As a born-again Christian, having the Holy Spirit living in me & guiding me, I have the One true God dwelling in ME! I am a human with a natural body who has God's Spirit in me, with God's Super Natural power, insight & strength.
The scripture speaks of Spiritual battle happening daily, all around us:
Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
We can't always SEE with our physical eyes, but many times i can see/feel the Spiritual battle.
(me sharing my testimony at an event in Santa Ana, close to the neighborhood where our Bible study is)
We spend almost 3 hours praying, catching up, fellowshipping, and planning for Wed 11/28/12, Wed evening. Our 1st official Bible study teaching. The whole family was excited to see us & very welcoming. Two other women from the apartment complex came & joined us. We had deep spiritual conversations & were sharing each other's testimonies & bond.The family who is graciously opening up their home to us is playing a HUGE part in the revival of this street & city. I know God will bless them tremendously.
At around 7:30pm a fight broke out outside & we heard yelling. After 30min the fight stopped, as we prayed in the apartment for peace, in Jesus name.
At around 9pm Danny & i leave & say goodnight to everyone. As we are walking down the driveway of the complex, we walk past 2 guys in their late 20s/early 30s standing there, right outside the apartment. We say "God bless you" as we pass by them. As we walked toward the parking lot, Danny turns around & says a sentence that still, a week later, still trips me out & shocks me "Those two guys were gang members, posting up outside for the last 3 hours to guard us so that if anyone tried to mess with us or cause trouble, they'd be standing alert in front of the apartment." My jaw instantly dropped. I was speechless for a moment. What??!!!! Let me get this straight, i was unaware that for the last 3 hours we were in that apartment doing ministry, these 2 men, who are legit gang members & don't even know me, are watching our backs & guarding us out of respect for us. WOW! Now i am not happy that they are in a gang, but just to see God making peace with people who could easily be our enemies, is unheard of & frankly, a MIRACLE! This stuff doesn't just happen regularly. And i know that God had His guardian angels protecting us. Those 2 men were risking their lives for us, when i don't even know if they know God or not. They were not young gangsters either, they were older experienced ones!!! But I believe God is already working on their hearts, "behind the scenes" & beyond what my natural eyes can see!
Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him."
(i used to visualize angels as wimpy people with white wings, but now i believe my guardian angels are warriors!!)
Thank you for your prayers. Every "little" thing is a BIG thing, if you know what i mean. Progress & revival is happening on this street in Santa Ana & in this city. Lives are being changed right in front of my very own eyes. The beautiful thing is seeing the father/husband of this household turn to the LORD & now he is trying to reach out to gang members who he knows & who still look up to him & respect him. He has INFLUENCE on this street & in this neighborhood. Despite the evilness that goes on here, God's will is being done!
Tomorrow night, Wed 11/28... 6:30pm-9pm, we are at it again!!! Soldiers on the frontline. The LORD will be victorious.
His Servant,
Para-Chaplain Michelle Smith
so radical!
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