"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. Jesus was
persecuted by the religious community. 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.
Excerpted with permission from the book TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman,
copyright 2000, Destiny Image Publishers, Reprinted by permission. For free
daily email subscription to TGIF Today God Is First marketplace meditations,
visit www.marketplaceleaders.org
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