2010 – November 3 – Toward a Greater Faith

Study from God’s Word… More selections from the Synoptic Gospels by Dr. Smith revealing Jesus traveling through upper Galilee, teaching his Disciples about their inability to see Jesus’ kingdom teachings clearly ... see passage references on pages 1410 – 1415 of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order … Passage for Reflection: Mark 9: 24 [from the description of Jesus confronting the faith of a father whose boy was demon possessed and epileptic – the father desperate for his son’s healing – see Mark 9: 14-29]… NIV Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed [at Jesus’ inquiry as to his faith), “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith begins his devotional entry for this date with a faith challenge. He writes the following questions (answer each with a simple “YES or NO”) …
• Do you believe that Jesus is The Christ, … the Son of the living God? … YES/NO
• Do you believe in the virgin birth? … YES/NO
• Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God? … YES/NO
• Do you believe that, with enough faith, you could literally move a mountain from one location to another? … YES/NO

Well, if you’re like me – as a Bible-believing, staunch follower of Jesus Christ, you were confident of responding “YES” to the first three of these questions. Then your answer to the fourth question might have been a bit more – if not a lot – more hesitant.

Today Dr. Smith, as the editor of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, took his readers and students of Scripture through sections of the Synoptic Gospels where Jesus was trying to give His inner twelve Disciples a deeper understanding of how they needed to have a more committed faith in Him as THE Messiah and the Son of God. We see, as Jesus was traveling through the northern regions of Galilee, before He would head back to Jerusalem and to Calvary, the Disciples had come to the place where they really desired to place their faith in this man, Jesus, as their Messiah. Three of the twelve had even been given a walk up Mount Herman and witnessed Jesus transfigured and speaking with Moses and Elijah. The Disciples had been sent out into the countryside and had been empowered, by Jesus, with the ability to heal the sick and raise the dead. Yet, even after this, upon their return to Jesus, the Lord perceived that their faith in Him was inadequate.

Because in the scenario which is presented in the text today from Mark 9: 14-29 [linked here], we read that the twelve inner disciples, having returned from their ministry travels in the countryside, two-by-two, were perplexed that they could not heal a boy who was epileptic and demon-possessed. And so Jesus, showed them, and the boy’s father, that even a small faith in JESUS Himself, was strong enough to heal and cast out demons.

And we read that prayer of the father (above), where he recognized that his faith in Jesus was there, but incomplete; and he honestly responded to Jesus’ inquiry about his faith with a simple prayer to Jesus to help him in his unbelief. Oh, my friends, that’s a prayer we all need to be diligently praying more often, especially in these days which try our faith.

Back to the three questions above: Do we recognize that our faith is not, as some Word-of-Faith teachers claim these days, in our own faith? Our faith, as God’s word clearly states (see Eph. 2: 8-9), comes from God’s enabling/empowering grace. Yes, we must receive, by faith, God’s grace; and it is our own ability to do that which determines whether, in God’s scheme of things, we can or cannot move mountains. As Dr. Smith says in his devotional for today, ”Believing the affirmations of Christian faith is light-years away from having the depth of faith that makes those affirmations fully empowering. Most of us are staunch believers and fearful unbelievers … all at the same time. Were there not so great a gap of faith in all of us, Everest itself would have reason to tremble!”

And that, my friends and reader-followers, pretty well describes my faith – or lack thereof. How about you?

My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me today in my unbelief!! Amen

2009 – Day 109.Apr. 20 – God Versus Our Giants

2009 – Day 109.Apr. 20 – God Versus Our Giants

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 17: 1 – 16 … Link to study passage ...

My Journal for Today: If I were a betting man, I would wager that this is a story that you know well from Bible lore. David and Goliath; and it’s an allegory for our lives, isn’t it?

We all have Goliaths which we face, … intimidating “giants” which cause us to balk in fear. And like Goliath, they come out day after day, attempting to put us down and see ourselves incapable of overcoming the giant’s challenge. Maybe yours is fear of people, … especially powerful people. Maybe it’s public speaking. Maybe it’s overcoming some emotional wound from your past like sexual abuse or rejection from a parent. We all have our Goliaths.

But if we read on ahead, why didn’t David fear this overwhelming giant? And the answer is quite simple. David was given the discernment to see that Goliath was no match for David’s God. And so it is with our lives as well. When we see God being able to overcome anything which man or the world can put forth, we will not be afraid to stand up to the Goliaths in our lives.

So, … do I have any Goliaths in my life? You can bet on it ! But I have learned a technique, which was taught to me by a mentor years ago. He taught me that I was going to have Goliaths which would show up in my life; and when they did, He said I needed to have my weapons ready to do battle. Reading on in 1st Samuel, we see that David chose to use the weapons which had helped him protect his sheep as a shepherd. They were his sling and a few smooth stones; and David had practiced using them against some very strong foes, like bears and lions.

My mentor taught me to always carry a sharpened, ready, and practiced sword of the Spirit, which we know of, from Ephesians 6: 17 is God’s word. And when I have God’s word deeply embedded in my heart/mind; and I believe its truth, I’m ready for any Goliath who might come along. So, my mentor helped me learn, memorize, and meditate on verses from the Bible which are fear dispelling Scriptures. They are verses like Isaiah 41: 10, Romans 8: 31, and 2nd Timothy 1: 7. I’ll leave it to you to look those up. But if you don’t have those, or other similar verses, deeply implanted in your mind; and you don’t believe them with all your heart, you are going to be vulnerable to the giants Satan or the world will send your way. But even more than that, you’re going to be very vulnerable to your own heart [see Jer. 17: 9], which will easily deceive you with fears which will cry out to make you believe that the thing you fear is bigger than God.

Nothing we fear is stronger than God! Do you believe that? Because if you don’t, you have Goliaths in your life which are going to cause you to cower in fear and retreat into yourself. And that, my dear fellow Christian, is a place where you don’t want to go. You need to be able to believe in a God Who will deliver you in any circumstance (see John 16: 33 or 1st Cor. 10: 13 or 2nd Cor. 12: 9 or 1st Pet. 5: 7). But the question is, do we know, in our hearts, and believe those verses? And are we ready, as was David, to confront Goliaths and allow God to bring them down?

My Prayer for Today: Give me the stone, Lord. I’m ready to do battle! Amen