Faith as a Mustard Seed

Faith Filled Thoughts
December 7th, 2009
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Faith as a Mustard Seed


Faith that is Focused on the Power of God

One day, a man came to Jesus and begged him to heal his epileptic son.
The father told Jesus that he had already tried to get help from the disciples
, but that they had failed.
Jesus ministered to the boy, and the boy was set free.

Later, His disciples asked him why they were unable to do the job,
and Jesus answered in Matthew 17:20:
"Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you,
if you have faith as a mustard seed
, you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,'
and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."

Another occasion Jesus was teaching his disciples about unlimited forgiveness.
Their request was,
"Give us more faith." Jesus responded by saying,
"If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree,
'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

There are many interesting sermons,
facts and insights on mustard seeds that explain how,
like a weed, unattended mustard seeds can sprout and multiply
massively in just about any kind of soil.
Good points have been made about the persistence of mustard seeds
in relation to the persistence of faith.
Both offer results, and both prove that great things
can develop from small beginnings.
Faith, for example, allowed a few committed people to spread the Good News
of the Gospel and grow New Testament Christianity into a worldwide movement.

However, perhaps the emphasis on faith
can be placed on something else altogether.
When the disciples asked for more faith,
Jesus essentially told them they didn't need more faith
because a little bit would go a long way.
And the Bible proves that a small amount of genuine faith
is all it takes to manifest hope.
The burden is not on Christians to muster faith,
but to have enough faith to focus solely on the One
who has the power to perform whatever needs to be done.

The hemorrhaging woman moving through the crowd
to touch the hem of Jesus' garment
wasn't thinking of anything other than the Lord's power to heal her.
Blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by,
and he cried out, louder and louder.
Persistent, yes, but his faith was in Jesus' capacity to restore his vision.
The Centurion said to Jesus,
"Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."
The Roman soldier believed in the power and authority of Jesus' spoken word.

In Matthew 9:28, Jesus asked the two blind men,
"Do you believe I am able to do this?"
They answer him with, "Yes, Lord."
Faith is saying "Yes" to God's ability.
Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son,
Isaac, concluding that God was able to raise him up,
even from the dead. Abraham said,
"Yes, Lord." He staked everything on God's ability.

People erroneously think that if they have more money,
or more time, or more talent, more knowledge or more opportunities,
then they could do more and bigger and better things.
They transfer this thinking into Christianity,
but what they fail to remember is that it isn't the amount of faith
or the size of faith that matters, but it's the One that faith
is directed towards that will make miracles happen.

Hebrews 11:6 states that faith is the confidence that God exists and that
"He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
It's His power and ability that makes the difference.


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please read below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:




NEED WASHING???

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in
Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful
red
haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was
pouring
outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of
rain
gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no
time
to flow down the spout.. We all stood there under the
awning
and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because
nature
messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized
by
rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the
heavens
washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories
of
running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring
in as
a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the
hypnotic
> trance we were all caught in 'Mom let's run through
the rain,' she said.
'What?' Mom asked.

'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated

'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a
bit,' Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and
repeated:
'Mom, let's run through the rain,'

'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said.

'No, we won't, Mom.. That's not what you said
this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at
her
Mom's arm.

This morning? When did I say we could run through the
rain
and not get wet?

'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy
about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us
through
this, he can get us through anything!'

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you
couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood
silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what
she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold
her for
being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But
this
was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life.
A
time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it
will
bloom into faith..

'Honey, you are absolutely right.. Let's run
through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe
we
just needed washing,' Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and
laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through
the
puddles. They held their shopping bags over their
heads just
in case.. They got soaked. But they were followed by a
few
who screamed and laughed like children all the way to
their
cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material
possessions, they can take away your money, and they
can
take away your health. But no one can ever take away
your
precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and
take the opportunities to make memories every day. To
everything there is a season and a time to every
purpose
under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE
RAIN.