Who is in Control of the Earth?

Some Jehovah's witnesses came by today and handed me a pamphlet with the question, "Who do you think controls the earth?" The answer the pamphlet gave was that Satan controls the earth, and they cited a few verses to justify their answer.

I think the question is interesting, as there are many related issues in the ballpark that perhaps are being wrapped into it. "Control" is a very different sort of a thing than, for example, "authority" or "sovereignty". I think if we separate all three of these concepts, as they are distinct, then we can more easily answer the question of who is in control of the earth.

The Bronze Sea

As I was in my bed, halfway thinking of going to sleep, I decided to ask God how to grow in revelation. In that familiar small whisper that could almost be mistaken for a fleeting thought, I heard, "Read My Word." So I asked, "What should I read?" Before I formed the words in my mind, I heard the response, "Jeremiah." Jeremiah what? "27." So, I picked up a Bible and turned to Jeremiah 27.

Do I Have Enough Faith?

Imagine that you are walking along a dirt path in the woods admiring nature and communing with God. As you are enjoying God's presence, you see in the distance that a large tree branch has fallen across the path ahead. You reach the branch and realize that there is no way to pass unless the branch is moved. Thus, having the faith that God has the power to move mountains (let alone a tree branch), you fall to your knees and plead that God would remove the branch so that you can continue on your walk and get back to enjoying God's presence without hindrance. After a few uneventful minutes, you recall the story of the widow and the unjust judge (see Luke 18:1-8), and you decide that it is God's will for you to persevere in prayer until He answers. So you pray for 10 minutes. 30 minutes. 1 hour. 10 hours. ...

Wii Resurrection

For our 4th anniversary (a couple weeks ago), we took a small vacation to a house on the lakeshore of Lake Michigan. We brought our Nintendo Wii along as part of our vacation experience. On the last day of our vacation, there was a thunderstorm that led to a power surge throughout the house. We had our Wii plugged directly into the wall outlet at the time of the power surge. An hour or two later, we attempted to turn on our Wii so that our son could play for the remaining time while we packed up our stuff. But the Wii would not turn on. In fact, the LED indicator was completely black. (The LED is usually red when the Wii is plugged in.)

Healing Close to Home

This past weekend, my family came to visit us. On the Friday night they arrived, my sister expressed much physical discomfort, including a stomach ache, hurting back, and many other things. Now, you must realize that my sister ALWAYS tells me that something is hurting her whenever I see her. I must admit, it can be taxing to carry the emotional burden of her being sick all the time. Thus, when she expressed her discomfort on Friday night, I was tempted to become disheartened. But, realizing this, I took my thoughts captive to Christ and gave my heart over to His desires for my sister instead.

I felt "electricity" concentrated in my forearms and palms, which from past experience indicated to me a special presence (or, "readiness") of the Holy Spirit, so I decided to do an experiment. I went over to my sister Sarah, who was sprawled out on the floor on her belly, and said, "Sarah, put out your hand palm-up."

Beam Me Up, Jesus!

Tonight while I was gathering together with my prayer partners, one of them mentioned that she was struggling with a question: Why doesn't God just beam us up to heaven after we become Christians? She expressed that she was having a hard time figuring out what her role is for God's Kingdom, but even more, what God's purposes are for the world in general.

Her question made me reflect on how I might answer that question based upon what I know from the Scriptures. She suggested that I post my thoughts on my blog, and so that is what I will do now. :-)

Healing Training with God

I got sick last week with a nasty bug. I had a headache, stuffy nose, sore throat, and a cough that rattled my lungs. I had recently been reading several ex-Pentecostal articles that were highly condemning of binding demons and casting out sickness, so I felt like my faith for speaking healing into myself was too low to have effect. So, I prayed a simple prayer to God, "God, will you please take away my headache?"

At the very same moment I finished speaking my request, my headache was completely gone. I thanked God for healing my headache. I then perceived God urging me in my spirit, "Ok, now it's your turn."

"God's Will"

As I've delved more into the topic of divine healing, it has become apparent to me that different camps of people have different things in mind when they talk about "God's Will." It is essential to clarify this term if the Christian community is to make any progress in understanding one another on the issue of divine healing (and many other essential doctrines). I will do my best to make relevant distinctions in this article in order to help us avoid future misunderstandings.

What is "God's Will"?
First off, let me point out two ways in which we can collect data about how God set up creation:

1. We observe past and present circumstances, note the outcome of each circumstance, and extrapolate to find general principles by which God operates.
2. We read God's Word, note the principles taught in each passage, and extrapolate to find general principles by which God operates.

Praying According to God's Will

John says that when we pray according to God's will, then we know that we have what we asked for because God has heard our prayer (1 John 5:14-15). In other words, we know that God will give us what we ask for if we ask for something that's within His will. The question then is this: how do we know what God's will is for us?

God has told us what His will is for His children. It's not a mystery. He has revealed His will to us through His written Word (and through the example of Jesus, the living Word!). The problem is, we often are ignorant of God's word and are thereby ignorant of what His will is for us. If we want God to answer our prayers, we need to bring requests to Him that conform to the desires He has for our lives.

One way to pray according to God's will is to pray God's Word back to God. Moses did this when God threatened to wipe out all of Israel because of their idolatry (see Numbers 14). Praying Scripture (in application to a particular circumstance) is an interesting concept, as it motivates us to find out what God says He'll do for us (instead of us leaning on the popular phrase, "...if it be your will"). If we lean upon what God has said He'll do, then we can have confidence that we'll get what we ask for because God is faithful to His Word!

So what is God's will for us? To preach the gospel, to trust and obey Him in word and deed, to renew our minds, to seek the gifts of the Spirit, to love people, to be prosperous, to live a long life on the earth, to have the fruit of the Spirit, to have wisdom, to be free from the chains of sin, to be imitators of Christ. The list goes on. If we would truly know what God's will is for us, maybe it would change how we pray and what we pray for. I want to understand what God's will is so that I can live the way that God intended for me--His precious child--to live. Surely our Father in heaven will bless us if we ask for the desires of our heart, but how much more does God know what is best for us! Father, may you transform my desires to be more like yours!