not quite homeless

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Is There More?

Is there more? I suppose that’s the question many of us are asking when we consider this walk with Jesus. Increasingly it is the hopelessness that many have felt in viewing a broken witness of a Christian or church that has caused many to turn away, give up on the faith, and also, in some cases, to end it all.

That question is where my story began in my childhood and it led me to find Jesus in 1973 in my teens.

Some of my earliest childhood memories, aged three in Ghana, were of (Anglican) church singing, dancing and colourful clothes on happy people. Then we moved to Northern Ireland, where our church was sober (and certainly no dancing allowed), dull, the menfolk wore grey or black suits, and the choir sang out of tune. Even as an eight-year old I was looking for more.

My search led me away from Jesus initially. But I was saved from an occult background and was familiar with “powers” in the spirit world. Then I met the One who was greater than the one that was present in my life. After I got saved, we saw miracles at boarding school. We had been saved through “power encounters” with the Living Jesus, read the Acts of the Apostles and expected God to do it for us. No questions asked. As a growing group we met every day in the school chapel after lunch. God would tell us things—like the time He told us someone was going to knock at the door and would need us because his father had just died. We got that ‘word of knowledge’ and immediately a boy walked in and we knew how to minister to and love him without him saying what had happened. God answered prayers, stopping ouija board sessions as we prayed at night in the dormitories. Even one guy had an experience like Philip being taken from one place to another so he could preach and minister healing.

Then I went to Bible College and learned that these things didn’t exist today! I got depressed. I knew there was more. I searched and prayed and the LORD poured out His Spirit on my life with a gift of tongues coming.

Jump forward a few decades and I see and hear the same thing. People are looking around and asking “Is there more?”. Well there is. And the people who seek and ask that question are finding MORE!

One verse comes to mind:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” ~ ‭‭John‬ ‭14:12‬

“Truly, truly” Jesus said TWICE. Is Jesus a liar? (The question I asked my local butcher the other day!) If He is not then He’s either crazy or what He is saying is true. “He that believeth on Me’—the condition. Shall do “the works that I do”. That’s pretty impressive. But … there’s more—I told you there was!—“greater works than these shall he do”! How? “Because I go unto my Father”. Wow!

Is He a liar? Is He crazy? Or is this true? Do you ‘believe on Him’? Then there’s more for you than what you’re seeing now.

After years on the mission field I have seen many works of God and miracles, but still, recently I knew there was still more God wanted to do in and through me. But … this has been long enough. More about that next time!