Come on Jesus sort it out

"One touch from Jesus can change everything."

I do believe this, that indeed Jesus can change any situation in a moment, He is after all God.

However, I have heard the phrase said so many times, often at the end of a preach encouraging people to come forward and have that one touch, that one encounter...

How many of the people who go forward don't get the 'one touch' to change everything, they have to keep on keeping on. Yet the leaders promised a life changing touch, come on Jesus get your finger out!

But did Jesus ever use this language? He talked about the kingdom of God being like a mustard seed, tiny but growing into a massive tree. 2000 years ago there were only a few hundred Christians and now there are maybe 2 billion across the world. That seems like a fully grown mustard tree but not really an example of 'one touch' changing everything.

What about Paul & the other New Testament writers? They seem to use language of the race or the journey, part of that journey is to throw off what hinders, and throwing could be a one time action but it often is a action to be repeated. We also told to put things on but not in the sense of just once but more of a daily uniform like picking up our cross. We are told to be filled and to keep on being filled.

The nine lepers who were healed and didn't return to Jesus, they had their one touch but Jesus didn't think much of them.

Encountering Jesus is wonderful and His touch is always just what we need. However God is always with us, we need to learn to engage with Him in our heart everyday right where we are (I know I so need to be reminded of this).

So instead of waiting to the last five minutes of a special meeting for that 'one touch', take five minutes during everyday (more than once a day if you can) and keep in real touch with God.

Resurrection

Today, Easter Sunday, I walked down to church and as I walked I decided to take off my glasses. Without my glasses I can't really see, I can't see any writing, or the faces of people, everything is blurred. I can see but I don't really see. It the struck me that this is what resurrection is all about helping people to really see - to see the way, the truth, the life.

When Jesus was on the earth almost nobody saw who He really was and what He was telling them about. They were amazed by His miracles and knew He was special and a few even believed He was the Messiah. But until resurrection they saw this but didn't really see.

Through the resurrection it was as if they were given true spiritual glasses to really see Jesus for who He is and to hear and start to truly understand what He told them. The amazing power of resurrection is that this seeing or revealing has carried on through time and goes on into eternity. Whether we have experienced it or not we all live in the good of it.

Today all around the world we remember the power of resurrection and to coin a phrase we remember and again are thankful that "Love Wins".

Happy Easter to you.

Thoughts on idolatry

A little while back Tony Thompson spoke at our church and asked the questions "What is your ultimate? Have you made what is good your greatest desire? What are your idols?"

I've been thinking about this and if I am honest and I look at how I spend my time I know God is not my ultimate. In terms of time God often isn't in the top three and I work for the church! Most of the other stuff is really good but the best (God) is often no. 3, 4, 5 or 10 on the list.

Does that make me a bad? No it just means I am often asleep, unaware of the grace of God on\in my life and oblivious to the many ways God wants to be involved in my life and wants me to be aware of my life in Him!

So I say to myself "Wake up O sleeper" so I can "taste and see that the Lord is good".

I don't need so much to change my life, maybe a few bits - less late night TV for one! It is more of a case of being aware and using...

• my eyes - to look for the hand of God
• my ears - to listen for the still small voice
• my mouth - to say less, so I can hear more

So in essence I need to go to be earlier but stay awake more - I love a good paradox!