The Christian Journey Continues

I will give you an account of some of the trials I went through after I received the Lord. I became a Christian in March, 1987. I had very little knowledge of the Bible. I only knew a few Scriptures and I practiced them and it worked for a while, then I encountered a big trial. You see, Satan comes to steal the God’s Word (Mark 4:13-20). He knows that if you learn the Word of God you will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).

My background includes twenty-one years as a chief pathologist and the director of the laboratory of three hospitals in the United States. I had a base hospital where I would bring all the specimens. I had my own private office with a staff of eight employees who did the typing of reports and billing. I was well established and in a top position. With a lot of income, my tithes and offerings were quite large.

However, I was attacked spiritually and naturally. The base hospital, that I thought was my hospital, was losing money and hired new management which had its own group of pathologists. Without my knowledge, they were already negotiating with that group. On the one hand, they were negotiating the contract with me and on the other hand they were finalizing the contract with that group. So, I was greatly deceived by them. Because I was very gullible I thought that this was my hospital and our word was a contract. I believed in the handshake and not in a written contract. They gave me their word and promised orally the contract also. They offered me something they thought I would not accept, but to their great surprise I accepted it. They backed out and did not honor their word. Therefore, I retained a lawyer.

By then I saw the handwriting on the wall. Because they had the power they defamed and insulted me, and made false charges against me. I knew I couldn’t live in that environment anymore. They made my life miserable; and they made sure that I would be forced to leave for one reason or another. Being a new Christian I knew there must be some Scriptures I could stand on.

The Lord led me to Zechariah 4:6-7. This verse says, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!’”

So I prayed this prayer, “Lord make this mountain a plain; make it disappear, because Your Word says so.”

Another Scripture that I prayed was Isaiah 54:17. This verse states that “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord.”

I started praying, “Lord, your Word says that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. The enemy is attacking not only my income, but also my tithes and offerings. Please help me. Your Word says it will not prosper, so make it not to prosper.”

The next verse the Lord led me to was Psalm 55:9. It says, “Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.”

I told the Lord that they were putting strife and discord in my life, in my work, and in my business. I said, “Lord, destroy the tongues that are speaking against me behind my back, and let them disappear.” I had some friends on the hospital board that were making decisions. I was hoping that it would work out. The biggest mistake I made at this point was to stop praying. I let myself have a false sense of security. I didn’t understand the power of prayer as I understand it today. The Bible says that God’s people are “destroyed due to lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

I realized that I should have continued in prayer until I got the victory. Don’t fall into a false sense of security. Keep praying about your situation until the Lord directs you to stop. That is one of the biggest weapons the enemy uses against us. As a result, I lost the hospital contract and it looked as if my whole living was gone because that was all I had at that time.

Even though it appeared disastrous the Lord had something else planned for me. He outsmarted the devil on this one like He does every time! Three years before all this happened in 1993, I was attending a Christian conference. One of the brothers whom I loved very much approached me and gave me a phone number. He told me that if I would call the number I could make millions of dollars. I told him I had no desire to leave the hospital where I had been working and that I was very comfortable. However, in the interest of being courteous to him I took the number and later called it.

The person I called was a fine Spirit-filled Christian doctor. After our introductions he said, “I have been doing something new and it would be an honor to teach you.” He explained about the new testing and treatments he was doing. After talking for some time I said, “I appreciate what you’re doing… Can you please put that in writing and include what you would charge for teaching me.” A short time later I received a nice two page letter from him. He was a good Christian man, but as I told him during our conversation, I had no plans to change my specialty. I put the letter away in the center drawer of my desk and forgot about it. Usually, I only keep mail like that for a certain period of time. But in this case I forgot about it completely.

As I sat there three years later, devastated by the loss of the hospital contract, I considered my options. In desperation I prayed, “Lord, what shall I do now?”

The Lord reminded me about that letter. I pulled the letter from my drawer and began to read it again. At that moment I decided to call the doctor. After reacquainting ourselves I asked him if the offer was still valid after three years. I also asked if the fees had changed. He replied, “Yes… the offer is still good. And I will honor my letter and not change my fees for you. Because you are a Christian doctor I will teach you, and you will be the last one.”

My wife and I agreed to take the course. What this doctor was doing was the latest, state of the art, blood testing in America, especially in the area of allergies. Because I was a pathologist doing all the tests in my laboratory, I knew the importance of that type of testing. I knew that what he was doing was scientific and valid. When I told him that I liked what he was doing but requested to meet some patients to see how they were responding, he took me to see about a hundred patients during following month. I couldn’t believe how wonderful the treatment was – the allergic patients were responding beautifully.

Everything the doctor had said was true. As I write this book I am in my tenth year of practice with our own clinic and over three thousand patients successfully treated. In my practice we do not give injections as is typically done, instead we just put the medicine under their tongues. Our three year treatment program compares to other programs where patients have to take injections for the rest of their lives. Overall, with this technique, we have an 85 percent success rate!

The Lord blessed me three-fold compared to what the devil took from me in my Job-like experience. God knows more than you or me. We just have to follow where He’s leading us and we will recover all that was lost. If one door closes, He will open another. He always has a better plan waiting for us. It only requires our faith, and faithfulness in our prayer life. Therefore, we have to go to Him; we have to turn to God. We cannot trust man. Putting God’s Word into our hearts and walking by faith, and praying His Word will bring us the victory every time.

I want to share with you another trial the Lord helped me to overcome. I trust it will help you. During my practice I was challenged with a lawsuit; I was sued by one of my patients. It was a very frivolous lawsuit, but it was filed. I decided to fight it. Let me share with you a Scriptures that I used during this difficult time.

Ephesians 6:13-17 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done so, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

I think believers should put this armor, the armor of God, on every day! God gave it to us, so why shouldn’t we? He’s given each part for a specific reason; each part is strategic and important. We need each piece in order to withstand attacks when they come against us.

Are you wearing the “belt of truth” and the “breastplate of righteousness”? Are your feet shod with the “preparation of the Gospel of peace”? Are holding up the “shield of faith which quenches every fiery dart of the enemy”? What about the “helmet of salvation”? Is it covering your head? Finally, the most important part of the armor… Are you practiced and skillful in using the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”? Do demons shudder when they see you coming with that sword hanging at your side?

During this trial I worked hard to maintain the mind of Christ and I prayed constantly. I was not going to be deceived this time. I took a stand. It was not a passive stand, but an active stand. When runners take part in a race, they have to stand before they start running. I said, “Lord, I have your whole armor on; I cannot do anything more. I am taking a stand against this ridiculous lawsuit.”

Within a month the lawsuit was withdrawn. However, in the United States a lawsuit can be re-filed within a year. That’s exactly what this patient did. The lawsuit was re-filed with a different attorney. Again, I took my stand against it. We went through deposition after deposition for five long years. To make a long story short, the case was eventually thrown out. The judge knew it was frivolous. But I went through this trial for five years. Unfortunately, during this ordeal my competitors made use of the lawsuit. They used it to badmouth me among other things, and tried to hurt my practice.

One day in the midst of this burdening trial I was discussing it with my son who is also a born again, Spirit-filled Christian. “Dad,” he said, “You’ll just have to kiss the carpet.” I knew exactly what he meant and that’s what I did – I prayed. I had no other choice; it seemed like there was no escape without God. I remember the day, it was September 11, 2000, and I was in Washington D.C. attending a medical conference. After that conversation with my son, I dropped to my knees and “kissed the carpet.” I said, “Lord, I am nothing. I humble myself before You. I am in Your hands….”

I knew the lawsuit was an attack of the enemy against my clinic because it was all based on lies. We call our clinic Status Allergy Clinic, and I consider it to be a ministry. We will even pray with our patients if they want us too. Status stands for “Spiritual Testimony and Treatment for Us.” Over the years the clinic has produced massive results. From a financial standpoint many ministries have been blessed through our clinic. The enemy didn’t like that so he attacked us in any way he could.

Perhaps you remember the story of how David first killed the bear, then the lion, and then he killed Goliath. I had defeated the bear, and then I defeated the first lawsuit as the lion, and in my spirit I knew I could defeat this Goliath also. So after I prayed that prayer in my hotel room in Washington D.C., I suddenly received peace from heaven. It was amazing, the problem vanished from my mind, and that night I slept like a baby.

The next day, as I was waiting for an event to take place during the medical conference, another doctor happened to sit next to me. He was friendly and we started talking. He asked how things were with me. After a few minutes I found myself pouring out my heart to him. I told him everything I was going through. He said, “Don’t worry. We will take this to the leading doctors in this conference and see what they have to say about it.” I agreed after remembering the Scripture about there being “safety in the multitude of counselors” (Proverbs 11:14).

And guess what? To my surprise, I learned that each of the doctors there had been harassed like I was being harassed. Knowing that reassured me that I could beat the attack. After the conference I continued to pray and the problem completely disappeared within six months from the time I had started praying. This case was over in May, 2002.

The Lord will always work when we work the Word! Praise the Lord! Stand on His Word, and don’t give up. The devil can only win if you give up. I didn’t give up even though I felt like it many times. I even had suicidal thoughts because the devil was after my name and honor. I didn’t want, in my old age, to be ridiculed or laughed at. I didn’t want to lose everything that I had gained a second time.

But the Lord gave me another victory! I can say, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14).When we stay in Him He will always give us the victory – and not just one victory, but victory after victory.

When the Lord does great exploits in our lives we need to give Him all the glory. We should always remember that it is His victory and He gives it to us. Let me reassure you that when I get a victory, I go to my knees and give Him thanks, and praise, and glory. Sometimes I dance and sing and rejoice before Him. We should always thank God even before victory comes. I thanked Him before I got the victory and, of course, after victory came as well. I gave Him honor, praise and glory, and sang praises to Him, all before I saw any change in my situation. When I did this the peace of God that surpasses all understanding was mine. He gave me such peace, I cannot describe it. When you give Him glory and praise, it is a beautiful feeling. You will feel so free. You have peace of mind and your mind will be flooded with godly thoughts.

Another Scripture I used during this time was Philippians 4:6-7 which says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Hidden in these verses is the key to turning your problems around. Notice God first instructs us not to be nervous about anything. Fear and worry are dangerous weapons the devil can use against you and he tried to use against me. Recognize fear and worry as weapons trying to form against you and resist them.

Then the Lord says, “…but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Every troubling circumstance you face, whether big or small, you should present in prayer to the Lord. But notice the verse says “with thanksgiving.” It doesn’t say we should thank God after we have the victory – it says before! When you thank Him before, you are showing Him that you trust Him to work it out; when you thank Him before you are demonstrating your faith in Him.

When you do that you will be able to enjoy the next verse right in the middle of all kinds of trouble like I had. The next verse says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (vs. 7). This means we can enjoy the amazing peace of God in the midst of our trials and that this peace will guard our hearts and minds during that time. We have a tremendous promise! And we have a tremendous God!

Another important Scripture the Lord used to help me was Romans 12:1-2. The passage says, “I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

These verses describe beautifully what we need to do to live a successful Christian life. These verses are especially important to follow when you are going through trials like I was. The devil has been deceiving people in their minds for thousands of years. If our minds are not renewed to think only what the Word of God says then we can be deceived. However, if we do train ourselves to think what God thinks then our lives will be transformed!

This Scripture also instructs us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. Our bodies and the nature of our flesh are always inclined toward sin and it will always be so as long as we live on the earth. The Word of God says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). When we walk in the Spirit then our body is control by the Lord and we become a living sacrifice for Him.

When we walk in the Spirit and renew our minds with God’s Word we will win the victory every time. You will go from glory to glory and live an abundant life right here on earth. Jesus said He came to give us abundant life and that is what you will have, in Jesus’ name! Then your Christian journey will be good!

Continue To Chapter 3. My Prayer Life

Chapter 1. My Hindu Background, Conversion and Christian Journey • Chapter 2. The Christian Journey Continues • Chapter 3. My Prayer Life • Bibliography