A Little Patriotism Today

Good Tuesday morning! Do you get up feeling that today is just another day. Nothing special expected in this day, no great works coming my way? Kind of sounds like I'm composing a jingle there. Yet there is this from our Lord. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:12-13) Jesus did some amazing works too, as Lazarus would tell us, or the crippled man by the Pool of Bethesda, or the people who saw the Lord on that first Easter morning. So... by asking in the name of Jesus we will raise dead people, heal the disabled, and forget about murdering us for we'll just get right back up again. Is that what all that means? While it appears to say that, we are reminded that none of the apostles got up from the dead on their own. Even a few years later Paul would write that healing is a gift of the Spirit, but not all of us have all gifts. We might be tempted to think that somehow the Holy Spirit was highly concentrated in the apostles at Pentecost, and then somehow became thinner as more believers came into the body of Christ, the Church.

I know that some of you have thought this, because I have struggled with it in the past. Where is the faith healing today? Right where it has always been, in the hand of Christ. "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed..." our Lord said. We say that our faith is too small, but Jesus used the example of the smallest of seeds known to His audience. Were He ministering today in His first coming, Jesus might have used the quark, or some other tiny subatomic particle as His example. The size of our faith is not the issue, but who our faith is placed in. But also there is the faith around us. Recall that Jesus did few works in His hometown because of unbelief. The greater works promised must be in extent. Around the world we do see great works of faith. In the so-called advanced areas of the world, not so much. Why is that? Is our faith somehow less because of those around us? Or is there another reason, such as the world doesn't want to hear it?

I see great faith all around me. I see those who believe in Christ gathering together in large and small groups. I see ministers feeding the flocks; singers praising the Lord; and evidence of prayer. I don't live everywhere, but the Internet and other media bring stories of faith in this land. The world may not want to hear it, but there is a Christ-like faith in this nation. The good news of Jesus Christ has not stopped in its tracks, but spreads daily to a world in need. Do you recall a network of radio stations like MyBridge in our youth? Do you recall so many channels devoted to the Gospel on your television back in the day? The number of churches may be similar, but the size of many is truly amazing. We hear much about every church scandal, but we hear nothing of the men, women, and children who gather faithfully each day and week to share in the love of Christ. The sterile texts of public schools are giving way to a rising home school movement where God is given His proper place. There are signs of a coming revival or even, dare we say it, another great awakening if we will pray and watch. Don't give up on the United States of America just yet. The sins of the nation are not the only story we can tell.

Pray, seek God's face, pray for the repentance of our nation, and live the life Jesus gave us to live.
Bucky