I am not at home this week but I am attending a pastor's conference where I hear two sermons in the morning and another one at night and catch up with old friends from around the world and meet new friends. Everyone is talking about how good God is and yet how hard life is right now. We are all experiencing life in ministry together....fighting the good fight of faith....learning what God means in our lives and ministry....what serving Him is all about. We are all ordinary people, doing what we feel we are called to do and yet still living our lives with our own set of challenges.
At least everything seemed the same until Pastor Wendell got up and spoke tonight. He was diagnosed 5 years ago with cancer and told he had 5 years to live. He spoke on "Fighting the Fight of Faith". His fight is to keep his faith strong....continuing to believe that what God promised him He will perform no matter what he is feeling in his body.
I have felt like I am fighting....to keep believing that what God has promised me HE IS STILL GOING TO BRING TO PASS! We can't stop fighting to keep our faith strong. We can't let lethergy take over....our faith is worth fighting for. Sure we would all have loved to see Pastor Wendell healed - he is believing he IS healed!!! His faith is real....he was preaching when he should be dead!!!!
Don't quit believing...no matter what you see and feel. Jesus is right there in your boat..and His promise is that it won't sink just because He might be taking a nap! Keep believing and you will see His Salvation!!!
Keep reading ....tomorrow is the last chapter of Matthew and the we begin Mark.
3 comments:
That is very encouraging! I'm ready to keep fighting for what God has promised me and my church!!
Wow amazing my first time to view this and I am just blown away. This has been something very strong on my heart and that is to keep fighting and believing. Be expecting all that God is going to bring to our church and families..
A couple of things popped out at me in last week's reading of the end of Matthew and beginning of Mark...
Matthew 28:9&17 .... Jesus has risen from the dead and appears to the Marys in the garden and the disciples in Galilee. Everyone's first reaction is to WORSHIP Jesus (or doubt -- if they believed, they worshipped). Perhaps i am forgetting something, but i don't remember anyone worshipping Jesus before this point. Although Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) earlier in the Gospel accounts, no one else had -- they certainly perceived Him as a Prophet and heard His selfdesignation as the "Son of Man" (calls Himself "the Christ" after resurrection). But Jesus' resurrection was another fulfillment of the OT Messianic prophecies, pointing to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, God the Son -- and worthy of worship.
Something that poked at my faith muscle was the account of the crowds of hurting or possessed people that pressed in on Jesus so they could TOUCH Him and be HEALED (Mark 3:7-10). That made me wonder: Why did they think they had to physically touch Jesus in order to be healed? Today, we can't physically touch Jesus -- we pray in faith for healing... Hmmm... no wonder Jesus said of the centurion who sought healing for his servant at home that Jesus had not seen such great faith (Mt. 8:10). The Gentile mother with a possessed daughter at home also showed great faith and received healing (Mark 7:29). What an example and a boost to my faith! Even though i cannot feel the woven fabric of Jesus' garment between my fingers, i can believe with faith! His Bride today can sculpt and flex Her faith muscles! Like Jesus told Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).
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