Do You Have A Garden of Hope Growing in You?
Good Morning Friends,
Faith is relevant today as much as ever, for so much of the problem is not the way things are, but how we think about them. You see Jesus expects us to bear fruit even when it is out of season. Go to the local supermarkets in Florida and you can see we have the appearance of that, but Jesus, I think had something additional in mind that was more spiritual. In today’s scripture He shares the power of words in the creation of good. He shares a vision of what happens when faith and confession collide to move mountains and grow in us. Do You Have A Garden of Hope Growing in You?
Scripture: Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11:22-25 (NRSV)
Therefore, my beloved, 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 (NRSV)
Message: Following
Jesus in the real world is not easy. Like the Lord’s Prayer, we have to take it a day at a time. Today we are cautioned that mere appearance and trusting in anything other than Jesus is insufficient. Today we get the lesson of the withered fig tree that follows the passages about the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple. Jesus is heading to the finish line for His assigned mission. And if we are not just a little bit disturbed by this teaching, we do not get it. Here we see how words can direct us but also destroy us. Here we see how words can display who we are and what is really in our hearts. Friends, only when we get to know the object of our faith can mountains can be moved. Until then, it is just faith. We are to perform what we promise and practice what we profess…then God will give us the power through prayer to see in new ways to live.
Pray that our reasoning mind not be the measure of our desires. Pray that we explore the limitless power of prayer to create change in us and change in the world. Pray that we believe that our words make a difference…that they speak to the circumstances of our life leading us to confession and greater belief.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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