John of God, The Spiritual Healer from Brazil

John of God is a fairly well known spiritual healer based out of Brazil.  He has been interviewed by Oprah and featured on ABC News, Newsweek, and other international news outlets.   He is a medium and spiritual healer that performs odd 'surgeries' that heal the individuals illness and spirit.  He claims to be possessed by 'entities' such as dead saints and doctors.  He claims that all his spiritual encounters and healings are done by God's will.  Given his region of the world is predominately catholic and mentions the 'saints' it would seem that the God he is referring to is The God of The Bible.  BUT is he serving God's will?  Is allowing himself to be possessed by 'entities' God's doing?  Is he OF God?

When Someone Says "The Lord told me..."

Some people will claim God spoke to them directly, either verbally, in a vision, in a dream, on their private air plane, or they were lifted up to heaven and met God face to face.  But are their claims true?  If these claims are true, what are the implications?  If they are not true, what does that mean for the person making that claim?  How can we know the trustfulness of their claims?  We need to seek God's actual word to test these type of claims.

Are There Prophets Today?

Much like Apostles, there is the Office of The Prophet and gifts of prophecy; two separate things.  We know both existed and used in the days of The Bible but did they continue on after all the Apostles of Christ died?  The word itself, prophecy can mean various things.  We need to see the biblical definitions and uses of the word, then analyze the character of its use in scripture, research church history and compare with modern claims.

Muhammad, a Prophet of God?

When a person is chosen by God to be God's Prophet to the people they have unique characteristics that support their claims.  There are 4 key elements that reveal a true Prophet of God which can be used to test and see if this individual is from God.  Was Muhammad a true Prophet of God?

Commonalities of Cults

There are many subgroups of the Christian faith.  These subgroups tailor their teachings and focuses in different ways.  That is exactly how the Body of Christ functions BUT there are some groups that claim to be 'Christian' when in fact, they are not.  Some deny being 'Christian' but claim to have similar beliefs and 'more correct' views than that of orthodox Christianity; but how can you identify a cult?

Do Christians Need to Attend Church?

In the age of TV Evangelism, Podcast sermons, and everything we ever need at home, some people question why bother attend church.  They hangout with their Christian friends at times and get a sermon Sunday morning in their bedroom on TV.  What does the Lord say about being actively involved in a local Christian community?   First we will look at specific verses and then we will look at the actions and expectations of the foundational church. Then we can address the excuses and hit at the real problem.

Test, Discern, and Righteous Judgement

Everything we are taught about the Holy Scripture needs to be tested against Holy Scripture.  We do not blindly believe everything every preacher or religious teacher states; but why?   God calls us to test everything and rightly judge.  This leads us to truth and emboldens our faith; but how?  This article will go over all the who, what, when, where, and why of testing, discerning, and rightly judging.

The Test of Visions and Dreams

There has been, and will be, people to claim they have had experiences, visions, and dreams from God.  How would you know if this is true or false?  This is why we are commanded to test everything with Holy Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22; Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).  These simple questions help reveal the truth in any of these type of claims:

Has Anyone Been to Heaven or Hell and Returned?

There are all kinds of popular books and movies based on 'true stories' of people who have claimed to been to Heaven or Hell and returned to earth to tell people about it.  All claims must be compared to what God has made known in His Word.  What does scripture say about these claims?  Through this we can determine a if these experiences and visions are true or hallucinations and vivid imagination.