"Christianity Is Not Magic"
Mark 9: 2-9
 
I read just recently about A brilliant magician who was  performing on an ocean liner. But every time he did a trick, the Captain's parrot would yell, "It's a trick. He's a phony. That's not magic."  Then one evening during a storm, the ship sank while the magician was performing. The parrot and the magician ended up in the same lifeboat.   For several days they just glared at each other, neither saying a word to the other. Finally the parrot said, "OK, I give up. What did you do with the ship?"
 
Mark 9: 2-9 tells us of  an event in the life of Jesus and the disciples Peter, James and John, that seems to be accomplished by magic. It seems filled with smoke and mirrors and misdirection and all the other elements of magic. But there is one thing that stands out. The voice of God speaks.
 
And there's two things that I think we can learn from this mysterious and magical moment in the life of the disciples.
 
The first thing this passage challenges us to do is to Listen to Jesus.
 

Peter, so awestruck by the event, does what only Peter can do so well, he starts blabbering on, not knowing what to say but trying to fill this Holy moment with sounds. Out of the cloud, God speaks to Peter and the disciples, and God says, "This is my beloved Son; hear him."

That's pretty straight forward isn't it? Like the disciples, we're called by God, to listen to Jesus. But that's hard to do today. It's hard to do because we live in a world filled with more magical distractions than ever before. We live in an age of instant gratification. You don't like what's on TV, change the channel. Cable has 30 or 40 stations to look at. Satellite Dish has over 100 stations. If you don't like any of that, you can rent one of thousands of movies. Or surf the Internet.

All of these have a tendency to drown out the voice of Jesus. Even our home lives. It would be interesting to know how many readers of this "Comfort Zone" have one meal each day, at a table, with no TV - what ever, drowning out the voice of each other. The kids, the spouse, neighbors, best friends, they all demand so much of our attention that it becomes nearly impossible to hear the voice of Jesus, in the middle of all the other voices, let alone LISTEN to Jesus as God instructed us to do.

Prayer, Christian fellowship, reading Scripture, sure help - "Christianity is not magic." This time together, at a table,  can help us  regain our listening ear, so we can hear what Jesus has to say to us. Whether it happens through Scripture, through prayer or through the voice of someone else. Each of these help us stayed "tuned in" so to speak.

So, take time to follow through on what God instructed us to do. Take time to listen to Jesus, especially through personal, daily prayer and weekly worship with other Christians. Continue what you're doing right now. You will be better equipped to listen to Jesus.

 
One more quick thought - "Stay Focused On Jesus."
 
After  hiding their faces in Holy Terror while God spoke, the disciples looked up. And when they did, the scripture says, "And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man ... except  Jesus.." That should be our focus, too. "Only Jesus." It certainly became the focus of the disciples, especially after the resurrection and Pentecost. Then they really understood.

Like the disciples, we're called to keep our focus on Jesus. But that's hard to do sometimes. We get so busy doing the work of the Church, that we have a tendency to forget the WHO and the WHY. And when we lose that focus, then we lose our enthusiasm, purpose and mission.

But when we maintain our focus on Christ in both the worst and in the best situations possible, then we can get through or do anything God has called us to do.
 
I can tell you, that if you listen to Jesus - move out of "Your Comfort Zone" - keep your focus in life on  Jesus, then your life will be fuller. Your life will have purpose and meaning. And you will never be alone.
 
><))):> In "HIS" Service,
 
Bro. Roy