Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Ridiculous Blessings

I am calling the body of Christ to a season of Ridiculous Blessings. I believe that God still operates in the area of the Miraculous and Ridiculous. God’s mission is designed to bring order thru any Divine means necessary in 2006. We believe God's mission and design in, the flood, Water from the rock, The burning bush,  Jesus passing unseen through the crowd. The miracles are demonstration of God's design to bring order thru any Divine means necessary. It is ridiculous! First time miracles and creation appears ridiculous to creation. It is ridiculous to open the Red sea. Sorrowfully, you might miss it. Your miracle may appear in the wrapping paper of the Ridiculous and absurd. You are never as far from the miracle as it first appears. Your mind is the darkroom where your miracle is birthed. Philippians 2:5 (Amplified Bible) 5Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] There is a record of the "ridiculous" and  miraculous below.

This week, I am asking you to think of 3 really stupid and ridiculous ideas concerning your ministry, marriage, destiny, finances. Deliberately accept 3 really stupid and ridiculous ideas concerning your ministry, marriage, destiny, finances. Suspend judgment about your claims about 3 really stupid and ridiculous ideas concerning your ministry, marriage, destiny, finances. Temporarily suspend your critical thinking.

Mark Twain said, faith is believing what you know ain't so.Yet faith is the deed to believing what you know ain't so. I was in prayer with a prayer partner last Sunday. The prophetic call to ridiculous blessings filled my mouth. At first appearance it seemed absurd to call for ridiculous blessings. Yet, it is my yearning that my (our) walk with God enter the realm of the ridiculous. I yearned for the faith that believed what ain't so. Ridiculous: Latin ridiculosus (from ridiculum jest, from neuter of ridiculus) or ridiculus, literally, laughable, from ridere to laugh : arousing or deserving ridicule : ABSURD , PREPOSTEROUS synonym see LAUGHABLE.

 Upon reflection, I remembered that The fertility of a woman in her nineties is a “ridiculous” idea. Genesis 18:10[The Lord] said, I will surely return to you when the season comes round, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son. And Sarah was listening and heard it at the tent door which was behind Him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; it had ceased to be with Sarah as with [young] women. [She was past the age of childbearing].  12Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband), being old also? Genesis 18:12Therefore Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become aged shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband), being old also? laughed: qxc, Tsachaq, tsaw-khak'  , to laugh, mock, play , (Qal) to laugh , (Piel) , to jest , to sport, play, make sport, toy with, make a toy of

I challengeyou to consider the ridiculous this week. You are destined for greatness. Stupid and ridiculous" is a terrific technique for stimulating new great ideas. Revolutionary Ideas Come from Ridiculous Questions. I challenge you to think of 3 really stupid and ridiculous ideas concerning your ministry , marriage , destiny, finances. This will release your inhibitions, energizes thinking, prompts a lot of laughter and usually pulls up some great ideas.

The ridiculous challenge is critical thinking. Reject Critical thinking for now! Critical thinking has been described as "the careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim" (Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker, Critical Thinking). More simply, critical thinking is the process of evaluating what other people say or write to determine whether to believe their statements.  

  1. Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine message (Matt. 12:38,39; 16:1, 4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; 23:8; John 2:11, 18, 23; Acts 6:8, etc.); a token of the presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power.

  2. Terata, "wonders;" wonder-causing events; portents; producing astonishment in the beholder (Acts 2:19).

  3. Dunameis, "might works;" works of superhuman power (Acts 2:22; Rom. 15:19; 2 Thess. 2:9); of a new and higher power.

  4. Erga, "works;" the works of Him who is "wonderful in working" (John 5:20, 36).

List of miracles recorded in the Bible (partial list)

  1. Creation of the universe, including plants, animals and humans (Genesis 1-2)
  2. The flood (Gen. 7, 8)
  3. Confusion of languages (tongues) at Babel (Gen. 11:1-9)
  4. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24)
  5. Lot's wife turned into a "pillar of salt" (Gen. 19:26)
  6. Birth of Isaac at Gerar (Gen. 21:1)
  7. The burning bush not consumed (Ex. 3:3)
  8. Aaron's rod changed into a serpent (Ex. 7:10-12)

    The ten plagues of Egypt (Ex. 7:20-12:30)

  9. waters become blood
  10. frogs
  11. lice
  12. flies
  13. murrain
  14. boils
  15. thunder and hail
  16. locusts
  17. darkness
  18. death of the first-born
  19. Red Sea divided; Israel passes through (See: Passage of Red Sea) (Ex. 14:21-31)
  20. Waters of Marah sweetened (Ex. 15:23-25)
  21. Manna sent daily, except on Sabbath (Ex. 16:14-35)
  22. Water from the rock at Rephidim (Ex. 17:5-7)
  23. Nadab and Abihu consumed for offering "strange fire" (Lev. 10:1, 2)
  24. Some of the people consumed by fire at Taberah (Num. 11:1-3)
  25. The earth opens and swallows up Korah and his company. (Num. 16:32-34)
  26. Fire at Kadesh (Num. 16:35-45)
  27. Plague at Kadesh (Num. 16:46-50)
  28. Aaron's rod budding at Kadesh (Num. 17:8)
  29. Water from the rock, smitten twice by Moses, Desert of Zin (Num. 20:7-11)
  30. The brazen serpent in the Desert of Zin (Num. 21:8, 9)
  31. Balaam's ass speaks (Num. 22:21-35)
  32. The Jordan divided, so that Israel passed over dryshod near the city of Adam (Josh. 3:14-17)
  33. The walls of Jericho fall down (Josh. 6:6-20)
  34. The sun and moon stayed. (Josh. 10:12-14)
  35. Hailstorm. (Josh. 10:12-14)
  36. The strength of Samson (Judg. 14-16)
  37. Water from a hollow place "that is in Lehi" (Judg. 15:19)
  38. Dagon falls twice before the ark. (1 Sam. 5:1-12)
  39. Emerods on the Philistines (1 Sam. 5:1-12)
  40. Men of Beth-shemesh smitten for looking into the ark (1 Sam. 6:19)
  41. Thunderstorm causes a panic among the Philistines at Eben-ezer (1 Sam. 7:10-12)
  42. Thunder and rain in harvest at Gilgal (1 Sam. 12:18)
  43. Sound in the mulberry trees at Rephaim (2 Sam. 5:23-25)
  44. Uzzah smitten for touching the ark at Perez-uzzah (2 Sam. 6:6, 7)
  45. Jeroboam's hand withered. (1 Kings 13:4)
  46. Jeroboam's new altar destroyed at Bethel (1 Kings 13:4-6
  47. 31. Widow of Zarephath's meal and oil increased (1 Kings 17:14-16)
  48. Widow's son raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24)
  49. Drought at Elijah's prayers (1 Kings 17, 18)
  50. Fire at Elijah's prayers (1 Kings 18:19-39)
  51. Rain at Elijah's prayers (1 Kings 18:41-45)
  52. Elijah fed by ravens (1 Kings 17, 18)
  53. Ahaziah's captains consumed by fire near Samaria (2 Kings 1:10-12)
  54. Jordan divided by Elijah and Elisha near Jericho (2 Kings 2:7, 8, 14)
  55. Elijah carried up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11)
  56. Waters of Jericho healed by Elisha's casting salt into them (2 Kings 2:21, 22)
  57. Bears out of the wood destroy forty-two "young men" (2 Kings 2:24)
  58. Water provided for Jehoshaphat and the allied army (2 Kings 3:16-20)
  59. The widow's oil multiplied (2 Kings 4:2-7)
  60. The Shunammite's son given, and raised from the dead at Shunem (2 Kings 4:32-37)
  61. The deadly pottage cured with meal at Gilgal (2 Kings 4:38-41)
  62. A hundred men fed with twenty loaves at Gilgal (2 Kings 4:42-44)
  63. Naaman cured of leprosy, Gehazi afflicted with it (2 Kings 5:10-27)
  64. The iron axe-head made to swim, river Jordan (2 Kings 6:5-7)
  65. Ben hadad's plans discovered. Hazael's thoughts, etc. (2Kings 6:12)
  66. The Syrian army smitten with blindness at Dothan (2 Kings 6:18)
  67. The Syrian army cured of blindness at Samaria (2 Kings 6:20)
  68. Elisha's bones revive the dead (2 Kings 13:21)
  69. Sennacherib's army destroyed, Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35)
  70. Shadow of sun goes back ten degrees on the sun-dial of Ahaz, Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:9-11)
  71. Uzziah struck with leprosy, Jerusalem (2 Chr. 26:16-21)
  72. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego delivered from the fiery furnace, Babylon (Dan. 3:10-27)
  73. Daniel saved in the lions' den (Dan. 6:16-23)
  74. Jonah in the fish's belly. Safely landed (Jonah 2:1-10)
  75. Gideon's fleece (Judg. 6:37-40)

    Miracles Recorded in the Gospels

  76. Cure of two blind men (Matt 9:27-31)
  77. Piece of money in the fish's mouth (Matt 17:24-27)
  78. The deaf and dumb man (Mark 7:31-37)
  79. The blind man of Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26)
  80. Jesus passes unseen through the crowd (Luke 4:28-30)
  81. The miraculous draught of fishes (Luke 5:4-11)
  82. The raising of the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11-18)
  83. The woman with the spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11-17)
  84. The man with the dropsy (Luke 14:1-6)
  85. The ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19)
  86. The healing of Malchus (Luke 22:50, 51)

  87. Water made wine (John 2:1-11)
  88. Cure of nobleman's son, Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
  89. Impotent man at Bethsaida cured (John 5:1-9)
  90. Man born blind cured (John 9:1-7)

  91. Lazarus raised from the dead (John 11:38-44)
  92. Draught of fishes (John 21:1-14)
  93. Syrophoenician woman's daughter cured (Matt 15:28; Mark 7:24)

  94. Four thousand fed (Matt 15:32; Mark 8:1)
  95. Fig tree blasted (Matt 21:18; Mark 11:12)
  96. Centurion's servant healed (Matt 8:5; Luke 7:1)
  97. Blind and dumb demoniac cured (Matt 12:22; Luke 11:14)
  98. Demoniac cured in synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33)
  99. Peter's wife's mother cured (Matt 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38)
  100. The tempest stilled (Matt 8:23; Mark 4:37; Luke 8:22)
  101. Demoniacs of Gadara cured (Matt 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26)
  102. Swine rush into and drown (Mark 5:1-20)
  103. Leper healed (Matt 8:2; Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12)
  104. Jairus's daughter raised (Matt 9:23; Mark 5:23; Luke 8:41)
  105. Woman's issue of blood cured (Matt 9:20; Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43)
  106. Man sick of the palsy cured (Matt 9:2; Mark 2:3; Luke 5:18)
  107. Man's withered hand cured (Matt 12:10; Mark 3:1; Luke 6:6)
  108. A lunatic child cured (Matt 17:14; Mark 9:14; Luke 9:37)
  109. Two blind men cured (Matt 20:29; Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35)
  110. Jesus walks on the sea (Matt 14:25; Mark 6:48; John 6:15)
  111. Jesus feeds 5,000 "in a desert place" (Matt 14:15; Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10; John 6:1-14)
  112. Many fulfilled prophecies (also see: prophets)
  113. The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35)
  114. Star of Bethlehem
  115. The transfiguration (Matt 17:1-8)
  116. The resurrection (John 21:1-14)
  117. The ascension (Luke 2:42-51)
  118. Peter and the healing of a the paralytic AEneas at Lydda (Acts 9:32, 35, 38)
  119. Miraculous ability to speak and/or understand a foreign language (tongue) previously unknown to the speaker (See: Gift of tongues)
  120. Inspiration of Scripture by God

Some Ridiculous facts:

1732 is The square root of three or George Washington's birth year. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

48 The yardage for the Flutie pass to Gerard Phelan to win a 47-45 shoot-out versus Miami on Thanksgiving weekend.

755 is the career home runs of Hank Aaron. The big hoopla was in April, 1974 when Hank hit number 715 to pass Babe Ruth.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have selected 3 areas in which the ridiculous will manifest. Faith within it self is ridiculous, to grasp the tangible evidence of what is not seen. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for the evidence of things NOT SEEN that's funny.







March 15, 2006 at 6:03 PM

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