Settle for the Safe ? Or scary risky faith ? What are you gonna do Jack ?

I have been doing a lot of reading over these past few months... on my 12th book in close on 3 months, thats a bit of a record for me.

But its this latest book which is creating some serious thought in me. I have always been one to have my doubts about Catholic traditions .... and if we were all honest all of us would be in similar situations over various Christian traditions and practices.

The book I am currently reading, is the book written by Journalist Mike Willesee and his journey to faith. 

Now as a young guy growing up I used to watch Mike on TV, so I recognized him and knew about him but didn’t know his story until I started to  read this book.

The book goes into graphic detail around stigmata and bleeding statues and the like, much of what I have had doubts about for a long time.

This book sits alongside another devotional book in my reading stand by Brian Houston from Hillsong.

You couldn’t get any more extremes than these 2 books.

From stigmata, to praying in tongues, from the prophetic to the visions and unexplainable events of crying statues... to the healing of the sick, and the divine intervention from God into peoples lives.

One must surely catch your breath and decide for yourself what you really believe.

Scripture states that No eye has seen ...no ear has heard what God has in store for those who truly love Him. ( 1 Corinthians 2 )

For one to dismiss any of it, is a dangerous thing as who among us knows the full extent of God and His work around us and within us.

Unexplainable mystery’s.... and I can honestly tell you my spirit has quickened as I ponder the possibilities of what I am reading right now.

It draws me back to a few miracles of my own...

Angels on my car..

Physical healing of my daughter.

The removal of a demon from a young lady in our youth group.

Supernatural visitations in our bedroom in regards to our calling.

Incredible confirmations of scripture from a prophet in our church..

My own personal Holy Spirit baptism.

I wont go into detail here, and if you want to know more ...you can always make comment below and ask, and I will be happy to explain any of the above in further detail.

But it got me thinking... our earthly churches have traditions and characteristics that become our DNA.

The Catholics... 

The Pentecostals..

The Baptists...  and yes

The Salvos..

We have heard many stories of supernatural work in our Army meetings....  some might argue that even that is full of fraud or doubt. How could some one be totally drunk one minute and the next minute sober and saved ?

Here’s the deal for me....  why be closed in our thinking and limit God to what He can or cannot do ?

Who of us are so full of knowledge that we fully know the mind of God ?

How many of us have placed Him in a box though over the years and said, well unless its  done our way then it isn't true and it isn't God. ?

That is a very dangerous theology to have, in my view.

I remember years ago, when I was a youth pastor we took our key leaders to a discipleship camp. It was run by baptists so communion was held one night. I was fairly open in those days but some of our guys were not. The bread and juice was passed around and some of us took it and joined in and others let it pass on by.  The Salvos don't practice communion, but we surely don’t condemn it either, but as I watched it unfolding that night I remember thinking to myself, just how closed we can be to the wider things of God and what He wants to do in us and through us .... I remember also as a young naive Christian Salvo that I used to think that if it wasn't salvo then it surely must be of the devil and sinful...seeing all other churches as wrong.   

And then one day I had a fairly big wake up call and I was never the same again.

All this to say...  what If.... what if God is trying to get our attention....to open our minds to the possibility that He wants to do a new thing in us right now, for us to put aside some of our doubts and fears to open our minds to the miraculous .... to the supernatural.... to the new thing He wants to do in us, through us, with us ?

Will we hold ourselves back ? Or will we dare to believe that God might just do something pretty fancy right in front of me (you) ?

This world has had a habit of getting us to settle for the safe..... for the normal..the explainable...for the risk free lifestyle in our churches and lives... we don't want our little boat rocked by unexplainable supernatural events...or do we ?

For this world right now, we are already in a crazy situation ... we need God and His supernatural intervention in and around us... and I pray it will be so in me.

You ?

I think right now we have an opportunity before us to be poured into a new wineskin and allow God the Holy Spirit to reign in us like never before, and it just might mean some of the old ways need to go.

The question is, whether we will be gutsy enough to hear ....to listen... to obey Him, and be ready for what ever He wants to do next .

Big questions ...I know !!!!!!

Big questions need Big answers ...from a very Big God....
Let’s trust Him like we have never done before.