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Can You Hear Me Now?
Joe Killian • Jan 19, 2018
It amazes me how many different ways that God speaks to me. (When I'm paying attention!) From the morning's sunrise to the song on the radio to the smile from my beautiful wife Maria, I try to hear God as often as possible. As the sun rose this morning, HIs message came to me through a book I am reading on discipleship. Not only was this book speaking of Jesus' calling of His disciples (This week's Gospel) but it also referred to another book I read years ago. So what is God saying?
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel."
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:14-20
In his telling of Jesus' calling of His disciples, Mark's style comes through. His Gospel version is fast-moving and action-packed. Jesus calls and the disciples respond, leaving everything behind. Before long the disciples were watching as Jesus heals a demoniac, Simon's mother-in-law and as Mark continues, "He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons..." All of this happened before the end of Mark's first chapter.
Sometimes we read these passages and wonder why things aren't moving more quickly on our journey with God. I know I often hope God will heal and move mountains and bring peace...NOW! But the reality is that we need to grow in our relationship with God, continually. Jesus calls us all to follow Him. That means that we must accept that being a disciple of Christ requires that we leave the world behind us. As the the disciples did, we must spend time with Jesus getting to know Him better. Through our relationship with Him we become a part of Jesus' time of fulfillment, bringing His Kingdom to the world. Will you respond to His call today?
"Come after me..."
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
