Finding
Faith
"And he said unto them, Why are ye so
fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:40
Jesus asked this question of His
disciples. He asks it of us as well.
In context, the verse is in response to
the disciples fear of a storm. They feared for their lives.
"And the same day, when the even was
come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when
they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship.
And there were also with Him other little ships. And there arose a great
storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they
awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And
He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And
the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why
are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have not faith? And they feared
exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the
wind and the sea obey him?" Mark 4:35-41
The amazement of Jesus is not feigned.
The disciples had been with Him. They had seen the miracles He performed.
How could they be fearful if He could bring about such miraculous demonstrations
of His power? The miracles demonstrated His power over life. His
deliverance in the ship demonstrated His power over all of creation. How
could they be fearful when they were with Jesus?
Their words were rather telling of their
mindset. "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" They thought they
would die. They thought He did not care about them.
How many times do we think that our Lord
does not care about us? Every time we have sufferings, deaths,
circumstances out of control, or any other fearful time, we think He does not
care.
The number one question people ask about
God is "does He exist?" The next important question people ask about God
is "why does He allow suffering?" They think He doesn't care.
We have so much more proof that God cares
than His disciples. We have His Word. We have the Holy Spirit living
in our heart. We have the testimony of others and our own testimony of His
love and care.
Where is our faith?
Do you know people are more willing to
believe their best friends than to believe God's Word? People are more
willing to rely on their own wisdom and knowledge and understanding than to wait
upon God's intervention and direction.
Where is our faith?
Are we believers so without faith that
when troubles come, we have no root to endure? Is our faith so shallow?
The answer is yes. Our faith is
shallow because we are lazy. We have bought the lie that God's Word is not
true or that it is open to our private interpretation or that there are no
absolutes we can believe. We have compromised ourselves to the point that
we no longer pay attention to the Holy Spirit who lives in our heart. How
small is our faith when it is dependent upon our expectations and desires being
met exactly as we wish them to be. When trials come, we will surely fall.
FINDING FAITH...
*Romans 10:17 says: "So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
If your faith is small, you must get into
the Word of God. You must learn its lessons and apply them to your life.
You must study and study and study coupled with prayer. You must beg God
to give you understanding and keep begging until it begins to make sense.
*James 1:2-3 says: "My brethren,
count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience."
Do you know that if you remain steadfast
in your belief in the Savior despite your trial and suffering, that your faith
will grow stronger? Experiences in trials and tribulations teaches us that
God is faithful. He is trustworthy. We can depend on Him to carry
out His will in us.
*1 Peter 1:6-9 says: "Wherein ye
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
Our faith is constantly being tested and
tried, enabling us to remain in faith until death when we will be with Jesus.
Our trials reveal the measure of our faith. Yet by our faith, we bring
honor and glory and praise unto our Lord.
*1 Peter 5:6-10 says: "Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in
the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle you."
Satan seeks to destroy what little faith
we have. He makes it his purpose to bring doubt and distrust to our minds.
Left unchallenged, it will take root in our hearts and we will be destroyed.
Peter cautions us to be vigilant so Satan does not gain a foothold. We
must rebuke the untrue thoughts of doubt in our minds and refuse to believe
them. Encourage and strengthen yourself by meditating on the Word.
Yet in the midst of our trials, let us remember that there is an end in sight.
Our Lord will perfect our faith and will strengthen us and establish us in His
Kingdom.
*James 2:26 says: "For as the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
You can measure your own faith by your
level of obedience to God's commands. Do you trust Him? Do you trust
His commands? Do you trust the outcome of your obedience? If you are
a Believer, then you should trust God in all things. Your trust is
evidenced by your obedience and proves your faith.
*Matthew 17:20-21 says: "And
Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you,
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
In this verse Jesus is explaining to His
disciples why they could not cast out a demon from a child. He said they
did not have enough faith. In particular, in a following verse, He tells
them the demon would only leave after prayer and fasting. Many people
assume they must have great faith to overcome life's tragedies and trials.
If that were true Jesus would not have said faith the size of a mustard seed was
enough to move mountains. A mustard seed is the tiniest of seeds. I
have never moved a mountain, so therefore my faith is even smaller than a
mustard seed, and so is yours. Another point that Jesus brings up is that
while we have a measure of faith, we still must sometimes labor in prayer and
fasting. That is a demonstration of a determined faith.
It takes very little faith to believe in
God. The tiniest bit of faith in Him is enough to be saved and enough to
get us through life.
"For the Lord will not cast off for
ever: but though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to
the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the
children of men." Lamentations 3:31-33
Back to
In This Issue
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried,
he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that
love him." James 1:12
MUSINGS...A season of thanksgiving and atonement
"And when
ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the
corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning
of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am
the Lord your God." Leviticus 23:22
"And the
Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In
the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a
memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile
work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord."
Leviticus 23:23-25
"And the
Lord spake unto Moses, saying, also on the the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation
unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire
unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of
atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For
whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be
cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in
the same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people." Leviticus
23:26-30
"And the
Lord spake unto Moses saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the
fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven
days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye
shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by
fire unto the Lord; on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you;
and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn
assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein." Leviticus 23:33-36
"Also in
the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit
of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day
shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take
you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the
boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the
Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days
in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall
celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all
that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know
that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out
of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 23: 39-43
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT 
Letter from the Editor...
IN THIS ISSUE
The
Believer's
Mission...
.gif){kind=small}
HOME SCHOOL TIPS
THOUGHT PROVOKERS
