Just Do It!

Sometimes we are hesitant to move forward because we want a cue from God. We want God to send us a miraculous Outlook Calendar event that reads: "Thursday noon, Take Bobby to Lunch and Share Gospel."

Sometimes God works that way, but most of the time, He doesn't.

The majority of "walking in faith" is the actual walking part. James 2:20 says, "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?"

Consider the hemorrhaging woman in Matthew 9...

A distressed woman who had had an incurable blood hemorrhage for twelve years secretly approached Jesus as he was mingling with a crowd of followers. Her thought was that Jesus would be able to heal her. But instead of asking to be healed as many others were doing in that time, she snuck up behind him to touch the hem of his garment. She thought to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." (Matt 9:21b)

Yes, she believed that she could be healed by touching the hem of Jesus garment (which, incidentally, is a pretty bold faith!) and Jesus indeed exhorted her by saying, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." (italics mine).

But it was her actions that brought her to that point.

Is there something that you believe God wants you to do? Is there some way you need to give of your time, your energy, yourself? Is there someone God would like you to minister to? If you have even an inkling of it, I challenge you to JUST DO IT! and see if God doesn't turn your faithful action into a miracle.

I will do the same!

Press on.

Testing the Spirit

I recently came across a YouTube video of a man named Todd Bentley who is a part of a new "ministry" that is unlike any I've ever seen.

While I was initially shocked by the graphic violence he talks about as being inspired by the Holy Spirit, I ultimately did not feel threatened or disturbed by his claims. In the short video below, Bentley describes tackling, punching and even kicking the faces of people he alleges the Holy Spirit asked him to.

Though I personally don't believe the Holy Spirit is behind this new "movement", I don't have a lot of evidence to prove it is unholy. All I have in my defense is the record of what miracles the Spirit has taken part in as described by scriptures and my own gut feeling. Neither of those defenses are particularly strong when held under scrutiny because many of the miracles that were performed in Jesus' time and during the time of the early church were all without precedent. (I'm sure the whole speaking in tongues thing was pretty strange to those observing for the first time!)

But my comfort is found in Paul's exhortation that as mature Christians, "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (Ephesians 4:14)"

New fads of ministry will come and go. Whether they are legitimate or not, we needn't be swayed by what the current crop of popular Christians might be involved in.



Paul says to a young Timothy,

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned {them,} and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

I don't know if the whole Todd Bentley thing is real or not (I suspect it is not) but it doesn't matter to me. According to what Paul says, I am to continue in the things I have learned... things that I am convinced of and have known since childhood. My theology is clear. The scripture that I know is adequate - I don't need a new add-on.

The new trends of the season may be legitimate additions to God's repertoire of ministry techniques, but if all I ever do is hold on to what I already know to be true, then I needn't worry about the latest fads. I don't have to worry I'm missing out on God's "new instructions". I already have His old instructions.

And those will work fine from now until He comes again.

Press on.

Blessed are the pure in heart. . .

. . . for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

This picture totally reminds me of God as a cosmic being, and if you stare long enough, you may even see a face in the dust. But seeing God is not something that is for everyone. Matthew 5:8 was spoken by a very trustworthy source, yet how many of us actually "see" God? John MacArthur says that a more literal translation to "They shall see God" would be, "They shall be continuously seeing God for themselves." The pure in heart are the ones that are walking in step with God, seeking him and obeying what he commands. Is it then any wonder that when you are walking with God, you will see him? Of course we can't see God visually, but we can definitely see his fingerprints in our own lives and the lives of others if we are pure in heart. What others may quickly dismiss as "coincidence" or "unsolved mystery" the pure in heart see as God's work. Sometimes we see God in the miraculous, like an open door where there once was none. Or we may see him in something as mundane as washing dishes. The possibilities are endless because whether we see him or not, God is everywhere. Seeing God is no small thing. Is it any wonder that a person who is pure in heart is blessed? I pray that you will be blessed with a pure heart so that you will see God today.