Unusual Miracles
I dream of a church where God works miracles even using small, anointed prayer cloths, as is the custom in some churches, following Paul’s example.
“Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” (Acts 19:11-12 NKJV)
Paul’s Testimony
Paul taught both publicly and from house to house, “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21 WEB)
I dream of a church that does not water the Gospel down by preaching faith without repentance.
Giving
In one of the few places outside the Gospels where Jesus is quoted, Paul said, “You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 NLT)
I dream of a generous church that truly believes this.
Prophecy
In Tyre, Paul stayed with believers for a week and “Compelled by the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:4 CEB)
I dream of a church where members are open to speak at the urging of the Holy Spirit.
Conspiracies
Faithful church leaders will at times run across people who conspire against them with slander and lies. Paul was no exception.
“When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who made this conspiracy.” (Acts 23:12-13 ESV)
Jews from Jerusalem “laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.” (Acts 25:7b KJV)
I dream of a church that remains faithful to God despite such unethical conduct from within. May God forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.
Saints
Saints are not just the heroes of the faith, but every single Christian.
“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints” (Romans 1:7 NKJV)
Notice that the words “to be” are in italics in most Bibles. They are called saints. I dream of a church where there is no more reluctance to call God’s holy people saints, for that is what we are, the moment our sins are forgiven.
Suppression
Wherever we are in the world, there is some measure of suppression of the truth. It exists in science, politics, and even in the church. Why do men cover up this most precious commodity?
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:25 NIV)
If you think that intelligent, highly educated people are always logical, think again. The forensic evidence for God is everywhere. Design doesn’t happen without a designer. DNA code doesn’t happen without a code maker. Under divine inspiration, Paul calls out atheists by revealing their true motives for denying the obvious, an emotional desire to sin, in dozens of ways, rather than honest and logical conclusions about the available evidence (Romans 1:18-32). I dream of a church that is not ashamed while being assailed on all fronts by a world that mocks, represses, bans and in some countries, imprisons and murders Christians.
