October 2019

In Genesis we read the beautiful story of God’s creation of the universe. After physical creation is completed Adam and Eve are present in the garden. The very first of God’s laws is introduced: Do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. Into this situation enters the serpent, who was “more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made” (Gen 3:1).

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Sixth Annual Gala Dinner. We were excited to host this year’s Gala in Atlanta at the Cobb Energy Centre. This year exceeded all our expectations. Not only was this our most well-attended Gala to date, but we also had the opportunity to honor two of our good friends, Tim Busch and Betsy Orr. 

Jesus was very clear about the reality of the Devil. He exorcised demons in seven major Gospel accounts. He differentiated between healings of natural illness, healings of the effects of sin, and the casting out of demons. He empowered and explicitly charged His disciples to cast out demons as part of their mission before He ascended to heaven (see Mark 16:17).

Deliverance and exorcism are two different forms of spiritual intervention. Deliverance is a broad term that can mean being freed from any problem of a spiritual nature or cause. Here it will be defined as deprecatory prayer (a request) offered with the hope that God will free a person from a spiritual affliction.

Prayer must seem such a quaint notion to folks moving briskly along the information superhighway. Armed with headsets and cell phones, have they really got time to punch in God’s number? Have they even got time to be quiet? My sense is that people find silence positively unsettling.