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(Acts 5:29) "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men."
This series is about how GOD is believed to communicate with us all. This next part is through (13) OBEDIENCE / ACTION: the concrete outworking of faith.
TESTIMONY: I'd met Jesus and been born again just two months earlier. It was now January, and time for my six‑monthly visit to the bronchial specialist. “Please strip to the waist—we need the usual chest X‑ray.” This was 1985; being half‑Italian, I wore lots of chains. I took them off and obeyed. The nurse returned sheepishly. “Sorry, sir—we need another angle.” Then another. By the third or fourth repeat, alarm bells were clanging in my head. What had they found? Ten minutes later, I sat opposite the consultant, my half‑year supply of bronchial medicine stacked on the desk. He was studying a sheet of data. Finally, he looked up. “So—where is it?” “Where’s what?” I asked. “The bronchial asthma.”
Silence thickened the room. I thought of Jesus and the healing I'd experienced two months before and decided to keep quiet—better to lie than to sound insane. Then, out of nowhere, Jesus appeared behind the doctor and said, “Go on, Warren. Tell him.” I froze. “Tell him what?” I mumbled. “Tell him,” Jesus repeated, calm as ever. “I can’t tell him—he’ll think I’m crazy,” I said, almost pleading.
“Who are you talking to?” the consultant demanded. I stared at Jesus. The look on my face must have said everything. Jesus turned toward the door, hand on the handle, and began to leave. A roar of Angelic voices seemed to crash around me—an impossible chorus shouting no—don’t let him go.“
"No! Please don’t go!” I finally managed to blurt out.
Jesus paused, hand still on the handle. “Tell him,” he said again.
I kept my eyes on the floor, then forced the words out to the consultant: my need to drink, my inner turmoils, meeting Jesus, His Gift of healing. I only dared to look up when the consultant began laughing. “Why are you laughing?” I asked. “You expect me to believe all that rubbish?” he sneered.
Angry words pressed in on me, cold and heavy. Antagonistic words formed and died on my lips at the sight of Jesus's face. Finally, I spoke, my voice flat and hard. “I’ve been coming here forever, and you’ve never healed me—you’ve only fed me pills.” I turned to Jesus. “This man...”—I jabbed a thumb toward the doorway—“...who I didn’t even believe in, healed me—and you mock him?” I stood, swept a rack off the table so it crashed to the floor (Jesus was gone, so it felt safe), and snapped, “Keep your pills.” I walked for the door while the consultants’ muffled chatter followed me like the sound of music."
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Let’s pray, “Heavenly Father, you call us to obey you above all. Give us the courage and conviction to stand firm in your truth, even when others oppose us. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so we may speak and act with boldness, wisdom, and love. Strengthen our faith to follow your will rather than human pressure, and grant us peace as we walk in obedience to you.” Amen!
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