October 14 – Mark 4-5: Keep Believing
We see in these chapters that some people were totally misunderstood the mission of Jesus: to save the lost and heal a broken world, while displaying the love of God the Father and the miracle working power of God, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus always gathered great crowds wherever He went, and He taught them in parables. Parables hide truth in a comparable story situation and would be revealed only to those whose hearts and ears were open to the things of God (good soil).
We see that Jesus always spoke His desired end result in any situation. He was a miracle worker and could speak to the wind and calm the seas. He loved people and had compassion for them. He blessed those whose faith was strong and encouraged those whose faith was weak to “continue to believe”. And those who believed Him received their desired results.
Today’s Nourishment: In the parable of ‘The Sower’, the sower sows the Word of God into a variety of grounds. In each situation, Satan steals the word by bringing distraction, fear and problems into one’s life. It is important that as Christians, we spend time sowing God’s Word into our lives daily in order to stand strong against the wiles of the enemy.
We must prepare our hearts and minds as “fertile soil”. That is, to have a mind and heart ready to accept and stand on the Word through any situation. Then, the Word sown can produce great results! The Word of God is your spiritual weapon. Pick it up and use it daily.
Be like the woman of faith who had the issue of blood for she kept saying to herself, “If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.” Not only did she believe in faith, but she kept speaking the end result, just like Jesus did. She not only took her miracle from Him, she was blessed by Jesus saying “Her faith had made her whole.”
And, in the same instance, the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus, whose daughter was dying, had Jesus heading home along with him when the woman with the issue of blood interrupted. His miracle was interrupted. By the time Jesus finished with her, Jairus’ servants came to tell him it was too late, his daughter had died.
The scripture says that Jesus ignored their sayings and told Jairus “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36). When they reached his house, Jesus put the unbelievers out and took his three closest disciples in with Him, along with her parents, to raise her up. All were astonished, even though this is what they asked for.
It is important to note that not everyone in the ancient days received a miracle. But, so very many did receive. Jesus honored those who believed and those who wanted a miracle went out of their way to find Him and receive. Jesus honored the fact that they believed in Him and, in Him only, to perform the miracle they needed. Forsaking everything else, they sought Him out.
Hebrews 11:6, “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.”
We must prepare our hearts and minds as good soil for the Word of God. We must use the Word of God daily as a weapon, as our most valuable tool. Let us follow the example of Jesus and speak the desired result in faith. Don’t let Satan steal the Word once it is sown.
Let us believe that Jesus is our one true source, for it is in Him we live and move and have our being. Jesus is saying to you today, “Do not fear, only believe!”
What are you believing God for and we will pray and believe with you? Comment below.
Tomorrow’s Delight: Matthew 10
June Smith
San Antonio, TX
mjunesmith@gmail.com
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