God in a bottle

For the longest time I wondered why miracles were a seemingly common thing when Jesus walked the earth but were almost extict in modern days. I really struggled with the fact that we never see seas part, or water turn into wine, or men healed of his blindness simply by speaking a few words. A few weeks ago at the college ministry I attend, this point was the subject of discussion. Dave Summrall spoke an entire message on this same topic that I struggled (keep in mind that struggled is past tense) with. So many times we ask God for healing over our bodies, relationships, ect. but when we ask for these healings and miracles do we truly believe that He is powerful enough to come through? I dont know about you but im not satisfied with living a dry spiritual life, I want to see some folks get healed! I want a blind man to look and tell me what he sees! Is our God not the same God that parted the sea and fed the 5,000? Has God changed?

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new touges; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Mark 16:15-18

After Dave read this scripture he said something that changed my life. He said, "Its time we start believing that!"

God in a bottle? I had a conversation with a good friend today. We were talking about diferent missions work at we each had done. I can remember worshiping in Costa Rica in a church that was literally a square building made from concrete blocks with a paved floor and a few hanging light bulbs that hung from the ceiling. The folks in that church were going absolutely crazy praising Jesus! It was an experience I will never forget! Think about that for a minute... people with nothing, in a room with nothing, singing and dancing and screaming all in praise of our God! when was the last time you were in the states and were a part of a service like this? Im not saying the churches here are not filled with the Holy Spirit and are fake in any way and as a matter of act I absolutely love my church a feel extremely blessed to be a part of such an awesome church, but it just seems like we have made God's love and power into some kind of normal thing. My friend said it perfectly (when talking about his mission work in Africa) he said, "Its like we have put God in a bottle and limited his power" I have been thinking about this statement ever since our conversation and he's right! It seems like we have made God into another face in the crowd or put Him into a container and have put restraints on His power. I recently heard a story of a college aged girl that is a friend of a friend of mine and due to a rare illness she has not been able to walk for quite some time. One night her church was praying over her and her pastor took her aside and asked her if she had ever prayed for her own healing, she told him she had not so he told her to pray for healing of her body. She spent the next 45 minutes in her university chapel and in the middle of her prayer she felt a tingling in her legs, she then pulled the braces off of her legs and WALKED out of the building! God wants to heal the sick and raise the dead to bring glory to His name, we just need to actually and whole-heartedly BELIEVE that He can do these things!