Twin Peaks

The scripture for today is Mark 9:23

Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.

When Jesus returned from the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John, He came upon a crowd that had gathered around His disciples. "And one of the multitude answered and said, Teacher, I have brought unto you my son, who has a dumb spirit; and wherever he takes him, he throws him down: and he foams, and gnashes with his teeth, and wastes away: and I spoke to your disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not." Mark 9:17-18 Jesus told the man to bring the child to Him. As he was doing so, the demon threw the boy to the ground and convulsed him. It must have been an awful sight. "And He asked his father, how long ago is it since this came unto him? And he said, Since childhood. And often it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." Mark 9:21-22 The desperate father asks Jesus "if you can do anything." 

Often this is the approach we take with God; coming to Him, not in faith but with a question. For this man, in his fear and sense of helplessness, the experience of seeing his son come time and again to the point of death had driven him to desperation. He was not coming to Christ in faith, he was coming desperate and hoping for any help he might receive. In response to the man's request for compassion, Jesus answered him with our text for today "Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes." The issue that confronted that man is the same issue that confronts most of us today.  That which confronts us is not the issue of Christ's ability, but of our faith. Jesus said that "all things are possible to him that believes."  What an incredible statement!

It is important for us to understand that believing is not a passive position of hoping for the best. To believe in Christ is to adhere to Him, to trust in and rely upon Him completely. From that position of clinging to the faith of Jesus, the believer brings the very heart of God in the affairs of man. All things are possible to the believer because all of his existence is in God, and nothing is impossible with God. The heart of the person who is surrendered to God pursues God's desires. When the heart belongs to God, the power of God resides in the heart. His power, the power of His love, never fails and nothing is impossible to it. That power is released on behalf of those who put their trust in Him.    

God bless you as you continue in His service.

Tim