Just A Thought - The Power of a Healed Ear

Do you ever wonder what happened to some of the people's lives that Jesus touched?  In Luke chapter 22 we read about Jesus' arrest.  Here is how Luke describes what followed after Jesus was approached by Judas and the men that came to arrest Him: 

When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.  But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him. 

I wonder what happened to that servant.  I wonder what went through his mind.  First there must have been a little bit of fear and some anger at being attacked. But then what?  Maybe he felt shock that the very man they came to arrest would heal him (and could heal him for that matter).  I'm sure he probably carried out his duties that evening not fully knowing what to think or how to act.  But I wonder as the evening progressed how his heart was affected by Jesus' loving action.  When all was said and done, did he go home to his family and describe their "victory" and getting rid of Jesus.  Or was there a sense of remorse?  And if being healed by this Man wasn't enough to push him into belief - what went through his mind when the tomb was found empty.  I like to think that maybe, then, this servant believed in a different kind of victory that day. 

Just A Thought!

A Year of Success

A year ago I started a new prayer "program".  I make a list of people I know (family, friends, and/or acquaintances) and I pray for them daily for 40 days.  When the 40 days is over, I make a new list and start over.  Earlier this month I discovered that I have successfully done this program for a year.  This means something to me because I've tried many different ways over the years to get myself dedicated to prayer.  This method works for me.  I have found myself committed.  I truly believe I'm making a difference in the people's lives I'm praying for.  I know they are being blessed and it feels great being a part of God's blessings.

The Quest for Freedom: Part 5 - Trust: Putting Faith Into Action

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

To most people faith and trust are essentially the same. However, there is a slight difference. Trust has the added function of also being a verb. It is defined as “committing or placing in one’s care”. Another definition is “relying on something future or contingent”. What this says to me is that trust is an action coupled with the belief of something in return. We “commit” or “rely” and in return we receive something such as care. There is an exchange.

Think about the exercise where you’re supposed to fall backwards and trust the person to catch you. You fall – he catches. There is an exchange taking place. You can’t just say “I believe you’ll catch me but if it’s all the same to you I won’t fall back to prove to you that I do. You can take my word for it.” Your statement of faith means very little when it’s not followed up with an act of trust.

To me trust can be described as the step following faith. We start with faith but trust is putting our faith into action. Sometime it is, what we call, ‘taking a leap of faith’. Someone can say they have faith in God but it’s what they do with that faith that really means something. It’s one thing to say we have faith but it’s another altogether to back it up with our actions.

Not all faith requires a physical action of trust. Sometimes it simply requires an expectation. Looking at the story of Abraham we know he had a tremendous amount of faith. When God told him that he and Sarah would have a child, he had faith in that promise. God’s promise required only that Abraham believed and expected the promise to come true. However, when we travel a little further down the road of Abraham’s life we witness a pivotal moment where God required more than faith. He required trust. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. I’m sure Abraham had many questions. But whatever questions he had, he still had faith. He believed in who God was and he believed in God’s character. He made a difficult choice and acted on his faith. He put his faith into action and trusted God.

In Matthew chapter 10, we read where Jesus sends out the twelve apostles to preach His message. His instructions were as follows: “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” Seems kind of radical but, as always, there was a reason. It was imperative these individuals understood their needs would be met – that the one sending them out was their provider. I try to imagine myself in their shoes. I can totally see myself sneaking along a few packages of peanut butter and crackers just in case. Doesn’t show much faith, does it? Sadly that’s how many of us have been conditioned to think. In our worldly logic, it seems foolish or irresponsible to not be prepared or to expect others to meet our needs. We’ve taken trust out of the equation. Sure we believe that God can do but do we believe that He will do? Why is it that we always have to have a back-up plan just in case God doesn’t come through for us? And, then again, maybe that’s why He chooses not to come through for us. Where is our trust?

Think for a moment about the widow who gave her last two coins at the temple. She was a widow. Widows and orphans were some of the least cared for people of that time. She, likely, had no one to meet her needs (food, clothing or otherwise). How long would those two coins have lasted her? I don’t know. She was probably in a desperate situation and yet she trusted in God’s provision. She demonstrated the amount of her faith by giving everything she had. She took an action with the expectation of a return and Jesus noticed. He said: “she has put in more than all the others.” She gave more than coins.  She gave God her trust.

There are countless examples in the Bible of faith being put into action. We can look at Gideon, Joshua, Noah, Moses, Nehemiah, and Esther just to name a few. These were ordinary people who believed in God but had the courage to trust in Him also. Their trust took their lives from ordinary to extremely blessed. How much different would our lives be if we acted out our faith – if we expected the blessings or the miracles we say we believe in?

How does trust relate to freedom? God’s ways and methods don’t always make sense to us and because of this we can get stuck/trapped/imprisoned in a world dictated by worldly logic. Truly believing and acting on our faith frees us from those bonds and allows us to experience a realm of Godly possibilities. If we truly live like we say we believe, the reward is great.  There is nothing that can stop us. How much freer can we get?

I read this statement somewhere and think it's fitting:  “We can never become fully intimate with a God we do not completely trust.”  How are you at trusting?  I know I work on it daily and that's okay.  Progress is progress.  I see freedom on the horizon and blessings in abundance.

The Quest for Freedom: Part 4 - Faith

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep His commands."  Deuteronomy 7:9

     We are on a quest for freedom. Freedom from fears, doubts, sin, lies and any ungodly thing that bind us. Previously we looked at the amazing power of love and how it frees and empowers us through its security. As we continue our quest for freedom we turn now to faith. But in identifying how faith can help us achieve freedom we need to understand what faith is and what its role is. The Bible, in particular the New Testament, is filled with references to faith. It is through these scriptures that we’ll get a better view of the importance of faith.

What is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Dictionaries echo that definition describing it as the firm belief in something for which there is no proof; belief without question.

Where does it come from and how does it grow?

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

Based on scripture we know the more we dig into the Word of God and the more we hear God’s message, the stronger our faith will become. I happen to believe, also, that a person’s faith will grow the more it’s put into practice.

How important is faith?

Throughout the gospels Jesus comments quite a bit on the faith of those around Him. On many occasions He made statements like “Your faith has saved you.”, “You have great faith.”, or to the negative: “You of little faith.” It’s as if faith acts almost like a barometer. It’s a measuring tool. It was one of the key things Jesus looked for in people. It is important! Here are some scriptures that give us proof of that.

In Mark 11:22 Jesus gave this direction: “Have faith in God.”

Hebrews 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Romans 10:13-14 says “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in?”

Romans 1:17 says those who live by faith are called righteous.

Romans 3:22 says: "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."

What is the affect of faith in our lives?

The Bible shows us many examples of how faith affects our lives. Repeatedly we see that when Jesus encountered the sick and after He “saw their faith”, He healed them. It appears based on scripture that the amount of faith we have correlates to the amount of blessings we receive. In Matthew 9:29 Jesus says "According to your faith will it be done to you.” and conversely Matthew 13:58 says “And he (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

Having faith makes us stronger. We are not reliant on the visual for proof. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says: “We live by faith, not by sight.” When we encounter problems or satan’s deceptions we are able to deal with them in confidence.

If your faith is strong (meaning you are secure in what you know), then you are a stronger, more free individual. Doubt (a wavering belief) makes it easier for deception to find a place to settle in one’s mind. And deception ultimately leads to imprisonment. Think about something you know as a certainty (the color of the sky, your address, anything). You know without a doubt what is true. There is no wavering in your belief. If someone came up to you and tried to convince you otherwise, you would 1) either think they were crazy or 2) recognize their attempts to manipulate your understanding of what you believe. Having a strong faith will give us the ability to spot and fight the attacks of the Deceiver. I believe it is important to constantly work on building our faith. A weak faith can be damaged by life's circumstances (loss of a loved one, physical illness, financial problems, natural disasters, etc). A strong faith will get you through life's difficult times and keep you close to God.

How are we blessed by faith?

Acts 26:18 says that we are sanctified (made holy) by faith in Jesus.

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12

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On a side note – as I was working on this article I began writing down what my definition of faith in God was. And as I was writing, it occurred to me that I was writing a statement of faith. This surprised me. Not because of what I was writing but because, to my knowledge, I have never actually written a Statement of Faith. It may sound strange but there is something “freeing” and empowering in writing out my faith in God and verbalizing it. I have been learning lately about how our negative words can have a binding affect in our lives. Think, then, how much more powerful the positive declaration of our faith can be. At the top of this blog there is a tab I’ve created called “Statement of Faith”. I have put my statement there. I hope you’re encouraged to create your own statement.