Life | Love | Freedom

Will we receive?

dunno…maybe it’s just me…but it seems the man with the withered hand “responded” to Jesus’ initiation to stretch it out. I used to believe man initiated God into action…not anymore. God is the initiator, man is the responder. God offers an eternal abundant life (it’s not an overcoming life it’s Christ’s life – Col 3:4)…our response is to believe the life He offers is what He says it is…because action follows belief. The only reason Abraham took his son up on the mountain to sacrifice Him is that He believed God. Moses believed before He stuck his foot in the red sea. Daniel believed before he was cast into the lions den. David believed before he went up before Goliath. If we “believe” God loves & accepts us unconditionally, wants the “best” for us, wants us to experience peace despite our circumstances…when He calls us to some end or moves us toward something we are faced with a choice. If God is who He says He is and wants for us what He says He wants for us…then…will we “receive” His offer (initiation). The gift of life must be received each moment of our existence. We must learn how to receive.

The man with the withered hand believed in Jesus and he stretched out his hand in response. The ol’ ‘overcoming’ faith seems empty to me…like a hamster running on a treadmill…lots of effort is expended without getting anywhere. It’s not our faith that big…it’s our God that’s big. If our faith was a big as a mustard seed (smallest seed in the garden), we could move mountains…seen any mountains moved lately? What’s that say about the “size” of our faith?

. <---see the speck to the left...that's my faith...magnified to the 10th power so you can see it with the naked eye...boy...that's some faith eh?

Rick
Romans 4:3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
John 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Matthew 17:20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

posted by Rick @ 6:21 PM