The Miraculous March 30, 2009

Have you ever contemplated the miraculous?  Have you heard the stories of everything that God is doing throughout the world?  From limbs growing, tumors falling out of people’s bodies, manna appearing, and gems dropping out of thin air, God is certainly moving.  However, I would guess that most “western” Christians aren’t seeing these things happen in their own churches on a regular basis.  And it is certainly easy to assume that the miraculous ended soon after Jesus left the earth just because you aren’t seeing it in your own place of worship.

However, we can’t base our theology on what is or is not seen by our physical eyes.  Otherwise, how could we believe in God at all?  Jesus said himself that we would be able to do the things he did while he was on earth and even greater things (John 14:12).  Why, then, would we doubt that the miraculous happens in our time?

God never changes.  He is perfect.  So, if He allowed miracles to happen through people 2000 years ago and even before that (there are some pretty amazing stories in the Old Testament, too), why would He not allow miracles now?  If He changed, then that would mean that He was not perfect.

So, by this point, you might be curious as to the types of miracles that people are seeing on a regular basis and where these miracles are happening.  Well, for starters, people are being healed literally all over the world.  From Redding, CA, to Mozambique, to your home town, the blind are receiving sight, the deaf can hear, and limbs are growing.  But healings are just the beginning.  Gold dust appearing on people, gems dropping out of thin air, and manna appearing are also common in many places.  Then add to that angelic visitations and other divine encounters, visions, dreams, and the prophetic, and Christianity starts to look much different than what most people find on Sunday mornings.

Should this be surprising?  It is easy to be skeptical, but we have been given the Holy Spirit to live within us and we are coheirs with Christ.  Should the power not also come along with these two things?

Twitter! March 28, 2009

We are now on Twitter!

Salvation March 28, 2009

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

This verse has probably been quoted millions upon millions of times since it was first written. If you start talking salvation, then John 3:16 is probably the first verse that people will spout off. We have heard this verse and all the “repent, be baptized, and you will be saved” verses so many times that it is easy to assume that you actually know what salvation is all about.

Ask any Sunday schooler what salvation means, and you will probably get some sort of answer pertaining to Jesus dying on the cross to save us for our sins. But is being saved from your sins the important part of salvation? I think not. It is easy to get caught up on the fact that being cleansed from your sins gets you into heaven. But when we focus on sin and heaven, we miss, what I think, is the most important aspect of why we were saved.

Go back to John 3:16. The answer does lie within this verse. “For God so loved the world.” Now stop right there. The key word is right here–God so loved. He loved us. This whole salvation business started because God loves us! Salvation is simply the result of God loving you, and you accepting that love.

For a moment, forget about sin. For just a second, think about the fact that the creator of the universe was willing to give up everything just for you! He knows you’re messed up. He knows that you will make the same mistakes over and over again. But that doesn’t change how He feels about you. He has so much to give you, just because He loves you.

And this love that God has for you is unconditional. He will love you regardless of whether or not you love Him back. As Christians, we are supposed to follow Christ–doesn’t following Jesus involve us loving the people around us as unconditionally as He loves us? So, what if the church stopped focusing on evangelism as a way to fill seats/increase numbers? What if instead we just loved people, unconditionally, without any sort of expectations from them? Isn’t the love of God powerful enough?

A Prayer March 26, 2009

Lord, I repent of arguing principles when I should be speaking of Your love. I repent of not being a catalyst for change within my community. I repent for judging those whose opinion is different than mine. Mostly, I repent of not loving those who need Your love the most. You are the Giver of Life. I thank You for the life you have given me and ask that you teach me to value life the way You do.

Abortion March 25, 2009

Let’s face it.  The discussion of the legality and morality of abortion as proved to be futile.  Emotions get involved.  People on both sides stop listening, and no real discussion ever happens.  But what if things were different? Here are some questions to consider.

What if we stopped writing our congressmen and women, stopped protesting, and actually did something to create an environment to where abortion was unnecessary? Wouldn’t that bring about a real change?

What if the church became the leading source for accurate sex education? What if the rhetoric concerning sex was no longer about right and wrong, but about love? What if the church could actually explain abstinence in a way that made sense to someone who has not read the Bible (and in a way that they would then choose abstinence)?

What if the church became the leading source for pregnancy counseling, adoption services, and abuse prevention? What if the church actually offered the kind of support to women who have unplanned pregnancies that would cause them to not even consider abortion? What if the church raised those children?

What if the church were the leading model for healthy relationships?

What if this conversation shouldn’t even be about abortion at all, but about how to love people?

What the church needs to realize is that abortions will still happen, regardless of whether or not they are legal. If Christians want to change this situation, then they need to step up be willing to educate and support the community so that the women of the community never feel the need to have abortions.

My Metanoia: If I am not willing to educate my community and support the women around me, then how am I helping the situation? Am I not just as guilty as the one holding the scalpel?

What is Metanoia? March 24, 2009

Metanoia is a fundamental change in your beliefs, repentance, rebirth, changing your mind, a spiritual conversion, or an awakening.

The church needs a Godly metanoia– awakening and repentance caused by a people opening their hearts and allowing God to reveal truth.  Lies and half truths continually find their way into theology, and only the Light of the World could illuminate these falsehoods.

We need to re-examine what we know, what we do, and how we do it–let Jesus give us new ideas, correct our mistakes, and show us a better way.  To think that we are doing a good job is to deceive ourselves into thinking that we don’t have to improve what is already there.  Through God’s grace, we can always do better; through His vision, we can always make improvements.

We need to go beyond learning from our mistakes to learning from everything we do, both good and bad.

Metanoia is a chance for us to allow God to reveal new ways of understanding the truths we know and correct the lies we believe.  Metanoia is a place for thinking about and examining what we believe and why we do what we do.  Metanoia is the discussion of both new and old ideas.  It is a place to challenge and be challenged.