Why aren't the mountains being moved?

He(Jesus) replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
-Matthew 17:20

I don't know of anyone who can make a mountain move by just walking up and speaking to it. The simply reason for this is because no one would really believe that's possible.

Some people look at the above verse and think that it talks about how little faith we have, not even as much as a mustard seed. Some other people, including myself, tend to believe that this verse is talking about how little faith we need. If a mustard seed sized faith is needed to move a mountain, how much less is needed to solve our day to day problems.

It's just a matter of simply obeying and trusting. No magic needed. No shouting and stomping needed. Just a simple quite prayer of faith, will move our mountains and create history.

Spiritual gifts are not for the spiritual elite

It's a common belief among us Christians that spiritual gifts like tongues and interpretation, working miracles, healing the sick, etc, are for a select elite group of super-spiritual individuals. God thinks otherwise.

God never meant for elitism. The gifts are freely given for and in-aid of soul-winning. All gifts flow from 'The Gift', which is the Holy Ghost. Therefore, every spirit filled believer has the potential to operate in the gifts. It's just a matter of activating them.

'But I'm not good enough to be used like that'

If everyone waited till they were perfect to be used by God, there wouldn't be anyone actually doing anything. The blood of Jesus didn't just cover our sins, He removed them. Therefore in God's eyes we are holy, in spite of all that we have done.

All God wants from us is availability.

Miracles Require Faith

Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Mark 6:4-6

Miracles require faith on the part of the recipient, as well as from the miracle worker. It's really a team effort. Even in the case of the crippled man with Peter and John at the Gate Beautiful, the man had some sort of expectancy:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk.

Acts 3:1-8

The Compassion of Jesus

Reading through St. Mark's Gospel, it's hard not to feel the press of the crowd, the desperateness of the people, and the overwhelming miracles. This book shows The Lord having no time to rest. Wherever he went, crowds followed.

Despite his constant attempts to stop people from telling about Him, news traveled like wildfire, and crowds numbering in 4 figures were constantly following Him around.

Even when the Lord tries to withdraw to a remote place for some rest, the crowds still follow:

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

- Mark 6:30-34

There would be a point to which any other man could take this kind of constant pressure, but The Lord didn't see it as pressure. He saw it with eyes of compassion.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized why The Lord's attitude was so different from that of some of us. Preaching the Good News and healing the sick was what He came to the earth to do. It's a life lived with a single focus. It's a passion being followed with everything in Him.

What we sometimes tend to do is treat the work of the Lord like it's a moonlighting job. There's no passion involved, rather only a sense of duty. That is very ironic, considering the fact that we devote more passion and time to things that are of no eternal value.

A one track mind certainly seems like a good thing.

History of Religions

Here's a nice quick visual history of the spread of religion: http://mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf?a=3

Some things about the life of Jesus

Some things I realized about the life of Jesus while reading the gospels.

Jesus loved His quiet time.

In the gospels, we constantly see The Lord withdrawing into solitary places, especially early in the morning, to have His quite time in prayer.

Although He had a close circle of disciples, He was never into elitism.

The Lord loved to mix with the common people, and the "sinners", whom the hypocritical pharisees made sure to stay away from.

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick - Mark 2:16

He always attracted a large crowd.

Where the Lord went, a large crowd always followed, mainly because of His miracles, but also because of His authority in the way He taught and acted.

He was practical.

The Lord wasn't one to uphold senseless tradition at the cost of helping someone. Even though it was against the law to heal on the sabbath, He did it anyway.

He always had authority

Whatever He did, it was always with authority. Whether He taught, healed, or performed miracles, it was always clear to the people that He had authority.

Lifehouse: Everything - Skit

This video touched me no matter how many times I see it.

Enjoying the Journey

"Just enjoy the Journey" - Rick Maricelli

The more I thought about this, the more refreshed I felt, and the more I thought about why I felt refreshed, the more I realized that it was because of knowing the destination.

It's like going on a road-trip. You can have hard times, like when you run a flat in the middle of nowhere, and you can have some really fun times, but all in all, the journey is enjoyable because you know where you are going. You know you won't be stranded on a side-road with a flat tire forever.

It's like cycling through heavy rain, with mud splashing on your face. It's hard and it's muddy, but you actually enjoy the experience, because you know you're not going to be in the rain forever. You're going to be home soon, drinking some hot coffee, reminiscing on the journey.

So, whatever you're going through in life right now, sit back, and just enjoy the journey.

The Privilege of Repentance

Yesterday I heard someone say that "Repentance is a Privilege", and that got me thinking about how true that was.

In the world's judicial system, there is no allowance for repentance. If a criminal doesn't show remorse for his actions, he will get a harsher sentence, but just because he repents, he won't be acquitted. Heaven's judicial system works pretty much the same way. If you repent at the white throne judgment, you will not be pardoned.

If you've watched enough TV you would have seen how the authorities will cut deals with condemned criminals. Freedom in exchange for information. They give the authorities what they want, and the criminal will get a clean slate in return. That's a privilege some get (at least in the movies).

God, in his infinite love, has granted this privilege for everyone on earth, wanting nothing in return. Whatever ever anyone has ever done, acquittal is just a prayer away. We just have to repent, and the blood of Jesus will cover all out sins.

Judgment is still there, condemnation is still there, the only difference is, it's not on you anymore. Jesus Christ took it on himself.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13