Greater Things...than Jesus?

When most of us think about Jesus we mostly believe there's no way we'd ever come close to be like him. His miraculous powers, his genuine compassion even for his enemies, his patience with those who oppose him, his wisdom, his sacrifice; to be like Jesus seems impossible.

But when Jesus gives us a command we ought to listen.

When he tells us to love, we ought to love. When he tells us to be compassionate, we should be. But when he tells us to become like him, well that's impossible. Right?

Or is it?

We believe him when he says he's preparing a place for us. So why do we doubt it when Jesus says...

"Believe me: I am in my father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see - these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for hwo he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do." (John 14:11-14, The Message)

So what does that mean for us? If we truly trust in Jesus, we'll have more amazing, miraculous, mind-blowing things happen in and through our lives than we can count. I didn't believe it, now I do. And Jesus was right. I've seen amazing things happen because I trusted him. And not only in my own life, but in the lives of hundreds of others.

It's really true that God is using us JUST LIKE JESUS!

Why did Jesus call them "greater things?" I believe because we expect it from Jesus, he was God. It's not expected from us because we are NOT God. That makes them greater because we are becoming channels of God's action; God working through us.

It's Jesus promise to you, "even greater things" will we do. If we really trust Him.

Peace ><>
pc

They Drew Straws

The Disciples were in the upper room waiting on the promise from Jesus. They didn't know exactly what they were waiting for, so they prayed, thought, and tried to plan for the future. One of the things that was at the forefront of their minds was replacing Judas. They experienced the company of the 12 and wanted to keep it to the number Jesus had chosen. Two men were nominated, Justus and Matthias.

And they prayed for God's direction.

Then they drew straws!

I find that fascinating and powerful. They prayed that the right one would be chosen and as they drew the straws they knew that the one with the shortest straw was the one. It wasn't chance, it wasn't luck. It was God.

And that was the end of it, no arguments, no complaints, no "do overs" or best out of 3. It was God's decision and that was it.

Wouldn't it be great to discover God's will that simply?

Maybe it is that simple, we just too often make it way too complicated, we doubt too much, the answer can't be God's answer. But just maybe God's will is just that easy to find. We just can't seem to see it.

A woman came to my office one day and offered a story. Many months before they had discovered that all of their attempts to have a child had failed. The doctors had basically given up, saying that adoption was an option, but they would probably never had a child of their own. With all hope gone they went driving and prayed that God might show them what to do, that maybe they needed to try one more time and that God would show them if it was right.

Then they passed by my church.

On the marquee we had posted the phrase, "This is the sign you've been waiting for." They stopped, took a picture of it and went home. It was about ten months later when she would tell me this story and showed me the picture they took that day...


...and their newborn baby!


Does God honor our requests for answers? Absolutely, if we only keep our eyes opened to the signs God is putting before us every day. Short straws and church marquees count. We just have to trust in the result...

...that it's from God.

Peace ><>
pc

Stone Discouragement

"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, 'Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?'" (Mark 16:1-3, The Message).

They were worried about the stone. They couldn't move it, there was no one with them that could. I don't know what they were thinking about. They probably wouldn't have asked the guards to move the stone and they sure didn't expect it to move on its own. Yet they went anyway. Although the stone was an obstacle for them, they just went.

It's too hard.

I don't have the strength.

There's something keeping me from it.

How many excuses have we made whenever we see obstacles and decide not to do something we have felt moved to do? There are large stones in the way that we can't move on our own, so we don't even try, we give up before an attempt is even made. We allow the stone to be a discouragement.

Isn't it interesting that these women didn't even get to perform the task for which they went to the tomb in the first place? God had other plans, a different message for those who didn't see the obstacle and stay home. They were the first to hear the Great News of the resurrection!

God moves in us, speaks to us all the time. And most of us already know what God is saying to us, we feel the nudge of God to do certain things, to get more involved, to pray, to act, to share, to give. Yet we make excuses like the ones I mentioned earlier.

“What is impossible from a human perspective is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27, NLT)

We've got to move when nudged, to go anyway, to see beyond the impossibilities, trust God, and walk right up to that stone. Just maybe there's a message etched in it just for us, or it has been moved by the time you get to it.

We won't know until we get there.

Peace ><>
pc

Recognizing Strangers

It's just after the resurrection, maybe a week later and the disciples are waiting and wondering what's to happen next. They're confused about the future, yet hopeful. They are biding their time by doing what they know to do, fish. Then Jesus shows up.

"Jesus was standing on the Beach, but they didn't recognize him." (John 21:4, The Message)

I wonder why they didn't recognize him? They were afraid when he showed up before, is it because he looked different? Or was it that they weren't expecting him? Or what they had expected was different than what took place? Regardless the reason, they at first didn't realize that it was Jesus, but they followed him anyway.

Maybe it was because they were far enough away from shore it was hard to recongize anyone, but once the net was filled with fish, Peter knew. It was a miracle he had experienced before. The rest of them were beginning to understand as well, for all of them saw Jesus multiply fish for hungry people. Now it's they who are hungry and a stranger on the beach is providing.

"Not one of his disciples dared ask, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Master." (John 21:12, The Message)

How did they know? They didn't recognize him; they didn't know his voice...they just knew.

Because they trusted in his word, because they had experienced his resurrection, they had faith and they just knew when Jesus was present among them.

And the same is true for us.

We've never seen Jesus in the flesh, but most of us have recognized him. We've gone about our business and not expected him to show up, yet he has and many of us just knew. Faith develops faith and faith develops our perception and sight into the things of God. The more faith we have, the more we are able to see what God is doing.

He's making breakfast for us on the beach everyday. He's calling out to us while we go about our day. He's providing just what we need. He's present everywhere and everyday. We may not recognize him, but with faith and an expectation, we'll know he's there because we are on the his wavelength.

We'll just know!

Risen with Christ ><>
pc

Dingus Day

Today is a holiday that I began celebrating a few years ago. It's the Monday after Easter and in Polish tradition its a day of celebration and fun following a long, serious Lent. While Easter was focused on the celebration of our faith, Jesus' resurrection and ours, Easter Monday, or Dingus Day was when the boys would chase the girls, throw water on them and the girls would cut pussy willows and hit the boys in retaliation.

Sounds like fun!

It's really about some romantic fun (if hurling water sounds romantic), courting after the Lenten season, chasing after your girl, your guy.

So we have the day off at COFS.

Now I don't know how much courting will take place, but I do know that the staff has worked very hard during Lent and I gave them the day off. (and took it myself.) It's as important to rest as it is to work, which is why God gave us the Sabbath. Weary minds and hearts leads to some dangerous places at times so rest is critical, rest for the soul, a day to unwind, a day to pour water on my spouse! (Which I don't recommend!)

So take the day to reflect. You probably don't get the day off, but you can take time to think about what you learned during Lent, what Easter meant to you this year, what it means for your future, or simply to ask, what are you going to do about it?

The day after Easter the Disciples were in the upper room again, behind locked doors, afraid, reflecting, thinking, praying. Jesus had given them his Spirit and his commission. Jesus tells us that those who would believe without seeing would be blessed. And that even greater things than those signs Jesus himself performed would be done by them for the Kingdom. But it didn't happen right away. The disciples took some time off...

...to reflect, to think, to prepare.

Jesus is going to use this resurrection in our lives as a God-revealing sign for others.

So it's okay to rest. God's got plenty to do with us tomorrow.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some buckets to fill!

Peace ><>
pc

Easter

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen, Indeed!

Alleluia.

Peace ><>

pc