DO YOU BELIEVE?
It is the time of preparation for Christmas. I know we haven’t gotten through Thanksgiving, but I’m preparing early this year. Barrett and I were getting decorations out, and he said, “Cupcake, we are really working hard!” Yes, we are, I replied. Then he said, “Santa is working hard too!”
Think of the many children all over the world that believe in Santa. They believe that Santa will deliver toys all over the world in one night. They believe, and they have faith.
So I ask again, DO YOU BELIEVE? Do you believe that Christ can perform miracles? Do you have faith in Christ? Do you believe?
DIVE INTO SCRIPTURE
First, let’s look at the word believe.
BELIEVE– accept, feel sure of the truth
Children believe. In the bible, people brought children to see Jesus so he could bless them. The disciples found this unnecessary. Jesus got angry and said, Let the children come. Then He said (Mark 10:13-16) whoever doesn’t welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will certainly not enter it. Then in Matthew 18:2, Jesus says we must become as little children.
Matthew 18:2-5 New International Version (NIV)
2 He called a little child to him and placed the child among them.3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
When we look into these scriptures, Jesus isn’t telling us to become childish; He is telling us to have faith and believe like a child. A child trusts without reflecting. Their trust is not a virtue; it is a vital reality. To encounter God, be like a child, have a child’s heart that is spontaneously open. A heart and mind that just believe.
So why do we have such a difficult time believing? Why do we think that God can’t do what He has done in the past?
To believe you must live in the Christian word, remembering what God has done and what He still will do.
Joshua 3-4
After God saved the Israelites from the flood of the Jordon river, he commanded them to pick up stones from the area so they would not forget all He had done for them.
God gave us the Bible and His words for a reason. He gave us this book so that we will believe. He shares with us the stories of the past, so we will have something to believe when the future is uncertain. There is power in remembering!
Matthew 8
Jesus came down from the mountainside with a large crowd following him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Luke 8
A woman who had been bleeding for many years came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his robe. The hem just the hem, but the difference was she believed. She was immediately healed.
An article I found very interesting discussed Mark 5. Jairus’ daughter was dying. He asked Jesus to heal her. In a delay caused by the woman who touched his robe, He heard the daughter had died. Jesus didn’t listen to this. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe.” Jesus listened to a higher set of truths. The lower set of truths said the child is dead, the higher set of truths said the child will live. Jesus only listens to the truths of the kingdom of God. The people of the household held on to the negative: hopelessness and despair. Jesus’s higher set of facts was life, hope, and faith. The lower set of facts is not the last word; the higher set of facts it the last word. (https://scripturenuggets.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/jesus-said-only-believe/)
So what now? Are you going to believe? Are you going to be like a child at Christmas and believe? Believe in the higher truths? Believe in His word?
CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK
• Keep your daily appointment with Christ
• Dive deep into the word
• Start believing
• Fill your cup with Christ so you can fill other cups
RESOURCES- ARTICLES:
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