Act 19:14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. Act 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? Act 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

"Were gonna get you Joey" the possessed man cried out! We had been praying with a couple who had been having demonic manifestations in their home. After many sessions of prayer it was revealed to us that the man we were praying with had ten demons. During one of these prayer sessions the demons screamed out threatening me. The threat was meant to incite fear and anxiety in me. That's what the devils words do if you receive or believe them. Being on fire for God and very zealous for the Lord the threat had the opposite effect on me. I got so excited and shouted to the others praying "did you hear that? The others in the room attentively looked at me. I said "Jesus I know, Paul I know and Brother Joey I Know." I then continued commanding the demons to release the man in the name of Jesus. After this experience I got to thinking about what had happened. The demons know if you are for real in the realm of the spirit. How is your reputation in hell today? Is the devil on nerve pills because you woke up this morning? Is he on edge because you walked into the room? The seven sons of Sceva had a rude awaking to their spiritual condition when they tried to deal with a demonic spirit. I want to encourage you today to get on fire for God and as I found out you will be known in the realm of the spirit.

1Co 6:20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.

"I'm no Good and not worth anything" I said to the Lord in prayer. The Lord spoke to me and said "How much am I worth?" I said "Lord who can put a price tag on you. You are God and you are priceless!" He said "That's right! and I gave my life for you so how much are you worth."I was a new believer and was thinking about my life of sin when I spoke these words in prayer. The Lord taught me a great lesson that day. When you buy something, you value the thing you buy more than the money you trade for it. God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son to die for us. Friends you are God's treasure. Don't ever let someone's degrading attitude or condescending words or thoughts about you make you think you are worthless. Don't ever think you are worthless because of the life of sin you have lived. If you take a twenty dollar bill and drag it through the mud and slop it never loses its value. All you have to do is wash it and it can be used anywhere. Every man woman and child has been valued by God as priceless through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We all have been dragged through the mud of this world. So ask Jesus to wash you and cleanse you with his precious blood and his holy word. He will make you a brand new creature in Christ. Remember, you have been appraised by God as priceless!

Psa 34:7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

"Snake" the voice said. This wasn't the voice of God I know his voice. It was the voice of an angel warning me. I was walking to my above ground pool in my yard to check the ph in the water when I heard the warning. I immediately looked around on the ground and I didn't see a snake. So, I proceeded to the pool to get the sample of the water. After I obtained the water sample, I turned around to head back to the house. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a large black snake coiled up by the gutter down spout next to my air conditioning condenser. It's head was under the condenser and I was later to find out it was laying eggs. I grabbed a shovel and snuck up to the snake and struck it very quickly. Now, I have to be honest, I'm not like the wilderness guys who say "Oh look at this snake he's a beauty." I don't like snakes! Indiana Jones and I have something in common. Well back to the story. The snake was about six feet long and the shovel caught him right in the middle. His head was whipping around as he was trying to escape and attack. I realized I needed another shovel to control this snake but I couldn't let Go. So I called my wife over to hold the handle. She started screaming "Oh my God!" "Oh my God" AHHHHHHHH I can't do this!" I tried to comfort her but said the wrong thing "Don't be afraid God warned me of this poisonous snake." She started screaming again "Oh my God" AHHHHHHH and after much encouragement from me she did grab that handle. She kept the pressure on that snake and did not let him get away. I was very proud of her because she was like a brave wilderness woman. I retrieved another shovel and killed the snake. I was so thankful that the angel of the Lord warned me about this snake and was praising God for his protection. Remember Child of God that the Lord has his angels watching over you keeping you from harm.

Heb 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

"I have come to minister the presence of God to you." the voice said. It was a Sunday morning and I was ironing the wrinkles out of my shirt when I suddenly felt the presence of God. The angel of the Lord was there with me and the presence on him was powerfully felt by me. My first thought was "where is that in the Bible"? Scripture began to come quickly to my mind. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was strengthened by the angel of the Lord. In the Gospel of Luke chapter twenty two and verse forty three the Bible says "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." I also remembered Jesus was ministered to by angels after his wilderness experience when he overcame the devils three temptations. The Bible says in Matthew chapter four and verse eleven "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." Here in my kitchen while I was ironing my shirt was an angel of the Lord strengthening me. Be encouraged child of God. Father God has got angels on assignment for you.

Mat 5:23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, Mat 5:24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

"Quit praying" the Lord Said. I said "Quit praying!" I thought that was a strange thing for God to say to me. He said "Go pay your bill at the Christian bookstore and then come and pray." Earlier that week I had stopped by a local Christian bookstore and purchased some books. I used a check that I had in my wallet and neglected to tell my wife of my purchase. It just so happened that our account was low on funds when I wrote the check and the check bounced before my wife was able to make a deposit. When the Lord said this to me I was at church for morning prayer. I had stopped to pray before I was to begin my work day. I literally had just started praying when the Lord spoke to me. So, I picked up my Bible and headed out to make the drive to the Christian Bookstore to make things right. When I arrived at the bookstore I approached the counter to explain what had happened. I had enough cash on me to pay what was owed and clear my debt. I had such a peace in my spirit that I was being obedient to the Lord and honoring his word by making this right. The lady behind the counter said to me "You would be surprised to know how many Christians bounce checks and never come in to make things right". I was shocked when she said this to me. We talked for only a minute more as I had to get to work. So, again I apologized for the oversight on my part and thanked her for understanding. When I left the store I got to thinking about what she said. I wondered how many Christians are not receiving any answers to prayer because of something that they have done and not made right yet. Do you have something you have to make right? Go make it right and start receiving answers to your prayers.

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

"Father God you're so rich just drop me a golden curb" was my prayer. I was a new Christian and been tithing for about a year. God had been blessing me tremendously but at this particular time I was in a dilemma. I had to pay my car insurance which was one hundred and sixty dollars and all I had left was my tithe which was also one hundred and sixty dollars. This was definitely a test of my faith. The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to God and I surely wasn't going to take what belongs to God. The Bible also says that God will open to us the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing to the tither. I remembered I had read in the book of revelation that the streets in heaven are made of Gold. So, I asked God to drop me a curb in child like faith and immediately went to the bank to have a money order made for one hundred and sixty dollars for my tithe. I began praising God in faith for meeting my financial needs. The next day my job required me to go to the downtown area of the City of New Orleans. After parking my car, I began to walk to the place of business where I was going to work. As I was walking, I looked down and saw a fifty dollar bill folded over. I reached down to pick it up and flipped over the bill to see another fifty dollar bill. I flipped over that fifty dollar bill and to my amazement I saw another one hundred dollar bill. I had found two hundred dollars lying there on the street. I looked up and the street before me was empty. I looked back and the street behind me was also empty. I put the money in my pocket and walked into a nearby retailer. I asked very loudly if anyone had lost any money. A number of customers turned around and sort of looked at me with blank faces. I turned around and walked back out of the retail store. I remembered my prayer of the day before and I said "God you just dropped me a curb thank you!". I was now able to pay my car insurance. Our God is the El-Shaddai not the El-Cheapo! I went on to pay my car insurance and I paid my tithe of twenty dollars on the two hundred I had found. This left me with twenty dollars which was just enough money to go to eat at the fast food burger place where my future wife was working. God met my needs in a way that I had not anticipated. All I did was believe his word and acted in faith. Are you facing a financial dilemma like I was? Put your faith in God and trust his word and ask for your curb!