Non-Gentleman God

    Some folks believe God is the perfect gentleman, that he would never do anything to offend.  (They might be the same folks that think the fruit of the Spirit is to just be a nice person.)  What Christian television show would allow Jesus to make a spitball out of mud and rub it into a man's eyes? Hear the critcs?  "We don't believe in spitballs here", "This is TV, not the time and place for spitballs"  "No spitballs, it might offend". No matter that the man was healed - just stop them spitballs.  God is not always a gentleman. Ask Zechariah about it. God struck him dumb for a while. Or, Saul, riding along minding his own business killing those pesky Christians and the Holy Ghost knocked him off his horse or whatever he was riding, and changed his name.  Ask the ruined farmer whose pigs who Jesus gave a good dose of demons and it sent them screaming over a cliff. Or, imagine a great convocation of fundamental preachers from around the world and their water gets turned into wine.  Oh, I would love to be at that meeting, just to watching the wilting of spiritual pride.   Would water turning into wine be acceptable in most churches?

     I was in the Army with a scrawny little fellow who wore big black goggle-like glasses. He was a first class Nerd!  But, when he spoke he had a bass voice that rumbled when he spoke.  He was a DJ in real life and I often wondered what his fans thought he really looked like. Certainly not like he sounded.  People are that way with God. They shocked when God turns out to be different than they supposed.  Eventually, only accepting God as you have predetermined Him to be, or as you have previously seen Him, is going to cause you to miss God.  He comes as He chooses.

     How about you? Can you accept God the wine maker?  Or the water walker?  He appeared to Moses as a burning bush, a snake on a pole, a rock, a cloud, a fire and a staff in hand. Any problem with those forms?  Mary, at the tomb, thought he was a gardner. In Acts He came like tongues of fire and then as New Wine.  To Joshua He came as captain of the host.  John saw Him and said His eyes were like a flame of fire.  How many  of these manifestations would you accept?

  God has promised manifestations of Himself.   I think we have slowed down the rate of occurance of His manifestations because we insist on telling God how He ought to behave.  If He doesn't come like a gentleman, as we have so determined, we tune out.  It is time, I think, for the Holy Ghost to start interrupting sermons, religious plans and mannerisms and theological boxes and preconceived notions of how He ought to manifest.  What if He manifests in an unfamiliar way?  Will we go with the flow or fight the tide?  Over the years I have seen and heard many confess their hunger for God, only to see them pass up manifestation after manifestation, since it wasn't what they had in mind.  Having met this God who at times chooses not to observe the order of man, I am ready for more.  I want to "see thy power and glory as I have seen it in the sanctuary", Ps. 63:1-4. Come on Holy Ghost, come as you choose!