faith

Let’s Change the World!

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3

It is popular to say that, “We want to change the world.” and considering all the changes brought on by the Corona virus, the elections and the ongoing divisions in our society,  we have certainly seen a lot of change. “But we are talking about positive change!” you might respond, so then I would ask, “How would you suggest we change the world for the better? Would you propose building a large social media platform, or inventing a new product or service? Should we run for political office or join others in the street to protest for change?” Amazingly the one person who has changed the world the most did none of these things. Jesus Christ never held a position, owned a home or traveled the world.   He talked about the kingdom of God, healed the sick and encouraged the rejected people of his day. But when His popularity grew till large crowds began following Him, He sent them away to go up on a mountain and pray.  

If we carefully read the New Testament accounts of His life we find that; yes Jesus was interested in changing our world, but He had a tactic far different than ours. Instead of finding the best arenas to fill, He went to obscure places filled with people in need, and when He got there, Jesus usually chose one single person to talk to. The woman at the well and another about to be stoned each left His presence, changed forever. A young man about to be buried was raised from the dead (Now that’s a change!) and a leper on the outskirts of a village was cleansed and healed. But perhaps the most notable – since the Bible devotes an entire chapter to him- is the blind man in today’s verse who was sitting at the corner of a busy city street. Maybe the Bible does not reveal his identity because God wants us to know that any one of us can be like him.

We don’t need to be important, well financed or talented for God to take an interest in us. It doesn’t matter to Jesus what other people’s opinions about us are. God wants us to know that He hasn’t forgotten about us. He reassures our hearts that our problems are not too hard for Him to solve and that if we just put our trust in Him, that He will change our world forever. Then through our lives, no matter what anyone else thinks, God will be glorified. Now tell me, “What change is any better than that?”!

What’s Your Red Sea?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14 ESV

One of my professors at Bible college often said that the Christian life wasn’t just hard to live, it was impossible! The Red Sea for Moses was his place of impossibility. His story of Moses and the experience of the children of Israel leaves us an encouragement that God choses to work the impossible by His miracle grace.

Maybe an impossible situation is looming on your horizon like a dark cloud. Maybe right now you feel like you are facing the Red Sea ahead and are hearing the footsteps of your enemies right behind. Naturally we all begin to panic, but in that in that moment we it is vital to remind ourselves that God Himself has led us to that shore. One of the fears we face is the the unknown. We can’t imagine how our life will be if x, y or z happens. But God specializes in doing his best work in our hearts when we don’t understand (Which in my case is often!). So if it helps think of this test of faith like surgery. Usually during an operation we will be asleep and our confidence in the outcome doesn’t lie in being able to direct the surgeon’s hands. We are simply satisfied that he is operating for our good. In fact, we will never have a greater opportunity to trust God than at the shore of our Red Sea. Nothing has happened to us by chance in the battle we are in. We haven’t taken a wrong turn and this is not a dead end. We are in exactly the right place because God has brought us here. It is impossible for us to accomplish anything without the miraculous grace of God, so stand strong with expectancy and discover what only God can do!

12 Gifts of Christmas / Day 4- Faith

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 ESV

When I was a young boy I hated moving. It wasn’t so much the packing of my little suitcase or the new address or bed that bothered me. What I struggled with was being the new kid (again) with not fitting in, not knowing where my seat would be in class and wondering if I could make friends. It felt like my life was just one big problem that no one knew the answer for. Now that I am an old guy I still have problems but I have found that I can bring them to God. But today, while I am busy asking in faith for God to help me with my problems and give me blessings; it occurs to me how little I have paused to use my faith to ask for others. What kinds of mountains do the people around me face? I really admire one guy from our men’s group who, always asks His waiter or waitress “How can I pray for you today?” Maybe you and I don’t do that very often because we have been afraid of what people might say, or maybe we have just been too busy with our own problems.

As Christmas nears why not ask for God to help us see into someone else’s world? After all God saw us. He came and to Bethlehem became a part of our world. He willingly chose to be the new kid on the block, to not fit in, to be rejected and to die in order for our mountain of sin to be moved. What mountains are our friends and neighbors facing? Why not give them a Christmas gift of faith and come and be a part of moving their mountains today?