Good morning everyone. What a wonderful thing it is to be alive in Christ Jesus. I give thanks to Holy Spirit for reminding me to share the story that I’m about to share with you about signs and wonders. But first we will pray.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Signs and Wonders Today
The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. – Acts 15:12
I remember a conversation I had with one of my trusted mentors in ministry a few years back that came to mind this morning. “I was a pastor for 19 years before I went into business,” he said sitting across the table from me as we were sharing lunch together. What led him from being a Pastor to a businessman was both a move of God and an attack from the enemy and here is why I say this.
He continued with this; “I was a Pastor of a particular denomination that did not embrace all of God’s Word. It was a time in my life when I was experiencing many physical problems. I was on the verge of being admitted to the hospital. I had been seeking God about whether He was truly a God of healing and whether His Word was applicable in all areas of life as it was in the early Church. I was supposed to go into the hospital the next day. That night I cried out to the Lord. I confronted God about His Word. I asked Him if He still did miracles today. The Holy Spirit led me to turn on my TV and saw an evangelist preaching. At that very moment, he stopped preaching, looked into the TV camera, and said these words: ‘There is a man in the viewing audience who has been a Pastor for many years and is struggling to know whether God heals today. His own denomination doesn’t believe He does. [He even named his denomination.] God is healing you right now to demonstrate to you that His healing is for today, and you are to know that His Word is true for today just like it was for the early Church.’ ”
My friend was shocked. The TV evangelist couldn’t have described him more accurately if he had been sitting in the same living room with him. God healed him that very night. He wasn’t admitted to the hospital. He was forced to go before his church and witness to God’s power in his life. He was soon fired as Pastor of that church for his outward display and testimony, and that is what led him into business.
So often when we experience God in greater and deeper ways, the persecution comes not from the world, but from those who are closest to us. The religious community persecuted Jesus. He was betrayed by one of His own disciples. However, we must realize this betrayal was necessary for God to accomplish His work through Jesus.
God will bring each of us to a crisis of faith to test what we really believe. For my friend, he had to experience God in a new way. Then he had to be tested in that belief to the point of losing his job.
Have you experienced God in all of your life? Are there areas in which you believe God doesn’t operate today? Before you discount God, seek Him with a whole heart. You might be surprised at what you will find.
Quote of the Day
We need to recognize God’s truth, no matter who’s mouth it comes out of.
Elizabeth Elliot
WITH HOPE AND FAITH
Rev. ELDER G E STERRETT
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