The Pre-Peter Heirs
You know, I've been thinking.
I've been thinking about the greatness of God descending on the heirs of His Kingdom.
I've watched two movies in the past two days since there's not much to do on Chinese New Year: Percy and the Lightning Thief and Avatar.
Why is that we think greatness and a life full of excitement and adventure only exists in the realm of film? If there's something worth noting in these movies is that the hero always begins as a commoner, unaware of his potential and power, is taken in by a mentor who tells him/her that she was born with an ability to change the world, finds hard to accept his/her new position, trains to become the person he/she was born to be and conquers evil alongside fear and self doubt.
And yet when we leave the cinema, we are so divorced from the idea that perhaps our own lives are meant to be as equally, if not more beyond our imaginations were entertained in those few hours.
My heart is troubled because I don't believe that that power lies within me. For some reason, as someone who confesses to be an heir and daughter of the living God, I regard myself as weak and unable to connect with the idea that the power that Jesus had on earth is the power we Christians could have in our own lives:
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:11-14
This passage bothers me to no end. It sticks out like a sore thumb. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." You mean literally? This passage tells me that I can't pretend that life will be normal, that what Jesus did like walk on water, appease storms, turning water to wine and raising people from the dead was only reserved for Him alone. If we are one with Christ, we should all be able to raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out demons and apparently something crazier than what Jesus did- I can't even fathom what 'crazier' would entail.
It bothers me to no end because I have no idea how that comes out nor have any idea to ask God for these really crazy things partially because of my lack of faith and the depth of fear.
But when I was reflecting last night on the root of my fear, the fear of Man, that what I know I will regret in the future when I meet God face to face is the following conversation,
God: Why did you not witness to [insert name]?
Me: Well.... cuz I was scared....
God: Why were you scared?
Me: Because.... I was scared of her reaction.
God: But you have Me with you
Me: Yeah I know... but I was scared of looking like an idiot.
That sounds totally lame. Yet even in my knowledge of this I still bicker with myself.
Putting it bluntly, I don't ever see God's supernatural power in me. I mean I guess it could be transferable but I don't see that God would ever give that to me. God is willing and God is able says Hybel. But one of the problems I face is seeing God as Father and not God as a pinata that I have to beat with my prayer stick before He unleashes out the candy miracle.
But as Hybel puts it, don't focus on the mountain (the problem) but focus on God who can move the mountain. I remember reading a book title that said, 'If You Want to Walk on Water, Get Out of the Boat'. I think that is precisely my problem. I can't see God's supernatural power because I can't even get out of the boat to allow Him to work. I'm cruising on my ocean liner of fear and self doubt, focusing on my own inability and mistaking it as God's lack of power when in fact the reflection of my self is precisely untrue. We have it all backwards: we often see ourselves as powerless therefore God is powerless too when it should be that we see God as the Almighty that we too, are given that same strength through the Holy Spirit, our Counselor.
I have heard of people being raised from the dead, people being physically healed and people given the gift of tongues (understandable languages too such as Italian) in this present day and age. But me? Oh no of course not. Why would I ever experience that? Sometimes I do find myself saying 'The End' when I shut the Book and divorce any thoughts of being the next Paul or the next David. "Psh, they had God on their side that's all!" but is not God of yesterday and two thousand years ago, the same God today?
After listening to this week's sermon, I asked God for a power sign (sorry forgot the official term our pastor uses.... listen to the sermon! google 'solomon's porch hk'). It could be a miracle or a wondrous sign OR it could be the gift to perceive into a person's thoughts. It is true that one of Jesus' uncanniest abilities was not calming storms but His gift of seeing right into the depth's of a person's heart with a piercing accuracy.
God, please please pull me out of pre-Peter phase. Please help me to get out of the boat, let alone walk on water.
One of my favourite verses out of the Bible comes from Ecclesiastes. When I watch movies now, I watch it with a whole new perception realizing that we ourselves can actually relate to characters such as these. Percy, the son of Poseidon, realized his power over water and in Avatar, Jack realizes his power as a demi-Navi to save a race from being wiped out by the 'sky people'. We, as humans, yearn for the 'something more' because God placed that desire deep within us:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Poetry, Solomon, that's poetry. You probably got that from your father, David
I've been thinking about the greatness of God descending on the heirs of His Kingdom.
I've watched two movies in the past two days since there's not much to do on Chinese New Year: Percy and the Lightning Thief and Avatar.
Why is that we think greatness and a life full of excitement and adventure only exists in the realm of film? If there's something worth noting in these movies is that the hero always begins as a commoner, unaware of his potential and power, is taken in by a mentor who tells him/her that she was born with an ability to change the world, finds hard to accept his/her new position, trains to become the person he/she was born to be and conquers evil alongside fear and self doubt.
And yet when we leave the cinema, we are so divorced from the idea that perhaps our own lives are meant to be as equally, if not more beyond our imaginations were entertained in those few hours.
My heart is troubled because I don't believe that that power lies within me. For some reason, as someone who confesses to be an heir and daughter of the living God, I regard myself as weak and unable to connect with the idea that the power that Jesus had on earth is the power we Christians could have in our own lives:
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:11-14
This passage bothers me to no end. It sticks out like a sore thumb. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." You mean literally? This passage tells me that I can't pretend that life will be normal, that what Jesus did like walk on water, appease storms, turning water to wine and raising people from the dead was only reserved for Him alone. If we are one with Christ, we should all be able to raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out demons and apparently something crazier than what Jesus did- I can't even fathom what 'crazier' would entail.
It bothers me to no end because I have no idea how that comes out nor have any idea to ask God for these really crazy things partially because of my lack of faith and the depth of fear.
But when I was reflecting last night on the root of my fear, the fear of Man, that what I know I will regret in the future when I meet God face to face is the following conversation,
God: Why did you not witness to [insert name]?
Me: Well.... cuz I was scared....
God: Why were you scared?
Me: Because.... I was scared of her reaction.
God: But you have Me with you
Me: Yeah I know... but I was scared of looking like an idiot.
That sounds totally lame. Yet even in my knowledge of this I still bicker with myself.
Putting it bluntly, I don't ever see God's supernatural power in me. I mean I guess it could be transferable but I don't see that God would ever give that to me. God is willing and God is able says Hybel. But one of the problems I face is seeing God as Father and not God as a pinata that I have to beat with my prayer stick before He unleashes out the candy miracle.
But as Hybel puts it, don't focus on the mountain (the problem) but focus on God who can move the mountain. I remember reading a book title that said, 'If You Want to Walk on Water, Get Out of the Boat'. I think that is precisely my problem. I can't see God's supernatural power because I can't even get out of the boat to allow Him to work. I'm cruising on my ocean liner of fear and self doubt, focusing on my own inability and mistaking it as God's lack of power when in fact the reflection of my self is precisely untrue. We have it all backwards: we often see ourselves as powerless therefore God is powerless too when it should be that we see God as the Almighty that we too, are given that same strength through the Holy Spirit, our Counselor.
I have heard of people being raised from the dead, people being physically healed and people given the gift of tongues (understandable languages too such as Italian) in this present day and age. But me? Oh no of course not. Why would I ever experience that? Sometimes I do find myself saying 'The End' when I shut the Book and divorce any thoughts of being the next Paul or the next David. "Psh, they had God on their side that's all!" but is not God of yesterday and two thousand years ago, the same God today?
After listening to this week's sermon, I asked God for a power sign (sorry forgot the official term our pastor uses.... listen to the sermon! google 'solomon's porch hk'). It could be a miracle or a wondrous sign OR it could be the gift to perceive into a person's thoughts. It is true that one of Jesus' uncanniest abilities was not calming storms but His gift of seeing right into the depth's of a person's heart with a piercing accuracy.
God, please please pull me out of pre-Peter phase. Please help me to get out of the boat, let alone walk on water.
One of my favourite verses out of the Bible comes from Ecclesiastes. When I watch movies now, I watch it with a whole new perception realizing that we ourselves can actually relate to characters such as these. Percy, the son of Poseidon, realized his power over water and in Avatar, Jack realizes his power as a demi-Navi to save a race from being wiped out by the 'sky people'. We, as humans, yearn for the 'something more' because God placed that desire deep within us:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Poetry, Solomon, that's poetry. You probably got that from your father, David
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