Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - July 17, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Walking with Wisdom

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” (Matthew 7:22–23)

Today we have people who seek experience for the sake of experience, wanting to have what they think is a touch from God. We have self-proclaimed prophets who give their messages and proclaim their visions, but are rarely held accountable for the outcome.

We must be careful. On one hand, we don't want to limit God through unbelief, because we want Him to do His miracles in our lives. On the other hand, we simply cannot believe everyone and everything.

I believe in miracles. I believe in the supernatural. I believe God can heal. But we cannot seek experience at any cost. Experience must always be subservient to truth. It must always be ordered under what is right.

We cannot say something is true because we have experienced it. Rather, we should know something is true because it is found in Scripture and it verifies our experience.

In the Book of Acts, we never read about a miracle that was announced ahead of time. When God used Peter to heal the man at the gate Beautiful, we don't read that it was advertised beforehand: “Be at the gate Beautiful today. Miracles! Signs! Wonders! Don’t miss it!”

They never announced miracles in advance, because their focus was not on miracles. Their focus was on proclaiming the Word of God. They left miracles up to the Holy Spirit.

We must be especially careful in these last days, because not all miracles come from God. Remember, Satan is a great imitator.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.

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Lost Boy
The Bible says, "If any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. Old things have passed away. Everything becomes fresh and new." That is the truth I want you and everyone who reads this book to come away with. And it is a message not just of hope, but also of Christ's redemptive power.
-Greg Laurie