Thought of the Day !!

As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man--a true son of Israel." "How do you know about me?" Nathanael asked. And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you." Nathanael replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God--the King of Israel!" Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man."
John 1:47-51

As disciples, we are called to be witnesses of Jesus' miraculous power and love just as the original twelve were. Jesus tells the disciples that they will "all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man". We may not be witnesses to that today, but it doesn't mean that we cannot witness Christ in many ways.

The first disciples were then called upon to be witnesses for Christ. They were sent out two by two. Later they were told to go and make disciples. And nothing has changed in our calling as Jesus' disciples. We've been called to first be witnesses of Jesus, and then be witnesses for Jesus.

Last week when we were down in Biloxi, I can only hope I was a witness for Jesus, bringing God's love to those in need of it. But at the same time I was a witness to Christ through what I experienced down there. I witnessed the great faith of a lady who claimed that the house that we made livable was an answered prayer. And, as she said, "God always answers prayers."

I was a witness to the love of Christ in the vast amount of workers that we saw. There were tons of volunteers in Biloxi alone. These were people like ourselves that gave of their time to go and help someone that they had never met, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. They came, and continue to come, from all over the United States. And yet it still looks like a war zone in many areas.

God did not send Hurricane Katrina to punish people like some have tried to say. God was not seen in the storm. God is being seen in the aftermath. Christ can be seen in the people who serve others. He can be seen in the unwavering faith of true believers. May we all see Christ in some way today, being a witness to what he is doing, and then being a witness for him to others.

In the love of Christ,
greg