Experiences and manifestations can be from many sources; physical, emotional, mental, paranormal/demonic, or from the Lord. ALL experiences need to be tested against the testimony and teachings of the tried and true written word of God. “Slain in the spirit” is an occult technique imported into Christianity, and has nothing to do with what we are taught in the Scriptures. The prophets, Apostles and Jesus Christ did not do it or teach it as something that should be done. If you have an experience, you had better check the source. Think twice before you submit to people laying hands on you for whatever reason.
Month: May 2024
Housing First Works
Highlights
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- Homelessness continues to be a challenge throughout the United States, especially in areas where affordable housing is scarcest.
- Housing First — an adaptable, evidence-based service model focused on getting families into housing as quickly as possible and offering voluntary supportive services — has been proven to successfully promote housing stability, improve some health outcomes, and reduce the use of high-cost services.
- Federal, state, and local governments can align investments in Housing First approaches as well as efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing to effectively solve homelessness.
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High rents, low wages, various forms of discrimination, an inadequate supply of affordable housing, evictions, and other factors contribute to the persistence of homelessness in the United States. Based on HUD Point-in-Time counts, an estimated 582,500 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2022, roughly 40 percent of them in unsheltered locations unsuitable for human habitation.1 For a significant minority, mental health and physical challenges further complicate their ability to sustain stable housing.2 Yet when policymakers invest sufficient resources, make housing accessible, and offer services through an effective delivery model, they can significantly reduce rates of homelessness in their jurisdictions. Evidence shows that the Housing First model, which focuses on placing unhoused people into housing as quickly as possible without preconditions and offering voluntary supportive services, is a highly effective strategy for addressing homelessness. The Biden-Harris administration has directed the federal government to prioritize the Housing First model when investing resources toward ending homelessness. Several initiatives from HUD and other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), emphasize and promote the adoption of evidence-based Housing First models. Housing First principles have been used through HUD programs and initiatives such as the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, House America: An All-Hands-on-Deck Effort to Address the Nation’s Homelessness Crisis, and HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) implemented with local partners across the country. “Homelessness,” says USICH executive director Jeff Olivet, “is not inevitable, and it is not unsolvable… The United States of America can end homelessness by fixing public services and systems….”3
Is is possible that we are diagnosing spiritual problems as mere physical health issues?
Jesus diagnosed the woman who had a spinal disorder as having a spirit of infirmity (see Luke 13), and a man who couldn’t talk was healed when a demon was driven out (see Luke 11:14). Jesus also dealt with an evil spirit in a young boy who was having seizers in his brain (see Matthew 17:15-18), and when the demon left, the boy was restored and normal again. King Saul was said to have a demon, which tormented him with severe depression and fear (see 1 Samuel 16:14). Job was said to have boils all over his body, which were caused by evil spirits that Satan had sent to torment him (see Job 2:7). King David was tormented by evil spirits, which made him feel hopeless and his heart felt desolate (see Psalms 143:3-4). Could it be possible, that today we are diagnosing spiritual bondages, which are manifesting as physical infirmities, as mere health problems that are completely natural?
Is it possible that we just aren’t seeing the need for deliverance, because we don’t know how to diagnose a demon in a person’s life?
I honestly wonder how many people in today’s churches that Jesus, His disciples, the early church and those 70 disciples would find in need of deliverance. I have to say that many times, today’s pastors would not agree with me about a person having a demon until I actually get it manifesting during a deliverance and the person is set free. Many times, you would never know the person has an unclean spirit until it is confronted and brought to the surface to be dealt with! For example, when I had a spirit of fear (as many people today do), all I knew was that I was fearful, but once it was confronted and dealt with in a deliverance session, I vomited out black slime! Another time, I was doing deliverance on an older woman, and she was spitting up a yellowish phlegm as the spirits were coming out, but when I suddenly confronted insecurity, she suddenly vomited out pure jet black slime (and no, she hasn’t smoked in decades!)… now you tell me how that works! Most pastors today would never think such a woman was suffering from insecurity caused by an evil spirit, and would tell her that she needs to simply meditate on scriptures about how God will never leave or forsake you. I would like to see those who oppose this ministry, give me a solid answer as to why she went from yellowish slime to jet black slime right after one of our ministers got a Word from God that a spirit of insecurity was present and I began to confront and drive it out! This woman said she never coughed up black slime like that in her life! There was no sickness present, she felt just fine before we began her deliverance; there was absolutely no physical reason for such happening. Same goes for the time when a demon was confronted in me, and it felt like my stomach physically turned upside down all of a sudden, when I’ve never had that happen to me in my life! And why do so many receive drastic breakthroughs and freedom as they go through the deliverance process? All this needs to be explained by those who oppose this area of ministry, just like the deliverance stories that took place in the Bible.