Tuesday, October 15, 2019

My Disciples Could Not Heal


Meditations based on readings from
The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

October 15, 2019
My Disciples Could Not Heal
Page 144-145        
Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43a

A large crowd was waiting for Jesus when he descended from the mountain. A man in the crowd knelt at Jesus’ feet and appealed to Jesus to heal his demon- possessed son because his disciples had not been able to help the boy. Jesus rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith, then encouraged them to have small faith. Little faith? Small faith? What’s the difference?

Little faith is how Jesus refers to a divided life. It is a life more focused on obstacles, than on the promises of God. A mustard seed may be small in size, but it is completely committed to being a mustard seed. Jesus wants me to have faith that is centered completely on God, with an unwavering belief that nothing will prevent the fulfillment of God’s will. Mustard-seed faith is grounded in the life of Christ within me.

The highest goal for followers of Jesus is to “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. . .” (Philippians 2:5). When we begin to approach that goal, our attitudes change; we begin to see and think differently, we begin to pray differently.

When my prayers seek to nurture the life of Christ within me, God affirms to me that “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

When my prayers seek to nurture the life of Christ within me, God encourages me to “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

My Takeaway: When my prayers seek to nurture the life of Christ within me, God’s gift to me is faith that empowers me to fulfill God’s will for my life.

Sē’lah
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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

  • Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

  • The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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