Tag: Because of your faith

Because Of Your Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Faith in Action, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-02-09
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 9:2; 22; 29;
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
22 Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.”

APPLICATION: One might ask ‘but what is faith?’ There was a tight-rope acrobat who chose to show his skill by walking a tight-rope across the Niagara Falls. He did so well in his first trip across, that he asked how many in the audience felt like he could make the trip back across with a wheelbarrow. Many had seen the skills of this acrobat before, so they were convinced that he could succeed in making the return walk across with the wheelbarrow. But when asked by the acrobat which of his fans would volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow, he could find no volunteers. Their faith in the acrobat was limited to his stunts that did not involve them personally in the stunt!! Is that how you tend to be with the abilities of Almighty God? You are faithful in reading His Word, and you are good at selling His abilities to others, but you just can’t strum up the faith to present yourself before Him for healing, power or renewed strength. After reading for the third time in our chapter today the words of Jesus ‘because of your faith’, I felt compelled to share with you that perhaps one of the greatest needs you and I might have, is to grow our faith in the Creator of this Universe; The Savior of the World; The King of all kings; The Lord of all lords; Our Master and our Lord. For it is through faith that we can look forward to all eternity in glory with the Father and the Son! But while here on earth, we must also have the boldness and faith to approach the throne of God for all things. In fact, let’s stop and consider what ‘F A I T H’ is, and how we might increase our faith. I believe that a simple, non-theological, explanation of faith might be: When you are confident deep inside that God has the power and ability to do something, even though you are powerless to do it yourself, and you know of no one else here on earth who could do it. Then it becomes incumbent upon us to trust that faith and believe in the One in whom we have faith in. Now, here’s how I might suggest that you increase that faith. I had a dear friend who shared with me that he chose to use his faith on what we might consider ‘the little things’ of life. In other words, when we come across things that we have no ability to remember, or to do, then ask the God who can do ALL things, for His help. In this way, you will gain confidence/faith to approach the throne when the ‘BIG’ things come your way, for you have a personal reference point to fall back on. God, I saw how you handled the little things, now I need you for this huge challenge that seems totally impossible to me. Remember, nothing is too BIG for our God. He created this beautiful world we live in from the void of nothing-ness. He created man from dust. Won’t He most certainly be able to heal our brokenness from disease and injury? In our story today Jesus said it for our assurance – ‘because of your faith….’ Show Him your faith, and I believe He will show you His power!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Our God not only knows our very thoughts, but He knows our needs. He is the one true God who created us, so let our faith in Him remain strong, so that His miracles may impact our lives. Let’s ask in faith, believing and knowing that He can do ALL things.

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your willingness to meet the needs of those in our Scripture today and giving us extra assurance that we serve such a mighty God. Please help us to get over self and all that we think we could do. Teach us to deepen our faith and our relationship with You, so that You may show us Your power that is available to us. In our day there seems to be complexities that arise that stump world medical teams. We serve the awesome Creator of this universe and all mankind, so of course You know how to repair these bodies that You have created. Teach us Lord to turn to Jesus for our every need, having faith to believe that He could make all the difference in the world. What an awesome God we serve! Thank You Jesus! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Because Of Your Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Healing, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2022-02-01
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 8:2-3; 10; 13;
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 2 Suddenly, a leper walked up to Jesus and threw himself down before him in worship and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me . . . if you really want to.”. 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper and said, “Of course I want to heal you—be healed!”…
10 Jesus was astonished when he heard this and said to those who were following him, “He has greater faith than anyone I’ve encountered in Israel!
13 Then Jesus turned to the Roman officer and said, “Go home. All that you have believed for will be done for you!” And his son was healed at that very moment.

APPLICATION: Here are key points about each individual in the two stories related in today’s Scripture:
—> In the first story, a Leper found his way from isolation (for his disease) into the presence of Jesus. Unheard of for a Leper. Jesus showed no signs of being afraid of having the Leper standing in front of Him, but instead Jesus was impressed at the faith of this man to battle all odds to make his way straight to the Savior of the world. I thought his statement by the Leper was rather peculiar – ‘You have the power to, and can heal me, if you want to’. Looking at the response from Jesus was also very interesting, especially in light of what we see in our hospitals today as nurses and doctors try to protect themselves from Covid infections. For Jesus actually ‘touched’ the man as He pronounced healing. It’s like the Leper knew that the dreaded disease was of no consequence to the Maker of all mankind; and as if Jesus felt no fear in dealing with the Leper, no matter what was wrong with him. I believe that Jesus is always more interested in our soul than he is about any earthly or body sickness.
—> In the second instance, Jesus was amazed by the faith of the Roman Officer, for he came before Jesus asking for healing of his son who did not accompany him on his journey. Based on his experience with his workers, he was confident that Jesus could speak healing to his son remotely and it would be done. Just say the word! Jesus was amazed by the faith of this official and granted him his request. The story confirms that the son was healed at that instant.
Hopefully you may have considered whether these two examples sounded like something you would do when you present yourself before Jesus. If you have reason to question your degree of faith compared to these gentlemen, then I would encourage you to draw closer to God in your prayer life, in your devotional time, in reading and understanding the Word of God. Friends, as your relationship with God deepens, I believe your faith will follow the same pattern. A child develops enough faith in their dad to actually jump from a high wall, knowing that they would be caught and cuddled by their dad, instead of the severe consequences if they fell to the ground. It’s that kind of faith that will help you to trust God with your life, or that of a relative you may approach God about. It may be because of your faith that God responds in awesome power to your request!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: There are many examples of the power of God to heal, or work miraculously through your circumstances. We know that God is still all-powerful and can do all things. Show Him your faith and see His almighty hand work miracles in your life!

PRAYER: Lord, I pray that no reader crawled into a corner and heard you say ’Oh ye of little faith’. Please help us to develop such an intimate relationship with You that Your power will be very evident and our asking very much in order. It seems like daily we are hearing about friends and loved one who need a healing touch from You. Many are afflicted, and many are dying much younger than anyone might expect. I have no doubt that You are still very much in control of my life, the lives of my family and friends, and that Your healing power is still available to us today. May our faith be so strong that we will boldly come before Your throne and ask for Your miraculous touch on those around us, just like you did with the Leper and the Roman Officer’s son. Time is running out for many. May they see Jesus today as they enjoy encounters with Your servants here on earth. May Jesus become alive to all my readers/listeners today, please Lord! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!