Experiencing Faith

Christianity is a religion of experience. It comes as a result of faith, but what comes is experience. Our faith is not a separate, compartmentalized aspect of us, it affects our total life - emotions, will, values, knowledge, all are changed as a result of faith in Christ as our Lord and Savior. While the Bible encourages our experience of God, it also warns us that not all experience is of God. Unfortunately,  we have an enemy(Satan) who is able to produce experience. Beware of lying wonders. All great revivals were accompanied bizarre behavior, but the revivalists (Jonathan Edwards, e.g.) warned the people of their dangers, and to seek God, not particular experience. It's one thing for God to bring a holy laughter upon a congregation, it is quite another to try to work that congregation into a time of laughter. The former is a spontaneous work of the Spirit, the latter is a manipulation that seems to distract from the reason we are gathered. Enjoy God, and let Him do what He wants to do in our midst. But the apostolic example is to leave the manifestations to Him.