Childlike Faith

Matthew 18:2-3 - And He called a child to Himself and set him before them and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Have you ever promised a child something they wanted very much and then been unable to deliver it for some reason or another? The child doesn't care about what reasons you might have to offer or what circumstances might be involved. They have only one response, "But, you promised!"

No argument is enough to counter those words, and it is the same with God. You may have problems, but He promised. What about this or that? God promised. Circumstance is irrelevant. Either you believe God's word to be true, or you don't. Which will it be?

Health

How many loving parents want their kids to be sick? The obvious answer is: None. We are God's kids, and He loves us, so shouldn't the same standard of care and devotion apply, and even greater since He's better than us?

When it comes to sickness, the Lord had much to say on the subject.

Exodus 15:26 - And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statues, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer."

Matthew 4:24 - The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

Matthew 8:2-3 - And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 8:5-7 - And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

Matthew 8:13 - And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 8:16-17 - When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases."

Matthew 9:20-22 - And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well.

Matthew 9:35 - Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Matthew 12:22 - Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.

Matthew 14:35-36 - And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.

Matthew 15:30 - And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

Matthew 21:14 - And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

Mark 1:34 - And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

Mark 3:10 - for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.

Luke 4:38-40 - Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.

Luke 4:41 - While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

Luke 5:15 - But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

Luke 6:19 - And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

Luke 7:21 - At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

Luke 9:11 - But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

Belief

There are those, and I've heard them argue the point, who say the miracles of healing were done only in the beginning in order to stimulate the growth of the early Church and such things don't happen anymore.

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

If Churches don't believe God still heals, then why do they put sick people on the prayer list?

Matthew 9:36 - Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 14:14 - When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

Matthew 20:34 - Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

Jesus was moved with compassion for people who needed help, and He helped them. Since He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He would still have the compassion that motivated Him to heal, so healing should still be available for those who believe.

There was a community I heard about desperately in need of rain, and the local Church had a special meeting to pray for rain. The preacher sent them all home without having the prayer service because not one of them had brought an umbrella. They doubted God would deliver, so how can their prayers have power?

Fear, panic, and anxiety are all variations on a theme – doubt. Since God has promised us good, and told us not to be afraid of things because He is with us, fearing those things is doubting His promise of protection. This doesn't mean being fearless to the point of stupidity. If you step out in front of a bus, you're still likely to end up on your back with tire marks across your shirt. Do what you can about the challenges you face, and leave the rest to God. It sounds simple, and the idea is. It's the application of the idea that gets interesting. Easy to say, a challenge to do.

In Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus and Peter walked on the water together, but when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid and started to sink. Peter changed his focus from looking toward Jesus toward looking at his surrounding circumstances. When we do the same, we will get a similar result and start to sink. The good news is Peter knew where to turn. He didn't call to the people in the boat to throw him a lifeline. He called to Jesus, and immediately he was saved.

Always remember, stumbling is not failure - giving up is. Stumbling in the right direction is still progress in the right direction.

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward." - Victor Kiam