Salvation is a Gift

Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
http://www.gpmsc.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care

There is so much talk in the news, social media, etc. about the end of times. I can understand this with all the shootings, natural disasters, threat of WW III, but we must stop and think what utmost importance in our lives is. The Great Commission in the Bible tells us what we are to be doing right now. In fact, the Disciples asked Jesus when we know of his 2nd coming, which he went into detail about what we are seeing in today’s world. However, the part that is not getting the attention is “Saving Souls.” We need not to put too many concerns of the end of times, as in the Bible, it states about Jesus second coming “it will be like a thief in the night.”

G - God so loved the world that he gave his

O - Only begotten

S - Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not

P - Perish, but have

E - Everlasting

L - Life.

To what degree are we doing our part to bring people to Jesus? Are YOU going to church with all your support? Are YOU praying and reading your Bible? Did anyone make a New Year’s resolution to bring people to God, or commit to supporting your local church?

Yes, the end of times is near, but near could be today, tomorrow, or a 1,000 years henceforth.  Let’s focus on today, and set a goal for yourself of how many people you can bring to accept the Salvation from our LORD. I would love to hear from you on December 31st.

Plan of Salvation:

Step 1 - Confess that you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God… for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 3:23; 6:23. Death means eternal separation from God forever in a lake of fire. Rev. 20:14, 15 but here´s the good news: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

Step 2 - Realize that you cannot save yourself and that Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Step 3 - Ask God to forgive and save you. If you sincerely mean it, He will. 1 John 1:8. Then simply receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:8, 10, 13 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1:12

Here is a sample prayer. You do not have to pray these exact words, as what you say is the truth and from your heart:

"Dear God, I know I am a sinner and that the wages of sin is death. I realize I cannot save myself, but I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ, who took my place on the cross and died for me. Please forgive me of my sins and save me. I accept Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior and give my existence to Him. Thank you, Dear God, for saving me."

If you were sincere with God, your sins are forgiven, and you have a brand-new life in Christ! "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become brand new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

You will want to know what to do next and will have questions. We are here to help you in any way we can. We can also find some churches in your local area. In addition, there is another tab to this page that will give you some information about what you should do next.

God Bless You and Welcome to the Kingdom of God †

A Special Valentine's Day

By Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry, sfprs.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry

Read the following Bible verse and see if you can find the obvious and hidden message. Answer at the end if you need help:

For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life." John 3:16

What’s the fastest box of Valentine’s candy ever snatched out of your hands?

When I was in grade school (5th or 6th grade, not sure), I remember my Mother buying a special heart shaped (bright red) box of candy for my teacher. Gee thanks Mom, you know my guy pals are on that bus too! Since it was big and bright there was no way to hide it under my coat, I would just have to take the comments one at a time. After being heckled at the bus stop, I climb aboard, and right away this girl “Darlene” grabs me forcibly by the arm to sit next to her. No sooner then I plop down she plants a big kiss on my cheek, grabs the candy and starts opening it. Yikes, what is worse, bringing candy to my teacher or getting kissed on the cheek by a girl? She ripped open the package and started eating the candy and then her friends wanted some too, so she passed the box back and that was the last I had seen of it. Of course, EVERYONE it seemed like were chanting “Stephen has a girlfriend!” Ugh! Can this get any worse?

I managed to make it through the day, and put up with all the nonsense and just couldn’t wait to get off the school bus and run to my room and hide. BTW, Darlene was sitting with some other guy snuggling up together on the ride home. Her loss! LOL As I get off the bus and start walking up the driveway, but who greets me at the door? Yeppers! My mother, asking if my teacher liked the candy I had brought her. Um, Er, Ah, “why Yes” she did, and I was hoping that was the end of that discussion. After Supper, (I don’t do dinner) my parents tell me to get my coat on, and we were going into  town for some shopping. Ugh! Following my parents around, looking at clothes, and other girl junk, who do you think we bump into?  Yes, it was her! No, not Darlene. It was much worse, it was my teacher. My mother asked her if she liked the special candy that lil’ Stephen had brought her. After all, it was all full of caramels that she loved. Candy? Huh? What? I’ve now been ratted out, and I knew the ride home was not going to be a joyful one.

It does not have to be Valentine’s day for someone special to show their love for you. God loves you everyday, and that is worth more than any box of chocolate caramels. The Bible has a wealth of Bible verses about love. You'll find passages that speak of romantic love (eros), brotherly love (friendship), divine love (agape). Make this Valentine’s day an extra-special day, whether you're married, dating, or single. These are a few ideas to kick start your thoughts of how you can share “Love” back to God:

Spend time reading the Bible. The book of Psalms are full of love.

Pray to God and simply thank him. Don’t ask for anything, spend the day thanking him for all goodness and blessings you have received.

Worship the Lord by singing songs about God and do it aloud. Who cares other’s can hear you? Perhaps you may inspire someone to get on their knees and speak with God for the first time.

Be an encouragement for others. Go visit a Nursing home, hospital, or call your church ahead of time and see if they know of anyone that could use a special blessing.

Is it really better to give than receive? Try giving to be other's all day long and see how you feel at the end of the day before you say your bedtime prayers.

The day-after Valentine’s day is Saturday February 15, 2014. You can do those same things everyday of the year, and we do not need any holiday to do so. Open your Bible and read the book of Psalms, or even the four Gospels. You WILL find more love in those scriptures than you probably ever thought.

ANSWER: Valentine

The Ransom Was Paid

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son,that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 19:45)

"...you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Only God knows exactly the full price of the ransom that was paid....

On the one hand, Christ paying the ransom price to liberate us from enslavement to sin, Satan, and death (which is the heart of the gospel) is the ugliest, most obscene act ever committed. The infinitely pure, precious, and morally beautiful Lord of glory was brutally beaten and shamefully murdered--and that is just the tip if the iceberg, as we shall see.On the other hand, the self-humiliation involved in this Ransom was the most beautiful act of love ever committed.

Some folks have this notion that Jesus was the one who persuaded the reluctant Father to "let" Him come and  save us.You know, the "mean/vengeful" God the Father of the Old Testament..... No! Who sent the Son? According to John 3:16 the Father did! "God (the Father) so loved the world  that He SENT..."

In John 17,  from eternity past, God the Father and God the Son joyfully agreed between them that the Father would give the Son a gift......a gift the Lord Jesus eagerly anticipated--A Bride!

But "curious" gift....His Son would have to pay for it...and what a price indeed.( Please see vvs 2,6,9,12 for wonderful truth of the Father giving the Son a gift!)

They agreed that Jesus would pay the ransom for those who hated them. This is holy ground upon which we now stand, and I pray for the words to express such indescribability.

Ransom, as defined in my dictionary, "something paid or demanded for the freedom of a captured person...to free from captivity or punishment by paying a price." The Exodus from enslavement in Egypt is a picture of the Greater Exodus--where the ransom is paid to liberate us from bondage to sin, Satan, and death.

Scripture repeatedly speaks of us being sold into slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Starting in Genesis 3 (where all 3 are introduced) to Revelation, we see God dealing with that triad of captors, and overcoming all three.

Before we talk about WHAT was paid, let us look for a moment to WHOM the ransom was paid. A number of early church fathers, and up through the medieval times, many thought that the ransom was paid by God to Satan.  The so-called "Ransom to Satan theory of the atonement", was based on the notion that the death of Christ constituted a ransom paid to Satan, in order to cancel the just claims Satan had on man.

How awful!! Thankfully, Anselm and others saw how incongruous this notion was with the bible and the nature of God. The clarity of thinking and teaching of Luther and Calvin rediscovered the pure gospel after the gospel itself was in chains for 1,000 years. Satan was to be pummeled, not paid, in this grandest of ransoms.God is the Creator of the entire cosmos and its owner and sustainer. God, not the Evil One, is the aggrieved party, who owns all...and God is the One that we have committed cosmic treason against.

That God did not provide a ransom for fallen angels, as He has for fallen humans, surely indicates that His redemption of us was/is entirely of grace and mercy (grace--receiving what we do not deserve,  mercy--NOT receiving what we do deserve, eternal damnation) Both God's love and justice are at the heart of His ransom of us. In .Deuteronomy 9 Yahweh reminds us that His choosing of Israel was entirely gracious. And He loves us, not because of any good He saw in us (we were  His enemies Rom. 5:8)) but because He chose to love us. Why? Because He loves us. Why? Because He freely chose to love us....we cannot go back any further! We can only bow before the Lord in worship.

However, once the Holy Lord freely chose to redeem and save us,He faced a divine dilemma  His nature NECESSITATED the shedding of His infinitely precious blood. That is, I say with respect, God was faced with a dilemma--He is all-powerful but that does not mean He can do everything. He cannot just wink at sin. His perfectly holy nature  made the atonement absolutely necessary...there was no other way. Don't you think He would have done so if it were possible, given the horror and dread Jesus felt in the garden, in anticipation of the unspeakable horror of the cross?.

Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "a kings ransom."  Simply a colorful way of referring to a whole lot of money! But suppose a king had been taken hostage. The more power, authority, and dignity the person has, then the higher will be the ransom price for his release. Thus, a kings ransom is required to pay the ransom of a king. Jesus is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords...the God/man.We sinned against the King of Kings, and the blood of goats and bulls would not suffice.

THE RANSOM WAS PAID FOR US, and it WAS PAID BY GOD, AND IT WAS PAID TO GOD.  He wrote the check to Himself, as it were. What does that mean? In order to free us from bondage, He had to pay the penalty FOR US....TO GOD.  .Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension paid the ransom, which He did not owe, and which we could not pay.

What kind of "currency" did God use to ransom us?

1. Jesus lived a perfect life FOR US...He paid the ransom by earning heaven for us.
2. He paid the ransom by taking our sins upon Himself
3. The most costly aspect of the cross/ransom is what is often misunderstood the most....the primary ransom that had to be paid was the punishment for all the sins committed by all of God's people. While on the cross bearing our sin, the unmitigated wrath of the Father was poured out upon His dearly beloved Son. Human language is inadequate to adequately covey the cursed, hellish misery Jesus experienced FOR US, as our substitute. He paid in currency we shall never fully understand.

The Father punishing the Son to satisfy the demands of His holy character and holy law, is known as "propitiation"...a word every Christian should know. hilasterion--in the Greek, conveys this pacifying of God's wrath by pouring it out upon His Son. Remember it is TO GOD that our ransom must be paid--He was the party offended against, and we became slaves. We could put the propitiation, and how it relates to our ransom, this way...

God Himself, punishing Himself, in order to save us from Himself. (That is the heart of the ransom paid for us)

The cross saved us from many things--GOD'S WRATH BEING THE WORSE.

God Almighty could not have given anything more precious or costly to Himself, than what He did give, in the propitiatory death of the Lord of Glory. He gave His Son to be a "burnt offering"..He gave EVERYTHING....paid the ultimate king's ransom.

The ransom was exceedingly high...infinitely higher than any ransom ever paid by man. Captivity to sin, Satan, and death was paid for by the infinitely precious blood of the Lamb of God. The true price that was paid is known only to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

That is crux of why we must confront and oppose this notion of ghosts.The captors were specifically targeted.(sin, Satan, and death)...then the full ransom price was paid.--FOR EACH OF GOD'S CHILDREN. Is it not unthinkable that after the Lord paid such a high ransom to defeat death, we turn around and act as if nothing had happened? Death is supposed to usher us into the  immediate presence of God--that was the intention in  paying the ransom...that we would be reconciled with God.
"...through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver those who fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." (Heb. 2:14-15)

"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20:14)
"The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:26)

Physical death is the common lot for believers too, but it is transformed from being the "king of terrors" into being the gateway into the presence and rest of God. Physical death is abnormal, as it is the result of the fall. Like sin and Satan, believers still have to struggle with it, but as we breathe our last breath, we are done with the presence of sin, Satan and death. What God intended to be anticipated as the hope of certain reunion with Him, has been corrupted into an ongoing monster...as if the ransom had never been paid. What a wretched idea this notion of ghosts is. It belittles and denies the blood soaked Ransomer and His infinitely precious Ransom.

You've heard the truism, "You get what you pay for." The blood of Jesus is infinitely precious. Thus, we have throughout the bible, the centrality and certainty of hope.However, the notion of ghosts is a hope-killer.It belittles the heart of the gospel itself. It is a negation of the perfection of the Atoner and the atonement.

What will it take for us to take notice and make a stand? It was the realization of how "trapped spirits" threw into doubt the perfection of the atonement (the ransom did not accomplish our liberation from death) that, more than anything else, opened my eyes to how seriously dangerous this notion is...and how grievous it must be to the Holy Spirit--and why we must confront it. Thank you Lord for paying the ransom to free us from bondage to sin, Satan, and the grave.

Belief in the Supernatural

By Lisa Grace

Who believes in the Supernatural?

According to some studies (you can Google to pull up the latest ones) 77% of people believe in angels. You can safely assume then that they believe in the supernatural world.

Religious people believe in the supernatural, knowing that this world and universe are just one of His creations.

Those that have had encounters with the demonic or a visit from one of God's angels believe, too.

What I don't get, is if 77% percent of people know there are angels and a supernatural world, why aren't they more serious about developing a relationship with God?

Instead, many will try and summon the creations of this paranormal world, even though there are warnings not to in the Holy Scriptures. These warnings are meant to stop you from going down a path that leads to deception and ultimately to death, both physical and spiritual. You will learn nothing from that isn't fake and meant to deceive. Look in the Holy Scriptures for the truth. This is why these creatures leave when God is called into the picture by true believers and those that are saved. They must obey the saved in the name of Jesus. It's His authority that rules over them. So when you see these creatures do flee at His name, why wouldn't you go the source (Bible) rather than to those that fear the source (the demons)???

It makes no sense! Read your Scriptures, accept you are a sinner, turn away (repent of your sin) ask Jesus (Yeshua) into your heart, to be your personal Savior. His blood sacrifice covers your sin. Go to the source, not the fleeing demons who tremble at the sound of His name.

God wants us to experience Him, through Him, Jesus. (John 3:16) Not through the ones who fell and now seek your destruction, too.

Paranormal Supernatural Deliverance Cleansing

By Stephen Piersall

Deliverance Ministry Consultant, Central NY

Doing a cleansing of a home is quite debatable amongst the different religious denominations. Given that, I will not write about this, saying this is the one and only way to do so. Just as a ghost (demon) hunting and investigations are different from one team to another the same goes for cleansing at a home. The bottom line is this procedure needs to honor God and God only has the power over the demonic. This subject will be the topic of my next few blogs, so stayed tuned. Now a word from our sponsor…"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoeverbelieveth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

I want to first thank some special people in my life and thank them for their support, training, and guidance along the way with my training and experience. First Jesus who died on the cross, is there for me 24/7 to forgive me of my sins, and brings blessings my way as He provides for all our needs. Rev. Mark Hunnemann, for all the mentoring he has provided me and guided me to get me to the point that I have been able to open my own local Deliverance Ministry here in Central NY. His book: Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes will show you the worldview and God’s view regarding if ghosts are demonic and so much more. As a result, my own Church with Pastor John Elmer, and some other churches in the area to be able to reach out and help individuals and families find Jesus and provide help to those with demonic issues in the local community. In fact, Saturday August 18^th, our church and the Syracuse, New York VA will be providing aid to the Vets who are homeless, by providing clothing, food, and entertainment. Pastor Michael Griffin Sr., who helped me many years ago to walk the straight and narrow road of a Christian’s walk and his insight and guidance, and glad that I have him still in my life where I can hear his preaching on his church’s web page. He is Georgia’s number one proponent in the movement to stop abortions. Rev. Darrell Gene Motal, he is always right there with a quick response to any questions I have asked and help provide training and guidance for Deliverance Ministry. His book The Schoolmaster: Autobiography of a Demonologist will take you into his life when He was a small child and living with the supernatural in his own life.

From watching TV and movies, it looks quite exciting and personally rewarding. Far from the truth! The title that many use is “Demonologist”. Just from the name alone to an outsider I’m sure they would assume that you’re involved with demonic rituals. I don’t like the title myself, and what is scary is that there are so many self-imposed Demonologists and who can you trust and who is dangerous. Remember Satan is a master of disguises! Demonology is the study of Demons, nothing more and nothing less. You don’t need to be a “Demonologist” to rid evil spirits from a home, but what you DO need to be is a Christian. Anybody who is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has the authority necessary to drive out demon spirits. For Jesus said in Mark 16:15, 17

"And he said unto them, Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature... And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils."

As Christians we know that God is omnipresent and Satan is not. Satan can only be in one place at a time. He uses his demons (ghosts) to do his evil deeds and they are everywhere seeking to destroy believer’s testimonies. There is strong evidence in the Bible that a Christian cannot be possessed. However, we can be what is commonly referred to as “demonic oppression”. So what extents can the demonic have on Christians? We read in Luke 4:2 where Satan tempted Jesus 3 times. The demons will tempt us to sin and make life difficult for us to obey and worship God accordingly. If as a Christian we continually sin willingly, we allow the demonic oppression to exist. If we do not focus on our daily walk with the Lord God, the demonic oppression can have a very strong influence on our thought’s, behavior, and spirituality. Confession and repentance of sin is the ONLY way to break the power of Satan’s influence. Take a personal inventory and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what open sins you have in your life.

    

Why does it seem demons will obey some believers and not others? It is because we have authority through our faith in God. Jesus gave His disciples authority over ALL powers of the enemy (Luke 10:19), but when they reached a demon they couldn't cast out, He told them it was because of their unbelief, as we can see in Matthew 17:19-20:

"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief."

Jesus went on to say that some demons are so strong and stubborn, that prayer and fasting is required to drive them out Matthew 17:21:

"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

Prayer and fasting builds up your faith like nothing else and sometimes it is crucial to drive out the stronger demons. The more faith you have, the more authority you will be able to put into effect against demonic spirits. It is important to understand that, as Christians, we already have eternal victory over Satan. But we can be delivered from their influence in our lives by using two weapons God has given us as part of our spiritual armor with which we battle against the powers of the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12-17). You as a Christian will defend yourself with the shield of faith and use the Bible as your offensive weapon. Satan and his minions cannot prevail against these two. By holding up the shield of faith, we destroy the flaming spiritual arrows of lust, doubt, guilt, jealousy, profanity, pride, and all manner of temptations. By the offensive weapon of Truth, we overcome the evil one 1 John 2:14. Deliverance from sin, rescue from trials, and escape from the influence of a world in the control of the evil one, come only through Christ, the Son of God who has come and “has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. In addition, we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” 1 John 5:19-20.

Next blog we will take this further.

Sometime in the future...

By Stephen Piersall, Deliverance Ministry Central NY

Sometime in the future Jesus has returned and we now have 1000 years of peace, harmony, love and worshiping God like we never did before. Here in the future we still all sorts of talents; some of us build homes, roads, some teach, we have farmers, fishing, etc.  Me? I got quite the job assigned to me. I’m an archaeologist.

It’s truly amazing of the artifacts that we have found thus far and how could the human race live their lives as they did?  We have been doing digs for quite a few years, and only one Bible was ever found. There had been parts of some that were full of burned pages, but we did find one complete Bible fully intact, thanks to someone putting it in several layers of plastic and burying it deep down. Fortunately for us we all know God first hand and know of the Bible and his great wisdom from the daily preaching from Jesus. Aw, the sounds of his voice, the birds singing in the trees, the gentle wind blowing about, and all of us singing praises for all that we have.

We even found someone’s “bucket list” and they wanted to be able to sit next to a tiger. Wow, I can’t imagine not being able to do that. We have tigers, lions, dogs, cats, etc. all living together amongst us all. I am a bit fond of the tigers myself, I think they are so beautiful and smooth; they do have a bit of a breath problem when they yawn in your face though LOL. One thing that puzzles me with some of the items we have found so far. All these pieces of equipment they used for paranormal investigations? How could people back then be so ignorant wanting to identify and challenge ghosts (evil spirits) to communicate, and pretend to be psychics? That Bible we found was clear in its description of not to do these things. But back in those days I guess it was the normal for ignorant things to do, e.g. Middle East wars among themselves, Middle East warring with Europe, North American countries, that World War III that lasted over 100 years devastated this planet.

I got side tracked. We found a book of sayings and I guess this was probably the one everyone believed the most…”There’s a sucker born every minute” P.T. Barnum. These so called psychics (Leviticus 19:31) were being fed information from Satan’s minions. Why is it they could predict what your future job or health would be but not be able to win the lottery? Of course some of these people had ear pieces and were being fed info from people that worked for them that mingled out in the hallways before the show. That Bible (Matthew 7:15) spelled out clearly beware of false prophets! Why did people have to walk in the dark with flashlights?  Wouldn’t they be better off doing this during the day when you didn’t need a flashlight? Didn’t they know Satan and his minions are around 24/7? Heck they don’t sleep! LOL

We found out too that these investigative teams had Christians among them, and would go to Church on Sunday and sing, pray, and listen to God’s word, but as soon as they left the building would be honking their horn at someone and cursing because someone cut in front of them at the church parking lot. Why would they also go out at night and try to find ghosts? Didn’t they listen or learn from those Sunday morning messages? The most puzzling thing I don’t understand is why did they abandon the families they told that they found evidence of evil spirits (ghosts)? Why was there no follow up to provide a means to accept Jesus as their Savior if they weren’t Christians already? Why was there no cleansings to rid evil spirits? Didn’t they realize that when they packed up their equipment and left, the families still had to live there under demonic presence?

I know I feel sorry for those who lived back then and ignored receiving Jesus in their lives. Those that carried the sin of their ignorant ways and when they died bowed before Jesus to be judged of their actions. Life is great now, we have God in our lives daily, trust, respect, honor, humor, and can eat all the manna you want and not gain a pound LOL. If I could send a message back in time I would want everyone to know the greatest thing you can do for yourself is accepting Jesus as your Savior (John 3:16). Put away pride, and truly love one another and always be forgiving. As for those ghost hunts, always wear the Armor of God. Pray prior, during and after any visit. Cleanse yourself of sin and spend days with God prior to any visits.  Lastly, don’t leave the family without witnessing to them, and helping them set goals and actions to achieve those goals that would take place immediately. This way when you leave an investigation, you can sleep night in comfort knowing you have done all that you could to help someone.