A verse that intrigues me, always has perhaps, is the one about confessing Jesus before men, and He would confess us before God. Reason was that I never heard anyone confess anything directly before men about anything or anyone at all whatsoever. Churches, by way of ritual, freeze out vibrancy and life, by not making allowances for spontaneity and conversational interchange among the congregation.
Discernment Quite Popular
Among the Quiet and the Delicate
Evidence of the Holy Spirit is boldness. Whenever we get a chance to identify our spiritual gifts in the organized church setting, there are always those who say their spiritual gift is discernment. I wonder if they are discerning enough to see that they are putting themselves quietly in the corner because they are mostly timid rather than motivated by the Holy Ghost.
I have seen churches that actually believe that the ability to draw, solely by itself, is a spiritual gift. It may be a gift but it is more a talent than spiritual. I think the spirit within motivates us to quietude or to witness boldly.
So right now at this point in my trip through life, I will take the opportunity to say that I believe in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, dead and buried, who rose again from the dead giving us healing by His stripes and eternal life through His final sacrifice. Accordingly the temple was rent from top to bottom allowing us to enter in before God without any permission from men.
Why, despite knowing about all this, no one else has tried as yet to duplicate this unique story is a telling circumstance.