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“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost...” (Luke 15:4 ESV)

Here's the final encouragement of the series. I’ve shared parts of this story before. It was summer, and we had just finished our time at Bible College. We were invited to stay with a fellow student at her home in the South of France. While there, her father, the pastor, asked me to give a word of encouragement at the Sunday service.

For context - we went as a family of five, and as there were too many of us to be placed within the town, we were housed with a lovely sister in a beautiful farmhouse high up and away from town. Unfortunately, where she was kind and gentle, her husband was quite the opposite. In fact, no matter what we did, said or offered to do, he wouldn’t communicate with us with more than dismissive shrugs and grunts.

Anyway, the Sunday service started, and I asked if anyone needed prayer for anything. I remember a young family who came forward, leading their young son (7/9 years old). He was in a complete body cast because he’d broken his back in a recent skiing accident. He was flanked by his mother and father and a little girl (his sister) about 2/3 years of age. As we prayed, the boy began bouncing up and down as if he were a ball! After a few seconds, he shot backwards, crashing into all the chairs behind him! While his parents stared at me with disbelief (it looked more like murder) in their eyes, the boy suddenly began to cry out, “Maman, je suis guérie! Maman, je suis guérie! … Mamma, I am healed! Mamma, I am healed!”

At this point, most of the seats in the Church were quickly scraped back, and everyone and their sister flew up to the front for a touch from the Lord - including our lovely hostess. I remember placing my hand on her shoulder, and my lips saying, “Go and fetch him …!”

When they returned, the prayer line was still there—her face a mask of 'please GOD' faith; his, however, was a mask of seething anger! As I finally got around to him, I closed my eyes (mainly to hide my dread from his frightful presence)! I gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder and recoiled in shock—I saw into the Spirit, and he was a Christian!

I opened my eyes in amazement and disbelief, closed my eyes and looked again. He had the same armour on as me, but from one shoulder of his armour to the opposite side of his waist was a huge ugly wound that the skin underneath had sealed over … I opened my eyes and, staring deeply into his snarling face, said gently, “You, my very angry brother, know Christ, you may well have lapsed, but you know Christ. Your soul, however, bears the awful scar of a sword of Christ! One of His children has injured you deeply, and for that, I humbly beg your forgiveness and ask 'beg' you to forgive them too…” Hearing all this, he fell to his knees, and (once again) my heart broke and rejoiced, and I knelt and sobbed alongside him …

It seems that his wife never knew that he was a Christian. She fell to her knees alongside him, and together, they wept their way to the Throne of Christ—united in faith at last!

Footnote—She called me some six months later to say that he’d passed away onto Christ during the night… Hallelujah!

As usual, I've asked the Lord what He wants to say to you, and I believe He led me here.

"Commune and feed on me my prescious Child. I am the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by my Grace...”

“Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.” (Rev 2:11) ❤️

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🙏 ❤️ 🙏 URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS 🙏 ❤️ 🙏

NB - New and urgent prayer requests and updates are coming in thick and fast and getting too long to just be tagged onto the daily encouragement. As such, I've created a separate page for you to view on the link below, which will be updated constantly ...

The Lord Bless you for caring ❤️

https://www.muchgracepublications.com/urgent-prayer.../