Power

Travel, it's what many of us do, or did, over the holidays. I traveled to Florida on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but it was not for the holiday, or to eat leftover turkey with my mom. No, I went there to attend the funeral of my uncle James. Fortunately I was able to travel by airplane than make the 13 hour drive. While sitting there strapped into my seat on the Boeing jet paused on the runway for takeoff, I waited in anticipation for the pilot to push the throttle full thrust sending us down the runway. Having flown a few times, there's a sense of fear right at the time the plane begins to move forward. A fear of "what if?". But also there is this amazing display of power. As the plane lurches forward and your body is thrown back into your seat, you hear the roar of the powerful jet engines. I flew out of Richmond International and had a connecting flight in Atlanta, so there were four take-offs and landings on my trip. Each time I was impressed by the power it took to propel a gigantic plane filled with passengers down a runway and then into the sky. Incredible power. But, nothing compared to the power of God. As we study Mark's gospel at Mosaic Church here in Culpeper on Saturday nights, Mark continually puts the power of Jesus on display. Recently we examined the incident where Jesus cast demons called Legion out of a man living in a cemetery in Mark 5. Jesus has all authority and all power to command even the unseen demonic world. He has the power to change a man's life. One moment he's a crazed maniac, the next he's in his right mind. Changed. God has the power, real power to change our lives, the power do do anything. His power is on display all around us. We usually overlook it, but it's there. Where do you need to see God's power displayed? He can do the impossible. He can change lives. He can calm the storm. He is all-powerful and can make the impossible possible.

Rich

I have to make a confession. I like to watch cars go round and round on a track. I like Nascar. Don't knock it unless you've experienced it! There's nothing like sitting...no standing, in the stands as 43 cars go by, bumper-to-bumper, at 200 mph! Talk about about a rush. Tonight I saw the end of the last race of the season in Homestead, Florida. I saw Jimmy Johnson become the Nextel Cup Champion for the third straight season. Something only one other driver has ever done. Pretty cool. Then something happened that really made me jealous. For his accomplishment, they handed Jimmy a check for $7.2 million dollars! That blew me away. $7.2 million dollars for driving a race car...for driving in a circle and turning left. I'm really jealous! But, seriously, it made me really think about what our world...our society...culture, rewards. Again, understand, I really like racing. I like to go to the races. I've taken my whole family to Daytona several times to the Pepsi 400, and my girls even like to go. But, it really struck me as I saw him lift that check high over his head for $7.2 million dollars, about the vast difference between what God values and what others value...what God rewards and others reward.

We've been having a discussion about money here at Mosaic the last couple of Saturday nights. A hot topic for all of us lately, especially in this election we just experienced. But, there are a couple of things that I am continually reminded of: 1) Compared to the rest of the world, most of us here in America are rich. If you have a car then you are rich, because 90% of the world doesn't own one. If you have fresh, clean, running water, then you are are rich, because most of the world doesn't. I don't have to have $7.2 million to be rich, just have a car. Here's what the Apostle Paul says to us rich folk: "Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever imagine--to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous." (1 Timothy 6:17-18 The Message) I don't know what Jimmy Johnson will do with all that cash...it doesn't matter...I don't answer for him. But for rich folks like me, God values being rich toward others and generosity. 2) In God's Kingdom everything is reversed. In His kingdom, the last will be first and the least will be honored. I'm a citizen of the kingdom of God here on this earth. To make a difference in the kingdom here and now, then my values have to be reversed also. The last and least, not the first and the most, should be where my values lay.
I'm still jealous, though. $7.2 million for driving a car! Where's the fairness in that? Oh, well, God knows.
Duane