Be Inspired to Tell
John 3:16 ESV
Matthew 17:20 ESV
Mark 11:24-25 ESV
John 3:16-18 MSG
What is inspiration?
And more specifically, what is inspiration from God?
Are they the same thing?
Perhaps the best way to unpack that is at the grass-roots level.
John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Inspiration to believe can be simple. The key is found in believing it’s possible.
Matthew 17:20, “truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Simple, right?
When we turn (ever so slightly to God because we sense the presence of the Spirit of God (which is in this world) and we are open to receiving the Spirit that’s mustard seed faith.
Most of the time there is no tidal wave…no hurricane winds. Most of the time it’s a soft wind that feels good and peaceful.
Having said that, it can be a tidal wave hurricane wind.
The difference between a peaceful breeze and a hurricane wind seems to be because of prayer. If someone is not open to receiving God and they have a person who has the gift of prayer who has been praying day and night that God will approach that person with a mighty wind, God will answer that prayer. Based on the request, God may answer with a hurricane force wind.
God does answer prayer.
God does hear and answer specific requests.
We know from Mark 11:24-24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Believing can be extremely simple. Lean into God and receive.
Believing can be extremely difficult if we overthink it. That’s because our ‘noodle’ brain can get caught in a loop when we want hard fast proof or endless reassurances or promises. While there isn’t anything wrong with wanting reassurance or promises, they can muddy the water.
The matter of being inspired to turn to God (even ever so slightly) is not a complex problem. That’s because we do not do the work of salvation.
We simply believe that God is God. Then, God is able. Then Jesus comes.
We are inspired to believe and we open our hands to receive.
Inspiration to believe can be complex.
Once again, there isn’t anything wrong with complex if it doesn’t become a stumbling block.
Think of it this way, once there were two brothers.
The oldest brother read and listened to stories while he was growing up. He was an intellectual, so he did research about God. He read the historical accounts. He even read what the nay-sayers said.
When all of the evidence was “in” he chose to believe at a young age.
He chose God.
The other brother who had lived in the same house and had heard the stories growing up went in a very different direction.
He worked hard. He was very successful.
He did not research the history of God.
He decided he wanted to be successful, and he was.
Then one day the older brother got sick and he died. He wasn’t afraid because he knew Jesus was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel from earth to heaven.
He knew John 3:16-18, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”
The older brother knew he had been acquitted.
He prayed for his brother before he died. He prayed he would see the light.
After he died, the younger brother did see the light. It took a lifetime, but he did believe. When he died he did walk through the tunnel from earth to heaven.
What do you believe?
Spiritual Practice: Turn to God
Pray to receive, or pray for someone who has not received. God will hear your prayer.
In God, Deborah
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