Have you been encouraged by this series on Divine Health and Divine Healing? We sure hope so, dear friend. In today's episode, the Smiths complete their answer to why God allows those He's called into full-time ministry to often suffer deeply while serving Him. There's not only a call to serve, but a call to suffer placed on the lives of many servants of Christ. And why should we not expect to suffer, Craig states, because the One who calls us to serve has suffered so deeply and painfully for us when He suffered on the way to and while He was on the Cross dying for our sins! That realization was one of the more powerful ways God spoke to Craig during some of his deepest days of pain and suffering. If Christ could suffer for me, why can't I suffer for Him, Craig opines. But also, there's a great cloud of witnesses who also have suffered, such as the Apostles and early church leaders, many of whom were tortured, beaten, and even martyred for their faith! If they could suffer for Christ, again, why can't I? And in one of the most encouraging revelations of how to live in Divine Health that the Smith's have learned, they've been encouraged by the realization that there are rewards to come for all those who follow Christ and even some are marked for special honor in what Craig refers to as Heaven's Hall of Fame! You won't want to miss this insightful journey with the Smiths into God's Word in today's episode of Indigenous Faith. May these truths support you in your own seasons of pain and suffering, dear friend!

In today's continuation of this important series on Christ My Healer, Christ My Health, LaDonna shares some of the unique ways God used her to bring hope to other hurting families in the UNM Hospital's Trauma ICU Unit while Craig lay in an almost two month coma. Up and down the corridor of this major trauma unit were family after family who's lives were turned upside down as their loved ones were gravely injured and near death in their own seasons of suffering. LaDonna took her unique opportunity seriously to be a light with the gospel to these hurting families, as well as the medical staff tasked with Craig's ongoing intensive care. Even after release from that ICU unit, and even to this day, the Smiths have been given many wonderful opportunities to share the hope of the gospel to many they never would have had opportunity to meet if it wasn't for their own trauma experience. Truly the gospel has rung out over the years to those who were living in the shadow of death with their own family members and the medical experts serving them in their hour of need. The Smiths also address how their embracing of the authority of the Scriptures helped settle difficult questions and battles in the mind as they simply believed and acted on the truths of God's Word. Challenges such as the fear that the injuries would one day cut Craig's life short were answered by the timeless truths of the Bible and the Smiths also began to address the issue of why does God allow suffering in those He's called to serve? To the secular mind, it can easily reject God when faced with unanswerable questions like, "If the Smiths were out doing God's work, why did God allow the accident to happen to them? They were just trying to be faithful to their calling and they almost lost their lives doing so!" But you'll have to wait until next week's episode to get the full answer to that crucial question. That means we'll see you next week for the next episode of Christ My Healer, Christ My Health!

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to share about the Divine Health that was being manifested in Craig's very broken body in the accident that neither he nor LaDonna should have survived. Craig shares from Exodus 14:14 the truth that God will fight our battles for us when we are physically, emotionally, and mentally unable to do so. He also shares how the issue of his identity and significance was deeply impacted by the inward working of the Spirit of God as Craig soon realized he would be unable to do the things he did for the Lord in his over forty years of ministry, which amounted in a significant way to his identity and significance before the accident. What now? For some, when you lose your ability to do the things that amounted to your identity and significance before, it can be debilitating and devastating. But Craig found that the Divine Health he embrace brought a much deeper work of God that allowed him to find his identity and significance to be placed in Christ alone, instead of what he did for Christ. And that provided him the ability to let go of his past efforts, and revel in the joy and sufficiency of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord, as Paul found out and reported it to the Philippians in chapter 3 of this powerful epistle. And in one of the most consequential things God did for the Smiths was to help them understand that while He allowed their circumstances to change, their orders to serve did not. Instead of reaching out to the Cree tribe in Canada, they began serving among the Medical Tribe in the various hospitals, rehab centers, and medical facilities they have visited over the past fifteen plus years since the accident. The call of God to be spiritual rescuers continues to guide the Smiths even to this day!

As today's edition of Indigenous Faith begins, Craig Smith answers the all-important question of how does a person transfer their focus from Christ My Healer, to Christ My Health when the Lord chooses not to give us the divine healing we are asking Him for? His answer may be surprising to you, dear friend! And as Craig notes, it was God's Holy Word that once again, in it's unique authoritative way, that provided the answers he was seeking to all the questions and issues he had to settle regarding why this tragedy met him and why his life was changed dramatically in only four short seconds at the Miracle at Mile Marker 313. Profound truths were given to Craig by an elder mentor in his life, Rev. Tom Claus, as he read two verses in the book of Psalms that contains the answer to the ultimate unanswerable questions one faces when tragedy and trauma hit hard. Hearing, embracing, and accepting the supernatural truths contained in these two verses made all the difference in Craig's life that helped him begin living in Divine Health even in his very broken body. Craig also makes much about an important doctrinal truth about Divine Healing as being an integral part of the Atonement, accomplished for us on Calvary's cross when Christ died for our sins. He also bore our sicknesses and diseases on that same cross and as Isaiah noted, and by His wounds, we are healed. Healing is in that complete work of the cross. But Craig contends that the Atonement is not just found in the cross, it's also embedded in the empty tomb as well. The resurrection of Christ and in particular, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, Paul said to the Romans, provides for this other item, Christ's Divine Health, as that same Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies. Divine Healing is in the work of the cross, Divine Health is found in the work of the Resurrection...life to our mortal bodies. It is an amazing thing to ponder, dear friend, all that Christ accomplished for us when He went to the cross, died, was buried, then three days later rose from the dead and is alive forever more! And included in all that He did in those three amazing days, includes His divine healing and His divine health! Wow, what a powerful work He accomplished. And yes, as Jesus Himself said, It is finished! Hallelujah!

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna go deeper into the issue of Christ our healer as they unpackage the difference between genuine Divine Healing and the less than biblical issue of Faith Healing and faith healers that you often see on Christian television and is tied to the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel so prevalent today. Craig also takes the Word of God to answer the question, Is it God's will that we always be healed? And if so, why do God's people often experience long seasons of sickness, pain, and disease? How are we as Indigenous believers in Christ to understand these complex issues today? Well, once again, the Smiths take us to the one and only source of universal, absolute truth, none other than the Word of God for answers. My His Word, once again, bring clarity to our lives as we seek to live biblically healthy lives in the context of our Indigenous cultures and communities!

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue their study on the issue of Christ My Healer, Christ My Health. The Smith's point out that throughout all of the Scriptures in both the Old and New Testament, healing has always been an important part of God's interaction with mankind. The Smith's take us to passages in Exodus, Psalms, Isaiah, as well as review the work of healing in the earthly ministry of Jesus, and how that ministry was passed on to His Church to include in what it does until Christ returns for His Bride. Also, in order to understand Christ My Health, Craig emphatically states its important to understand and embrace the doctrine of Christ My Healer. They also provide helpful information that delineates the difference between faith healing and divine healing as they answer the question, Is everything you see on Christian Television legitimate? Is that the kind of healing the Bible presents, or is much of what you see in the "Faith Healing" realm actually false teaching? All important information that helps build a strong and lasting Indigenous Faith!

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna begin an in-depth study on the issue of Christ and suffering in a series they are titling, Christ My Healer, Christ My Health. For over fifteen years, the Smiths have experienced a deeper place in the Lord in their ongoing pain and suffering that came about from an auto accident neither of them should have survived. Most recently, Craig has battled for different outbreaks of severe infection in his body, one right after the other, and any of these battles could have proven fatal. Why is it that God allows deep pain and suffering in some people's lives while others go through life relatively pain free? It's all about the sovereignty of God in our lives as the Smiths have found out. This recent health crisis has once again reiterated the powerful work of God in the lives on ongoing sufferers. Does Christ offer Divine Healing today? Yes He does, but what happens if that healing doesn't come? What then? Where is God in the suffering lives of even His servants? The Smiths know, and seek to share those deeper life lessons in this impactful series they've titled, Christ My Healer, Christ My Health. You won't want to miss a single episode of this series, and we encourage you to let others know about it as well. It will make an eternal difference here on earth as we all are making our way to eternity! May God use these truths to help us build a strong and lasting Indigenous Faith!

In this, the third and final episode in the VIP interview the Smiths had with Caitlyn Denet, she shares the incredible story of how the Lord used her in the life of her traditional medicine man grandfather as he was at the end of his earthly life. Having been used by God to be a spiritual rescuer among Indigenous youth across North America, God once again used Caitlyn to be the bridge to the gospel for her grandfather! It is a tremendous reminder to us all that our responsibility for our families must include making sure they know and understand the gospel and have an opportunity to respond to it before life ends. The only challenge to that is, we never know when that end will come. That's why it is imperative that we represent Christ before our families now, before it's too late. Caitlyn Denet has a bright future ahead for her as she begins serving as an RA at the new On Eagles' Wings Leadership Center in Harrison, Arkansas, and then from there, she seeks to find the Lord's leading and is open to going wherever the Lord calls her to go. Now that's a true VIP! It brings Craig and LaDonna great joy to present to you some of the amazing Victorious Indigenous People who are living a biblically healthy life in the context of their Indigenous communities, cultures, and traditions. They pray that God will raise up a whole army of VIPs to share the gospel around the Indigenous world before Jesus comes! Amen, and Amen!