All posts tagged: Holy Spirit

Guard the Holy Flame!

By Dr. Michael Brown When I served as a leader in the Brownsville Revival (which ran from 1995-2000), I started to write a book on hindrances to revival, laying out 20 ways to put out the Spirit’s fire. Put another way, if you do these things, the revival will come to a premature end. When I finished compiling my list, I was amazed to see how similar it was to Charles Finney’s classic sermons titled “Hindrances to Revival.” Some things never change! For a number of reasons, I did not finish writing my book, but several years after the revival, I got the strong impression that I would need to finish the book in the future. In other words, I would live to see another wave of revival. That wave, in its early stages, is already here in America, because of which I feel a real urgency to finish writing that book and get it out to the public. For the moment, though, let me share one of the principles I address in the book, …

Revival breaks out at Asbury University in Kentucky

19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19 NIV) There has been a major outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, CBN reports. The school founded in 1891 has over 1,800 students and is across the street from the associated Asbury Theological Seminary which has over 1,700 students. The revival broke out during a chapel service on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023, when 100 students responded to an altar call resulting in them falling to their knees in prayer and repentance. Those attending services stated there is a tangible presence of the Holy Spirit during the services that have been going on 24/7 since the revival broke out. Alexandra Presta, who edits The Asbury Collegian, a student website, said she had never seen anything like this. “Peers, professors, local church leaders, and seminary students surround me— all of them praying, worshipping, and praising God together. Voices are ringing out. People are bowing at the altar, …

Can dreams be a form of evangelism? The conversion of an ex-Muslim suggests they can

A Christian man, who had converted to Islam, turned back to Christ after people prayed for God to send a dream of Jesus, CBN reports. Raised in a Christian home, Mike Westerfield considered himself a religious man. He had attended a Bible college and occasionally preached at his local church, but his faith was challenged when he started visiting some Muslims at a local prison in Florida. In particular, this group challenged Westerfield about his belief in the Trinity and began to give him Islamic literature. This eventually led to Westerfield becoming a Muslim. This was not a shallow conversion. Over the next 12 years, Westerfield actually attended an Islamic university with the intention of becoming an Imam. But despite his conversion, Westerfield would eventually start questioning some of the things that he was discovering in Islam, which he described as “deception and lies” in an interview with IfoundtheTruth.com. This led to him reexamining Jesus. He turned to several apologetic groups, such as Lee Strobel, and Abdu Murray, an ex-Muslim, who had become a Christian …

When the Holy Spirit falls upon people: Ex-gay Hollywood designer explains how this helped lead him to Jesus

We read throughout the Bible of times that the Holy Spirit fell upon people and each time something unusual happened as there were outward manifestations: As we move into the New Testament, there is a shift because of Christ’s perfect redemption the Holy Spirit is now able to permanently reside inside us (1 Corinthians 6:19). But there were still instances of the Holy Spirit falling upon people, as took place on the Day of Pentecost. The same thing happened to a group of gentiles at the home of Cornelius as Peter was preaching. The Holy Spirit also fell on them, and they began speaking in tongues: 15 As I [Peter] began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. (Acts 11:15 ESV). When the Holy Spirit falls upon people, something invariably happens, and a similar event laid the groundwork for Becket Cook, a Hollywood designer, to become a Christian, Faithwire reports. Becket was an influential designer in Hollywood, and had worked for major stars such as Oprah, Paris Hilton …

When is the last time you spoke in tongues?

When is the last time you spoke in tongues? I am directing this question to myself, as much as I am to anyone else, because based on a recent survey I know at least a quarter of us have spoken in tongues. But are still continuing this spiritual practice today? A recent study conducted by Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research (ICGMR) in early August 2022 found that 25% of American Christians have spoken in tongues. Included in this percentage were people who did not consider themselves charismatic or did not attend a Pentecostal church. The survey entitled, “The Renewalists: Pentecostal and Charismatic Evangelicals,” also found that 13% of those surveyed attended a Pentecostal/Charismatic church and of those who did 55% had spoken in tongues, which means 45% had not. So, back to my original question, if you have received this gift of the Holy Spirit, when was the last time you used this gift? I ask this because, despite the controversy, the gift of Tongues is an important part of our walk with God. …

A Friendly Word to My ‘Cautiously Charismatic’ Colleagues

By Dr. Michael L. Brown In recent years, I have heard Christian leaders describe themselves as “open but cautious” when it comes to the gifts and power of the Spirit for today, including tongues and prophecy and healing. Others have described themselves as “charismatics with seatbelts.” But is that really a biblical position to hold? Is it a healthy spiritual perspective? To speak directly to my “cautiously charismatic” colleagues, are you “open but cautious” when it comes to following Jesus? Or believing God’s Word? Or giving yourself to the Great Commission? Or loving God? Why, then, when it comes to the gifts and power of the Spirit for today are you “open but cautious”? When it comes to your overall devotion to the Lord, do you wear those same seatbelts? Or do you wear them when you get alone with God in prayer? Or when you engage in corporate worship? Or when you share the gospel with the lost? Why put those seatbelts on only when it comes to the things of the Spirit? I …

I Want to Be a Torch

Speaking of John the Baptizer, Jesus said, “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light” (John 5:35). That’s my heart as well. I want to be a burning and shining lamp. I want to be a torch! In the words of Smith Wigglesworth, “O, if God had His way, we should be like torches, purifying the very atmosphere wherever we go, moving back the forces of wickedness.”

Becoming drunk in the Holy Spirit?

There are a few passages in the Bible that speak of one of the more unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit. It talks about people being so overcome by the Holy Spirit, that they appear drunk to outsiders. And I was reminded of this in a recent story on CBN by Vernell Windsor, a regular columnist, who along with a friend had decided to attend a church service in North Carolina. During the service, Vernell writes that she was so overcome by the presence of God, that she became drunk in the Holy Spirit: “The presence of the Lord was in that place. During worship, I forgot all about my friend and realized I could no longer stand. I was weeping and got all snotty-nosed,” Vernell said. “Strangely, I was also laughing because the joy of the Lord was flowing all through me. My friend was trying to protect me from getting trampled upon as people were headed to and from the altar and dancing around, but I was oblivious to any danger,” Vernell added. …

How God helped a US Congresswoman’s unborn baby survive a condition, that none survived before

An amazing story has emerged on the remarkable healing of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s (R-Wa) baby. Faithwire reports shortly after announcing that she was expecting, doctor’s informed Beutler that her 22-week-old unborn baby would die because she was suffering from a lack of amniotic fluid and as well had no kidneys. It is a very rare condition called Potter’s Syndrome, and one that no baby had ever survived. “[The doctors] said … ‘Your baby has no kidneys, which means there’s no amniotic fluid in there, which means your baby is going to die. There is no chance your baby will live. No baby has ever survived this,’” Beutler told Faithwire. “There is nothing to describe getting news like that.” The doctors recommended an abortion. But abortion was not an option for Beutler and her husband, David, who are Christians, and they turned to prayer. A day after her diagnosis, Beutler received an email devotional discussing healing, and at that moment she felt God wanted her to ‘contend’ for their unborn child. Beutler sensed the Holy …

While most Christians fall into the ignorance category when it comes to the Holy Spirit, the rest of us fall into the leaky category

I was honestly surprised by the results of a poll conducted in September 2021 by the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University that showed the majority of Christians do not believe the Holy Spirit is a real person. According to the poll, the majority of Americans, 176 million, considered themselves as Christians with 35% self-identifying as born again and 28% self-identifying themselves as Evangelical Christians. Though the two groups are technically different groups, the polling showed that they held primarily the same opinions on multiple issues. But when asked if they believed the Holy Spirit was real, the Christian Post reports that only 38% of the self-identifying born-again Christians believed that the Holy Spirit was a real or living person. The remaining 62% believed the Holy Spirit was only symbolic of God’s power. In other words, the majority of Christians do not believe the Holy Spirit is a necessary part of their Christian experience. As surprising as this sounds, it explains the anemic nature of the North American church. It is such a contrast …

Does the Holy Spirit still speak to people today? Tim Halfin thinks He does!

On Wednesday, Oct 6, 2021, three-year-old Christopher Ramirez was outside playing with a neighbourhood puppy. It is uncertain exactly what happened next, but it is believed the pup wandered off and the toddler followed the dog disappearing into a large wooded area near the family home in Grimes County, Texas. Over the next couple of days, members of the family, police, and community volunteers launched a major search effort for the toddler but were unable to find him. Then a strange thing happened at a Bible study, held twice a month, at a neighbourhood church. Tim Halfin was attending the Friday evening study when someone brought up the missing boy and asked for prayer. According to the Western Journal, Halfin, who had not heard about the disappearance, immediately sensed the Holy Spirit prompting him to join the search for Christopher. Halfin had felt similar promptings in the past and knew that God was speaking to him and decided to search for Christopher the following Saturday morning. Though he had no idea where to look, Halfin …

Despite increasing persecution, Christianity growing in Indonesia

It defies logic, but according to a report by the Indonesian government, the Christian population in that Muslim-dominated country has grown by 1% over the past decade. With just over 86% of Indonesia’s population (272.2 million) identifying as Muslim, the country has the largest muslim population (236 million) of any country in the world. But the growth of Christianity is interesting considering the emergence of several Muslim extremist groups in recent years, that have been ramping up their persecution of Christians. This past spring, the government was forced to increase security for churches during Easter services after two militants, a husband and wife, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic extremist group, ISIS, blew themselves up outside a church the previous Palm Sunday, injuring 20. Yet, despite this growing persecution, International Concern reports that as of June 2021, the government reported that 10.58% of its population is Christian (comprised of 20.4 million protests and 8.4 million Catholics). This is up from 9.87% of its population reporting as Christian in 2010. In real numbers, the Christian …

Why Do People Sometimes Collapse in the Presence of God?

By Rick Renner And when I [John] saw him [Christ], I fell at his feet as dead…— Revelation 1:17 Over my years of serving God, I have noticed that often when people have encounters with God, they physically fall. Sometimes they fall forward, and at other times they fall backward. Still at other times, they simply collapse onto the ground. I have seen this in many meetings — and I experienced it as a young man. I can tell you, the experience was real. My experience occurred the first time I ventured out from my Baptist church and attended a Pentecostal type of service. Just prior to that, I had been released from the hospital where I had been diagnosed with a kidney condition — one that I was born with — that was very serious. It was so serious that to try to correct it required surgery that was considered life-threatening. When the man praying for the sick in this Pentecostal meeting invited the sick to come forward, I went to the front to …

Is the Holy Spirit raising up a river against the enemy?

There is a verse in Isaiah that states when the enemy comes in like a flood that the Lord will raise up a standard against this onslaught: When the enemy comes in like a flood,The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19 NKJ) However, blogger Kim Balogh believes that the comma has been put in the wrong place. She feels the verse should actually read this way: When the enemy comes in,like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. With this adjustment, the verse says that the Spirit of God will raise a rushing flood (lit. rushing river) against an invading adversary. She adds that the Hebrew word nûs (translated” lift up a standard” in the New King James) is better translated as fleeing or escaping. Using these two adjustments, Balogh believes that the verse should read “When the enemy shall come in, like a river the Spirit of God will make him flee.” And with the US being pummelled on every …

Denzel Washington says being filled with the Holy Spirit ‘scared’ him

In a recent Instagram interview with A.R. Bernard, who pastors Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., actor Denzel Washington shared the moment that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Denzel said that there were three times in his life, when he committed his life to Christ, and on the third time, while attending the Church of God in Christ in West Angeles, Denzel was filled with the Holy Spirit. He added that this supernatural experience “scared him:” “Three times…I think we all go through that. I was filled with the Holy Ghost and it scared me. I didn’t want to go this deep…I want to party. It was a supernatural, once in this lifetime experience that I couldn’t completely understand at the time.” […] “I went to church with Robert Townsend and when it came time to come down to the altar I said, ‘You know this time, I’m just going to go down there and give it up and see what happens.’ I went in the prayer room and gave it up and …

Being led by the Holy Spirit is a struggle for believers

I recently read two stories, that from outward appearances appear to be polar opposites, but both garnered positive responses, because I think both reflect the leading of the Holy Spirit. The first involves a story out of Cary, North Carolina, when two groups of believers, one led by Pastors Soboma and Faith Wokoma of Legacy Center Church and the other by Love Wins Ministry’s Shara and Daniel Chalmers, peacefully walked arm and arm with demonstrators who were protesting the death of George Floyd in that community. Then at the end, as Jesus did with His disciples, the two Christians groups voluntarily washed the feet of the demonstrators. This included two Christian police chiefs from the area who also participated, showing, like Jesus, they were there to serve all people. Shara Chalmers told CBN: “We really need to have action now, not just prayer. It was an incredible movement of unity and there was such a presence of Jesus.” But something completely different happened at a demonstration in Georgia. When Georgia State Trooper O’Neal Saddler showed …

Tongue Tied?

Español: ¿Lengua atada? The Holy Spirit is an active member of the Trinity and is known by many names– each one an attribute or symbolic of a gift or activity. This article looks at when and how to receive the Holy Spirit. On the surface this seems simple enough right? I mean we all know when we receive the Holy Spirit just like we all know when we are saved.  But as in most things simple, there can be controversy. You know we can all have an opinion about anything. But as Christians we have to look at the Bible as our truth.  Even when we are right, we need to base our truth on the Word. So what does the Bible say when you receive the Holy Spirit? Some people believe you receive the Holy Spirit the instant you believe in Jesus Christ. Here are some Bible verses for that perspective. Roman 8:9 and Ephesians 1: 13-14 are used to back the idea that we receive the Holy Spirit when we first believe. Perhaps …

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The Time I Felt God’s Glory Show Up

This past weekend I attended  a conference, Ask for Rain, in our city designed to bring churches together to create relationship and community. During these sessions I believe God’s glory showed up. Pastors, intercessors, prophets and teachers from various churches in our city taught, shared, prayed and prophesied during the planned intervals between worship sets that were two to three hours long. An hour before the two-day Ask For Rain event began, I met with a group of intercessors to pray. As I stood with them, I saw a massive wave rising up out of an ocean of waves and I saw Jesus being lifted up on the crest of this giant wave.  His arms were stretched out and He was positioned to fall upon the church. I had seen this same image many times in the past few weeks and as I stepped out and prayed what I saw, this passage came to my mind: ”Where I saw the brightness of the glory of Israel’s God coming from the east.  The sound I heard …

When the Holy Spirit fell on me while I was vacuuming

Español: Cuando el Espíritu Santo cayó sobre mí mientras pasaba la aspiradora My husband had just gone out for coffee with a friend and I had the house to myself. It is a rare treat  these days with both of us retired and home together. So when he closed the door behind him, a peaceful silence wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket. I had the next two hours to myself. So, what did I decide to do? Vacuum of course! But the Holy Spirit had other ideas. As I leaned over to pick up the hose, I felt a nudge. It was  like a slight wind on my back. Initially, I thought it was the silence and peace settling on me. Then, I felt a breath blowing over me. And immediately, there was a stirring in my spirit and what seemed like a flame igniting inside me as the Holy Spirit engulfed me. I lifted myself up, raised my hands and began to dance and worship God and speak in tongues all at …

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ARGENTINA 2008 – ‘Spring up O Well’

Español: ARGENTINA 2008 – ‘ La Fuente del Avivamiento ‘ We were in Argentina in 2008 and had made contact with a church in Resistencia that had been involved in the powerful revival that shook that country in the 1950s. I believe God had sent me to Argentina to open the revival wells and bring it north to Canada. The pastor of the Resistencia church, Alejandro Juszczuk, had invited me to speak. I Corinthians 12:4-6 says that there are varieties of gifts, ministries and effects, but the same God who works. It is not up to me to tell God, but to follow Him. When I got to the service the next morning and stood in the pulpit, after Alejandro Juszczuk said “Peter, you speak” and I said “Yes, Alejandro, I will speak” I looked to see if the Sign from God was in place. The ministry couple was sitting in Row 4, on the aisle, just as God had told me. So in obedience to the Sign from God I opened the Revival Well. …

Wine at Saint-Laurent-d'Agny, Rhone-Alpes, France Credit: mll/Flickr/Creative Commons

Be not drunk with wine, but instead be drunk in the Spirit?

When the Holy Spirit fell upon the Toronto Airport Vineyard church in 1994, people at the church my wife and I were attending went to Toronto to see first hand what was going on. They returned with a deposit of the Holy Spirit and God began to move in a profound way in our church similar to what was happening in Toronto. It was an usual time. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, people manifested all sorts of strange behavior. There were fits of uncontrollable laughter and crying. People were being slain in the spirit and falling to the ground. Others were experiencing travailing in the spirit and literally groaning when they felt birth pangs as the Holy Spirit prayed through them (Romans 8:26). I experienced that myself and physically felt contractions inside me. Sometimes they came so rapidly and intensely that I couldn’t stand. During this time one of the strangest things that happened is that every time I watched the Sound of Music, the true story of the Von Trapp’s family escape …

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The Breath of God, the Breath of Life

Whenever I get that ‘lost’ feeling where life seems out of control and I am overwhelmed, I remember these words spoken by God at creation. “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” I recognize the signals that are warning me to slow down and when all else fails and I am really desperate I go back to the beginning, to the “breath of life.” I often take a deep breath and allow the breath of God (life) to flow through me. The Hebrew word for spirit in the Old Testament is “ruach” and it means “air in motion.” The same word is translated “breath” and “life.” When talking about the Holy Spirit, Jesus said He is like wind or “pneuma,” which means “a current of air, breeze or breath.” “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where …

Alabama Crimson Tide home field Credit: Mike C/Flickr/Creative Commons

Did God anoint Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa?

“First and foremost, I’d just like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With him, all things are possible. That is what happened tonight.” Those were the words spoken by Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa, 19, in a TV interview after his team the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the College National Football Championship in Atlanta on January 8, 2018. Alabama was losing 13-0 at halftime in arguably the most important college football game of the year. With the team’s starting QB struggling, Alabama head coach Nick Saban sent in rookie back-up QB, who up to this point had no significant playing time other than a few reps in games with the score well in hand. Tagovailoa led Alabama to what some have described as a miraculous 26-23 overtime victory. With 28.4 million viewers, ESPN reported that it was the second most watched college game since the NCAA instituted the playoff format four years ago. According to AOL, Tagovailoa was born in Hawaii, where he attended his uncle’s church, Navali Ole Filemu …

Stephen Willeford Credit: Steven Crowder Youtube show

Did the Holy Spirit fall upon a man to stop a mass murderer?

It may challenge the theology of some. But Stephen Willeford, 55, said the Holy Spirit came upon him to help stop Devin Kelley the man responsible for killing 28 people at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday, Nov 5, 2017 In an interview with Steven Crowder the day after the shooting, Willeford, a Christian, explained what happened. After hearing shots being fired, Willeford who lives a block away, grabbed his AR-15 rifle and ran barefoot to find out what was going on. When he arrived Kelley was leaving the church and Willeford ducked behind a truck parked in a neighbor’s driveway and the two began exchanging fire. Willeford told Crowder: “I’m a Christian, and I believe at that point, and maybe this sounds a little off to some of your viewers that aren’t Christians, [but] I believe the Holy Spirit was on me because I had the presence of mind to look at what was going on.” During the shooting, Crowder noticed that Kelley was prepared for a fight and was …

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A tale of two worlds

There are two worlds in Christianity. One where the Holy Spirit leads and guides believers through spiritual gifts and the other that has basically rejected the Holy Spirit playing such an active role in a person’s life. I recently read a story involving the wife of a Southern Baptist minister who had publicly rejected the ministry of Beth Moore. Beth Moore is a Charismatic teacher popular not only among women of a Pentecostal persuasion but apparently even Southern Baptist women who are less enamored with the Holy Spirit and His gifts today. In her testimony provided to Pulpit & Pen, Lauran, who leads a woman’s Bible study at her husband’s church, admitted that Beth Moore had been a favorite teacher for years. She used Beth’s materials for her Bible studies and even attended conferences where Beth was speaking. But that changed about five years ago, when Lauran became concerned that Beth believed God spoke to her — that the Holy Spirit was giving her direction. She cited one revelation that Beth received where she prophetically …

Tim Tebow Credit: Duane Schoon/Flickr/Creative Commons

Does Tim Tebow ‘expect’ to heal the sick?

ABC News has a fascinating article on a recent incident involving Tim Tebow. A former Heisman Trophy winner (2007), NFL quarterback and TV announcer, Tim Tebow, 29, is a born-again Christian. He is very vocal about his faith and has come under attack because of this. With no NFL prospects, Tim recently tried professional baseball and ended up in the New York Mets organization playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions. Remarkably on the first pitch on his first time at bat, Tim hit a home run. The feat was widely reported in the media. But recently Tim gained more press while playing a game in the Arizona Fall League. He was signing autographs after the game when a person in the crowd had a seizure. ABC News wrote: Brandon Berry, who was in the front row, dropped to the ground as his mouth began to foam and his body convulsed in what was later determined to be a seizure. The violent shaking stopped, and Berry went limp. Tebow seeing what had happened approached the group who …

65% of British people believe they had an encounter with God. Photo: London England -- Ville Miettinen/Flickr/Creative Commons

British survey reveals God is still encountering people today

It is very clear when you read the Bible that God desires personal encounters with people. In the Old Testament, Moses ran into God in the wilderness through a burning bush (Exodus 3:1 – 4:17). The incident changed his life and transformed him from a shepherd to the man who led Israel out of Egypt. In the New Testament, God encountered people through the filling of the Holy Spirit. It was a dramatic event. When the Holy Spirit fell on the gentiles in Cornelius’s house, the disciples in attendance had no doubt it had happened because of what they saw (Acts 10:44-46). A meeting with God can also take on other forms. After an angel told Philip to go down a specific road he ran into the Ethiopian Eunuch who was just leaving Jerusalem (Acts 8:25-40). Puzzled by what he was reading in Isaiah, Philip’s timely arrival led to the man becoming a Christian. The eunuch worked in the treasury department for the Ethiopian Royal family (Acts 8:27). His conversion brought Christianity to that nation. According to a recent British survey, these God encounters …

The breath of life.

Breath

Have you ever felt the need to slow down and just breath? To let your lungs fill with air and just be totally refreshed? I know I have. The book of Genesis tells us God breathed the very first breath of life into man. ‘The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of the spirit of life and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7 Amplified Bible) Isn’t it amazing that God is the source of life and He ‘breathed’ this life into man. In the Old Testament, Job’s friend Elihu said it well: ‘The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4 NIV) In Hebrew ‘ruach’ is the word for breath, wind or spirit according to Strong’s Dictionary. There is a force in this word, like there is in the wind. This wind can blow (breath) wherever it wills and accomplish what it wants in my life (John 3:8). One day last month it was extremely …

God wants to make appointments for you.

Divine appointments still going on today

The Holy Spirit wants to make Divine appointments for us. If we are willing to listen, He will send us to them. Other times, the Holy Spirit brings the appointments to us or it can be a bit of both. The Apostle Philip was preaching the Gospel in Samaria when the Holy Spirit fell (Acts 8:25-40). People were being saved, healed and delivered. Hearing what was happening, Peter and John joined Philip in Samaria to help in this work. After they were done, the three men decided to return to Jerusalem. But the Angel of the Lord spoke to Philip about going down a specific road — the Desert Road. Philip obeyed and ran into an Ethiopian — an eunuch who headed the treasury for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. Philip led the man to the Lord and even water baptized him. Many believe this Divine appointment led to the early introduction of Christianity in Ethiopia. In other instances, God brings appointments to you. After Esther was selected as the next wife of the King …

What is the gift of faith? Photo: Len Matthews/Flickr

God gave me a Gift of Faith for $6,895

A couple decades back, my wife and I had moved out of the city we had lived in most of our life due to a work transfer.  We were there about a year and a half, when I received a phone call from my boss asking if we wanted to return home. A lot of good things happened while we were gone, but both of us felt it was time to go back. Of course, we had bought a house and needed to sell it before we could move. As we pondered the sale, we considered the possibility of selling it ourselves instead of using a real estate agency that would charge us a few thousand dollars for their service. While in the throes of making the decision, a brother, who knew we were moving, called. The Lord impressed on him that we should consider selling the house on our own rather than using a real estate agency. The phone call confirmed what we had been feeling and we decided to try selling the house ourselves. …