Greetings to all in the name of our precious Lord! My prayer for you is that you would be currently experiencing the mighty power of the Holy Spirit in every area of your life. If you find that is not the case for you then I would greatly encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh in filling of His presence in your heart today.

I was reading a devotion the other day and as all good devotions do, it stirred my heart in a new yet challenging way. The Apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:16-17 “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He (Jesus) received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” 

I am fearful, because of so much deception that has been unveiled in politicians and government, sports figures, hollywood stars as well as major people in the business community, that people today have begun to lose faith in what people say or declare to be true. I am even fearful that has also crept into the church and for that we as Christians should be grieved. The Apostle Paul warns us about this in 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, ( KJV says thier own lusts) they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

I love it when Paul uses the term ‘itching ears.’ Boy haven’t we all struggled with wanting what our itching ears were wanting to hear at one time or another? We love it when we hear someone say things to us we want or love to hear, don’t we. In those times we are quick to declare that surely the Holy Spirit has spoken. But what happens when what the Holy Spirit says is not so much what our ‘itching ears’ want to hear at that particular time? I know the Scripture says we are to always speak the truth in love to one another and I totally agree that we should do that, but what happens when the truth steps on our toes; is it still truth? When the Apostle Paul was about to leave the Ephesian elders whom he loved dearly and who dearly loved Paul to never see each other again, he said to them in Acts 20:26-27 NKJV “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

Looking back at 2 Peter 1:16-17, Peter proclaimed they did not have to follow cleverly invented stories when they spoke about the power and coming of Jesus for they were eye-witnesses of His majesty. A growing problem I see in the church today is that there are some who actually believe they need to spice up or modernize the accounts found in the Bible to get people’s attention for we are now living in 2012; the age of technology! Those people believe when people come to church today we need to stimulate them with huge power point presentations and graphics, or entertain them and tell cute stories or little white lies so that they will want to come back to church. We need to modernize all the accounts of Jesus and make Him seem cool, down to earth, so people will relate. I pray, Lord have mercy on us!!

Peter said they were eye-witnesses of the Lord’s majesty. Have you ever been called to give an account of an accident or something that took place because you were there when it happened? If we are not careful, we can be intimidated by people to not say what actually happened. There is nothing like a person who saw what took place and had the guts to tell it like it was, no matter the consequences.

Looking at what took place on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, I truly believe there isn’t a one of us today who could change the minds of those who actually witnessed what took place before their very eyes when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit; yet today we will argue and debate what actually took place, even though none of us were there, just because it makes us feel uncomfortable or better yet, challenged in our hearts.