Category: Faith of a Mustard Seed

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Abundant Life Pt. 2: Help My Unbelief

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” ~ Mark 9:20-24

This father’s desperate plea reveals a struggle we can all relate to: the battle between faith and doubt. He brought his son to Jesus, confident in His power to heal. Why else would he come? He had likely heard stories of Jesus’ miracles—perhaps even knew someone touched by His hand. John tells us that Jesus performed so many wonders that the world couldn’t contain the books if they were all written down (John 21:25). So, this father arrived expecting a miracle. But when the disciples failed to cast out the demon, his confidence faltered. Doubt crept in, and he began to question Jesus’ authority, saying, “If you can do anything …”

Jesus’ response is striking: “If you can? All things are possible for one who believes.” The father’s words had betrayed his wavering faith, and Jesus called it out—not to condemn, but to challenge. Realizing his struggle, the father cried out for help with his unbelief. His story mirrors a challenge we often face today. We know God’s power. We’ve seen Him move. Yet, over time, familiarity can dull our expectations. Like this father, we can become “inoculated” against the fullness of God’s promises.

In the 18th century, doctors inoculated patients against smallpox by exposing them to a small dose of the disease, triggering immunity. Similarly, we can be around church, prayer, and God’s Word just enough to grow complacent. We’ve witnessed half-hearted faith and tepid prayers, and it numbs us to the miraculous. Doubt sneaks in, and we start to wonder if God will really act.

But Jesus offers a better way. He paid the ultimate price—not just for our salvation, but for our healing: spirit, soul, and body. Isaiah 53:5 proclaims, “By His stripes, we are healed.” The abundant life He promises includes freedom from sickness. So, if you’re battling illness today, don’t settle for doubt. Proclaim your healing, ask Jesus to uproot any unbelief, and trust in His finished work on the cross. Let’s reject inoculation and embrace the complete transformation God desires for us. Heavenly Father, help me with my unbelief. I know that for those who believe, all things are possible. Please help me reach that point so that I can live the abundant life that You promised. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Lay Out Your Fleece

Judges 6:36-40 NIV,

[36] Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— [37] look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” [38] And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. [39] Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” [40] That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Gideon had received a direct message from the LORD, but his heart was unsure. So, instead of ignoring the LORD, he confirmed it with the LORD twice. He laid out a fleece twice in order to confirm the call the LORD had on his life. God wasn’t angry. He wasn’t impatient. Instead, God simply granted Gideon’s requests and comforted his heart.

God does not change. He if confirmed Gideon’s request and eased his doubt, He will do the same for you. When I’m not sure what to do, I may out two fleece before the LORD. I get very specific as Gideon was. And you know what? The LORD has never not answered. He has never led me in the wrong direction. He has never allowed me to go through something on my own. The LORD is faithful to us. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is our helper and our friend.

The LORD’s desire is for our faith to grow. He wants us to walk by faith, not by sight, because sometimes, our sight will destroy our faith. We’ll see giants in the land God promised us our we’ll see an army too strong and large for us to handle. We’ll see ourselves as the enemy wants us to see ourselves, not how God sees us. When you believe you heard from God, but doubt is filling your heart, list out two fleece before the LORD. Be specific in your request and, most importantly, don’t allow doubt to creep in whatsoever. Force yourself to trust that the LORD will hear you and answer you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Lay Out Your Fleece.

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Rely On The Manuscripts

John 15:18

18 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

Matthew 24:9

9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

1 John 3:13

13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

Jesus said that we would be hated for the sake of His name. It’s very easy to miss all that Jesus was saying in this statement. For instance, He wasn’t just talking about persecution in the physical sense, but also the world being against all associated with His name. This isn’t just about us living here today, but about those of the past as well. That would include the authors of the Bible.

The Bible, especially the New Testament, is the best preserved ancient text in existence. The New Testament alone has over 25,000 manuscripts compared to Homer’s Illiad having 1,800 and Plato’s The Republic having 7. These two historical documents aren’t ever put into question whether they’ve been changed, doctored, or if they’re even reliable. In fact, they’re studied in schools and universities. But the New Testament, with 25,000 manuscripts is seen as unreliable.

Let that sink in. We have the best preserved ancient historical manuscript in existence but the world deems it unreliable. You’re laughed at and mocked if you even believe it. Why is that? Because the world hates Truth. The world hates the Light. It wants to remain in darkness. It wants to reject the Light. So, it deems the source of Truth, the Word of God, unreliable. It deems it untrustworthy and corrupted.

The enemy will lie, deceive, and manipulate in order to destroy the souls of humanity, but one thing he cannot do is destroy the Word of God. It’s still here. We still have the words of Christ as He Himself said them. Why is this important? Because, as Peter stated,

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.

John 6:68-69

The Words of our LORD and Savior have not been lost. They haven’t been altered. They haven’t been corrupted or destroyed. They are still here. They are still the words of eternal life. They are still living, breathing, and sharper than any double-edged sword.

So, be encouraged by this. Let your faith grow as you can be assured in confidence that the Word of the LORD has not been changed.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rely On The Manuscripts.

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A Safe Entrance

18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.  ~ 2 Timothy 4:18

Paul was beaten, kicked out of cities and nations. He was stoned and left for dead. Paul had a rough time as a Christian, yet he still stated, “The LORD will rescue me from every evil work.” Let that sink in. When we think about the LORD rescuing us, we believe it should be physically rescued from all oppression and opposition, but that wasn’t how Paul saw it. Paul saw this physical body as just a temporary place for us to dwell until we receive that new body. So, what does that mean?

Paul understood that the world, the devil, the kingdom of darkness could do anything they wanted to his physically body, but the LORD would deliver his soul out of their hands. They couldn’t taint his soul. His soul was safe. It was secure in the hands of the LORD.

Dear LORD, thank You for holding my soul in Your hands. Thank You that I can live with the confidence that You, oh LORD God, have me and no one can separate me from Your love. Thank You, LORD. Help me to never forget this. Help me to never overlook this. Teach me to believe and put Your trust always in You, LORD God. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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Answer Truth

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ~ Genesis 3:1NIV

They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. No one embodies that quote better than Satan. The very first temptation started with the question, “Did God really say…?” Satan honestly hasn’t changed his approach. Today, it’s the same thing. Did God really say that? How do you know? Don’t you know the Bible has been changed and rewritten multiple times? Books have been taken out and added back. It can’t truly be trusted.

Satan didn’t ask this to Adam. Why? Adam was there when God gave the command. Eve, on the other hand, was not yet created when God gave this command. It’s the same with us today. When God breathed the Word of God to the authors of the Bible, we were not there. So, what does Satan do? He asks us the same question he asked the woman. Did God really say…?

So what are we to do? We are to build our faith. How do we do that? We study the Scriptures. We learn them inside and out so that they might be written on our hearts. So that when Satan uses someone to say, “Did God really say …?” We can not only confidently say what God has said, we can explain it and defend it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Answer Truth.

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Distribute The Bread

Mark 8:6-10 NIV

[6] He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. [7] They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. [8] The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. [9] About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, [10] he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

The Gospels say that Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread, and then gave it to His disciples to pass out. Then He did the same with the fish. To me, it sounds like to everyone else after His prayer of Thanksgiving, nothing happened. It doesn’t sound like the bread multiplied then. It sounds like he broke it in half, gave it to the disciples, and they then distributed in obedience. Now, I could be wrong, but that’s how it sounds to me.

It doesn’t sound like the miracle took place before they started passing it out, but because they were obedient to Christ they did as He commanded. It wasn’t necessarily about their faith, but about their obedience. We can see this when He tells them to cast their nets on the other side. They didn’t believe it would do anything, but they were obedient anyways.

Our faith doesn’t have to be super strong to see miracles. It just has to be tied to obedience. Most of us will never see a miracle because of disobedience. Whether it’s disobedience of not going or doing a specific action because we don’t fully understand the why in that moment or because we don’t do the basic requirements of loving God.

When we walk in obedience, whether we realize it or not, we are walking in faith. Obedience is faith in action. We may not see it in that very moment, just like the disciples didn’t see it in the moment Jesus broke the bread, but if we are obedient, we will see it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Distribute The Bread.

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Pray For A Modern Day Miracle

Luke 17:6 NIV

[6] He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Today is Pro-Life Sunday, the Sunday before National Sanctity of Life Day. The creation of National Sanctity of Life Day was rooted in response to Roe V. Wade. Today, however, Roe V. Wade is no longer in effect and has been overturned. I would say that this event, the overturning of Roe V. Wade on June 24, 2022 was nothing about of a modern-day miracle.

This Pro-Life Sunday, don’t forget to continue to pray for modern day miracles. Our God moved in the past, therefore He will move now. So pray in faith for the protection of all the unborn babies still in harms way. And pray that one day, abortion will no longer be legal. That mothers will no longer sacrifice their children on the alter of self.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For Modern Day Miracles.

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Seek Til Faith

“Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2).Th

ese wise men were not Christians. They were not Jewish people; they came from a pagan society. They were star gazers. Yet they were seeking the Messiah, and therefore, saw and recognized His star when it rose.

For the ancients, they actually believed in the literalness and the reliability of Scripture. They believed that stars are what we call planets and what we call stars are actually lights in the heavens (Genesis 1:14–19). Just like God declared in Genesis chapter one.

These were pagans but they believed in the promised Messiah. We’re not told whether they converted to Christianity after seeing and worshiping baby Jesus or not, but they set out to seek and to find Him.

Today, if only we had an ounce of faith as these pagan men did, I can only imagine what we would see in our lifetimes. This Christmas, take the time to truly search the Scriptures for Truth and have faith that it is intact, true. Let the LORD build your faith through the hearing and reading of His Word.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek Til Faith.

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Simeon The Faithful

Luke 2:25-32 CSB

[25] There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. [26] It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. [27] Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, [28] Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, [29] Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. [30] For my eyes have seen your salvation. [31] You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples — [32] a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.

The Scripture calls this Simeon a righteous and devout man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel.

In other words, Simeon was on a Christmas quest. Which is amazing when you consider this. This period of time that both Simeon and Anna lived in is known theologically as the Silent Years.

But wait, what are the Silent Years?

The Silent Years refers to the period of time between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is also known as the Intertestamental Period.

During this period of time there is no recorded message from God. It seems like He did not speak to the prophets, nor give messages through them. Nevertheless, Simeon remained seeking the Messiah, as he clung hopeful to God’s promise to him.

How many of us can say we’ve remained faithful, hoping in anticipation for the fulfillment of a promise made to us by God during a time of silence? So many of us allow the time we’re in to directly impact our faith. Therefore, this Christmas, whether it is a season of communication or silence, cling to the Words of the LORD. Cling to His promises, so that you might see them in your lifetime, just as Simeon did. So that you might not miss out on what the LORD has for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Believe As Simeon.

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Trust And Obey

22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer ~ 2 Samuel 5:22-25

When David was anointed king over Israel, the Philistines heard about it and went in search of him, apparently to execute him. Remember, David was actually living with the Philistines, the enemy of the Israelites, because King Saul was hunting him in order to kill him. The Philistines even gave him and his men the city of Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:6). It is likely that they even considered him their friend and ally because when he was anointed king of Judah, the Philistines stayed where they were because Abner, along with Israel, had anointed Saul’s son king of Israel. But as soon as Ish-bosheth was assassinated and David was anointed king of Israel, they went in search of him. David then inquired of the LORD, shall I go up and fight against the Philistines? And the LORD said go, and so he went and defeated the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-21).

The Philistines regrouped and tried again, according to 2 Samuel 5:22-25. This time, when David inquired of God whether he should go up and fight the Philistines, God answered no. Do not go up and fight, but go behind them and wait. Then, when you hear the sound of marching in the balsam trees, rouse yourself, for then you will know that your God has gone out before you to defeat your enemy, the Philistines. And David did as God instructed.

Remember that David is a warrior; his instincts are to get up and fight. Com’on men, strap on your swords; we got a fight in front of us. But God said no, not this time, don’t do what you do best, but rather, wait for me, and you will have victory. It’s difficult to just sit and wait, not knowing what is going on or how long you will have to wait. Especially right after having such a great victory as the one earlier against the same Philistines. The words, “I can do all things,” springs to attention in the mind in times like those.

You have to rest in the assurance that God can use anything and anyone. This time, He chose to have David wait, which is a lesson in trusting and obeying, even when it seems almost nonsensical. If the general of today’s army told his men that is what he was doing, waiting for a certain sound in the tops of certain trees, they would probably lose all confidence in their commanding officer. But, the Word of God says, …to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22bNIV). For David, his full confidence was in God, and for his men, their confidence was in knowing that David had a relationship with God and heard from Him.

So, the next time you feel like running on ahead with a certain project or a certain way of doing things because you’re good at it, pray, listen, and wait for the LORD. He doesn’t always do things the same way every time. He is a God of variety and color. It does not matter how silly it seems to others or even to yourself, but if you get a word from God, follow that word and trust and obey, no matter how silly or how nonsensical it may sound to others or to you.

Heavenly Father, thank You that you can use anything and everything, anyone and everyone. Nothing is too difficult or too easy, but all things are possible for You. Thank You, Father, that you work everything to the good of those who love You. Teach me to wait on You. Teach me to trust and obey. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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