We need to emphasize that we have only one God...
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We need to emphasize that we have only one God. The Trinity means that he is in three persons. As I often remind my people, I am only one person, but I am a son -- and a father -- and a husband. I even use different words in each of these relationships. This is difficult for some to realize, but if we know Jesus, we also know the Father and the Spirit because they are one. The hardest part for us today is the miracle part. We don't expect them. In seminary there were even great theologians who tried to figure out what really happened back then. In this scientific age it is hard to believe what does not fit into our orderly minds. It may also depend on what we consider a miracle. I prayed for a woman in my congregation in Canada who just had a baby but continued to bleed. The doctors tested her and said she had a life-threatening tumor that had to be removed. When I visited her before surgery, we had a prayer for her healing. On the way out the nurse told me that if she survived, she would be wearing a colostomy bag. I waited with the family for a long time, then the doctor came in with surprise on his face: "We could find no cancer in her at all!" On the way down the elevator after surgery a nurse who rode with me saw my collar and said, "Pastor, there was no way that couldn't have been cancer! That was a miracle!" No, these things don't happen every day, but they do build our faith that God is still working today.
As I tell my people, our new converts in Nepal often came because they had witnessed a miracle. We saw many while we were there and the church in Nepal was growing enormously because of them, just as Jesus promised! We can be fools, but we have to have an open mind and faith to believe that God is still working today. If we have a solid faith we may not need to see miracles in order to believe, but we still have to keep our mind open to ask for help, even miraculous help in Jesus' name. Be prepared to witness what God can do.
God will give his Spirit to anyone who asks, and like he tells us, the world may not accept it and may call us fools so be prepared, but you will know when it is God working in you and for you! If the Spirit is in us, then he will teach us and remind us of all God has done and can do for us.
Remember that God gives us his peace, even in a world of trouble that we witness on television every night or the problems that might face us. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will not fear. We must ask ourselves, "Do we love him?" One sign of our faith is if we find ourselves obeying his commands. Are we spending time looking for the commands that God is giving us? That is one reason we come to church. We need to keep our ears (and our hearts open).
As I tell my people, our new converts in Nepal often came because they had witnessed a miracle. We saw many while we were there and the church in Nepal was growing enormously because of them, just as Jesus promised! We can be fools, but we have to have an open mind and faith to believe that God is still working today. If we have a solid faith we may not need to see miracles in order to believe, but we still have to keep our mind open to ask for help, even miraculous help in Jesus' name. Be prepared to witness what God can do.
God will give his Spirit to anyone who asks, and like he tells us, the world may not accept it and may call us fools so be prepared, but you will know when it is God working in you and for you! If the Spirit is in us, then he will teach us and remind us of all God has done and can do for us.
Remember that God gives us his peace, even in a world of trouble that we witness on television every night or the problems that might face us. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will not fear. We must ask ourselves, "Do we love him?" One sign of our faith is if we find ourselves obeying his commands. Are we spending time looking for the commands that God is giving us? That is one reason we come to church. We need to keep our ears (and our hearts open).
