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The Biggest Mountain

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you Matthew 17:20b

Maybe when you have heard this verse mentioned it was used in the context of a surgery to be faced, a marital crisis brewing or a financial disaster looming on your horizon. But a mountain also represents any impossibility that separates us from God’s plan for our lives. What is the biggest mountain that separates us from God? Today’s encouraging  news is that moving that mountain has nothing to do with its size but it has everything to do with our small faith in a big Savior!

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 8:38-39 new-alaska-pics-4

No mountain can separate us from God’s love because of the cross of Jesus. Our sin which loomed like a giant mountain in our path has been removed and cast into the sea of God’s forgetfulness. It will no longer be remembered anymore forever. When one day we open our eyes in eternity with God we have the wonderful assurance that this biggest mountain of all has been moved! Since He has moved that giant mountain we joyfully use our mustard seed faith to face any small mountain today!

Jesus knows where we are

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Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” John 5:5-6

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Recently I started a part-time job at a large store in our city. Since I know so many from my church, neighborhood and work I thought that I would see people I knew regularly. But day after day, week after week it is a rare delight to see a familiar face. There are just so many! That may have been the feeling of this lame man lost in the crowd. The pool of Bethesda was jam packed with strangers. There was no one there to help him. Jesus came at a time when he felt abandoned and forgotten. He came not just to wave His hand and perform a miracle, but to ask about his needs and to listen to his response.

Jesus is right here I the middle of our small and forgotten situation. Jesus is bending down to ask us what we need. Because even with all the knowledge and all the power in the universe He will not begin His work until we ask. Are there years of bitterness and frustration holding you back? Do you feel forgotten in the crowd? Jesus has not forgotten! Jesus knows exactly where we are! He is passing by us, whether at the pool of Bethesda or on a busy city street. He is listening so we can fearlessly tell Him exactly what we need!

Greater Things

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Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”  John 1:50

Believing connects us first to knowing that He knows our hearts. This only recorded conversation between Nathanael and Jesus in the Bible is intriguing both because of its smallness and its bigness. Nathanael was astonished to discover that Jesus knew one of the smallest details of His day. That smallest detail led to the biggest decision of his life!

In the movie “The Santa Clause” with Tim Allen, the elf named Judy says, “Seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing!” That is one of the best descriptions of the miracle of faith in a believer’s life. At the moment that we believe we begin to see who Jesus for who He truly is. As we begin to see Him as He truly is then we begin to follow where He leads. When we follow where Jesus is leading, then we discover that He is going to some astonishing places!

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Be prepared for astonishing places along the way as you follow Jesus. Buckle your seat belts and hold on tight. He has promised to show us greater things, if we only believe!