If we are to believe the April 13, 2009 edition of Newsweek, with it's cover spread entitled, "The Decline and Fall of Christian America", our way of life is about to change here in America.  We are on the brink of the end of religious freedom in America, a right given us in our Constitution, and therefore near the end of free expression of our faith as believers. (I still find it odd that non-Christians can disagree with us, but we will not be able to disagree with them)

I am told there is now legislation in place, ready to be passed, unable to be opposed, that will label the denouncement of homosexual practices and ideology as a hate crime.  So we will see shortly how long believers will be able to speak their minds before being sent to whatever form modern-day society chooses to be our lions.  What else will I no longer be free to say in our new, post-Christian society?

As I think about it, those early believers lived in a society dominated by a country where homosexuality, promiscuity, and the persecution of Christians were commonplace.  They saw the debauchery that thrived around them every day.  So I should not be shocked, and I am not, in the coming obliteration of my rights as a U.S. citizen.

So as we see the demise of Christianity looming on our near horizon, I have this to offer those who would still believe, and those who would like nothing better than liberal chaos to reign:  the only real signs of Christianity are love, forgiveness, and power.  The early Christians lived in an atmosphere of power, and miracles were commonplace, everyday fare for them.  Do you want to bloom where you were planted, in these United States of America?

I am not promising you a long life, or even a life free of the bars of prison.  If you believe, I promise you power, if you seek it, if you love your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.  If you place Him above your family and your freedom and opinion, I promise you power.  I can do this, because He already has.  I am just repeating what His Word says.

Our society has long lambasted Christians, particularly pentecostals, because their message never lined up with their lives, for the most part.  But overall, it was the absence of power, of miracles, in our daily lives, that created the climate we live in.  Do you want to see God rise in our nation again?  Do you want to see His name lifted up for all to see, to experience His presence in a mighty way?

Power is your path.  Not for earthly gain, not for revenge, but for love.  For love of our country, our countrymen, our world, for God to receive His just glory, power is necessary.  As Christians all over our nation get ready to either shut up or glut the jails and prisons to overflowing, ask for power.  Leave all your denominational dogma behind, hold to the basic truths of love, forgiveness, and the law of liberty, which keeps us pure, and reach for Christ, and Christ alone.

"Greater works than these..."  This is the promise of our Lord, and yet in our world today there are no reports of miracles breaking out, nothing that can be shown to the world as the undeniable imprint of a sovereign Creator on humanity.  We have power, but we do not use it, we do not believe in it, we have settled for a "sinner, saved by grace" mentality that only helps to keep us afloat, instead of swimming in the deep waters of God's immense ability.

I, for one, want to swim in deeper waters.  I want power, not to dominate, but to love, and to show the world who the real God of this world is:  Jesus Christ.

I am a Christian, though I may differ with some of my beliefs from other Christians.  I believe in God, the God of the Bible, for several reasons,  but here are two undeniable facts why I choose to carry on in my "religion":

One evening, in Louisiana, I heard my wife scream in terror, and call for me.  I ran downstairs to find that our youngest son, Cody, had stuck his tiny finger in the electrical socket and gotten shocked.  He fell straight back, hitting his head on the tile of the kitchen floor.  When I got to him, he was lying on the carpet of the living room, his head the shape of a football, his skull expanding and his eyes bulging out of their sockets.  He had his skull cracked, his brain was swelling, and a pool of blood was forming and growing at the top of his head, just beneath the skin.

We had to get him to the hospital, but I knew immediately I had to pray or we would lose him.  I commanded death and injury to leave (yes, you can do that, if you believe), spoke healing over him, and then we rushed him to the emergency room.  I sang worship songs to him all the way, and he began to calm down.

By the time we arrived at the emergency room, and checked in, they had us wait.  The reason we had to wait, even for those few minutes, was because Cody was healed.  His head went back to its normal size and shape, the pool of blood disappeared, and he was fine and happy.

My wife and I know what happened, we know what we saw, what went on that evening.  The doctors checked him out, shook their heads, and probably wondered privately why we had even brought him in.

Another miracle happened after a church service at Believer's Fellowship, a church we attended some years back.  A young woman brought her grandmother to me for prayer.  Her grandma was almost blind, her vision was blurred to the point of only seeing shadowy images, light and dark.  I prayed for her to be healed, and left them.  Ten minutes later, the young woman pulled me to her grandma again, excited. 

"She can read her watch, and everything is clear!"  Both of them were so happy and excited.

See, I believe in God, the God of the Bible, because I have seen Him move in the miraculous.  I have watched other things happen, small but important miracles, that affirm my faith in God.  In the face of these facts, why would I believe in anything or anyone else?

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I am an expression of God in this world; a created, creative force in this life.  I am proof that God exists.  And so are you.

   

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