Does God "Show Up" or is He Omnipresent?

I was asked this question recently (not an exact quote): "What do we mean by God 'showing up' isn't He with us all the time?"

That's a good question. I hope I can dignify it with a good answer.

The Omnipresence of God

One of the basic teachings on the nature of God is that God is omnipresent. That's a compound word from "omni" a Latin word meaning "all,"  and present (meaning exactly what it means); so omnipresent means all-present, or (clearer English) present everywhere. Not only is God present everywhere, He is everywhere there is, all at the same time. This is one of the ways God is not like us, nor anything else in creation. There are many passages of Scripture that teach this. I'll mention two here.

Psalm 139 demonstrates this truth:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Ps. 139:7–8)

As does Jeremiah 23:23-24:

“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:23–24)  

We cannot hide from God because He is everywhere. At the same time, wherever we go, we can be assured that God is already there.

The doctrine of God's omnipresence might sound a bit terrifying for those who are in rebellion against Him, but a great comfort to those who are serving Him, who are His children.

Once asserted, the truth about God's omnipresence would seem to silence any discussion about God "showing up." I mean, He didn't really "show up" because He was already here/there, right? This seems to be a matter of simple logic that if God already is somewhere, He can't go there. As I am writing this in my study, I'm in my study. It would not make any sense to say that although I already am in my study, I'm "showing up" in my study now. It's pretty simple. Right?

Yet God Does Come, Appear, "Show Up" in the Bible

In Genesis 3:8, after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we read this: 

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Gen. 3:8)

Apparently, (or at least most Bible scholars agree) it was God's custom to take a walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He was always there, nothing was hid from Him (as it says in the passages above), and yet He seems to "show up" with them to go for a walk.

In Deuteronomy 12 God tells His people about the uniqueness of the tabernacle (later it was replaced by the temple). The people were to bring their offerings and sacrifices there, not just anywhere. In verse 7 we read this:

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. (Deut. 12:7)

God is everywhere, but if that's true, He seems to be especially present in His tabernacle (later temple). In fact, God appeared in a special way to Moses on the mountain to tell him these things (and much more, of course). The pillars of cloud and fire were said to be the Lord guiding them (Ex. 13:21, e.g.).

One of the most dramatic examples of the Lord "showing up" is in 2Chronicles 7 at the dedication of the temple of Solomon:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2Chron. 7:1–3)  

This is to say nothing of the numerous times God appears to people, or of angels who stand in the presence of God--I could go on, but I think I made my point. The Bible talks about the omnipresence of God, but also talks about His presence on certain occasions, and makes no apology for asserting both truths. Is it a dilemma, a paradox, or what?

God's General Presence and Special Presence

One way of thinking about this to resolve the apparent contradiction is to consider God's omnipresence as a sort of general presence, and these other occasions as instances of God's special presence. 

Imagine a family patriarch or matriarch sitting in a chair in a living-room full of family members. Imagine everything is going well, and this patriarch or matriarch is enjoying the get-together immensely, though up until now has remained silent, simply enjoying the laughter and fun. Now imagine that patriarch or matriarch in the middle of a conversation, standing ready to speak. All eyes turn to him or her and the conversation stops. What just happened? He or she was already in the room, but now his or her presence fills it in a new way. Grandpa or Grandma was there, but now something else about them, some purpose or awareness "shows up," and all sense it.

In a similar way, though God is always and everywhere present, sometimes He seems to get up out of His chair (so to speak), and we notice. In fact, we may not have noticed God's presence before but now we do. We may even say "God just showed up." He was always there, and in a general sense, we may all know that. But now, something happened to draw our awareness toward Him.

A simple answer to the puzzle would be to simply assert that our experience of God "showing up," is merely a subjective matter. That is, He always was "in the room" it's just that we now experience that more clearly. That's a real possibility. This is Jacob's response to the place where he used a rock for a pillow, when God "showed up" in a dream about a stairway to heaven (Gen. 28:17). I suppose that many times this is true.

But that doesn't seem to fit the entire picture in the Bible. There are times when God's presence seems to be intensified, as during the dedication of the temple (as noted above). In those cases, God's presence is intensified and unmistakable. It's sort of like always being in the room, but standing up in order to be noticed because He has something important to say, do, or demonstrate.

Does God Still "Show Up" at Our Meetings?

I've heard the idea of God "showing up" referred to as something silly, since God is always at our meetings, in fact Jesus promised "Where two or three come together..." (Matt. 18:20). So God is present in our meetings, perhaps in more than the general sense of God's omnipresence, but in some special sense, whether we know it or not. Right?

Well yes! That's right! Now, Jesus isn't actually talking about gathering for worship in that passage, He's probably talking about people coming together in agreement (perhaps after resolving conflict-check the context). But I do think it applies in the sense we usually quote this verse as well: whenever and wherever we gather in His Name. We even have the promise at the end of Matthew that He is with us always and forever with us (28:20).

Yet, there seems to be times, from at least a subjective perspective, when God's presence seems more real, more obvious, easier to experience. I am willing to grant that this may be entirely subjective, but I would be more comfortable saying that God's Spirit, Who lives within us, opens the eyes of our hearts so that we can know (experience) Him and His goodness more clearly (cf., Eph. 1:7-8). 

In Paul's injunction to keep on being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), the results are authentic worship and authentic relationship (vv.19,ff). But there's something else going on there: being filled. "We already have the Spirit within, so how can we be filled?" one might ask. This looks like yet another example of the general and special special presence of God (this time in the person of the Holy Spirit). But it's not merely subjective; it's not "tuning in" to the Spirit. This is a passive imperative in the Greek text, meaning that this is something that happens to us (passive), that we are instructed to let happen (imperative). We don't do it (subjective), God does it to us. Further, we shouldn't read this as happening merely to individuals, but to people gathered together as the Church.

So yes, the Bible teaches both the omnipresence of God and that God at times seems to, or really does "show up" in our lives and in our meetings. It's not silly or nonsensical to say so, though some assert that it is. Furthermore, it follows the Bible's teaching about God and how He is at work among His people.

God "Turns Up the Volume"

Let me end this blog entry on an entirely subjective note (why not, right?). There have been times when I have experience God's special presence in a way that seemed like God's presence was not only felt, but seemed to intensify as the meeting progressed, or as the personal prayer time continued. It felt like God turned up the volume of His presence. 

This echoes the often heard refrain of many Pentecostals and charismatics: "More, Lord!" A prayer God sometimes (often?) answers by increasing the volume, or intensity of His presence. It's happened too often for me to dismiss as mere wishful thinking, or self-delusion. Too much good stuff happens when God "shows up" in this way: physical/inner healing, prophetic words/visions, supernatural peace/comfort, wonderful and amazing worship, and more!

This is sometimes called "the manifest presence" of God. That is God's presence made known, visible, able to be experienced. But I no longer understand this as sort of an on/off switch, as if God is all here, or not here. In my experience, it's more like a volume level on an audio device. Maybe we 'hear' better and better as we become aware of Him, or maybe He intensifies the manifestation quality of His presence so that we 'hear' better and better. But that's what it's been like for me many, many times.

In some meetings, I think folks get too satisfied with low levels of God's presence, when God is ready to "turn up the volume" even more. I've even been in meetings where God's presence fills the room, hearts are awakened to His presence, people begin to respond to His love and grace, and then we move on to the regular agenda for the meeting. [sigh] To be honest, I've done it myself: I thought I was supposed to. [deeper sigh] I've learned to always ask for more--for God to turn up the volume.

In the stories of revivals and awakenings throughout history, there are so many accounts of the manifest presence of God "taking over" a meeting. I think we should allow it in our meetings too. If all we have to offer the world and each other are truths about God, or moral imperatives from Him, we can expect the yawns and disinterest we get. But if God is among us (1Cor.14:25), then we have something to offer that everyone needs and wants more than anything else (even if they don't realize it) , since the God who "shows up" is amazingly, wonderfully, completely and in every way good.

The Normalcy of the Supernatural

This blog reflects some pondering on my part, not any definite conclusions (but some tentative ones).

Uh... Is This Supposed To Be A Model For Us Too?

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (1Cor. 2:1–5)

We know that Paul went to Corinth after making his famous Mars Hill (Areopagus) speech (Acts 17:16-34). It's the message Paul spoke to a group of philosophers in Athens in which he notes that the Athenians even have an altar to an unknown god. In his speech Paul connects their experience, and even their history and philosophy with the Gospel, building a bridge between their culture and the good news of Jesus. It is artfully done. That speech has been often held up as a model for cross-cultural evangelism. A few churches have even been named after this famous speech.

However, when Paul gets to Corinth, he doesn't do what he did in Athens. One might think that if he was successful in Athens, he might have tried it again in Corinth. And to a degree he did - in the synagogue at least (Acts 18:5). 

And while we don't see in Acts what Paul actually did in Corinth that qualified as a demonstration of the Spirit's power, Paul's words in 1Corinthians suggest that this demonstration of the Spirit's power was more significant to him than his words. In fact, Paul clearly states that he didn't want their faith to rest on wisdom (eloquence, persuasion, words), but on God's power.

Here's my question: What if that's supposed to be a model for us?

We live in a time that is full of words, eloquence and competing wisdoms. Religion is treated often as one option among many for dealing with life's problems. Truth is seen as relative, if not altogether unimportant. A scientific mindset believes nothing that is not empirically verifiable (a view which doesn't stand up to it's own test, but is believed nonetheless). While the term "new age" is almost never used anymore, the concepts still dominate those who are "spiritual but not religious."

A few months back a young man came to our house to do some electrical work. When he found out I was a pastor he said he believed in science. He was a practical guy. If you hook it up right, it works. That's what made sense to him. I let him talk wondering about how to challenge his mindset. A few apologetic arguments came to mind, but I didn't think they'd work on him. So as he was talking I prayed, asking God how to engage this likable and talkative young man.

What came to mind was that he liked evidence, so I gave him some: a man who had a broken forearm, where the radius and ulna were both broken as confirmed by x-ray. But the tissue was too swollen to cast, so he had to wait a few days (Friday to Monday). On Sunday he came for prayer, we prayed. The next day he and his wife came to our house honking their horn; they did a second x-ray (normal procedure), and one bone was not broken, though the other was. (I know that seems bizarre to me too--why one and not the other?)

I also told him of a few other healings I witnessed or participated in, some of which had definite, scientifically verifiable results. His response was "Man. You just rocked my world!"

That is one example of several similar conversations I've had with "pre-Christians." It's amazing what a miracle--a demonstration of the Spirit's power--can do. In the above case, I'm not sure where that young man is. The important thing for this blog is that the recounting for direct evidence of God's power did more than an apologetic repartee was likely to accomplish.

The Big Questions: Is God Real?

50 years ago, it seems like the big question was: Is the Bible true and reliable? People wanted to be convinced of the truth of Scripture, or the truth of Christianity as opposed to competing truths. That's not the big question anymore (at least not in my experience). Nor was it the big question in Paul's day. That means the battle for truth won't win many converts, because that's not where the questions are--it's not where the open doors are. 

The big question about God is: Is He real? Does He exist? How could we know? The failure to come up with a sure-fire argument for the existence of God has led many to conclude that agnosticism (not knowing whether God exists) is the most rational position to take. All the other arguments, whether from design, ethics, universality of religion, etc., don't persuade, because all of them have a way around them. There's always some way for people to rationalize away whatever they don't want to believe.

However, when a verifiable supernatural event happens, there is no argument left. Two x-rays side-by side, don't lie and are not subject to subjective interpretation. A woman whose Achilles tendons are torn, who after prayer can do toe lifts and knee bends is hard to argue against. A woman who leaves her walker behind for the first time in years (with a poor prognosis for ever walking unassisted) is more than "mind over matter."

A physical healing miracle is a pretty powerful persuasive tool in today's world. Yes, this 'argument' can also be resisted, but only at the expense of accepting empirically verifiable evidence as one's standard for truth. 

A physical healing miracle also demonstrates that God cares about us in very specific and observable ways. It's not just a truth to hold on to, it's a truth we can sometimes see with our physical eyes.

If the supernatural is meant to be normal for us and even identify us as followers of Jesus (Mark 16:17-18), then maybe we should put at least as much effort into exploring supernatural ministry as we do exploring careful theology. 

Let me be clear that I'm still on this path of experiment, discovery and understanding. I'm pondering here, but I'm becoming more and more convinced that living a supernatural life-style will do more to advance the Gospel than writing a clever tract, memorizing a evangelistic argument, or hauling someone to church. In fact, if we're not cessationists (those who believe that miracles have ceased), then I wonder whether we can see the supernatural as even optional; either it's not available to us, or it is, and if it is, and if it is God working in our world, who are we to set it aside?

A Good Father (?)

Is God Always Good?

It was recently reported that a father, acting alone, deliberately gave his own child a life-threatening illness that could cause permanent damage to his liver and possibly other internal organs. The child, a well-liked, outgoing, star basketball player, is now in intensive care. When asked why he did it, the father is reported to have said, that his child was in danger of becoming prideful; the illness, he hoped, would teach him humility, and remind him of what is really important in life.

The above story, thankfully, is fictitious. But what do you think should happen to such a father who would do this to his own daughter, or son? I'd say he should be evaluated for psychiatric problems, if not simply jailed on charges of child abuse. Would you agree?

Yet, this is the very thing folks sometimes say about God, when someone gets a deadly illness: "I got sick, because God must be teaching me a lesson."

A few years ago I'd led a group in this responsive declaration: L:"God is good!" P:"All the time!" L: "And All the time," P: "God is good!" (maybe you've heard or done this too). Someone challenged me by saying, sometimes what God brings into our lives isn't good. He then went on to talk about some of the hardships he and his family had faced. I wasn't quick enough then to challenge him in return by reminding him that maybe it wasn't God who was the source of that hardship. But I recognized the perspective. Some of the following is a result of my pondering that discussion.

There are ways of construing the Calvinist idea of Providence, Predestination, or God's Sovereignty that effectively makes God the source of the pain, suffering and hardship of His own children. In my opinion, it takes God's sovereignty too far, attributing to Him what the devil is doing, what a fallen humanity is doing, or what is the result of the fall into sin has done to a perfect creation, or whatever other source of suffering their might be. It can even construe God a responsible party in the sinful behavior of human beings (e.g., "It was God's will that the drunk driver hit my car and put me in the hospital."). The idea that God causes sinful behavior would be vehemently denied by those who assert it, but you can't have it both ways: either God does not cause murderers to kill people, or there are some things that happen that God does not cause to happen.

I grew up within Calvinism and know the mental gymnastics performed to get out of the above conundrum. Such convoluted logical systems never satisfied me, however many times someone might invoke the word "mystery." Something can't be both a cause and not a cause at the same time and in the same way. The argument often sounded to me like this: "God caused it, but God didn't cause it in such a way that He is the cause of it." Huh? That doesn't make sense.

I've come to understand the Bible's teaching on God's sovereignty as it intersects with the evils of this world this way:

All that happens is within God's will, but not all that happens is God's will.

In Romans 8:28 we read "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Notice it does not say that everything that happens to those who love him is good. Nor does it say that whatever happens, it is the best thing that could ever happen to us, once God gets a hold of it. It certainly doesn't say whatever happens to us is God's will. God doesn't kill babies in their sleep (SIDS), give people cancer, or Alzheimer's, blow the legs off of young soldiers, direct the insane to throw their children off of bridges, or any of those things! That's not God our Father's best plan for His children!

What we do read in Romans 8:28 is that whatever happens, God will work it out for good. In other words, no matter what happens to us, no matter it's source, no matter how evil, God will work it out for our benefit. I wouldn't want to use this verse as a sort of "quick-fix" for genuine emotional or physical pain, or anything of that sort. But as a statement it does ring as a promise to hold onto, as the good God will workout of the situation unfolds, often slowly, over time.

Sometimes the good that comes out of it is that those who were the objects of evil behavior become advocates or counselors for others who are. That in no way suggests that God wanted someone to get bullied, beaten up, or raped. It does mean that God will find a way to turn it around for some good. It certainly doesn't mean it will be easy. It just means that (unless we resist Him) God meets us wherever we are and brings us out of brokenness into wholeness; making us stronger in the end than we were before, and perhaps able to be a part of His ministry to heal others who have shattered hearts (cf. Isaiah 61:1).

I don't believe our Father in heaven ever gives His children illness or injury.

God is a Good Father to His Children

In one parable, Jesus compares God to a human father who is asked for bread, or fish. Such a father would not respond to the request with something useless (a stone) or harmful or unclean (a snake). Then he says that since human father's, who are evil, know how to give good things, "...how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). There's that word "good" again. God our Father gives good and perfect gifts (James 1:17); whatever isn't good and perfect isn't from Him.

In Jeremiah 32:40, we read this promise from God "I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them..." This promise is for us. In fact all God's promises are "Yes!" in Christ (2Cor.1:20). This promise tells us of God's character and His plan. He is good! He is good to us! He will never stop doing good to us! I think that makes it pretty clear: if it's not good, it's not from God.

It's certainly true that there is more of God than we can know. But it's also true that what God reveals about Himself to us we can know. God knows how to speak our language. When He says He's good and won't stop doing good, we can take Him at His word, without trying to redefine "good" to include "bad stuff." No! Good means good. God knew what He was saying. He didn't fudge on it or leave room for ambiguity. It's as plain as it could be. If it doesn't fit with our theology, then what should change: our theology, or His word? I trust I don't have to answer that for you.

Some might suggest that if there are things that happen here that God isn't doing, then I feel less secure or certain. Okay. I get that. If God controls and is the source of everything that happens, then I can rest easy. It would be nice (though we still would have to figure out how to talk about sinful behavior, etc.). The bigger issue though is that it's not what the Bible teaches.

But I've got good news for you: the devil may be active, people may do bad things, creation may be disordered enough to give illness, earthquakes, tornadoes and the like, but God promises that whatever comes at you, He can turn to your good. I also believe that nothing can happen that will thwart His ultimate plans or purposes for you or all of humanity.

But doesn't God chasten His Children? Yes He does. Hebrews 12:5-13  reaffirms that truth. Notice what's going on here though. In this passage the author, in the context of resistance to living faithfully before God, perhaps persecution against the church, encourages us to endure whatever happens as discipline. Further the term for discipline here means to train, instruct, correct (it doesn't mean punish). That is, endure it as if through it God were training you to become a better person. In other words it's saying the same thing as Romans 8:28: whatever happens, God will make you a better person out of it.

Now, if we sin against Him, there is another kind of discipline that comes (for example, 1Cor.11:32). In these cases, God seems to withdraw His protective covering over us so that we get a taste for the reality we are living out of when we sin. But He only does that in a way that He knows we will ultimately be driven back to Him. Let me put it another way: if we begin walking away from Him, at some point He let's us go, so that we'll find out how dumb that was and run back to Him. There may be painful consequences to our choice to walk away from Him, but He will limit even that to what He can turn into something to ultimately benefit us!

Those Who Seek Him Find Him

An often quoted and well known promise taught in Scripture is that those who seek God find Him. Sometimes the phrase "with all your hearts" is added to the seeking side of the statement.

This Is a Conditional Statement

One of the places we find this promise is found in 2Chronicles 15:2: "If you seek Him, He will be found by you." Now, that is a conditional statement right?: If A, then B (as a logician would put it). If the condition in the "if" clause is met, the result in the "then" will occur. For example, if you drop a bowling ball on your toe, then it will hurt. In this case the "if" clause is about dropping a bowling ball on your toe. If that condition is met, then the result will occur: "it will hurt."

Okay, silly example, but you get the point. In the same way that gravity guarantees the outcome in the conditional statement about the bowling ball and the toe, God guarantees the outcome in the conditional statement about seeking Him; namely, that we would find Him. I trust we would agree with that.

Let's also be clear that God is sometimes found by those who aren't seeking Him at all! One obvious example is Paul on the road to Damascus. Sometimes God may simply surprise us and 'show up' when we're not expecting (looking for) Him at all. These are delightful surprises! And I trust that we understand that when this happens, it does not negate the conditional statement any more than my toe hurting, when a bowling ball was not involved negates that other statement.

As an aside, We have another promise that if we confess, He forgives (1John 1:9). This is a promise. But it does not mean that He only forgives, if we confess, anymore than my toe would only hurt, if I dropped a bowling ball on it! God, in His grace through Jesus, forgives us completely, even of sins we are not aware of, or forget we even committed. Who could ever be sure you didn't miss one! Thank God for His grace! Amen?

So, What Is the Promise?

Let me begin to answer this question, by saying what is not being promised here. We are not promised that if we seek Him, we will find information about Him (though we will). We are not promised that if we seek Him, we will find salvation (though that's likely). We are not promised that if we seek Him, we will find some vague, spiritual experience (as if that would mean something). We are not promised that if we seek Him, we will find an assurance of His love (though we will). We are not promised that if we seek Him, we will find some sort of personal, ethical and spiritual transformation (though that's very probable too).

What we are promised is that if we seek Him, we will find Him. That is, if we seek God, we will find God Himself. We are promised a direct experience and encounter with the living God!

Don't ever believe anyone who tells you that experience isn't important, or doesn't matter in the Christian life. The Bible promises us many experiences, including this one; An experience of God Himself, if we go looking for Him.

We Only Seek What We Expect to Find

I have not spent any time today looking for uranium deposits in the bottom of my shoes. I don't expect to find uranium there, or anywhere around here. It's possible I might find uranium someday, but to find it would require a Geiger-counter, or something like that, since I wouldn't know how to find it any other way.

I did not go looking for gold to fall from the sky in the last rain storm either. Theoretically, it may be possible (if there were a massive volcanic eruption nearby, and other unlikely circumstances conspired together in exactly the right way), but I doubt it. I probably won't go looking after the next rainfall either.

If we don't expect to find God, we won't go looking for Him. If all we expect to find is information about Him (from the Bible, for instance), or salvation, or some vague, spiritual experience, or some assurance of His love, or some sort of ethical and spiritual transformation, that's what we can expect to find. If we somehow believe that it is as likely to find God Himself as it is to find uranium in my shoes, or gold falling from the sky, then we wouldn't consider looking for Him - even if we used the words that suggested that we were seeking Him.

In the same way, if we only believe that we can experience God after we die, or after the Lord returns, we won't look for Him before then, nor expect to find Him while we're still breathing. Is it possible to find God? Is it possible that God Himself could be found by us, if we go looking for Him? Is it possible to find Him before we get to heaven?

Want to know the Bible's answer to that question? The answer is "Yes!" In fact, in 2Chronicles 15:15 we read this about the people of Judah: "They sought God eagerly, and He was found by them." In fact, in the Hebrew language "was found" is in the imperfect tense, meaning that this was not a one-time event. It kept on happening. They kept on finding Him!

Not Like Instant Coffee in the Microwave

One final note about this promise, we are not promised that we will find Him as soon as we begin seeking. In our culture, we don't like to wait. We tap our toes impatiently waiting for the microwave to heat up our instant coffee! We get frustrated at the grocery store, if the line is longer than 3 people. And on and on. We don't like to wait. We want and expect instant answers, instant results.

But seeking is an action that takes time. It is not "glance for Him, and there He'll be" (though sometimes it really can be that easy!). That's not the promise. To seek something or someone is to go searching, like the shepherd for the lost sheep (Luke 15:4), or the woman for the lost coin (Luke 15:8). It takes both time and effort. There is a period of time between beginning to search and finding (usually).

Maybe some give up, or change their theology, because they sought God for a day, a week, or a season, didn't find Him, and concluded He can't be found - at least not in this life. There are those who have searched for lost loved ones for years, and didn't give up and eventually found them. If the promise is sure (and I believe it is), and doesn't require us to reinterpret what it says to fit our experience so far (and I don't believe it does), then one thing we can be sure of: if we keep seeking, we will surely find Him. If it takes minutes, hours, days, or years, if we seek Him, we will find Him.

What Do We Expect to See?

Maybe our Father in heaven does like to play "hide-and-seek" with His children. Sometimes I really think He does. God wants us to find Him in places we haven't thought to look before.

But for those who have never found Him, is that a satisfying answer? Probably not. For those who have not yet found God Himself--had a direct experience of Him--God wants to be found. In this case, we can only find Him, if we take off whatever blinders, or filters we have. If we believe a lie about Who God is, or how He may be found, or what it would be like to find Him, etc., we don't know it's a lie, until the lie is exposed as a lie. Those lies will blind us to what is right in front of us, or filter out those things that would expose the lie as a lie. 

I'm convinced many people don't find God, because they don't see Him when He actually is present. 

I remember driving down a road in the Dominican Republic that I had driven on dozens of times before. But on this day, a tree was in full bloom, with brilliant red flowers. It was a very large tree. I had driven that road many times, but had never noticed something that was always there. One day I didn't see it, the next I did. After I saw it, I wondered how I had ever missed such a large tree - especially because it was in the middle of a field with nothing else around it. Once I saw it, I noticed it every time I drove that road.

In the same way, many people don't see God when He is present, even if they want to, because they aren't looking for Him the way He actually comes. He doesn't always come with brilliant red flowers, like that tree. He sometimes comes in the way Elijah recognized Him: as a gentle as a whisper (1Kings 19:12). He may come with a smile to those who expect Him to be stern. He may come with a laugh for those who expect Him to be angry. He may come with open arms, to those who expect Him to comes with arms folded and toe tapping impatiently. He may come as a dad, to those looking for regal, kingly, awesome, breath-taking brilliance.

If we seek Him, we will find Him, but we may need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened (Ephesians 1:18) in order to be able to see Him and all He has for us. In our seeking, we should also pray for eyes to see, what we cannot yet see. And we should pray believing that Jesus still opens the eyes of the blind.

David Anointed -- Yet Waiting

David: a Lesson in Preparation and Struggle

The Man of God's Choosing

David is anointed king in place of Saul in 1Samuel 16:13. He is chosen because God had rejected Saul as king and had chosen a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people (from 1Samuel 13:14). Saul had failed many tests of faithfulness to God, the failure in 1Samuel 13 is just one of many. The final straw comes in 1Samuel 15, when Samuel fails to carry out God's explicit instructions because (as he says) I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them (from 1Samuel 15:24). There's another lesson about there, but I'll pass that one by for now and return to David.

David is the man God chooses (1Samuel 16:1, 12), in fulfillment of Samuel's statement that God would choose a man after his own heart (1Sam 16:13, see also Acts 13:22). There's an interesting question here: what does it mean that David is a man after God's own heart? There are two possibilities:* 1) God chooses David because God is in David's heart. 2) God chooses David because David is in God's heart.

It is very, very difficult to decide on one interpretation to the exclusion of the other. There is a hint in 1Samuel 16:7, when God says to Samuel Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. And certainly David exhibited over and over again, his devotion to the Lord the rest of his life. On the other hand David, at times, really, really messes up, even to the point of getting another man's wife pregnant and then killing him to cover it up (2Samuel 11).

Maybe the answer is both. David is in God's heart and God is in David's. God both knows David's character, and God, by the power of His Spirit shapes his character. It's the old Calvinist/Arminian debate all over again: Does God choose us because we choose Him, or do we choose Him because He first chose us? Why don't we answer the mystery by simply saying "Yes." (I better stop there, before I get in some real trouble with my Calvinist friends - and my Arminian friends!)

David is just a boy when Samuel anoints him and he is empowered by the Spirit - probably about 14 or 15 years old (a guess based on other chronologies in 1Samuel). Unlike Joshua, also empowered by the Spirit to lead following Moses (Deut. 34:9), David has no prior experience leading anything but sheep (as far as we know). David was not commander of the army, as Joshua was. He was not an aid to any leader, as Joshua was with Moses. As far as we know, unlike Joshua, he did not spend extended time at the tent of meeting (the Tabernacle). He's just a shepherd boy who really hasn't done anything to earn this. He is unqualified to lead.

Yet God tells Samuel to anoint him anyway, and when he does from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power (from 1Sam 16:13). This coming in power can mean that the Spirit came on David in a way that was powerful enough for others to notice. In fact, this would be a reasonable assumption, since someone would have had to have noticed that it was on this day that this all began for David. But it probably means something more like that the Spirit came and empowered David. Whenever the Spirit comes upon someone in power in the Old Testament, the result is always empowered action (for example: Judges 15:14; 1Samuel 10:10; 11:6).

Empowered to Worship

So what does David do, when the Spirit comes on him in power? We don't know. What we do know is that after some intervening period, David becomes known as a skilled musician (1Samuel 16:18). It's very likely that something happened after David, perhaps still dripping with the oil of his anointing, went back to tend the sheep.

At some point in David's life, he begins to write the Psalms we have in our Bible. Though I can't point to a specific Scripture reference that ties this together with the empowerment by the Spirit that happened when Samuel anointed him, the recognition of his musical gifting in the verses immediately following this event strongly suggest it.

David, who may have played the harp long before Samuel ever shows up on the scene, and perhaps even composed some songs of praise to the Lord, as he played and sang on the hillsides with the sheep, becomes known by at least one person living 8 to 9 miles away (the rough distance from Bethlehem to Gibeah) as a musician worthy to play in the king's court.

What I do know is this: anointed worshipers are recognized as gifted by others. Even if they are only or merely attracted to the music. There's something special that happens when the Spirit inspires someone as they compose and sing praise to God. I believe the human spirit recognizes something there that resonates inside - at least that's been my experience.

Regardless of that one of Saul's servants says this about David: the Lord is with him (1Sam 16:18). Besides knowing how to play the harp, being brave, tactful, and good-looking, the servant recognizes that the Lord is with him. Already, David is known for God's presence in his life. For now (at least) Saul likes him very much (1Sam 16:21).

The wonderful thing about what happens next is that we find out that David's music has spiritual power. Whenever Saul was tormented by an evil spirit David played his harp and the evil spirit would leave Saul (1Sam 16:23). This is remarkable! As far as I know, this is the only time an evil spirit is cast out in the Old Testament and it happens by David playing his harp (and singing?). Later (probably) David would write in Psalm 8:2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. Praise is a powerful spiritual force!

Empowered to Rule

The most obvious and explicit result of David's anointing is that he is anointed to be king. This is why Samuel went to him in the first place.

So David receives his anointing by Samuel, the Spirit comes upon him in power and . . . And what? David isn't king. At least not yet. There is a long period of waiting between his anointing and being released into the purpose of his anointing. For David it's 14-15 years.

What he will not do is use his anointing as an reason to usurp the throne. He refuses to understand his own anointing apart from Saul's anointing. Saul was anointed king. And even though God had already said that he would take the kingdom of Israel from him, David did not understand that to mean it was David's job to make that happen.

Let me speak to my charismatic and Pentecostal friends here for a moment. When God gives His anointing and empowers by the Spirit, He may not be in the same breath releasing us into the ministry He anoints and empowers us for. It may take a long, long time for the purpose of our anointing to be realized. It is not our job to rush God, or rush circumstances, in order to help God's anointing along (I'm not talking about not doing something God clearly tells you to do, that is confirmed by other Spirit-filled believers.)  

Further (still speaking to my charismatic and Pentecostal friends), your anointing doesn't negate nor usurp anyone else's anointing - even if God has clearly said they have disqualified themselves! Honor the anointing, even if the person holding it isn't worthy of it. This is what David did, over and over again with Saul - even when Saul was actively trying to kill him. Don't usurp authority. Don't. Just don't.

David's anointing and empowerment here seems to be in large part preparatory. As I said before, as far as we know, unlike Joshua, David had no experience leading anything but sheep. God would not thrust him into a position he was unprepared for. His character would be shaped and strengthened through the next 14-15 years.

David, empowered by the Spirit becomes a not only a worshiper but also a warrior. He will soon accept Goliath's challenge to a duel - and defeat him. He will lead Saul's army until Saul becomes jealous of him. Then he will lead an army of no-accounts and social rejects and make them into a mighty force for Israel's good. He is going to have a life of struggle and hardship.

Even after he becomes king, he will struggle. During almost his entire reign he'll be in conflict with someone. If it's not the Philistines or other Canaanite people, it's other Israelites, or even his own son, God anointed him and empowered him to be king, but he had to fight his whole life to have what God gave him. 

Chosen to Be the Forebear of Jesus

Among the things God chose him for was probably the most important thing imaginable, and David probably had no idea what it meant.

David, now established in Jerusalem, with a palace of his own, is offended by the fact that he is living in a beautiful palace, while God's presence is still in a tent. He seems offended by the honor gap between what he has and what God has. He decides to do something about it: build a palace for the true king of Israel (the Hebrew word for palace is the same as the word used for temple).

God has another idea:

The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2Sam. 7:11b–13)

David wasn't the man to build the temple. It wasn't his anointing. His offspring would to that. His immediate offspring was Solomon. But it's Jesus who is the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to him.

David's anointing went far beyond his imagination, far beyond his lifetime. His anointing was ultimately inherited by Jesus, the anointed one. And, by the way, the Hebrew word for anointed one is Messiah.

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* Though we could easily and rightly say that David was after God's heart, in the sense of pursuing or seeking God, this phrase, in the original language, can't be translated that way.

Lessons from the story of Samson

Today, I'm going to expand on a previous Facebook post in which I wrote this:

The story of Samson teaches at least these four lessons:
1)     God protects and rescues the undeserving.
2)     God uses people for His purposes, even if they are moral failures.
3)     Just because God protects, rescues or uses you in mighty and powerful ways, this does not mean He approves of your lifestyle.
4)     Even after our greatest failure, God is not finished with us. 

I'll take them one by one:

God Protects and Rescues the Undeserving

Israel had walked away from God (Judges 2:10-11)

After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.

As Israel was adjusting from the life of nomads to the life of a landed people, they were surrounded by a world of people experienced successful agricultural practices and technologies. That world had a powerful affect on them (as ours does on us). Without their own experience of God and His power, they drifted into the atmosphere that surrounded them.

But let's face it: it's hard to live on inherited testimony. It's hard to remain faithful to a God, Who, in our experience, seems absent, and distant; Who only exists in the memory of those who have since died.

God handed them over to the people they admired and the protection of gods they followed (Judges 2:14):

In his anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.

They forsook Him and He let them go. But He did not forsake them. When they turned back and cried out to Him He sent deliverers (Judges 2:16):

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.

They weren't judges in the way we think of them in court rooms where "all rise" when the enter the room. They were leaders sent to administer God's justice on the oppressors of His people.

They didn't deserve to be rescued. They deserved the consequences of their own unfaithfulness. But God in His mercy, and faithfulness to His promises to their forebears, rescued them anyway.

The next time you see a drug addict, a street punk, a thief, murderer, or sex criminal, remember God rescues the undeserving. The next time you look in the mirror and remember something terrible you did, perhaps even hurting someone beyond what anyone (even you) could ever accept, remember: God rescues the undeserving.

God Uses People for His Purposes, Even if They Are Moral Failures.

Samson is known for two things (outside of children's Sunday School lessons, at least!): his physical strength and his moral weakness.

The first thing we are told Samson did after the Spirit began to stir in him (Judges 13:25), is marry to a foreign woman (or at least try to) - a direct and flagrant violation of the law of Moses (Deut. 7:3). How could God possibly be in this!

Yet God was in this. Let the moralists beware! What we read next in the book of Judges, when Samson's parents object to his choice, is not an endorsement of Samson's parents' correctness, but something unexpected (Judges 14:4):

(His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

God is actually using Samson's weakness for women to accomplish His purposes through Samson. This will not be the last time. In chapter 16, Samson spends half the night with a prostitute, before walking off with the city gate. Then he'll get in real trouble with another foreign woman: Delilah (more on her later).

Though Samson was a moral failure in many ways, God still used him. He still empowered him by His Spirit. God still worked through him, sometimes in spite of, and sometimes because of his moral weakness.

This should set aside every argument that would dismiss the ministry, or writings of any small church pastor, to big-time Christian 'celebrity' who has fallen into sin, or been discovered to have been living a life of sin. God did work through Samson while he was morally weak, while he was living a sinful life. God works through people, despite our moral objections that they should be disqualified from such a distinction. (Thankfully, God does not work only through the qualified.)

Let me suggest that the same could be said of people with bad theology. Just because I believe that someone's theology in a certain area is bad, doesn't mean that God won't use them, or isn't using them. This goes for evangelism, as well as "power ministry." I have some real problems with the theology of some of the people I see on TV, or read about. But that does not give me license to dismiss their ministry, nor the fact that God is working through them. (Just to be clear: I'm not talking about the kind of theological error that puts someone outside the Christian faith.)

Just Because God Protects, Rescues or Uses You in Mighty and Powerful Ways, This Does Not Mean He Approves of Your Lifestyle.

This is the corollary to the previous lesson. If God can (and does) use moral failures, even while they are failing morally, the fact that God is in your life doing great things does not mean He approves of your lifestyle (or your theology!). 

The assumption that God only works through the worthy, relates to those doing ministry as well as those receiving it. So if I have a greedy streak in me, or have a habit of gossip, or tend to be judgmental, or have an addiction to alcohol, or porn, or engage in domestic violence, or like to read certain kinds of literature or watch certain kinds of movies or TV programs, but despite that, God uses me to bring others to Christ, or to heal the sick, cast out demons, cleans the lepers and raise the dead, this doesn't mean God approves of everything in my heart. [Sorry for the really, really long sentence there!]

You and I are not exempt from self-deception. One kind of deception is self-justified sinfulness (who's it going to hurt? what's the big deal? I'm no worse than..., etc.). One of those self-deceptions is right here: if God is using me anyway, it must be okay - at least for me, for now. The devil could be a million miles away, and we could still fall for that one. Our "flesh" doesn't like to submit to God. It will come up with all sorts of excuses to delay or refuse such submission. 

Nor does His work in you or through you means He approves of your theology (understanding of Who God is, and how He works in this world). You could be dead wrong about baptism, or spiritual gifts, or the place of women in church and home, or the church's response to homosexuals, or whether God saves primarily by His choice (Calvinism), or ours (Arminianism). Samson took full credit for killing the 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:16), when it was God Who empowered him to do it (Judges 15:14). That's bad theology (and hubris).

When God works in us and through us it is because He is gracious, not because we are deserving. It may have more to do with God's desire to bless others, than anything to do with us.

Even After Our Greatest Failure, God Is Not Finished With Us. 

Samson failed with Delilah. He stupidly disclosed the secret of his strength and suffered a terrible and humiliating defeat. The consequences of all of his dalliances finally caught up with him. On the one hand we feel for him, on the other we shake our heads and wonder why something like this didn't happen sooner. He gets what he deserves: he's taken out; no longer Israel's leader/judge. It's about time.

How many thousands of times since Samson have church or other leaders fallen into sin, or been discovered to have been living a life of sin? How many times has that been the end of their leadership? In the church, especially, we have been quick to judge the sin, but slow to restore the sinner - especially when the sinners are leaders. They have disqualified themselves.

At least, we do that for certain sins. Sins like arrogance, judgmentalism, even greed, go unchecked. But if the leader is found in some sexual sin (as was Samson), then the door becomes forever closed. Even spousal abuse can be forgiven, and a man restored to leadership, after some counselling. But if he is discovered having slept with a woman other than his wife, he cannot.

There is some truth here, in that it takes a lot of time and effort to rebuild trust in a leader, once that trust is broken. I will not dispute that, nor suggest that the process be short-circuited in any way. Doing so would be another violation of trust!

However, permanent disqualification does not seem to be God's response, neither to Samson, nor David, nor Peter. Genuine sorrow for sin, true repentance, and authentic dependence on God's mercy seem to be enough for God to restore someone to their calling.

If you have sinned (ever), then genuine sorrow for sin, true repentance and authentic dependence on God's mercy is what you need to be restored. The same is true for your sister or brother who has sinned publicly, perhaps as a leader. The same is true for you, if you were the one who sinned publicly, or whose private sin became publicly known. Such have not permanently disqualified themselves/ourselves.

The God of grace still has grace greater than our sin.

It takes a transformed life to transform lives.

I haven't written in a while and wanted to take up this blog again. 

It takes a transformed life to transform lives.

The trouble with the status quo (a critique):

We (in the church) spend a great deal of effort on education, training, giving/receiving advice, studying the Bible, etc., that refine our thinking, but don't transform our lives. We worship and pray, but require that in doing so we are not made 'uncomfortable,' rather than demand that God's presence be made manifest. In our lives, if not our theology, we expect God to make our lives easier, rather than  expect that God wants to give us a much, much better life.

I'm speaking from within my own tradition (exaggerating things a bit to make a point), though I've seen the same tendencies among other theological and ecclesiastical traditions.

Where we put our efforts and our dollars demonstrate what we value - or at the very least distract us from our core values. We value the well-studied mind, the well-read man or woman, the one with extensive Bible knowledge. We love to learn stuff: specifically information. It is, at best, interesting. Jewels and nuggest of knowledge tantalize our minds like fine chocolate tantalizes the palate. In the end we divide over subtleties of theological thought, while remaining just as sinful, selfish, and unforgiving as we were before we were so richly informed.

Sometimes, as in the case of the so-called 'worship wars' we demonstrate quite clearly and forcefully that we're not interested in worship - at least not the worship of God. We're interested in our way of singing songs, our preferences for our order of service, our religious traditions, etc. - all arguments couched in theological jargon, but ultimately boiling down to: de gustibus no disputatum est (a Latin saying that roughly means: "when it comes to matters of personal taste, no argument persuades").

In everything from "health and wealth" gospel preaching, to praying for parking spaces, my team to win, and for my stock to come through, our prayers are not merely self-centered, but self-protecting. We want God to help us live our lives and it never occurs to us that God wants us to live the life He has for us. To be crude, we see God as our enabler, in the sense that an addict finds someone to enable him/her to continue to live a destructive life that is doomed to destruction.

Who wants a religion that is merely a mental construct? Who wants a religion of personal preferences? Who wants a god who endorses and encourages a life of emptiness?

If all we have are programs, all we'll get are people who are programmed (to say the right words, do the right things, not do the wrong things, etc.), but ultimately the same as they were before the program started - only more so.

Is it any wonder so many leave the church disillusioned? Is it any wonder so few want in?

The Gospel (a few thoughts):

The Gospel of Jesus is so much more than what an observation of many churches would tend to suggest. The Good News is so much more than merely getting our sins forgiven, and our "Get Out of Hell Free" card. The Gospel is ultimately about reconciliation with God Himself. It's far more than a mere forensic transaction. It is that. I'm not arguing against substitutionary atonement. What I'm suggesting is that the purpose of the atonement is also the Gospel. The word "atonement" means literally "at one-ment." The atonement both forgives and reconciles. The purpose of the atonement is reconciliation with God Himself - that's the Gospel!

But wait there's more!

The Gospel includes and must include the Kingdom of God, which according to Jesus is "within reach" (or "at hand"). This Kingdom is "of God" or "of Heaven." In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), when the Kingdom comes, healing, deliverance, resurrection comes. This is because in both God and Heaven there is no illness, demonization, nor death.

The Gospel includes the presence of the Spirit within us and upon us. The Spirit dwells within us to transform us into the people God dreams for us to be. The Spirit also comes upon us to empower us to do God's work in this world. The Spirit gives gifts to help us do God's work as a church, and gives them to us in such a way that we need each other to get it done! What a marvel! A Spirit-less Christianity is no Christianity at all. And a Spirit-filled and empowered believer is unstoppable.

The Manifest Presence

What if the great concern and primary project of the Church became seeking, hosting and cultivating the manifest presence of God? (If you haven't heard the term "manifest presence" let me explain: the very presence of God felt, sensed, experienced.)

Let's stop making "experience" a bad word, and make it an expectation. A gospel that has no experience in it is not the Gospel, it's no more than words and ideas (and who needs more of that!). The message of Scripture is clear: those who seek Him find Him (not merely truths about Him). How do you find something without seeing it, touching it, or experiencing it in some way. If we found God, how would we know, if there was no experience associated with it. 

One thing we Reformed can learn from charismatic and Pentecostal circles is that the manifest presence of God is often the center, focus and purpose of everything.* Often in Reformed circles, it's not that we're opposed to such a thing, we just think it's exceptional, rare - wonderful but not something to count on regularly. But if the Greek word for know (ginosko) means what the lexicons say it means, then we should expect that the "knowledge of the Lord" would be much more than knowledge (or opinions!) about the Lord. [For Spanish speakers conocer has it's etymology in the Greek word ginosko - if that helps.] No, we should expect to know and experience Him often, daily, whenever we turn our hearts toward Him.

The Apostles devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). Prayer is (most broadly speaking) encounter with God, and it is the prerequisite for ministering God's word (IMHO). Those who have the title "Minister of the Word" (the official name for what we call "Pastor" in my denomination), must then also be those who seek God through prayer. What would happen if in our preparation for Sunday's service(s), we spent more time with God (in prayer) than with commentaries?

We owe them (church and world) an encounter with God

What we all need is God Himself. What we settle for are imitations or substitutes. My theological training seemed to me to be primarily interested in communicating theological truth. That's a substitute for an encounter with God, or (at best) treading the spiritual waters until the encounter with God comes. It's something to do, along with singing some songs, while we're "Waiting for Godot." Though Moses would not go without the Presence of God (Exodus 33:15,ff), too often we do.

Instead of that spiritual poverty, where God is beyond experience, Jesus teaches the Kingdom of God is within reach. God in fact is present everywhere. We know this and believe this. It is also possible to actually experience this--experience Him. How wonderful, sweet, precious, beautiful, amazing, and more! 

John says whoever doesn't love doesn't know God, because God is love (1Jn 4:8). That's not about having an intellectual apprehension of God's love, but a transforming experience of it. Having encountered a loving God, we become loving. 

It is impossible to have an experience of God and remain unchanged. God's manifest presence transforms us.

The objection I most often hear about Christianity is not that it's not true, but that it doesn't make any difference. Christians look and act like everyone else. Sadly, this is often both a valid observation, and conclusion!

The solution is, I'm convinced, to seek, host, and cultivate experiences of God's presence. This transforms people in ways mere teaching can rarely do. While teaching can correct, guide, point, suggest, open and close doors, it cannot transform. Only God can do that. He can do it in subtle and long ways through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, but He can and does do it in powerful and sometimes instantaneous ways through a direct encounter with Him.

Seek the Lord while He may be found, the Bible says (Isaiah 55:6). To seek means to go looking, often in places you haven't yet looked. (It's sort of crazy to keep looking for something in the same places you haven't found it!) Look through soaking or listening prayer, with other seekers, in other churches/denominations, among Christian people you disagree with about other things. "Seek" means "go looking" (not wait), so go somewhere!

He promised that whoever seeks Him finds Him (Deut. 4:29; Jer.29:13; Matt. 7:7-8, e.g.), so keep seeking until you do, because He has already promised us success!

It's the transformed life that is the best agent of transformation for others.

If God doesn't make us better people, if He has no positive influence on who we are, then Christianity has no more power than pop psychology.

If, however, God gives hope to the hopeless, rescues slaves from their masters, sets people free, makes the unloving love, the unforgiving forgive, heals the hurting and broken, restores relationships, makes us joyful, happy, expecting good (even when things don't look good), if He makes the selfish selfless, the greedy generous, the anxious peaceful, then God is good and others will want what we have.

If you and I are examples of what God does, we become magnets for those seeking what we have. Let our lives be sign-posts of God's transforming power. As we ourselves are transformed into the likeness of Jesus (cf., Rom. 8:29), we become better agents of God's offer of reconciling and transforming love to those around us.

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*Yes, I know Pentecostals and charistmatics get distracted too, and not all those who call themselves charismatic or Pentecostal pursue this equally. In fact, some who are Pentecostal in name, are 'uncomfortable' with 'that sort of thing,' and some charismatics will cut off part of a program when God's manifest presence is there, to get on with the 'order of the day.'