Time to toss the Webster’s

I was asked recently what was the one thing that has most shifted in my heart since being here at IHOP. After pondering this, and changing my answer, I came to this conclusion: God has given me a new dictionary!

What would you say are the aspects of a ‘normal’ Christian life? How often do they encounter the deep, abiding presence of the Lord? What measure of signs and wonders do they operate in? Are they free from offence and walking in joy? To what degree is the love of Christ revealed in their hearts?

Think about this in the terms of what affects the heart of an unbeliever. What really impacts them when they meet a Christian? It is when they are confronted with something wholly different. The same lifestyle, with just a different focus, does not provoke people to redefine their entire lives. What then is different about us? …faithful in our marriages? …don’t abuse drugs or alcohol? …lend a hand to those in need? …a joyful spirit? These are certainly good, but many unbelievers may claim this as well. It is rather those things which are totally in-congruent with the natural laws of this present world.

Seeing sickness and disease leave someone’s body by simply praying for them. Receiving words of wisdom and words of knowledge for someone that there is no way we should know. Continually exalting others above ourselves without concern of our own reward. And the big one- having true love and forgiveness for someone who has hurt us deeply. These are the marks of a believer, one born of a different seed. They are elements of a different nature. They garner the attention of unbelievers. They cause the crowds to say as they did in Acts 2 “What does this mean?” These things make us “aliens and strangers in this land”.

There is something that happens when heaven invades earth. There is a God-placed appetite for the eternal He has put within every soul. While we may be astounded in one sense, there is something that connects when touching the eternal. It was what we were created for. We were created to participate with the divine nature of God. We not only connect with God, but there is something natural about operating in the eternal.

Our flesh may work to redefine our current level of experiencing God as ‘normal’ so that our hearts are not wearied with unmet expectations when we fail to experience the fullness of what God intends for His saints. This is not condemnation, but rather this is Jesus’ invitation to stir our appetites for the glory we were made to carry. So what does “normal” Christianity look like? It is deep rooted revelation of son-ship with God. It is continual (not occasional) intimate encounters with the loving presence of God. It is the power of Jesus to forgive and be healed, becoming completely whole-hearted, and walking in compassion. It is the active Spirit of prophecy. It is signs and wonders. It is a man hearing from God in a coffee shop. It is a woman being healed at the grocery store. It is a prayer meeting breaking out in the workplace. It is wholly different. And for believers, it is to be wholly normal.

So Lord, redefine our language. Set again for us the lofty expectations of living in fellowship with the Un-Created One. We live in an age we were not fashioned for, seemingly restrained by it’s laws. But that eternal longing within our hearts compels us to engage with that which is to come, and experience it now. Jesus, help us to become normal Christians!

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