October 15, 2013 ~ Mark 11 ~

Mark 11:20-24 "And as they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." 
And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.
"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."

Jesus is teaching the disciples the power of faith. The God kind of faith. We know that faith is what we believe. But Jesus is teaching that there needs to be an active side to our faith. That we can operate in the same kind of faith as God in the same way God operates it, by speaking.

We know that faith comes by hearing, Rom. 10:17, but it does not operate by hearing, it operates by speaking. To believe, we put it in our hearts. But to get it operating, we need to put it in our mouths. When we hear the Word, we believe, but when we speak the Word, we receive. Believing doesn't take action. It's the saying that takes action.

In this passage, Jesus uses the word believe, only once, but repeats the word say three times. This means He was definitely emphasizing the saying or the action of our faith. Jesus wasn't asking them to believe that something is manifested before it's manifested. He was asking them to believe they received before it's manifested. 

When Jesus spoke to the fig tree, He believed with His heart and He spoke with His mouth. At that instant, it began to wither underground where the roots were. It took time to see the outward manifestation of His command come to pass. So it is often with our own lives and things we are believing to have changed. When we base our faith (or beliefs) on promises that are in the Word of God, we know that we have a firm foundation and are believing correctly. But it's not until we begin to speak it out with our mouths that we put action to our faith and God is then given permission to work on our behalf. 

Just because you cannot see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. We need to believe that it's already ours while it is still in its invisible form. Faith always deals with the invisible. It never deals with that which is seen. Once an answer is seen or manifested, faith is no longer required for that. God is so good that He has authorized us to know that when we believe and say, we can have confidence that it will come to pass and therefore we can just rest. He knows that our hearts have the ability to believe that which is invisible is ours. Our minds can't do that, but our hearts can. 

No matter what adversity you are facing today, the Word is always your victory. Find scriptures that promise you deliverance from that adversity. As you hear the Word concerning that promise, you will believe it. Once you believe with your heart, begin to say it with your mouth. Thank God that He is working in your life and rest, knowing your answer is on the way.

 

October 7, 2013 ~ Mark 5 ~

Deut 30:19
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; NKJV

Did you you ever stop to think that much of what we have spiritually is from the choices we make?  We choose to believe in God and become born again.  We choose to believe God's Word and walk by faith.  We choose to walk in love, obey God etc.  So if we are in control and our choices determine our spiritual life, why is it that when we talk about the plan of God for our life or whether God is going to answer our prayers, many people say "well, it's up to God".  We talk as if God is so mysterious that no one can figure anything out spiritually.

The Bible says to choose life or death, blessing or cursing.  Much of what we receive from God is determined by what we choose.  We have the choice to receive from God; we have the choice to believe God's Word.  We will receive from Him based on the choices that we make. 

Mark 5:25-34
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." NKJV

This is a great example of someone who made the choice to receive her healing.  She could have stayed home in bed and said "I do not feel good; I do not want to go outside".  But she made up her mind and chose to grab hold of Jesus and receive her healing.  We are faced with choices every day; choose to go God's way. Determine in your heart that you are going to seek after God and allow His power and His Word to work in your life.  You will be glad you did.