Pastoral Musings:
He had done miracle after miracle, spoken with wisdom and
authority, revealed the will of God the Father in heaven, &
promised His followers, a place with Him in heaven, then we are told
in John 14:12 that Jesus said to His disciples this, "Greater
things than these will you do."
Can you believe it? If we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we
are seeking to do His will in all things there are greater things
waiting for us than we have ever known. Billy Graham knows this.
He has shared God's will in his crusades with more people than Jesus
ever did. Peter right after the resurrection discovered this when
3,000 people entered the Kingdom of God because of his 1st testimony
after he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Charles Wesley was able
to do this when he wrote over 6,000 hymns.
The word "greater" does not mean "better than", rather it means
"new". Jesus has new things for us to do that He did not do when He
was on this earth. He has left to His people the responsibility to
carry on the mission He began to reveal the will of God to those we
live around. Each person is a new opportunity to add to the mission
Jesus was on, to fulfill that mission to a greater extent, to add to
the Kingdom of God.
Have you been doing "greater things"? Have you been finding
yourself in new places, with new people, and in new ways sharing the
Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you been bringing in
new people into the Kingdom of God?
Why not? Is it because sometimes "old" ways, places, & people are
more comfortable to deal with than the "new". Is it because things
that are new aften take more time to deal with? Is it simply the
fear of the unknown that holds us back?
Remember this, faith lives much stronger in the "new" than the
"old". To often we deal with the "old" with our knowledge rather
than in faith because it is easier to do something than to wait on
God to do something. Things that we have no knowledge on must be
dealt with in faith or ignored. That is what the Bible calls
"righteous living".
Look up Romans 1:17, read it, think about the implications and you
will find that all that we deal with is to be dealt with by faith.
The past, the present and the future can not be dealt with as Jesus
would do except by faith. Faith connects us to Jesus, sustains us
through the Holy Spirit, and directs us to the will of God the
Father.
Is it time to start a new thing in your life? To live by faith. In
other words, to take what God says at face value. He tells us in
the Bible, "All have sinned." "Jesus has made a way beyond our sin
through the forgiveness He made possible when He died on the
cross." "Unless a person accepts that forgiveness by asking for it
from Jesus and begins to confess to others that Jesus is Savior and
Lord (the boss), there is nothing new to be had under the sun."
Let God begin a new work in you. The work of faith. Try sharing
your faith in a new place, with new people, a new way. Jesus has
promised to empower your efforts and as I have found out (My new
thing is the West Allis ROTARY Club.) you will experience a renewed
enthusiasm for not only the things of God but the people around you.
If you have a hard time thinking about what you could do why not
stop in and see me. Maybe together we can find some new
possibilities for you.
