Dropping Nets and Throwing Mountains

I was back at the same coffee shop I was in for last week's Friday Thoughts. I sat there with you waiting for our salami scones coated with Tabasco sauce and our extra-large caramel fudge iced mochas with peanut butter, brownie chunks, and low fat whipped crème.

Over my left shoulder is the wall that has the "100 Tips on Being a Christ-Follower" on it. We've had a good conversation but it has consistently been on a downhill direction. Between gas prices, sickness, politics, church finances, and winter coming, we have found ourselves in the conversational equivalent of a Michigan cellar after three weeks of rain.

I just told you the story about the family I know that just lost their son to leukemia (If you think of it pray for Bishop Thomas and his family. He is the Free Methodist Bishop of the West Coast and after a long battle their young 27 year old son has been graduated from this part of eternal life to the next.)

We wondered about prayer and healing and believing. You asked me why some people get healed and some don't. I shrugged my shoulders in a pastoral way, and mumbled something about God's sovereignty that I learned in some theology class.

Our salami scones and health drinks were brought to us on a tray. The kid that brought them said, "Throw the dart dude." and walked away. I picked up the dart from the tray and threw over my shoulder without even looking. The "thud" sound let me know that I hit the wall and not somebody walking by. You stood up and looked at where the dart landed.

"Throw a Mountain!?" you called back to me at the table. Last week we "dropped a net" and this week we're supposed to "Throw a Mountain."

"I told you we should have gone to Starbucks," I replied.

You hurried back to the table and grabbed my Bible. "There's a

Bible reference written under it." You found Mark 11:22-24.

Mark 11:22-24
'"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."'

We talked about how many people (including us) have had faith but still get sick, have accidents, or lose loved ones.

The kid who brought us our breakfast came back and said, "You miss the point. The point isn't the mountain or the faith. The point is the direction of the faith when the mountain is in the way."

Blank stares were the best we had to offer.

"The issue is to have faith in God. In the context of the story the disciples were shocked that something Jesus had said before actually happened. He explained to them that there is no limit to what God can do through the person who believes. Anything that is in the way of the follower and God can be moved. The mountain might remain a mountain, but the point is – it won't be in the way."

We still had nothing to say yet.

"Look, we all have things we don't understand. We all have had times we wanted God to do something specific and it didn't happen, but we were event focused not God focused. We let mountains get in-between God and us. We let things stand tall enough to cloud our vision. Jesus said that there is nothing that is big enough to get in the way of a faith filled person and the Object of his faith. Have faith in God when gas prices make it hard to afford what you don't need. Have faith in God when all the news is bad. Have faith in God when you can't find the hope you're looking for. Have faith in God when something happens that you didn't want to happen. Because if you have faith, God's will is done and there is nothing that can get in the way. Have faith in God's power, not the size of the mountain."

We smiled as the fog in our souls started to clear.

You looked at me and said, "I could do that. I could throw a mountain."

I smiled, enjoying a clear view of God again and said, "I just did."

Tip #17 "Throw a Mountain."

Imagine if we all did that together. Identify what's in the way and then let God get rid of it.

Dropping Nets and Throwing Mountains,

Pastor Dave