"....Our God is able..., and He will....But if not...." (From Daniel 3:17, 18)
Here we have the "three stages" of faith.
First: Even the weakest among us believe that, "....Our God is able...." It's a response to, "Do you believe God can?" In all reality, even an agnostic would respond in the affirmative to this question. "....Our God is able," really does not demand "faith," for there is no "proof" one way or the other to refute this statement.
Second: Then comes the "saved" person who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, read all the latest "faith" books, been to all the great conferences. Remember those days when we were making "positive declarations," believing that God would do just about anything we asked for? "....and He will...."
Third: But then came the time when not all the prayers were being answered, times when the exact opposite happened of what we were praying for. What was your reaction when it became obvious that much of what was happening to the non believer was happening to you also, sickness, financial struggle, family seemingly coming apart, car wouldn't start, you drove around looking for a parking space and found none, your favorite preacher and church was not what you expected, etc.?
If a person's faith is not Jesus Christ and His Words, his/her self-made religious world will eventually fall apart. We know that Daniel's friends triumphed over the furnace which consumed those powerful Babylonian soldiers. But they were ready for anything. So too, I believe, was David. I have heard some cutesy Charismatic interpretations as to why David chose more than one stone to meet Goliath. I believe David took multiple stones just in case the first one missed.
Father in Jesus' Name, I pray for a continual, "But if not...," trust in You. Amen.
Here we have the "three stages" of faith.
First: Even the weakest among us believe that, "....Our God is able...." It's a response to, "Do you believe God can?" In all reality, even an agnostic would respond in the affirmative to this question. "....Our God is able," really does not demand "faith," for there is no "proof" one way or the other to refute this statement.
Second: Then comes the "saved" person who has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, read all the latest "faith" books, been to all the great conferences. Remember those days when we were making "positive declarations," believing that God would do just about anything we asked for? "....and He will...."
Third: But then came the time when not all the prayers were being answered, times when the exact opposite happened of what we were praying for. What was your reaction when it became obvious that much of what was happening to the non believer was happening to you also, sickness, financial struggle, family seemingly coming apart, car wouldn't start, you drove around looking for a parking space and found none, your favorite preacher and church was not what you expected, etc.?
If a person's faith is not Jesus Christ and His Words, his/her self-made religious world will eventually fall apart. We know that Daniel's friends triumphed over the furnace which consumed those powerful Babylonian soldiers. But they were ready for anything. So too, I believe, was David. I have heard some cutesy Charismatic interpretations as to why David chose more than one stone to meet Goliath. I believe David took multiple stones just in case the first one missed.
Father in Jesus' Name, I pray for a continual, "But if not...," trust in You. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
