Christians in America - An Unbelieving Generation? by Rob Marshall
In a lot of ways I'm pretty average. I may be a bit taller than some, and probably weigh more than I should, but there isn't really anything extraordinary about me. So when I read the stories in the Bible, and think about how the majority of the people who were there reacted, I assume that I would have done what everyone else was doing.
One example is the story in Mark 9:14-29 about a father who brought his demon-possessed son to be healed. When the father came to the disciples, Jesus wasn't there. He was with Peter, James, and John and they were on their way back from the mountain where they had seen Jesus transfigured before their eyes. As they approached the other disciples they noticed that a large crowd had gathered, and that the teachers of the law were arguing with them.
When Jesus asked what they were arguing about, the man whose son was demon-possessed came and explained to Him how his son was being tormented by the spirit, and that he had asked the disciples to cast it out, but they hadn't been able to. It's at this point that Jesus says, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." (Mark 9:19)
Like I said, I'm pretty average. If I had been one of the disciples it's a good bet that I would have been in the middle of the crowd, arguing with the teachers, and trying to figure out why I hadn't been able to cast them demon out. And it's not like casting out demons was a foreign concept to them. When we look at Mark chapter 6 we see that Jesus sent them out, two by two, and gave them authority over demons. This was actually something that they had done before.
But when I look at my life, I realize that even though there are things that I've done before, it doesn't mean that it will be easy for me to do it again. All I have to do is look at how I spent the last few days, or weeks, in my life and realize that Jesus could very well look at me and say, "O unbelieving Rob, how long will I have to stay with you? How long will I have to keep reminding you of all that I've already taught you?"
I don't know about you, but when I'm faced with a new problem, or just an ongoing old one, I tend to forget all that God has already done for me. When struggling with financial issues I usually get discouraged and depressed. I focus too much on the problem, or what I don't have, and I forget that all things are possible with God.
One of the scriptures that I battle with the most is in Matthew 6:28-34, especially verse 33 which says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I find myself worrying about what I'll eat, or wear, or how I'll pay my mortgage this month. In other words, I worry about "all these things."
This verse isn't hard for us because God is asking to do something that is impossible. We have difficulties with it because it's so unnatural. If we look around us we can see dozens, hundreds, maybe even millions of examples of people who worry about how they are going survive, let alone doing any better than that. The fact that we worry about it is normal in the sense that it's something everyone does.
But I wonder if Jesus would look at us, those of us in America and other countries where the Word of God is readily available, and just shake His head in frustration. Would He look at us and say, "O unbelieving generation, when are you going to finally understand? When are you finally going to believe?" We are surrounded with God's word, it's being preached in our pulpits, over the airwaves, and at us in our daily email devotionals, but do we believe it?
In all fairness it is a frightening thing, the prospect of really believing God's word, or really trusting Him. And it's not about us having to do anything that is really crazy, or risky, but just trusting Him with our daily battles. It's sad to think that Christians in America are just as likely to get divorced, struggle just as much as everyone else financially, and are just as unhappy with their lives as people who don't believe in God at all.
But I know that taking a step to trust God, to begin to pray with the expectation that He will answer and do amazing things in our lives, won't be easy. Too often we end up like the disciples who watched helplessly as a demon-possessed boy fell to the ground and foamed at the mouth. We end up overwhelmed by our circumstances and unable to see how God can change things.
Because I'm not particularly extraordinary, I'm just an average Christian; I have to realize that the same thing applies to me that applies to everyone else. I have to allow God to change me. I need to ask Him to open my eyes so that I can see beyond what's happening to me and finally see what's possible with God. I must let Him put my faith to the test so that He can remove my doubts. And even though that will be hard, the reward is that I will finally begin to truly have faith in God.
Get two chapters from Rob Marshall's book, "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us" when you sign up for his free weekly Faith-Full Life Newsletter. Visit:
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Showing posts with label belief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label belief. Show all posts
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Secrets to Answered Prayer - Challenge Your Beliefs
Secrets to Answered Prayer - Challenge Your Beliefs by Rob Marshall
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
He sighed as he thought to himself, "Why do I keep coming back here? I come here every day and nothing ever changes, nothing happens. When the angel moves the water, someone always gets into the pool before I do. If I just had someone who could help me, but there's no one who will come and wait here with me. If there was just some other way to get healed."
Suddenly someone's shadow came over him. He looked up, squinting into the sun to see who it was. The man who was standing there looked down at him and asked, "Do you want to get well?"
"Do I want to get well?" the man thought. "Yes, I want to get well, but I can't," he replied. He told the stranger about not being able to get into the pool after the angel moved the water. But the stranger looked down at him and said, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
He couldn't believe it; he felt a surge of energy in his legs. Was this really happening? Was he healed?
He pushed himself up, picked up his mat and began walking. It was a miracle!
Maybe you've prayed for something for a long time but nothing seemed to change. And to add to your frustration, you kept seeing other people getting answers to their prayers while yours seemed to be unanswered.
Perhaps you recognize this story from John chapter 5 about the lame man who had been coming to the pool called Bethesda. In the story it says that a great multitude of people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed were at the pool, each of them hoping that he would be the first one to get into the pool and be healed.
Have you ever wondered, when there were so many people there who wanted to be healed, why it was that Jesus only healed one of them?
We can speculate about a lot of things. Was this man more righteous than any of the other people? No! When we read the rest of the story, we see that Jesus found the man at the temple, and warned him that he would need to stop sinning or something worse would happen. So at the time Jesus healed the man, he was a sinner.
Was the man more deserving? No! He was just one person who was loved by God, just like all the rest. God never shows favoritism, He loves us all equally.
Perhaps the one thing that set this man apart from everyone else, was that he was willing to believe that there was another way to be healed. Maybe he understood that stepping into the pool was one way, but not the only way, to be made well. This man, unlike everyone else at the pool, was willing to question his beliefs and have the faith that it was God who heals, and not the pool at Bethesda.
One of the first secrets to answered prayer is that we have to be willing to question our current beliefs about answered prayer. We have to be willing to recognize that it's God who answers our prayers. It's not about a formula we might use, or anything else. It's simply about having faith in a loving God.
The beliefs that we hold affect our thoughts and emotions. They influence our actions and they even effect what we are willing, and able, to see.
An experiment was done where a room full of people were asked to watch a video. The video showed two basketball teams in different colored uniforms passing the ball back and forth. They were asked to count how many times the ball was passed to someone on the team wearing the yellow uniforms.
When the video was over, the researchers asked them if they had seen anything unusual, and two or three of the people raised their hands. The researchers then replayed the video and everyone laughed when they saw that part way through the video, someone dressed in a gorilla outfit walked into the middle of the picture and waved several times.
Why had most of the people missed the gorilla? The simple answer is: They were looking for something else.
Like the people laying around the pool at Bethesda, we can get so caught up in thinking about how God has to answer our prayers, that we're not open to Him doing it some other way.
If you believe that God will only answer your prayers if you meet certain requirements, challenge your belief. If you believe that you are not worthy of God's love, challenge your belief.
God answers our prayers because He loves us, wants our joy to be full, and so that He can glorify His name. If you believe anything else, challenge your belief.
The same faith that helped David defeat Goliath is in everyone of us. In "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us," author Rob Marshall shows you how to unleash your faith, overcame any obstacle, and live your dreams.
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall
He sighed as he thought to himself, "Why do I keep coming back here? I come here every day and nothing ever changes, nothing happens. When the angel moves the water, someone always gets into the pool before I do. If I just had someone who could help me, but there's no one who will come and wait here with me. If there was just some other way to get healed."
Suddenly someone's shadow came over him. He looked up, squinting into the sun to see who it was. The man who was standing there looked down at him and asked, "Do you want to get well?"
"Do I want to get well?" the man thought. "Yes, I want to get well, but I can't," he replied. He told the stranger about not being able to get into the pool after the angel moved the water. But the stranger looked down at him and said, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."
He couldn't believe it; he felt a surge of energy in his legs. Was this really happening? Was he healed?
He pushed himself up, picked up his mat and began walking. It was a miracle!
Maybe you've prayed for something for a long time but nothing seemed to change. And to add to your frustration, you kept seeing other people getting answers to their prayers while yours seemed to be unanswered.
Perhaps you recognize this story from John chapter 5 about the lame man who had been coming to the pool called Bethesda. In the story it says that a great multitude of people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed were at the pool, each of them hoping that he would be the first one to get into the pool and be healed.
Have you ever wondered, when there were so many people there who wanted to be healed, why it was that Jesus only healed one of them?
We can speculate about a lot of things. Was this man more righteous than any of the other people? No! When we read the rest of the story, we see that Jesus found the man at the temple, and warned him that he would need to stop sinning or something worse would happen. So at the time Jesus healed the man, he was a sinner.
Was the man more deserving? No! He was just one person who was loved by God, just like all the rest. God never shows favoritism, He loves us all equally.
Perhaps the one thing that set this man apart from everyone else, was that he was willing to believe that there was another way to be healed. Maybe he understood that stepping into the pool was one way, but not the only way, to be made well. This man, unlike everyone else at the pool, was willing to question his beliefs and have the faith that it was God who heals, and not the pool at Bethesda.
One of the first secrets to answered prayer is that we have to be willing to question our current beliefs about answered prayer. We have to be willing to recognize that it's God who answers our prayers. It's not about a formula we might use, or anything else. It's simply about having faith in a loving God.
The beliefs that we hold affect our thoughts and emotions. They influence our actions and they even effect what we are willing, and able, to see.
An experiment was done where a room full of people were asked to watch a video. The video showed two basketball teams in different colored uniforms passing the ball back and forth. They were asked to count how many times the ball was passed to someone on the team wearing the yellow uniforms.
When the video was over, the researchers asked them if they had seen anything unusual, and two or three of the people raised their hands. The researchers then replayed the video and everyone laughed when they saw that part way through the video, someone dressed in a gorilla outfit walked into the middle of the picture and waved several times.
Why had most of the people missed the gorilla? The simple answer is: They were looking for something else.
Like the people laying around the pool at Bethesda, we can get so caught up in thinking about how God has to answer our prayers, that we're not open to Him doing it some other way.
If you believe that God will only answer your prayers if you meet certain requirements, challenge your belief. If you believe that you are not worthy of God's love, challenge your belief.
God answers our prayers because He loves us, wants our joy to be full, and so that He can glorify His name. If you believe anything else, challenge your belief.
The same faith that helped David defeat Goliath is in everyone of us. In "Taking On Goliath - How To Unleash The David In All Of Us," author Rob Marshall shows you how to unleash your faith, overcame any obstacle, and live your dreams.
http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
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