A man with 'BIG' faith

I found this article called Religion's Rubber Checks on the Grace walk ministries website, written by Steve McVey. He is talking about a man who took a 'step of faith'. Have fun reading it!

Miracle or myth?

[I struggled with myself to come up with a suitable title for this post, still not sure if I called it right: Miracle or myth?]

I remember sitting in the pew watching many preachers/pastors/healers/miracle workers operates on different levels of charismatic gifts offering miraculous signs/wonders/healing to people. (I know I am touching a very sensitive subject but bear with me…)

The categories of people include extreme cases such as the ones declare fasting and prayer until God moves (or solves) on a particular issue they are dealing with. In most of the cases it is sickness, finance, relationship etc. The other extreme is those who believe such problems are a result (punishment) of some (unconfessed) sin, either their own sin or their ancestor’s sin. Such people usually spend a whole lot of time figuring out what that sin is and where the ‘curse’ originated. ‘Curse breaking ministries’ are there for their help to break such curses once it is identified. They have a lot of verses to quote from OT about the generational impact of people’s sins.

I have also heard people keeping the dead bodies of their loved ones believing God will raise them from dead. Hundreds of stories can be heard about miraculous healing, divine transfer of money, etc on the television.

Is there any truth in all these? Have you ever wondered?

One of the reasons I am writing this is because of couple of issues that I am currently struggling with. We have noticed a white patch on my son’s forehead couple of weeks ago and kept postponing to consult a doctor until last Saturday thinking it was a regular skin irregularity on little kids (He is only 22 months old). We went to see a dermatologist on Saturday and he didn’t take much time to diagnose it as Vitiligo. According to the doctor it can either go away or spread to other parts of the body as he grows. But the bottom-line is there is no treatment for it. Knowing nothing much about this disease we came home and my wife started searching internet looking for more information. As we read more on it, the disappointment, worry and anxiety started to fill our minds. One website showed some pictures of other kids who have the same disease and seeing them increased our level of fear. Though I tried to put a fake smile on my face while looking at my wife’s tear-filled eyes, I felt saddened and worried. It is not at all a life threatening illness but the emotional turmoil a person can go through because of it is unimaginable (think about people's strange looks etc).

If this could have happened couple of years ago, the first thing we would have done is rushing to a miraculous healer to lay his hands on my son and pray for healing. Though many of my perceptions about the way God works in people’s lives have been changed over the years, I still believe in prayer, I still believe in miracles, I still believe in supernatural manifestations. BUT I just don’t believe in the way those have been projected in Christianity today. There are many reasons I don’t buy into the hype of today's healing and miracle ministries. One reason is, I haven’t yet seen a single person who has been healed miraculously (instant, real miraculous healing). The second reason is the Bible (New Testament) itself which I will get into the details in a minute.

Going back to the story, we were little exhausted on Saturday after the doctor’s appointment and on Sunday around 8:30 in the evening I got a call from my Aunt informing me that her daughter (my cousin) is admitted in the hospital due to premature labor pains. She was only 5 months into her pregnancy and was having twins. Right now as I am writing this she is still in the hospital and doctors informed them to have no hope to save the babies. My aunt called me to request prayers.

Philip Yancey, a well known Christian writer who recently wrote a book titled ‘Prayer, does it make any difference?’ gave a speech recently about that book. He receives thousands of letters from all over the world on his new book. According to him, based on the many letters he receives, there are still miraculous healing happening, but the percentage of such stories is very very low. Most of the people who were diagnosed with terminal illness have died regardless of how they prayed or how many people have prayed for their healing. (That was a very difficult statement for me to write). That’s the plain reality.

I will continue to pray for my son and I will continue to pray for my cousin, because God is asking me to cast all my worries upon Him. But I observe a big change in the way I pray, and I believe this change in my attitude towards prayer is the result of knowing my God in a little more intimate way. I would most likely pray a prayer like this: "Father, heal my son if it is your will. My heart desires his complete healing. Give my cousin full term, healthy babies if its your will. Regardless, give us your peace which transcends all the understanding to go through these difficulties. And make the outcome favorable to You and us."

He promises peace in all the circumstances, but He do not promise bodily healing in all the circumstances.

I do not believe that God punishes His children because His own Son took that punishment which was due for us. He became a 'curse' for us by hanging on the tree to rescue us from all the sins, all the curses and all the unrighteousness.

I draw a very important and huge principle from the prayer of Apostle Paul. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it (thorn in his flesh) away from him.

But this is what God told him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I felt ‘weak’ after learning about my son’s sickness. I felt more tenderness in my heart. I felt more close to God and I now have an increased compassion towards other parents who have kids with different illnesses. After hearing about my cousin, though I felt pain, I praised God a 100 times more for giving us full-term healthy kids and I told my wife that having a healthy baby (which many of us take it for granted) is a bigger miracle than healing of cancer. Having able to get up in the morning and going to work is a miracle. Coming back home safely is a miracle. Having a healthy marriage is a miracle. If I continue in that line, I would end up asking an obvious question, what is NOT a miracle? Is there a miracle greater than salvation? A free gift which we could never earn with our efforts? What miracle is greater than Christ dying on the cross for my sins? How about Christ living in me? How about God of the universe calling us His children? How about we calling Him 'Abba'?

When tragedy hits, troubles comes, my thoughts are along the line of what God says in Romans, We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Notice that He did not say He will change all the bad into good, but He said He will work everything (bad and good) together for the good. We may not be able to see that while going through it. There will be a lot of unanswered questions. I am not saying it is easy. But we can trust Him for His promises. One of the fruit of the spirit is peace, and I believe that is the peace which transcends all the human understanding, the peace only God can give. God operates from a totally different realm; he always has a bird’s eye view of everything, from beginning to end. We, most of the time has only a worm’s eye view. So, though we don’t understand everything, He is trustworthy, unchangeable and still our best friend.

As Christians, if we fall into the category of people who believe that God will heal all their diseases and solve all their problems, we better get ready to face disappointment! It is an error and it is also an unrealistic expectation to think that life on this earth is going to be pain-free; whereas God says there will be trouble in this world. Lets not resist the truth! God operates from an eternal realm, conforming us into the image of His Son, asking us to think the things above. The people who give others false hope of healing and miracles are teaching error. Their equation is wrong: healing gift + faith = healing. Where is God in that formula? It puts us in pressure to build up our faith to measure up to a certain level to see 'healing'. I am sorry but thats is not from the God I know from the Bible. It is not the amount of my faith/prayer/fasting what causes God to work on my issue. He never promised us that there are going to be only good things in our life but He said He will cause everything to work together for good. Can we believe that truth?

I am saddened by the fact that there are probably many who are angry/disappointed at God because God did not do a miracle in their life the way they wanted. It is an illusion many live in. There is rescue offered and it is found in understanding His grace and unconditional love offered through Christ Jesus. If we learn to leave the results of our prayers unto the hands of such a loving God, we can be in much peace. He wouldn't take pleasure in putting us through pain, it is against His character. He won't keep us on that 'surgery' table a minute longer than it's needed; while He Himself going through the pain with us. It's for our good, it is not a 'testing' or 'punishment'. And regardless of whether you believe in miracles or not, He loves us and feel free to cast all your burdens upon Him. There is nothing wrong in expecting a miracle, but lets don't get disappointed if it doesn't happen the way we wanted. He knows more about us than us.

The world OR Jesus?

Look what a ‘wonderful’, ‘stable’, ‘secured’, ‘advanced’, ‘ever lasting’ world we live in!

Recession, war, global warming, drought, diseases, divorces, denominations, persecution, religion, oil price, layoffs, terrorism, bombs, suicides, strikes, mortgages, credit cards, debts, bankruptcy, accidents, foreclosures, medical failures, technology failures, power outages, drought, wildfire, alcoholism, drug abuse, unwanted pregnancies, prostitution, energy bill, nuclear weapons, obesity, eating disorders, depression, pesticides, plane crash, suicide bombs, tsunami, hurricane, tornadoes, viruses, anorexia, cults, murder, rape, pornography, child abuse, homelessness, competition, stress, bipolar, universalism, relativism,...

Isn’t this list enough to look for some certainty and security in our life? Where are we going to find it? What/who is going to provide that?

Religion? Philosophy? Politicians? Celebrities? Psychologists?

What is the one constant, unchanging, everlasting thing where we keep our foot on, in this unstable world?

There has to be something 'constant' in life, at least one thing! So while everything else is shaking we have that one thing to give us hope, courage, peace, and even some joy!

That ONE thing is called - JESUS! (Well, it is not a 'thing', but a person)

His love is unchanging (Jeremiah 31:3).
His Word is unchanging (1 Peter 1:24-25).
His throne is unchanging (Hebrews 1:8).
His salvation is unchanging (Hebrews 7:24-25).
His gifts are unchanging (James 1:17).
He Himself is unchanging (Malachi 3:6).

And those being the facts,

"Continue in the grace of God"! (Acts 13:43)
"Continue in your faith"! (Colossians 1:23)
"Continue to live in him"! (Colossians 2:6)
"Continue in what you have learned"! (2 Timothy 3:14)
"Continue in him"! (1 John 2:28)

Grace and 'Grace community'

There is this dilution and exaggeration of the word ‘Grace’ today. Almost all religions believe in some sort of ‘Grace’. It’s not too hard to believe that there is something called a ‘general grace’ (or common grace).
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said, "Your Father in heaven gives the sunshine and the rain to the just and the unjust alike." Unbelieving farmers get rain for their crops just as much as believing farmers do.

Christian denominations have a great love for the word ‘Grace’ and there is nothing wrong in it as long we understand grace is not bigger than God (It’s giver). When we say it is by Grace through faith we are saved, we should be meaning that it is God who saves, not grace or faith. It has become a fashion among Christians to insert ‘grace’ in almost all conversations, sermons etc.
May be it’s time to take a step back and wonder if we made grace bigger than its giver. It shouldn’t be the ‘grace theology’ what drives us, but it has to be the love of Jesus, the originator of grace.

Indoctrinated philosophy can have a very strong, but negative impact. As an example I would take ‘communism’. I am little familiar with that ‘ism’ and I personally know that there are people willing to even die for that philosophy. The question is, are they motivated by love? Not at all. They are not even motivated by the founder of communism. But they have been indoctrinated and brain washed to believe that is the way of life and the more people they get to believe it, the more successful (and secured) they are as a group (or sect). Their security is in their community.

When grace becomes a ‘theology’ or a ‘philosophy’, I wonder if it has an effect like communism, ultimately producing some ‘grace Pharisees’. Such proponents would try to inject that philosophy to others to believe in grace and everything about grace and use that word very often, adding a few more people to their community.

Believing in grace is not what saves us or sustains us, but both are done by believing in Jesus and as He lives His life through believers.

I love the word ‘Grace’. It is one of the most important and most beautiful word in the English vocabulary (in the biblical perspective). But, I just don’t want to lose its true meaning by its over-use (if you know what I mean).

I think we shouldn’t even use the term ‘grace’ if we are not motivated by love (love of Jesus). When we use grace to show the badness of law (legalism), are we operating by the love of Christ or the love for the ‘grace community’?
Communists oppose when they are challenged for their beliefs because of their ‘spirit of community’. Catholics oppose when they are challenged for their beliefs because of their ‘spirit of community’. The concept of community itself is built around the idea that everybody need encouragement, mutual edification and some kind of security in it. But when the ‘spirit of community’ (or the love of community) replaces the ‘love of Christ’, could it have a lot of negatives?

I am all for community. But my prayer is, I don’t want community as the source of my security (even if it’s called ‘grace community’). My security has to be in the perfect love of God which drives away any fear (even the fear of not having any community). It is easy to say but hard to live. As I am writing this, apart from the small 'blog community', I have no other community that I am genuinely part of. Sometimes I worry about it. What if something happens to me or my wife or my kids? Where do we look for that human support? I prayed (still praying) hard to bring a handful of people in our way to have fellowship, sharing and encouragement. Why I am praying such a prayer? Yes, it is because of my longing to have fellowship. But deeper than that, what is the root cause of that prayer? It is some kind of fear! It is some kind of inability to 'rest' in the all sufficiency of Christ! It is that fleshly unwillingness to trust Him and Him alone. (That is my confession).

This is what I am thinking today: May be (just may be) God is not answering (or answering?) my prayer for the need of a 'immediate' solution to this, is to take that traits of people-provided security away from my life and to open my eyes to see the important (but sometimes painful) truth that all I need is Him.