Tag Archives: unbelief

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

30 Friday Mar 2018

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A desperate father brings his child to the disciples of the Lord, fully hoping and anticipating his child would be healed of the demon possession; what a heart-breaking realization must have come over him as he watched and observed the failings of these men trying to heal his child. Perhaps he resigned himself to the fact his child could not and would not be healed, but that the demon would end up destroying the gift God gave him and his wife. He knows the disciples are not Jesus, but he looked around and saw Him (Jesus) nowhere, but surely since the disciples are with Jesus, Jesus’ disciples can do the same thing, he thought. To add to the complication of the situation, Jesus’ disciples are fending off (or tending to) all those who came to interact, even those who came to do nothing but raise a fuss. Then, the heart-broken father sees Jesus. He came to Jesus with his hopes raised, asking Him to help. Jesus said He could, and the man believed, but has come to understand that his belief is not strong. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

How can the Lord help someone like this, as there are many more like this than not? Unless the person who expresses himself as needing help with his unbelief, is willing to receive help and to take the steps to overcome unbelief, there is no (and can be no) help forthcoming. It’s not any more complicated than this. The Lord’s apostle, Peter, the one who failed on that day to heal the demon-possessed boy wrote two points worth us considering. First, he wrote: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth. For, All flesh is as grass, And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: But the word of the Lord abideth for ever. And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you” (1 Peter 1:22-25, ASV). In these words, he said the soul of a person is purified when obedience is forthcoming. Obedience is not a mere matter of doing a particular command, but obeying from the heart the doctrine of God that delivers one from sin. This occurs because the love in the heart then reshapes the behavior of the mind. Second, his last words in his second letter reads, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and for ever” (2 Peter 3:18). The meaning of this passage has not escaped our attention; as one needs edible food daily, one needs spiritual food daily. If one does not eat the necessary food on a daily basis, weight is lost. If one does not nourish the soul on a daily basis, the spirit is weakened.

Do you think the application of these words will help? I do. If you don’t, why? RT

A Sign of Unbelief

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

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In a region that was a long way from Rome, in the land of Palestine, the angel Gabriel visits with a Levite priest doing his once in a lifetime duty, burning incense in the Temple. The burning of the incense in the Temple was a representation of the prayers of a nation, but exactly that which was prayed is unknown. Some have thought that Zacharias prayed for him and his wife to have a child; this is possible, but not likely. To pray a selfish prayer in the Temple dedicated to the Almighty and His protective care of the nation seems out of line for the occasion.

Before he retires from his Temple duties and goes out to give what is known as the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), Zacharias is suddenly interrupted and visited by God’s messenger Gabriel. Frighten beyond measure, the Lord’s messenger reassures him and announces to him the Lord has heard his prayer and given him that which he and his wife desired. A child would be born to them in their old age.

Zacharias had doubts about such a promise, and inquired of the Lord’s messenger about how he could be sure of this, being two people past the years of child bearing. The angel gives Zacharias another word of reassurance, and for the remainder of the time of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (and before), the doubting priest would be silent, unable to speak. This silence was 1) punitive, 2) a sign, 3) and a certainty of keeping Zacharias’ joy quiet until the Lord said it was okay to speak (some have called this an apocalyptic secrecy).

When one thinks about this, it seems that Zacharias’ question was not unreasonable. The Lord, however, did not look upon it that way at all, and neither should have the Levite priest. Clearly, Zacharias knew how these things occurred, and he knew that the man’s limitations are not the Lord’s. Zacharias, of course, did learn, but not before he was taught a silent lesson. A lesson for us in all this is? That which the Lord gave to man is sufficient for us to respond to in faith. RT

 

WOMEN IN HEBREWS

10 Wednesday Sep 2014

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Having previously written two articles on women in the New Testament (“Women in 2 Timothy” and “Women in Titus”), there is but a brief reference to women in Hebrews. Nevertheless, there are some things that we can gain from that which we read.

In the great “hall of faith” (chapter 11) there is reference to Abraham’s wife, Sarah. That which is known about Sarah is little, but what is known paints a picture that is both positive and not so much. The ASV reads: “By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). Yet, when one compares this with that which the book of Genesis says, we might wonder where her faith was.

And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And Jehovah said unto Abraham, “Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old? Is anything too hard for Jehovah? At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.” Then Sarah denied, saying, “I laughed not;” for she was afraid. And he said, “Nay; but thou didst laugh.” (Genesis 18:12-15, ASV)

It seems rather clear that Sarah was not one who believed the Lord when this promise was initially given to her from the Lord. In Genesis Sarah had her doubts; in Hebrews she had none. It appears we have a problem between two sentiments expressed.

But do we?

There is little reason to wonder why Sarah had her doubts. She was an old woman, even by the standards of that day (Genesis 18:12). Yes, she knew that her husband had received a promise, an encouraging word concerning that which would come from his loins, but the natural processes of life wherein child-bearing was possible/probable had come and gone for women such as Sarah. In part, this is the point of the Lord’s promise to both Abraham and Sarah – He is not constricted by the natural processes of life.

Sarah, learning this, and feeling humbled by the Lord’s rebuke to her, had a new outlook on the promise given to her husband. She was now taking it as a promise to her also.

There is a great lesson in this for us. It may be that doubts exists within us. We might ask, however, why is it that doubts exists within us (me). After taking some thought (2 Corinthians 13:5) and after reflecting on the steadfastness of the Lord, we should allow those doubts to fade away. No doubt Sarah did, and those doubts she had began to wane away. Thus the Holy Spirit is able to say that in faith she received power to conceive seed.