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Signs
and Wonders Today
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os
Hillman
11-28-2010
"The whole assembly became silent
as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs
and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them." - Acts
15:12
"I was a pastor for 19 years before I went into business," said
the man sitting across the table from me as we were sharing lunch
together. What led him from being a pastor to a businessman was both a
move of God and an attack from the enemy.
"I was a pastor of a particular denomination that did not embrace all
of God's Word. It was a time in my life when I was experiencing many
physical problems. I was on the verge of being admitted to the hospital. I
had been seeking God about whether He was truly a God of healing and
whether His Word was applicable in all areas of life as it was in the
early Church. I was to go into the hospital the next day. That night I
cried out to the Lord. I confronted God about His Word. I asked Him if He
still did miracles today. Just then, I turned on my TV and saw an
evangelist preaching. At that very moment, he stopped preaching, looked
into the TV camera, and said these words: 'There is a man in the viewing
audience who has been a pastor for many years and is struggling to know
whether God heals today. His own denomination does not believe He does.
[He even named his denomination.] God is healing you right now to
demonstrate to you that His healing is for today, and you are to know that
His Word is true for today just like it was for the early Church.' "
My friend was shocked. The TV evangelist could not have described him more
accurately if he had been sitting in the same living room with him. God
healed him that very night. He was not admitted to the hospital. He was
forced to go before his church and witness to God's power in his life. He
was soon fired as pastor of this church, and this is what led him into
business.
So often when we experience God in greater and deeper ways, the
persecution comes not from the world, but from those who are closest to
us. The religious community persecuted Jesus. He was betrayed by one of
His own disciples. However, we must realize this betrayal was necessary
for God to accomplish His work through Jesus.
God will bring each of us to a crisis of faith to test what we really
believe. For my friend, he had to experience God in a new way. Then he had
to be tested in that belief to the point of losing his job.
Have you experienced God in all of your life? Are there areas in which you
believe God does not operate today? Before you discount God, seek Him with
a whole heart. You might be surprised at what you will find.
Today God Is First (TGIF)
devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
 Recommended
Resource
Been there, done that, doing that successfully! Seventy leaders in senior
adult ministry tell how they do it. Dr. Timothy Starr has compiled this
"encyclopedia" of information and wants to Pass It On to help
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"how-to" manual drawing from a diversity of ministry models. For
more information or to order, CLICK HERE!
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When does God call people to long-term missionary service?
* 21% were called as a result of a missions education service in their local church
* 20% felt God calling them after listening to missionary speakers
* 19% were called because of their own family's missions vision and conversations
* 10% heard God's call through reading missionary books
-- Terry Read, missionary and missions professor
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