Tag Archives: Rhema word

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The Promises of God Are “Yes,” and “Amen” – Part 1

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The Promises of God Are “Yes,” and “Amen” – Part 1

James R. Aist

“For God is the One working in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

My second daughter, Liesel was a beautiful, musically talented, athletic, sweet and endearing little girl with a special sense of humor. I called her my “Lee-Lee Bell.” She had already professed her faith in Jesus at an early age, before she was 10 years old: in a Sunday School class, she told the teacher that she had accepted Jesus. Then, when Liesel was 10 years old, I had the precious opportunity to lead her in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Here’s what happened. Near the end of a sermon at church on a Sunday morning, Liesel leaned over and asked me, “When did you make your decision for Jesus?” I replied “When I was 8 years old.” “Is it too late for me to do it?” she asked. I replied, “No, you can do it any time before you die. Do you want to do it now?” After further discussion, we agreed that I would help her do it at home, after church. So, after we had lunch, I asked her if now was a good time, and she said it was. So, that’s when we prayed, and Liesel confirmed, by her profession of faith in Jesus, what God had been doing for! And she said, “This is the biggest day of my life!”

Unfortunately, in the ensuing years, as Liesel passed through her teens, she became unsure of her faith in Jesus. But, like the one sheep that had gone astray (Luke 15:3-6), Liesel already belonged to Jesus, and God was not done with her.

The following encounter that I had with God is not only pertinent, but essential, to the rest of the story. I was attending the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International Men’s Advance at Lake George in upstate New York. One day when they were immersion baptizing in the lake, I stepped forward to be immersed by Pastor Don Yarborough. We had never met, and he knew nothing about me. As I approached him in the water, he just stared at me straight in the eye with a blank look, and kept staring. I thought to myself, “That’s strange; he doesn’t seem to even see me coming.” Finally, as I drew near to him, he reached out his hand to me, we shook hands and I introduced myself. Then he said that something very unusual had just happened; it had happened only once before in his ~20 years of baptizing people. He said that as I was approaching him in the water, he received a prophecy for me, in the form of several Bible passages from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. They all had to do with the head of the household being saved and all of his family with him. He then proceeded to share with me all five of those Bible verses. When he had finished with that, he gave me the interpretation of the message: God wants me to stand on and hold fast to these promises, which he is confirming to me and my children. Wow! Through this prophecy, God had just told me that all of my children will be saved! Needless to say, I was a “happy camper” the rest of that afternoon. But, I didn’t say anything to any of my children about this glorious promise at the time.

In August of 1996, Liesel had just turned 19, and it was time for her annual visit with me in Ithaca, NY, from her home in Norman, OK. As was my custom, I brought up the matter of her current position regarding her faith in Jesus, and we talked about that for a while. It was clear that she had a good understanding of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ was all about, but she said that she didn’t want to profess faith in Jesus again unless she was absolutely sure of it. I was OK with that. Now, I had not yet said anything to Liesel about God’s promise to me to save all of my children. Nevertheless, she looked at me and somehow knew to ask this amazing question: “Daddy, have you ever received any indication from God as to whether or not I will someday become a Christian?” Well, this question blew my mind. I was so overwhelmed by it that, for a few seconds, I was unable to respond. How did she even know to ask me such a thing at that time? I had to conclude that God must have given her that question, and so I haltingly, but eagerly, proceeded to tell her about God’s promise to save all of my children. When I finished, Liesel was visibly pleased and very encouraged by this good news.

God had revealed, in a miraculous way, that He was continuing the good work that He had begun in Liesel when she was a young girl! That was one of the most amazing days of my life. Click HERE to read Part 2, the rest of this story.

(To read more of my article with a biblical theme, click HERE)

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A Rhema Word for a Worried Boy

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A Rhema Word for a Worried Boy

James R. Aist

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Among evangelical Christians, it is widely agreed that God speaks to us today primarily through His written word, the Bible. Many of us have experienced Bible verses seeming to come alive and commanding our attention in order for us to receive knowledge or wisdom from God to deal appropriately with a circumstance or decision in life that has us confused, worried or perplexed. This is one example of what Pentecostal Theology commonly refers to as “Rhema.” These Rhema can also take the form of visions, voices, dreams or even changing circumstances. This article is about a Rhema I received from God when I was only about nine years old, and it was just what I needed at the time. (For a sound, biblical teaching by Watchman Nee on the Rhema word, see text pages 51-59 at this link: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bfa-media/ebooks/TGC-eng.pdf).

Some of you will be able to remember the early years of the atomic age, when American citizens were living under a constant threat of annihilation by atomic war that no one could stop if it ever got started. This very real threat made a deep and terrifying impression on me when I was growing up. Every other threat I had heard about could be dealt with, at least to some extent, by the medical profession, law enforcement, the military or, when all else failed, by my daddy. But, there was no one to protect me from being vaporized by an atomic bomb, should one come my way!

Good intentions aside, it didn’t help matters for our public schools to conduct those war drills in which we were instructed to take shelter under our little classroom desks to help us survive an atomic bomb attack! Somehow, we knew full well that such a maneuver would offer us no protection at all, but it surely did serve to remind us, repeatedly, that such an attack was a distinct possibility that no one would be able to escape. Every time I had to participate in that war drill, I just became that much more terrified.

The following encounter with God happened about one year after God had saved me in a revival meeting (click HERE). One day I was especially beset with dread and fear about the threat to me of an atomic bomb attack; we had had another of those drills at school that day, and I was terrified. Somehow, I managed to remember God at that moment, and so I asked God to protect me if I got bombed. Then God spoke into my mind saying something to this effect: “You don’t have to worry, you would not die. If that happens, I will take you to heaven to live with Me.” That is when I knew that I had nothing to fear, and a wave of calming peace came over me that is still with me today.

When God gives you a Rhema word, fear has to go, and it is replaced by the kind of peace that only Jesus gives (John 14:27). To God be the glory!

(To read more of my articles with a biblical theme, click HERE)