There is power in a testimony, power to change, power to overcome, as it says in Revelation 12:11. 

A few days ago I was encouraged by reading a biography of J. Hudson Taylor, a testimony of what the Lord God could and did do through one man.  This is just one example of so many that illustrate the grace and mercy of the Lord God over the years.  We have 20 centuries full of godly accounts (testimonies) that demonstrate the grace and mercy of our Father God.

We also hear of the wonderful miraculous things the Lord God is doing these days all over the world.  It sounds like our God has kicked it up a notch or two.  Jesus came to destroy all the works of the devil (First John 3:8), and it looks like He's doing this with great fervor. 

I was struck today by an email I received from Caralee Loring, a missionary of PBC serving in Albania. She was reporting on the sudden death of one of the key workers in their ministry.  Arta was a nurse and involved in almost all of the social projects of the church.  Though she had been quite ill with Diabetes,it was still a shock to her friends to find that she had died in her sleep.

Caralee described the funeral plans for this vibrant Christian woman who had come to faith in Christ out of a Muslim family.  Along with a few of the particulars of the service, she shared that prior to the visitation hours, Arta body had been dressed as a bride, complete with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.  Caralee expressed that that imagine lifted her spirits, even in the midst of the wailing and crying of those around.

Our sermon on Sunday, May 30th was based on 1 John 4:7-21.  In it, the Apostle John encourages his readers to "love one another, for love comes from God", it was not an isolated, one time thought.  No it was a clear communication of something Jesus had taught and that the other apostles also affirmed. 

Along with loving one another, the New Testament encourages us to practice a number of other behaviors towards "one another".  Read on for listing of those passages:

A number of people mentioned how thought provoking the sermon video was on Easter.  In it, Chris Ames described his Faith Story, the account of how his heart won over his head and he came to trust in Christ.   In case you missed it, or are interested in seeing it again, here it is.

It's Personal - A Former Atheist Speaks from dewde on Vimeo.

In talking about the video, someone mentioned to me that they found themselves making a long list of the ways their thoughts and beliefs have changed since they were 17.  Probably all of us who are any significant number of years older than 17 could make the same sort of list.  The experiences of our youth can be so powerful.  Whether it is the affection we have for a person, the dedication we have to a sport or activity, or our sense of righteous purpose connecting with some cause, our convictions can be so strong that it makes it hard to imagine a time in our future when we could possibly feel differently. 

From a religious standpoint, Chris finally came to grips with the idea that maybe, he was not being intellectually honest to demand that God conform to his way of doing things.  That maybe, God might communicate with him in a different way.  He came to understand that it was ridiculous to continue to take religious advice from the 17 year old version of himself.  He needed to find out for himself if God was real.  So he prayed:

God? If you actually exist, I recognize you may do things differently than I would if I were God.  I'm open to you proving to me you exist on your terms.

That changed everything for him and it is the sort of prayer that changes everything for us.  But even if we have prayed that way in the past and have already come into a relationship with God, there is always something new God wants to say to us, something new He wants to show us.  Whatever we may have believed in the past or believe now about God, He is always communicating with us.  The question is whether we are willing to put aside our control of that process and let Him speak.  So perhaps we might follow Chris' example and pray:

God, I know you exist and love me, and I am open to your speaking to me, even if it means my way of thinking or living will be changed.