Greene
Building big faith is a big deal to God.
I believe he wants us to continue to trust him more. Faith is about trusting our heavenly father completely. Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder do we really have the kind of faith that God desires us to have? Are we faith-filled, big-thinking, bet-the-farm risk-takers? Or are we the kind of people who are more interested in playing it safe with small thinking and safe living?
I don’t know about you, but I want to trust God completely. I want to believe in God for the impossible. I want to dream big dreams and trust God to do exceedingly and abundantly more in our lives than we could ever ask or imagine. So, over the next few weeks, I want to share with you a very personal journey of faith. God has been at work in some specific and tangible ways. He has led my wife and me to an unexpected place. Perhaps in hearing our story, you will find application for your personal journey of faith.
Two times in the New Testament we are told that Jesus was amazed. He was amazed on two different occasions, for two very different reasons. The first story took place when Jesus was in His hometown. He was teaching and preaching and some of the people were offended. They were saying things like, “Who does this guy think He is? I know his dad. He’s the son of a carpenter. He shouldn’t be saying these kinds of things.” Then in Mark 6:6, we are told that Jesus was “amazed at their unbelief.” They apparently didn’t believe Jesus had the power to do what he said he could do. They didn’t believe that he was who he said he was. And Jesus was amazed by their lack of faith.
The second story is in Luke’s Gospel. A Roman official had a servant who was very sick. In fact, he was dying. So, the centurion sent someone to Jesus to ask for help. The man believed that Jesus didn’t need to come to his house to heal his servant. He believed that all Jesus had to do was speak the word and that his servant would be healed. “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.’” (Luke 7:9 NIV)
These are the only two times in scripture where we read that Jesus was amazed. Both have to do with the matter of faith. One time Jesus was amazed by a lack of faith, and one time he was amazed by great faith. So, here’s the question I want you to ask yourself before next time; “Is there anything amazing about my faith?”
Steve Greene is the lead pastor at The Point in Seymour. You may email him at [email protected]. His weekly blog can be found at pastorgreene.wordpress.com. Send comments to [email protected].