FAITH THAT IS SEEN

Mark 2:5, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."

MATTHEW 9: 1-8, MARK 2: 1-12, LUKE 5: 17-26

Faith can be seen. Just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:8, faith is like the wind. Faith itself is invisible, but saving faith is always accompanied by corresponding actions which can be seen (Jas. 2:17-26).

It was not only the faith of the paralytic that Jesus saw, but also that of his four friends (Mk. 2:3). This demonstrates the effect our intercession in faith can have upon others. Jesus saw their faith. However, although our faith released on behalf of others is powerful, it is not a substitute for their faith. It is simply a help. The person who is to receive the miracle must have some degree of faith, also. 

Wings on the wind

How do migrating birds know exactly when, and where, to go?
by David Catchpoole

Photo: stock.xchng

Imagine if, when you were very young and were utterly dependent on your parents for protection and food, they had abandoned you suddenly to go overseas? Without any written instructions as to where they’d gone, would you have been able to follow their path once you’d grown strong enough to try?

Sound impossible? Not for the Bristle-thighed Curlew! When the chicks are just five weeks old, the parents depart, heading for the tropics.¹ Left behind in the marshes of the Alaska Peninsula, the chicks gorge themselves on berries and insects. As their little bodies become stronger, accumulating the all-important reserves of fat—fuel for the long journey ahead—they frequently take to the air for short flights, as if in premigratory practice.

Our Daily Bread -- Wind And Fire

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: 1 Peter 2:9-17
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. —1 Peter 2:17

Sometimes when I want to start a fire, the wind puts it out. But when I try to keep a fire burning, wind keeps it going. So, in the first situation, I label wind “bad” because it thwarts my plans; in the other, I label it “good” because it helps me accomplish what I want to get done.

This paradox illustrates how we judge things by the way they affect us. We declare circumstances or people “bad” if they thwart our plans or cause us inconvenience. We judge circumstances or people “good” if we agree with them and they support our cause.

Jesus Calming the Storm – Bible Study Lesson

BIBLE SEO

Mark 4: 35-41
Matthew 8:23-27
Luke 8:22-25

How do you feel if you are in the middle of life threatening storm ? How will you react to the situation? Where would you go for help? Let us look at how the disciples of Jesus reacted when they were faced with such storm. Jesus calming the storm is one of the most dramatic miracles of Jesus Christ. This incident is mentioned in Mark, Matthew and Luke. But we will be mostly focusing on gospel of Mark.

Q. Mark 4:35 starts with ‘that’ day. Which day is he talking about?

• The day started with chapter 4, when Jesus started teaching the crowd. He taught them lots of stories and parables and performed many miracles.

The Holy Spirit As A Person

The Holy Spirit is not a mere symbol of anything. No mere symbol is able to:

communicate ('speak') (Acts 13:2),
intercede (step in on behalf of someone) (Romans 8:26),
testify (John 15:26)
guide (John 16:13),
command (Acts 16:6,7),
appoint (Acts 20:28),
lead (Romans 8:14),
reveal to someone how wrong, foolish, or sinful he/she was (John 16:8).
seal God's promise in believers' hearts (Ephesians 1:13-14)
shape the life of each person and community to Christ's (Romans 8:1-17)

The Holy Spirit can act in whatever manner the Spirit wants to act. The Spirit generally acts through the church, but doesn't have to; the Wind blows where it will. The Spirit is free not to always be seriously focused on those purposes; the Spirit can have fun while at work.

This is all stuff that can't be true of a mere (or even 'The') Force. That is how we often experience the Spirit and know of the Spirit's presence, but that is not what the Spirit is. As God, the Holy Spirit is cause, and that cause has effect. Yet, there are those in the Christian churches who reduce the Holy Spirit to a force, or to a collective will or a living memory of the gathered believers, or the force of emotion or conscience within a person. Those people, fine as they may be, are describing a different spirit than the Holy Spirit as viewed by the Christian faith. The Spirit works in all of these ways and more, yet against all of them at times. The Spirit works in whatever ways are needed to do what needs to be done, except in choosing not to take forceable control of people's actions.

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