Phil,
         Your comments here remind me of the contrasts between D. L. 
Moody and George Muler.  Both men were very influential, and both men 
lived around the same time, but God told each of them to do the 
opposite thing for success.  George Muler founded an orphanage in 
England and the Lord told George to be totally dependent upon Him and 
ask man for nothing.  At one point, George even sold all of his 
earthly possessions so that he wouldn't value anything more highly 
than the Lord.  There is the famous story about one time when there 
was no food in the orphanage and George had all the children gather 
in the dining room and give thanks anyway.  When the prayer was done, 
there was a knock at the door and it was someone with a bunch of 
bread and other food that the bakery had not been able to sell.
         Across the pond, however, there was D. L. Moody, the founder 
of Moody Bible institute.  He was known for walking in to a 
businessman's office and saying, "so and so down the street is giving 
me $10,000, what can I put you down for.  Two men, two ministries, 
two different approaches, and God blessed them both.
         You're right when you say that it isn't our job to imitate 
any earthly person.  Our eyes need to be fixed on Jesus and our ears 
need to be attentive to His call on our lives.  Your walk is not mine 
and mine is not Brad's.  If, however, we each stay focused on Jesus, 
God's will will be done and that is what is important.
         I think that that is part of the reason that I get so 
concerned when we, as Christians, start criticizing another person's 
walk or ministry just because it isn't what we think that it should 
be.  We are not God and we don't know what the relationship is 
between another person and God.  We don't know what that person has 
been called to do.  Just because it isn't our walk doesn't mean that 
we have the right to put it down.
Kathy



At 08:13 PM 2/6/2007, you wrote:
>I guess I need to modify my testimony about speaking in tongues concerning
>what the Lord revealed to me concerning praying about my finances.  Just
>because the Lord show this to me does not mean it is now law, that is, the
>same applies to everybody for everything.  It certainly won't hurt to use
>that technique but if you are using it because you believe I said it was
>eternal truth, you would be making the mistake of living on my faith and not
>yours.  Remind me of the time I did that myself and paid big time.  I tried
>living on what the Lord had done miraculously for another man, thinking if
>it worked for him, surely it would work for me.  It didn't and I paid a big
>price for my mistake.  It was, as I mentioned before, confidence and not
>faith.  I had confidence in this man's experience he had with God and
>figured God was duty bound to do the same, in the exact same way, for me.
>Big mistake.  For example, what if you don't even believe that tongues is a
>viable gift for today.  I can tell you right now, it would be rare that
>Jesus told you to speak in tongues relating to your situation at that given
>moment.  He did tell me that once but it was under different circumstances
>and I didn't even believe in tongues at the time.  I told Him so, too.  Days
>later, I did.  Read my testimony on my website called, "When Baptist Speak
>In Tongues," for the rest of the story.  He might very well tell you
>something else, however, that was directly applicable to your present
>circumstances.  Another example.  The acts chapter 3 passage I quoted
>earlier.  Yes, I believe in healing and have been healed in some super
>unusual ways as a Christian.  There is Biblical commonality, of course, but
>Jesus works with you as an individual.  He identifies with you and where you
>are at any given moment in your walk with Him.  You start thinking that all
>you have to do is confess you don't have any silver or gold but such as you
>have, you give freely, and then take someone in a wheelchair by the hand and
>try to lift them up, you may end up with a hernia and a red face.  On the
>other hand, if the Holy Spirit says, Walk over and take that lady by the
>hand and confess she is well in my name and she shall walk for my glory,
>then you best be doing what Jesus said.  Stop and think about it.  Look at
>all the weird ways Jesus healed people.  shoot.  He stuck his fingers into a
>deaf man's ears, spit on his finger and then jammed his finger into the
>man's mouth.  What's up with that?  It worked, though, but it was far from
>the norm.  Sometimes Jesus just spoke from a distance, then people went
>home, and bingo!  the person was healed.  That's different, sure enough.
>Sometimes He touched people, sometimes people touched just his clothes
>instead, and the blind man in John chapter 9 is definitely a weird healing
>technique.  Spit on the ground, make mud, slap it into the eye sockets of
>the blind man and then tell him to be led down to the pool and wash the goop
>from his eyes.  Holy cow!  When's was the last time you were in one of these
>far out Charismatic healing services of Benny Hinn and saw him do that?
>Come on, Benny, I dare you.  If you never get anything I ever say, get one
>thing.  Jesus loves you as an individual because there is nobody on the
>planet, nor has there ever been, nor shall there ever be, just like you.  He
>died for you personally.  He loves you personally and when He speaks to you,
>it may be different than anything you have ever heard testify by someone
>else.  this works out very well because there ain't nobody like Jesus
>either.  See?  That's why He wants you as you are and for Pete sake, don't
>ask Him to make you like me.  Ask Him to make you like Him and He will.  Did
>you know that such is exactly how He sees you already, that is, just like
>Him?  If you are born again, that is.
>
>Phil.