There are so many crazy stories in the Bible that I sometimes forget how awesome they really are. There are people dying and coming back to life, illnesses being healed with a word, natural disasters avoided and prisoners set free, just to name a few. The list goes on forever if you include all of the things never written down as we're told in John 21:25.

I am of the opinion that sometimes we strip the awe of these stories and allow our familiarity to become complacency. Our thoughts become, "Oh, that is such a nice story" instead of "CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED!" Think about the last time you saw someone brought back to life after they were buried. I know I haven't seen anything that comes close, but that in no way lessons my beliefs in the fact that it happened, and could still happen today. Christ himself said in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these." Whoa! Sit back and really let that thought soak in for a second. Did you catch what Christ said? You, yes you, have been given the authority through Christ to do what he did and even greater things.

The really amazing thing is that there is not a long list of do's and don'ts to check off before you can accomplish this. Christ says "anyone who has faith in me." I have seen and heard many stories of people young and old, from children to the elderly, who have performed miracles, not through their own strength or abilities, but through the power of God. There have been many times in my life where I have given myself excuses, telling myself, "I don't have the right words," "I'm not good enough yet," "No one will listen to me," or "I am struggling with this right now so how could I help someone else get through it?" Maybe you have said these same words, or something similar, to explain to yourself why you were not the right person. We set up roadblocks and close ourselves off to an idea before it is even given a chance.

The apostle Peter didn't ask these questions, he just believed and when Jesus asked him to step out of the boat, he didn't let the reality of the circumstances shake his faith. He didn't allow the waves, or the physics, or his lack of experience of water walking convince him not to step out. He simply believed and obeyed (Matthew 14:22-33). Here is an example of what genuine faith in Christ can accomplish. It is one thing to say that you believe you can do things through Christ, but entirely something else to put your words into action. I can't imagine what that must have been like, to swing his feet out over the edge of the boat in the middle of storm and ready him to walk on the waves

This week, take some time to revisit some of the old Sunday school favorites about Christ's life and take a moment to let the awesomeness of them soak in. Then remember today's verse and ask God to begin to stretch your faith and give you the opportunities to begin doing awesome things for his kingdom. Ask Christ to rekindle a fire and passion in your relationship with Him. Ask Him to remind you in little and big ways how truly awesome He is!

Final Thought: Life as a Christian should not be a casual endeavor, but an amazing journey of discovery and awesome wonder.