Text: ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ – Matthew 15:28 Thought: Continuing the theme of Great Faith from the previous Today’s Teaching. Now it’s the report about a Syro-Phoenician lady. What heartaches are you carrying concerning your children? Read on and see how despair turned into triumph because she refused to take “No” for an answer. Her despair over her daughter – severely demon-possessed How it hurts parents, mothers especially, to see their children suffering and in trouble, yet feeling powerless to help them. It’s unclear how this daughter came to be demon-possessed. It was the same for the father whose son’s epilepsy was caused by demons too. 1 Jesus taught that Satan is a mean devil who comes to ‘steal, kill and to destroy lives.’ 2 This mother would have continually gone over things wondering if she was to blame for her daughter’s condition. Whilst we don’t know the answer to that, we do know that she was the catalyst for the miracle that took place by going to Jesus. You can do the same! Her decision to go to Jesus Jesus wanted it kept quiet that He was in the area, but word got out. Faith comes by hearing...
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Text: ‘I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’ – Matthew 8:10 Thought: Faith is what many Christians dream of having. Great faith is considered to be beyond the reach of most. In the Gospels two people are commended for having great faith. Both were Gentiles, outsiders of the nation of Israel. Many Christians stream forward for prayer for healing, yet end up going away disappointed as nothing happens. At the same time they’re amazed that the non-Christian who did the same, walks away healed. They can’t understand why! It’s all too easy to end up thinking that God has favourites. Let’s take a short study of what the Bible records about one of the two with great faith and see if something can help us get our miracle too. He was a Roman Centurion, an unlikely candidate to have great faith, who came to Jesus on behalf of his servant who was dying. The Intention of Jesus – ‘I will come and heal him’ Jesus’ clear and forthright way in which he responded to this request is exactly the same as how he replied to the leper who said, “‘Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean.’” “‘I am willing, be cleansed.’” Yet...
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Text: ‘Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promise’ – Hebrews 6:12 Thought: It can be relatively easy to start something; harder to keep it going with the demands and disciplines required. This is why so many New Year Resolutions, exercise programmes and healthy diets are abandoned long before they can make any real difference. In door to door evangelism we come across many who used to go to church regularly, whether it was Sunday School or an adult service, but now never go. Something happened to cause them to stop! The Book of Hebrews was written to encourage Jewish Christians to continue in their faith in Jesus and not return to the Mosaic Law in order to avoid persecution by the religious authorities. Paul’s letter to the Galatians sought to address the same problem.1 So what can we do to keep on keeping on when we are tempted or pressurised to change course? The importance of Personal Faith – ‘who through faith’ Faith becomes our hope and focus. Faith was responsible for our becoming a Christian – ‘By grace are you saved through faith.’ 2 The Requirement for Patience – ‘and patience’ It’s all too easy to start off the Christian life full of excitement and...
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Text: ‘Then Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’ – 1 Samuel 3:10 Amplified Version Thought: When a work colleague first spoke to me about Christianity and having a personal faith in Jesus Christ, he said, “You’ve seen what the world can offer you, why don’t you give God a chance?” I remember being challenged by that question. I was impressed that he believed in a God who would know when I was giving Him that chance, and also that God would be interested in me with five and a half billion other people in the world. So I accepted his invitation to attend church, secretly thinking, “I’ll go once, won’t like it and will never go again!” Yet two days later I found myself in that church service praying, “Lord I want what they’ve got.” God answered that prayer and that night in February 1973 I became a Christian. Since then I’ve made another amazing discovery – that God wants to talk to me! Far too many Christians only experience a one-way communication with God. Yet right from the beginning of creation He has wanted to talk to us. The Bible records that in the Garden of Eden, God would come down in the cool of...
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Text: When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” – Mark 2:5 Thought: The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the healing of the paralysed man. ¹ While most of the dialogue centres on how Jesus dealt with the paralytic, I want to focus on the four people who carried him, as we consider “Being a Friend” in Today’s Teaching. Research data proves conclusively that the vast majority (as high as 85% or more) of those who become a Christian, do so as a result of friendship evangelism. So this is the area that Christians and churches must concentrate on in order to grow. What can we learn from these four friends There was an opportunity Jesus returned to Capernaum, almost secretly, but word got out that He was in town and soon the house was surrounded, for the power of the Lord was present with Him to heal.² This was their opportunity to act, believing that their friend could be healed too. When you care about someone, stirred by compassion and prayer, opportunities will arise for you to get them to someone, somewhere who can make a difference in their life. But do not miss that opportunity, for it may...
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