks for open gates.

Two open gate he, satan, commonly uses are the eye gates and the ear gates of your children and the children in your church.

Taking YOUR children to see the new Harry Potter movie is a very sly, entertaining, deceptive way you can introduce your children in your home, in your community and in your church to the occult, which is directly controlled by the demonic. And the demonic is directly controlled by satan.

Many of you know that I’m certified in integrated, biblical healing and deliverance. It is my heart’s desire and my colleagues desire around the world who labor in integrated, biblical healing and deliverance to see less parents before us who weep and wail over their children.

One way we can see fewer parents pained over our children, is for parents to make better, educated, Christian choices early and repeatedly in the lives of your children and the children in your church.

John 10:10 paraphrased reads, I come that you might have life more abundantly.

Beloved reader, may I share two ways I employ as a Christian to live the more abundant life I’m entitled too.

One, I choose to live life on the offense daily.

And two, I choose to not willingly open gates in my life to invite the demonic, which are directly controlled by satan.

As a Christian, you are aware of the biblical fact that demons are active 24-hours a day just as the Holy Spirit is.

You are aware that Christ can be everywhere at the same time.
You are aware that satan cannot be everywhere at the same time.
You are aware that since satan imitates Christ, his substitute for being everywhere at the same time is his minute-by-minute use of demons.
He dispatches his demons and specifically assigns them to you, your children, your family, your community, your church, your company, your institutions and your city.

Would you consider, please beloved reader, not willingly opening the door to the occult in YOUR children’s lives in your home and in your church by taking them to see the new Harry Potter movie?

Consider, please, setting a precedence and planting a seed in the mind of your child(ren) and the children in your church of how to make godly decisions. After all, as a Christian parent you are responsible for training them up in the Lord. If you’d like them to make godly decisions later, they are watching you and learning how you make godly decisions for them as a child(ren).

Please read the two movie reviews below, beloved reader. Every time there is a reference to the occult, I’ve inserted the word [occult] in the appropriate place.

Thank you for reading this article. If you are not a member of Healed People, Heal People, I invite you to join and invite others to be a part of this online Christian community. There are weekly updates of encouragement.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – movie review no. 1
What Parents Need to Know
www.CommonSenseMedia.org

Parents need to know that this is no PG movie -- in all ways, it's very similar to the previous two movies, which were rated PG-13. This film continues the series' trend toward darker [occult] , more intense material. For young children, the death of a major beloved character could be extremely upsetting. Other characters are bloodied, kicked, and cursed in frightening [occult] ways, and a very scary scene involving scary, skeletal [occult] characters is sure to scare the pants off of little kids.

There are also some big emotional upheavals and scary [occult] attacks. And there's notably more [premarital] sexuality -- albeit playfully [plants seeds of sexual immorality in your children’s minds to premarital sex and seeds do grow] depicted -- than in the past movies. Because the characters are now teens, much of the interaction between them and their friends centers on getting a boy or girlfriend, and there's plenty of [premarital] snogging [making out]. While Harry and his friends continue as strong positive role models, other characters' motives and plans become more ambiguous.

And there are also a few scenes that include alcohol consumption [plants seeds in your child’s mind, please consider if there are generationally any alcohol drinkers on either side of your family] -- including one in which a professor serves his students [person in both and authoritative and leadership position leading children, students to engage in alcohol, it is no coincidence that liquor stores advertise signage that read SPIRITS, and this is not the spirit of the Lords, notice the word spirits is plural with an S] .

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – movie review no. 2
By Christa Banister, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Cautions

Drugs/alcohol: Harry, Hermoine and Ron drink butter beer.

Language/profanity: A few uses of mild profanity including “hell,” “damn” and “piss off.”

Sex/nudity: Romance is definitely on the brain in Hogwarts this time around. There are a few kisses between different teen couples, but nothing more.

Violence: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” has an even darker [occult] tone than any of the other “Potter” movies to date. And the first scene definitely sets the pace when the Millennium Bridge is destroyed and several civilians are thrown off. A couple of fights break out between Harry and Draco, and their faces are bloodied.

There are violent exchanges between the Weasleys and the Death Eaters, and more precarious spells [occult] are concocted than ever before, especially when one of Harry’s classmates is possessed [occult] and nearly dies. The last 20 minutes are the most violent and action-packed of them all when Dumbledore and Harry make their way to the cave. What eventually goes down is different than what actually happens in the books, so I won’t spoil it here.

Be forewarned, however, this isn’t stuff for younger children, despite the PG rating.

Please consider printing this article and doing one or several of the following.

1) Give a copy of this to people in leadership at your church.

2) Give a copy of this to parents you know.

3) Use this as a Vacation Bible School topic.

4) Use this as a topic in your youth group.

5) Place copies on the windshields of your church members.

6) Consider using this as an insert in your church bulletin.

7) Place a copy of this article on several of your church bulletin boards.

8) Tape a copy of this article on the inside door of bathroom stalls in your church.

9) Tape a copy of this article near the exit doors of your church.

Thank you, Beloved reader, for being active in your Christian walk and thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free here. There are regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

Scriptures: Matthew 6: 31 – 33; Psalm 37:4

Have you ever allowed petty differences to interfere with relationships? Marriages are breaking up and churches are breaking up and fellowship groups are breaking up and prayer partnership groups are breaking up Over petty things where people are not mature enough to say when it’s all said and done, “I need you.”

You will run into Christian people and non-Christian people who inadvertently disrespect you or inadvertently make you feel bad.

Let’s take a look at Hannah in I Samuel, chapters 1 and 2, who’s making her annual trip to Shiloh.

According to scripture, Hannah has been weeping, praying and pouring out her heart to the Lord.

Her mouth continues to move; Hannah’s voice is just above a whisper.

Since you’re probably familiar with this scripture, you remember that Eli thought that Hannah was drunk because he saw her lips moving and she wasn’t speaking to anybody else. Eli could not figure out why Hannah was murmuring to herself. In what Eli had experienced in his life, the only reason a person muttered to herself or himself, was they’d had some wine.

Eli made a presumption about Hannah.

Okay, the key word here is presumption.

Eli assumed what he thought, was so, based on what he saw -- that is, what he presumed about Hannah.

Eli drew conclusions about Hannah without having any facts.

Has anyone made presumptions about you and been wrong?

Has anyone disrespected you and been dead wrong?

Has anyone thought they knew what you were thinking, didn’t check with you to substantiate the facts, and they were wrong?

Have you ever had somebody look at you and based on what they think they see, then reach conclusions and operate on assumptions about you – they even begin to talk to other people about you based on presumptions.

You are aware there are some people who decide they know what is going on in your life based on what they think they perceive.

Now remember, Eli was a called man of God.

He was anointed and appointed by God – this is very important to remember.

Presumption has no place in the kingdom of God, and Eli, a man of God in a position of authority, presumed.

When you presume to know what people are thinking,
When you presume why they are doing something,
When you presume what’s really in their hearts, you dishonor the integrity of these very people.

Eli said to Hannah, a precious woman of God, “How long have you been drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
Eli did not ask Hannah any questions to gather facts and to be respectful of her.

He did not ask, “Have you had some liquor Hannah [this one time]?”
He did not ask, “Do you drink regularly?”
He did not ask, “Are you in a drunken state Hannah; I’m concerned about you?”
Eli presumed Hannah had been a habitual drinker.
Now -- if we’re remotely honest, most of us would have been insulted and offended, especially since Hannah was tarrying before the Lord.

Can’t you just imagine how Hannah could have felt?

Do you wanna know why I had to type this article for you, beloved reader?
Do you wanna know why I so respect Hannah, dear reader who’s still being healed and delivered just like me?

Hannah was focused.
Hannah was so focused, she didn’t forget her purpose.
Hannah was so focused, she chose not to operate in offense.
Hannah was so focused, she chose to interact with Eli in a posture of l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e submission.
Key word = l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e.
Hannah was so focused, she remembered and let Eli know that she needed him to achieve her goal.

Beloved reader, you can’t afford to take the well-intentioned people in your life and begin to set them aside, and break fellowship and relationship with them, so that you end up isolated and unto yourself. The enemy knows when you are walking by yourself, you can get ambushed. You and I are prime prey for the enemy when we isolate and withdraw.

When we have Christian companions walking with us, the enemy has to think twice about attacking us. He knows the power of agreement. He knows the power of unity. He, satan and his demons, takes the good intentions of people that cause us to be so offended and cause us to feel so disrespected that we dis-fellowship with these Christian and non-Christian people. Oouchh!
Ecclesiastes 4

Beloved reader, some of the people who are getting on your nerves, not all of them are your enemies. Some of them are people God has brought into your life, but you have to learn how to navigate. For example, Peninnah, was a bona fide enemy of Hannah. Eli was not Hannah's enemy, although she could have easily chosen to exclude or distance him from her life. Hannah knew Eli was a divinely appointed person in her life.

Beloved reader, building good, solid relationships is not easy. You know this, I know. Don’t let taking flight, be your first tendency. It takes work, on your behalf, to be big enough, to be mature enough, to work through some of these l-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-t-e offenses. And yes, the person, the people, were wrong.

We need the imperfect Christian people, God has appointed in our lives.
We need the imperfect Christian people, who will presume sometimes and come to us in attack mode.
We need one another desperately.
You need the support of those God has raised up to be in your life – to achieve your destiny, to get through this mental valley your in.

Do you have enough grace in you, to initiate the process and go get the issue straight with the person?
If you don't, let's ask the Holy Spirit to impart more grace to us for a specific issue with a specific person.
Oouch!

As Christians, the last place we expect to be disrespected is in the church and by church members.

But may I share something with you beloved reader, the majority of Christians who come for personal, confidential, integrated healing and deliverance ministry, have been disrespected or even abused repeatedly by Christians in leadership positions either in the local church or in the marketplace i.e. your neighborhood, your professional groups, your workplace, your exercise partners, your family, etc.

If you’ve not read I Samuel 1 – 2, be encouraged to read it so you can know how Hannah respectfully and calmly explained to Eli her issue, her condition and her need of his help in her life. Hannah even goes a step farther, and reconciles. Oouch!

Thank you for taking your time to read this blog on Healed People, Heal People community. If you’re not a member of this online community, we encourage you to join for free.

Recommended book | The Bait of Satan by John Bevere

What you have read are my typed notes from the series Kingdom First Living, Volume I, Part 5, from Enduring Truth, the teaching ministry of Pastor Paul E. Sheppard. You can listen to the audio of this teaching here.

If you’re not a member of this Healed People, Heal People online community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

Psalm 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Help me sweet Jesus to write this article. Okay, beloved readers, a part of this Healed People, Heal People community. Why am I stammering at the keys on my keyboard today? The Holy Spirit taught me a lesson about 10 years ago that I will never forget. It’s about s-o-m-e people, good people, Christian people, loving people, those who love you, those who surround you on a regular basis, or those who may even be in your corner.

Psalm 118:8 declares it's better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man.

Okay, here goes.

We all have churches that are headed by pastors and leadership teams.

We all have family members, some of which we love, some we don’t care for too much – and some we just can’t stand [sorry, but it’s a reality for some].

We all have confidantes.

We all have those fun-to-hang-out with partners.

We all have those let-your-hair-down with friends.

We all have those kicking-it with buddies.

And we even have those select Christian people we like being around who will not check us when we are clearly stepping outside of the boundaries and principles of the Lord.

We even have accountability people -- we still have a choice in how much we disclose to them.

We all had or have secrets, some are not-so-big secrets, some are closet secrets, some are in-the-dark secrets, some are go-to-your-grave secrets, some secrets just cripple the hell out of you.

You decide what you do with your secrets. I can tell you this, the Lord never intended for us to carry the internal weight of the secrets. Many of our illnesses come from keeping secrets. Some of our constant mind racing comes from not being able to still the secrets.

Much of depression spurs from buckling secrets that people try to keep the lid shut down on. Many of your spiraling urges come from trying to holster your secrets. Many things we do to escape, including sleep, is to not deal with the harshness of our reality -- the secrets, the impending, unnecessary, illegitimate weights.

We all have those ride-and-die friends – no matter what, these friends will be there for us. Make no mistake about it, this is an extremely short of list people – it may even be one person – it may only be the Lord Himself.

But, beloved readers, you know what our Lord taught me 10 years ago that I’ve n-e-v-e-r forgotten?

Don't ever put anyone's word, advice, counsel, approval, consent, guidance or direction above what I say, says the Lord.

This was a very hard lesson for me to learn and live by.

Why?

Because some of those Christians who loved me, then, and still love me, now, gave me advice, counsel, guidance – that didn’t line up with the Word of God.

Did they love the Lord and do they love the Lord? Yes, these Christians did and do love the Lord.

Did I own a Bible? Yes, I did own a Bible, then, and; yes, I do own several Bibles now.

Did I know the Word? Yes, I knew the Word and; yes, I know even more Word now.

Did a little flicker go off inside of me when these loving Christians told me what I wanted to hear? Yes, the Holy Spirit pushed that flicker button inside of me. But, I knew what some of the loving Christians said to me over the years did not line up with the Word. [I'm not being sarcastic when I use the words loving Christians; I'm sincere.]

They padded their advice, lined their counsel and justified it with scripture – I think the Bible calls this itching ears, on my part. And let's mention this, there are a lot of Christians, even Christians in leadership positions, who are so wounded they believe life's experiences more than they believe the Word of God. And accordingly, they give advice, counsel, approval, direction based on experience. It's your responsibility to know the Word for your life. It's your responsibility to know when scriptures are being misaligned.

Now, what each of us reading this article knows, is that we tell people, even Christians exactly what we want them to know. An ole' pastor once told me, it’s just human nature to do this – tell folk o-n-l-y what you want them to know.

Beloved reader, do you disclose every single, slither of information to the people you’re seeking input from? I’ll leave that for you to answer.

I always flinch, in particular, when Christians say, “Follow your heart.”

Excuse me, beloved readers, I am not trying to be disrespectful, but that statement above is just plain dumb.

“Follow your heart.”

Do you know when I graduated from undergrad, I did a Bible study for two years just dealing with the different conditions of the human Christian heart.

You know what’s an even better question, beloved reader, Do you know what’s in your heart?

If so, how do you know what's in your heart? What have you done about the contents of your heart?

How often do you inspect your heart?

How often do you present your heart to the Holy Spirit?

Do you know what to do once the Holy Spirit has revealed the contents of your heart?

Well – I offer several versions of the scripture below.

Jeremiah 17:9 [NIV]
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [NASB]
The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [KJB]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [AKJV]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [ASV]
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 [Bible in Basic English]
The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

So, beloved reader, help me understand again why so many people, especially Christians, throw out the statement so casually, “Follow your heart,” or “I just follow my heart.”

I’m choosing to believe based on the Word of God and based on my experience in integrated healing and deliverance and based on the experience of veterans in the ministry of integrated healing and deliverance – that people, Christians, are simply making this statement, “follow your heart,” out of ignorance.

I used to wrestle with the following questions when I really respected and esteemed some Christians who gave me counsel. Now keep in mind these were internal thoughts I had in my mind about these Christians. I am still in relationship with the majority of these Christians.

Thoughts I had after receiving advice, counsel, direction from some respected Christians

- but, look at their position in the community, they are so visible
- but, look at how much they study the Word of God
- but, look at their leadership position in the church
- but, look at how much influence they have
- wow, I really need to stay in their good graces, they can help me
- but, they seem to be pretty close to the Lord, do what they say
- I know they wouldn’t tell me wrong, I’ll do what they say
- but, look at their walk with the Lord [what’s visible to me]

Beloved reader, what I have painfully learned from our Lord is this scripture, It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8

Why do I use the phrase painfully learned? Because I had to go around the darn mountain over and over – I sound like the Israelites, right? The first time I realized the advice from the respected, respective Christians landed me in hot water, why didn’t I confess to the Holy Spirit, “I’m sorry for not listening to Your whisper in my ear.”

Each time, beloved reader, I remember the Holy Spirit placing that little flicker inside of me saying, ”That’s not the way to go;” “Don’t ignore Me.” But I yielded again and again, beloved reader, because I respected Christian people more than I esteemed the Word of God. These respective, respected Christians said what I wanted to hear and what they said aligned with my desires, my will -- a recipe for impending disaster.

Now, in Psalm 118:8 the end of the scripture says, … than to put confidence in man.

Well, who is man?
Man is any human being breathing who is in your life, male or female.
Man is any human being, Christian or non-Christian.
Man is any human being in any income level.
Man is any human being on any status level.
Man is any human being in every rank of the Christian church.
Man is any human being in your family.
Man is any human being who is your friend.

The beginning of Psalm 118:8 says It is better to trust in the Lord …

Yall, I’m literally b-e-g-g-i-n-g you, trust the Lord.
If you don’t know how to trust Him, just tell Him, He already knows.
If you’re scared to trust Him in an area of your life, just tell Him, He already knows.
Wherever you’re deficient in trust, ask Him to build that in you for you since you’re not able to do so.
If you’ve not dealt with the issues preventing you from trusting the Lord, would you consider asking the Holy Spirit to reveal these things to you.
Would you consider receiving ministry for integrated approach to healing and deliverance for these issues?
Why?
So, you can experience freedom in this or these areas of your life.

Don’t have itching ears like I did; ask the Holy Spirit to remove your itching ears.
The Holy Spirit knows that we all have desires and dreams and wills.
He truly has better plans for us than we’re able to muster up for ourselves.
His plans for you don’t even involve manipulation and maneuvering and dodging.

Yall, I guess by now, you know I’m a born and breed [USA] southerner – that’s fine.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our spiritual blind spots.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the areas of our lives we’re in denial about.
Let's ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas in our lives where there may be self hatred.
Then when He reveals, please, please, take action to do something about it.
If you don’t know what to do, I’m willing to find a resource to help you, if I can’t.

Yall, I understand that you may not disclose everything to people, but please, don’t lie to yourself. You desire the abundant life the Lord speaks of so often in scripture, right? Well, the abundant life is short circuited when we choose to do the following things:

- pretend you don’t know the Holy Spirit is nudging you
- cut corners to try to get what you want
- only disclose so much information and purposely conceal other pertinent information to those you seek counsel from
- you choose to turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit
- you choose to forget that some blessings and some promises of the Lord are conditional; Have you met the
condition(s) without compromising?
- wrongly use scripture, people, situations, [conditional] prophecy to justify something you want
Please remember that satan and his demons have strategy too for your life.
And his strategy is presented very nicely, not in a questionable fashion.

Whatever word, advice, counsel, approval, consent, guidance or direction you receive, even from Christians, put it before the Lord, please, before moving forward. And wait for His confirmation or His denial and His instructions.

Now, let me share this with you. I know the respective Christians throughout the years didn’t provide advice to hurt me on purpose. Although we’re Christians, we are humans. We have good days. We have days when we’re not as sharp, when we’re not on point. Well-meaning, God-loving Christians have been and can be used strategically by demonic in your life -- even without them knowing it and you knowing it.

We all recall when Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:23. Jesus was very aware that the demonic was working through Peter. Yes Peter, a man who literally was chosen and walked with Jesus. I'll keep this brief by simply asking these questions. Are your spiritual tools keen enough to discern when God-fearing Christians are off kilter who give you advice?

Do you even know what your spiritual tools are? What do you do to improve your spiritual tools? How often do you use your spiritual tools? Spiritual tools are similar to the physical muscles in your body. They becomes stronger the more you exercise them and use them on a regular basis. Spiritual tools become stronger they more they are stretched out of their comfort zone.

People ask me and you for advice in areas that we may be weak in. When you realize that a person is asking you for advice in an area you're weak in, do you disclose that this is one of your weak areas, up front? Do you or have you chosen to do what's in the best interest of the person by stopping the conversation and sharing in integrity that this isn't an area you're strong enough and disciplined enough to provide counsel, advice, consent, approval, direction or guidance.

You and I ask people for advice in areas that they are weak in, but we don’t know that because they don’t disclose it [the majority of the time]. And even when we see -- through people’s repeated actions that they’re weak in certain areas, we sometimes still choose to seek their advice, their counsel.

This is not wise, beloved reader. So this begs the question, why do we ask them? Because they’ll tell us what we want to hear. This is a clear sign of spiritual immaturity and/or lack of exercising godly wisdom in this particular area of your life.

Psalm 118:8 reads, It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. Please do not esteem man, woman or Christians words higher than the Word of God for your life, please.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article, beloved reader.

If you’re not a member of this Healed People, Heal People, community we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths. If there are others who’d benefit from this article, please send them the link to this article.

Do you take prescription meds? Does someone you love take prescription meds? Did you know prescription meds is the number three cause of death in America according to the Journal of American Medicine?

Are birth control pills safe? Any drug that artificially manipulates the natural hormonal activity of the body will have negative implications and side effects.

What is the birth control pill? How Does it work? Is it Safe? by Paul Weckenbrock, R. Ph.

The birth control pill is any drug which uses artificial hormones to keep a woman from getting pregnant or from staying pregnant by interfering with her normal fertility.

Are all forms of the pill the same?

No. There are several types of the pill on the market, but they basically break down into two groups: combination pills and the progestin-only minipill.

The combination type contain two artificial steroids that mimic the effects of naturally occurring hormones, estrogen and progesterone. Some pills work in a monophasic way, keeping the dosage of hormones the same throughout the pill cycle. Others work in a biphasic or triphasic manner which alters the dosage of artificial hormones two or three times respectively through the cycle of pills, attempting to produce fluctuations similar to what a fertile woman would undergo naturally.

The progestin-only minipill uses only one artificial hormone, progestin, which is a steroid that has a progestational effect similar to natural progesterone.

How does the pill work?

The pill is designed to interfere with several normal functions of fertility in order to make a woman 1) unable to conceive due to temporary sterility or sperm immobility, and/or 2) unable to carry a pregnancy to term [an early abortion].

This process can be accomplished in various ways.

Suppressing ovulation: When a woman ovulates, hormones released from the pituitary , a gland located at the base of the brain, stimulate her ovaries to ripen and release an egg. The combination pill usually interrupts the release of these pituitary hormones resulting in no egg being released from the ovary, thus preventing pregnancy from occurring. With no egg available for fertilization, the woman is chemically sterile. The progestin-only pill, however, has a weaker effect. It generally does not suppress ovulation.

1. Inhibiting Implantation: Another important aspect of fertility is the process by which the lining of the uterus is replenished and maintained. After an egg is fertilized, it normally implants in this lining [endometrium], drawing nourishment and sustenance. The progestin component of the combination pill and the progestin-only minipill cause the inner lining of the uterus to become thin and shriveled, unable to support implantation of the embryo [newly fertilized egg].

2. Impeding Sperm Migration: Preceding ovulation, a woman’s cervix produces a watery mucus through which sperm swim to meet the egg. The mucus also provides nourishment to sustain the life of the sperm cells. This mucus thickens under the influence of a progestin and so impedes sperm migration.

3.There are two other factors in a woman’s fertility that may be affected by the pill.

Making changes in the Fallopian Tubes: Progestins lower the efficiency with which the fallopian tubes propel eggs from the ovaries toward the uterus. This can cause the embryo not to reach the uterus in time to implant successfully.

4. Stopping a Pregnancy: After an ovary releases an egg, the woman’s cycle is controlled by a gland that is formed from the now-empty egg sack, the corpus luteum; this normally functions long enough to give an embryo time to implant in the uterus and for the placenta to begin to support the pregnancy.

However, hormones from the pill can cause the corpus luteum to function inadequately, allowing the lining of the uterus to be shed before the embryo can successfully implant.

In summary, a woman’s natural fertility requires several systems and organs to coordinate smoothly. The synthetic chemicals in any type of birth control pill interfere with this coordination, adversely affecting her normal fertility and any accidental conceptions.

How effective is the pill?

In theory, the pill reaches an effectiveness of over 99%, but in practice the rate is much lower. Between 1.9% and 18.1% of women will experience an unplanned pregnancy in the first year of using the pill.

Surprise pregnancies with the pill are due to a number of factors. Interactions between the pill and some other medications interfere with the proper blood levels of hormones necessary for their birth control effect. These drug interactions may be significant with the commonly used low dose pill where slight alterations in hormonal blood levels can result in more frequent ovulations and hence unplanned pregnancies. Another factor in pill pregnancy rates is not following directions, sometimes due to the lack of motivation, especially in younger women [ages 15-24].

Is ovulation always suppressed?

No. Ovulation occurs in 2% to 10% of cycles of women taking the pill. If 60 million women worldwide are on the low-dose pill, there would be 1.2 to 6 million ovulations per cycle. This is known as breakthrough ovulation, and it is even more frequent with the progestin-only pill.

What happens when ovulation does occur?

When the pill fails to prevent ovulation, the other mechanisms come into play. Thickened cervical mucus may make it more difficult for the sperm to reach the egg; however, if the egg is fertilized, a new life is created. The hormones slow the transfer of the new life through the fallopian tube, and the embryo may become too old to be viable when it does enter the uterus.

If the embryo is still viable when it reaches the uterus, under-development of the uterine lining caused by the pill prevents implantation. The embryo dies and the remains are passed along in the next bleeding episode which, incidentally, is not a true menstruation even though it is usually perceived as such.

Does this mean the pill can cause an early abortion?

Yes. Preventing the newly conceived life in its embryonic stage from being transported to the uterus and preventing implantation in the wall of the uterus are the abortifacient properties of the pill.

Why haven’t I heard about this before?

The Pill manufacturers and many in organized medicine are mainly concerned about the pill’s medical side effects and its effectiveness in preventing pregnancies and are less concerned about how the drug achieves its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, many otherwise pro-life physicians and pharmacists find it hard to admit that these abortifacient properties exist because they would have to discontinue prescribing and dispensing the pill if they were to remain consistent in their respect for life at all its stages of development.

Pro-abortion organizations and their lawyers readily admit the early abortion potential of the pill. In February 1992, writing in opposition to a Louisiana law banning abortion, Ruth Colker, a Tulane Law School professor, wrote, "Because nearly all birth control devices, except the diaphragm and condom, operate between the time of conception ... and implantation ..., the statute would appear to ban most contraceptives." In 1989, attorney Frank Sussman argued before the U. S. Supreme Court that " ... IUDs [and] low dose birth control pills ... act as abortifacients."

Is It Safe? What are the common side effects of the pill?

There is a range of risks from serious or fatal to minor and trivial. The following is a list of the most common side effects experienced by women taking the pill. These effects are dose related and not every woman will experience them, but the risks still exist. The synthetic estrogens of the combination pill cause many of these; the progestin causes others and is the only risk factor in the progestin-only pill.

Heart and blood abnormalities

Blood clots can form, restricting or blocking the flow of blood to critical organs and other body systems, possibly causing permanent damage. For example, a blood clot in the heart would cause a heart attack; in the brain it would cause a stroke or brain hemorrhage; a clot which moved from elsewhere in the body and lodged in the lung would cause a pulmonary embolism; in the kidneys a clot would cause a renal artery thrombosis and kidney damage; in the retinal arteries it would cause temporary or permanent blindness.

Studies continue to indicate approximately a 2-fold increased risk of fatal heart attacks among users of the current low-dose pill when compared to non-users. This risk is lower than the risk experienced with the older high dosage pill, but it continues to be significant. Similarly, the risk of a fatal brain hemorrhage is increased 1.4 times when comparing users to non-users. Among women who smoke, there is a 12-fold increase in fatal heart attacks and a 3.1-fold increase in fatal brain hemorrhage.

High blood pressure and alterations in the blood clotting mechanisms may be seen in women on the pill. This may contribute to a 3-11 times increased risk of developing blood clots in Pill users compared to non-users. The risk is especially great for women who smoke and/or are over 35 years old.

Cancer

Breast cancer has been repeatedly associated with using the pill.

Breast cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years, especially among young women. Breast cancer will kill more than 44,000 American women this year alone, a 1991 report noted, predicting 175,000 more new cases, especially among young women.

Why is there such an increase of breast cancer among younger women? Note first that women rarely develop breast cancer shortly after they start taking artificial hormones. It is generally not until ten or more years after usage was initiated that women develop breast cancer. Then note that in the United States, since the mid-1970s, it has been common for the pill to be prescribed for girls in their teen years.

Common sense connects the link between giving the pill to young girls in the 1970s and the later increase in breast cancer 15 to 20 years later among women in their late twenties and thirties. This conclusion was demonstrated in a study which found that Swedish women who took the pill in the 1960s incurred a five times greater increase in breast cancer when compared to non-users.

The increased risk of breast cancer is seen in younger, nulliparous women [never having borne children], and in long duration groups [greater than five years] of pill users. Large tumors and a worse survival rate are associated with the pill’s use at an early age.

Will the newer formulated low-dose pills decrease the incidence of breast cancer? A consensus of understanding has not been reached, and another 10 to 20 years of experience with women using this form of the pill must be gained before more definite conclusions can be reached.

Breast tenderness, enlargement, lumps, and milk secretions also may occur in women using the pill. Doctors are warned not to prescribe the pill to women who are known or suspected to have breast cancer. It is difficult to say what aggravating effect the pill’s hormones would have over a truly random sample of women taking the pill.

Cervical cancer and cervical dysplasia increase among women who use the pill. How long the pill has been taken, how many sexual partners a woman has had, at what age she began having intercourse, whether she smokes, the hygiene of sexual partners and the transmission of the human papillomavirus [HPV] are also factors in cervical abnormalities. Because of these several factors, the connection of the pill and cervical cancer may be clouded over. However, there is no doubt that the promotion of the pill has resulted in early intercourse which may be the more direct cause of cervical cancer.

Endometrial and ovarian cancer appear to have a lower incidence in both women on the pill and in those who have been previous users of the pill. Much of this data comes from studies of women who were using the higher dose estrogen/progestin pill. Currently the low dose monophasic and triphasic pills [less than 50mcg of estrogen] are the only birth control pills available on the U.S. market. It is not known if a similar protective effect will be experienced with the currently used pill. More time is needed to study this issue, and the slight protective effect is hardly a reason to take the Pill at the risk of so many other side effects.

It should also be noted that these forms of cancer are rare and primarily occur among postmenopausal women in their fifties and sixties. Second, these cancers tend to occur in those women who had long cycles [i.e., with a prolonged estrogen-dominant phase] or those who have a family history of these types of cancer. Third, extended breastfeeding amenorrhea offers the same type of protection against these cancers since the menstrual cycle would be suppressed and therefore the exposure to estrogen suppressed.

Liver tumors in younger women [15 to 40 years] have increased as the use of oral contraceptives has increased. Almost unheard of in this age group before the use of synthetic hormones became commonplace, liver tumors usually do not occur until the sixth decade of a woman’s life.

A study by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer found a large peak in the 26-to-30-year age group which corresponds with the increased use of oral contraceptives in this age group. Liver cancer in women on the pill is typically associated with those over 30 who have used it more than four years, but cases of liver cancer in younger women have been cited.

Other cancers: Skin cancer [melanoma] has also been found to increase among women on the pill. Naturally occurring estrogen is involved with maintaining healthy skin tissue. It is reasonable to suspect that exposure to the more potent synthetic estrogen in the pill increases the risk of this type of cancer.

Cycle irregularities

Women who take the pill have been reported to experience bleeding or spotting in mid-cycle, changes in menstrual flow, and even loss of menstruation, which can lead them to wonder if they are pregnant. For some, painful menstruation [dysmenorrhea] has been reported to worsen, even though many women take these hormones in an attempt to relieve the problem.48

Although some women are given the pill for irregular cycles, it does nothing to improve the underlying problem causing the irregularity. Often the irregularity returns when the pill is discontinued, sometimes more severely.

Are there other side effects?

Yes. Some side effects are minor while some may be more severe and call for discontinuing the drug.

The following adverse effects have been experienced by women on the pill:

Headaches, migraines, mental depression [even to the point of suicide and/or suicidal tendencies], a decrease or loss of sexual drive, abdominal cramps, bloating, weight gain or loss, and water retention; nausea and vomiting [in about 10% of users]; symptoms of PMS, vaginitis and vaginal infections, changes in vision [temporary or permanent blindness, and an intolerance to contact lenses]; gall bladder disease and either temporary or permanent infertility, when discontinuing the pill, in users with previous menstrual irregularities or who began the drug before full maturity. Several of the symptoms, such as migraine headaches, contraindicate the use of the pill because of life endangering complications.

Consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference at your public library or consult your pharmacist for a more complete list of the pill’s harmful effects.

Is the pill safer than pregnancy?

No. The health risks of the pill outweigh by far the risks of pregnancy and childbirth to a woman’s health, and any claim to the contrary is based on erroneous comparisons between healthy women on the pill and women who do not receive normal care during pregnancy.

A precondition for obtaining the pill is routine medical care and checkups. For example: if such a woman on the pill is diagnosed as precancerous, or if some other side effect is exhibited, she has the advantage of early detection. However, many pregnant women do not receive routine medical care. A clearer picture of the safety of the pill compared to the safety of pregnancy would be made if healthy women receiving routine medical care during pregnancy and delivery were compared with women receiving routine medical care while taking the pill.

The mortality statistics of childbirth have continuously declined since the early part of this century, mostly due to better maternal healthcare. Most of the high risk pregnancies and deliveries occur to women who have not sought proper medical attention. This is most evident in the third world where adequate health care is sparse.

Mortality statistics of pregnancy and delivery, usually called maternal mortality, include the mortality rates due to abortion. Abortion is clearly used as birth control, preventing the birth of the child; therefore it must be included with the mortality statistics of birth control methods. In one study, 25% to 50% of the reported maternal mortality was a result of deaths from abortion.

Fifty percent of woman taking the pill discontinue it within the first year because of side effects, the development of benign breast disease, or some abnormality of the sexual organs. Studies of pill usage do not include these women, and the result is an unbalanced picture of only the healthiest of women who tolerate the pill. This is compared with the general population of women who are pregnant.

The fact is that there are 13.8 million women in the U.S. and 60 million women worldwide who use the pill [conservative numbers]. And there are 7.9 pill-related deaths per 100,000 women ages 15-44.

Therefore, one can calculate that there are over 1090 deaths each year in the U.S. alone simply due to the pill.

But I’ve heard there are no side effects with the pill I use.

All drugs, including all brands of the birth control pill, have potential side effects. There is no telling in advance how any particular woman will react to the pill, but there is a good chance of some type of reaction. It is possible that a woman will be unaware that there is any connection between the reaction and the pill especially if it takes years to manifest itself.

Aren’t there any therapeutic benefits from the pill?

The only indication, or use for the pill that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration is the prevention of pregnancy in women ... as a method of contraception. Some unapproved uses, considered experimental, include its use as a morning after pill [causing an early abortion], and for relief from the symptoms of mild endometriosis.

I’m breastfeeding my baby; can I use the pill?

No. Artificial hormones pass from breast milk to the baby; the pill also decreases both the quantity and protein content of the milk produced.

What is my alternative to using the pill?

Natural Family Planning is safe, healthy and effective and it’s also inexpensive. A woman observes and records changes in her basal body temperature, the normal flow of cervical mucus, and if she wishes, the physical changes in the cervix itself. She then cross-checks these signs of fertility to follow, day by day, the natural course of her fertility cycle. No drugs, no devices, no surgical procedures, no threat of death, no side effects, no chemical abortions!

Does NFP really work?

Yes. Married couples can achieve a 99% effectiveness if they learn the method, correctly interpret the fertility signs, and follow the rules. One positive side benefit for couples who are committed to making this method work is the potential for a healthier marriage — psychologically, physically and spiritually.

How can I find out more about Natural Family Planning?

Contact the national office of The Couple to Couple League, P. O. Box 111184, Cincinnati, OH 45211; toll-free (800) 745-8252, local (513) 471-2000.

Thank you for taking your time to read this article on Healed People, Heal People. If you are not a member of this online community, we invite you to join for free here. You'll receive  regular updates of encouragement wrapped in biblical truths.

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