In the words of Mike & The Mechanics, "All I need is a miracle/All I need is you."
Immersion is having its first ever Miracle Night this coming Thursday. What's a Miracle Night? Well, we're going to ask God to show up and do... well... miracles.
Blind eyes would be opened.
The bondage of debt would be broken over the lives of young adults.
Depression and anxiety would be healed.
Unbelievers would become believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.
Those, good people of Des Moines, are miracles. Events that do not happen in our normal, everyday level of existence... But maybe could and should (and if we're real honest, we want to have happen in our lives on a regular basis).
Now, some of you might be conjuring pictures of a televangelist with cuff links and slicked back hair, placing his hand on the forehead of a poor, old woman in a wheelchair and saying something like, "and now, be healed in the name of Juh-hee-sus-uh! And for only a $1,000 love gift, you too can be healed in Jesus' Name! We now accept credit and debit cards!"
Oops. Did I step on anyone's toes?
Here's Reality #1 for you and me: God desires to move in your life in miraculous way. Whether it's fixing your finances, healing the scars of sexual abuse, healing your lower back problems, or changing the way that you see God (and, consequently, yourself and others), God wants to show up in your life.
Here's Reality #2: God will not force himself into our lives. "Jesus is a gentleman," I heard it said once. A gentleman is always invited in, he never forces his way in. God is the same way - he will not force himself into our lives, he must be invited. I truly believe there are mountains of exciting things God wants to do in our lives, we just need to ask. Matter of fact, let's look at what Jesus said:
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
I'd like to invite you to ask God for a miracle. Better yet, come and join us this Thursday at Immersion 7:37pm for Miracle Night. You don't even have to buy all this Jesus stuff, just give God a chance to show you how good he is.
May the Lord bless you and keep you on this Monday morning...
Justin
Jesus once said, "You ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition." He said this to a group of people who were known for being extremely "religious".
They said the "right" things.
They did the "right" things.
They had the "right" doctrine.
Yet, for Jesus, these were some of the most misled and dangerous people around.
They were the ones who hassled him the most.
They were the ones who hated him the most.
They were the ones who had him pinned to a cross in a garbage dump.
In most cases, it seemed as though Jesus and the "religious people" were following a different God, so much so, that Jesus once called the religious leaders "children of hell" and that their "true father" was none other than Satan himself! As I've said before in other posts, Jesus reserved his harshest words not for the raunchiest sinner, but for the disillusioned religious elite!
The religious leaders (a.k.a. "children of hell") were so dangerous because they were perceived as being God's ambassadors - as reflecting the character and nature of who God was and what he was like. They were the ones who people looked to in order to tell them what God thought about them and how they were to think of him.
Jesus would get so angry with them (and still does, in my opinion) because they misrepresented God the Father and what he was like. Jesus is the true reflection of God because he is God. What we see in Jesus and what we see in the religious leaders could not be more diametrically opposite:
Religious leaders said "do" in order to be acceptable to God.
Jesus said "be" the child of God, the image bearer, that you already are.
Religious leaders heaped oppressive demands onto their followers.
Jesus said, "my yoke is easy, my burden (weight, load to carry) is light."
Religious leaders kept mental records of their own sin as well as the sins of others.
Jesus said, through his Spirit, "I will remove your sin from you as far as the east is from the west and remember it no more."
As you can see, when we choose to follow tradition - human religious tradition that has the appearance of godliness but denies the power of the Gospel - we're in, as they say, "deep doo-doo". Jesus desires nothing by wrote, but a deep and living interaction with him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Have you considered this for your own religious walk? Does your walk with God resemble an empty, lifeless, religious tradition or is it a vibrant and alive interaction between you and Jesus Christ? Consider the implications of each...
Peace to you on this Monday morning...
Justin
Something struck me as I was preparing for my message this week: Jesus thinks very highly of us.
Jesus thinks highly of us because he’s God. If Jesus is God and God is Jesus and Jesus not only loves us but actually likes us, then that would mean that God feels the same way about you and about me.
God honors you (Isaiah 43:4).
God calls you “very good” (Genesis 1:31).
God, in fact, loves you (1 John 4:9-11).
I think this struck me so hard because I wonder how many people really believe this? Christians included! Most of us - if only subconsciously - believe that God is mostly mad at us and is really disappointed with our lives. He’s standing in heaven with a long, flowing beard, checklist and clipboard and a sharpened #2 pencil in hand, constantly checking our behavior, scribbling on his checklist and clucking his tongue whenever we goof up.
My question is simply, “who would want to follow a God like that?”
Not me.
Luckily enough, that’s not the God of Scripture and it’s not God the Father of Jesus Christ. Even as I write these words, I can feel a weight being lifted off of my shoulders... God is not mad at me!
Would you take a moment during your day and ask yourself the question, “how do I think God sees me?” Then ask yourself a second question, “how do I see God?” Those two questions, G.K. Chesterton says, are “the most important beliefs” someone has.
God is good. Good is God. God says we’re “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Any questions?
