I"ll Pass

Jesse Birkey's picture

I needed coffee.  There’s a 7-11 across the street from our fire station that blesses us with free coffee when we are on duty.  Perfect.  So I filled up my mug with hot go-go juice and headed back to the station. 

 

About the same time I was crossing the street I noticed a man and a woman walking in my direction.  I assumed they were heading home, as there homes on the same street our station is on, and I didn’t pay them much attention initially.  But then I did.

 

I noticed the man had a white cane he constantly held out in front of him and that the woman with him was holding onto him.  In fact, she was leading him.  The man was blind.

 

Now the way I approach ministering to people is on a case-by-case basis.  In each unique situation I wait to hear direction from God before acting.  I do my best to hear and then respond.  And most times when I’m just not sure I error on the side of praying.

 

As soon as I noticed the man was the blind the thought flashed through my mind, I should pray for him.  As soon as that thought hit me some others started in.  That’s not God saying you should pray.  You can’t pray for a blind guy out here on the street.  It’s too big.  The only reason you think you should pray is because he’s blind and you saw him. God’s not leading you to do this.  It’s just coming from you and your desire to see a blind person healed.  Besides, he wouldn’t be healed anyway. 

 

Now I wouldn’t say that all of this swirling in my head is unusual.  It seems like most of the time God leads me to minister to someone in some way, the voice of our adversary gets a little louder.  So I try my best to ignore him and focus on what God is saying.  But sometimes it’s just plain hard to hear clear direction from God.  It’s especially hard when I start agreeing with the enemy in some ways.  Oh yeah praying for a blind guy is a really big deal.  Yeah I do want to see a blind guy healed so this might just be pride.  Yeah he’s going to think I’m nuts if I ask him if I can pray for him.    

 

This situation with the blind guy was one in which I was just not sure.  It felt like a toss up.  Like I said, normally I just pray in those situations and this time…I passed.  I put my head down, crossed the street, walked into the station and immediately knew I had missed an opportunity. 

 

I felt like I got punched in the stomach.  I hate missing opportunities like that (yeah it’s happened before).  I hate the associated guilt and shame that comes with knowing God was leading me to minister and not doing it.  God wanted to minister to that man in some way.  Whether it was physical healing, emotional or both, it was important.  It’s always important regardless of how the love of God is manifested.

 

But here’s the critical thing to understand.  That guilt and shame, it’s not coming from God.  While I think that God is sometimes disappointed in our actions I don’t believe He’s standing there with arms crossed waiting to tell us how wrong we were and yelling at/punishing us for it (that’s a model of correction many of us grew up with).  

 

In fact I think God is standing there with His arms wide open waiting to love us in the midst of our failures.  His words to us are something like, “Hey I love you.  Yeah you missed it this time but if you let Me I’ll teach you how you missed it so you can grow from this experience and next time it can be different.”

 

God doesn’t disqualify us from ministry when we fail to respond.  He doesn’t kick us to the curb.  We do that to ourselves by believing the lies of our adversary in the midst of our failures.  We do it to ourselves when we believe God handles correction in the same way many of us grew up experiencing.

 

But God is love and love is patient and love is kind.  It keeps no record of past wrongs!  Isn’t that awesome!  So we confess that we missed it and our slate is clean.  We forgive ourselves and move on into the next opportunity God has for us…and He will have another opportunity for us.

 

So be encouraged even in the midst of your failures.  God still loves you more than you can ever imagine and looks forward to the next opportunity He has to work through you.

 

Blessings,      

 

Jesse and Kara Birkey

Sid Roth on Life Resurrected

“This next, greatest, and perhaps last move of God’s Spirit before His return will use nobodies to operate in a level of miracles that the world has never seen! This book will supernaturally release your faith to do the same works as Jesus and even greater.” -Sid Roth,
Host, It’s Supernatural!

www.reflectministry.com

jbirkey@reflectministry.com

twitter.com/JesseBirkey

http://www.facebook.com/reflectministry

http://www.amazon.com/author/jessebirkey

We are excited to announce a new teaching series called, Life Resurrected, The Normal Christian Life.  It’s a 4 CD set.  Check it out at http://www.reflectministry.com/store.html

View the Trailer for our new book, Life Resurrected, Extraordinary Miracles through Ordinary People Here!

To find information on an exciting new documentary called DeadRaiser go to www.deadraiser.com

 

Add new comment

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Results

Results 131 - 140 of 487

Pages

Your Extraordinary Life DVD Package

197 Page Book | 16 DVD Sessions | Save 10% | by Mark & Patti Virkler

Can you imagine starting new believers off with the Holy Spirit! What if the first thing you were taught as a newborn Christian was how to connect easily and daily with the Holy Spirit Who was living inside you, anointing you, empowering you and transforming you?

Price: $45.00
4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice Audio CD Package

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice Audio CD Package

By Mark Virkler | 4 Keys book | 10 hours of CDs | LEARN notebook

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?

Price: $79.95
Complete Library of Virkler CDs (Not All Items Pictured)

Complete Library of Virkler CDs

23 Titles - Save $215!

Benefit from 40+ years of teachings by Drs. Mark and Patti Virkler. They are passionate to lead you into Spirit-anointed living by providing biblically-based, real life, "how to" training on Christian spirituality. Their down-to-earth teachings are perfect for personal and small group training experiences. Special Bonus: Includes teachings by their daughter, Charity Virkler Kayembe. This is an ideal library of materials for a home, church or Christian school to have on hand.

Price: $449.00

Counseled by God Audio CD Package

Book, LEARN Notebook & 13 sessions on 6 CDs

Recently Released – 35th Anniversary Edition. The foremost training series in the world teaching you how to become emotionally whole by hearing the voice of the Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6)! This package gives you the tools you will need to ensure this message bears fruit in your life and equips you to share it with others.

Price: $76.85

Everyday Angels CD Package

by Charity Virkler Kayembe and Joe Brock

You can partner with Heaven's angelic hosts!

Discover how to encounter, engage and experience angels in everyday life.

I GUARANTEE you will learn more about the angelic realm than you ever thought possible and you WILL experience a new awareness of the spiritual world!

Price: $67.99
Prayers That Heal the Heart Audio CD Package

Prayers That Heal the Heart Audio CD Package - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 2 Books | 2 Contributing Strands Worksheets | 15 CD Sessions

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit.

Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith. 

Price: $85.85

49 Lies CD Package - 49 Religious Lies Jesus Told Me to Stop Believing

2 Books & 7 CDs

If you have ever believed any of the following lies, then this training package is for you: "Emotions are soulish;" "Money is evil or secular;" "It is wrong to seek vision;" "Don’t trust experiences;" "God gave me a mind and expects me to use it;" "Politics are evil;" God is always beating on me;" or one of 43 more such deceptive lies...

This package is composed of two books, 49 Lies  (100 pages of God's revelation through two-way journaling) and Release from Religion which contains 100 pages of Bible meditation where we search the Scriptures to see if they confirm that these things are so. 

This package includes 49 professionally recorded sessions, each 5-12 minutes long, which is my testimony of breaking free from each lie. I discuss what the lie is, its impact on my life, what Jesus spoke, my prayer of repentance and the new freedom I experienced which allows me to step into a new life in Christ.

Price: $69.95
Fulfill Your Financial Destiny Audio CD Package

Fulfill Your Financial Destiny Audio CD Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 1 book | 22 Audio Sessions

Newly recorded for 2023! Though the economic system (mammon) of this world is under a curse, we have received instructions for how to move out from that dominion and into the blessing of the Kingdom of God. God’s promises to His children have not changed with the whims of government or Wall Street, nor have His directions for how to walk in those promises. We can “choose not to participate” in the economic recession that is around us if we instead choose to obey the logos and rhema of the Lord and enjoy the blessings that result.

Price: $69.90
Hear God Through Your Dreams Audio CD Package

Hear God Through Your Dreams Audio CD Package

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 1 Book | 5 CD sessions | $36.90

Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive mid-course corrections from the Lord while you sleep? Do you wish you could be receiving divine inspiration, creative solutions to problems, and direction from the Lord during that third of your life that you’re “just” sleeping?

Price: $36.90
Hearing God Through Your Dreams CD Package

Hearing God Through Your Dreams CD Package

by Mark Virkler and Charity Kayembe | 10 Sessions on 4 Discs | 1 Book

Learn How to Hear God’s Voice, Even When You Are Sleeping

Receive divine counsel nightly. Increase emotional health, wisdom and creativity.

Price: $56.94

Pages