I’m hoping this finds you blessed and happy. What I’m going to write today will encourage some, and may offend some others. I don’t get paid to do this, so I’m going to write what the LORD gave me, and let the chips fall where they may. As you know if you read last week’s letter, my heart stopped last Friday and I keeled over. The first thing I remember was Jenny praying for me. I shared my testimony of this event last night at a meeting and exhorted everyone to “keep the main thing, the main thing”; that is, the Kingdom of God.

Several have since called and asked if I’d been to the hospital to get checked out, and I said no, I haven’t, because Christ Jesus is my Healer, and He’s the only one I need. One said, “You’re taking this Jesus stuff too far.”

Hmmmmm, exactly how far are you SUPPOSED to take this Jesus stuff? Are you to take what the Bible says literally? Or is it a Book of allegory? While I won’t push my beliefs off on others, demanding they do what I do, let me tell you, I literally live by what the Bible tells me. And of course, you know where I’m going with this, just like it says in Psalm 103:2-3, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.” I take this scripture so seriously, I’m willing to stake my life on it, and do so every day. If I can’t believe He heals all my diseases, then I can’t believe He forgives all my sins. What good is it if I can only believe half of the Bible? For I cannot possibly know which half is true, and which half isn’t. So to me, it all stands or falls together.

I said this in the meeting last night in my testimony, and I mean it with all my heart: “I’d rather die in faith, than live in compromise.” I know as surely as I’m here today that I’m healed by the stripes of Jesus. So to me, running to a doctor would be compromising my end of His covenant with me. Many would disagree with that, and they have that right if they want. Even if a doctor could add twenty five years to my life over what God can do, I would never be able to stand before God again and say, “LORD, I trust Your Word and Your Word alone”, because I would have been seeking healing from “another god”. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, that’s going to extremes.

But maybe that’s what God is looking for, someone “extreme”, who will trust Him against everything else, and I do. I’m not looking down on anyone’s faith nor saying I’m better, because I’m not. But I am convinced God says what He means, and means what He says. Looking back over the last week, I’ve become more fully aware that we don’t have time for compromises with God’s Word. Perhaps this was a test for me for God to see if I’d take Him at His Word that He is my Healer, or if I’d run to a doctor for treatment, I don’t know. But if anything, I am now more convinced than ever that He is the only Healer I need now or will EVER need, and there’s no turning back.

I’ve ministered to many thousand people about healing in the last twenty five years. Many have been healed, and some have died with no improvement whatsoever. There is a common denominator in this. We all have “our own interpretation” of what we think God is saying in the Bible. However, it is written in 2 Peter 1:16-20,

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

As I see it, if God wrote it, and if we “want the benefits”, then our only option is to OBEY it, not hold board meetings to decide if it applies to us or not. If we want the benefits, then if we can believe in them, shouldn’t we also believe in keeping the conditions of receiving those benefits? But we pick and choose what we want to apply to our lives from the Word. And then we have the nerve to say, “God’s Word doesn’t work for everyone.” Yes, it does, but here’s the kicker: “The Word works wonders when the workman works the Word.” Don’t expect it to work if you’re only in half-way. It’s all or nothing with God. Sort of like having a job is all or nothing: either you show up for work every day, or you don’t have that job anymore. It’s like that with God: when you stop keeping your end of the covenant, you lose.

God never lets His end of the Word go, if the Word isn’t working for you, it’s because YOU let YOUR end down. And all we have to do is read the Old Testament and we can see God telling Israel TIME AFTER TIME, I will bless you as long as you keep my Covenant. And when Israel turned from God, the blessings stopped. When they repented and came back, they were blessed again. Seems to me any fool could recognize that as long as they stayed in obedience to God, that God would bless their socks off. But no, the pattern has always been, after being blessed for a while, the people would wander away from God, and fall away, TIME AFTER TIME! WHY?? There are idiots among us, that’s why!

Jesus said, if I remember right, that HE is the only way to the Father, that there is NO OTHER way to Him, and that He is the door to the sheepfold, and all who would try to come in any other way are thieves and robbers. To me, that admonition is sufficient. I don’t need to look elsewhere, but to Jesus. So if by putting my full trust in Jesus, not only for my salvation, but for my healing as well, that I’m taking this Jesus stuff too far, then I plead guilty. And I’m not looking for a lawyer to get me off. Guilty as charged, I heartily admit it!

I’m not knocking doctors, if you break a bone, they can reset it for you. They do a good service many times. But if they can’t save me, then they can’t heal me either, according to the Word of God, there’s only One that can, and that’s Jesus. So I’ll stick with Jesus, thank you! And when my time here is over, I’ll go be with him. More than anything else, I want Him to be able to look at me and say, Jerry took me at My Word. Is that taking this Jesus stuff too far? You tell me…..