Laughter is a good Medicine – Pastor Caspar

Teaching – Laughter

Pastor Caspar McCloud –Upper Room 06/06/10

Beauty

A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother covered her face in cold cream. “Why do you do that?” he asked.

“To make myself beautiful.”

When she began to rub it off, the boy asked, “Why are you doing that? Did you give up?”

Papa God we love you more than there are words to express. We come today and give you all our praise and worship. We want to come now and enter into your gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. Thank you for eternal life and the Gospel, for the Kingdom of Christ which is the power onto salvation. We thank you for removing curses from our life as we line up with your Word each day. We thank you for the precious shed blood of our Lord Jesus of Nazareth that covers us now.

Thank you for the Holy Spirit and your Word, for the Gospel of your kingdom, and that you want your children healthy and well; that you do not want us sick, beaten up, and broken up. I thank you that your heart is that we would prosper even as our soul prospers. Papa God we want to come today with our whole hearts. We are so grateful that it is by your grace through faith; that it is a gift to us who belong to you. That it is not legalism or driveness and perfectionism as we know that is not getting the job done; that is not your way.

We are so grateful that you would have a relationship with us. That we can have a face to face encounter with you the one who was and is and is to come again. You are holy and righteous. Help us now to come and relate to you in knowledge and responsibility; to be in covenant with you and seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. You will take care of all the rest of the details of our life. Jesus said it is your pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Come have your way with us Lord. We pray this in Jesus of Nazareth’s name, amen.

A hydrogen atom is walking down the street with a friend when he suddenly stops.

The friend says, “What’s wrong?”

The hydrogen atom replies, “I lost my electron!”

The friend says, “Are you sure?”

The hydrogen atom exclaims, “Yes, I’m positive.”

The friend laments, “Oh, I thought you were just being negative again.”

Question:

Upon entering a laboratory, you see an experiment. How do you know which class it belongs to?

Answer:

If it’s green and wiggles, it’s biology.

If it stinks, it’s chemistry.

If it doesn’t work, it’s physics.

Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.

Without geometry, life is pointless.

How to Get Into Heaven

An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, “How do you expect to get into Heaven?”

The boy thought it over and said, “Well, I’ll just run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says ‘For Heaven’s sake, Jimmy, come in or stay out!'”

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”

A medicine means a cure. So can getting our hearts merry help heal us?

We as believers pretty much know that we need to surround ourselves with things that are considered wholesome. We only want to hear and see clean humor. The Lord gave us a sense of humor and we are made in his likeness and image. I am convinced from reading the Bible that he has a sense of humor as well. The Lord invented humor. You don’t think that was funny when Jesus sent his disciple Peter, a former fisherman to catch a fish that had the exact amount to pay their taxes?

Matthew 17:24-27 “And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?                                                     25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?                                                             26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.                                                           27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

Of course this is another example of the Lord taking care of business here. He’s taking care of us in supernatural ways, because he is the supernatural living God almighty.

Everyday we are feeding off things in this world emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  We are sort of like a school of fish in an aquarium feeding off whatever food is dropped into the water, unless we know better. We are instructed to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ in 2 Corinthians 10:5.  You need to be careful with what you take in from television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and books that do not harmonize with the Bible; being careful to avoid gossip and rumors.

If we can be more careful about these things I believe we would be doing better and be much healthier and happier. It reminds me of the story of a gambler who died. The funeral was well attended by his professional gambler friends. In the eulogy, the minister said: “Our friend is not really dead; he only sleeps.” From the rear of the chapel a man shouted: “I got a hundred that says he’s dead.”

Comedians for years seem to enjoy making jokes about religion, except for a certain religion now which can make you a target if you do, nudge, nudge say no more.

Most people do not associate humor with the Bible, but I see quite a lot of humor in the Scriptures.

Because humor is seems is such a fundamental aspect of the good in human nature, I can not imagine the Lord Jesus did not enjoy humor.

I do not think it was like the Hollywood version we have been subjected to where it was always so serious. There had to be place of laughing here and there along the way.

The Bible says there is a time to laugh and a time to cry.  Ecclesiastes 3:4. Well placed humor can be a powerful vehicle for making important points and the Gospels seem to suggest that Jesus Christ of Nazareth used it liberally.

However, I think much had been lost in the course of time and from the translations and all the cultural changes—especially the puns and plays on words from Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic into English.

But when you really study the Word you get a sense of the Lord’s humor along the way.

I heard about a Dad who was reading from the book of Matthew in the seventh chapter to his young 4 year old son. Suddenly the boy started to laugh out loud. The Dad who was so serious demanded to know, “Now what was so funny young man?”

The boy laughed because he saw in his mind eye the preposterous picture of a man with a big old beam in his eye trying to find a speck in another person’s eye. This young man was able to understand the humor in the Scripture here.

He understood how difficult it would be to find the speck in another’s eye while you had a huge bean blinding your vision to perform such a task.

His dad, like many of us today who have become so familiar with the passage, failed to respond to understanding the humor in such a unexpected place.

Maybe it is because we have all become so familiar with these passages of Jesus’ teaching we are missing the humor in his illustrations. Personally I think Jesus was smiling when he explained this illustration and the people who heard them for the first time probably smiled as well.

I have a friend who wanted to start Eye of the Needle Ministries, because he told me rich people need the Gospel too. Most of us have all read about putting a camel through the eye of a needle; that seems a rather funny idea; or straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel; men being whitewashed; tombs full of rot, washing the outside of a cup and leaving the crud inside; all those Pharisees keeping up appearances so that their faces look painfully religious.

Back in England I remember a lady asking the sourpuss man in front of me if he was an undertaker. He said, “No, Marm I am a Bishop of the Church of England.”

Who took the joy out of the Bible and out of the church? The Bible says God laughs. We can be sure that the Son in his image did as well.

Psalm 59:8 “But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.”

The Bible is full of irony, wit, double entendre, and clever turns of phrases, and pungency of speech. Meaning it imaginary or visionary theorization, it has the power to evoke laughter.

Philippians 1:4 “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.”

Psalms 126:2 “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.”

Proberbs 15:13-15 “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.                      14 The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.                           15 All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.”

Dr. Mike shared with me a while back how a fellow named Norman Cousins an American journalist who was suffering from an incurable disease of the spine, was given a death sentence by his doctors and decided if he had to die he might as well die enjoying his life. He moved out of that hospital bed into a hotel and rented comical films and watched them non-stop. He laughed so much he was healed.

Laughter is a natural pain killer. Laughter increases the levels of endorphins – the body’s natural pain killers. People like Norman Cousins benefited from laughter therapy in a situation when all painkillers were ineffective. Endorphins released as a result of laughter may help in reducing the intensity of pain in those suffering from arthritis, spondylitis, and muscular spasms of the body.

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”

A medicine would be some kind of cure. The Spirit of the Lord is saying to me to tell you to lighten up. Have a merry heart; be full of the joy of the Lord.

Now the medical community is taking notice and I have found some interesting research that I wrote about a bit in my new book with Linda that will be released in October. Laughter helps destroy stress which we know is a modern word for a spirit of fear. Research is showing that laughter reduces the levels of stress hormones, epinephrine and cortisol in our body.

Unfortunately doctors are now prescribing laughter yoga. I saw a few years ago that Kasier Permente was offering yoga classes for its patients. There are churches that are doing that as well. But we know that is coming out of occultism, which is anything that hides the truth.

With laughing yoga, there was a fellow who discovered how laughter was helping people, but after several weeks of meetings ran out of jokes to tell. So they decided to laugh at nothing and claimed it was as good as laughing at a good joke.

This is from the Washington Post. Even fake laughter is good medicine.

Psychologists say a minute of forced laughter can help the blues, writes Richard Morin in Washington.
April 1, 2003

The news is grim these days, so we all could use a good laugh, even a fake one, says a psychologist who claims that a minute of forced laughter can chase away the blues.

“Forced laughter is a powerful, readily available and cost-free way for many adults to regularly boost their mood and psychological wellbeing,” said Charles Schaefer, psychology professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Professor Schaefer also found that self-imposed smiling is a mood enhancer. But howling like a wolf for a minute didn’t do anything – except make a racket, Professor Schaefer and his research colleagues reported in two separate studies in Psychological Reports.

His findings come from two experiments he conducted on 39 college students and Teaneck residents. While additional studies with larger samples are needed to bolster his conclusions, Professor Schaefer said, these initial results are important enough to warrant attention.

Professor Schaefer said he uncovered the salubrious effect of artificial laughter in a study of 17 Fairleigh Dickinson students. He first asked them questions that measured their mood. Then he directed them to laugh heartily for a minute, and tested them again. On average, test subjects reported feeling significantly better after 60 seconds of fake merriment.

Why would phony laughter work? Because your body doesn’t know it’s fake, even though your brain might, Professor Schaefer said. “Once the brain signals the body to laugh, the body doesn’t care why. It’s going to release endorphins, it’s going to relieve stress as a natural physiological response to the physical act of laughing.”

Intrigued, Professor Schaefer designed a second study to compare the effects of forced laughter with continuous smiling or howling.

He directed 22 study participants to smile broadly for 60 seconds, laugh heartily for 60 seconds and howl for 60 seconds. Laughing and smiling both helped boost their spirits, but howling didn’t, he found. Forced laughter was the best medicine. “One minute of forced laughing showed a significantly greater improvement than one minute of smiling,” Professor Schaefer said.

How did test subjects know exactly what to do?

“My research assistant and I would demonstrate,” Professor Schaefer said.

“We stood before them and laughed hysterically and then howled. I instructed them to imagine a wolf howling at the moon. When they saw a senior professor howling, it took away some of their natural self-consciousness.”

– Washington Post

So here are some new agers again taking some Bible truths and giving it their twisted interpretation; providing the format for unconditional laughter. We find this going on in some churches now as well. That is how the counterfeit operates by joining itself to the genuine authentic moves of the Holy Spirit. They claim that Laughter Yoga allows your body a quick way to reduce stress levels. They’re aiming their agenda at people who are in high stress jobs or in high stress relationships. They are also claiming not only can stress levels be reduced, but they can effectively protect our systems from the effects of further stress.

I think they need to know a more excellent way. However, one of the benefits of laughter is showing that it strengthens the immune system.

The immune system is important in maintaining good health by keeping infections, allergies and cancers at bay.

Recent research into the effects of laughter by Dr. Lee S. Berk, Professor at Loma Linda University, California, USA, demonstrates that
laughter will increase the count of natural killer cells (NK cells – a type of white cell) and antibody levels.  Laughter therapy helps to increase antibodies (Immunoglobulin A) in the mucous of the nose and respiratory passages.

Laughter has also been found to benefit people concerned with aging so it is an anti-aging benefit.

· It tones facial muscles and expressions.
· Laughter causes an increase in blood supply to the face, which is why some people look flushed. This nourishes the skin and makes it glow.
· People look younger and more fun when they laugh!
. Laughing is like an aerobic exercise. Laughing stimulates heart and blood circulation and is equivalent to any other standard aerobic exercise.

According to Dr. William Fry, Standford University, USA claims one minute of laughter is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine.
· The singular benefit almost everybody derives is a sense of well-being because more oxygen is taken in during laughter.
· It is an exercise regime suitable for all, including people confined to a bed or a wheelchair.

The Importance of Oxygen:
From a medical point of view, the most important component of breath is oxygen. Dr. Otto Warburg, President, Institute of Cell Physiology, Nobel Prize Winner (Dr. Warburg is the only person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine twice and be nominated for a third), said about the importance of oxygen:
“Deep breathing techniques increase oxygen to the cells and are the most important factors in living a disease free and energetic life. When cells get enough oxygen, cancer will not and cannot occur.”

The very essence of our life is breathing. Due to stress and negative emotions, our breathing becomes irregular and shallow, thus affecting the flow of Prana through our body.  Laughter is internal jogging.
Laughter massages internal organs by enhancing the blood supply and increasing their efficiency. This is especially good for proper bowel movement.
· Laughter exercises the abdominal muscles and
helps to improve muscle tone.  Laughter can control high blood pressure.
Laughter helps to control blood pressure by reducing the release of stress-related hormones.
· Experiments have demonstrated that a 10-minute laughter session leads to a reduction of 10-20 mm in blood pressure. This however
does not mean that patients taking 2-3 tablets for blood pressure every day will be completely cured.

Laughter can help dump depression and anxiety. The stress and strain of modern life takes a heavy toll on the human mind and body as we know.

You can not allow yourself to listen to the enemy lying to you. The secular doctors are prescribing sustained laughter through Laughter Yoga that brings on:
· Better sleep
· Reduced depression. Some people claim they can manage without prescribed anti-depressant pills and tranquillizers, but we know there is a high price to pay for choosing the occultic way over Papa God’s way.

Another claim is Laughter alleviates Bronchitis and Asthma. Laughter improves lung capacity and oxygen levels in the blood.
· Laughter Club members report a marked reduction in the frequency of asthma attacks.

Laughter just makes you feel good. Laugh and the world laughs with you. How you react to life is up to you. Again the Bible told us this thousand of years ago.

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine!” A medicine means a cure.

Back in England it seemed the worse the situation the more we found something silly to say trying to defuse the problem. Gallows humor is a type of humor that arises from stressful, traumatic, or life-threatening situations; often in circumstances such that death is perceived as impending and unavoidable. It is similar to black comedy but differs in that it is made by the person affected.

Examples:

There is an apocryphal story of a condemned man being led into the execution chamber. The condemned prisoner points to the electric chair and asks the prison warden: “Are you quite sure this thing’s safe?”

Author and playwright Oscar Wilde was destitute and living in a cheap boarding house when he found himself on his deathbed. There are variations on what the sentence exactly was, but his reputed last words were, “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death; one or the other of us has got to go.”

Reminds me of the story of a young minister; the funeral director was asked to hold a grave side service for a homeless man with no family or friends. The funeral was to be at a cemetery way out in the country. This was a new cemetery and this man was the first to be laid to rest there.

The minister was not familiar with the area and became lost. This was years before GPS was popular. Being a typical man, of course, he did not ask for directions. When he finally found the cemetery about an hour late the back hoe was there and the crew was eating their lunch. The hearse was nowhere to be seen.

He apologized to the workers for being late. As he looked into the open grave, he saw the vault lid already in place. He told the workers he would not keep them long, but that this was the proper thing to do. The workers, still eating their lunch, gathered around the opening.

This minister was a bit young and very enthusiastic and poured out his heart and soul as he preached. The workers joined in with, “Praise the Lord,” “Amen,” and “Glory!” He got so into the service that he preached and preached and preached, from Genesis to The Revelation. You think I preach a long message now!

When the service was over, he said a prayer and walked to his car. As he opened the car door, he heard one of the workers say, “I never saw anything like that before and I’ve been putting in septic systems for twenty years.”

Before the election of Bush and Gore I got an email that read. Tipper Gore discovered that her husband’s great-great uncle, Gunther Gore, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Tennessee in 1889.

The only existing photograph shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription: “Gunther Gore; horse thief. Sent to Tennessee Prison 1883, escaped 1887. Robbed the Tennessee Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.”

After letting President Clinton’s large staff of professional image consultants review this discovery, they took the following actions to assist Al’s campaign to become our next president. They decided to crop Gunther’s picture, scan it in as an enlarged image, and edited it with image processing software so that all that is seen in the final picture is a head shot. Along with this enhanced photo, the accompanying biographical sketch was sent to the Associated Press:

“Gunther Gore was a famous cattleman in early Tennessee history. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Tennessee railroad company. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his business enterprise with the railroad. In 1887 he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889 Gunther regrettably died suddenly during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform on which he was standing collapsed.”

Nothing new under the sun as the Bible said all along.

Anyone recall the story of the mother who was struggling to get the ketchup out of the bottle when the phone rang. She asked her four year old daughter to answer it. She heard her daughter say, “Mommy can’t come to the phone. She’s hitting the bottle.”

I Pledge Allegiance. Sherri who attends here when she is able teaches at a Christian school.

Not quite getting it, the little first grader said, “I led the pigeons to the flag.”

The Police

A policeman was taking a vandalism report at an elementary school when he was interrupted by a six year old girl. She looked up and down at his uniform and asked, “Are you a policeman?”

“Yes, I am,” he said.

“My mother told me that if I ever needed help I should ask a policeman. Is that right,” the girl asked.

“Yes it is,” said the policeman.

The girl extended her foot to the policeman and said, “OK, then, would you tie my shoe?”

I have been to several church meetings over the years where they believe in a thing they call “Holy Laughter”.

The term “holy laughter” was a way to try and describe a phenomenon during which a person laughs uncontrollably, presumably as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit’s joy. The people who speak of this often talk of uncontrollable laughter, sometimes accompanied by falling down to the floor in fists of laughter. I recall a Pentecostal friend telling me how his church experienced that back in the late 80’s.

The accounts have certainly varied on these experiences but most of the people I have met seem to believe it to be a sign of a “blessing” or some kind of “anointing” of the Holy Spirit.

In Galatians 5:22-23. It says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,                 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Temperance here to means self-control.

If self-control is a fruit of the Spirit of God, how can uncontrollable laughter also be a fruit of His Spirit? I am just asking?

In praying about this message I found about 40 references to laughter in the Bible; 34 in the Old Testament, and 6 were in the New Testament. Of those 40 references 22 of them referred to scornful laughter, as in Nehemiah 2:19-20 when Nehemiah said, “they laughed us to scorn.”

19 “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?                                               20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.”

The other 18 remaining references to laughter, seven of them referred exclusively to Abraham and Sarah’s initial disbelief and ultimate astonishment that Papa God would give them a child in their old age.

In Job 8:21 “Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.”

Bildad, was one of Job’s friends who, wrongly advised Job that if he were in right standing with God he would be prosperous and full of laughter.

The Psalmist in Psalm 126:2 recorded that when the captivity of Zion was over, “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them..”

Proverbs 29:9 says, ”If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.”

So far I have not found anything in the Bible that suggests holy laughter as so many seem to be teaching it.

Obviously I am all for a good laugh and I believe the Bible cover to cover. I certainly do not have all the answers I am still learning as the Lord shows and directs me each day.

I’ve just not found anything in the Bible up to this point that suggested anything resembling “holy” laughter. In Ecclesiastes 2:2 Solomon says, “I said of laughter, it is mad.” Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Ecclesiastes 7:3-4 says, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.                  4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

 Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.                              6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.”

Ecclesiastes 10:19 “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.”

Maybe that is like laughing all the way to the bank?

Interestingly the Bible’s also has three references to authentic laughter in the New Testament and warns against laughter.

Solomon’s contention in Ecclesiastes says that “sorrow is better than laughter” and that now is a time to weep and not to laugh.

 In Luke 6:21 Jesus says, “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.”  On that day you may laugh at the devil.

In Luke 6:25 Jesus says, “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.”

James 4:9 ^“Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”

That means true repentance always brings the mercy of God if done in time as this comes after talking about submitting to God and resisting the devil.

The Lord says, “Come now, and let us reason together” Isaiah 1:18. I have some red flags about some of the revivals that are taking place today, because we need to always test the spirits.

The Bible warns us that in the latter times some people will be supernaturally seduced by deceptive evil spirits into following them and not the one true God.

 1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;                                2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”

1 John 4 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.                                                             2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:                            3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.                                                            4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.             5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.                                                  6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.                                                            7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.                              8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.                  9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.                                                               10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.                         11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.                       13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.                                               14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.                                             15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.                                             16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.                                                                            17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.        18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.                                                                       19 We love him, because he first loved us.                                  20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?                                           21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

Love and having a merry heart go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Proverbs 17:22  “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine!”

Let us pray.

Papa God, this has been fun exploring what you have to say about having a merry heart. You are so gracious to partner with us and help us gain our freedom.

So right now I ask that you would meet each person here. Help them end and break those curses and generational curses in their lives and that of their loved ones; so they can keep a merry heart right now in Jesus of Nazareth’s all powerful name.

I want you to repeat after me from your heart.

Papa God, thank you for allowing us a place to be full of your holy joy;

a place to laugh in the mist of trails and tribulations. We are blessed that hunger after you now: that your Holy Spirit shall fill us up and stir up our gifts. That even as some of us weep now and face difficulties we are still being blessed and we can still have a laugh. Thank you for laughter and all the good chemicals it releases into our holy temples.

Thank you that we can always trust you to deliver us out of all the afflictions we find ourselves in.

That we your children do not think it is strange concerning the fiery trials which come to test us as though some strange thing happened to us.  But we can rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, we may be glad also with exceeding joy.

We purpose and choose to forgive from our hearts right now every person and situation that we have come to recognize was an open door point for the enemy to come in and bring curses and generational curses that would cause problems, troubles, and sickness in our life.

We repent and renounce on both sides of our generations all the sins and iniquities of our fathers all the way back to Adam and for the way that we reacted to these attacks. Please forgive us now, Lord.

Because I did not understand until now that I had been set up and the enemy was trying to take me down, and kill, steal, and destroy me; that there were curses behind my troubles.

I repent and renounce for entertaining spirits of fear, anger, hatred, self hatred, feelings of abandonment, self rejection, death, and suicide.

For any ungodly reaction and rejection from conception and from my mother’s womb, because you Lord do not have any bastard children.

I thank you Lord for forgiving me and I accept your forgiveness now and forgive myself. Because those you forgive are now blameless in your sight. I love you, Papa God, in Jesus of Nazareth’s name. Amen.

Now it’s my turn so just receive. Please keep your eyes open.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I speak directly to every unclean spirit and every generational curse. I cancel its assignment right now. I speak to every unclean spirit that has entered into my brothers and sisters in the Lord and I command by the authority that is given us in Jesus of Nazareth’s name according to Luke 10:19 that every unclean spirit come up and out now and go to the dry places.

All spirits behind sickness and disease leave now.

I command every tormenting, unclean spirit to come up and out right now and leave these children of the Lord. Leave my brothers and sisters now. These are people that Papa God has called to be his sons and daughters.

Be now released in Jesus of Nazareth’s name. Take your freedom back this day for you now know the truth and the truth has made you free in Jesus Christ of Nazareth’s all powerful name. Amen.

Caspar McCloud © 2010