Letters

Letters

December 3, 2007

As part of the ninetyandnine.com staff it never ceases to amaze me how often a reader is ministered by an article printed years ago. We are thankful that God has given us the means and the opportunity to allow years of articles, testimonies, and Apostolic news to remain available.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the amount of letters we get on any particular article does not determine the amount of influence it has on people reading it. We have had articles that were previous published crop up (like this week) in a letter—most of the time the reader states how the article has ministered to them.

So, thanks to all of you who have taken the time out to write articles, devotions, testimonies, and letters. You never know how God can use it. And thank you to our readers who continue to dig through eight years of ideas, burdens, news, and even reader frustrations—you make ninetyandnine.com a ministry!

If the cab driver had, without touching The Club, caused it to unlock or fall off the steering wheel, I’d consider that quite possibly miraculous and therefore your belief that he was sent by God to be entirely reasonable. But I’m sure you’d agree that not everything that happens in accordance with your prayer is actually an answer by God, right?

For instance, an experiment would be to pray for the answer to how to get to an unfamiliar part of town, then ask random strangers for directions. When one gives you the right answer, will you really think it an intervention by God? If you do the experiment without first praying, will you not still find a stranger with the right directions? If you do, is it then still by God’s action, “answering a prayer you haven’t yet made?”

I’m asking a serious question about the nature of prayer and God and religious belief—it is something that honestly troubles me—so I hope you don’t think I’m heckling you.

An interesting experiment might be to do as I described, but sometimes praying beforehand and sometimes not. Did you get the right directions sooner on average when you prayed?

Again, I’m not at all making fun of you. I’ve heard of an experiment where sick people improved more if prayed for, even though the patients did not know if they were prayed for or not. Not sure if this has been repeated or accepted in the literature. As you can see, I have an experimental and scientific bent of mind, but plenty of scientists and engineers are Christians who seem to escape these doubts and concerns that vex me.

You are welcome to print this letter. Maybe it goes without saying, but if you do so then please omit my email address so I don’t get even more spam than I do already. Thanks.

I want to say first of all, I was and still am against the TV Resolution. However, I am dismayed and ashamed at the hate and vitriol that seems to emanate from my side of the issue. I am a licensed UPCI minister, and have no plans of turning in my license over a disagreement, even of this magnitude.

I’m reminded of a couple of scriptures. First of all, as Jesus said, some need to get the log out of their eyes before getting the splinter out of another’s. Secondly, at the end of the day, it’s not our job to be the “holiness police.” Are we God’s church or not? If so, let Him separate “the wheat from the tares,” lest we end up pulling up good wheat (i.e. new converts!) while we’re busy chasing tares.

So, to all of my fellow opposers of the resolution, please represent our side intelligently and with the grace and dignity of the One who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!

I would like to know the name of the other book mentioned by Chris in the article to help one deal with childhood trauma. Thank you. God bless.

I very much enjoyed this article and pray more good reports are to follow. God had opened a door and freed a messenger to preach freedom in Him. How exciting!

I just wanted to Thank God for the Bridgeton Home Friendship Group led by Lonnie and Donna Brown. They helped us so much financially and many other ways in cooking meals and cleaning house and sitting at the hospital so I could get some rest. God Bless this HFG group.

I was very encouraged to read how God moved through this prison ministry. God is so awesome and is willing to do so much if we’re willing. I’m glad the people involved made themselves available for God to use them to reach out to others in a truly heartfelt way.