Greater than Jesus?

Obviously nothing and no-one is greater than Jesus, that's not what the title means. It's simply referring to what Jesus said in John 14:12,

"I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone 

steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to 

do the things that I do; and even greater things than 

these, because I go to the Father."

Let's just look here at what Jesus was saying. I'm no Biblical scholar, nor am I theologist, so please don't expect Latin translations and really deep meanings here. What I believe Jesus was saying is, "All these works I have done here on earth, it's merely a taster of what is to come. When I go to the Father and send the Holy Spirit in my place, you too will perform these same signs and wonders, and not just these but you will do so much more."

Jesus' time on this earth was short lived. His ministry was even shorter. I'm not going to go into how long it was because I've seen online that there are conflicting arguments. The fact is, it was long enough to fulfil God's plan.

If we subscribe, for argument's sake, to the "Jesus' ministry lasted 3 years" idea, then really, once we've been baptised in the Holy Spirit, we should expect to be performing the same miracles that Jesus did, and since we (hopefully) will be around for much longer than the three or so years Jesus was after He was baptised by John, we shouldn't just stop there. We should expect these greater things too.

I think the problem today is that we get complacent. We shy away from praying for things, saying, "If it's God's will, it will happen anyway" - God does have a plan but He won't force it on you. Quite often I'll say something similar to that. For instance, if I'm applying for a job I'll say, "If it's God's will for me to have this job, He'll pave the way, if not, I don't want it anyway!" That's not me saying I'm not going to put all my effort into the application and interview; I do. I also pray over it but I'm still very accepting to God's will and so I'm at peace with whichever decision is made.

From howjesusprayed

When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, He knew what He wanted - He even knew God's will in the situation, which we often don't - but He still prayed for it not to happen. The important thing to remember is to pray, "nevertheless, not what I will, but as You will and desire" (Matthew 26:39).

We expect people to be saved and sometimes, we even expect them to be healed and delivered from binding spirits and strongholds. We occasionally expect our "special, gifted" Christian brothers and sisters to perform these miracles in Jesus' name. What we often don't expect or have enough faith to believe, though, is that we can and should be doing these things ourselves!

I'm by no means denying that some people have been given special giftings in the Spirit. Some people are called to have a healing ministry, some are prophets, but that's not to say that we can't all do these things. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 that we should desire spiritual gifts but "especially that you may prophesy". In 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 it specifically tells us that we should all desire the best gifts. To me, this tells us that yes, even though someone may have that gift upon their life, it is open to every single one of us.

Don't be lazy and complacent! Are you seeking and desiring these gifts today? Are you seeking God's will for your life? Are you seeking these "greater things", even greater than the amazing, awesome things Jesus did?

From thethingsiponder

Our primary goal on earth is to live our lives as Christ-like as possible, but Jesus said himself that we shouldn't stop there! We have the same Holy Spirit that Jesus had but we have more time to use it. I believe that we are all falling short of God's plan. We are all falling short of the expectations and the giftings that He gave us. He wants us to be doing such wonderful things that we can't even imagine, yet we are happy to just coast along.

Miracles, healings and salvations are wonderful, and we should be grateful for every last one of them, but we should also be seeking more.

I'm excited. Aren't you? I want to know what these "greater things" are! "On earth as it is in heaven" isn't just a line from a prayer that we all learned at school, it's a desperate plea for God's glory and power to manifest itself. For God's kingdom to become evident in our mortal world; to invade us and take over. How can this happen if we're not pursuing it?!

I challenge you all, myself included, to seek and desire these greater things

Tithing

I know, I know. Everybody hates this subject!

I think I once heard that it's like flossing our teeth. We all know we should be doing it but we don't like it and we don't like people discussing it, especially if we're just tucking into a luxurious meal!

The truth is, though, that it is an expectation. It's not that God said, "well if you want to give a little, you can." He commanded that we give the firstfruits of everything we have, to God - it belongs to Him.

Even right back in Genesis (13:20), Abram gave the Lord a tenth of all he had. Deuteronomy 14:22 says "you shall surely tithe" and Malachi is so bold as to say that in neglecting and witholding our tithes, we are actually robbing and defrauding God (Malachi 3:8-10).

I'm not going to stand on a pulpit and command that you must tithe and in that tithing, you must give exactly a tenth of what you earn. Who am I to say that to anyone?! I have no idea what circumstances you're in and I'm not a hypocrite. I've never tithed a day in my life.

Sure, I've put money into the offering bag at church on a Sunday morning, I've even talked myself into believing that the money I spend on donating to charities and ministries etc can be counted as my tithe, but even then it probably wouldn't add up to 10%. As a student I struggled financially and I thought to myself, "God will understand. I have to eat; I have to get to uni"

Over the past few weeks though, I've been really convicted by the Spirit. I'm working full-time now and I spend money on unimportant, wordly things every month like my mobile phone contract, driving lessons, internet, Sky TV and my unlimited Cinema card. Not to mention the books I might buy or the subscription to magazines, Christian or otherwise, meals out and general day-to-day spending.

Don't relegate God to the bottom!

I'm not saying it's wrong to treat ourselves to things we like, we work hard for our wages and we shouldn't feel guilty about spending them. What I am saying, though, is that in my life I was putting God right down at the bottom of my necessity list. I would make all the payments I had to make, get all the things I wanted to get, and then I'd put a couple of pounds in the offering on a Sunday and feel pretty good about myself. Sometimes I'd even work out how much I had after all these outgoings and then give 10% of the leftovers.

That's nice, it's good to give what we can but it's not what God asked for. He asked us told us to give the first fruits. Before everything else.  

Matthew 6:24-34 tells us not to worry about where our food or our clothes will come from; the Lord will keep us and provide for us. He is, after all, our Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord who provides!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 

and all these things shall be added to you" 

(Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

I really love the New Living Translation of the same verse, which reads,

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, 

and live righteously, and he will give you 

everything you need."

He will give us everything we need! All we have to do is put Him first; allow Him to come first in our lives and show it, both in the way that we live and with our finances.

I remember once a few years ago, when I literally only had £20 available to me in my bank account, otherwise I would go over my overdraft limit. I was expecting my student loan installment to go in soon but had no idea when. I had taken it out to get to university the next day and went to a Sunday night revival meeting. I felt that it was the right thing to trust in the Lord and I put my last £20 in the offering bag. That night I got home and my student loan had gone into my account!
 

From crosslifeverobeach.blogspot.co.uk

Some people believe that due to Jesus' grace, we are released from the constraints of the Law, including the obligation to tithe. While I'm not discounting the fact that Jesus pardons us in the eyes of the Law, in Matthew 23:23 He specifically rebuked the Pharisees for finding loopholes in the Law and basically trying to cheat their way through it. With this in mind, I believe that Jesus still holds the Law in very high esteem and this aspect of it is still very relevent for us today.

Also worth noting, though, is that it's not necessarily just about money. I tended to focus on money here because that's what most people think of when they think of tithing, but in the New Testament, Jesus' heart seemed to be more focused on giving in the more general sense. While Jesus taught a lot about money, I think it was due to the fact that He knew that money and finances are the areas we tend to get caught up in; the areas we tend to become selfish about and, if I may say so, obsessed with.

I read somewhere that tithing was primarily meant for seeds and grains, and that not everyone was a farmer - some were carpenters, and were they expected to tithe in wood? I don't have the answers to those questions, and I'm sorry if I've just confused you all the more, but I feel it's only right to bring both sides of the equation.

From DailyMail.co.uk

In essence, our attitude towards money or material things shows where our heart is. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21 AMP) If we are able and willing to give money (or anything else, for that matter) to God, rather than hoarding and keeping it for ourselves, it proves that our hearts are generous and unselfish, and that we put nothing before our God.

Please don't read this and think that I'm condemning anybody or saying that you must tithe. Only you know what's in your heart and what your circumstances are. I'm simply sharing the next part of my journey in faith.

I hope, if nothing else, that this post has given you something to ponder and if you have any thoughts on the subject, please feel free to leave a comment.

-Lisa

Poem - I See You

I See You

I see You

I see You coming from the sky

Returning, as promised,

For Your patient Bride

I see You, my Lord

In a cloud of Glory

Descending from Your Heavenly abode

And I know

You’ve been waiting for this

Much longer than I have

Yearning to return to Your people

Longing to save us from what the world has become.

But You had to wait

And it pained Your heart

Precious Jesus, Your soul ached to be back with us

But Your timing is perfect.

I see You

And I am astonished

No longer my beautiful Saviour,

No longer the smiling face and dancing eyes that I once knew

No.

Jesus, You are not here to continue where You left

You are not here to win our hearts again

Jesus, I see You

I see You as You really are

A part of the Living God

A Warrior, ready to fight

A Soldier in the War of all Wars

I see You

Riding upon Your horse with power

With fire in Your eyes

And victory in Your heart

I see You

And I fall to my knees

I cry out Your Glorious Name

And I know this is it

 Jesus You came back

You came back to end our suffering

Once and for all

You came to seek victory over the evil one

And You reign victorious over all the earth

I see You, Jesus

As I never have before

And I am not scared

I see You

And I am with You

Forever.

Copyright - Lisa Davies, November 8th, 2010.

If you use or distribute this work, please keep it in its entirety, and link back to this page so that the appropriate credit can be given. Also, please let me know if you do use any of my work, just as a courtesy. It's great to have feedback :)

Anything Could Happen

So I guess you know that "Anything Could Happen" is actually a pop song by Ellie Goulding (or maybe not - I had to Google it to find out!) I actually heard it for the first time on the US X Factor last year, the girl group, Fifth Harmony, did a version (here) which I actually really enjoyed.

No, this blog hasn't turned into a music blog, but it is one of those songs that stays in your head all day!

The moon's just visible above the tree

As I was praying this morning I remembered something that a lovely lady at church said a few weeks ago, "If you don't believe it's going to happen, don't even bother praying for it" - if you have no faith at all that your prayer will be answered, if you think that your request is too big or too difficult for God to listen to, don't even waste your time praying for it, because it'll never come into fruition if you don't believe it/don't have enough faith to see it through.

I was kneeling on the carpet, kind of hunched over the bed and looking out of the window. I could see the trees; the blossoms; the beautiful magnolia petals; the awe-inspiring blue of the sky, with the moon still partially visible because it's such a clear day. I could hear the birds chirping and singing their unique melodies.

I can't believe that we still struggle to accept and believe that God is capable of anything! Literally, anything is possible with God and it's so easy to say that and not actually think about what we're saying, but absolutely anything you can imagine, it's possible. The only stipulation is whether it aligns with God's will or not!

Let's look at it this way, you're looking for an employee. Someone comes in and you think, "Hmm, I'm not sure they can do this job." You ask them for their experience and they hand you a CV and you're shocked at what they can do! You never in a million years thought that this was the right person for the job and yet, the evidence speaks for itself!

People, the world is God's CV!

When will we realise?! Look around you, everything that you can see; smell; hear; taste; touch, everything around you is the evidence, the proof that God exists, He's here all around us and He can do anything!


He can do all things. Anything can and will happen, why would we hinder His power with our unbelief?

-Lisa