Thursday, April 28, 2011

the power

If you ask them, most people would probably tell you the person they would most like to have dinner with is Jesus. Heck, I used to say that but I never really knew why, it just seemed like the appropriate response.  These days Jesus is not the person I would most like have dinner with, Jesus is the person I would most like to spend a warm summer day sitting on a rock with, away from the hustle and bustle of the world where we could sit together listening to the lap of the water, a place so beautiful it is unmistakably God’s creation.  It would be a day where I could get a tiny taste of what the people of his time experienced, his grace, and kindness, the power he held and the humbleness in which he used it.

Jesus lived a simple life, owning nothing and relying on the people of the town he was visiting for food and shelter, his life was pure, unblemished and sinless and he had a following like no other.  He healed the masses through the power given to him by God, a lame man could walk, a blind man could see and those who were once dead were made alive. But it wasn’t just the healing miracles he performed on the lame and the blind and the dead, but it was also his gentle nature that performed miracles of the heart, Jesus healed inside and out.  The broken sinful people of the world loved him, and he loved them.  Jesus had the power to change lives, and so do we. 

We never know when we let the power of Jesus shine through us who we are healing, it may be through giving a sandwich to someone who has never tasted the kindness of a stranger, laying a gentle hand on arm of woman who has only ever felt the sting of what the human hand is capable of, it may be telling someone they are beautiful when all they have ever heard is that they are ugly, it may be looking into the face of the nameless person on the street who long ago people stopped looking at, that’s what Jesus did.

Ephesians 4:23 tells us we were made to be to be like God, righteous and holy.
Philippians 2:5 tells us that our attitudes should be like that of Christ Jesus.

Suppose you have a car but you never drive it rather choosing to walk, you probably wouldn’t get very far, you will never know what your car has power to do unless you get behind the wheel and turn on the ignition.  A car can take us far and it can take us wide, and so can the power of God if we let it, if we stay open to his teaching, he will change us from the inside and it will show on the outside, we are to let our light shine before men.  Do you let the power of God shine through you in your community, your school your workplace?

Jesus concern was not for himself but for other people, and since we were made in his image… well you get my drift, he doesn’t want anyone to perish but to have eternal life, and we have been given the power to plant that seed into the lives of others.  Jesus was infectious, people couldn’t help but be drawn to him, he was kind and gentle even in his anger he never sinned, even when the crowds were in the thousands and he was tired and hungry and just wanted to be alone with his disciples, most of us would be a little on the salty side but Jesus fed them from a little boys sack lunch.

Think of God being the outlet and we are the cord, plug it in and it comes to life, leave it sitting on the garage floor and the only thing it is really good for is to trip over.

Every once in a while I will run into someone I knew in my former life, I get head scratching strange looks, at first they will comment on how I look. Your face, they tell me, it doesn’t look as hard as it used to, and you were mad at the world, you don’t seem so mad anymore.  The power of Jesus, he transforms the inside so the power of his light can shine on the outside.

June 15 will mark one year since I entered this season, and if you have read any part of this blog you know it has been a tough year, I haven’t held much back.  I have had my ups and downs, I have laid on the floor in a pool of my own tears…many times, there have been times when the silence of God has echoed back in my ears feeling as if I were doing nothing more than praying to the ceiling, or worshipping the air space around me, there have been times when satan has invited himself over for dinner and a slumber party, I am aware he is lurking just beneath the surface waiting for a crack in my foundation so he can slither through and he has done it more times than I can count, there have been times of unspeakable joy and unspeakable sorrow, there are times when I have asked “Poppa don’t you love me anymore?” And times when I could feel myself wrapped in the folds of his robe, there have been times when I thought this was a punishment and other times of inexplicable peace, there isn’t a range of emotion I haven’t felt during this season, and just when I think he has forgotten about me, a blog post will be written, a song will play on the radio, a devotion that feels like it was written for my eyes only, a sermon at church, an encouraging word, or seeing a person I haven’t seen in a while telling me something is different.

I don’t know what waiting up ahead for me, I am not privy to that information, I can’t promise that I will never again write another post that will not be cause for alarm (as one of mine recently did), I am sure I will again feel the silence from the heavens and the condemnation of satan, I am sure there will be times when I feel like all I am doing is praying to the ceiling or worshipping the walls, and I can’t promise that you will never feel these things either, I can’t promise that you will always be comfortable and never taste the evils of the world, I can’t promise you will never grow weary and tired, but I can promise that if you cry out to Jesus, it will be through his power and the power he has given you that you can get back up again.


3 comments:

  1. Amen!!! I think we all go through those times, but you have the right answer - cry out to Jesus! I love the title of your blog - Get out of the boat. I've gotten out of the boat a lot lately, but I took my eyes off Jesus and started looking at myself. I thought I could walk on my own. Not so much. :) I've got my eyes on Jesus now and I'm trusting Him to carry me.

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  2. Love this Kandi, "A car can take us far and it can take us wide, and so can the power of God if we let it, if we stay open to his teaching, he will change us from the inside and it will show on the outside, we are to let our light shine before men."

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  3. Just today I was talked down to and condescended in the rudest fashion. For a loooong hour.

    As I left the place I got yelled at, a sweet elderly gentleman riding his bike passed by me on a country road. He rode alongside briefly, asking how I was and wished me a good afternoon.

    Truly turned the last hour around for me. you just never know how the small things will count.

    So glad to hear how Jesus has changed you! Sweet!

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