He's from where?

Jesus' disciple, Phillip, had heard Jesus teaching and had seen him performing miracles.  He told his friend, Nathaniel, that he had to meet this man from Nazareth.  Nathaniel scoffed at him, not believing anything good could come from Nazareth.  But when Nathaniel met Jesus, Jesus greeted him as if he already knew him.  Nathaniel asked, "how do you know me?", and Jesus replied, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree before Phillip called you."  Nathaniel was amazed and immediately believed that Jesus was the Son of God.  But Jesus rebuked him for believing so shallowly. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, you will see Heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man".

How many of us discount what someone else thinks based on where they are from or who they know?  It is natural for us to put others down in order to elevate our own position.  But there was nothing natural about Jesus.  Indeed, He was, and is, supernatural.  He was known for associating himself with lepers, thieves and adulterers.  And only those who truly grew to know him understood and appreciated His desire to know the least and the lost.  That is what He calls us to do.  I want to try to be more like that today.  I want to see heaven open.

A Walk To Remember

 

I am still coming off of the two-week high delivered by the Paris Olympics.   Some of the competition was riveting, and the stories of overcoming adversity and personal sacrifice were inspiring.  One of the events I didn't catch in prime time was the walk-race, and I didn't seek out any clips of the results either.  It is interesting that the walk-race was one of the track and field events that my family witnessed in 1996 at Turner Field.  I wasn't that excited about it then either.  But, this interview caught my attention.  Australian, Jemimah Mongag, won the bronze medal, and her level-headed comments gave me chills as she talked about what the achievement meant to her and her advice to other young athletes.  After a quick search, I learned that her grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust, so it seems clear to me that her grandparents and parents did a pretty good job of teaching her what things really matter.  I hope she inspires you as much as she did me.

Nothing Short Of Rival

I saw a news article about a revival called March for Jesus that is taking place in Boston on August 25th.  They are expecting the largest crowd for a gathering of this type since Martin Luther King preached there in 1950.   There are a lot of speakers and musicians participating, but Jaymz Sideras, a revivalist originally from London is spearheading the event.  I hadn't heard of Dr. Jaymz before so I searched up this video where he describes the impact of the greatest person that ever lived.  Take a few minutes, listen, and pray for revival in Boston and across the globe.

Which God Is Which?

 

Christians around the world were outraged last week when the opening ceremonies for the Olympics depicted a group of drag queens posing in what seemed to be a depiction of the Last Supper.   After closer scrutiny, most people agree that the depiction was actually of the Greek god, Dionuysus, son of Zeus.  Dionysus was recognized as the god of wine and spiritual ecstasy as depicted in this 1630 painting by Jan Harmensz van Bijlert.  The reference to Dionysus would make more sense due to the Greek origin of the Olympics.  That being said, many believe that the Christian outrage was not over the Last Supper depiction, but the inclusion of the drag queens in the opening ceremonies.  The assumption that the re-creation was of the Last Supper, and the social media frenzy that followed, does seem to indicate to me that we, as Christians, sometimes believe the world to revolve around us.  The world doesn't revolve around us.  The world revolves because God put it in motion so that we could seek Him, find Him and follow Him.  I want to do that more.