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Being a part of the culture in Redding so far has been interesting to say the least.  A lot of this is in relation to Bethel, all of it in relation to God. I have had some really crazy awesome experiences here, and I love anticipating that there will be more! There is definitely something unique here, in more ways than I would be able to adequately explain to you. I love praying with authority; as if I truly believe my prayers are being heard by God and that something WILL happen when the Lord hears me. This concept is still super new to me, and so I asked to a Bethel pastor to help me understand why people here do not seem beg or plead for the Lord’s healing, they just declare it, believing in what the Lord can do (see Luke 7:1-10). Her response when I said this was “Because we are not beggars, we are kings and queens of the highest line.” When we beg for the Lord’s healing, we are assuming that we have more mercy and compassion than He does. He is the author of healing; it was not our idea. It was not my idea There is an atmosphere of faith here that is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is great to believe that the Lord is good. I am receiving more faith and I am sure it is setting me up for what I will encounter in the future, both good and bad. My heart is being moved, ad I can tell because it is not uncommon for me to walk out of a church service weeping. I feel like God is breaking things off of me all the time, showing me more of who He is; which as it turns out is totally different from what I have expected Him to be. Every time I encounter Him I experience both joy and grief. It’s weird because I am incredibly and indescribably joyful but at the same time I am grieving something, usually that I have not known Him this way before. It’s strange and beautiful how often these things intersect. He is undoing things in me, but never without replacing it with something greater, something true, something that is Him.

The moral of the story is that everything I am encountering here has everything to do with Jesus. The church and its’ leadership happens to be a vessel the Lord has poured out His favor upon. Well, I actually do not believe it is just happenstance that Bethel cultivates such encounters with the Lord. The church leaders prayed for revival, divine manifestations, signs and wonders, and heavenly encounters for years and years. When Bill Johnson became the senior pastor in 1996, there was a mass exodus of 1,000 congregants because people did not know what to do with people falling on the floor with laughter, getting slain in the spirit, and their bodies shaking in their seats. There is always a sacrifice that accompanies diving into the heart of God because we have to give up part of ourselves, so what is taking place now and even 15 years ago is standing on the shoulders of people who have gone after it for a long time. And it is by no means done perfectly. I have heard more good than bad about Bethel, but I have also encountered people that have been wounded by the church and have had some legitimate concerns about some of the not perfect things it has done. Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, and Danny Silk (two other men in leadership) would be the first ones to tell you this, actually. It is still a church lead and populated by human beings, which means there are messes to clean up.  That will always be a reality, it just does not need to determine whether or not we may to go after the heart of God. They are not under any delusion that the church is what brings healing to people or that they themselves can bring healing. It always has been and always will be Jesus. Nor do they assume or proclaim that if a person is not healed it is because that person is lacking faith. Some healing movements will say this, perhaps with well-meaning hearts, but it just ends up being just as damaging as the affliction because it throws shame and guilt in someone’s face, neither of which are birthed in the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe faith does carry a far greater impact than we know, but God can and does heal when faith is not present. He does not leave someone afflicted for the sake of punishment. Furthermore, we are not punished for sin by becoming afflicted. Jesus spoke to this directly in John 9:1-7. The punishment was taken at the Cross, ya’ll. The reality is that we cannot know why not everyone is healed; though Lord knows I wish I could offer an answer for the sake of my own heart as well as yours. What I do know is that we have all been promised healing by the Cross of Jesus if we do not receive it here, and I will not let the lack of healing I see determine the amount of faith I have in God to bring more healing.

I am not ashamed to say that love seeing the amazing things He does. Like sending gold dust to manifest in the middle of a church service. Yes, you read that correctly. Gold dust appeared in church 3 weeks ago as the congregation was praying for healing, and this is not the first time this has happened. Myself and all my housemates saw it. You could see it if you went on the internet actually (go to Youtube and type in “Glory Cloud at Bethel Church”). We also saw feathers fall from nowhere. It was crazy and exciting. I could not believe my eyes, even when I left after 3 hours of standing in the sanctuary and watching gold dust float in the air. It was even on my hands! Why would God do this? I really do not know, but I think it’s because He is just that good.

Be ridiculously blessed!

Cindy