You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February, 2008.
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well. (Mark 16:15b-18.)
I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. (John 14:12)
I’ve been reflecting on these verses a lot lately, and talking to the Lord about what they mean for us as believers, born into a culture of unbelief. Denominational theories about healing run the gamut between complete denial of these verses to frenetic replication of every healing instance in the Bible. Personally I believe that every attempt we make to heal is good, because it is what He has called us all to do. But I don’t feel inclined to mimic every specific method He used. I haven’t attempted to rub spit and mud on anyone in a long time. My friends tell me they’re grateful.
God is moving mightily in the heart of the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. I know that because, like David, even in the middle of his own moral challenges, he is using his presidency to foster righteousness among the citizens of his country. For example, he has implemented an innovative curriculum for teaching French children about loving their neighbors: a program to require 5th grade students to learn the life stories of children the Nazis killed. This curriculum has the power to positively impact the attitudes and hearts of France’s future generations, and to set them free from the bondage of racial and ethnic hatred that permeates every one of our cultures today.
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)
A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad… whatever is in your heart determines what you say [and do.] A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. (Matthew 12:33-35)
In the middle of any upheaval, it’s hard to figure out what is going on and what is motivating the participants. But it’s pretty easy to tell from hindsight. In the case of the current upheaval in Kenya, the fruit is particularly poisonous. Check out this video and its related news coverage. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time to lift the tenor a little…maybe a lot. My friends need some encouragement, some inspiration, some reason to feel good about caring for kids half a world away… So here’s some good news…a reason to cheer, to take heart, to rejoice . . .
There’s a compassionate, smart, tough, and courageous man making a positive difference in the lives of children in the South Bronx! And he’s doing it in the middle of an American war zone…rows of burned out, abandoned houses, poverty, decay, and crime that touches every household; prostitution, drugs, and wholesale violence that strikes out against all its inhabitants, especially its children, its families, the elderly and the vulnerable. The South Bronx is a neighborhood that has become infamous for its darkness. It is a blight on the image America attempts to propagate of itself as prosperous, safe, progressive, smart, and sophisticated. The South Bronx is the darkest side of America’s underbelly.
But I said this was good news, right? OK–keep reading. Read the rest of this entry »
Being a believer is manageable in ordinary time, but when darkness threatens to swallow us up, walking the talk becomes more than just a challenging adventure. The experience pulls us into the lonely vortex of a God Moment. Staring down the end of “what is humanly possible,” we come face to face with powerlessness, with our own helplessness, and with the Presence of God. He’s there, where He’s always been, waiting for us to want to live in His Presence and His Power, waiting to be invited to do what we cannot do, waiting to be asked–but we *need* to ask, and to trust the God who sustains and rescues all who call out to Him. These are times when we begin to appreciate the value of surrender. Listen to Paul testifying, in the middle of his last battle, of his God’s faithfulness.
The Lord stayed with me and gave me strength, so that I was able to proclaim the full message for all to hear; and I was rescued from being sentenced to death. And the Lord will rescue me from all evil and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen. (2 Timothy 4:17-18)
What do your “God Moments” look like?
