Think about it
Conversion and healing
By Jun Velasco
“I sought my GOD but my God I couldn’t see. I sought my soul it eluded me, I sought my brother, I found all three.”. – Anonymous
AS the year draws to a close, we find ourselves in the throes of dramatic if not startling events that have affected us profoundly.
In our own country, who could have predicted the sudden and crushing fall of the once powerful Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whose controversial presidency has thrown the country in shambles?
And lately, even as of this writing, our television sets, broadcast outlets and the print media have been banging the air on the unresolved – or seemingly unsolvable? – massacre story of the century, innocent people, including 37 journalists maimed, brutalized, raped and killed in a gory manner in Maguindanao.
If they were not earth-moving events, we’d have probably treated them with resignation, cynicism and smug because lives in this country have been battered and bludgeoned by outrageous fortune for a long time.
These were preceded by tragic stories of killer floods that resembled Noah’s times when an angry God opted to end mankind — save for a few (Noah’s family).
These are not the times that only try men’s souls! These are God’s warnings indeed. These are unmistakable signs of the End Times.
No, it’s no longer advisable to take the blows of outrageous fortune in a stoic, resigned and unconcerned manner simply because of our deepening sense of helplessness.
Over the weekend, this columnist had the opportunity to chat with four unassuming Christian workers (Pastors Willie Carino, Renato Subido, Ben Serrano and Andrew Junio, a doctor of medicine; Dr. Irene Taburnal, and four lay people) in a 2-hour session in a small air-conditioned room in Dagupan City, yes, sharing God’s word.
Dismayed by the prevalence of conflicting viewpoints on the subject of salvation, we yielded to the immortal thoughts of the late Reverend William Marrion Branham of Jeffersonville, Indiana whose spiritual credentials are as wide as the sky. His preaching and his evolution as a great preacher of God’s word have been captured in a book by Gordon Lindsay, editor of the Voice of Healing.
In light of a world getting out of hand, we concurred that the best arbiter is a cosmic power, which is from God.
We are all agreed that while we have a United Nations, it is the world’s most powerful country, the United States, that’s dictating the terms in world affairs, to the consternation of Communist China, which is fast worming its way to the top amid the capitalist system’s well-known contradictions. When China sneezes, they say, the world gets the virus. Factor in the Spratly’s rift.
It’s a given in rational talk that we give weight to economic might. It’s a miracle if the force of logic and human wisdom would change men’s behavior. We yield therefore to the proverbial source of all wisdom, God Almighty.
The doubting Thomases may shoot down this spiritual option because we have thousands of religions that add confusion to our quest of faith. Add John Lennon’s put down on religion, imagining a world stripped of cults as the “correct world.”
And so, we yield to the best spokesman of the age or the prophet of ages — one whose credentials are solid as granite and recorded in the hearts of millions he has converted or healed.
Reverend William Branham (l909 –l965) was born in abject poverty in Kentucky, near Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. It was a rugged life he initially led.
At age 7, he heard a voice that said “Never drink, smoke or defile your body in any way, for I have a work for you to do when you get older.”
Billy Branham was trying to avoid the voice that commanded him to preach and heal the sick… until he lost his wife and little daughter due to his intransigence.
And when he yielded to God’s summons, his world began to turn differently. Millions of believers or the converted proclaim his prophecies. He had a gift of healing, having cured thousands from various illnesses in a literal and dramatic way.
Writer Lindsay wrote: “There was a reason why God chose William Branham for the great task of calling His people to unity of spirit. The Lord knew that he would never attempt to start another organization of his own… His message . . . was that the people of God who had separated themselves one from the other, would now recognize that they were of one body, and become united in one spirit in anticipation of the return of their Lord Jesus Christ.”
The book, “William Branham A Man Sent From God” has specific details and dates that document the evangelist’s preaching and healing.
In one instance, when the evangelist just said “ all things are possible to him who believe,” a man with a demonic grin who wanted to break the religious service went up front and started to curse the speaker. He said, “you are of the devil, and deceiving the people, an impostor, a snake in the grass, a fake, and I am going to show these people that you are!”
The congregation was stunned. But for some reason the evil man was not able to execute his evil scheme. The evangelist softly but determinedly rebuked the evil power.
He said, “Satan, because you have challenged the servant of God before this great congregation, you must bow before me. In the name of Jesus Christ, you shall fall at my feet.” The words were repeated several times, and the evil one could only give an awful groan and slumped to the floor sobbing in a hysterical manner.”
Braham’s strength draws from the faith that “despite the trend in materialistic thinking that has engulfed the intelligentsia and the schools of learning of our day, it is evident that deep down in the heart of the human being there does and always will exist a longing for the manifestation of the power of the supernatural. Man lives a fleeting, fragile life in a world marked everywhere by decay, disintegration and death.
Materialistic and modernistic theology, which have nothing to offer man one moment after his death, cannot satisfy the inherent longing of the human soul for survival. In the world confused by a thousand conflicting voices, each claiming authority and clamoring recognition, it is not unnatural that man should long for some visible manifestation of the power of God to confirm and attest to the genuineness of the message of those who speak. Jesus did not deny this fundamental urge and desire of the human soul, and He declared … “I am the Son of God. If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe, that the Father is in me, and I in Him.” (Jn. 10:36-38)
Let’s ponder these thoughts amid the changing scene.
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