The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory
Read The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory Online
Authors: Nancy Bowser
BOOK TWO
THE SOUL REDEEMER
From Victim To Victory
Nancy Bowser
Cover Design by Connie Stoffel
Copyright © 2015 Nancy Bowser
All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, quoted Scripture is taken from the New King James Version (NKJV®). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV®), copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses and events are either the products of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner
.
To contact the author: [email protected]
DEDICATION
To the readers of this series.
Thank you for entering into the invisible realm
That has been all but forgotten,
Or ignored,
Or veiled from our understanding of reality.
May you experience the love, hope and blessings
Of our supernatural God
In and through
His Son,
Jesus.
I acknowledge and glorify
The Lord Jesus Christ
And His Holy Spirit who lives in those who love Him
And put their trust in Him.
May the Lord God be blessed
And lifted up as we raise His Standard high.
CONTENTS
PART 1: SAMARIA
CHAPTER 4
PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
PART 2: CONSPIRACY
PART 3: REDEMPTION
PART 1
SAMARIA
resent Day….
It was a cool, crisp day in February as Nicole and her dog Jo drove the 10 miles from Ramoth Ranch to the small foothill town of Samaria. Normally, Nicole loved this drive, but lately it only served to remind her of the drought in the land. A physical and spiritual drought. There had been little rain on the land for the past two years, and this year, even though the Almanac had predicted a wet year, it had proven to be the driest. Nicole knew that the spiritual drought had been in existence long before the physical.
The words she had read that morning in Isaiah 35 came to mind.
"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; … They shall see the glory of the
Lord
, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.' Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; … And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.…."
(RSV)
She rounded the bend and looked up at the bare mountains ahead of her that should be covered with snow. The green grass that would normally cover the hillsides this time of year was still brown, that is, what was left of it. This was cattle country, and with no rain, most of the grass had already been devoured. She missed the wildflowers that should be painting the roadside with purple lupine and the fluorescent orange of poppies. Her heart was heavy.
"Lord God," Nicole prayed. "I know that this drought is a reflection of the spiritual climate of our town and our state. Oh Lord, please make our hearts so desperate for You that we are prepared to receive the rain of the Holy Spirit. Bring us to a place of humility and repentance. Rain down in our hearts and on the land." This had become a standard plea from her to God.
As she got out of the truck to drop a letter off in the mail box outside the post office, she noticed two men walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. One was in a power chair, and the other was walking several feet behind him. They may or may not have been together; she didn't know either one of them. It wasn't the men that caught her attention, however, for power chairs and pedestrians were quite common in the small town.
No, it wasn't the people. It was His presence.
She suddenly knew that Jesus was standing beside her and He was laughing joyously! He pointed across the street to these two men and said,
"They don't know it yet, but I'm coming."
He laughed some more, as if He had a secret that could hardly be contained…like a gift He had to give to someone He loved so very much and could hardly wait for the day of presentation to come.
And then, it was quiet and Nicole was left standing alone beside the mail box, wondering how she was supposed to respond.
She thought about running across the street and telling the men that Jesus was coming. She pictured herself approaching them and saying,
"Excuse me, but I just saw Jesus and He told me that He's coming to Samaria because He loves you!"
No, she could see that probably wouldn't be received well and decided that Jesus had shown her something that was just for her at this moment.
As she got back into her truck, Nicole was faced with one of those "crisis of belief" moments. Did she really see and hear what she thought she had? She had experienced enough with Jesus to know the reality of what had just occurred and so she rejected doubt and unbelief.
But what did it mean? She reflected how two thousand years ago Jesus came to earth to set the captives free, to open the eyes of the blind, to bind up the brokenhearted, to heal the sick and all those oppressed by the devil; to bring good news of His love (Isaiah 61). And that would be why He would come to this wounded community of Samaria.
Nicole wasn't ready to head home yet, so she and Jo got out of the truck and walked over to the little park. Everybody in town knew and loved Jo, the Anatolian Shepherd with an even bigger heart than his extra-large body.
While Nicole sat in the sunshine thinking and praying, Jo made his rounds beginning with the fire department which was next door to the park. The men always had a hot dog waiting for him. Then he walked around the perimeter of the park sniffing and identifying his friends. If a child happened to come to play, he would sit and watch over them until they left or until Nicole called him back to her.
Nicole loved Samaria. It was a picturesque little cowboy town nestled in the foothills at the base of Sierras. It boasted of its own Rodeo which was one of the biggest events in the course of the year.
The most notable building was the Samaritan Inn, right in the center of town. It was an upscale hotel, restaurant and bar, complete with its own calling card, ghosts. There were several other little cafés, each with their own unique western flavor, a small grocery and gas stop, a post office, fire station, a gift/antique and thrift store, a quaint little park, a grade school and several churches.
Samaria was a gateway of sorts as anyone traveling to the mountains in that area would have to pass through it. The old western ambiance of the town, the huge oak trees and the usually rushing river pared with the beauty of the giant Sierras in the background, was a veil that hid the true state of affairs from those casually passing by.
There were some nice homes and good areas in town, but Samaria housed many destitute families along with all of the issues that followed the pathway of poverty.
On the outskirts of Samaria was a compound of large buildings that had been built as a hospital in the early 1900's. Set on a hillside with magnificent views of the mountains, it was a perfect location for the restoration of health. However, what had once been established as a place of healing, had become a low income housing development where there was an over abundance of poverty, hopelessness, abuse and addictions of all kinds. Bondage.
Nicole and a few others from her church had been praying for Sierra Crest, the apartment complex, for several years, asking God for direction on how to establish ministry there. They had tried a few things but just couldn't seem to break through an invisible barrier.
As Nicole pondered what she had just experienced, joy and anticipation began to well up inside of her as she realized that Jesus had heard their prayers and was indeed going to do something for the hurting people in her town. Jesus was going to answer their prayers!
"Thank you Jesus!" She prayed. "I believe that You are coming like the promise of rain that will bring hope, healing and freedom to these dry and thirsty souls."
As exciting as it was to think about what it would look like when Jesus showed up, Nicole began to question the strength of her faith.
She did believe in healing of all kinds…spiritual, emotional, mental and physical. She had experienced each of these herself and knew that He
could
heal. But did she truly believe that Jesus
would
raise people out of their wheelchairs? That the dead could be brought back to life? Did God still work like that today?
"God, I am just going to be very honest here," Nicole prayed. "I'm a little bit afraid. What if you tell me to pray for someone who died to come back to life? What if I pray that and it doesn't happen? What if I can't do what You want me to?"
She didn't hear an audible voice, but in her spirit she heard the Holy Spirit answer.
"Nicole, all I require of you is your obedience. If I say pray, you pray. The results are not your responsibility; they are Mine."
Relief and peace settled in her heart. "That's right. How could I have forgotten that all I have to do is believe, ask and obey? Then You are the One who does the work."
As Nicole began targeting her prayers toward revival, toward preparing the way for the Lord, she began to sense something happening in the spiritual realm. There was another major influencing spiritual factor in this region. Witchcraft and the occult. Satan was going to be dead set against Jesus coming!
She sat quietly listening and it was as if she could sense the demons getting restless. Some in fear, and some in anger and rebellion. But she could sense something else too. A heavenly host descending on Samaria! This was probably the reason for the demon's anxiety. She had been trained for this, and now as the battle cry was heard in the spiritual realm over Samaria, she knew it was time for her to take up arms and join in combat.
And she prayed that God would bring more intercessors, for she knew that this was a job for more than just one human warrior.
It was time to head home, and as Nicole and Jo approached the truck parked on the road, she looked across the street at the Inn. She hadn't noticed the "For Sale" sign before. Hum. Wouldn't that be something if she could buy it and turn it into a worship and discipleship center? It had business opportunities for training in life skills as well as the facilities to minister spiritual, emotional and mental healing. Just what she had been praying for!
But then she thought about finances and heard herself think that there was no way she could purchase it. She took that thought captive and declared out loud, "All things are possible with God! If He wants to give me the Samaritan Inn, then I will have it! I take it captive for the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom."
That's when something happened inside of Nicole. Faith had risen up inside her spirit, and she knew that she would have the Inn because God was going to give it to her. She didn't know when or how, but she was going to claim that Inn for the Lord.
As she got in the truck and started the engine, she looked at the Inn one last time and she heard Jesus say,
"The Samaritan Inn is in the heart of Samaria. I want to be in the heart of Samaria."
That sealed the deal.
Jake had just gotten home from work and was in the kitchen getting a snack when Nicole came in. She greeted him with a kiss, and then believing that she needed to put words to her faith, she took a deep breath and said, "Honey, I just thought I better let you know that Jesus is going to give us the Samaritan Inn."
Jake stopped in mid bite, and with an anxious expression on his face and his mouth full of cookie asked incredulously, "What did you do?"
"Nothing," she smiled innocently. "We don't have to do anything but pray and have faith. I believe that the Lord has told me that He is going to give us the Inn."
Jake started chewing again. Good sign. He went and sat down in his chair while Nicole briefly explained.
She decided that she wasn't quite ready to share her experience outside the post office with Jake or anyone else yet. She knew she wasn't crazy, but wasn't quite ready to risk allowing others to make a judgment on what they would assume was her mental health status.
He listened, but it was quite obvious that he didn't share her faith for the Inn or her enthusiasm. In fact, it appeared that he didn't share her desire for it at all. He said he felt like it would be too much, too consuming, and he didn't want to even think about it.
Nicole could understand where Jake was coming from. With his work, taking on another thing did seem overwhelming…that is, when you looked at it from a human standpoint. But instead of Jake's differing opinion discouraging her as it had in the past, Nicole smiled. Good! This was such a big thing that if it was truly God's plan, only He would be able to accomplish it. Nicole placed this new vision and their part in it right back into His capable hands.
The Lord gave Nicole confirmation about His coming to Samaria during worship the next Sunday morning. She had her eyes closed, but something prompted her to look up. And there He was. Jesus! On the stage, sitting on a white horse that was hovering above the keyboard and prancing as if impatient to be on his way.
Jesus was looking directly at her, and when she looked at Him, He raised His right hand which was holding a large, golden Sword high up into the air. Then He bought it down part way, touching the flat part of it to His forehead as He continued to look intently at her. It felt like He was imparting His thoughts to her.
"Nicole, I am giving a Sword to you and to any who would choose to follow after Me. It is time to take My gospel outside of these walls! Take up your Swords and follow Me!"
Then He smiled at her, raised His glistening, golden Sword high above His head once again, and turned His horse towards the front of the platform. The horse reared up on its back legs and Jesus called out,
"Charge!"
The horse and Rider dashed out of the sanctuary through the front wall towards the heart of Samaria.
It should have been no surprise when Nicole met Casie immediately after church.
Casie was walking around her car looking at the ground. When Nicole approached her, she was bent over looking under the car. "Hi, have you lost something?"