I like miracles, and I felt like sharing a miracle story, well there is actually 2 in here, and a lesson I learned as well...
In Brazil I got bad food poisoning. I was on the toilet and puking all night. I woke up the next morning a wreck. I was on a missions trip in which we played basketball against the pro teams in Sao Paulo in the evenings and did camps for kids in the mornings. Anyways, the leader saw me and told me to go back to my room and sleep, because I looked like a mess. I was really happy when he said this a was going to agree with him, when out of my mouth came, I'll wait till after Bible Study. These were not the words I was trying to say. Whatever though.
At the end of Bible Study the leader prayed that any evil spirits hampering what we were doing in Sao Paulo, would be rebuked in Jesus name. Right as he said that I felt my stomach turn. It was quite an interesting feeling. It was actually a turning feeling. Anyway, I was completely better. Not sick at all. I had a great day and rest of the trip completely healthy and was one of the only ones not to get sick once we arrived home. God just completely healed me.
The next year I went to Haiti. I once again got really bad stomach sickness. This time I wasn't puking, but I was only the toilet alot. While on the toilet I said, "God you healed me in Brazil, you can do it here too." I should have stopped there, but I was dumb and continued, "When I'm with the kids let me be healthy, I don't care about the other time." This was really dumb of me to add this. Cause you know what, God answered my prayer. Whenever I was with the kids I was fine and had no stomach issues where I needed to run to the washroom. I wasn't really sick at all. Then whenever I was done and by myself I ended up on the toilet. Turns out I did care about the times I wasn't with the kids.
Now I should've just prayed again and been totally healed, but I really didn't believe in healing all that much. Surprising because God had healed me. But I guess it took awhile for that fact to grow on me. So the lesson I learned. When I pray I don't pray wimpy prayers. It says in the Bible that God can do exceedingly more than I could ever ask or think or even imagine. Im going to pray for total healing not partial. I'm going to pray for real. Pray for something that is at least hard for me to imagine, because God can do more than that. I'm not going to add those dumb sentences at the end of my prayers anymore either. God can do more than we could ever ask or think. Let's pray big prayers.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
God "allowing" things to happen
When bad things happen on this earth and I say that it was definitely not God's will for that to happen, the common response is "but God allowed it to happen." I think however we have a messed up view or picture of this. I think the common view is that of the devil going up to God and being like, "Can I do this, Can I do that???" And we see God responding, "No you cannot do this, but I will allow you to do that." This however is not how things go down. This type of picture not only gives us the wrong picture of who God is, but it also puts all the blame on Him as well. This type of view of why bad things happen is not biblical.
God created the world in love, by Love, and for love. With love there is always choice. God created the world in such a way that humans have choice in how their world is shaped. With every decision we make we either invite heaven or hell into the situation. When we invite heaven it is because we believe God's word and are standing/acting on it. When we invite hell into the situation it is because we are relying on human wisdom over the word of God. Proverbs calls people who do this self-confident fools, "He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered (Proverbs 28:26)." When we act like self-confident fools we invite hell into our situation and give a place for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy.
God created the world with choice. He is not going to go back on His original plan because He declared His plan "very good" at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:31), and to go back on His original plan would take away our choice and therefore negate love. Love is the very reason we were created. God will not take away the very purpose of our being created, that is why He completely redeemed us from the curse and has made a way for us to live in complete victory on earth as it is in heaven.
God quote unquote "allows" things that are not His will to happen because He created the world with choice. The more we individually choose to invite hell into our lives, and the more we collectively choose to invite hell into our world, the more place we are giving the devil to steal, kill, and destroy. God is not the one giving place to the devil in our lives, we are. Thank God we have been redeemed and we have been given the power by God to resist the devil and live with the reality of heaven pouring into our lives. With Life pouring into our lives. We have a choice. We can invite death or we can invite Life into our lives. The more we invite Life into our lives, the more we are individually/collectively giving place to God to infuse us with His life. We can live life abundantly and the devil will have no power to stop us for the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against Jesus.
God created the world in love, by Love, and for love. With love there is always choice. God created the world in such a way that humans have choice in how their world is shaped. With every decision we make we either invite heaven or hell into the situation. When we invite heaven it is because we believe God's word and are standing/acting on it. When we invite hell into the situation it is because we are relying on human wisdom over the word of God. Proverbs calls people who do this self-confident fools, "He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered (Proverbs 28:26)." When we act like self-confident fools we invite hell into our situation and give a place for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy.
God created the world with choice. He is not going to go back on His original plan because He declared His plan "very good" at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:31), and to go back on His original plan would take away our choice and therefore negate love. Love is the very reason we were created. God will not take away the very purpose of our being created, that is why He completely redeemed us from the curse and has made a way for us to live in complete victory on earth as it is in heaven.
God quote unquote "allows" things that are not His will to happen because He created the world with choice. The more we individually choose to invite hell into our lives, and the more we collectively choose to invite hell into our world, the more place we are giving the devil to steal, kill, and destroy. God is not the one giving place to the devil in our lives, we are. Thank God we have been redeemed and we have been given the power by God to resist the devil and live with the reality of heaven pouring into our lives. With Life pouring into our lives. We have a choice. We can invite death or we can invite Life into our lives. The more we invite Life into our lives, the more we are individually/collectively giving place to God to infuse us with His life. We can live life abundantly and the devil will have no power to stop us for the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against Jesus.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Haiti Earthquake
I have heard people have said that Haiti's earthquake was God's judgement on a nation who made a pact with the devil 200 or so years ago. I am not going to debate the whether or not Haiti did or did not make this pact, because that is not the point. Stating that the earthquake was God's judgement for sin is saying that Jesus' cross was not enough for the forgiveness of sin. That is the problem with this statement.
First of all, God is good. It says it right in the Bible. "There is only One who is good (perfectly and essentially) - God (Matthew 19:17)." God is good. He is all good. Intrinsically good. God cannot give evil because He doesn't have it to give. You can't give away what you don't have. God is good. He cannot give away evil.
Second, all sin was judged at the cross. God does not have a problem with sin anymore. Jesus took care of that on the cross. Do we believe that or do we think that we need to do some work of our own to pay for our sins. Either Jesus paid for our sins completely or we are all screwed. Every word of God is flawless and I choose to believe the Bible when it tells me that Christ took our sin upon Himself at the cross. "He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an alter and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24)." By His wounds on the cross we HAVE BEEN healed. Not will be someday.
Since we have been healed and God no longer has a problem with sin why do bad things happen? Well, the devil only has power when we give it to him. When we give the devil the power of our faith, we give the devil access to our lives to steal, kill and destroy. The devil is the one who does the stealing, killing and destroying. This is not isolated to Haiti, this is worldwide. The devil has been given access to our lives in North America in one way through sickness and disease, it is not from God and it is not God's will that people die from cancer or whole list of other things, but yet it happens. Its not God's will that an earthquake would come and destroy Haiti, but it did. We need to stand in faith against these things. We can't just sit back and think that these things are God's will. They are not and in sitting back we are giving the devil the power of our faith. We need to stand on God's Word no matter what circumstances look like. Let God be true and every man a liar. Stand on the word of God even when everything looks as if it is contrary to it, because God is true even if every man is lying to you. As a body of believers we need to stand in faith for God's will. We are co-laborers with God. We are part of establishing God's will on this earth. We need to take our part seriously, and stop letting the devil have his way.
Third, God does not use sickness and disease or earthquakes to work for good. He does not use evil for good. The greek says more literally that God uses the good in the situation for good. So if someone gets sick and they call out to Jesus, God will use the good in that situation. Same with an earthquake etc etc. God never sends evil to accomplish His purpose and never uses evil for His purposes. God is good always, and He uses the good in all situations for good.
To say that this Haiti earthquake was God's judgement on Haiti would be in direct contradiction to the word of God. Whoever is saying these things should read the Bible they preach from. God is good and His will is good, and He desires you have Life abundantly.
First of all, God is good. It says it right in the Bible. "There is only One who is good (perfectly and essentially) - God (Matthew 19:17)." God is good. He is all good. Intrinsically good. God cannot give evil because He doesn't have it to give. You can't give away what you don't have. God is good. He cannot give away evil.
Second, all sin was judged at the cross. God does not have a problem with sin anymore. Jesus took care of that on the cross. Do we believe that or do we think that we need to do some work of our own to pay for our sins. Either Jesus paid for our sins completely or we are all screwed. Every word of God is flawless and I choose to believe the Bible when it tells me that Christ took our sin upon Himself at the cross. "He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an alter and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24)." By His wounds on the cross we HAVE BEEN healed. Not will be someday.
Since we have been healed and God no longer has a problem with sin why do bad things happen? Well, the devil only has power when we give it to him. When we give the devil the power of our faith, we give the devil access to our lives to steal, kill and destroy. The devil is the one who does the stealing, killing and destroying. This is not isolated to Haiti, this is worldwide. The devil has been given access to our lives in North America in one way through sickness and disease, it is not from God and it is not God's will that people die from cancer or whole list of other things, but yet it happens. Its not God's will that an earthquake would come and destroy Haiti, but it did. We need to stand in faith against these things. We can't just sit back and think that these things are God's will. They are not and in sitting back we are giving the devil the power of our faith. We need to stand on God's Word no matter what circumstances look like. Let God be true and every man a liar. Stand on the word of God even when everything looks as if it is contrary to it, because God is true even if every man is lying to you. As a body of believers we need to stand in faith for God's will. We are co-laborers with God. We are part of establishing God's will on this earth. We need to take our part seriously, and stop letting the devil have his way.
Third, God does not use sickness and disease or earthquakes to work for good. He does not use evil for good. The greek says more literally that God uses the good in the situation for good. So if someone gets sick and they call out to Jesus, God will use the good in that situation. Same with an earthquake etc etc. God never sends evil to accomplish His purpose and never uses evil for His purposes. God is good always, and He uses the good in all situations for good.
To say that this Haiti earthquake was God's judgement on Haiti would be in direct contradiction to the word of God. Whoever is saying these things should read the Bible they preach from. God is good and His will is good, and He desires you have Life abundantly.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Run the race to win
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours. Now every athlete who goes into training conducts himself temperately and restricts himself in all things. They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither, but we [do it to receive the crown of eternal blessedness] that cannot wither." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
We are all "running in the race" of life and we are to run this race to win. It is important to note that this verse is not talking about Christians competing against each other to "do the Christian life" better than the other, and therefore beat them and win the race. We are not competing against each other. How does this make sense in the light of the verse that shows us that we need to run to win the race?
What Paul in saying here is that we are to "run the race of life" in our true identity. Once someone believes in Jesus they are born again and placed "In Christ." Jesus Christ won the race of life and we are to be as He is in this world. So "running the race of life" to win, means living life in the reality of the victory of Jesus. We are victorious and will win. Paul isn't saying that we will not win. He is telling us to live in that victory. Live in the light of the victory of Jesus, refuse to live in any other reality than that of Christ's victory. This is how we will make the prize ours. Jesus won the race and received the prize, we are In Christ, let us then live our lives reflecting this reality.
In view of this, competing against other Christians, to be the best Christian looks rather dumb. Even comparing ourselves to where we perceive other Christians to be on some sort of ranking scale that we have created in our own minds is dumb. Maybe no one else has done this but i have. The truth is that we actually run in victory when God works through us to bring more people into this victory. It's not competition, but community. We can only keep what we give away. The more we give to God and to His creation, the more we will find that we have.
How do we run in the reality of Christ's victory? We love. Not with human love that says I'll love you if you love me, but with God love that says I'll love you no matter what, even if you hate me. This love is not earned, it is not words only, it's not an emotion, not for a special few, and it is not an option. It is God's character pouring out of those who believe in Him, active, and part of our redeemed character. It confronts evil, defends the weak, and is the most attractive thing in the world. We run the race to win when we love. We will receive an eternal reward for everything done in God-love. We can only keep what we give away, and the more we give the more we will find that we have.
We are all "running in the race" of life and we are to run this race to win. It is important to note that this verse is not talking about Christians competing against each other to "do the Christian life" better than the other, and therefore beat them and win the race. We are not competing against each other. How does this make sense in the light of the verse that shows us that we need to run to win the race?
What Paul in saying here is that we are to "run the race of life" in our true identity. Once someone believes in Jesus they are born again and placed "In Christ." Jesus Christ won the race of life and we are to be as He is in this world. So "running the race of life" to win, means living life in the reality of the victory of Jesus. We are victorious and will win. Paul isn't saying that we will not win. He is telling us to live in that victory. Live in the light of the victory of Jesus, refuse to live in any other reality than that of Christ's victory. This is how we will make the prize ours. Jesus won the race and received the prize, we are In Christ, let us then live our lives reflecting this reality.
In view of this, competing against other Christians, to be the best Christian looks rather dumb. Even comparing ourselves to where we perceive other Christians to be on some sort of ranking scale that we have created in our own minds is dumb. Maybe no one else has done this but i have. The truth is that we actually run in victory when God works through us to bring more people into this victory. It's not competition, but community. We can only keep what we give away. The more we give to God and to His creation, the more we will find that we have.
How do we run in the reality of Christ's victory? We love. Not with human love that says I'll love you if you love me, but with God love that says I'll love you no matter what, even if you hate me. This love is not earned, it is not words only, it's not an emotion, not for a special few, and it is not an option. It is God's character pouring out of those who believe in Him, active, and part of our redeemed character. It confronts evil, defends the weak, and is the most attractive thing in the world. We run the race to win when we love. We will receive an eternal reward for everything done in God-love. We can only keep what we give away, and the more we give the more we will find that we have.
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