When Jesus saw their faith

“When Jesus saw their faith”

(February 6)

While it is a true that a person’s faith is an important element in healing (Matthew 9:22), we noticed in our Mark reading today (chapter 2) that the faith of others can be a vital factor in some healings. We read of the four men who came to Jesus carrying a paralysed man and “when they could not get near him (Jesus) because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic: my son your sins are forgiven you … rise, pick up your bed and go home” (verses 4,5,11).

It was their faith that Jesus reacted to. There is great importance in praying for others, it is a vital part of our efforts to serve God. James writes,

“The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he (or she) will be forgiven … pray for one another … the prayer of a righteous person has great power in its working” (chapter 5:15,16).

Prayer and faith go hand in hand. Sometimes people speak of having faith in themselves – and some of these only turn to God when all else fails! But we need a faith in the all seeing involvement of Jesus and the Father in our lives every day.

Now it can be only when those with such a faithful attitude look back that they see strange twists in the course of events that they perceive the hand of God at work. Often these are events that cause their faith to grow – and sometimes these events were not seen to be “good” at the time. Did the man who was paralysed and his 4 friends think it was a good event when he became paralysed?

Paul in reasoning with the believers in Corinth in his second letter, quoted the words of God found in Leviticus,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore … be separate … and I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters” (chapter 6:16-18).

Let us become more conscious of the reality of Jesus being among us, for he said,

“I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

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Additional literature:

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Observations on Psalm 111 (purifyingfires.com)
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
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Psalm 111 issues the need for our response to God by: deep inquiry into communion with Him, being in awe of God that He is God, obedience in trusting in and relying upon God, and that true praise and worship flow from our inner most being in the gatherings of the local church, in our special personal times of devotion, and at all times in our hearts
Give me faith (bernicium.wordpress.com)
So often I feel like it’s me against the entire world, and God is with me only sometimes. / I need the faith described below.
Demonstrating God’s Love (craigkuehn.wordpress.com)
In essence, the 613 laws are commentary on the Ten Commandments, giving application for how we are to live the Ten Commandments. But if we carefully look at the Ten Commandments, we find that they can easily be divided into two groups. The first four deal with loving God with everything we got. The next six deal with loving our neighbors. So the Ten Commandments were also condensed by Jesus.
Just Plain Tired (justasinnersavedbyamazinggrace.wordpress.com)
what happens when we as Christians become spiritually exhausted. You may become a complete wreck and be tired in each way listed above, but what do you do about it? More importantly, what does God do about it?
Letter: Crises of Faith (survivalblog.com)
During the last several years, I have again been experiencing a crisis of faith. First of all, I have a firm belief that there is a creative power/force involved in the universe; there’s too much resistance to entropy to explain it any other way. A creator is holding all of this together.

Having grown up in a LDS religious environment that involved a strong “our way is the only way” mentality puts me at odds with the same theology being shared by most Christian teachers and believers.

Like Hugh Fulford does in his article Hugh’s News & Views (God) (fellowshiproom.org) many mix Jesus with God, though they themselves write: “God is omnipotent (all powerful). To the Hebrew patriarch Abraham God said, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). Rhetorically, God asked Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the Lord” (Genesis 18:14)? To the virgin Mary the angel Gabriel affirmed, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).
And he like many others do know that God is eternal. God is omnipresent (everywhere). God is holy. God is love. God is just.
Hugh reminds us “As Frank Walton a gospel preacher has thoughtfully observed: “God is never outdated, obsolete, running down, losing strength, or far away. He is the Universal Constant, the Rock of our salvation, our ever-present Helper and Redeemer. He outlives, outlasts, out thinks, and out does all that man can do. He is before all things, will end all things, sustains all things, and does all things well.”
Bible Daily Devotional – Leviticus 11 – To Eat or not to eat (ptl2010.com)
God never says why he gave all of the food laws in Leviticus. So many writers say he banned certain foods, like pork, because he knew what we didn’t know about its health dangers. I hate to presume what God was thinking. I do know there are plenty of dangers from too much beef as well (can you spell “cholesterol” ?).
17.4 Moses 17, Day 4 (thenotesaregood.com)
During someone’s life, there may be times when they are economically wealthy and other times where they are economically poor. Again, they have not “earned” either situation and both situations can bring us closer to God. We can be on the right path of faith and still experience highs and lows, both spiritually and economically. God can use these times to teach us and help us grow.
Call to Interdependence for the West (bpardekooper.wordpress.com)
Collectivism is an “emphasis on the collective rather than individual action or identity”, (Merriam-Webster, 2004) and leads to interdependence, or being mutually dependent on one another. (Merriam-Webster, 2004) This desire by Yahweh to have a people interdependent is later echoed by Jesus in when he calls his followers to love God and love their neighbor, (Mt. 22:37-40) and illustrated by Jesus through the parable of the good Samaritan. (Lk. 10:25-37)
The Difference Between Have to and Get to… (amokarts.wordpress.com)
Is Bible reading and Church attendance required for Salvation? No. You don’t have to go to church. You don’t have to read your Bible. In both cases, it’s not about “have to,” it’s about “get to.” You don’t have to go to church, you get to go to church. You don’t have to read your Bible, you get to read your Bible. I think the Chinese Christians in the underground church, worshipping God in secret and sharing a single Bible between many, would agree. These things are privileges that many would love to have and don’t. I wonder why so many are satisfied to squander them.