To Believe

A few years ago we had a missionary to Peru come tell us about the work she did. This was a person who grew up in the community in which we lived and she was back giving an update to all the churches which supported her work. When she finished speaking she asked if anyone in the congregation had any questions. Someone asked: "Have you ever witnessed a healing?" She said she had. She shared a story of how she was about to leave the country. Just before it was time for her to board the plane a woman came up to her. She had a small child with her who was deformed from birth. This child had one deformed arm and the feet were not developed. This mother wanted the missionary to pray for her child. She wanted prayer for the child's healing. The missionary began to pray and by the time she had finished, the child was completely normal. She said it was "so neat" to see the little hand form from a new arm. Little toes formed from a foot that had no toes. The woman was beside herself with joy exclaiming: "I knew it! I knew He would do it if you prayed!"

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. (Mark 9:17-27)

It is my belief this child the missionary prayed for was healed because of the faith the mother had. Perhaps it was the faith of the missionary. I am sure she prayed with faith too. God honors your faith. In the passage above, the father of this child was struggling with doubt. I know I can identify with him. We have something that just weighs us down and before long we don't feel as if our prayers go through the ceiling. We have allowed ourselves to become discouraged. Notice I said "we have allowed"...it is a choice. Sometimes we tend to limit God don't we? Touch this part of my life and don't touch that. We struggle with surrender on certain issues and it costs us. It costs us much more than we gain when we don't take God at His word. You will never know true freedom as a Christian until you give those things which keep you bound to Christ. That's a fact! I didn't say you wouldn't be a Christian. I am just saying you will struggle much more with peace and joy.

When I talk to someone about the Bible being the Word of God, I get some pretty nasty looks. You see, I am someone who is termed a "literalist." I believe the Bible literally. From the creation of the world to where Moses saw the sea parted...I believe. From where Gideon took a small army and defeated the Midianites to where David killed Goliath...I believe. From the point Noah entered the ark to where Elijah called the fire down from Heaven...I believe. From where Jesus raised Lazarus to where He died on a Roman cross for my sins...I believe. I don't need to go on do I? Now I know there is some symbolism in the prophetic messages in the Bible but when you read accounts of the men and women of God...you can take that to the bank! This actually happened.

This post has one true message:  Believe God for He is faithful and give yourself to Him. Whether it be in prayer for healing or help in everyday life...God is able. The more of yourself you give to Him the more you will free Him to do wonderful things for you. He does do some pretty wonderful things too. I believe that.

Father God, I thank you for all you have done for me. I praise you because you are who you are and you do what you said you would do. You are faithful Lord. When I struggle with things in my life: "Help thou mine unbelief." Grant me that which I need to make sound decisions and not doubt in my heart. I continue to pray for Debbie who needs your touch. I lift up those who read Lord. I ask you would help them with any trace of doubt they may have. You are a reliable God and only you are able. May your blessings abound on them Lord. Bless them and keep them I pray. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

When you pray...

A long time ago, before GPS and cell phones, I had a situation which needed closure. I was to meet with someone from out of state to be able to resolve some issues in my own heart. The problem was I had a street address but no phone number. Unfamiliar with the area, I wandered in circles for a while. After a while I asked:  "Jesus, lead me there." I had no doubt He would answer this prayer. In about five minutes I had this strong urge to turn down a particular road. The street I was looking for was connected to this road. I met with the person and resolved my situation. On my own, I drove around this place many times without success. After the prayer, it was five minutes. Out of all the answers to prayer I have received, this one stands out to me because of what it meant to my heart at the time.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
(Mark 11:24)

Prayer is a living thing. It is holy communion with the Creator of all things. It is communication with Him who knows you better than you know yourself. There are so many references to prayer in scripture. There is no way I can effectively communicate all aspects in this post. Today I want to focus on one...faith.

The verse tells us to "believe that ye receive." How many times have you prayed thinking God wouldn't do something for you? If you approach prayer with this attitude, you are probably correct. You have to believe God loves you enough to answer your prayer. There should be no room in your heart for doubt! I want you to think of it as when you were a child. You would ask your Mom or Dad for something and all you had to do was ask. More times than not, you would be given that which you wanted. You would also be denied things that were not good for you. Not all prayers get the answer we want if they are outside of God's will for our lives. The key thought here is to believe He wants to answer you. He does. In my experience, God loves His people and He loves them to pray. How many times has God looked at me and wondered why I don't ask Him for what I need? We keep Him at arm's length when we give up and don't ask. Prayer is a wonderful gift God has given us. We should use it often! Nothing can usher you into His presence the way prayer can.

Do you have things in your life you need? Is there someone on your mind who needs something of the Lord? You can keep driving in circles without an answer or you can bring it to God in prayer. The choice is yours.

Thank you Father for hearing our prayers. I praise you for the opportunity. I ask you would continue to teach me how to pray more effectively. I thank you for all who read this and ask you to encourage their hearts and renew their minds. Help them to believe you want only good for them. Help them with their faith in what they ask for. Fill them with an intense sense of your love for them. Fill them with the joy and peace which only comes from you. I give you the glory for all that you do for them. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Only Believe

I am using a lot of scripture today. I think the bible can say this better than I ever could. I have no doubt in the authority in God's word. I will try to be as concise as possible, but there is a lot I want to say. All scripture references are taken from the King James Version of scripture unless otherwise noted. The other day, I spoke of fear. Today I want to elaborate on the other side of that thought. I want to speak on faith. In the book of Hebrews, in chapter 11, is what Christians refer to as the "Hall of Faith." It defines faith this way:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Now that faith has been defined for us, the writer goes on to list how great men of God went on to do great things because of their faith. Let me be clear. It was God who did the great things through and for these men. These men set no limitations on the power of God. They trusted God with their very lives! Some gave their lives in His service. All things were possible in their minds. Then we get to verse 6 which states:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

I don't know about anyone else, but that verse makes me want to shout! This is the promise that God will reward those that seek him with all of their heart. To be diligent is to keep on seeking no matter what! You keep on believing even when it even defies logic. We are not talking about logic. We are talking about faith. To believe that God will do that which we petition Him to do. According to verse 6, giving up shouldn't be an option. Only believe that He will do it. You also have to believe that God exists. I don't see how anyone can expect things to turn out right in their lives when they don't believe in the One that has the power to make that happen. Let me give just one more scripture to illustrate this point.

But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. (Mark 6:4-6)

Here Jesus was ministering in Nazareth. This was His hometown. The people there knew him, but did not believe in His power. He had the power to do all they could have dreamed of. They just would not believe. He was only allowed to heal a few sick people. They limited the blessings of God with their unbelief. Do we ever do that? This brings up my last point. Do you believe He can take care of what you bring to Him? Be very honest with yourself. I am not asking whether or not you believe in yourself. I am asking, do you believe in God? Is He able? Is He worthy of your trust? If you believe God is, then I am very happy for you and rejoice with you. If you don't, however, it is time to set that right. Don't limit God with unbelief! It doesn't have to be that way. It is so easy to just yield to God and ask Jesus into your heart. It only takes a few seconds and your life, and faith, will be turned around forever! The God that spoke creation into existence can certainly help you with coming to a saving knowledge of Christ!

Father, I feel so inadequate speaking on this subject. There is so much I would like to convey. I know that you can open the windows of Heaven to all who will only believe you! I truly believe this is what you want to do. Take what I have said and magnify it by your power. Magnify it for the sake of grace. Take what you have said and let it bring forth fruit for your harvest. Bless those who read this and let them study their own hearts. Help them be honest with themselves. Let them be honest with you, Lord. Thank you for the opportunity to share this today. Encourage those who believe. Help those who are struggling with unbelief. Save those who are lost. I pray this and thank you for all of them in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Faith Over Fear

We humans are emotional creatures. We laugh, we cry, we sing with joy, and sometimes cower in fear. If you pay attention to the news on television and the print media, it would seem that there is a lot to be fearful about. I have found myself worked up into a frenzy at the mere thought that something might happen that would be detrimental to me. It is always something that could happen, not something that has happened. For those that have put their trust in Christ, there is truly nothing to fear from this world.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3) KJV

Just because we shouldn't be afraid, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen sometimes. I would like to be able to say that I am writing this for everyone else that reads this. The truth of the matter is that I am writing it for myself as well. I too get fearful every once in a while. There are times that I become distracted and take my eyes off of the Lord for just a little while. That is all the time it takes for the enemy to get a foothold of fear in me. He looks for any opportunity to destroy that which gives God glory. A person gripped by fear is a poor witness. Fear makes a person doubt themselves. Sometimes it can make a Christian doubt their own faith. The verse says what to do in case of fear. It says to trust in God. That takes faith. Fear and faith have trouble co-existing together, because they are polar opposites on a spiritual level. Faith is one of those things that doesn't always make a lot of sense to a human mind. It is, however, just as real as fear. When we can learn to take God at His word, we can replace that fear with faith. Trusting God for the things that are uncertain will put an end to the fear factor that is a part of so many lives today. I really believe that fear is one of Satan's most powerful tools. So are lies. Most times, when you take the time to break it down, Satan is really lying to us to trap us into these unreasonable fears. So today, whatever your concern is that holds you captive in a fearful manner, you can trust in God for the deliverance from fear. You have His word on it.

Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the truths in it. Grant me the grace this day to choose faith over any fear that I may have. It really doesn't matter what the fear is about in our lives. It only matters that we trust you to not give it a place in our lives before you. I choose this day to trust you in any and all matters that come before me. You have proved so faithful to me and there is nothing that you cannot overcome in my life. Help me to live a life of faith before you in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.