Greater works

Mark Batterson wrote in his book, “The Circle Maker,” a quote that was very interesting to me. He said, “There is a moment when you must quit talking to God about the mountain in your life, and start talking to the mountain about your God. You proclaim His power. You declare His sovereignty. You affirm His faithfulness. You stand on His word. You cling to His promise.”

Isn’t that a great thought? That goes along with a song I love to hear on the radio, “Let me tell you about my Jesus.” 

The first verse states, “ ... Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden weighin' heavy? Is it all too much to carry? Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus. Do you feel that empty feeling? 'Cause shame's done all its stealin,' And you're desperate for some healin,' Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus.”

The world is going further and further down the drain and we can not sit on the sidelines any more. We must boldly proclaim what a wonderful God we serve (proclaiming with love, of course) and share the blessings of living a life for God instead of self.

My Bible reading this week has me studying David’s sin with Bathsheba and then some major trouble between some of his kids — including rape and murder. YIKES. I am very thankful God portrays the heroes of the Bible as real people who sin and mess up. But I’m even more thankful that the time of writing the Bible has been completed so I don’t have to see my sins listed there! Whew!! Born in the right century for sure.

When I ponder why Jesus leaves us here I know it’s because He lives in believers and we are to share the miracle that He did in our hearts with others. But we often let fear and insecurity take over. And we are afraid to share good news. 

This past Sunday my hubby preached on a passage in John 14 about having a praying heart. He reminded us that Jesus said, “Most assuredly I say to you, He that believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

That is often a puzzling statement. Because Jesus rose people from the dead, healed the sick and fed thousands of people with a Long John Silver’s version of a Happy Meal. I can’t do all of those things! So how is it possible we are to do greater works than Jesus?

Hubby’s sermon reminded us that leading people to Jesus Christ is greater than raising the dead and healing the sick. The people like Lazerous still had to eventually die. The cleansed lepers still eventually died of old age. 

We can also serve “greater” because the extent of our outreach is vast — especially through the internet. Jesus stayed in a small area of the world during His ministry, but we support missionaries all over the world. We can go visit them. I’ve been blessed to assist missionaries in Mexico, Peru, Philippines and Costa Rica. What an honor to see the smiling faces of Christians from other cultures. We can’t communicate very well but we share a smile, hug as well as the same Lord Jesus Christ. 

It’s time we stop living a defeated life. Remember the God of the Universe knows our name and loves us despite our sins and failures. King David is called a man after God’s own heart. Wow a God who is willing to forgive and forget our sins. King David still had to deal with the consequences of sin. His son with Bathsheba died as a baby. And one of his sons killed another son. (It’s just not smart to have eight wives!!! What was he thinking?)

Yes, this world is a messy, pitiful place at the moment. But we still have the assignment to live the truth and spread the truth to our friends, family and neighbors. 

I’m sure you’ve heard the old statement, “If your Christian life was put on trial, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Let’s stay busy, telling the mountains of obstacles about our God. God is great, awesome, mighty, creative, never sleeps, never too busy to hear a prayer, and cares about the smallest and largest obstacles in our lives.

Facing an impossible situation? Tell that situation you plan to give it to God and let God deal with it!!!