Thoughts From the Bible

Read Mark 9: 14- 29   This story is a strong lesson for us as believers in Jesus Christ. The di sciples were ineffective in  attempting  to heal the boy in the story. The boy’s father ends up being a  key character because of his statement. In verses 23 and 24 we read,  ‘ (23)  Jesus said to  him, "If  you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (24) Immediately the father of the c hild cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”’   The father believed in  Jesus,  but the father also knew he had questions  about his belief. This can be  very complicated . One thought is that we humans live in such a finite  world,  and we have learned within a finite world. Jesus sees the fini te world but knows the spiritual world and knows the workings of faith and how the spiritual world  impacts  the finite, physical world.  My role is to continue to believe in the pow...

Read Matthew 13: 53- 58- People develop perceptions of others based on their own frame of reference. We see this in this passage where the people in the town where Jesus lived simply could not accept who Jesus really was. “How could someone develop to an exceptional level when they grew up here?” We need to learn to allow people to grow and mature even if we know how they once were. Jesus noted this in verses 57 and 58, ‘And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.’ The other lesson I take away from this short passage is how conflict can stifle the Spirit of God . I have seen this in churches where people are in such conflict with each other, it is hard for God to get people’s attention long enough for them to recognize Him. There have been times when I simply removed myself from situations because the conflict in the situa...