Here is a summary of a testimony recently given by Joan. It’s a powerful reminder that God cares about and uses the littlest details and moments in our lives to express His love to us:

When I lived up north, I would listen to the song “Butterfly on Her Shoulder” by Sashamon every morning and it became a special song between God and me. Last Saturday after leaving work for a break I was walking and singing that song and thinking about God, and I could feel the Holy Spirit.  I was thinking about all of the butterflies that live in this area, and I was thanking God for planting me in the “land of butterflies” as the song mentions.  After this lovely walk I went back to work and took Dorothy to mass, and then brought her to the dining room for dinner. I left to get my dinner and about 15 minutes later when I returned and sat down with her (we were alone at the table) there was a little box sitting on the table.  I asked what it was and she opened it to reveal a butterfly pin, and she said to me, “Someone suggested that I wear it on my shoulder.”  She had no knowledge about the significance of the song “Butterfly On Her Shoulder” to me or that I had just been singing it to myself on my walk, so I immediately felt it was God’s doing. All I could do was sit back and smile. She asked me, ”What are you smiling about?” All I could say was, “GOD is GOOD!”

Recently, Gretchen of Goleta, CA gave the following testimony:

“It was a Saturday morning when I woke up and realized I had the full blown symptoms of a flu with a number of very painful symptoms (sore throat, nausea, headache, fever, etc).  I immediately prayed to the Lord and asked for healing. Instead of believing my circumstances as if they (the flu symptoms) were the final authority on my health, I believed in God and His power to heal and change any circumstance even when the physical evidence points to having the flu.  Within a couple hours of praying, every single symptom had disappeared as suddenly as they had come. It wasn’t a gradual recovery over the course of 24-48 hours which is the best case scenario for flu recovery. It was a sudden reversal of my symptoms within a couple hours.  It was as if I had never even been touched by any flu symptoms.”

There is something that happened to me (this is Kevin, the site administrator, writing) awhile back, but I realized today that I never posted it! I went to a weekly Bible study held by my church, but I was sick with a fever.  I was so determined to go, however, that I went anyways.  About a quarter of the way through, people were noticing how out of it I was. I was having trouble focusing and I was dazed and swaying in my chair. The leader offered to pray for me in Jesus’ name right then and there. The moment she did, I felt a strange heat encompass my body (and it felt hotter than the fever), and within 30 seconds, the fever broke (and I broke out in a sweat as it did) and about a minute later, every symptom of the flu was gone, and I could focus with ease on the Bible study from that moment on.

The healing power of Christ was more powerful (and faster acting) than Tylenol!  It reminds me of the verse in Psalms: “His love is better than life.”  Humankind tries its best to create remedies to life’s problems, but the Author of Life, Jesus Christ, always has something better.

On Sunday, besides the miracle described below by Tim Lillard, I witnessed a woman named Marie Ramirez receive healing also for her right ear.  Her hearing has become impaired in recent years, to the point of needing a hearing aid, and this has caused frustration (as you can imagine) in her life.  On Sunday morning during the sermon [the person preaching stopped the message temporarily to have people prayed for], she received prayer and experienced an immediate improvement in her hearing.  She was able to remove her hearing aid and still hear someone speaking about ten feet behind her, something she couldn’t do previously.  Today I asked her how she was doing, and she said she was “still in shock” about it.

If you’re reading this, whoever and wherever you are, just know that God loves you dearly.  Allow this testimony to serve as a vivid reminder about God’s intense love for you.  He has every hair on your head numbered, and He has seen every tear you have shed!

The Lord Jesus is mighty to save, and by His wounds we are healed!  Amen!

Tim wrote:

“I have a history of ear problems.  That ear (right side) got severely infected when I was 13 years old, and I had to go to a specialist.  He said he had to lance the eardrum to relieve the pressure or my eardrum would rupture.  He couldn’t give me general anesthesia to knock me out because I had a temperature of 105 and he was afraid I would have a severe reaction which might include death.  He tried to put local anesthetic on the eardrum itself, hoping that it would absorb enough of the anesthetic to deaden it, but it was so swollen and the cells were so saturated with fluid that the anesthetic had no effect.  He finally said that the only option was to lance the eardrum without anesthesia.  He held my head against the headrest on his chair and shoved the lance through my eardrum, took it out, rotated it about 60 degrees and shoved it through again, and then finally one last time, making a very neat pie-cut pattern completely through my eardrum.  It was by far the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced.  But it worked.  The infection cleared up in a couple of days.

However, ever since then I have had hearing loss and recurring ear infections, primarily in that right ear.  This last occurrence began just after Thanksgiving last year when I caught my annual cold, which turned into a pretty severe sinus infection.  I took some antibiotics and the infection seemed to go away, but the pressure behind my eardrum remained and at times was very painful.  I could not hear much of anything in that ear.  It felt like I was at the bottom of a swimming pool, you know how all sounds seem very blurry and muffled and distant?  I would estimate that I had about 5 – 10% of my normal hearing in my right ear.

I finally went to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist who told me that there was a large buildup of fluid behind the ear, and he advised me to have a tube surgically inserted in my eardrum to facilitate the drainage.  I asked if there was another alternative and he said he could prescribe steroids in hopes that they would shrink the membranes of the eardrum and ear canal enough to allow the drainage, but it would take a long time, and the fluid buildup could reoccur after stopping the steroids.  I told him I would like to try those, and save the tube insertion as a last resort.  He gave me the prescription last week, but I did not get it filled.

Sunday, seemingly out of the blue, Gary Hines [during his sermon] mentioned that there was someone who was having problems with their right ear.  He said he was praying for the immediate “release” of the condition, and in the exact moment that he said the word “release,” I felt an incredible relief in my right ear as what felt and sounded like high-pressure air suddenly and rapidly escaped from around my eardrum.  There did not appear to be any fluid involved, but there was a substantial release of pressure from behind the eardrum.  As Gary continued to speak, I moved my jaw around and the pressure continued to release.  After just a minute or so, I realized that I had regained almost all of my hearing.  It no longer sounded muffled and “underwater,” but was clear and distinct.  I guess I probably regained 90% of the hearing I had lost.  Amazingly, Marie testified that the hearing in her right ear had been greatly helped, and I felt I just had to add my testimony of God’s healing power and goodness.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the release of pressure and the restoration of my hearing was due entirely to Gary’s prayer and the grace of God.”

Kevin wrote the following:

This testimony belongs to Marie, actually, but I’ve gotten permission to publish her account.

She had recently lost her hearing aide…something that costs a lot of money (thousands, in some cases)…and clearly something that is vital to daily life.  Imagine losing your ability to hear suddenly!  How panicked would you feel?  Very panicked, I’m certain.  I know I would feel that way.  Or, if you can’t relate to that experience, imagine losing $1000 without warning…it just dropped somewhere…who knows where…who knows when…it’s just gone, and you have no idea how it was lost.  That would be a cause for urgency!

As she searched for it, she heard the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking into the quietness of her heart, and He was saying a few simple words: “look under the car seat.”

So she went into her car, looked under the seat, and there it was!  Imagine her relief (doesn’t the Bible say to rejoice with those who rejoice?), when she regained her hearing and $1000 simultaneously!  Thank God!

This testimony reminds me of the Scripture: “a sparrow does not fall to the ground without your Father in Heaven knowing about it…be of good cheer, you are worth more than many sparrows!”

God’s love covers every detail of our lives.  He is ever present with us, from the smallest frustrations in the day to the biggest calamities of life.  I pray our hearts will always be vigilant to listen to His loving voice.  May our hearing of His voice be preserved!  (and may we find our spiritual hearing aids if we’ ve lost them!)

Kevin wrote:

“I’ve been quite discouraged today, and nowhere close to being in what is commonly known as a ‘good mood.’  Well, while sitting at my desk at work in an office building, counting the seconds of the day, waiting for the day to pass away into oblivion so I could go home, I prayed a very silly prayer.  It was not even really any kind of a request – more of an expression of desire to God.  I said something along the lines, ‘God, it would be really comforting if I had a dog with me to pet right now.’  I really like dogs, and they’re comforting creatures, at least to me.  Dogs aren’t allowed in the office building, and I have never seen one in the offices before, so like I said, it was more of a silly thought as opposed to a serious prayer.  Mere moments later, I see something out of the corner of my eye.  And yes, it was a dog.  A dog appeared from a hallway out of nowhere, ran to my cubicle desk area and sat down next to me as if he was reclining next to the hearth of his master’s home.  After getting over my total shock, I gave him a thorough back and neck scratch, and the little furry fella was in Heaven.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  I was still in shock, but also amazed and deeply comforted by the appearance of a friendly dog out of nowhere.  He sat there for several minutes and then got up and trotted off.  Apparently, he belonged to someone visiting the building and he had gotten free.  I had never seen a dog before in the building.  Nothing like that has ever happened to me while working here.

Sometimes God sends a dog.

The dog looked exactly like this (he was a black lab):

Gretchen wrote:

“My right ankle has been sore since a year ago when I broke my right leg bones (tibia and fibula) just above the ankle. (In fact, my ankle could have been damaged in the same accident that broke my leg bones, but it went unnoticed while the bones were healing).

I noticed on the Saturday before Glenn Brown ministered at our Sunday church service that my ankle was worse than usual. My problem this last year has been that when my ankle is swollen up, bones and cartilage and things in my foot rub together and click and crunch and hurt when I walk. Then the resulting pain and damage cause my foot to swell up more. etc. etc.

Glenn Brown prayed for my ankle, and praise God, I was able to dance for the first time since my accident. About 80 % of the ankle pain and swelling has gone away since P. Glenn prayed for my ankle. Praise God.  God is so amazing.

Gretchy”

Kevin wrote:

“Recently my mother was diagnosed with a benign tumor in her brain (operable), but it has been likely causing many symptoms, including vision problems. The vision problems have been severe at times, and have been going on for the last year and a half. Well, this past weekend she received prayer in the name of Jesus at my church (meaning the person whom prayed for her proclaimed that the healing was coming from the power of Jesus’ name and the power of what He did on the Cross, not from any “human” or “earthly” power). The vision problem has now cleared away for the first time in a year and a half! She has been so happy about it, and she believes God did it 100%. It has been so nice for her to be able to have her vision 100% clear again. It has been a great blessing. I believe God is going to improve her health, and this was an amazing sign of that. At the same time she also received prayer for increased joy in her life. I have noticed her overall attitude and spirit brightening over the past couple conversations I’ve had with her. And also, she is excited to return to church with me in the future, which I also believe is a result of the increased measure of joy in her heart. For the past year she didn’t have the desire to return to Jubilee with me, but I believe God has added an extra measure of joy to her heart, and now she wants to come back.

When Christ loves people, He loves them body and soul – healing both physical and spiritual needs! So it was extremely encouraging to watch God bring improvement to my mother’s vision and joy recently!”

Kevin wrote:

“On Sunday we had a miraculous encounter with God, as He brought an encouraging message to all of us through miraculous circumstances. During the worship service we had a time of ‘high praises’ where the worship band continues playing, but stops singing, and encourages the congregation to sing adoration to God with their own words (without the aid of pre-written song lyrics on the overhead) from their heart to God’s heart (like writing a hand-written letter vs. sending a greeting card with a pre-written message). Often during these times a person will have an encouraging message or song or verse quickened to their mind by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of sharing it with everyone else. Amy came to the microphone to share such a message, and it was: “The Lifter of our heads is here!” (the name Lifter refers to Christ) Right after Amy shared that, Tim came to the microphone with an astounded look on his face, and explained to us that right before Amy came to the mic, he had been singing a song that says “You are the glory and the Lifter of my head.” We were all amazed that God had placed the exact same theme/message in the minds of two people at the same time without the other knowing about it! Not long after we found out that another person in our church named Connie had been awakened very early in the morning, around 3:30am before the church service. She felt strongly that it was the Spirit of Christ waking her, and she went to the church. While there, she felt very strongly that she should sing the song “Glory and Lifter of my head.” She sang the song over and over again and worshipped and prayed until about 5am. And all of that happened before Amy and Tim got the very same message separately in the morning service! God spoke the same message into the hearts of three different people over the course of a few hours!

One of the names of Jesus is Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’ The miraculous message brought to us on Sunday through His influence reminded us that He is indeed very present with us! He is alive and well! He is risen!”