As I sat down to write, I thought my subject matter was going to be on one topic, but Holy Spirit began to take me in a whole different direction.

My grandmother was a church going, God fearing woman whose life was filled with the joy of the Lord. She raised me right, and she raised me in the church. We attended the local Assemblies of God church throughout the majority of my childhood and teenage years. I loved going to church. It was my great pleasure to go there to hang out with my friends and chase after my childhood boyfriend. I loved singing in the choir with my best friend and I killed it at selling Gardner's candy for the church fundraisers. During service the only understanding I received was from the notes I passed back and forth between my friends.

I gave my life to Jesus at a Ray Boltz concert around the age of thirteen. I made my way to the front of the middle school auditorium during the alter call. I prayed the sinners prayer and was confident from that point on my eternity was secured in Heaven. But was it really?

As a young adult I began reading Sylvia Browne books and instantly became hooked. She was a famous psychic and medium who claimed to have contact with those who had passed away. She described the "afterlife" as a heaven of whatever we wanted it to be. For instance, if we enjoyed going to the beach during our life here on Earth, our "heaven" would be the beach. I convinced myself that for those who believe in Jesus, their "heaven" would be exactly as described in the Bible. I whole heartedly believed everything she wrote. At one point I questioned how Jesus played into all of it and seen she had written a book regarding that. Looking back now, I understand why that was the one book of hers I didn't read. I was so influenced by the enemy back then and had no idea. I became convinced the devil was not real and Hell was our Earthly lives, not really a place un-believers go when they die. I kept this mindset for almost twenty years.

As an adult I felt that I had a good heart and didn't really live a life that was too sinful. I only lied, manipulated people, I was conniving, vindictive, full of gossip, slanderous, and having premarital sex...but hey, it was the 21st century and I was sure God rolled with the changes.  I still believed in Jesus but only prayed occasionally, usually once or twice a month. I posted Jesus things on Facebook all the time and was so confident I was "right with God". I would say with 100% certainty I was going to Heaven should I die that day.

BUT GOD!

Mid fall of 2020 someone very close to me confided in me they felt they were possessed by demons. I knew absolutely nothing on this subject and the only advice I could offer this non-believing man was to turn to Jesus. It was at this same time my uncle and I had been having Godly conversations and one night in particular he mentioned something about "re-dedicating his life to Jesus". Later that night I reflected on the conversation and contemplated doing the same thing myself. He had planted the seed and so quickly Holy Spirit began to water it.

As the days went by my loved one became more and more desperate for escape from the tormenting voices in his head and was speaking of committing suicide. I was so blinded at this point myself, and still believing the lies of the enemy regarding the "afterlife" I began to think suicide would be a much better reality for him. I was heartbroken to see what he was going through here in his life. November 4, 2020 he was prepared to make it happen... I received a phone call late that night... this man who didn't believe in God and thought he himself was God, gave his life to Jesus and began his journey on the road to freedom. The enemy had a plot and thought it was over, but God had a plan and flipped the script.

Witnessing God work in his life began to open my eyes to a whole reality of deception I had been living in. I ended up traveling and spending a few days with him and during this time I witnessed first hand the manifestation of demons speaking and moving through his body. Good Lord, here I was believing the devil wasn't real and I surely never heard anything about demons. This is how God radically began to open my eyes. I was right in the face of them, but I had learned to call on the name of Jesus and it was He who protected me.

Through all of this, I gave my life to Jesus again and this time everything changed. I had reservations about certain things...but Holy Spirit began to renew my mind. There was so much deception and lies the enemy had planted in my mind but God continued to work on me and the walls that had been built up began to crack and crumble. I began seeking God with all my heart and it just came naturally. I wanted more of Him without even trying. I had heard people talk about having an intimate relationship with Holy Spirit but I had no clue how to do that.

The Lord ordered my steps and brought the right people into my life that I began to learn from. One person in particular, Beth, had taught me how to hear God speak to me. She pretty much told me just to ask Him to speak, then listen! That day my life changed. God spoke and I listened!

The more I sought God, the more I encountered Him. I began to develop a relationship with Him and in the process of doing so, I realized I had never learned any of these things in church growing up. I was brought up in religion but now I had found freedom in my relationship with God. People in my life didn't understand, they thought I was following a cult or had lost my mind. Sadly, they were bound in the religious systems they grew up in and never experienced the presence of God or the power of Holy Spirit.

Many "Christians" are blinded by the deceit of Satan. Many "Christians" are stuck in a religious system, oppressed by religious demons and are missing out on the best things of God. Yes, in case you missed it or didn't understand what I said, Christians CAN have demons! We are raised to believe that we just need to say a prayer to go to Heaven, we can live life however we want as long as we ask for forgiveness, and we can go to church on Sundays and listen to the pastor preach a dry sermon and everything is just dandy. NOOOOO!!!!!! That religious mindset will keep you bound and prohibit you from entering the gates of Heaven. How do I know I'm going to heaven? Because I've been baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He lives inside of me and I know because He quickens my spirit with discernment when something is off. He leads me and transforms me.

God wants a relationship with us. He wants to commune with us. He wants to conversate back and forth with us. He wants us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He wants to baptize us with his Holy Spirit. He wants us to live a life that is righteous and pleasing to Him. He wants us to go into the dark world and be a light, HIS light. He wants us to lay hands on the sick and heal them. He wants us to cast out demons and set the captives free. He wants us to raise the dead. He wants us to live in the supernatural. He wants us to manifest Heaven here on Earth. He wants to bless us with life more abundantly. He wants to pour His spirit out on us. He wants us to prophesy and give words of knowledge and He wants us to do all these things to bring glory to Him!

Jesus loves you so much. The world we live in is filled with darkness, trauma, pain, suffering, and pure evil. Jesus comes to bring life and light. He is love. Whatever is troubling you today, Jesus can set you free. If you've never experienced a relationship with God, if you've never heard him speak to you, if you've never been in His presence and felt the power of the Holy Spirit I encourage you to break out of those religious mindsets and ask God to set you free. If you're not confident with 100% certainty that you're going to heaven take thirty seconds and give your life to Jesus. Take thirty seconds and re-dedicate your life to Jesus.

Say Jesus, I want you to be Lord of my life. I repent for my sins. I ask you to wash me clean. I believe you are the son of God, born of a virgin. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose from the grave and are seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. I believe you are coming back as the risen King. I ask you to baptize me with your Holy Spirit. Create in me a clean heart Lord. Lead me and guide me in all your ways. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

I pray this has blessed you. For all those who gave their life to Jesus or re-dedicated their life to Jesus I welcome you into the family of God. You are now seated in Heavenly places and the power of the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. All things are being made new in your life, the old is passed away. I encourage you to spend time with God, talk to Him like he's your father or your best friend. He can't wait to talk to you! He's always with you!

God bless you!

Much love,

Holly W <3