Pastor V’s Shout-Outs by Vermon Pierre

Shout-out to:

1. Jon Bloom and his blog post, “We Should Pray for Healing.”

He writes:

I believe the church should pray for healing today. I don’t believe this because of my modest experiences. I believe it because the New Testament teaches that the Spirit gives this gift (and others) to the church (1 Corinthians 12:8–11) and instructs me to desire to exercise it (1 Corinthians 14:1). I believe that God occasionally answers prayers for healing, such as mine, when it accords with his sovereign will (Hebrews 2:4).

…

Don’t settle for little faith and low expectations. Stir up faith! Earnestly desire this gift. With Paul, earnestly desire healing for the common good of your church. With the saints of Acts, ask for this gift as witness to the world of the gospel of the kingdom.

I appreciate the balance in the article. Bloom affirms that God answers according to His will, not our will. But he also gives a necessary challenge, that we should pray for healing with stronger faith and bigger expectations, for God wants to answer these prayers a lot more than we give Him credit for. I want to pray more like this!

2. The Gospel Coalition panel on “What About the Minority Experience in America Do Whites Often Miss?”

I know many people in our nation are sensitive about the topic of race/ethnicity and thus avoid talking about it or criticize people who attempt to talk about it. This is the wrong way to go. Like, really wrong. How can we not talk about these kinds of issues? Especially if we are already in a world where multiple times every day you will interact with people who are ethnically and culturally different from you?

We need to get over our idolatry of comfortable situations and easy conversations and be willing to engage on hard topics in our culture, no matter what they might be. For the gospel gives us the humble tone and the wise words we need to engage in the only ways that can get us through any and all “dividing walls of hostility” between races/ethnic groups (Ephesians 2:14).

This panel is a good example of this. I appreciate the honesty of these brothers as well as their clear commitment to a gospel that unites rather than divides. Check it out and then plan on talking about it with several of the Christian minorities you personally know.