30 January 2016 Knowing

Knowing

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JahazielA month ago, legendary Christian rapper Jahaziel walked away from his faith. He’d been a professing Christian for twenty years. Online magazine Rapzilla called him the most important U.K. artist in the history of Christian hip-hop. But Jahaziel couldn’t reconcile the mass killings in the Bible with the idea of a loving God.

He posted on Facebook saying, “You can believe the bible and its God all you want but to me he just demands my fear because he cannot earn my respect. I cannot possibly agree that he is love unless I ignore all the men, women and little children he has slaughtered throughout the entire bible…I have tasted and seen – and my conclusion is that Christianity (it’s flawed book, bloodthirsty god and mythical savior) I have found unsatisfactory and unworthy of my allegiance or worship unless by threatening to kill me if I don’t – as Christianity does.”

Kirsten PowersKirsten Powers, a Democratic commentator at Fox News, was an atheist for most of her life. Beautiful, bright, and successful, she had no desperate reason to need God. Christianity Today reported that Powers described herself as wavering “between atheism and agnosticism, never coming close to considering that God could be real.” She said, “I would never adhere to any religion—especially to evangelical Christianity, which I held in particular contempt.”

Her boyfriend at the time, wanted to get hitched but said he couldn’t marry a non-Christian. He asked her if she could keep an open mind about faith. That did it! Wanting to be seen as open-minded, she started attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

Pastor Tim Keller

Pastor Tim Keller

After eight months of listening to Pastor Tim Keller’s astute sermons, she decided the evidence supporting Christianity was there. Still, she didn’t feel any connection to God and thought people who said they heard God’s voice or had experiences were either delusional or lying.

Jesus Walks on WaterRight about that time, Powers took an overseas trip. One morning while sleeping, she experienced a strange cross between a dream and reality. In that instant, Jesus appeared to her and said, “Here I am.”

The experience was more than a little traumatizing.Continue reading

Filed Under: 2016, Experiencing God, Hearing God's Voice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
4 December 2015 The Greater Unseen

The Greater Unseen

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Sunset in the wood in winter periodDid you know a great awakening is taking place in the world? It’s not really reported on any of the news channels. You can read about it here. How long has it been since you’ve heard some good news?

At the same time, unfathomable atrocities against Christians in Syria and other places in the Middle East take my breath away. Danger is imminent at every turn, not to mention loss of shelter, lack of food, and an uncertain future.

“Great evil. GREAT REVIVAL” is the title of a special bulletin from the Voice of the Martyrs.

J.D. King of Charisma magazine wrote that, “Reliable reports suggest more Muslims have become followers of Jesus over the last two decades than in Islam’s combined 1,500-year history.”

Something is happening. 

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

— Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB)

The ScreamTo embrace what God is doing in this day, I am compelled to face the ongoing brutalities squarely. Jesus was born into a violent Roman domination of the land. Herod killed all the baby boys. Think of the outraged fathers, the weeping mothers, and the instability of those times.

It is no different today—for all our education, science, medicine, governments, civil laws, justice systems, and technological advances—evil overtakes some, and carnage remains as a dark stain on the human story.

But Stephen saw into heavenly realms AS he was being stoned. In the same way, I believe that God and his hosts of angels meet people in the nano-second of death—maybe even in the moments prior to death—whether they are beheaded, blown out of the sky on an airplane, or shot down in cold blood. And supernatural comfort also comes for those who remain in great tribulation. These are mysteries, but I believe they are true. What do you believe?Continue reading

Filed Under: 2015, Biblical Foundations, Character of God, God's design Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
6 November 2015 The Silence of God

The Silence of God

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I asked my husband if our son had recovered from a bad cold.

“Didn’t you hear me?” His voice sounded kind. “You asked me earlier, and I said ‘Yes.’”

“I must’ve been thinking about three different things at the same time,” I said. “Sorry.”

Original MixmasterMy mind has been noisy lately. Too much going on…countless things to take care of …many concerns tainted with worry…an eight-lane highway of racing thoughts. I try to sit still with God in the mornings, but I haven’t been hearing much. On the other hand, I haven’t been saying much either.

Distraction is a part of feeling silence with God. I’m restless inside. Lists start to form, creating a need to pounce on the day. But something else is needling me.

There are things I’ve prayed about for years—even decades—that haven’t changed for the better. “I don’t know how to pray about this anymore, God…” A seed of disillusionment gets sown.

It’s not disappointment with God. I believe with deep conviction that His heart is good. He can be trusted, no matter what.

Rather, I don’t know how to participate with God through prayer when what He’s doing is far beyond what I understand. I pray, ask, plead, and contend for things—as I see it—but it might just be my agenda to fix things.

Maybe God is waiting for me to run out of words.

Are you done yet, Susan? His tone isn’t antagonistic.

“I guess so. I don’t know what to say.” Prayerlessness feels like such a dreadful sin.

Just be quiet with Me.

IMG_0335I got up at first light and opened the front door. The world outside was still. No cars on the road yet. Snowflakes floated down, making the most beautiful soft tapping sound on the fall leaves. A blanket of white covered the landscape as far as the eye could see.

I am making all things new. He said, pausing to let the words stick. You’ll see…

imagesMy eyes teared up. “But Lord…Continue reading

Filed Under: 2015, Character of God, Hearing God's Voice, Signs of the Times Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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