We need tongues
Jan 27
Acts 2: 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
There are multiple instances in Acts where it shows clearly that people believed and were baptised as disciples of Jesus, and then at a later time they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In every single case, the people spoke in tongues when they were baptised in the Holy Spirit.
It shows in 1 Corinthians 13 that tongues has not yet ceased, because we know that knowledge is still abounding and we have not yet seen God face to face. Until then we need to have the power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues. Comment on this article
Who does God love more?
Jan 27
The question really gets to the bottom of our understanding about grace and about God’s love.
Suppose a gang decides to initiate a member into their group and the young man really wants to prove he is up for it and man enough. So they go out and they find a young beautiful 15 year old girl walking to the beach. The tell the young man he must rape her and kill her. Which he does, brutally.
So who does God love more? The young girl or the rapist?
People are the problem
Jan 27
When we went away as a team of leaders for our annual retreat some months back, I shared with my fellow leaders the scriptures that speaks about how we are to care as shepherds for the people of God. But the scripture goes on to say that wolves will spring up from our midst who will attack the sheep. Yesterday something happened between two great people of God, and both had a valid point. But when the flesh comes in, it is hard to see anything but one’s own perspective. Yet, each was passionate and adamant that their point of view was right.
I have found this to be true – that when you have revelation from God, and you just want to share it with someone close to you, they often respond very differently to how you want them or expect them to respond. This can leave you feeling disillusioned and hurt, if you are not walking in love. So we need to love one another and we need to realise that Satan will use us – brothers and sisters in the Lord to pull each other down, to disappoint one another – anything to hurt our faith. Let’s just remember we are just sinners, saved by grace.
Phillip Yancee writes in his book “What’s so amazing about grace” of an incident where a prominent man of God is put on the spot in the middle of a debate on Christianity at a point in time when racial tensions were running high in America. He was asked to say in ten words what the gospel is and he said this off the top of his head:
“We are all bastards but God loves us anyway”. When asked about it, he said he was very happy with his off-the-cuff definition, because in the spiritual sense we all have been adopted into God’s family. Makes you think. Sometimes we may think of it in another sense of the word, when we have these disagreements with our brother or sister. Shalom