Inspiration

God’s Looking For Ordinary People

Christian Faith, Inspiration, Uncategorized, Videos

So many people feel that they would be willing to serve the Lord and be used to tell others about His love and mercy, but they believe that God can’t use them. They have the idea that He uses only people who have some special talents or gifts — or people who are particularly strong in faith and never have any fears or flaws to get in the way.

But that idea simply isn’t true. The Lord isn’t looking for people who are perfect, or who have developed some kind of talent or ability before He calls them to share the truth about Jesus and His redemption with others. God’s just looking for people who are willing. That’s it. If we are willing to listen when He calls; if we’re willing to spend time in His Word so that He can give us revelation concerning it; and if we’re willing to obey His call when we hear it, then we are exactly the people He’s looking for.

Two friends of mine, Bud and Maretta Hall, from a small town in Southern Illinois, USA, are exactly that kind of people. They fit the description of “ordinary people” perfectly. They didn’t see themselves as having any particular gifts or accomplishments that would have destined them to be used internationally to spread the Gospel. But they loved the Lord. And when He tapped them on the shoulder and beckoned them to believe Him and just obey His instructions — one step at a time — one day at a time — they found themselves in the midst of a life of service that wasn’t ordinary in the least. 

Through decades of following the leading of the Holy Spirit, they constantly experienced God’s unchanging love, His timely provision, and His abiding peace. 

This past year, Maretta was led to share much of their experience in a memoir that recounts the story of how an extraordinary God can take two very ordinary people and do miraculous, life-changing things that affect lives, both in this world and in eternity.

So if you’d like to be thrilled, challenged and inspired by such a story, take a look at the trailer for her book and then hop over to Amazon and order a copy for yourself — and another copy for someone you love.

 Check out THE CALL OF AN AWESOME GOD TO TWO ORDINARY PEOPLE.

Available in Paperback, Hardcover, or Digital HERE.

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Believe You Can

Christian Faith, Inspiration, Uncategorized

You will see in this exceptional photo that the horse is literally flying over this double hurdle with a measurable amount of space to spare. A particularly difficult feat, and a beautiful sight to behold. I was inspired to see in this photo the meeting of a challenge in a quote from a woman named Dorothea Brande. She said: “Act as if it were impossible to fail.”

The beautiful horse in this picture believed he could fly over this hurdle with room to spare.  That is the only reason he is doing it successfully.  I found that looking at this picture and dwelling on it encouraged me to challenge myself to do the same, and I’m passing on that challenge. Whatever it is in your life that you need to — or even want to — accomplish successfully, believe that you can do it.  See yourself doing it.  Throw your heart over the hurdles that look like they could hinder you.

A famous trapeze artist from two generations ago was training a new student who, one day, suddenly became filled with fear as he looked at the precarious perch where he had to perform.  He froze — couldn’t move a muscle — and began to gasp, “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!”  The long-time veteran put his arm around the young man and said, “Yes, son, you can do it, and I will tell you how: throw your heart over the bar, and your body will follow.”  The Word of God backs up that premise with the truth from Proverbs 23:7, which says of man, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

The horse in this picture had been trained by his master to jump over those hurdles successfully. He knew the thrill of doing so, and he knew the rewards of success. That training caused him to believe that he could make this jump with plenty of room to spare. Our God teaches us that we can “do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Phil. 4:13), and that “with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37). He also tells us that if a man has faith in God and shall “not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” (Mark 11:23).

That horse threw his heart over those bars because he believed he could make that jump.  So he did.  He simply acted on what he believed and succeeded. Let his example stir you. When you go through a difficult situation in your life and find yourself facing the challenge of doing something that looks a little too big or too high for you, go back and take a long look at this photo.  Meditate on it until the power of it has saturated your own soul. Then obey Dorothea Brande’s wise words:  “Act as if it were impossible to fail.”

An Important Strategy for the New Year

Christian Faith, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Uncategorized, Videos

As we embark on this new year of 2023, there are some strategies that can make our process more successful. One of those strategies is learning to make our plans — and live them out — based on the infallible information we receive from the Word of God.  Let this short video message encourage you to trust God’s Word to take you though every journey of your life with a good outcome.

Healing Is The Children’s Bread

Christian Faith, Healing, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Uncategorized, Videos

If you would rather access this message on video, you will find the link below the article:

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In the natural realm, we are going through a period of time in our world when some items that we need for everyday life are running low – or are unable to be delivered in a timely manner. I’ve had the experience – and I’ve listened to many other people complaining about the experience – of going to the local grocery store and finding shelves almost empty of staples like bread and milk and eggs. And sometimes even a trip to one or two other stores doesn’t glean us any of those supplies either. It’s frustrating – even aggravating – to need something and have no way of obtaining it.

But today I’d like to talk to you about a supply chain that never runs out – doesn’t even run low. I’d like to focus on God’s supply of some things we need and His storehouse that always has well-stocked shelves. I’d like to focus particularly on the bread that He supplies for His children.

When Jesus was here on the earth, He made a pretty amazing statement. When referring to deliverance and healing of the body, He said that those provisions were the “children’s bread.” We find His words in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 15 and in Mark, chapter 7. Jesus was speaking to a Syrophoenician woman who, although she was not a Jew and had no covenant with God, was, nevertheless, asking for deliverance and healing for her daughter. And the point Jesus made to her was that He had not been sent to those with no covenant with God, But He had been sent to fulfill the covenant God had made with those who loved Him and had relationship with Him. Now, Jesus did respond to that Syrophoenician woman’s faith and delivered her daughter anyway, but His point in that conversation was that anyone in covenant with God had a predetermined right to a supply of that healing and deliverance, simply because it was a part of God’s covenant provision – as surely as bread was part of their food provision.

It’s significant that He spoke about those provisions as something as basic as bread. It’s a staple for the human diet. It’s not something we consider an appetizer, a dessert, or a between-meal treat. No, bread, according to the Word of God, is one of the primary foods that He promises to provide and bless. One example of that provision is found in Exodus 23:25, where He says “I will bless your bread and your water.”

So God sees bread as one of the most necessary items in our food supply. And He chose to identify His healing and deliverance as a commodity that is a fundamental staple in our lives as surely as bread is a physical staple in providing our nourishment and satisfying our hunger.

Beloved, are you battling sickness or physical infirmities right now? Are you in need of deliverance from some kind of stronghold in your life? Then you can come to the storehouse for your supply of the “bread” God has prepared for you.

There’s plenty of it. And we’re not talking crumbs here. If you have made Jesus your Lord, you are God’s child, and God’s bread belongs to you. If you haven’t made Jesus your Lord yer, you can remedy that fact right now. Simply tell Jesus that you choose to believe that He is the Son of God and that He took your sin and died to pay for all that sin. Tell Him you want Him to become your Lord and take control of your life from this moment forward. That’s all it takes. Once that’s done, you, too, have become a child of God, and His bread is yours.

And God’s supply isn’t running low. There are shelves and shelves of bread available every day. Come and get yours. Take a whole loaf. You aren’t limited to a slice or two. You can have a whole loaf at once, with a new slice for every different thing that’s wrong. Are you dealing with an eye problem and a pain in your foot, as well as a head cold? Are you dealing with cancer and diabetes and arthritis all at the same time? Are your mental faculties waning, causing you to lose memory or have trouble reasoning? Is there a problem with one of your organs because you have had an addiction to alcohol or nicotine, so that you need deliverance as well as healing?

No problem. It doesn’t matter how many afflictions you’re dealing with. There’s a slice for every problem. If you need two or three slices for one kind of sickness, and then two or three more for another issue, there’s still no problem. If your current loaf runs low, there’s plenty more where it came from.

And we don’t even have to stop at getting bread. The Lord loves us so much that He wants to provide a complete menu for us, meeting our every need. He tells us in Psalm 23, verse 5, that He prepares a whole table for us right in the presence of our enemies. Now we don’t have to keep our eyes on the enemy forces that have come out against us, watching all the time to make sure they are not going to get the upper hand. When we put ourselves into the right relationship with the Lord – by becoming one with Jesus Christ – we can rest in that relationship and it’s promised protection. We can sit back and enjoy all the wonderful provisions the Lord has for us even when our enemy is present and wanting to get us down.

Let’s think for a minute about the kind of table the Lord prepares for us. What kinds of provision do you think you’ll find on your table? Will there be bowls of cancer? Or platters of infectious diseases? Will there be loaves of sorrow or pitchers of pain? Why, no, beloved child of God. The Word of God says that Jesus took all of those things for us. Galatians 3:13 tells us clearly that He took the whole curse of the law for us so that we could be free from it.

And that curse includes every kind of sickness and disease man will ever know. You can find the details of that curse in Deuteronomy 28. It lists a lot of individual sicknesses and infirmities by name, but then verse 61 adds the fact that every single kind of sickness and disease that has not already been named is also included in the curse. We are redeemed from it – from every bit of it – so our table will have none of those hurtful, life-threatening things on it.

Instead, we will find bowls of joy and strength, platters of comfort, pitchers of balm, trays of mercies to cover every need, and baskets filled to overflowing with our bread of deliverance and healing.

So if you are in need of any kind of deliverance or healing in your body – or in your mind or emotions – come take a seat at the table the Lord has set for you. Come boldly and joyously. Dip from the bowls and platters and baskets again and again. Take all you need, all you want. Partake until you are fully satisfied and rejoice in the knowledge that your Father is a faithful provider and will never fail to keep an abundant supply for you at His table. The invitation is for all time, so you can come back again and again and feast on the “bread” of healing and deliverance that His love – and the finished work of Jess – have provided for you.

The Way Into Healing

Christian Faith, Healing, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Uncategorized

Visions Seen Photography

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way.
He works in ways we cannot see.
He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide,
Hold me closely to His side.
With love and strength for each new day,
He will make a way;
He will make a way.”

(Worship lyrics by Don Moen)

God will make a way for you to be healed. There is no such thing as God not providing healing for His people who turn to Him in trust. Many times, however, due to our own lack of complete knowledge of His Word, or our lack of complete submission to Him – and then our lack of faith that results from either of those two situations – we fail to receive that healing. That problem can be remedied, but in order to fix the situation, we must clearly differentiate between God’s doing His part and our doing our part.

God has never failed to grant healing to anyone who asked for it in faith, in the name of Jesus Christ, and with a pure heart. Jesus never turned down one single person who came to Him for healing, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8). That being the case, we must never accuse Him of refusing healing. And, in truth, He cannot refuse, because 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that every promise that God ever made has already been answered ‘Yes’ in Jesus. So He cannot go back on that promise now. In fact, Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8: 16-17, 1 Peter 2:24, and Galatians 3:13 all tell us that the work of healing and deliverance from every part of the curse of the broken law has been accomplished and completed. Your healing is already in existence and waiting for you.

So how do we get to it? That’s where we need guidance into the right path. God has made so many avenues available to us for accessing His healing. He responds to our own personal prayer of faith, agreement in prayer between two people, laying on of hands, anointing with oil, partaking of the Lord’s supper, gifts of healings, casting out demons, praise and worship, and taking the Word as medicine. Those are all ways in which He is willing and able to work independently of man’s system of medical science in order to put healing into our bodies and minds. Then God is also willing to work with us in combination with medical science if that is where the level of our faith is. He will move gladly and powerfully to bless doctors and medicines for good work in our bodies.

However, it is important to remember that God is a great believer in man’s free will, and He will not overstep the personal will of medical people to force them to do things totally against their will. So we need to bear in mind that when using medical science, we could also be limiting God’s hand by allowing physicians and drug companies to dictate what we do rather than the Word of God. That’s why it is important to pray and get wisdom and direction from the Lord when choosing a doctor or a medication. And, ultimately, we must be careful not to put more trust in those doctors and medicines than we do in God’s own Word. Should there ever be serious disagreement between man’s system of medicine and God’s Word, we must choose to side with God’s Word only.

Now siding with God’s Word is particularly crucial when we hear a doctor say that there is no way for us to be healed. We must refuse and reject that mindset completely if we want to free God’s hand to work for us. We must not believe the doctor when he tells us that there is “no hope” for recovery or that the disease or situation we have is “impossible” to cure. When a physician says such things, all he is really saying is that he personally does not know how to cure us. And if a dozen doctors tell us the same thing, then they are saying the human medical personnel have not figured out how to cure that problem yet. But, dear sick one, that does not mean there is no cure. Jesus Christ is the cure, and He finished the work thousands of years ago.

And just think: even throughout Old Testament years, God’s people received healing when they turned to God for it and obeyed His Word, and that blessing was based on their faith in only the PROMISE of healing – not the completed work. We now have a completed promise in Jesus’ completed work.

So quit looking at a man-made diagnosis or prognosis. Instead look at God’s prognosis: “We are healed by the stripes of Jesus.” When Hezekiah was king of Judah, his nation was surrounded by three great enemy armies, and the king of one those nations sent him a threatening letter. It would have been enough to frighten almost any leader because it recounted all the nations these armies had successfully defeated and subdued.

The situation looked absolutely hopeless, but Hezekiah took the letter (the report) and went into the temple and laid it before the Lord, calling on Him to save them. After he prayed, the prophet Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah to give him God’s report: he announced that the Lord would defeat the enemy armies and that not one arrow shot toward Hezekiah’s people would even land in the city. Hezekiah turned his face from that bad report and looked at God’s report instead, and God gave them a mighty victory by sending an angel to destroy the thousands of enemy soldiers during the night. (2 Kings 19).

Another time, Hezekiah was so sick that even the prophet told him that he would die. There was no hope. But again Hezekiah turned his face from that hopeless situation and looked to God alone, crying out to him for mercy and a longer life. God heard Hezekiah’s prayer – not because Hezekiah was so good – but because he put all of his trust in God’s mercy and faithfulness. God healed Hezekiah, and gave him 15 more years of life. (2 Kings, 20).

The list of others who faced totally “hopeless, incurable” situations and diseases is exceedingly long. And every one of them received deliverance and healing from the Lord. God’s Word is full of such examples, and of God’s faithfulness to prove that nothing is impossible with Him. You can get into the Word and meet these people for yourself, or if you already know about them, you can read their testimonies again and let them create new faith in you.

And, in fact, dear sick one, you must get into that Word and read these passages for yourself, because if we are going to put our trust in the Lord and His Word for our healing, we have to KNOW His Word and believe it. If you find yourself in a position of not believing His Word, then your solution is to get into that Word, with an open, honest heart, and read it and absorb it until it has created faith in you. It will create faith, because God tells us that faith comes from the Word of God. (Romans 10:17).

Moreover, it’s that Word that reveals to us many avenues to receiving healing from the Lord. God’s Word offers us the avenues mentioned earlier in this article — personal prayer, agreement with others, anointing with oil, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, praying for others, taking His Word as medicine — along with numerous other acts of faith what will help us receive our healing from Him. We must each feed on that Word and give God time and attention so he can lead us — through His Word — to the best pathway for each of  us at any given time. And, in fact, our Radical About Jesus YouTube channel has video lessons on many of those pathways to healing that you may find helpful as well.

Now, before I leave you to study that Word on your own, let me also point you to Psalm 25. In that one Psalm alone, there are several passages that tell us clearly that God wants to make HIS WAY into all good things known to us. Let’s look at all the encouragement in this one Psalm:

Verses 4-5: “Make me know Thy WAYS, O Lord: Teach me Thy PATHS. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation.”

Verses 8-9: “Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the WAY. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His WAY.”

Verse 10: “All the PATHS of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Verse 12: “Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the WAY he should choose.”

And remember, beloved reader: Jesus Himself, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, tells us in John 14: 6, “I am the WAY, the truth, and the life.” The path (the way) to everything good that God has for us is provided by Jesus. Set your eyes, your mind, and your whole heart on Jesus, and He will show you the WAY that you can be healed.

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Free to Any U.S. Pastor — ‘The Truth About St. Paul’s Thorn’

Christian Faith, Healing, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Uncategorized
FREE TO ANY PASTOR IN THE U. S. WHO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A COPY.
 
My booklet that casts down and clears way all the lies concerning St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” is now available in digital as well as paperback. And I’m offering a free copy (digital or paperback) to any pastor in the U. S. who would like to have one.
 
If you’re a pastor who wants a copy, please e-mail me at the following address and give me your mailing address or the e-mail address if you want a link for a digital copy. If you don’t have a Kindle, Amazon provides a free app that works on any device you have.

Contact me here: radicalaboutjesus@gmail.com
 
Anyone else can purchase them from Amazon.
The paperback is still at the introductory price of $4.00.
The E-Book is $1.99.

I’m including the description from the back cover here:
“A straightforward, easy to understand message that cuts through all the lies of traditional and denominational doctrines to reveal the truth about St. Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh.’ Shining a bright light on the scripture passages involved, Bible teacher Sandra Pavloff Conner exposes the lies that have been misrepresenting this experience in Paul’s life for centuries as she lets the Word of God interpret and explain itself.”
 

My Cadillac For Your Camel — Rerun

Christian Faith, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Uncategorized, Videos

It’s been a long time since I first shared this video, so I thought I’d give it a fresh airing, along with an invitation to visit my ministry YouTube channel if you haven’t yet done so. If you’d like to be notified each time we post a new video, just click the “Subscribe” button, and click on the little bell symbol to control the setting for your notifications. 

Now enjoy this encouraging message.

 

Copyright: 2019 Radical About Jesus Ministries

The Same God Today

Christian Faith, Inspiration, Lessons From God's Word, Poetry, Uncategorized
Photo courtesy of Julian Hacker @ pixabay

I was thinking today about the prophet Ezekiel and his experience in the valley of dry bones, when the Lord told him He would give those bones new life. So I thought I’d share a poem the Lord inspired on the subject. The Scripture reference is Ezekiel, chapter 37.

THE SAME GOD TODAY

Bones in the valley,
Worthless and dry,
Bleached by the sun and
The wind blowing by.

God to the prophet
Did speak and did ask,
“Can these bones still live?
Is it too big a task?”

“Lord,” said the prophet,
“Only You know.”
“I’ll show you, Ezekiel;
My Spirit will blow.

“And cause them to live
And give flesh and skin;
They’ll rise like an army,
Give Me glory again.”

When our problems seem hopeless,
Too dead to restore,
We can look to Ezekiel
And his word from the Lord.

For the God who breathed life
Into bones dry and dead
Is the same God for us
If we’ll trust what He’s said.