Some of the newest brain research that has caught my attention lately is simply revealing the reasons behind what God has told us to do for millennia. All of us who have raised children experienced a moment of frustration when we told our kids, “Because I said so!” We uttered that final word when our kids kept asking us why. Sometimes our response was a rebuke to their little rebellious hearts, but that other times we said it because we thought they wouldn’t understand our reasoning, even if we told them. Perhaps, this is a time that God has chosen to reveal some of the “whys” behind his commands. The “why” and the “how” of the brain are calling us away from cultural norms in a culture that has forsaken God and, often, plain old common sense.   Let me share some of Caroline Leaf’s thoughts on our culture of busy-ness. I think it may help us.

In her book, How to Switch on Your Brain, she says, “One of the plagues of modern existence is multitasking, which leads to the further plagues of “hurry sickness” and obsessive time management. The truth about multitasking is that it is a persistent myth. What we really do is shift our attention rapidly from task to task, resulting in two bad things: (1) We don’t devote as much focused attention as we should to a specific activity, task, or piece of information, and (2) we sacrifice the quality of our attention. I call this milkshake-multitasking.

This poor focusing of attention and lack of quality in our thought lives is the complete opposite of how the brain is designed to function and causes a level of brain damage. Every rapid, incomplete, and poor quality shift of thought is like making a milkshake with your brain cells and neurochemicals. This milkshake-multitasking, which is the truth behind multitasking, creates patterns of flightiness and lack of concentration that are unfortunately often erroneously labeled ADD and ADHD and that are too often unnecessarily medicated, adding fuel to the fire. And it’s a rapid downhill slide from there if we don’t get back to our God-design of deep, intellectual attention.

What does deep, focused, intellectual attention look like versus milkshake-multitasking? The answer is modeled in Proverbs 4:20-23. ‘Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live; really live; body and soul, they are bursting with health. Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts’ (The Message).”

Leaf goes on to talk about parts of the brain that decline, which are centers of the brain for health, peace and happiness, if we do spend focused time thinking about deep things – God, life, values, and spend time in prayer as well as healthy introspection. To fail to take bring all thoughts into captivity in Jesus keeps us from achieving the physical, mental, and emotional health for which God has designed us. We are made in God’s image and God is a deep thinker. We need to be as well. When we live on sound bites and spend hours each day scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, we not only become shallow people but unhealthy people – literally.

I remember a line from a book I once read by a Christian author. I don’t remember the book or the author but I remember the line. He said something to the effect that the world does not need more talented people, more gifted people, or more driven people. The world needs deeper people. I agree with him and I believe the same thing can be said of the kingdom of God.

To quote Leaf one more time, she says, “We are told by so-called social media experts that information needs to be in bite-size amounts and in a constant stream of new information before the previous information has even been digested. This is not stimulation; it is bombardment…It is all about balance. Our brain responds with healthy patterns, circuits, and neurochemicals when we think deeply, but not when we skim only the surface of multiple pieces of information…According to the Archives of General Psychiatry, simultaneous exposure to electronic media during the teenage years – such as playing a computer game while watching television – appears to be associated with increased depression and anxiety in young adulthood, especially among men.” She goes on to quote a number of other studies connecting multitasking, fragmented thinking, and a life of sound bites with numerous health and psychiatric issues.

Our Father tells us to be still and know that he is God. Scripture calls us to meditate on his word day and night. He tells us to store up his word up in our hearts (memorize) and to talk about his word when we are on the road. He tells us to choose what we think about and think about godly things on a continual, focused basis. In other words, we need to buck the cultural trend of more is better and believe the biblical injunction that deeper is better. The world says to go faster. God says to go slower. The world says look for more stimulation. God says look for him.

If you, like me, tend to find yourself with less and less quiet time in your life and if you, like me, tend to get hijacked by the busy-ness around us, we need to fight back and we need to keep our children from succumbing to a world of sound bites and information addiction. It goes against out design, our health – both emotional and physical, and against the Word of God. Very often, a believer in Christ must be counter-cultural to be obedient. God has told us for thousands of years what to do to be healthy, peaceful and productive. Now he is showing us why.

Several good models for understanding the nature of emotional and spiritual wounds and their healing are based on the concept of needs and fears. The idea is that, as children, we have legitimate or perceived needs. When those needs go unmet or are perceived to go unmet, then we develop fears around those unmet needs. To protect ourselves, we develop emotional defense mechanisms that we believe will protect us from being hurt again.

For instance, if my need for security went unmet as a child and I experienced uncertainty and chaos in my family, I might develop a high need for control which makes me feel safe because my welfare is never placed in the hands of another. If I was constantly disappointed as a child, I might develop an outlook of hopelessness or cynicism. If I never expect good things to happen, then I won’t be disappointed when good things don’t happen. If I experienced some form of betrayal as a child, then I might develop a mindset of distrust so that I never let anyone get close enough to hurt me or betray me again. Objectively, we can look at these defense mechanisms and see that, ultimately, those mindsets still won’t keep us from being hurt by others but those who maintain them believe that they will.

On top of that, those defense mechanisms keep us from experiencing love, emotional connection, joy, optimism, adventure, and even faith because we typically extend those defense mechanisms even to our relationship with God. The needs/fears model also suggests that we primarily have our needs met by different positions or roles in the family. We primarily derive our identity, protection, and provision from our father or whoever our father figure is. We derive companionship and heart to heart communication from our siblings or close friends. We get our needs met for comfort, nurture, and teaching from our mothers. According to this model these needs and the family positions we look to for meeting our needs correspond to the Godhead. The father role is Father God. The siblings and friends role reflects Jesus and the mother’s role falls to the Holy Spirit.

If our earthly father failed to meet our needs, then we will probably have difficulty connecting to and trusting our heavenly Father. If we failed to connect with siblings or friends or were betrayed by friends, we may have difficulty connecting with or trusting Jesus. If our mother did not meet the needs that we would primarily derive from her, then we may have difficulty in receiving the love, comfort and leading of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think this is a perfect model because no model is perfect, but I think it offers a lot for us to consider.

Somewhere in the process, the wounded believer must discover the wounds that came from unmet needs, forgive those who did not meet their needs or who wounded them, and discover that the Godhead is not subject to the same failings and weaknesses that our biological families and friends are subject to. If these defense mechanisms are not dealt with, they will eventually be maintained or enforced by demons.  Ultimately, the solution for every problem in life is trust in God. If you think about it, underneath just about every story and miracle in scripture, God is calling out for his people to trust him. Faith is not just a belief that God exists, but that he exists and can also be completely trusted. Think about it. God offers protection, provision, companionship, comfort, healing, teaching, nurture, and heart-to-heart communication – even eternal life. He offers to meet every legitimate need that we have when those who are limited by the flesh fail us.

There are many ministry methodologies to help believers receive inner healing through Jesus. After all, he came to heal the brokenhearted. But we can start that process by beginning to pray for the Spirit to birth trust in us for the Father, Son, and Spirit. That is where the real battle is and where most of us need to give some attention. When we trust God to meet our needs, we no longer have to maintain our walls of protection. When they come down, life gets better, relationships are richer, and the sun shines a little brighter each day. Pray about it.

So why would anyone resist the idea the God still operates through his church with signs and wonders? Why would anyone resist the idea that God still intervenes in the lives of men and women with supernatural intervention? Jesus was known for his miracles. The marks of an apostle were miracles. Men like Phillip and Steven (non-apostles) operated in signs and wonders and the early church was fully gifted to do the same. Jesus clearly declared that those who would have faith in him would do what he had been doing and even more. So why do numerous churches and theologians continue to deny that God still works miracles through his church?

I know there are many reasons that these churches resist. First of all, it is the theology that they were taught and a theology that they have never questioned because they had so much respect for the men who taught them. If you never see miracles in your church, then you need to explain that absence in a way that doesn’t suggest that you are lacking faith or that something is missing in your relationship with God. But…once I “explain” why God no longer does miracles, then I quit asking for miracles and, as a result, will never see one. Once my “explanation” becomes the orthodox view of my slice of Christianity then any attempt to question the status quo smacks of heresy and I begin to view any reports of miracles as misguided emotionalism or fakery on the part of those who would manipulate the desperate for power of money. In essence, the primary argument against miracles in churches that reject them is that miracles are no longer needed. They were initially needed to validate Jesus and his followers, but once they had fulfilled their purpose, God took them off the menu. For these churches, the record of the miracles is enough for people to believe.

We could go on for a long time about why many of the faithful resist the notion of miracles and miraculous gifts in the church today, but lets take a different tact and talk about why miracles are actually necessary for the church to fulfill her commission on the earth. Lets talk about why miracles and miraculous gifts are still needed. There are numerous reasons but let me offer three of the most compelling.

First of all, miracles point us to a greater, unseen reality. We live in a material world. Many people are trained to trust only in what they can see and touch. Scripture asks them to believe in fantastic, unseen realities – a glorious, majestic, all-powerful God sitting on a huge white throne in heaven surrounded by seraphs with six wings declaring his holiness day and night while smoke surrounds him. We are asked to believe in great wars in spiritual realms between angels and demons, the dead being raised, and the blind given sight. We are asked to believe in a God who calls all nations to judgment and a great final resurrection of the dead. To those without faith, those visions seem fictional, like scenes from The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

God created faith throughout scripture by miraculous works. The plagues on Egypt and the Red Sea crossing were not just to subdue the Egyptians but also to build faith in the Hebrews who had never known this God. Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, in which fire fell from heaven, called those Israelites who witnessed it back to faith. Many who saw the miracles of Jesus believed. In a material world and culture, something undeniably inexplicable must occur for people to experience a paradigm shift that allows for the possibility of another realm before they will start to consider biblical truth. When we fail to ask God for miracles or explain away miracles, we deny people a glimpse into a supernatural, spiritual realm that might open them up to believe.

Secondly, miracles reveal the nature and heart of God. Bill Johnson puts it this way. “A primary purpose of the miracle realm is to reveal the nature of God. The lack of miracles works like a thief, stealing special revelation that is within the grasp of every man, woman, and child. Our debt to mankind is to give them answers for the impossible and a personal encounter with God. And that encounter must include great power” ( Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth, p 119).

One of the great revelations of Jesus was the heart of the Father towards men. Jesus declared that when we have seen him we have seen the Father. The miracles of Jesus delivered people from illness and terrible disabilities, ended demonic torment, fed hungry people, raised the dead returning them to their grieving families, and restored relationships. For people who may only see God as the angry judge of all the earth, a touch of his love and compassion through a miracle is life altering and totally changes their view of God and their perception of his thoughts about them.

Thirdly, miracles continue to validate Jesus as the Son of God and Risen Lord and to validate his church as those who carry his Spirit and message. Those who deny miracles propose that stories of miracles that were reported two thousand years ago is sufficient to create faith in Jesus as Lord and the Bible as true now. If that were the case, everyone who read the bible would surrender their hearts to Jesus. Once the Holy Spirit resides within a person, faith based on two thousand year old stories is not a stretch but coming to faith often needs more than that..it needs an experience with God to create faith that then accepts the rest.

Even churches who deny miracles will talk about feeling the love of God, being overwhelmed by the peace of God,or sensing his leading. How are those experiences not miracles in which God has inserted himself into the natural order of things so that people experience something outside the natural realm? If people came to faith because they experienced God in those ways, what is the difference in people coming to faith because they experienced the love and power of God through healing, deliverance, a prophetic word, answered prayer, or some other kind of miracle?

When people, including believers, experience the power of God in their own lives, something shifts. God either becomes real or more real. Torment leaving in the name of Jesus or cancer disappearing in his name confirms by experience that Jesus does have all authority in heaven and on earth. Faith grows. Expectation increases. The reality of God is established and the church that does those things in his name gets instant credibility in they eyes of those Jesus has touched.

To deny miracles or to be indifferent toward s them robs the church and the world of life-altering glimpses into another reality. It robs the world of a revelation of the nature and heart of God. It robs the world and the church of faith. Saul of Tarsus knew the Torah and the miracles of the Old Testament. He had heard the stories of the miracles of Jesus and of the church he was persecuting. More stories would not have changed him but a personal power encounter (a miracle) with Jesus changed him and history in radical ways. The non-religious need miracles to begin to consider the reality of a spiritual realm and a world beyond this one. The religious need to be knocked off their feet to reconsider who Jesus really is and his heart for broken, imperfect people. Not only do miracles still happen today, but they are needed more than ever. We should not be shy in asking for them or pursuing them because they lead straight to Jesus.

We know that prayer is essential in the Kingdom of God. John Wesley went as far as to say that God does nothing except in response to his people’s prayers. I won’t say that God does nothing without our prayers but I do agree that, perhaps, even the majority of things he wants to do will go undone if we do not ask.

Notice Paul’s emphasis on prayer in his letter to the Ephesian church. As he is closing out his section on the armor of God and spiritual warfare he writes, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph.6:18-20),

In just a few verses, Paul requests prayers four times. He instructs them to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers. He asks them to continually pray for the saints (other believers) and he asks them twice to pray for him that he might declare the gospel fearlessly. Paul must have prayed for “fearlessness” on a daily basis but he thought it necessary to add the prayers of the church to his own as if his own prayers were not enough. We could add dozens of other scriptures in the New Testament that implore us to pray without ceasing because, other than faith, it is the most essential thing we can do.

But I will also say, as essential as prayer is, there are still some mysteries associated with it. If God already knows our thoughts before we ask, then why do we need to ask? If we pray once about an issue with fervency, then why do we need to keep praying since we have already lifted that issue up to God and he knows our heart about it? Why are some prayers answered overnight while others take years?

I’m not certain but I do have some thoughts. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul spoke of strongholds of the enemy (2 Cor. 10:4). In Ephesians, Paul warns the church not to give the devil a foothold (Eph.4:27). In the book of Revelation, Jesus referred to Pergamum as a place where Satan had a throne (Rev. 2:13). In his letter to Ephesus, Paul declared that our battles are not “against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph.6:12). In the Book of Daniel, we are shown that powerful angels fight in the spiritual realm against powerful demons who oppose God’s will (see Daniel 10:12-13).

In these verses, it is apparent that there are footholds, strongholds, and varying levels of power and authority in the spiritual realm that push back against the will and purposes of God on earth. It is possible that the greater the power opposing God’s will, as expressed in our prayers, the more intense and prolonged our prayers will need to be to break through the opposition. There are some things that God will do for us, but most things he wants to do with us. He has given us authority as believers to defeat the enemy. Often, he waits on is to express the authority he has given us before he joins in the fight. Since our words carry authority and power is linked to authority, then each prayer may release power in the spiritual realm that assaults enemy strongholds. The greater the stronghold, the more intense and persistent prayer is required. I tend to think of enemy strongholds like ancient castle walls that we are assaulting. Prayers and commands are like catapulted stones that chip away at the walls until fractures appear, then cracks, and then, finally, the wall crumbles and falls and the enemy scatters.

When we minister deliverance to individuals, not every spirit comes out at the first command. Some have been there for decades or have been passed down through generations so that they are firmly entrenched and feel that the person belongs to them. Some spirits have a higher rank than others and some are just nastier than others – especially spirits of witchcraft. However, every time we command the spirit to leave or declare the word of God over the spirit, his position is weakened. Eventually, that spirit must come out but sometimes it may take several hours. We battle with commands issued in the name of Jesus and with the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. Since deliverance operates that way, it may be that prayer operates that way as well. Every prayer is not targeting a demonic stronghold, but when it is, more prayer will be needed until enough spiritual power has been injected into the situation that the enemy’s defenses crumble. When we pray for salvations, for nations, for struggling marriages, for financial provision, and even for healing, many times the enemy has established strongholds that must be deconstructed before we see breakthrough.

There is also another possibility to explain the need for prolonged prayer as well. Dutch Sheets in his book, Intercessory Prayer, suggests that prayers are cumulative in heaven and when the spiritual mass or number of our prayers are sufficient, then heaven responds. He says, “Scriptures indicate that our prayers accumulate. There are bowls in heaven in which our prayers are stored. Not one bowl for all of them but ‘bowls.’ We don’t know how many but I think it is very likely that each of us has his own bowl in heaven. I don’t know if it is literal or symbolic. It doesn’t matter. The principle is still the same. God has something in which he stores our prayers for use at the proper time:  And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints (Rom.5:8).  Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake (Revelation 8:3-5). According to these verses, either when he knows it is the right time to do something or when enough prayer has accumulated to get the job done, He releases power. He takes the bowl and mixes it with fire from the altar” (Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer, Regal Books, p. 221-222).

Either way, God is often waiting on us to set things in motion with our prayers. He honors our authority as his sons and daughters and representatives on the earth by waiting for us to ask, declare, command, and pray before he acts.

There are many things going on the spiritual realm that we cannot see or discern. When we are praying according to God’s will, but are not seeing the answer manifest, the reason is not always apparent. Too often, however, I’m sure that we think God is saying “No” so we quit praying. But what if the answer is “yes” and the reason for the delay is that our prayers still need to release more power into the spiritual realm or they simply need to pass a tipping point in heaven so that the fire of God is poured out on the earth. Either way, we have been given a great responsibility for outcomes in the Kingdom that will be fulfilled in prayer as well as by our actions.

Prayer is essential. Persistent prayer is even more essential. In our instant society where we have lost the ability to stay focused for long periods, it is easy to pray a bit and then move on if we don’t quickly see the results. The biblical model is to pray with faith until we die, still expecting God to answer our prayers even though we have left the planet. We are to pray until we see the answer or until God releases us from the prayer. If we knew how essential our prayers are to the outcomes of the Kingdom, I believe we would be more diligent and persistent. One of the great lies of the enemy is that our prayers don’t matter and don’t make a difference. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have become discouraged, keep praying. If you have laid down a prayer that you thought God had denied, pick it up again. Your prayers matter greatly.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”            “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:5-10

The office of prophet has always been essential in establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Jeremiah was one of many reluctant prophets whom the Lord called to declare his words over kings and nations. God has an unusual relationship with his prophets. Amos spoke about that relationship when he said, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). God has established a connection between his will being done on earth and the declaration of his word by his prophets. There is a practical side to that as well as the continuation of God’s initial intent to rule the earth through men and women who serve as his representatives.

The practical side is that if prophets did not declare what God was about to do, whether deliverance, blessing, or judgment, then when any of those things happened it would not be credited to the work of God. Men would simply go on with life thinking that fate and politics had brought some event to pass without recognizing God’s hand in the matter. That is the world we live in today. God’s prophets are too silent and too few.   World leaders act as if “might makes right” and that there is no God in heaven who will judge kings and nations for their actions.

If no one calls the shot, then when God sinks the nine-ball in the corner pocket after banking off three rails, everyone will think that what happened was simply coincidence or blind luck. Because, by and large, the church today has relegated prophets to the Old Testament or the first century church and considers present-day prophets as extremists or crackpots, there are too few prophets connecting the dots for the nations. On top of that, if the majority of churches in America won’t take prophets seriously then why should the leaders of nations?

God’s initial intent was to rule the earth through Adam and Eve. He gave them the position of a son and daughter and delegated his authority to them to rule over his creation. In Christ, he has done the same for us. In terms of honoring his initial intent, God still gives his directives to his representatives and they declare those directives over the earth. God honors man’s dominion by waiting on man to come into agreement with him before acting. When his prophets declare his word over the earth, then God acts to fulfill what they have declared.

Isaiah assures us that when God’s word goes forth it always fulfills its purpose. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11). Notice that God told Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.” He went on to tell him that he was appointed over nations and kingdoms to uproot, tear down, plant, and to build although he would never lead an army or a political movement. Jeremiah wielded his power by declaring the word of God, which God then fulfilled. God is always in the starting blocks and ready to run a race, but he waits for his people to fire the starting pistol.

Concerning prophets, God’s word goes forth from his lips to theirs by revelation from the Holy Spirit or the lips of angels. When his prophets declare it, God empowers his word to fulfill its purpose in the lives of individuals and nations on the earth. The declarations of God’s people release the angelic realm to make God’s word a reality. Without prophetic declarations, much of what God desires to do will not come to pass because he still honors the authority he has given his church.

As long as parts of the church reject the idea of prophets and prophetic words in the 21^st century, the will of God on earth will be greatly hindered. God loves to partner with his people and in his sovereignty has limited what he will do without their participation. Until the gift of prophecy is fully restored and prophets are honored in his church, only a fraction of God’s purposes will be released on the earth. Not only that, but until the prophetic is accepted as authentic, the church will not have enough maturity to train her prophets well or to even judge prophecy to know if it is from God. A rejection of prophecy rather than its acceptance will lead to the very weirdness that the church fears. The good news is that God is restoring prophecy to his church today. The only question is will his church receive it or reject it.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1-2

I have always found this section of Hebrews to be interesting and instructive. The writer seems to provide a list of foundational teachings in the early church that he considered essential but elementary. Most churches teach these topics over and over as if these doctrines constitute spiritual maturity but the writer of Hebrews would disagree with that. There are two things in this list that should raise an eyebrow for most evangelical Christians in America: instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands.

Most churches in western Europe and the U.S. teach a great deal about baptism but not baptisms (plural). Hardly any church teaches anything about the laying on of hands although in the Hebrew letter that doctrine carries as much weight as repentance, faith, baptism and end times (resurrection and judgment). Since these are foundational principles of the church, when these are neglected the church is built on an inadequate foundation and the body suffers as a result.

There are several views of the idea of baptisms but, whatever the view, they should include water baptism which Jesus modeled himself at the hands of John the Baptist and Holy Spirit baptism which Jesus himself promised and delivered after his own resurrection. Just about every denomination practices water baptism in some form. Most believe it is an outward expression of an internal faith and symbolizes cleansing, being born again, death to our old selves, and resurrection to a new life.   It is also serves as a public confession of our faith in Jesus. Through our faith and confession we are granted forgiveness of sins and receive the Holy Spirit to live within us. The primary purpose of the Spirit living within us is transformation. He gives life to our spirits, gives us understanding of spiritual truth, and changes our character and thought processes by bearing his fruit in our lives. All of that is amazing and if that were all we received from the Spirit it would be enough.

However, both John and Jesus spoke of another baptism and commanded his followers to wait in Jerusalem, after his ascension to the Father, until they received power from on high as they were baptized in the Spirit on Pentecost. That power was to equip them for ministry, to do the things that Jesus did to demonstrate the Kingdom of God, and to overcome the power of the enemy. The followers of Jesus were commanded to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse lepers, cast out demons and raise the dead. In addition, Jesus made it clear that he had come to heal broken hearts and set captives free. The gifts of the Spirit have been given to the church to do all that. That flows from an experience the gospels called being baptized in or by the Spirit and was a separate experience from salvation. In John 20:22, we are told that after his resurrection, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” At that moment the Spirit took up residence within the disciples but afterwards that Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem until they received power from the Spirit which he said was the baptism that John the baptizer had spoken about.

The church universally practices water baptism but the majority have yet to receive power from another baptism in the Holy Spirit. Because of that, the church is effective at dispensing grace and leading people to initial salvation, but is much less effective at operating in power, healing the sick, setting people free from demonic affliction, prophesying, and demonstrating the Kingdom on earth. Yet, the early church thought that the teaching and practice of baptisms was essential.

The second gaping hole in the practice of most churches is the practice of the laying on of hands. Laying hands on others is typically related to two things: the impartation of spiritual gifts and the power that goes with those gifts and commissioning believers for specific tasks and offices. In that regard, the laying on of hands demonstrates a transfer of authority.

In regard to impartation, several verses give us the flavor of that operation. Paul wrote, “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you” (1 Tim.4:14). In this verse, Paul is telling Timothy to exercise some spiritual gift that had been imparted to him through a prophetic message as elders had laid hands on him. My sense in this passage is that elders were commissioning Timothy as an evangelist for the church and as a prophetic word was being spoken over him regarding his ministry, the Holy Spirit released a spiritual gift in him that was necessary for his ministry. Where there is an appointing there is an anointing. In this case, the Holy Spirit had directed elders to commission Timothy and then equipped him for the task. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul exhorts Timothy to fan into flame a second gift that Paul had imparted to him by the laying on his hands. In the book of Acts we are told, “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all” (Acts 19:6-7).

There are numerous other scriptures, but it is clear that God and the Holy Spirit often operate through leaders in the church not just directly. When appointed and anointed leaders sense that God wants a person to receive a spiritual gift, God often prompts leaders to lay hands on that person. As they do, there is an impartation or a passing of both power and authority. We are also told in another place, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2-3).

Someone might argue that laying hands on others is purely symbolic and cultural, but the writer of Hebrews saw it as a foundational practice of the church. The Kingdom of Heaven operates through lines of spiritual authority. The laying on of hands is an expression of that. In 1 Timothy 5:22, Paul warned Timothy not to be hasty in the laying on of hands. In other words, the impartation of power and authority is a real thing so that you do not want to impart gifs or power that to a person or commission a person prematurely. When spiritual gifts run ahead of character and authority runs ahead of maturity a train wreck can be in the making.

Both of these practices – Holy Spirit baptism and the laying on of hands – were foundational to the early church. They were also ways of receiving and distributing power and authority in the church and maintaining lines of spiritual authority so that the faith could be guarded and transmitted. We sometimes cringe at the idea of anyone having authority over us. Certainly, spiritual authority can be abused but so can a lack of accountability. Spiritual authority is a very biblical principle and I believe the axiom is true that to have authority, you must be under authority. Any reading of the New Testament and, especially, the Book of Acts testifies to the fact that God desires to empower his church with supernatural power because the kingdom is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Cor. 4:20). However, the power that God intended to bestow on his church will continue to be limited until these “elementary” practices are renewed universally. Just reflecting on these few verses today.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.   James 3:6.

In his letter to believing Jews, James devoted twelve uninterrupted verses to the tongue and the evils of ungoverned words. Our words are powerful and significant. Our Father’s words created an entire universe. We are made in his image and have been given authority by Jesus himself. Our words matter and they have consequences. The phrase that caught my attention in the verse above was “it (the tongue) corrupts the whole person.” The word translated as corrupts also means stains or defiles. The idea of corruption is linked to death and decay. Our own words, then, can trigger spiritual, emotional, and even physiological processes that defile us, stain us, and sow seeds of death and decay within us.

Listen to what Caroline Leaf says about the impact that our choices and even words can have on us physiologically. “Epigenetics is essentially the pathway by which our body takes a signal from the external world (food, events, circumstances) and internal environments (thoughts) and turns them into a set of chemical, electromagnetic, and quantum instructions for our genes. Thus, through our thought and lifestyle choices we can create either a very healthy or very toxic environment around our cells” (Caroline Leaf, Think and Eat Yourself Smart, Baker Books, p.147). Words are external expressions of our thoughts and have tremendous impact on even our physiology. She goes on to say that toxic thoughts, words, food, relationships, etc. throw off our biochemistry and compromise the health of our bodies and our brains and we become much more susceptible to disease (death and decay).

In addition, other research around the world has documented the effects of words at a molecular level. Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese researcher, has discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific concentrated thoughts and words are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, water exposed to negative thoughts and words forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors. We all know the proverb that says the tongue has the power of life and death. Science is now confirming that truth as not just figurative language but literal.

Our words, coupled with faith, are the primary arsenal we possess for spiritual warfare. With words we command healing. With words we drive out demons. With words we pray and direct heaven’s power to specific situations. With their words the prophets declared the word of God over men and nations and in doing so released that word to fulfill its purpose. With words storms have been silenced and the dead have been raised.

All of that is amazing but we must also remember that words establish curses. Jesus cursed the fig tree and it died over night. Joshua declared a curse over anyone who would rebuild the walls and gates of Jericho and many years later we are told that the sons of a man who did rebuild the gates of Jericho died because of Joshua’s curse. With our careless words we can curse others and ourselves with real consequences. In his letter to believing Jews, James went on to instruct these men and women to be a people who disciplined themselves to speak only blessings over others (both friends and enemies) and over themselves.   As believers who also walk in the authority of Christ, we must do the same. It makes a difference in every dimension of our lives and the lives of those to whom we are connected. that has been exposed

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16

I recently visited with a young woman who grew up in church, loves the Lord, hosts a small group Bible study in her home, but continues to struggle with overwhelming feelings of fear and condemnation. She lamented that the churches in her area were “powerless to help people like her.” In many ways she had no more freedom in her life than the unsaved men and women in her community.

If we are honest, many believers today are saved but remain in bondage to sin, addiction, shame, fear, and a host of other hindrances to their walk. The truth is that other than church attendance, a very large number of believers feel and act just like the people they work with or go to school with who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them. Divorce rates in the church rival divorce rates in the culture at large. Christian teens seem to have little power over the cultural pressure to drink, experiment with drugs, or to be sexually active. A significant number of believers live on antidepressants, tolerate marriages dominated by anger and rage, live with bitterness toward people in their past, and are crippled by an overpowering sense of unworthiness and rejection.

I’m not scolding these believers for not being “the Christians they should be” because I have struggled with many of those issues as well. These believers are desperately looking for freedom, but in many cases have not been shown by their churches how to access the freedom and healing that Jesus promises.

A gospel that only gets us to a place of forgiveness but does not radically free us and change us so that we stand out in contrast to our culture is not the gospel that Jesus preached. Paul pointed to this truth in the text from Philippians quoted above.   Stars stand out in stark contrast to the darkness like the sun’s brilliant corona as it shines around a total eclipse. Jesus himself declared that his followers were to be the light of the world. Those who wear the name of Christ should stand out in the crowd by their sheer “differentness.”

Jesus spoke of being “born again” not as figurative language for trying harder or simply starting over with a clean sheet, but as a reality where something real and essential has been altered in everyone who comes to him. Scripture tells us that before Jesus came into our lives we were dead in our trespasses and sins and living under the dominion of darkness. We were in bondage to sin whether we knew it or not. Satan literally owned us. But in Christ, all things become new. Jesus declared that he came to heal broken hearts and set captives free. Those promises are for this world not just the world to come. After all, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave operates within us. The Spirit of God who has constant access to the mind of God lives within us and is willing to download the knowledge and creativity of heaven to those who ask for it. Because we have “the mind of Christ,” we should be the smartest, most creative, most resourceful, and most optimistic people on the planet in very noticeable ways.

When the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, an incredible potential for radical change is released. The door to our prison cell is unlocked and opened wide. The question is whether we will walk through that door into a radically new life or voluntarily stay in our familiar environment. Many Christians stay because they are unaware of the open door because it is only perceived by faith. They are also unaware of the destiny and power Christ offers them to set them free and transform their lives.

Satan’s first goal is to keep us from coming to Christ. His second goal is to make us ineffective. One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to convince a believer that he is the same person he always was and will always be even after coming to Christ. Satan peddles the lie that the only difference between the saved and unsaved person is that the saved has his or her sins forgiven. Otherwises, we are still as powerless and broken as the unsaved around us. If he can’t keep us from accepting Jesus, the next best thing is to convince us that we will only experience the power, healing, and blessings of heaven after our funeral. Until then, we will simply struggle and do the best we can while our life plays out like a sad country song. That is not what Jesus has in mind on the cross. That is not the abundant life.

After coming to Christ, the essential difference between those with the Spirit of Christ living in them and those without the Spirit should soon become apparent, not as a reflection of our efforts but as a reflection of the power of God working in us. The fact that so many believers blend in perfectly with the world around them reveals that something is amiss. Speaking of Jesus, John tells us, “In him was life and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). There was a measure and quality of life in Jesus that was unmistakable. It stood out and drew men to him. With Christ in us, we should exude the same life. That life comes through the power that heals and sets men free (Isa.61:1-4) and the power that transforms us into the image of Christ. A powerless gospel will not take us there.

Paul gave a stern warning to the church at Galatia regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. He declared, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal.1:6-8). Paul was concerned about a gospel that included salvation by works but an incomplete gospel also borders on being another gospel. To teach forgiveness only, without the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, leaves believers vulnerable to the oppression and affliction of the enemy.

Whenever Jesus and his followers preached the gospel, they immediately healed the sick, cast our demons, cleanse lepers, and raised the dead on more than one occasion. That power was not just a demonstration that they were speaking for God, but it was also necessary for those accepting Christ to be released to meet their full potential in Him. Much of the church is reclaiming the power of the Holy Spirit but that realization has not yet made it to the majority of churches or believers in America. My hope is that a time will soon come in which no one will have to say that the churches in his or her area seem powerless to help, “for the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). I also hope that you will be a clear voice in the Kingdom of God for all that Jesus purchased on the cross for all those who follow him.

Today our culture seems bent on removing all personal responsibility for individual choices in the name of science and social tolerance. That path leads to some extremely negative consequences. First of all, it is a rejection of God’s Word which clearly declares that God will hold us personally responsible for our choices and our actions. God makes a clear distinction between sin and righteousness. He then deals with the problem of sin through the blood of Christ, confession, and repentance rather than excuses and the claims of science that men and women are controlled by physiological processes over which they have no control. Much of the current thinking comes from recent research in genetics and brain science.

Caroline Leaf, a leading researcher in these areas and a believer, has some very helpful things to say about this “scientific trend.” I would like to quote her. “Today there is a massive split in the world of neuroscience. Many scientists believe that the mind is a result of firing neurons: they see the mind as an emergent property of the brain. On the other hand, many scientists (myself included) are mind-body dualists: we argue that the mind changes the brain. The neurocentric perspective of the former argument arises out of humankind’s desire to worship the created brain instead of the Creator…why is this neurocentric vein of thought so dangerous? Essentially, the ‘oversimplification, interpretive license, and premature application of brain science in the legal, commercial, clinical and philosophical domains’ can lead us into murky waters when it comes to taking responsibility for our actions. Are you a murderer or did the different activity seen in the brain scan make you do it? Are you addicted to food because your brain is wired that way…or because you have made choices? Once you start down this path, you will ultimately have to question your belief in free will, since a predominant focus on the brain takes the control away from the individual and places the blame squarely on the brain” (Carline Leaf, Think and Eat Yourself Smart, Baker Books, p.129-130).

The amazing thing that science is now discovering is that although a tremendous amount of genetic predispositions is passed down from generation to generation, the predispositions are essentially turned on or off by external influences. This phenomenon is called epigenetics. What we choose to think, see, listen to, and surround ourselves with actually shapes the brain which then influences our thinking. Although neural pathways that form in the brain because of our repetitive choices push us back to those choices, we still have free will and can begin to prune old pathways by our choices to think differently and involve ourselves in a different environment.

The word of God tells us to mediate on the Word day and night. What is understood through that command is that our choice of filling our days and nights with focus on the Word also precludes the worldly reinforcement we used to open ourselves up to on a daily basis. Through consistent meditation, memorization, writing the word, etc., we can lay in new, godly pathways empowered by the Spirit while we prune the old pathways of toxic thinking and sin. Paul instructed the church to make a consistent choice to think on “whatsoever is true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil.4:8-9). In doing so, these believers were laying in neural pathways that would automatically produce thoughts in line with the Word of God rather than leading us back to thoughts opposed to God’s word.. This is part of the process of renewing the mind.

Many believers are still dominated by toxic thinking because they have not done the work required to renew the mind. The newest brain research demonstrates that our choices – what we say, what we do, what we read, who we spend time with, what we eat, what we hear, etc. all impact and create either healthy or toxic cellular environments for physical, spiritual, and emotional health or toxicity. God has made us so that every choice contributes powerfully to our brain, our genetics, our physiology, our health, and emotions, and our spirit. Our free will is a powerful tool and God will hold us responsible for our choices despite the cries of a fallen culture.

The good news in this is that personal responsibility empowers us to make choices that can make a huge difference in every part of our life and well-being. We are not helpless, powerless pawns doomed to a destiny over which we have no control. Alcoholic parents do not doom us to alcoholism. Generations of depression do not guarantee that we will be depressed. The genetics of depraved ancestors do not lock us into the depravity. God has given us a way out through taking personal responsibility, repenting, confessing, and by contact with the blood of Christ. He has given us divine weapons of the Word, worship, prayer, fellowship, even fasting and solitude that help rewrite our very DNA and create plasticity in the brain so that our brain begins to default to God’s thoughts rather than man’s.

A culture that declares that our identity, lifestyle, response to life, mental health and morality are all predetermined by genetics and brain chemistry takes away man’s power to choose good and become good. It is a strict secular doctrine of predestination in which the physical brain has total sovereignty over your life rather than a God in heaven. When I feel no responsibility for my choices and at the same time feel powerless to overcome my genetics and physiology, then Satan has won the day. This view is a current “big lie” of the enemy that we must push back on rather than caving in to pseudoscience. There is some good stuff our there by world class researchers who are also dedicated believers. I encourage you to read some in this area. Caroline Leaf’s books would be a great start. Blessings in Him and choose to have a good day.

We need to live with the understanding that as followers of Christ our primary role in the kingdom is to represent Him. Paul declared that we are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor.5:20).  We represent heaven on earth and speak for our king. The key to understanding our role as representatives is simply to understand the word. We are to re-present Jesus. We are to fully present him again to the world by doing what he did, saying what he would say, and displaying the same heart he displayed when he was on the earth. We are to live and serve in such a way that people see him accurately in each of us.

Jesus represented the Father when he walked the earth. In the Gospel of John he says, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say” (Jn.12:44-50).

Notice the phrases taken from the text. “When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me…For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it…So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” These words echo what Jesus told Phillip shortly afterwards when he said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9) and “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me who is doing his work” (Jn.14:10).

Jesus came to show us the Father. He did what the Father would do if he were physically present on the earth. He said what the Father would say in the way he would say it. That is representation. When Jesus left the earth, there should have been no question about what the Father was like. If you wanted to know the Father, you simply had to look at the Son.

We are to represent Jesus by living in the same way he modeled life for us. That doesn’t mean we all become itinerant preachers – although he may call some to do that. It means that we display Him in whatever context we are in. He lives in us by his Spirit just as the Father lived in him. The Holy Spirit is present within us to lead us, remind us of his words, empower us for miracles, and reproduce the heart of Jesus in us so that we can accurately re-present him to the people around us.

Representing Jesus is the function of the church. We cannot display only a part of Jesus and accurately re-present him to the world. If we preach the gospel but do not heal the sick we have not done what he did. If we heal the sick and cast out demons but do not love the broken and the sinful, we have not fully displayed Jesus. If we do not confront legalism and hypocrisy in religious leaders we have not duplicated him or his ministry. If we do not live and love sacrificially, then people cannot see Jesus in us.

I know that is a tall order but that is the goal and it cannot be done in our own strength but only by the power of the Spirit. If our heart is to fully represent Jesus in every setting, the Holy Spirit will certainly empower us to do so because that is the heart of the Spirit as well. He came that he might show Jesus to the world and is quite willing and even excited to do that through us.

Just a few years ago, the fad in Christian circles was WWJD – what would Jesus do? It was on bracelets, tee shirts, coffee mugs, etc. I haven’t heard that so much lately but it truly is the heart of the mission and should be written on our hearts not just on our coffee cups. When that truly becomes our heart’s desire, then I believe we will see the power and the impact of Jesus like never before. As “charismatic” we talk a lot about being “Spirit-filled.” Too often we think of that as simply being filled with the power of the Spirit to fuel our spiritual gifts.  But to be Spirit-filled would actually be a life  filled with Jesus and to be fully like him in every way.

If I’m honest, there are too many times when I am wanting Jesus to represent my agenda rather than me representing his. I am wanting him to make me look good rather that me making him shine. When my motive is me, then I will never see Jesus nor his power manifested in me as he desires and as I desire in my best moments. May the Spirit of God enable us all to re-present the risen Lord in every way and in every circumstance in which we find ourselves. Be blessed in serving Him today.