Literature Ministries International


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October 26, 2019

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"HE MARVELED BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF"

"And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands...And he marveled because of their unbelief." Mark 6:2-6

When Jesus performed miracles, in healing the sick, the blind, the lame, and those He delivered from unclean and satanic spirits, His heart was made heavy because of the unbelief of many. After He performed a miracle, there were those who turned and went their way in unbelief.

We say, "If I could really believe!" What we should say is..."If I WILL only believe." Are we willing for God to be all He says He will be? Think what our faith in God claims. He has forgiven us of our sin through His atonement. He presents us before the throne of God as unutterably pure, absolutely reconciled, and profoundly justified. He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This transformation is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

Our unbelief reveals reliance upon ourselves, rather than an abandon of devotion to Jesus Christ. We look at "our strength" rather than HIS strength, "our ability" rather than HIS mighty power. We reason within ourselves rather than trust HIS omniscience. Our vision rests in our self-imposed bondage, rather than in the freedom and fullness of HIS plan and purpose. We have His Word...the exceeding great and precious promises of God...the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to teach, instruct, reveal, empower, and lead us...the assurance of His presence and interceding and we turn away from all of this and question, "Can Christ intercede for me in the need I am encountering? Can He give me the strength to go through this?" Our faith must rest in absolute confidence in the integrity and validity of Christ. We need to change the focus of our faith to Christ alone! His challenge--ONLY BELIEVE!

We say, "I simply cannot do this." TRUE! We can't, but HE Can. "I'm not qualified." TRUE, but God is, and He will be our sufficiency for every encounter. We are not worthy. TRUE, but, we are worthy in Christ. ONLY BELIEVE!

Unbelief has its foundation in our reliance upon SELF. Faith has its foundation in complete trust in GOD. The weakest Christian can experience the power of God when he is willing to let go of all restraints, all of his natural virtues, every sliver of his own ability, gift, talent, or strength, freed from false security and simply dares to trust God to be his sufficiency in all things. ONLY BELIEVE!

We will never see "the works of the Lord"...the manifestation of His mighty power, HIS peace that passes human understanding, or His presence in our lives doing things beyond our capability, UNTIL...we cut all the cords of self-security that hold us close to the shoreline. God wants us to launch out into the deep uncharted waters where faith is the watchword. It is THEN our faith becomes a reality and we rest in His Covenant with us that is irrevocable and triumphant! Behind faith is the reality of our relationship with Almighty God. It is unreserved confidence in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and complete surrender to HIS lordship and authority. ONLY BELIEVE!

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.


This page was reprinted by permission from: http://www.litmin.org/dare.php?date=2019-10-26


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