Recently I’ve been reading a book entitled “Greater” by Steven Furtick. It will soon be placed in the church library. Furtick’s premise is that “Most of us aren’t in danger of ruining our lives. We’re in danger of wasting them.” Using events from the life of Elisha the prophet Furtick shares how we can quit being satisfied with good enough and discover the greater things that God has for us. By Furtick’s definition, greater is, “The life-altering understanding that God is ready to accomplish a greatness in your life that is entirely out of human reach – beyond anything you see in yourself on your best day, but exactly what God has seen in you all along.”
Those greater things God wants to do in us aren’t necessarily just the big or public things, it can be as simple as being the best spouse, parent, or whatever else, God created and called us to be. And those greater things won’t happen if we spend our time lamenting over what we don’t have or what we can’t do, the greater things of God only happen as we seek God and His plan for our lives, as we grab hold of Him and never let go.
It’s my hope and prayer that all of us at Medford Friends, individually and corporately, will seek and experience the greater that God has for us so that we may be and do all that He has in mind for us.
God’s Grace and Peace,
Mark
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Before leaving on our recent trip to Mexico we switched to an international plan for our cell phones so we could be reached if needed. This plan would cost us $1.00 per minute for phone calls but was less expensive than renting a phone there.
Our cell service was rather spotty but one time when I was experiencing good reception I noticed that I had seven voice mails. Thinking that someone was trying to get in contact with us I called my voice mail and listened to my messages. All seven were from before we left on our trip and although I had previously listened to them, I had not cleared them, so I spent time and a few dollars listening to old messages.
That got me to thinking about how often we allow the residue of old sins, hurts and fears, messages of our old life, still grab attention in our lives. And every time we listen to them it costs us time, energy, maybe resources and certainly it can cost us peace. In John 8:36 Jesus said, “So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
When Jesus comes into our hearts, forgives our sin, heals our hurts and takes away our fear we are set free, but too often it seems like we continue to listen to those old messages and allow them to consume our time, energy, resources and peace. When those messages beckon us, instead of answering, let’s claim the freedom that Jesus purchased for us and then go forward in our lives as we seek what Jesus is saying and doing in our lives today!
In His Grace,
Mark
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A few weeks back the footrest springs on my recliner broke and over the next couple of days I spent quite a bit of time trying to locate where I could find replacements. After what I thought was an exhaustive search online, using every combination of search terms I could think of, I finally found a place where I could buy a set a springs that were just a little longer than what I needed, so I purchased them hoping they would work.
Before installing the new springs I did an online search on how to install them and wouldn’t you know, in addition to having installation pictures, one of the recommended sites specialized in selling the exact springs I needed for my chair!
This experience brought to mind Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Jesus has the answer for everything in our lives and He invites us to come to Him, to be part of the process of discerning and following His will. Does that mean that all of our prayers will be answered the first time? Second? Third? No, because prayer and seeking Jesus’ will is a relationship and a process and as we persevere, seeking His face, Jesus opens our eyes to new understanding, He points us in the direction of His will, and our prayers change to reflect what He is saying to us.
No matter what needs we may have in our lives Jesus holds the answer and we can find His answer as we stay in the process of asking, seeking and knocking, as we seek His face and live our lives fully surrendered to Him.
God’s Grace and Peace,
Mark
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“Why do you look for the living among the dead? His is not here; He has risen!
Luke 24:5b-6a
He has risen; the truth of these three words forever changed the course of human history. Because Jesus died for the sins of all people and rose from the dead He has made it possible for everyone to experience His forgiveness and eternal life, which begins at the moment we invite Jesus into our heart as our Savior and Lord. And through His resurrection Jesus has made it possible for all who believe in Him to live in the fullness of His grace, mercy and love.
During the month of March, and leading up to Easter, each Sunday we will look at ways that Jesus challenged and changed the lives of the people He encountered during His 3 years of ministry on earth. And as we know, each of these are ways that He still challenges and changes us today when we give Him the freedom to work in our lives.
May the words that the early church shared to encourage each other still encourage us today: “The Lord is risen. The Lord is risen indeed!”
God’s Grace and Peace,
Mark
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