On May 24, I talked about a few forms of "false gospels" and said that I would soon write about "some specific presentations of the Gospel that market themselves as complete, but are sadly lacking in the most important areas." Well, today's the day to get this train moving!

Todd Bentley recently sent out two lengthy e-mail teachings about repentance--possibly because he has been getting so much flak about not really preaching repentance in Lakeland at the healing meetings. (I should note that I'm not going back on my promise to minimize picking apart Lakeland--that's not my intent here. Rather, I'm using a clear example of someone with whom we're already familiar.)

In his second e-mail, titled Repentance, Mercy and Healing - Part 2 of 2, Todd wrote a portion that seems to sum up everything he wrote throughout all of both teachings:

By backing away from God even just a little, it means we’ve still fallen away from where we once were. And God is calling us back—"Come, and let us return to the LORD . . .". God is saying (paraphrase): "I want you to return, I want you to repent because I want to bring blessing; I want to leave a blessing behind, My manifold goodness and kindness. I want you to return to Me so that I can bind you up and heal you. If you will return then I can begin to come with the rain of My Presence again. As I begin to turn your captivity around, I want to bring you blessing and fruitfulness. I want you to repent because if you repent, I can give you mercy. And when I can give you mercy, I can give you healing. That is My heart." Hallelujah!

Now I want you to really think about this: is there anything Todd wrote there that was a lie? Was any part of that paragraph untrue?

Does repentance bring us into line with God's blessing? Of course it does. Does God want us to repent? Yup. Does He want to bless us? You bet! So what's the big deal?

Even wth all these truths, I would argue that such a presentation is a form of "false gospel." In my previous article, I talked about a "gospel" that markets itself as complete but is sadly lacking some of the most crucial components. Such a "gospel"--although 100% true--is only 50% of the Truth.

If someone crafts their words in order to withhold the truth from you, you would say that they lied to you even if everything they said was technically true. Even though they technically told the truth, you would call it deceitful. In the same way, a "false gospel" doesn't have to be an outright lie--it just has to fall short of being the true Gospel.

How many times have you ever purchased something at a garage sale or flea market only to discover that it's not at all what you were expecting? Or how about buying a used car and then discovering that you would have to do all sorts of work on it? Or what about buying something new at the store and later finding out that all the most crucial components are sold separately? Do these things bother you? Do you feel scammed? They were presented as though they were complete, and you thought you had paid all you would need to pay--but now reality has set in, and you realize that you were taken for a ride.

This happens so much with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A completely true yet partial "gospel" is presented that only reveals half of the equation. All the most important elements are left out. It's more appealing to present this partial gospel than to tell people about the other side of the coin.

Okay, it's time to get specific and stop making you guess what I'm talking about.

The true Gospel includes everything Todd Bentley wrote about in the quote above. In fact, the two e-mails he sent out about repentance were true. But here's the problem: it's a completely man-centric presentation. Everything is about what man gets out of the bargain of salvation and how it puts you in line with God's mercy, kindness, and goodness. It completely neglects the other side of the equation, which I will present now:

1. We need to repent simply because God is God, and what He says goes (leave hell and heaven out of this one--it's all about God and what He deserves purely by virtue of the fact that HE IS GOD).
2. Repentance involves putting our old way of life to death and embracing a life of utter dedication to our Lord--not because of anything we get out of it, but rather because He IS Lord of all! This may include persecutions, hardships, and more; but we should remain faithful because JESUS IS OUR LORD!
3. Even in the midst of God's love and grace, we must work out the process of salvation with a genuine fear of God--to such an extent that it sometimes even causes us to tremble at the thought of His awesomeness, righteousness, and power.
4. Jesus Christ spent Himself on our behalf, taking the full brunt of God's punishment on Himself. In the oft-quoted words of the two young Moravian missionaries who sold themselves into slavery in order to spread the gospel to an unreached island of slaves, "Does not that Lamb who was slain deserve the reward of His suffering?"
5. We deserve absolutely nothing, and God deserves absolutely everything. We should serve Him whether we go to hell at the end of our lives or not simply because HE IS WORTHY!

The true Gospel is balanced. On one side is God spending Himself for the sake of man simply because He wants to. On the other side is man spending himself for God simply because he wants to. On one hand is Jesus Christ being murdered for our sake. On the other side is the reality that we WILL be persecuted for His sake if we truly follow after Him. It's not first of all about what either party gets out of it; but as a result, both parties get to partake in the many blessings that a relationship of love like this entails!

If you have been presented a partial gospel that only focuses on what God has to offer you, then you have been scammed. You've purchased a used car that looks new but only has half the parts. All the parts on that car belong to that car. All the parts of that presentation of the gospel are true...but without the rest, it's a sham.

It's completely okay to study and preach the benefits of Christ's sacrifice and the joys of relationship with God. It's fine to have a ministry of miracles, prophecies, healings, and the like, giving the credit to Jesus Christ. These things are good and true! But if they are packaged and presented as though they are the entire deal, then people will be sadly disappointed when they jump on the bandwagon and then discover the cost of being a disciple and following after Christ.

Such people will run and hide at the first hint of persecution. They'll give up when the storms of life start blowing and it seems like God isn't being faithful to His end of the deal. These "false converts" will rarely be effective in the Church or in the world when it comes to making disciples. But let me show you a more excellent way. Please indulge me, if you will, as I boast in the Lord:

When I share the Gospel, I rarely ask people to make a decision right then and there (except if the Holy Spirit is specifically leading this way). Typically, I describe both sides of the coin. I talk about the cost of being a disciple--what it means to "take up your cross daily and follow after Christ." I talk about repenting from sin and living a radically different life. I talk about the glory of God--His holiness, purity, justice, and awesomeness. I talk about needing to conform more and more to the nature of Christ. And I also explain the blessings of God, the joys of salvation, and the endless depths of a loving relationship with Him. I also tell the truth about persecution, ridicule, slander, and shunning. I talk about the possibility of losing some friends, but I also talk about gaining true friends in the Body of Christ. I put all the cards on the table. Then I tell the person to go home, think about everything that was presented, and decide whether or not it's worth the price.

I can list a good number of people who never contacted me again--some of whom are still actively and consciously avoiding me because they feel convicted for rejecting such obvious truth for the sake of living their own way.

But I can also list MANY strong Christians in my church and beyond who weighed the cost and considered God worthy of their lives. These men and women have matured rapidly in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thesy love the Lord and are constantly going deeper with Him. Their lives are constantly being transformed into a clearer and clearer representation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is clearly at work in and through them!

A partial presentation of the Gospel is certainly more effective at accumulating numbers of "commitment cards" and raised hands. It makes for great reports and publications. A partial gospel generates fast results that look good on paper. But it is very ineffective at keeping people in the Kingdom! And it does a less than acceptible job at making disciples like Jesus commanded us to do! Even though all of it is true, it is a false Gospel, pure and simple. We need to know the Word so we can present the FULL Gospel of Jesus Christ! We need to commit ourselves to full disclosure when sharing the Truth with the lost. And we need to rely on the Holy Spirit in prayer to do the work of convicting hearts and drawing people to the Father. We MUST be ambassadors of the complete Truth!

In some upcoming posts, I'll share more about the false gospels that are so prevalent in our churches today and what we can do differently.

God bless!
--Art--

One of the sweetest things about having a blog is that it's a great outlet for rants about your pet peeves; so I'm going to take advantage of that. This does actually have some value, though, so don't think I'm going to point out something trivial like burnt edges on a grilled cheese sandwich. Enough rambling.

Tonight I was listening to the radio on my drive home from a restaurant, and there was some preacher talking very excitedly about a series of meetings he was going to be leading this week. The part that bugged me, though, is that even though he was really passionate about his invitation, he used the word "Amen" incorrectly about fifteen times. It's not that it almost seemed like he had Turrets Syndrome as he haphazardly threw the word around at random points in his sentence; it was more about the complete loss of meaning.

What does the word "amen" mean?

"Amen" is a Hebrew word that basically means "So be it!" It comes from the root word for "rock," so it gives an impression of "It is firm--like a rock." The word is used to solidify a statement and declare that it is "set in stone" or "certain."

But this preacher was saying things like, "The city of Detroit is falling apart--Amen!"

NOOOOO!!!! Use the word correctly! Don't set something like that in stone! Try this: God has plans for our city that wll glorify Him and snatch people from the fires of hell--Amen! So be it! It is firm! It is certain! It is set in stone!

AMEN!!!

Do we Christians realize the power of this simple little word? I don't think so--if we did, then we wouldn't use it like a question from our pulpits. Amen? Have you ever heard a pastor say that? They ask the congregation, "Amen?" as though it's a question! What are they looking for? Approval? Are they giving people the opportunity to disagree? If you are preaching the Gospel and it is the sure Word of God, then proclaim it: Amen!

The word "amen" is one of power and proclamation. It's not an alternative to the word "goodbye" when we hang up our phone call with God. It's not a word that offers things up for question. It doesn't mean "do you agree?" And it doesn't mean "I think you're right" or "that resonates with me emotionally." It is a word of certainty and authority.

So in the coming weeks, think very carefully about the way you use this word--you may even start to notice the misuses of it (sorry if my pet peeve is contageous). It is about time that we Christians realized the authority we have in Jesus Christ! AMEN!

I just have to share a story from a good friend of mine--we'll call him Paul--who recently spent some time with some long-time friends of his and shared the Gospel. In his friends' living room, Paul kicked back and talked about the love of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ. This couple hung on every word, captivated with the message he shared.

The next day Paul received a phone call from his friend who said, "I've been thinking a lot about all the things you said yesterday and all the wisdom I heard in what you said. Was there some person whose beliefs have really influenced you and made an impact on the way you believe?"

"Absolutely," replied Paul, "There was actually one guy in particular that has had a profound influence on my beliefs."

"Well, who is it?" pressed the friend.

"Jesus."

I thought this was an awesome example of relational evangelism. I've never really been a fan of preaching in the streets, going door-to-door, or handing out literature (even though God does sometimes use these methods). Rather, my preferred method of evangelism is through personal relationship. Try asking around--see how many Christians you know who received Christ because of a street preacher or a pamphlet and then see how many came to Christ through a personal relationship with another believer. The latter are far more common!

Start with the people you know--your friends, family, co-workers, or classmates. Pray for the Holy Spirit to begin softening their hearts and then act on any opportunity you can find to share the love of Christ! Speak the Truth, seasoned with love. You might be surprised at how effective you become at planting spiritual seeds for God's Kingdom!

What is "balanced" Christianity? So many times we see people fly off to extremes. They find a doctrine they like and they run with it. One person says God is just, and that's all they preach about. Another person says God does miracles, and that becomes their entire life. Then we find someone who only teaches that God is love; and someone else who pushes teachings on hell and judgment.

So what is balance? Is it to compromise our teachings? Is it to bring everything more toward the "center" so that less people are offended? Is it to avoid extremes?

Well, I say we should get our example from Christ Himself. Jesus was extreme. He was extreme about God's justice, righteousness, power, love, and judgment. He was extreme in worship, fellowship, discipleship, and evangelism. He was extreme in service, humility, and kindness. He was extreme in bluntness, prophetic clarity, and harsh truth. Jesus was extreme in every way! Jesus was not balanced in the sense that He watered down His life; He was balanced by being extreme in every area!

If we wish to be truly "Christ-like," we need to be unafraid to be extreme in every way! Look for the one aspect of God's nature that you like to convey most, and then look for some ways you often avoid. My encouragement to you is not that you would cut back on the aspect you currently favor, but rather that you would become more extreme in the areas where you currently lack fervor. It's time to be extreme in all ways as we reveal Christ in this world!

Revelation 3:16 says that Christ will spew the lukewarm Christians out of His mouth. It's time to get red hot in every way!

2 Peter 1:5-11--For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (NIV).

Today I was watching "Animal Planet" and they had a special about a wildlife preserve where the young bull elephants started brutally killing the rhinos. The solution was to bring in an older, more mature herd of elephants to model appropriate behavior for the younger ones and hopefully provide some sort of behavioral infratructure that would help tame the younger animals. It worked.

In the church, we need to have a similar principle; but we must be careful with the way we put it into practice. My pastor tells a story about when he was first saved, he met with the elders of his church and passionately shared his testimony and some of his ideas. The elders looked at him blankly and one said, "Don't worry, in a little while you'll calm down and be just like us."

"God forbid!" he replied (though he admits it was more in pride and disdain than in love).

In contrast, take a look at Esther 4:10-16. King Xerxes ordered that all the Jews be annihilated (if you've ever seen the movie 300, yes, that is the same Xerxes that was attacking the Spartans). Esther was a jewish woman who had been taken to be his queen. The following story comes in where Esther's cousin Mordecai (who had raised her) has suggested that she appear before King Xerxes. Esther then sends one of the king's eunuchs named Hathach to her cousin Mordecai:

Esther 4:10-16--Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions(NIV).

Esther, here, is the younger generation, and Mordecai is the older. Do you see the magnitude of what took place in this story? Rather than Mordecai telling Esther to "calm down and wait this out," he called forth exploits. Not only that, but Esther relied on him for spiritual support by asking him to fast for her and gather others to do the same. And Mordecai agreed!

Here we see generational unity. Like the elephants in my opening example, it's not so much a matter of the older generation "calming down" the younger as it is the older generation providing a scaffolding for the younger to flourish within! Mordecai suggested that Esther risk her life for the sake of God's people, and he stood by her with prayer and fasting.

There is a strong Biblical precedent in both the Old and New Testaments for generational unity, mentoring, and spiritual fathering/mothering. If you're young and you do not have a mature spiritual mentor who challenges you to acts of faith, the I would recommend you get looking for one! Otherwise, you might end up like those young bull elephants being destructive rather than productive (I've been there, and it truly does take spiritual mentoring to help us gain focus and direction for our lives).

And if you would consider yourself one of the older generation, then I call for you to take us youngsters under your wing and call forth great exploits for the kingdom of God! We don't need you to calm us down or tell us how to "play it safe." We need you to fast and pray for us so that we can fulfill the purpose for which we were born and help reveal our Father's Kingdom in the earth! We need you to be our "Mordecai" and speak identity into our lives. We need you to challenge us in faith--not fear--and call forth exploits!

In the name of Jesus, I challenge each reader to bridge the generational gap and demonstrate unity in the Church no matter your age. The Lord has promised that in the last days He would send forth the spirit of Elijah to call the hearts of the fathers to their sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers. Now is the time--more than ever--that we need unity among the generations!

I used to be really cynical about church retreats. We go, we cry, we decide to change our lives forever, everyone hugs, and then we go right back to the way things were. After attending more retreats than I can count and seeing the same temporary results, I had grown rather disenchanted with the whole idea.

But that's when we planted our church in Fowlerville (www.ffcag.org), and our pastor invited the staff to attend an Encounter Retreat with another church. Long story short, none of our lives have been the same since!

At the Encounter, we deal with matters of personal transformation, freedom in Christ, and deliverance from habits, addictions, bitterness, wrong thoughts, and past mistakes. Furthermore, we focus on the foundations of Christian life and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. At this year's retreat, I'll be leading worship and presenting three lessons:

• "What Do You Desire?" - All about who we are and how much more important the God-given desires of our personal spirit are than the desires of our flesh or soul.
• "Others and You" - Forgiveness and freedom from bitterness and resentment.
• "Knowing your New Best Friend: the Holy Spirit" - All about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, how to be led by the Spirit, and how to deepen your relationship with Him.

This year's retreat will be held in the lodge of Youth Haven Ranch, which is a beautiful facility in the little town of Rives Junction, Michigan (about halfway between Jackson and Lansing).

I've posted an informational flyer on the Documents page in case you're interested. We would love to have you join us! I know I have readers all over the world; but if you happen to be in the area, we would love to have you (we've had people come from as far away as Pennsylvania and Texas to past retreats).

This will be the fourth retreat I've helped staff, and each one seems better than the last! Also, we have limited space, so please contact me soon if you're interested.

God bless!
--Art--

What is the "True Church?"

Is it defined by our big cathedrals with stained glass windows and mass choirs?

Is it defined by our fancy stage-shows with rock bands, lights, and illustrated sermons?

Is it defined by the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans who huddle together in secret meetings of 4 or 5 people for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and communion (if they get caught, they would be imprisoned, tortured, or even killed).

The true Church has no specific method or program that we can look at and say, "That's it!"--but it does have some very important scriptural qualities that are consistent throughout.

If you read through the book of Acts, you will find the word "Church" used rather often--and it always spoke of the people more than a system or religion. Here are a few examples:

• Acts 5:11--"Great fear seized the church." A religion can't experience fear--people do.
• Acts 8:1--The Church was persecuted and scattered. You don't persecute buildings, methods, religion, or programs--you persecute people. And if you scatter a building or oganization, it falls apart--but when the Church was scattered, it only served to spread the Gospel further!
• Acts 9:31--"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord." These are qualities of people--not programs.
• Acts 12:5--The church prayed. Only people can do this--not a building or program.

Then we find out in Colossians 4:15 that someone (a woman at that) had church in her house!

So what is the "True Church?"

1 Corinthians 11:18 presents a beautiful clue as to what the "True Church" really is (even though this verse is talking about something else in context). It says right there in the middle: "...when you come together as a church..." In other words, Christians are Christians; but we become "the Church" when we come together!

The New Testament is full of instances where "The Church" is shown to be "The Body of Christ." And we're told over and over again that we are all different parts with many different roles. Even Jesus pointed out that He is present when we come together:

Matthew 18:20--For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (NIV).

Yes Jesus is within every individual Christian through the Holy Spirit, but He is only in the midst of us when we come together!

God does not call us to be individuals who invent our own personal brand of spirituality and wave the banner of "Just Jesus and me--I don't need anyone else." Such people are not only missing out on the love and fellowship that come from the true church, but they are also cutting themselves off from the full measure of Christian authority. Jesus didn't say that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against a single Christian--He said that they will not prevail against the Church!

There's more to be said about authority in the Church (which is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets--Ephesians 2:20) and the fact that it's possible (and good) to organize and mobilize the Church (see Paul's letters to Timothy); but we'll save these for another time. For now, simply remember this:

We need each other! Let's come together and BE the church!

Recently our small group has been talking about "vision" and God's desire to multiply His Kingdom in us and through us. As I mentioned a couple days ago, the result has been the planting of a new men's group and ladies' group.

Well today I want to tell you about a new opportunity. I know I have some readers as far aways as Colorado and even Australia, but for now this announcement will only benefit the ones here in southeast Michigan.

The vision God gave me was to develop a School of Ministry that is free for all participants. And it's not supposed to be "just another program" that fills peoples' heads with knowledge but never applies it! Instead, this will be an opportunity to get out onto the streets with other Christians to demonstrate the supernatural power and love of God.

And so, over the last week--after much prayer, fasting, and counsel--the Wildfire School of Supernatural Ministry has been launched! We'll be meeting every 1st and 3rd Sunday afternoon to discover our spiritual gifts and take to the streets to minister to the lost!

So if you're interested in attending, please let me know.

For more information, please go to www.WildfireChristianity.com.

The Holy Spirit is certainly supernatural, but He is also very practical. The supernatural things He does are always for a purpose (although, admittedly, we don't always know what that purpose is at the time).

Furthermore, I think sometimes the Holy Spirit is so active in our lives that we don't give Him credit for the things He's doing. For instance, my small group recently doubled in size. I could call that a coincidence, or I could observe that people have been drawn to our group because of the Holy Spirit's presence!

And this week we planted two more small groups (a men's group on Wednesdays and a ladies' group on Saturdays). And the most exciting part to me is that I'm not the one leading these groups! Other people are catching vision from God and running with it!

Tonight we held our first men's group meeting, and four people were able to attend. I'm reminded of Zechariah 4:10 that says "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..." (NLT). Certainly, we could sense the Lord rejoicing!

And here's where the practicality of it all comes back into play. People were moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and not even realizing it! That's how practical He is! My one friend started moving in the gift of a "word of wisdom" as the Holy Spirit supernaturally gave him the right words to speak to another man in the group. When I pointed it out, he said, "Wow, thanks--I was wondering if my words had any purpose." We all started to laugh because the rest of us knew how profound his advice actually was!

Then, as I mentioned something about the trials in our lives being used by God to perfect us, another man in our group had a vision and didn't even realize it! He said, "You know, as you were saying that, I started picturing a swordsmith hammering a sword into the perfect shape so that it's balanced just right and won't break in a battle."

I said, "You weren't just picturing that on your own--the Holy Spirit was giving you a vision! I'm glad you shared that!" A surprised smile started to spread across his face as if to say, "God gave me a vision?? Wow!"

Sometimes we don't realize just how active the Holy Spirit is in our lives, and frankly, it robs glory from our Father in heaven! We need to start encouraging one another to see the Holy Spirit's activity in their lives so that we can all notice Him in our own lives! We should recognize Him in the practical things of life and not just in our events and Christian meetings. The Holy Spirit wants to be your everyday companion in all things. He's the Guide and the Comforter. He is our Advocate. He's the Living Water that should be overflowing from each of our lives! He empowers us, He leads us, He helps us, and He ministers through us!

So I want to challenge you in the coming days to look for the activity of the Holy Spirit in your everyday life. He's probably moving at this moment right under your nose!

The pictures attached to this post are of a couple friends of mine who my girlfriend Robin and I got to baptize in bathtubs recently. Our small group has been blessed to be leading people to Christ on a regular basis. These pictures were taken a couple months ago (a few weeks apart), and the man and woman being baptized are today radical followers of Jesus who come every week to our small group and have seen multiple miracles happen in and through their lives since coming to Christ. In fact, the young woman who was baptized only a couple months ago got to help guide another girl to Christ last week as she drove her home from our small group meeting!

I want to encourage every reader--if you have not already--to be baptized. And not only that, but I want to encourage you to feel free to baptize others! Philip did it in a little pool of water (Acts 8:36-38); and John did it in the desert region--specifically the Jordan River (Mark 1:4). And you don't have to be a member of the clergy to perform a baptism:

John 4:1,2--The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples (NIV).

Jesus put the ministry of baptism in the hands of the disciples! And who are the disciples?

John 15:4-8—[Jesus said:] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My TRUE DISCIPLES produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father (NLT, emphasis added).

You are Christ's disciple if you remain in intimate relationship with Him as evidenced by the "fruit" in your life. "Fruit" is simply evidence of the life within. If you are demonstrating the power and nature of Christ through the Holy Spirit in your life, then you are His disciple!

Today's post is all about baptism--specifically the spiritual and supernatural dimension that's involved.

---

Ever heard of "water baptism?" This tends to be a matter largely disputed among denominations--one group says you can baptize babies; another group says the person must be old enough to make a conscious decision to follow Christ. One group says all you need to do is sprinkle the person with water--another says they must be fully immersed.

While I personally favor the idea that you should be fully immersed in water (and only when you can make a decision based on personal conviction), I do not believe I have the right to dictate whether or not God honors other forms of baptism--actually, I think He does for the most part.

In the book The Heavenly Man, Brother Yun recounts one of the times he was in prison for his faith. Long story short, through a miraculous course of events, the Holy Spirit used Yun in such a way that his cellmates (there were many prisoners in a cell) started coming to Christ all at once--falling on their knees and repenting! And since their water was strictly rationed, they only had a few drops of water available to baptize each one. Yun reports that their lives dramatically changed that day, and for days they all walked around with tears in their eyes. From then on they shared the Gospel in the prison yard and many prisoners came to Christ! Can you rightly argue that their "sprinkle" baptism is any less valid than someone who was fully immersed in water? I can't!

The method of baptism is less important than the spiritual dynamic behind the ritual. However, the full symbolism is only seen in total immersion: dying with Christ, being laid in the grave, and then being raised back up in new life.

Baptism is all about new life. According to John the Baptist and Jesus, baptism with water is a baptism of repentance. "Repentance" means to utterly change direction--a 180 degree turn. It is to dramatically change your way of life, your way of thinking, and your way of acting. It is not just to "turn away" from sin; it is also (most importantly) to "turn toward" God. Baptism with water is often called "the baptism of repentance" (Mark 1:4).

But righteousness comes by faith, not by baptism; so why do we need to be baptized? Well, why do you need to pray? Why do you need to fast? Why do we need to do anything? It’s a matter of relationship with God. Peter seems to imply that baptism is a form of prayer—an appeal to God.

1 Peter 3:21b—Baptism is not a removal of dirt from your body; it is AN APPEAL TO GOD from a clean conscience (NLT, emphasis added).

Maybe that’s why Luke’s account of Christ’s baptism reads like this:

Luke 3:21—When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And AS HE WAS PRAYING, heaven was opened…(NIV, emphasis added).

I believe water baptism is a form of prayer designed by God as a prophetic declaration to the kingdom of darkness that "this person belongs to a different King!" Baptism is a form of spiritual warfare!

Do you need to be baptized in order to be saved? Well, the thief on the cross next to Jesus didn’t get baptized, yet Jesus responded to the man’s faith and conviction by saying, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Salvation comes by faith, not by baptism.

But if you’re going to start living as an ambassador of the Kingdom—helping "God’s will" happen on earth—then you should be baptized. Baptism gives you authority over Satan and his demons. Come to think of it, the Orthodox Church has an icon (picture) of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist and demons fleeing from the water. There is a very real spiritual dynamic to baptism--it's not just a symbol as many people believe.

Water baptism is a public confession of faith done in submission to the order of God. Not only is it a confession before man, but more importantly it is a confession of faith before the entire kingdom of darkness! We are often taught that baptism is for the church's sake and therefore must be performed with the church present. I don't see this anywhere in the Bible--in fact, I see the opposite. I see John baptizing in the desert (Mark 1:4) and Philip and the Ethipoian stopping at a pool of water by the side of the road (Acts 8:36-38)--who knows, it might have even been a puddle left over from the rainy season! Grated, there were always people present to witness the event, but there does not appear to be any requirement as to who those people were. The Ethiopian was baptized in front of the people in his procession, but it does not appear that any of these people were Christians! Nor do they appear to be repentant or else Philip might have baptized them too!

In a very real spiritual sense, a person does receive a certain grace from God when they are baptized.

On the other side of the coin, the more you question baptism and whether or not it’s necessary, the more you are questioning God’s order. The enemy will go to town on that one! They’ll know you’re not in line with the heavenly King or His authority.

The word "Kingdom" literally means "King’s domain," and the King’s domain is everywhere that His authority is expressed. Jesus told His disciples, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." And Jesus said that we should pray for God's Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth just like it is in Heaven. Water baptism is the first step of submission to God’s authority and is therefore the first stage of His Kingdom coming to the earth through you! The question is: Are you helping the process or hindering it? Are you submitted to His authority or arguing against it? Are you looking for every reason not to be "baptized" in the way we've discussed here, or are you excited about the opportunity to publicly demonstrate your love and obedience to Christ?

Are you like the rich young man (Mark 10:17-23) who counts the cost of repentance and decides it is too much trouble? Or are you like the Ethiopian Eunich (Acts 8:6-40) who was still in the process of hearing the Gospel when he said to Philip, "Look! There's some water! Why shouldn't I get baptized?!" Apparently the man didn't need to be taught any further because when he came up from the water, Philip disappeared as the Holy Spirit miraculously transported him to Azotus!

The emphasis the Bible places on baptism should give us a clue about how important it really is! So go get baptized and start to live in the authority you're given! And furthermore, look for opportunities to baptize others!

Matthew 28:18-20--Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age"(NIV).

Here it comes: the moment you’ve been waiting for. Slowly, regally, the waiter in his tuxedo slips out the kitchen door with his tray held high. It’s as though he’s gliding across the floor in a choreographed dance. His eyes are lightly closed in confidence. A towel is draped softly over his arm. The white of his gloves gleams with perfection. There’s something regal about his performance that somehow enhances the anticipation.

The aroma of garlic and herbs wafts through the air. You begin to salivate. This is it! The waiter strides up next to you and the platter flows gently to the table before you. Beneath that shiny silver lid is the steak the whole world has been raving about. People say that once you taste the stake from this restaurant, “everything else is just cow.” You tuck your cloth napkin into your shirt and grin brightly as the waiter twirls his hand over the lid and swiftly lifts it past your head.

As the puff of steam rises theatrically into the air, the corners of your mouth fall with your chin. You don’t know if this is a mistake or some cruel prank. Everything seemed so wonderful, but the plate in front of you doesn’t have a steak on it—or at least you can’t see it if there is one. Instead, you have a six-inch pile of herbs and seasonings.

With your eyebrows curled upward, you look speechlessly to the waiter, but he’s already dancing back to the kitchen. Your gaze returns to the overpowering mountain of seasonings that awaits your consumption.

Finally—perhaps because you concede, or maybe just because you’re curious—you scoop the seasonings one spoonful at a time into your empty coffee mug. After a few minutes of your archeological dig, you unearth the shape of a steak. It really was in there! And now that you’ve worked your way down to the bare minimum, you sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on your meal.

Perfect.

“Is everything to your liking?” inquires the manager as he strolls up to your table.

“Well,” you begin, “It is now. What’s with the heap of spices my steak came buried in?”

“Oh no!” replies the apologetic manager, “This has happened before. I’m so sorry. You see, the master chef prepares the meal to his perfect liking, but there are about fifteen other cooks under his training who sometimes come along and add to his masterpiece. They must have all slipped a little in before your waiter brought it out.”

“I see. Well, it’s alright now.”

You cut your first piece from the tender slab of meat and it melts on your tongue. Yes, it’s true what they said; this is the best steak around—as long as it’s not lost in the seasoning.

Seasoning is great in moderation, but when it overpowers the meat, you might as well be eating shoe leather because it’ll taste the same anyhow. Ever notice how we’ve done the same thing with Christianity?

Jesus came and demonstrated something so simple. Now, two thousand years later, we have added fancy buildings, traditions, rituals, rock bands, stage lights, festivals, potlucks, outreaches, home groups, books, CDs, DVDs, Sunday School, family nights, illustrated sermons, colleges, weekend retreats (take a breath), summer camps, private schools, and more sermons in one day than we could hear in a lifetime. These things aren’t evil—they’re “seasonings” meant to enhance the meat of Christianity. The problem comes when the steak gets buried in the flavor. Sometimes it even gets swapped for “shoe leather” and we don’t even know it.

There are so many churches today that have all the right seasonings, but their meat is not the true meat of Christianity. Christ's true Church is foundationally built on Him alone, and any "seasonings" added to the mix must clearly reveal Him. Anything that distracts us from Jesus Christ is not of God. Even our focus on the Holy Spirit should bring us closer to Christ! Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will "take from what is Mine and make it known to you."

Real Christianity is not defined by the rituals, programs, events, and meetings that we hold--these are nothing but seasonings meant to enhance the flavor of the person of Christ. They should point to Him--not overpowering, but complimenting.

Psalm 34:8--Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Today I was reading Developing a Supernatural Lifestyle: A Practical Guide to a Life of Signs, Wonders, and Miracles by Kris Vallotton, and I came accross a great description of healthy Christianity. He says this:

Like the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, this book is dedicated to developing revivalists who make history. My prayer is that these revivalists become:

• Humble, but not harmless
• Honorable, but not suck-ups
• Dependable, but not predictable
• Bold, but not brash
• Holy, but not hobbled
• Patient, but not passive
• Powerful, but not controlling
• Encouraging, without flattering
• Gentle, but not timid
• Modest, but not docile
• Confident, but not cocky
• Steadfast, but not stubborn
• Teachable, but not tame
• Kind, but not benign
• Discerning, but not suspicious
• Confrontational, but not combative
• Tough, but not rigid
• Submissive, but not subdued
• Serious, but not somber
• Risky, yet wise
• Peaceful, but not careless
• Spontaneous, yet prepared
• Giving, yet able to receive
• Transparent, but able to keep a secret
• Extreme, yet balanced
• Spirit-led, but self-controlled
• Submitted to men, but following God

I would encourage you to look over that list again and see if any of the descriptions stick out to you. If one does, commit it to memory and take some time during your day to meditate on it and see how the Holy Spirit might make it a reality in your own life. I've personally been stirred by a few of these today. I find it interresting how the Holy Spirit can use something so simple to show us where we're not in line with the nature of Christ. Let's be a people of genuine repentance who recognize those areas in our lives where sin still exists and take it to the cross to die with Christ so the Holy Spirit can give us new life!

Today I came accross some nuggets of wisdom in one of my all-time favorite books, The Heavenly Man: By Paul Hattaway. It's a biography (written in the first person) of "Brother Yun" who has been instrumental in multiplying and unifying the underground Church in Communist China. Yun has faced imprisonment, severe torture, and ultimately exile over the years; and yet his resolve for Christ stands firm. His life is marked with one miracle and spiritual encounter after the next, and he has the "fruit" in his life to confirm it: thousands of new converts, secret missionary training schools, hundreds of thousands of missionaries who are presently giving their lives for Christ throughout Muslim-dominated countries, and much more.

Anyhow, on pages 296 and 297 of the book, Yun is quoted as saying:

When I'm in the West I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets, and state-of-the-art sound systems. I can assure the Western Church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more posessions will never bring revival. Jesus truly stated, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his posessions." Luke 12:15.

The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord....Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place.

When revival came to the believers in China, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessings too long, and build an altar to your experiences....All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves on your heart you cannot remain silent...

I've seen people in Western churches worshipping as if they're already in heaven. Then someone invariably brings a comforting message like, "My children, I love you. Don't be afraid, I'm with you." I'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a word from the Lord like, "My child, I want to send you to the slums of Asia or the darkness of Africa to be my messenger to people dying in their sin"?

...Just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Often this verse is used as an invitation for salvation, but actually the context Jesus was speaking in was very different. He was standing outside the door of the church in Laodicea, knocking to get in!

I would strongly recommend this book--these paragraphs only scratch the surface of what Yun has to share about his visits to the Western churches (that's us, by the way). Many people in my small group (myself included) have been stirred deeply by the Holy Spirit as they read, and it has revolutionized the way we practice our Christianity. Here's a link to buy it from Amazon.com, which I've found is the best price anywhere.

In summary, 25,000 people come to Christ every day in China alone while we struggle to hold on to the one or two people a year who raise their hands in our church meetings. American churches (in general) have plenty of posessions, rituals, and professionalism, but very little of God's Spirit. It comes as no surprise to me that the economy of China is booming right now while our own dollar is plummeting. We need to return to God as a nation!

I have a great deal of respect and love for all Christian churches because they serve as rallying-points for the saints to worship collectively, receive solid teaching of doctrine, meet other Christ-followers, fund missionary endeavors, organize large-scale community service, and more. Churches as we know them are part of God's plan in mobilizing His people to impact the world.

But there's a problem. At some point these organizations began to define our Christianity rather than the Holy Spirit's activity. The Bible calls us "the Body of Christ." That's an "organism" not an "organization." Organizations are great, but if we miss the inner application that comes from the Holy Spirit, we're nothing more than a moral social club. When it comes down to eternity, Jesus isn't going to ask you what church you attended--He's going to judge you on whether or not you knew Him personally. I should mention, though, that this is not an invitation to go live your own customized brand of faith--fellowship with the "Body of Christ" IS fellowship with Christ, and the Word of God is clear that we need to be with other believers. The problem arises when our definition of "faith" becomes purely horizontal and lacks anything vertical. In other words, it is earth-based rather than heaven-based.

What we're left with is a world who knows Christians as "those people who go to church" rather than "those people who know God." Dr. Bob Roberts, Jr., wrote in his book, Transformation:

The church has been stripped of its influence in the West today, not because it has lost its wealth and position in society--it hasn't--but because the church has lost its credibility. On the whole, we can hardly change ourselves, much less the world. We cannot consistently live the message we herald to the world, but never have we been more effective at religious marketing of products that help us appear as if we are living it. As a result, the growing perception is that the church is religious but not spiritual. It has style but not enough substance.

Unless we make a shift in our mindset from "going to church" to "being the church," we'll just continue to be fake-smiling, suit-wearing, wallet-emptying, song-singing, liturgy-quoting, pie-eating, religious drones who sit in pretty little rows week after week like canned vegetables in the refrigerator--never changing.

Is this what Jesus died for?

Wow! At last night's small group meeting, the 13 of us present encountered a powerful move of God! We started with someone saying how odd it was, while watching a TV documentary, that there was a white-collared Priest (denomination unknown) stating there is no Hell. My friend said, "I can't believe there are people in authority who would be so oblivious to the truth!"

Of course, I saw right away the correlation between this statement and the blog post I made yesterday about true and false prophets. Not only that, but several other people I know have been sensing the Lord speaking about His judgments and the necessity for there to be a "Fear of God" in America today. God is thundering from heaven, and those whose ears are tuned have heard the warning.

But the move of God last night merely started there. Before long, one of the long-time members of our group openly confessed how distant she had been feeling from God. It seemed at first that it was just her problem, but suddenly you could see conviction settling in on the faces of several others of us present.

I said, "I hope this doesn't sound inconsiderate or like I'm just brushing you off, but I think what you're crying out for here is a group-wide issue. You're feeling this way--and many of us are feeling this way too--because we haven't truly been being the Church! We've let you down--we've let each other down. This cry of your heart for the fire of God and the presence of God is not your own--it's His!"

Another person chimed in, "I need to pray more. I haven't been praying at all."

I said, "Well, let's act on that right now and all of us pray...And I want to push you a little and ask if you'd open for us."

What followed was group-wide, passionate prayer and open repentance. People began crying out for God's presence and power. We openly confessed our sins and received the forgiveness of God. We got to watch as the Holy Spirit moved in every person's heart. Even the newest believers in our group were speaking prophetically and praying for the more seasoned Christians. The power of God moved in our midst and stirred us up to action. In fact, we all made a commitment to take action for God's Kingdom this week. We even planned some time when we could go out and minister as a group.

But I don't think this was all a coincidence. Yesterday--after writing yesterday's blog post--someone sent me the following article from Charisma Magazine's editor, J. Lee Grady. I steadfastly believe that the events of last night and the similar happenings at my church on Sunday are the direct result of the 21-day fast called for in this article. Read the article and see if you don't see the correlations. Hundreds, and perhaps even thousands of Christians are fasting and praying right now for revival in America, and I believe we're already reaping the benefits--even though we didn't know about the fast until a few days into it.

I want to encourage you to join me and the many others in entering into this special season of fasting and praying for America. It doesn't matter if you're late joining--what matters is that you care enough to join at all.

God bless you as you join us in seeking God for more movements like the one I shared above! I pray that His power will move in your own churches and small groups even more powerfully than He did in ours!
________________________________________________

A DESPERATE CRY for REVIVAL in 2008
-by J. Lee Grady.

...Never in my 15 years at Charisma have I known a time of such intense spiritual turbulence. God is shaking everything that can be shaken, including our Christian colleges, our megachurches and our most prominent ministries.

At a time when a U.S. senator is investigating the financial practices of six well-known preachers, I sense that God has taken out His holy plumb line to conduct His own detailed inspection of every church and ministry in this country. He wants to unleash a nationwide revival, but He must bring His correction first.

These are desperate times that require desperate measures. That is why I have joined with the Awakening America Alliance to call for a solemn 21-day fast that runs from January 1-21. Here’s a list of the things I’m praying for during the next three weeks:

1. The fear of God. Holiness was so tangible among early Christians that false prophets were blinded and greedy liars fell over dead. As a result of God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, “great fear came over the whole church” (Acts 5:11, NASB).

Where is this sense of “shock and awe” today? How can Christians be so cavalier about divorce or so flippant about adultery? How can television preachers sleep at night after robbing God’s people with manipulative fundraising appeals?

We celebrate His mercy but ignore His severity. We need a thunderclap from heaven and a display of Elijah’s fire to remind a wayward church that God will not be mocked.

2. Integrity and purity in the church. Our movement hit rock-bottom in October when charismatic pastor Donnie Earl Paulk of Atlanta announced to his stunned congregation that a DNA test had proved he is not the nephew of Bishop Earl Paulk but is in fact his son.

That such unspeakable depravity was permitted to thrive for decades at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is an indictment against the elder Paulk and all leaders who refused to challenge his behavior when they first learned about it years ago.

This and other recent religious scandals have so tarnished our credibility that we have become a curious freak show. Many unbelievers now associate ministers with wife-swapping, wife- beating, no-fault divorce, gay affairs and $10,000-a-night hotel rooms. We need a Holy Ghost housecleaning.

3. A return to evangelism. In the 1970s we were less sophisticated but so much more zealous for Jesus. We handed out tracts and witnessed to everyone. Sharing our faith was the priority. Yet most people in churches today have never led anyone to Christ.

We are no longer contagious. Spirit-filled believers spend more time chasing “financial breakthroughs” than lost souls. We have rejected sacrifice and compassion and embraced a counterfeit gospel that produces bored, selfish spectators.

4. Godly leadership. As we head into an election season it’s obvious that our nation is facing a leadership crisis. But this leadership vacuum is not just in the political arena. Many of our spiritual fathers have disappointed us, either by their own moral failures or by their refusal to confront sin.

I pray that God does not give us the president we deserve in 2008. If we cry out for mercy, perhaps He will upset the current slate of candidates and put someone in the White House who can model Christian integrity. May He also give us spiritual shepherds who care more for the flock than for the crowd’s applause.

5. A national spiritual awakening. There were seasons in America’s past when sinners became so convicted of their sins that they collapsed under the weight of their guilt. During the days of revivalists George Whitefield and Charles Finney, huge waves of conversions led to a widespread transformation of society. Drunks became sober, prison inmates sang hymns, stingy business owners stopped oppressing their workers, atheists surrendered their unbelief and rebellious children returned to faith.

Can such a movement happen again? It must or our country will descend into its darkest hour. I urge you to join me in this solemn fast. Pray with desperation for the five topics outlined here. We can’t settle for anything less than a heavenly visitation.

~J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
SOURCE: http://www.charismanews.com/

One of the signs that God reveals through His people is the raising of the dead, and it's happening all over the world right now. Surprised?

I just watched a video of Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding California; and in it, he said something that gripped me: "Why did Jesus raise the dead? Because not everyone who dies dies in God’s timing….It’s time we adjust our theology to be consistent with the person of Jesus Christ. He messed up every funeral He attended, including His own."

Why do we in the church just explain death away? "Oh, it must have been God's will." Instead, we should be pursuing God for radical demonstrations of power in the earth! I'm sure there are a million reasons why God sometimes doesn't raise the dead even after prayer, but that should not deter us. God is a person and He is sovereign, but He invites us to reason with Him. In the Scriptures, we see Moses reasoning with God and convincing Him to relent from the judgment of death He had decreed:

Exodus 32:9-14--"I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' " Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened (NIV, emphasis added).

This is the kind of reasoning I'm talking about. My time spent in that atheist forum was eye-opening. I saw people crying out for a sign and no sign was given them. No matter how many testimonies I shared, it wasn't enough. No matter how much credible evidence I offered, they found a loophole to shoot it down. What these atheists need is not evidence, but rather first-hand experience! We, the Church, need to be demonstrating the power of God--not just in our churches, but in the market place! Why? Because the atheists won't come to your church!

Christians all over the world are demonstrating the power of God no matter where they go. It's happening in America too, but far less frequently. Whether you (like me) are a person who looks for opportunities to demonstrate God's power or you fit the status quo of mediocre Christianity, we need to collectively repent as a nation for our overall apathy toward the Great Commission that Jesus gave us.

Let's go into all the world! Let's heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons! Let's prophesy, work miracles, and free the oppressed in the name of Jesus! And let's do the more practical things too--feed the hungry, care for the widows and orphans, give to the poor, and care for the stranger! And let's do all of it in the name of Jesus!

This world needs to see a movement of Christians who are demonstrating the love and power of God--not just some isolated instances and anecdotal evidence. Let's BE the Body of Christ and truly reveal Him in America!

The Atheism Debate Continued...

Well, I spent all day participating in the discussion that ensued from my post on the atheism forum (mentioned in my last post), and a lot of great support for Christianity was shared. Nevertheless, it's impossible to convert people with words alone--even Jesus knew enough to put action to His words.

And that brings me to the last post I made on this forum. It was made in response to one of the people who finally seemed to accept my argument but still refused to embrace my convictions. Anyhow, I want to share it here becuase it is further proof that we as Christians need to be active in the world. I want to encourage you to step out in faith. Don't just share your faith in words--take a risk and see if the Holy Spirit will work through you supernaturally!

------------------------------

One last post...

"J" said: "A real, true, believing Christian, as we know, can heal the sick. It's one of the signs of such a person. Yet there are hospitals and clinics and homes around the world full of sick people."

You're right. Point taken. But this only proves the low activity of Christians, not the lack of our existence or of God's.

"J" said: "Where are all these Christians you seem to think are all over the place? How are they spending their spare time? Why not just donate an hour and so, and clean out the local oncology ward of their local hospital?"

You're right again. In countries like China, these Christians are constantly spending as much time as possible spreading the gospel and working miracles (including while they're in prison). In America, sadly, this is less common--partly because the Christians at large are lazy and partly because of the overall lack of faith.

In Mark chapter 6, Jesus found Himself in a location full of people with very little faith. It states, "He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith." Therefore, the operation of miracles is not 100% dependent on the Christian but also on the potential recipient. I'll take responsibility for my own occasional inaction, but I can't be accountable for the lack of faith in others.

"J" said: "Are you a "real Christian?" You seem to make that claim. Then what are you doing fiddling away your time here, when you have a gift that could spare others misery, pain, and sorrow? Why aren't you out healing the sick, instead of proselytizing?"

Point taken. I hope this doesn't sound cheesy and fake, but you've inspired me to "get back out there" and continue doing the things I've been sharing in this forum. Nevertheless, I don't consider this a waste of time--your eternal destiny is a lot more important than somebody's earthly comfort. Sorry if that sounds heartless--I just want you to know that you and the others in this forum are not a waste of time.

"J" said: "Does your God actually credit you more with preaching, rather than actually helping people? That, to me, is hardly an admirable attribute. Either in you, or your God."

Actually, in God's sight, preaching is helping people. What could be more helpful than trying to show a handful of people a life-saving truth? If we were in a plane together that was in an unrecoverable tailspin, and I knew about a stash of parachutes, it would be heartless and wrong of me to wander the cabin healing stomach aches instead of helping you all into parachutes. Is it better for us all to die comfortably or to escape destruction and then deal with improving the quality of life? It makes more sense to deal with the eternal issue first so that we're secure no matter what happens.

Furthermore, the purpose of preaching is not to spin my wheels but to plant seeds in your hearts that you might remember one day when it matters. And those seeds are meant to multiply (according to the Bible) so that there are even more people out there healing the sick and so forth. I can't do it on my own, but a whole group of us certainly could! I invite you all to explore real Christianity a little deeper because I'm convinced that you all have a purpose and a destiny for which you were created.

Again, thanks, everyone, for a lively debate. I hope to meet you in heaven one day!
--Art--