Dear prophets!
It’s perfectly fine to claim inspiration, but let's not get carried away by declaring yourselves infallible.
Prophets have the critical task of gauging the true depth of divine inspiration when sharing a message. It’s all too common for people to prophesy in the first person, as if they’re channeling God directly, even when the message is as ordinary as a weather report.
How many times have we heard, "I, the Lord, say unto you," to the point where we can almost predict it like a rerun? Sure, that’s the classic prophetic style, but let's be honest—it’s not always necessary. The same message can be delivered with less fanfare and more clarity. This isn’t about doubting the speaker's sincerity; it’s about making life a little easier for those who have to scripturally discern and judge how much of it is truly inspired and in sync with the testimony of Jesus Christ.
A close reading of Scripture shows us that the early Christians didn’t constantly receive booming voices from the sky. More often than not, they relied on scripture and “sanctified common sense” and carried on with their 'everyday lives'.
The real trouble begins when we start expecting 'the prophetic' to show up on a regular basis, like your daily cup of coffee. Those with an insatiable appetite for divine “messages” should take a cue from history—the past is littered with the wreckage of those who’ve gone off the deep end chasing after constant revelations.
The reality is, for most of our Christian journey, we’re supposed to live by the word, walk by faith, not by dramatic signs. The Holy Scriptures are there to guide us, shining a light on our path—no need to reinvent the wheel.
The story of Dr. Khurshid Guru, who created a nebulizer on an Air Canada flight, using a water bottle, a cup, oxygen, and an adult inhaler to help an asthmatic toddler breath.
Dr. Khurshid Guru, director of Robotic Surgery at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, was aboard a transatlantic Air Canada flight from Spain to the U.S. in September 2015.
At one point in time, he saw a 2-year-old boy crying and short of breath and his parents said they accidentally packed his asthma medication in checked luggage.
Guru used an oxygen meter and found the child's oxygen level was dipping down to a dangerously low level: 87%. In that moment, he knew he needed to do something quickly.
The plane only had an adult inhaler on board and Guru was concerned the toddler was too young to understand how to use it.
Ironically, the doctor who normally worked with high-tech robots to treat patients, came up with a jerry-rigged device similar to a nebulizer that would deliver both oxygen and asthma medication to the child.
To create the nebulizer, the surgeon cut up a water bottle and added oxygen to one end and the adult inhaler through a small hole in the bottle. That way the oxygen and medication could be delivered through the bottle's opening directly to the child.
After the very unusual treatment, the child's oxygen level was around 95%.
Guru anted to share the story as a reminder to parents of asthmatic children to always keep their vital medication nearby.
This passage from the Book of Job serves as a profound caution for those who hastily criticize or condemn other men of God. Job's friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—believed they were defending divine justice by harshly judging Job. Eliphaz, in particular, claimed to have received a vision that he thought justified his harsh words against Job:
*"Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,"* (Job 4:12-13, NKJV).
Despite their strong convictions, God's response was startling and severe. In Job 42:7-8, God Himself rebukes them:
*"And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.'"* (Job 42:7-8, NKJV).
This dramatic moment serves as a powerful warning against the arrogance of assuming the right to judge others, especially those who are also servants of God. It illustrates that even well-intentioned criticisms can be dangerously misguided. God's rebuke reveals that only He truly understands the depths of each person's heart and motives. In the narrative, Elihu alone spoke correctly about God, and it was only after Elihu's speech that God Himself responded, affirming Elihu's words.
This narrative challenges us to approach judgment with utmost humility and caution. We must recognize that our limited human understanding can never fully grasp the divine perspective. Therefore, before we rush to condemn or criticize others, particularly those serving God, we should remember that we might not be speaking the mind of God and that our judgments may, in fact, be entirely misplaced.
In the final analysis, it was this very Job—whom they had condemned and judged—that God honored and called His servant. It was Job, not his friends, who was asked to intercede on their behalf through prayer. This same Job, whom they had accused of wrongdoing, was chosen by God to offer prayers for their forgiveness. This outcome is both humbling and soul-searching, reminding us that those we might be quick to judge could be the very individuals God values and uses for His purposes. It compels us to reflect on the humility and grace we must embody, recognizing that God's ways and judgments are far beyond our understanding. In moments of criticism and condemnation, we must tread carefully, acknowledging that we, too, might need the prayers and intercession of those we hastily judge.
@ChroniclesPHC@TolulopeAyeni Very true. Even when God Samuel, he still needed Eli to make him realize it was God calling. Experiential experience walking with God counts for something.
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