The Other Side....Where's Your Faith?

There is a miracle mentioned throughout the gospels, but it wasn't until recently that I realized that the miracle is not the main point. Do you remember the time Jesus calmed the wind and the sea when he was in the boat with his disciples? Do you remember what Jesus told them before they set sail? He told them to get into the boat, that they were going to other side. We find out that Jesus was asleep when the storm arose. His disciples let their faith be overtaken by their fear to the point, that they forgot that Jesus told them they were going to other side. When they awoke him, he calms the storm and then turns to them asks them, "Where is your faith?"

What is the purpose that God has given you in your life? I know what he has called me to do, and yet, when life's storms blow my way, I start to freak out and allow my faith to be overtaken by fear. Why is this? I don't have the answer to that, except for the fact that we need to believe what Jesus has told us, "we are going to other side". He doesn't say how long it will take or how things will fall into place. We just have to continue to follow and worship him daily. We need to keep our eyes set on the other side, and take the storms that life sends not as obstacles but as building blocks.

Just because it may seem that Jesus is asleep, we must realize that by him dying for us on the cross and preparing the way for eternal life, he has done everything for us. We need not to seek signs and wonders as the disciples did in order for our faith to remain intact. Instead we need to hold on to what Jesus has already done and said, and keep moving forward. Remember, faith is not believing in something we can see, but in the things that are unseen. I welcome your thoughts and experiences on this topic, because it something that I struggle with on a daily basis.

And this is eternal life...

Growing up in church, I always heard eternal life referred to as something we attain after death. You know, believe in Jesus today, and gain eternal life in Heaven when you die, or reject Jesus today, and gain eternal life in hell after you die. The other day, I came across a passage of scripture that I know I have read many times, but this time it came to life for me. In John 17:3 Jesus says,

" This is eternal life, that they know you the only God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

So if I take my old understanding of what eternal life means, then I would have to admit that I can't really know God until I enter Heaven. However, according to Jesus' definition, knowing God and himself is eternal life. I talked with a friend of mine via email this morning, trying to flesh this out, and here is how he defined eternal life, and I find it very helpful and very biblical:

"Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent, and to experience His manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in one's life"

I don't know about you, but I want to know God hear and now. I find that if I can't know Him now, how can I be looking forward to seeing Him one in Heaven. Just a thought.

Paranoia ?

I am a people watcher, and could be accused of being an eves dropper at times because I sometimes tune in to others conversations when I am sitting around large groups of people. Anyways, I have noticed an ongoing conversation among many Christians as of late. This conversation involves a lot of worry, speculation, and unsettling wonder. To put it simply, Christians seem to be quite paranoid. I find myself in this boat more than I would like, but it seems like mine is very minute in comparison to many that I have encountered lately. I am currently tuning into a conversation that I would like to jump into and say, "hey stop worrying, and stop using spiritual verbiage so loosely."
Why do we spend so much of our time worrying about things? Didn't Jesus command us to not worry? We need to have faith and rely on the hope that we have in Jesus. This may not make sense to anyone else, it is just some ramblings on a conversation that seems to be going on all around me.