- Mind - do you have a clear understanding of reality and rational reasons behind why you believe the Christian worldview?
- Soul - are you cultivating a healthy emotional life; an intimate relationship with God?
- The Spirit - are you growing in living in the power of the Kingdom of God; is the power of the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Triune God) a reality in your life?
But even before that, my own life journey almost seems to outline this book. In middle school and high school, I read up on the scientific and philosophical reasons for believing in Jesus. Then in college I was introduced to the notion that one must attend to the care of one's inner life in a more purposeful way through a class I took in seminary. And finally, toward the end of my college career I discovered a church that seemed to satisfy my life-long search: "Why can't there be a church today, that experiences God the way the church did in the first century, as recorded in the book of Acts?" And I'm just barely learning how to wade. I know one day I will swim in this new dimension of living in the Kingdom.
So anyway, in reading this book I was introduced to an organization called the Sentinel Group that does global research on what the Holy Spirit is doing with his church.
And here's a video. Remember Acts chapter 2 and what happened as the believers gathered to pray?
2 comments:
Well, being Reformed, I do believe that the "sign gifts" ceased with end of the Apostolic Age. However, I do believe that whenever the Holy Spirit is introduced to a new geographic region on earth, that He makes His presence with a triumphal "roar," and then as time goes on, He lifts the intensity of His presence much like in the same way that a fire dies out, and you can watch the last of the embers wade away. I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit leaves, just that the manifestation of His presence changes after His initial coming. You see this type of phenomena in the movie ee-Tao (spelling?)
I think that this video clip also proves my point -- the Holy Spirit made His grand entrance with fire, but the clip didn't say anything about this sort of thing continuing.
This also seems to be what we see in the history of the early church within the Apostolic Age. For example, in the book of Acts, we have the Apostles touching people and making them well, so much so that in Acts 19, handkerchiefs and aprons are brought to Paul for him to touch while he was in Ephesus, so that the people who brought the items to him could then take them back to the sick who were unable to get up. Yet, later in the history of the early church, this same Paul writes to Timothy and tells him to "take a little wine" to settle his stomach. Why wouldn't Timothy be healed after just touching a letter that was sent to him by Paul?
Just my perspective...
Ah. Many points I agree with you. That God desires us to walk by faith and not by sight. So there will be times when the "intensity" seems to be gone or dissipate.
Also, the bit about Paul telling Timothy to take some wine -- speaks of seeking medical attention/natural remedies as opposed to ONLY relying on supernatural healing.
I think that's where Moreland's book comes in, challenging the Body to explore all of the three major aspects that he addresses, and walk in balance.
Kingdom Triangle reads like part personal testimony of his journey of discovery, part reference book, part personal manifesto.
It opens the dialog. So that Christians can stop giving lip-service to the idea of unity and begin stepping into it.
And that video clip, it took place in Quebec, Canada. In the late 90's. It does something simple for me. It gets me excited. It inspires me to pray. To stay in the Word. Not so that I can seek a similar experience. That would be selfish. That would be akin to an addict looking for his next fix. No. It's so that prayer & Bible study becomes time well spent with Jesus.
Thanks for dropping in to say hi!
Post a Comment