Fleecing the Sheep
Joe Slater
	It was like watching a Star Wars movie. Do you remember how the evil emperor tried to kill the hero, Luke Skywalker, by zapping him with lightning that came from his fingers? Of course Skywalker fell to the floor writhing in agony; but he survived (hooray for the good guys)!
	Well, this time I wasn’t watching a Hollywood production, though Hollywood might take a few pointers. Instead, it was a well-known televangelist whose “ministry” (?) had raked in a cool $50 million the previous year. In carefully staged episodes, this self-styled healer flung his hands as though casting bolts of energy at those who had come for healing. With each flick of his wrists, he yelled “touch!” (or maybe it was “touched!”). After a split-second pause, his intended targets fell to the floor. Some simply collapsed, while others jumped and went through spasms as the crowd clapped and cheered. Later, I learned that this is called being “slain in the Spirit”! Of course this information had to come from the TV reporter; you can search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but you won’t find it there.
	Aside from the fact that God’s word says not the first syllable about being “slain in the Spirit,” numerous things about this charade beg to be exposed. First, not one incident of genuine miraculous healing in the Bible caused the recipient to fall down and have spasms. Occasionally, evil spirits (demons) threw people down and made them convulse (Matthew 17:15-18; Luke 4:35; Luke 9:42); but to whip up people’s emotions and then attribute their irrational behavior to the Holy Spirit is little short of blasphemy.
	Most despicable is the shameless practice of screening candidates for “healing.” Of the multitudes who desperately seek this televangelist’s help, only a handful are accepted to be on stage with him. A lady with terminal cancer came to a service to be healed, but was turned away; her family buried her four weeks later. A loving mother brought her precious little boy who was in a wheel chair with a breathing tube down his throat. Do you suppose that dear child was brought on stage and “healed”? Of course not! To be honest, the televangelist did come backstage, lay his hands on the boy, and pray. The child’s condition remains unchanged.
	Contrast this to Jesus and the apostles, who never screened people out, but freely healed the difficult cases as well as the superficial ones (Matthew 8:16). Don’t misunderstand me: I freely affirm that these televangelists couldn’t heal a scratch if their lives depended on it! My point is that they hide their fraud by accepting only cases that can be faked easily.
	The double tragedy is that while desperate multi-tudes are duped by these wolves in sheep’s clothing, other multitudes equate such religious racketeering with Christianity and are turned off by it. That makes it all the more important for us to teach and exemplify the true gospel to everyone we can reach!
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Average
Don’t be content with being average. Average is just as close to the bottom as it is to the top.
		--via Buchanan Dam, TX
A Fall
	Last week we were taking our daily walk, and I slipped on the ice and fell.  While not severely hurt, I was bruised and stiff and sore for the next few days.  I was also embarrassed.  Two elderly ladies passing in their cars stopped to ask, "Are you okay?"  "Can I help?"  "Can I take you home?"
	I didn't see the fall coming.  One minute I was walking, and the next, I saw the pavement rising to meet me.  That is so like sin.  Sometimes we don't see it coming.  One minute we are confident in our walk with God, and the next, we are entrapped in sin.
	I was fortunate that I was not severely hurt.  But it did hurt.  Sin hurts, too.  It damages our relationship with God and our fellow man.  Sin impairs our reputation and bruises our self-esteem.  
	When I fell, Ed was there to help me, and two cars stopped.  People were eager to help me get back up. When we sin, God is there to help us.  Our fellow Christians are there to strengthen us and pray for us.  Jesus, our Savior and merciful, faithful, high priest, was tempted like we are.  He is able to succor us.  
	When we sin, let us come to the Father, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  God is waiting to restore us to Him and to comfort us.
		-- Donna Wittlif (Denver, CO)