Did God Really Say That??

The past few days I have seen post after post regarding a prominent Christian television personality's statement that a TV viewer would receive a million dollars from the Lord. There were no mixed responses. All were very vehement about the fact that God does not work in such a way. Posters then proceeded to recount all past errors the man has made with his predictions, prophesies, endorsements... you name it. Suddenly, an informational post turned into the shredding of brother. And yes, you can have brothers and sisters in the Lord that don't think exactly like you do.

I had a hard time getting past the posts that insisted God did not operate in such a fashion today. God does not work in such drastic, immediate manner. God can not speak through a television personality... and who are they to say what God said He would do?  That was the general consensus. Yet, those who were blasting the man who made a claim on God's behalf, were doing the exact same thing they were condemning.

Who are we to say what He can not or will not do? While my first reaction to the article was "Oh, brother," I immediately stopped myself. I thought about people in the Bible that God used to deliver His messages... to preach to others... to lead generations of people to faith. Could you imagine the social media posts if those who were called on by the Lord shared their acounts? Could you  imagine if Abraham had put up a Facebook post on how he had heard from the Lord... and that God had told him to do something radical for Him? To sacrifice his only son? Hundreds of his "friends," well meaning Christians, myself included, would have said he was certifiable. Surely God would not ask such a thing... or require such a thing of someone He loves.

What if you were Saul? What would the reaction to your tweet be if you mentioned that you were headed down the road and you were blinded by a light... that spoke to you... and you knew it was Jesus? And suddenly... your life had to change. You were to give up everything you invested yourself in the day before in order to tell others about your experience. What? Are you nuts? Jesus doesn't work that way. Or does He?

Today... in this life... has God ever asked you to do something that appeared insane to everyone else... yet you knew in your heart He was speaking to you? Did He ever ask you to give up a job and take another, with less pay? Yet, maybe you were afraid to do such a thing because of the backlash that would ensue. You see, even as well-meaning Christians our faith has been tainted by the world's way of thinking. What happened to believing the impossible? I see beautiful pictures on social media with quaint sayings such as "Don't be afraid to dream the impossible,"  "Tell your storm how big your God is," "With God NOTHING is impossible." We say these things, and we may even want to believe them. Yet somewhere in our hearts, when we hear someone making a claim that seems far-fetched, we forget. We instead need to look at what our God has done in the past and think "Hey... it could happen."

Don't run a brother or sister down when they share a dream or a vision. If it is contrary to the Word of God, take them aside IN LOVE and show them that. Don't ridicule. Don't chastise. Simply love. And if you ever doubt the greatness of your God, go back to Job 42:1-3: Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

God, my friend, can and will do anything He wants, with or without our approval or understanding. 

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