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Scripture for the day: John 14:12-14 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who 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. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (Jesus to His disciples)
Thought for the day: My friends, we’re engaged today in a great battle. I look at the stack (well, more of a disorganized pile really) of papers waiting patiently on my kitchen table to be filed or dealt with, the various other issues proper record keeping demands, my calendar of must-do items, the even longer list of wish-I-could-get-to-these items, the family I need to visit, the other obligations I’ve taken on and the challenges that simply keeping up with the daily routine present and I wonder if the battle’s not already been lost. And I’m retired! Then I look at the news and am reminded that the battle is much bigger than what goes on in my home, or even in my life. There are people out there who are intent on taking away our civil and religious liberties. There are others who want to hurt us simply because we claim the name of Jesus. There are still others who hate the relative freedom we enjoy and would do anything to take that away. Sometimes it all makes you wonder who the enemy really is, doesn’t it?
But that question ought to be the easiest for us to answer. The Liberals aren’t the enemy (if you happen to be conservative). The Conservatives aren’t the enemy. The Islamic fascists aren’t the enemy and neither is Russia, China or any other earthly power. The demands of life aren’t the enemy; they simply are what they are. The real enemy is the prince of this earth, Satan himself, and he’s bent on destroying anyone and anything that would be redeemed by God. Now, we can go to court and sue over this, or we can get the legislature to outlaw anything that would lean toward the devil, or we can redouble our efforts at building a great organization to defeat him. Or we can engage ourselves in the battle instead of skirting around the edges, hoping to keep him from making any more progress.
Jesus said that His disciples, including you and me, would do greater things than He did. Can you even imagine that possibility? I admit, I have trouble getting my mind around that promise. But the real key here is how He expected His disciples to do greater works than He had done. He said, “You will build a great ecclesiastical organization that will accomplish much more than I’ve done here.” No, I don’t see that there. Perhaps he said, “You will work at least 18 hours a day, neglecting your family, friends and your own well-being and thereby accomplish great things.” No, I don’t see that there either. Wait! Perhaps He said something like, “You’ll discover a fool-proof program that will be put into practice in every church in your denomination; this program will revolutionize the way people are brought to salvation.” No, I don’t see that either. So, what did He say?
Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name, it will be done – to the glory of the Father.” And do you know what happened? Those foolish disciples actually believed that whatever they asked in the name of Jesus would be given to them! Can you even imagine? They honestly and truly believed that if Jesus said he would do something, He would. And a little while later they held a 10-day prayer meeting in a crowded stuffy room in Jerusalem. As one writer put it: “They prayed for ten days and preached for ten minutes and 3,000 were added to the kingdom. We pray for ten minutes and preach for ten days and we’re ecstatic if anyone is saved.”
What would happen if we simply stopped doing church the way we’ve always done church and started doing it the way Jesus did it? Hmmmm, I wonder.
Now go take on your world. - Bill