6th crêpe night of 2005 and God's goodness

Last night we had crêpes with Eric, Anita, Nicolas, Andrew, and Nathan Erber. They are from First Presbyterian Church of Trenton (Michigan). Eric and Anita, like Jim and Angela Beise of the Fonderie, and I all graduated from high school in 1979. It's funny thinking that while their oldest sons are all entering university this fall, my son is entering French preschool.

The Erbers generously brought us a number of things that we find difficult, if not impossible or terribly expensive, to find here. These included teething tablets, cough patches, toddler toothpaste, stain stick, Kraft macaroni & cheese boxes, animal crackers, a pair of "light up" tennis shoes for the kids, dried cranberries, Sesame Street videos, etc. Anita said that some of these things didn't exist when her boys were kids.

The Erbers' generosity reminds me of God's generosity toward me.

Last November Greg Vadala gave me the book by Bill Johnson titled When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles (Treasure House: Shippensburg, PA: 2003). Greg has been a friends for the journey since we met as teens in New Jersey and were discipled by Stephen French. I've observed over the last 24 years that Greg has often been ahead of me in his understanding of God and His ways in this age. Where Greg is ministry-wise, I often end up moving in that direction. Therefore, when Greg recommends a book to me, I usually procure it and end up marking it up.

I'm wondering if some principles from this book are meant to play a part in my mother's Alzheimers disease. During our recent phone calls, it has sounded like things seem to be going downhill, when one looks at it with our natural eyes. However, I wonder if God is waiting to intervene in this situation. I wonder if she, me, and others have already resigned ourselves that the Alzheimers will eventually take over, rather than really having faith that God wants to intervene.

I'm troubled and challenged by Bill Johnson's following words:

The invisible realm is superior to the natural. The reality of that invisible world dominates the natural world we live in...both positively and negatively. Because the invisible is superior to the natural, faith is anchored in the unseen. (p. 45)

Faith lives within the revealed will of God. When I have misconceptions of who He is and what He is like, my faith is restricted by those misconceptions. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I'll not have confidence praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good. (p. 45)

The same misconceptions of God affect those who need to have faith for their own miracle. A woman who needed a miracle once told me that she felt God had allowed her sickness for a purpose. I told her that if I treated my children that way I'd be arrested for child abuse. She agreed and eventually allowed me to pray for her. After truth came into heart, her healing came minutes later. (p. 45)

Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you can see is temporal, and what you can't see is eternal [2 Cor. 4:18]. Unbelief is faith in the inferior. (p. 45)

The natural realm is the anchor of unbelief. But that realm is not to be considered as evil. Rather the humble of heart recognize the hand of God through what is seen. God has created all things to speak of Him--whether it is rivers and trees, or angels and heaven. The natural realm carries the witness of His greatness...for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. [See Romans 1:20-21]

One of the more common things people tell me when I'm about to pray for their healing is, "I know God can do it." So does the devil. At best that is hope...not faith. Faith knows He will. (p. 52)

Faith is not the absence of doubt; it's the presence of belief. I amy not always feel that I have great faith. But I can always obey, laying my hands on someone and praying. It's a mistake for me to ever examine my faith. I seldom find it. It's better for me to obey quickly. After it's over I can look back and see that my obedience came from faith. (p. 52)