Here's a little snippet:
"When we allow sickness, torment, and poverty to be thought of as the God-ordained tools He uses to make us more like Jesus, we have participated in a very shameful act. There is no doubt He can use them, as He is also known to be able to use the devil himself for His purposes. (He can win with a pair of twos.) But to think these things are released in to your lives through His design, or that He approved such things, is to undermine the work at Calvary. To do so one must completely disregard the life of Christ and the purpose of the cross. None of us would say that he died for my sins but still intends that I should be bound by sin habits. Neither did he pay for my healing and deliverance so I could continue in torment and disease. His provision for such things is not figurative: it is actual." (Face to Face With God, pg. 173)
Phew! That is so counter to a lot of what I hear going on in church nowadays. And I'm just talking about my own personal experience: to my statement, "My aunt has cancer" I receive responses similar to, "Well maybe God is using this to get her attention."
When I type it out like that it does sound like the Lord would have to be awfully manipulative to use something as terrible as cancer just to "get someone's attention."
I'm becoming increasingly convinced of two things: We have been taught that having faith means resigning ourselves to fatalism disguised as God's will, and it's that mode of thinking which will eventually lead to our spiritual demise. At best, we will end up living a half-life as believers who never fully realize the destiny that the Lord has for us.
But that's just an initial thought. I'm really enjoying this book and if you want to borrow it when I'm done, I think I'll probably let you. :)
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