100 Sermon Illustrations on Healing

Dr. Blair was called to attend a middle-aged rich lady who had many imaginary ills. He wrote out and left a plain prescription which ran thus: "Do something for somebody." The doctor heard nothing from his patient till Christmas morning, when he was hastily summoned to the cottage of her Irish washerwoman. "It's not myself, doctor, it's me wrist, that's ailing. Ye see, I was ather goin' out into the black darkness for a few bits of wood, when me foot struck this basket. It stood there like a big mercy, as it was, full of soft flannels from Mrs. Walker. She towd me that your medicine cured her, doctor: so, if ye'll place to put a little of that same on me wrist, I'll be none the worse for me nice present."—"It is a powerful remedy," said the doctor gravely; and, more than once in after-years, he wrote the prescription, "Do something for somebody."

The foundation stone of this cult. Body healing is exalted above healing of the soul. Men will embrace anything that will relieve pain of body. Satan uses physical ailments to draw men from God

One day we went to visit Ruth's aunt. While there, a very dear friend of Ruth's aunt came to visit her, bringing Annie, her little four-year-old girl who was the same age as Ruth. They had taken Annie to an eye doctor the day before and he had said that she was blind and would always be blind. The two children played together. Ruth would lead her by the hand and this touched her heart very much. After we went home, she came to me crying, and said, "Mama, Annie is blind. Mama, Annie can't see anything. Mama, Annie can't even see her mama!" I (Ruth's mother) answered, "No, Annie can't see anything." "Can't Jesus make Annie see her mama?" Ruth asked. "Yes, Jesus can do anything," Mother told her. "I'll never quit praying till Jesus makes Annie see her Mama," she said. She knelt down and prayed, and for several days she would come in from her play ever so often and kneel down and pray and ask Jesus to make Annie see her mama. In a few days we received word that Annie said "Oh, I see my mama!" From then on she could see. When the girls were eight years old and Ruth had moved from that state, her aunt (who had also moved) received a letter from Annie's mother, saying, "Annie seems to be losing her eyesight again." She said also that she would like for her to send Annie a new dress while she could still see it, and if she knew where Ruth was to ask her to pray for Annie that Jesus would not let her go blind again. Ruth was at the home of her aunt when she received this letter. She prayed earnestly again and God answered her prayer and gave Annie her eyesight. It was even better than normal. The last time I saw Annie she was a grown woman around forty, and she showed me how she could see to read a long way from the light, which we could not do. Surely God did a wonderful work in answer to a little girl's prayer. Children, let's pray; and when we pray, believe that God hears, and receive the good things that he has to give us and others. -- Essie Wilson.

An experiment in treating neurotic patients was tried in the Massillon State Hospital, Ohio, when a picture entitled, “Christ Knocking at the Door,” a copy of Hofmann’s masterpiece, was unveiled during the religious services. The painting was life-size, on cathedral glass, and illuminated by electric lights. The hope was that by flashing the lights suddenly on the picture a beneficial therapeutic effect would be produced on the minds of the inmates of the hospital. (Text.)

The story is told of a woman who called on a physician for nervous trouble. She was a woman whose ailments had worried and excited her to such a degree that she was threatened with nervous prostration. Said the doctor: “Madam, what you need is to read your Bible more.” She promptly began to take offense at the strange prescription. He told her he meant it. “Go home and read your Bible an hour a day; then come back to me a month from to-day.” She thought over the matter, recalled the fact that tho she was a professing Christian she had been neglecting to read her Bible, and so she decided to take his advice. At the end of the month she came back to the office a well woman. She felt like a different person. She needed no medicine. (Text.)

* * * * *

Music has a vast future before it. We are only now beginning to find out some of its uses. It has been the toy of the rich; it has often been a source of mere degradation to both rich and poor; it has been treated as mere jingle and noise--supplying a rhythm for the dance, a kind of Terpsichorean tomtom--or serving to start a Bacchanalian chorus, the chief feature of which has certainly not been the music. And yet those who have their eyes and ears open may read in these primitive uses, while they run, the hints of music’s future destiny as a vast civilizer, recreator, health-giver, work-inspirer, and purifier of man’s life. The horse knows what he owes to his bells. The factory girls have been instinctively forced into singing, finding in it a solace and assistance in work. And for music, the health-giver, what an untrodden field is there! Have we never known an invalid to forget pain and weariness under the stimulus of music? Have you never seen a pale cheek flush up, a dull eye sparkle, an alertness and vigor take possession of the whole frame, and animation succeed to apathy? What does all this mean? It means a truth that we have not fully grasped, a truth pregnant with vast results to body and mind. It means that music attacks the nervous system directly, reaches and rouses where physic and change of air can neither reach nor rouse.--H. R. HAWEIS, “My Musical Memories.”

"Let's just say they have abnormal beliefs in the power of healing."

-- Knox County (Ill.) Sheriff Mark Shearer, on a family that tended a mummified corpse for eight years.

We should never under-estimate the power of our prayers to bring healing.

At the age of 14 Barbara Cummiskey had nothing wrong with her. But at 15 she began to stumble and lose her coordination. She thought it was just a part of growing up. Then her vision began to blur. Her left hand tightened into a half-fist. By age 19 her doctors knew exactly what she had - Multiple Sclerosis [MS].

It is an unpredictable disease. There were times she would get a little better, and even walk without a cane.

But by 1977 her diaphragm was paralyzing. Breathing was a problem, and then she got a severe lung disease. A year later, one lung collapsed and withered, the other was only half-strength. Then it struck her intestines, proving she had the most dangerous form of M.S. Most of her intestines were removed.

A hole had to be cut in her neck so she could breathe. Three times she had a heart attack. As a final indignity, tumors related to MS began to grow on her beautiful hands and face. She and her family were preparing for her to die. She was 31.

Twenty-two years before, at age 9, she had said to Jesus: "My life is yours." For a while she turned away from God, but as the disease came to its final stages she became closer to him than ever. Nurses would come in and find her talking to God as if he were right there.

June 7, 1981. A local religious radio station had mentioned her, and 450 cards flooded her. On this Sunday, two women from her church came to read the cards to her. Barbara heard a voice over her shoulder. The others heard nothing. This calm voice told her, "My child, get up and walk." Barbara told the women she was going to walk, so they should go get her family. She had not walked in 2 years.

She got out of bed [jumped] and started down the hall. Her atrophied legs now had muscle tone and firmness. Her father could not say a word. He grabbed her and danced around the room. MS is incurable. Her doctors say she never should have gotten well. Spinal taps showed that there was no trace left of MS in her. Her lung should have been destroyed. It was completely healthy and functioning. The lung disease, the tumors, and the nerve damage were gone. Her health was completely restored, instantly. God can do more than we ask or imagine.

A man who suffered from severe obsessive-compulsive behavior apparently cured himself when he shot a .22-caliber bullet through the front of his brain while attempting suicide, a medical journal reported. The bullet evidently destroyed the part of the brain that was causing abnormal behavior in the 19 year old man without damaging his intellectual capacity, according to a report in "Physician's Weekly." The publication wryly referred to the suicide attempt as "successful radical surgery." He went on to attend college.

(more details in article)

#64 *

Altruism has health benefits. Univ. of Michigan's Survey Research Center studied 2700 people and concluded being with other people significantly increased life expectancy, especially among men. Death rate was two and a half times higher for those who did not have close social relationships.

Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley study of 7000 people found that single loners who shunned community organizations have more than twice the death rate of others. True regardless of race, income, exercise or other life-style factors.

Reasons it works: Hans Selye says warmth other people return to you for your good deeds protects you from stress. Good deeds may also benefit immune system. Harvard study by psychologist David McClelland showed students a film of Mother Teresa, the embodiment of altruism, working among Calcutta's sick and poor. Analyses of students' saliva revealed an increase in immunoglobulin A, an antibody that can help combat respiratory infections. (May not hold up under further study.)

Risk of heart disease is dramatically affected by your attitude toward other people. Type A personalities, "angry heart" people, are at higher risk for heart disease. Hostility is most important factor - high hostility levels correlates with blocked coronary arteries. People who do not listen well have higher blood pressure.

Heart patients tend to isolate themselves, so one form of therapy is to have them do altruistic acts for others.

#249

*

Chester Scott met a little boy named Uddy about 11 years old in 1953 in Belgian Congo (Zaire). Had lung removed in Baptist hospital, got better, studied math in America, is now a top official in Zairian government. Often attends meetings and is very supportive of missionary work.

Christopher Pylant, 4, had a malignant tumor in brain. His parents told Dr. Benjamin S. Carson they knew Lord was going to use the doctor to heal their son. That morning Dr. Carson read Scripture and prayed. He had grown up in Detroit's inner city, went to a Seventh-day Adventist church, and had a godly mom who made him study and read instead of watching TV.

Carson had a violent temper and almost stabbed someone to death once because of it. A verse from Proverbs came to him - "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." (25:28). He prayed for God to take away his temper, and the Lord did.

The operation on Christopher showed the tumor had destroyed his brain stem, so Dr. Carson closed it up. Nevertheless, the parents said they were standing on God's promise. The boy improved slightly, so Carson operated again and found a thin brain stem left, flattened by the tumor. This time the tumor came off in layers. He remembered the words of his mother, "If you ask the Lord for something believing He will do it, then He will do it."

Christopher is doing OK today at age 8. Carson was the primary surgeon in another dramatic 22-hour operation on German Siamese twins. He reads Proverbs every morning and night. His middle name is Solomon.

===============

Update: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/americasbest/science.medicine/pro.bcarson.html

BRAIN SURGEON BEATS THE ODDS OF POVERTY

(CNN) -- Before becoming a world-renowned neurosurgeon, Ben Carson spent his early years in a poor neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, suffering from low self-esteem. But after years of hard work, the 49-year-old doctor has become famous for his breakthroughs in pediatric medicine.

Carson captured worldwide media attention in 1987 for the successful separation of conjoined twins who shared a portion of the same brain. However, his dream of becoming a surgeon -- difficult work that involves life-threatening operations, long hours and desperate conditions -- did not emerge from the usual refined beginnings.

His parents, Robert and Sonya Carson, divorced when he was 8. His mother scraped by as a domestic worker to support him and his brother, Curtis.

Academics were not a priority for Ben Carson, whose lack of confidence mirrored his family's depressed living conditions. “My initial problem was that I thought I was stupid,” Carson said. “And everybody pretty much agreed. So my nickname was ‘Dummy.’”

Carson's mother had a different agenda for her two sons, choosing education as a way for them to escape poverty. She devised a strict schedule with limited time in front of the television and frequent trips to the library. In addition to their homework, the boys had to turn in two additional book reports each week. Carson recalled that his mother made check marks on the reports although -- unknown to him at the time -- she couldn't read then.

Soon after he began his extracurricular studies, Carson started to excel in class. He discovered he could make good grades but then had to confront another obstacle, his adolescent anger.

“When I was 14, I tried to stab another youngster with a camping knife because he angered me,” Carson said. “And fortunately under his clothing, he had a large metal buckle, and the knife blade struck with such force that it broke.”

Carson said he remembers thinking over the repercussions of this kind of behavior. “Your choices are jail, reform school or the grave. So there aren't any other choices. I didn't like any of those,” he said.

After that day, Carson no longer struggled with anger. He graduated from high school with several honors and would go on to earn his bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University in 1973. He then received a medical degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1977.

USING HIS 'GIFTED HANDS'

At 33, he became the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery ever at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, Maryland. In his work, Carson reaches beyond medicine. His passion to inspire youth led to the founding of a scholarship fund to reward promising young adults.

Carson and his wife, Candy, are the parents of three sons, Murray, Benjamin Jr. and Rhoeyce. The highly regarded doctor is also a respected community and spiritual leader.

But his outstanding work with pediatric medicine is where some observers say he shines the most.

Christopher Pylant is living proof of Carson's so-called “gifted hands.” Eighteen years ago, the 4-year-old boy was given 18 months to live.

“He was a young boy from Georgia who had been diagnosed with a brain stem tumor, inoperable. The parents were told nothing could be done,” Carson said.

Desperate attempts at surgery with other doctors had taken a toll. Pylant's parents then learned about Carson and took their son to him.

Carol Pylant, Christopher's mother, recalls, “When he walked in, it was like we knew in our spirit, that this man was sent to us by God.”

The operation was a success. Nearly two decades later, Christopher Pylant is alive and well, attending college with hopes of becoming a minister.

FEELING THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

The Pylant surgery was early in Carson's career, but similar stories soon filled his case files.

In 1985, Carson operated on a 4-year-old girl who was suffering from 120 seizures a day. He performed a hemispherectomy, a complicated operation in which one hemisphere of the girl's brain was removed. The patient made a full recovery.

Two years later, the story of conjoined twins Patrick and Benjamin Binder of Germany caught Carson's attention. The boys were joined at the back of their heads, making separation seem impossible without loss of life.

Surgery of this kind had never been successful. Carson, with a team of 70, worked for five months to rehearse the operation. After 22 hours of surgery, the 7-month-old boys were separated successfully; however, they suffered from severe disabilities.

Twins joined at the head occur approximately once in every 2 million live births, according to the John Hopkins Medical Institutions.

In late 1997, Carson traveled to South Africa to face another conjoined twin case. Eleven-month-old Zambian twins Luka and Joseph Banda were joined at the head but were facing in opposite directions.

“There had been 13 previous attempts to separate twins like that, none of which had been successful,” Carson said.

Carson recalled a traumatic moment during this operation while speaking at the 2000 commencement at the University of Delaware. The twins had lost a considerable amount of blood.

“I really felt the weight of the world on my shoulders as I walked back into that operating room,” Carson said. “I didn't have my $350,000 Zeiss operating microscope that I have at Hopkins or my $400,000 3-D wand or my lasers or my ultrasounds or any of that fancy equipment. I just had my loupes and a scalpel and faith in God, and I went in there and said, 'Lord, it's up to you.’”

Carson was successful in separating the boys, and the twins did not suffer from any neurological deficits.

Carson has won acclaim for his work with conjoined twins. However, the modest man doesn't credit himself entirely but points a finger to faith as his guide.

*

Examines Pastor Cho's healing ministry, which draws on occult practices like

"visualization." Healing is largely responsible for Cho's church's remarkable

growth.

#769

*

A pastor's "letter" to a doctor explaining the holistic approach to medicine. Six aspects of healing are given.

#816

*

Glazier and his wife had a child after a faith healer laid hands on them. His book explores the mysteries of healing in a balanced way.

Mission message from Rev. Shawyer, Board of International Missions of American Baptist Churches, serving in Mexico:

A peasant named Hueleo in Elsareo, Mexico, had a serious foot injury and was taken to the hospital. The doctors told him that it looked bad and they would give it a few days but expected to have to amputate it. This would mean he would have no way to farm, and thus no way to support his family except by begging. He became very despondent.

His father-in-law gave him a Bible to read for encouragement. They were Catholic but there was no priest in their small town. Hueleo read the Bible and was moved by the miracles and teachings of Jesus. He prayed to Jesus for salvation and in a few days was able to walk out of the hospital. He visited a local Baptist church (in the hospital town?) and made a public profession of faith and was baptized. His whole family soon came to know the Lord and their neighbors made threats against him. They persevered and in the next decade more than 70 converts from their witness gathered into a congregation.

Illustration of miraculous healing of cancer:

It was March, 1980. Marie Hermann was 61 years old, and she had a football-sized metastatic tumor in her abdomen. She also had other tumors in her neck, liver, bones, and chest. The chemotherapy had caused her thyroid glands to fail. In the next 6 months she lost 82 pounds. Her husband, who was a doctor, thought she was going to die in a few short weeks.

On September 28 of that year she went to church at Bethel Temple. It was not a charismatic or Pentecostal church. But on that particular Sunday the pastor asked the 1000 members to join hands and pray for the healing of those in the church. He never mentioned Marie, but she prayed with everyone else.

She says she would have been pleased to hold down her supper that night. She didn't. She got sick as usual. But the next morning her nausea lifted [inexplicably]. She ate breakfast, then lunch, with no problems. Her husband was skeptical of any spectacular or miraculous recoveries. He checked her abdomen and was surprised that he could feel no cancer.

Ten days later she saw her cancer doctor. No cancer was found anywhere in her body. The doctors were baffled. Cancers have been known to go into remission, but never this quickly and completely.

Had Marie been healed by God?

Many people have been praying for the country of Nepal over the years. Among those was a group of God's people who joined together from around the world in October in 1993 in Praying Through the Window I. At least 4,700 intercessors were reported to the Christian Information Network office who prayed for that country. Twelve prayer teams, consisting of 180 members, traveled to Nepal.

One prayer team reported an amazing incident that occurred. They set up a medical clinic in one Nepali city. A Hindu priest brought in his five-year-old daughter who had been paralyzed on her right side for three months. The doctors could do nothing for her, but the team believed the Lord could. Team members asked permission and prayed for healing. The girl stood up and walked across the room healed! The priest and the doctors all received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and the priest even handed out gospel tracts outside the clinic.

The most convincing study on prayer and healing was published in 1988 by cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd. A computer assigned 393 patients at the coronary-care unit of San Francisco General Hospital either to a group that was prayed for by prayer groups or to a group that was not remembered in prayer. No one knew which group the patients were in. The prayer groups were simply given the patients’ first names, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems. They were asked to pray each day until the patient was discharged from the hospital – but were given no instructions on how to do it or what to say.

When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several significant areas:

• They were five times LESS likely than the unremembered group to require antibiotics.

• They were 2 times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure.

• They were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest.

If the medical technique being studied had been a new drug or surgical procedure instead of prayer, it would probably have been heralded as a breakthrough. Even hard-boiled skeptics like Dr. William Nolen, who had written a book questioning the validity of faith healing, acknowledged, “If this is a valid study, we doctors ought to be writing on our order sheets, ‘Pray three times a day.’ If it works, it works.” (below not used) But prayer seems to be a blind spot for most scientists. Conclusions by Dossey:

• Prayer can take many forms.

• Love increases the power of prayer.

• Prayers never sleep.

• Prayer is healthful.

• Prayer can be open-ended.

• Prayer means you are not alone.

A patient of Dossey’s was dying. The day before his death, Dossey sat at his bedside with the man’s wife and children. The man knew he had little time left, and he chose his words carefully, speaking in a hoarse whisper. Although he was not a religious person, he revealed to them that recently he had begun to pray.

“What do you pray FOR?” asked Dossey.

“It isn’t ‘for’ anything,” he said thoughtfully. “It simply reminds me that I am not alone.”

Prayer is like that. It is a reminder of our unbounded nature, of the part of us that is infinite in space and time. It is the universe’s affirmation that we are not alone.

[see also #761]

James Boice was once talking to a Christian psychiatrist about the problem of forgiveness and the need people have for it. The psychiatrist said, “As far as I am concerned, most of what a psychiatrist does is directly related to forgiveness. People come to him with problems. They feel guilty about their part in these problems. They are seeking forgiveness. In effect, they confess their sins to the counselor and find that he forgives them. Then a pattern is set up in which they can show their change of heart in tangible ways toward the other person or persons.”

We have a great need to be forgiven by people. This is actually only a shadow of the far greater need we have to be forgiven by God.

The head of a large English mental hospital once said, “I could dismiss half my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of forgiveness.”

In May, 1983, the “Chicago Tribune” ran a story about a young man from North Manchester, Indiana. The article had a photo that shows him as a slim man in his early 20’s, with neatly trimmed hair. He is standing in front of a building at Grace Theological Seminary, where he was taking classes.

In the article David Gilmore tells abut an illness of his 15-month old son, Dustin, which began in April 1978. At first the child came down with flu-like symptoms. The Gilmores took him to their church and the pastor prayed for him. Their church believed that faith alone heals any disease, and to go elsewhere for help — like a doctor — shows you lack faith in God. So they followed the church’s advice and only prayed for their son. Over the next few weeks they prayed faithfully as his temperature climbed, prayed when they noticed he no longer responded to sounds, and prayed harden when he went blind.

On the morning of May 15, 1978, the day after their pastor preached an especially rousing sermon about faith, the Gilmores went into their son’s room. His body was a blue color, and still. He was dead. Again they prayed, for their church also believed the power of prayer can raise the dead. But Dustin Gilmore stayed dead. An autopsy revealed the infant died from a form of meningitis that could have been treated easily.

Gilmore made his story public after 5 years of silence because he personally knew of two other children who died in similar circumstances. According to the “Tribune,” 52 others have died in five states because of this church. This was back in 1983. More have died since then, even in Ohio [where I was preaching at the time]. ABC News reports that women in the church who give birth are 900% more likely to die, than the national average. Children are 400% more likely to die. [above from Christianity Today, 11/25/83, pp. 14ff)

Most of Jesus’ miracles were healings. There is no record of him NOT being able to heal someone (though once there was a two-stage healing). Jesus considered healing to be an important part of salvation, because to him salvation involved the whole person. He also promised that his followers would have supernatural power (John 14:12).

Pentecostals argue that Jesus had the power to heal sickness and he passed this power on to his disciples. Since he gives us this power, it is NEVER God’s will for a Christian to be sick. Since it is always God’s will to heal Christian, something must go wrong when he doesn’t. The stock answer is that you lack faith. A little more faith, and you’ll get your healing. Jesus encouraged people to have more faith, but he never put the burden on them that some Pentecostal Christians do. They use expressions like, “confession brings possession.” This means that once you pray for healing, you should believe you possess it at that moment. Some churches teach that you should believe you are healed, even if the symptoms continue. This goes beyond “blind faith” to a faith that hallucinates about things that don’t really exist. In my opinion, this is tempting God.

The tragedy is that some Christians are never healed, no matter how hard they pray. Joyce Landorf suffered from a condition known at T.M.J., which causes paralyzing pain in the jaw and face. No medical treatment has helped her. And yet as she thinks about all the aspect of her suffering, she mentions one source of pain that is more troubling than any other — judgment from other Christians. They tell her to confess her sin, or exercise more faith. Their proud condemnation hurts her worse than the physical pain itself.

Pentecostals bring out some valid points from the Bible, but I think much of their doctrine goes too far. I accept the healings Jesus performed in the Bible. These were real miracles, and were essential to his ministry. One thing to bear in mind, though, it that part of the reason Jesus performed healings was to show them what the Kingdom of God would be like. He was giving a preview of the millennium. The book of Revelation says that in the millennium * God will wipe away all tears, pain and death. When Jesus died on the cross, he made sure these good things would someday happen. But their’s no guarantee we’ll experience it right now.

Jesus himself experienced pain and death. Paul had a thorn in the flesh, which was probably an illness. And in Philippians we read about Epaphroditus, who was sick almost to the point of death. It wasn’t because he sinned, but because he was doing the work of Christ. Paul, who had as much faith as any of us can hope for, fully expected Epaphroditus to die. Instead, God healed him. It wasn’t necessarily due to someone’s faith, but due to the mercy of God.

I believe in faith healing. If God wants, he can heal anyone. He often does it because someone has prayed with faith. I also believe healing can come by more ordinary means and this kind of healing depends as much on God as any other. Our own bodies have natural healing mechanisms which God has created. God has also given us wisdom so we can understand the body and assist it. This is why doctors can heal with surgery and medicine. Paul himself prescribes medicine in 1 Timothy 5:23 when he tells Timothy to use wine because he is sick so often.

God can heal by normal means, or by raw supernatural power. But he doesn’t have to. When Pentecostals say it is always God’s will to heal people, they are jumping the gun. The proof of this is found in 1 Corinthians 15:26. According to the Bible, the ultimate sickness is death. This verse says the last enemy to be destroyed is death. In verses 51 and following, it says death is destroyed for Christians at the resurrection. Until then, it may be God’s will for us to be sick and die. I’ll believe otherwise when I see a 140 year old Pentecostal.

There is only one kind of healing I can guarantee. God is always ready to heal the sickness of sin. The cure is to repent and ask God to forgive you through Jesus Christ.

#4331

* [… or is it after the close of the millenium?]

"I have turned over a new leaf, white and clean, and on it I am

going to write my Christian experience.

"About three years ago I was very sick, and in the night, when in

great pain, I seemed to reason with the Lord and to ask Him why this

intense suffering was necessary and what good it would accomplish? The

thought then came to me that I needed it so that I could sympathize

with others who have to suffer, and who do not understand that our

dear Saviour suffered for us; so that I could realize the awfulness of

that place where some people are going, and what a fearful thing it

would be to suffer through all eternity. I said, 'Lord, have mercy on

me. If I ever get well I will warn people not to go where suffering

will never cease" and instantly all my pain left me and I was healed.

I thanked and praised God for this, but I was fearful because I had

promised that I would warn the people about going to hell, and I had

always hated even to mention the word. I prayed and asked the Lord to

help me. I asked Him what I should do or say, and He seemed to tell me

that I could at least give my experience. Great joy and peace then

filled my heart.

"I awoke the folks in the house and told them my experience. I also

told it to the doctor when he came in, and I have been telling it ever

since. I have since had the best of health, and I am writing this

praying and hoping that it may help someone to escape from going into

everlasting suffering."

By William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

THINGS YOU WILL NEVER SEE AT A MODERN "HEALING" SERVICE:

~ One raised from the dead, like Jesus did (John 11:38-44).

~ The blind made to see, like Jesus did (John 9:1-12).

~ The deaf made to hear, like Jesus did (Mark 7:31-37).

~ The lame to walk, like Jesus did (Mark 2:1-12).

~ An ear restored, like Jesus did (Luke 22:49-51).

~ A leper cleansed, like Jesus did (Matthew 8:1-4).

~ Restoration of a withered hand, like Jesus did (Matthew 12:9-13).

~ False teachers struck blind, like Paul did (Acts 13:8-12).

~ Order maintained, like Paul commanded (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).

1. My faith has found a resting place –

Not in device nor creed;

I trust the Everliving One –

His wounds for me shall plead.

Chorus

I need no other argument,

I need no other plea;

It is enough that Jesus died,

and that He died for me.

2. Enough for me that Jesus saves –

This ends my fear and doubt;

A sinful soul I come to Him –

He’ll never cast me out.

3. My heart is leaning on the Word –

The written Word of God;

Salvation by my Saviour’s name –

Salvation through His blood.

4. My great Physician heals the sick –

The lost He came to save;

For me His precious blood He shed –

For me His life He gave.

[Tune “No Other Plea”]

Many years ago, Norman Cousins was diagnosed as

"terminally ill." He was given six months to live. His

chance for recovery was one in 500.

He could see the worry, depression and anger in his

life contributed to, and perhaps helped cause, his disease.

He wondered, "If illness can be caused by negativity, can

wellness be created by positivity?"

He decided to make an experiment of himself. Laughter

was one of the most positive activities he knew. He rented

all the funny movies he could find - Keaton, Chaplin,

Fields, the Marx Brothers. (This was before VCRs, so he had

to rent the actual films.) He read funny stories. He asked

his friends to call him whenever they said, heard or did

something funny.

His pain was so great he could not sleep. Laughing for

10 solid minutes, he found, relieved the pain for several

hours so he could sleep.

He fully recovered from his illness and lived another

20 happy, healthy and productive years. (His journey is

detailed in his book, Anatomy of an Illness.) He credits

visualization, the love of his family and friends, and

laughter for his recovery.

Some people think laughter is a waste of time. It is a

luxury, they say, a frivolity, something to indulge in only

every so often.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Laughter is

essential to our equilibrium, to our well-being, to our

aliveness. If we're not well, laughter helps us get well; if

we are well, laughter helps us stay that way.

Since Cousins' ground-breaking subjective work,

scientific studies have shown that laughter has a curative

effect on the body, the mind and the emotions.

So, if you like laughter, consider it sound medical

advice to indulge in it as often as you can. If you don't

like laughter, then take your medicine - laugh anyway.

Use whatever makes you laugh - movies, sitcoms, Monty

Python, records, books, New Yorker cartoons, jokes, friends.

Give yourself permission to laugh - long and loud and

out loud - whenever anything strikes you as funny. The

people around you may think you're strange, but sooner or

later they'll join in even if they don't know what you're

laughing about.

Some diseases may be contagious, but none is as

contagious as the cure. . . laughter.

By Peter McWilliams

from Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul

Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty

Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N.