Illinois and Wisconsin

Upon arriving in Chicago and leaving the airport, we immediately encountered a traffic jam on the northwest artery toward Madison, Wisconsin.  I point this out because I was reminded of all of our previous trips to the Chicago area, and I now have traveled nearly every artery in and out of Chicago from all directions and have experienced traffic jams on every one of them.  We overcame this traffic jam rather rapidly as we had learned through all of the others.  We prayed through it!  The interesting point is to notice that while we are pressing with all that is in us, the traffic keeps moving.  However, if we would let up just a little, the traffic would come to a halt, so we kept pressing with all that was in us right through the jam.  Praise God!!  Kathy had remarked on the plane as we were approaching, "You can tell we're coming to Chicago!"  The oppression was unbelievable as it always is.  It is difficult to imagine how all this mass of people can survive living in this constant oppressive condition all the time, but actually, most of them don't even realize they are oppressed just as all of us did not know we were dead in our sins and trespasses (Eph. 2).  I thank God for the revelation of the Gospel to overcome all the oppression of devil, and that is how we overcame the oppression in Chicago and all of the other places that God has sent us to pray!  Now this brings us to Madison, WI, and one might think it would not be near as difficult here as Chicago, because it is not near as large.  Well, don't be deceived by size, because the devil resides in all places that will allow him, and Madison is no different.  As we were heading toward the center of  town, the traffic congestion began to intensify along with the pressure.  I soon found myself in the middle of the University of Wisconsin where several thousand students had just arrived for the beginning of the fall semester, and there was total pandemonium around us!  We have learned throughout these trips to always be prepared for anything that may arise as Jesus was never moved by anything that occurred around him, and we were not moved by the confusion around us either!  We continued to press in prayer as we had been doing and trusted the Spirit of God to lead us through the turmoil, and he quickly did!  But the pressure did not subside and more road blocks would pop up in front of us, and Kathy was experiencing lower back pain as well.  We said either God was trying to deliver her of something, or it was the power of God coming against something there, or both, and we continued to pray.  Finally, through much intense spiritual and physical adversity, we arrived at the state capital of Wisconsin.  I candidly commented to Kathy upon arriving at the capital that it is obvious the devil was trying to keep us from getting there, but thank God, we made it!  After we prayed around this area for some time for all that were in authority in the state and so forth as God led, we headed back down from the capital, and two blocks away from the capital right in front of us was the Masonic Center for Wisconsin.  Immediately, we said, "Look!  I bind witchcraft!" simultaneously about three times, and then began to chuckle because you could not have rehearsed it that well to perform it that good!  I declared to Kathy, "Do you think the spirit with that organization may influence the actions of the state legislature being this close?!"  We continued to bind the ruler of that organization for some time after that!  I previously stated "down" when describing leaving the capital.  Over our visits to the states across the country, we have visited more than half of the capitals including our nation's capitol, Washington, DC, and many of capital buildings are built on high points with the buildings around them being lower, and all of the main streets go straight to them with no obstruction to the view.  Could there possibly be some idolatry involved with these constructions?  Just a thought!  As we continued across Wisconsin toward Milwaukee, we continued to bind principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual wickedness as the Spirit of God led us, and we began to bind religious spirits, particularly Catholic and Lutheran among others.  As we approached Milwaukee, we saw a sign for a Faith Lutheran College, and I was reminded of Lutheran background in my family from six generations ago, and I overcame some more of that, which I didn't even know was there!  Thank God!  To continue, I had been informed prior to our trip to Wisconsin that one of our family in the Lord in Milwaukee had come under attack of the devil, and I had inquired where they were located, but I did not contact anyone there before arrival as we were only going to stop if God led!  Well, God said, "Go!", and it was less than a mile off of our route.  We were there less than thirty minutes, but we were strengthened and blessed as much as they were by the Spirit and power of God!  I thank God for his mercy and grace on all of us, Amen?!  We proceeded back toward Chicago and spent the rest of the evening and following morning overcoming principalities, etc. over those areas around Chicago, particularly on this trip in some of the western suburbs where Kathy spent several months at a younger age when Doyle was working with a veterinarian in that area.  Needless to say, it was another overcoming of the principalities in these areas as well as overcoming things in our own hearts, which always occurs when we believe the Gospel!  God bless!