I first encountered God while I was asleep. He healed me of an incurable back injury in a dream. He probably knew I'd give him a hostile response if I'd been awake! I used to hate Jesus. And Christians. I often beat them up at school. I was raised in a family of spiritualists and sold my soul to the devil when I was 14. I [...]

If you suffer from depression, then you qualify as a friend of God. Discipleship is often accompanied by depression. Visions come with valleys. Elijah was so low, he sat under a tree and said: 'I have had enough, Lord. Take my life.' Jonah did the same. He even recited the same script. 'Now, Lord, take away my life,' he groaned. Abram was afflicted with a 'thick [...]

Christians sometimes endure sickness and torment because they are convinced they have a 'thorn in the flesh' that God will not heal. They base this on 2 Corinthians 12: 7ff, where Paul says: 'In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 'Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [...]

It amazes me how little preparation missionaries receive in curses and spiritual warfare before going to places that are infested with demons. The ‘attrition rate’ is high, often because of ignorance and unbelief by churches and mission organisations. This often results in sickness, tragedy and even death among godly, faithful people. Over the years, I have prayed for many returning missionaries suffering from things like chronic [...]

Is it time to get onto the battlefield? Many Christians are defeated because prayer is not enough. They need to fight as well. Most never do. Prayer is not spiritual warfare. Prayer addresses God. Warfare addresses the enemy. You will see limited results if you only do one or the other. Paul said in Ephesians 6 that we wrestle with rulers, authorities, powers of [...]

The Freedom House team is seeing some incredible healing miracles by applying Jesus' teaching on 'binding the strong man'. You can find it in Mark 3:27, Matthew 12:29 and Luke 11:29. In Mark 3, Jesus spoke about Satan and demons. And then he said (v 27): ‘No one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s [...]

In a war, you don't send foot soldiers to fight enemy boats. And in spiritual warfare you need to be clear who you're fighting, and where. Many Christians believe that demons and Satan's angels are the same thing and that you fight them in the same way. But they're not and you don't. These are the differences: What they are Demons are evil spirits under the [...]

I recently visited Jesus' baptism site at the River Jordan (right), where many people dressed in white were being dipped in the murky water. The site is in the desert, surrounded by barbed wire and landmines. The bleak and dangerous wastes show why John the Baptist's  message of repentance still applies today. I was queuing in the gift shop when a woman shoved past me. She [...]