If LOVE is the more excellent way, is this part of the "greater works" comment of Jesus possibly? When all else fails...LOVE.
You know I just thought...the "greater works" may actually be this LOVE, this oneness, the ultimate flow...for Paul mentioned after the list of great works/gifts (miracles, prophecy, etc.), ..."yet I show you a better/GREATER way! Love/Charity."
Jesus prayed that we all be made one...possibly a greater work than miracles themselves...
"No greater LOVE has any man than this, that he lay down His life for His friends." - Jesus Christ
"Acquire the courage to believe in yourself. Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day." - Ching Ning Chu
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
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from John Brumlow's FBook:
ReplyDeleteThe strongest desire in the heart of my soul is to serve the collective soul of humanity as it transcends from glory to glory. My own soul has grown by leaps and bounds during this present state of being. We are in the most unique ion that has yet happened. Here humanity will do what Jesus prophesied, greater works than those recorded of Him. Mon at 8:09pm
I've enjoyed wondering about this before. What greater works can you think of?
ReplyDelete(from Nonnie Lemmon, on John Brumlow's FBook page)
Amen. This was well said. We are all interconnected and co-dependent upon each other. An eye for an eye is not the answer. The love you have for others is the greatest demonstration we, as humans, can give to each other.
ReplyDelete(from Grayling Chestnut on John Brumlow's Fbook page)
Yes I do agree with that Karl. On some level that was established through the work of the risen Christ once and for all. It seems more of a matter of people just waking up to that. I do not believe the unity prayer of Jesus was in vain and I do believe it represents the very desire of God's heart for humanity to be one with each other and with its Creator. The only way that has happened so far is through death. That is the wrong choice and yet it is still preached by mainstream fundamentalists that death is where we find our true unity with God and only those who have followed their particular formula for being successfully saved from eternal punishment. There is no argument about that among those that have been mentored by Bishop and others who proclaim the good news of the finished work. I do see much evidence growing that many people are embracing that gospel and pursuing the choice of unity in connection with life today. In our time many will leave their traditions of death teachings and embrace life as the way to Truth.
ReplyDeleteThere are numerous other works that have already been done that are technically greater than many of the miracles recorded of Jesus. An example in the healing area is that Jesus rearranged matter around him and transformed death into life or brought sight to the blind and so on. In our lifetime, entire diseases have been eliminated from causing these things and great progress is being made toward conquering many more.
(from John Brumlow, on his Fbook page)
For me though, the greatest of all things that can be done is for the communication to be be heard clearly and believed that we all are loved as one by the Creator and the power to do the same is resident within all humans. For there to be true and lasting peace on this earth unlike anything that has yet happened where there is goodwill being practiced by all for all it will take a giving up of a perception that one person or group is in someway better than another. That will be a greater work indeed. The man Jesus, although without sin, could see through His God eyes that tradition was a strong influence in the way of progress toward humanity recognizing its own divinity. There are even some examples of Jesus the man acting from the paradigm of tradition in his historical time on earth. Moving forward requires letting go.... See More
ReplyDeleteThere has never been a time where this has been more capable of happening in a tangible manner than right now. And it will happen, I believe while I am still on the earth. My eyes will see the goodness of God's intent literally established on a world wide scale...
(from John Brumlow on his Fbook page)
God is LOVE, and since Jesus prayed that we all be made one, then there is no lack, no deficiency in itself. (like, John 5:26)
ReplyDeleteWhat did Jesus do? Communed with, believed, and submitted Himself to Abba Father.
We believe He preached good tidings to the meek, bound up the brokenhearted, proclaimed liberty to the captives, opened prison doors, proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord. Comforted those who mourned, gave them beauty for ashes. Poured on the oil of joy for mourning, and gave them a divine exchange - garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He also wore a zeal cloak. With His touch, the blind saw, the lame walked, the deaf heard, the lepers were made clean, the dead were raised, and good news was preached to the poor.... See More
John 21:25 says the world's books couldn't contain what Jesus did. Ah.... but... wouldn't it be a greater work, if it did...
While God's ways are so much higher than man's, through Christ, we are seated in high places with Him. Since all things are possible for those who believe in His Word... would the greater works Jesus referred to, include speaking good tidings to the surly? Mollifying the mean hearted? Proclaiming justice to the rebellious? Remember that day Jesus said, "Blessed are those who shall not be offended in Me."?
What if that's a greater work?
Depending how one views the word, "works" can have many meanings. "Deeds" to some; miracles to others.
Sure do love wondering about the miracles. Remember when Aaron & Hur held up Moses' hands on top of a hill? While they were uplifted, Israel prevailed. (what if we did that for our world, nation, leaders, each other?)
(from Nonnie Lemmon on John Brumlow's Fbook page)
(More from Nonnie)
ReplyDeleteRemember when Joshua stood with the mighty men of valour? God told him not to be afraid. Joshua spoke to the sun and it stood still.
Remember the centurion? He didn't need for Jesus to physically be on the scene to heal his servant. All he requested was His word. And, Jesus dug that! Commended him for having great faith. I wonder... in the beginning - before the world's foundation... in the anteroom of the cosmos, where God sat with His sketch pad. Did He say to Himself, "Who wants this line?" Did the centurion part of His Spirit-self muse, "Hey, that sounds like Me - I want it." And, did Jesus hug his celestial shoulder a little in anticipation, laughing, "Dude. I love it! Faith fits you. This is so good! Wait'll you see what I do with it!"
The greater works... remember when Jesus met the demon possessed cemetery dwellers? They made an interesting statement that Jesus was bothering them, Who He was, and that He had no right to torture them before God's appointed time. What about Jesus bothered those who loved living in the cemetery? What about holiness is offensive? From what perspective were they judging God's authority? What about righteousness, peace and joy did they consider "torture"? But, mainly, I wonder about..."before God's appointed time." Might a "greater work" be time travel? Jesus already did. (Matthew 13, 25, Luke 17, Hebrews 4, Hebrews 7:25, 1 Pe. 1, )
Would a "greater work" be judging the world? (1 Cr. 6:2) Judging angels? (1 Cr. 6:3) And much more?
I love wondering!
(more from John Brumlow's Fbook page)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the beautiful and bountiful reply, Nonnie. I really like your muse about, "the anteroom of the cosmos, where God sat with His sketch pad. Did He say to Himself, "Who wants this line?" That is similar to what my soul hears from my spirit. If our spirits were truly known by God before the foundation of the world, and that is as easy for... See More me to believe as any other spiritual concept that comes from the scriptures, then perhaps there was such a meeting. You definitely chose a good line for yourself and somehow we all have. We are in the day of the Sons and Daughters, Siblings of the First Bourne, Joint Heirs being revealed.
...more from Nonnie:
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome to the post, Johnny. (also, shout out to Karl for mentioning it last night; apologies - full day delayed immediate response)
Ever wonder what it was like on Creation days? Or, how things Jesus said didn't seem to make sense? (like, "I have yet many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them, now." Might "yet", and, "now" imply the possibility of greater works than His?
Re: Jesus rearranging matter around Him, transforming death to life. Fantastic Festivals Around The World recently aired a segment on the traditional celebrations of Japan, highlighting the fire festival in the Kumano Mountains. ... See More
Regarding a particular charcoal there, were these instructions: Start the fire in the lower part, raise the temperature to 300* C, and the wood becomes charcoal naturally. Keep it burning for 5 or 6 days, until the temp rises to 600*, then break in pieces.
In 24 hours, bring out the pieces, expose them to air, which raises the temperature. (resulting in intensified strength of charcoal) By raising the temp to 1000* C at the end of the process, the wood becomes like iron. The charcoal does not add smoke or scent to food, and is known as an air freshener, water purifier and dehumidifier. Was it Paul who said he himself was made all things to all men, that he might, by all means, save some? (is that a greater work?)
Reminds me of the incarnation of Christ.
...more from John Brumlow;
ReplyDeleteThe thought of fire, in relation to creation, has been a point of meditation for me many times. I like this reference to the traditional celebrations of Japan. The thought of the charcoal becoming as hard as steel makes me think of the intense and lengthy process of carbon being converted into a diamond. We think of the diamond as being superior to... See More carbon and the hardened charcoal can be seen as superior to the original piece of soft wood. In truth, they are the same thing in all points of time and space. There is moisture in the wood that is greatly reduced in the hardened charcoal and that is why the charcoal is a good dehumidifier. It is seeking what it originally had. The diamond is not known as a humidifier but it is clear most of the time and that reflects what the carbon would likely have appeared as in its original wet state.
Carbon is believed to be the most abundant element in the universe and is translucent until it bonds together in a union sufficient to reflect light. As that union increases, more hydrogen, the second most abundant element is displaced and it bonds with many of the carbons as well as other elements. All of this is representative of creation to me.
My feeling is that humans are much more Godlike than we currently perceive ourselves to be. Our ability to observe and manipulate these elements grows stronger every day now. This does not in any way diminish the reverence that I have for my Creator Who is beyond the current limits of my understanding. But it does help me to understand that God is more than O K with the human pursuit to be Godlike. It seems more likely that God is empowered with greater joy because we do pursue...
...more from Nonnie;
ReplyDeleteThe thought of fire in relation to Creation makes me think of water and symmetry. It causes me to wonder what form the Spirit of God assumed in the beginning. When the world was without form and void; when darkness was upon the face of the deep... how did the Spirit of the Creator manifest to move upon the waters?
(more musings to follow... yard work is calling - out to subdue the earth)
...and GREATER works than these will you do - Jesus
ReplyDeleteI believe that "greater works" is definitely something probably along these lines...love, service, oneness, forgiving...a heart thing ya know, not physical healings, although they do have their place, too.
It's almost like Jesus was saying, okay, a miracle healing...big deal, small in comparison to fully learning to love your neighbor as yourself and God with all your heart. That's a much bigger thing.
Jesus said many would come and say, "but didn't we do wonders and prophesy in your name?" (what most people naturally would think of as GREAT works)... but they didn't really KNOW Him...they didn't have a heart/love thing happening in their spirits...and I think THAT shows us something of what the "greater works" are...not about how many people you heal or raise from the dead...but the greater work of INNER miracles that express themselves into the outer world through truly loving and serving one another. This greater work into the Spirit flow of oneness. CHRISTopia.
Peace,
Karl