Matthew 9:29b. According to your faith be it unto you.
Ah friends, it’s Saturday, it’s Saturday, a day of rest! But I hear some hissing of teeth and grouchy remarks coming back like: ‘What day of rest yuh talking about eh? Saturday is the day to clean the house and go grocery shopping and wash the big load of clothes in the clothes basket upstairs!
Chuh! I can’t even bring down the basket in one go, cause it so full! And in between I’ve got to look after the children because I can’t depend on my lazy, couch potato husband to do it. So stop talking nonsense about day of rest please. On Saturdays I work harder than during the week at massa work!’
Awright, awright, I get the picture! So I’ll cease and desist. (smile) Instead we’ll talk about the quotes I received from our friend Anselm this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Hear this first one. ‘If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.’
And that’s the living truth my people. We all figure that we have some of the biggest and worst problems in the world, but if we really saw what others have, we’d rush right back to claim ours because they’d look so small and simple in comparison.
And the second quote says: ‘Perspective–Choose to See the Whole Elephant.’ Yeh friends, it’s often better to see the big picture, so that we miss seeing the forest for the individual tress. We can usually come up with better solutions when we know the whole story.
And here is some world-class heavenly advice, especially for some of us wishy-washy Christians. ‘If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.’
Hear ye, hear ye my people, in Jesus’ organization He expects excellence from EVERYONE! But too many of us supposed believers are not providing that excellence in our faith walk. Instead we’re sloppy and complacent, which doesn’t reflect too well on Jesus and gives Him a bad name. So please, please, let’s get serious and start doing better nuh.
And this last quote is also good advice. ‘Be Open To Change, But Retain Your Values.’ Ah mih breddren, in this ever changing world we cannot resist change, but we also don’t have to change just for change sake.
And above all, when we do change, it is of the utmost importance for us to retain our values, especially our Christian values, for those are NEVER to change, no matter how much things around us change.
So with all this good Christian advice knocking at our hearts and minds, let’s channel it to our Bit, that all-important statement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’
And that’s just how it is in Jesus’ world! The more you believe, the stronger your faith, then the more you’ll see Him working in your lives. But faith only grows by undergoing adversity; which means oftimes facing harrowing trials and tribulations.
And the truth is that so many of us try to stay clear of those negative things that our faith never grows. We talk a good talk, but we have no testimony to back it up. And you simply cannot be a person of strong faith if you don’t have some testimony of tough times.
What did Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) say? ‘Tough times never last, but tough people do.’ Gospel truth my believing brethren!
We all know that our circumstances change along a continuum; sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes in between, but we are supposed to be the stabilizing factor in it all. We are the ones expected to stand strong and face whatever comes against us, for with the help of Jesus we can do any and everything we need to.
Now let’s hear some of what the Good Book says about faith. And we’ll begin with the words of Jesus, after He cursed the barren fig tree and it withered and died. The disciples were simply amazed at the situation.
But Jesus said to them: ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.’ (Mark 11:22-24)
Ah friends, that’s the elementary requirement, the foundation of our Christian organization; faith, belief in one’s heart, not doubting. That’s why we can’t come to God unless we believe that He exists.
And we’ll end today with the episode of faith concerning the woman who had the issue of blood for twelve years and couldn’t find healing, then when Jesus passed by she pushed her way through the crowd: ‘For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.’ (Matt.9:21)
And when she touched His garment, she was immediately healed, but Jesus also felt a loss of power and inquired who had touched Him. His disciples questioned how He could figure out who touched him in such a large, jostling crowd? But Jesus persisted, and eventually the lady confessed.
However, instead of being annoyed, Jesus said to her: ‘Daughter be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made thee whole (well); go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48)
Ah friends, that just proves the truth and the efficacy of our Bit: ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ Much LOVE!
…faith can move mountains…but only if we…sincerely believe…
SCRIP-BITS 