The Great Pumpkin, Hebrews 11:1AMP
[1] Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
You know the wind exists though you cannot see it but you believe it exists because you feel it and you can see the effects of the wind.
So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable. 2 Cor. 4:18amp
How much greater is the faith of someone who does not need to see and yet still believes?!
[5] As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help], [Luke 7:1-10] [6] and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain.” [7] Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” [8] But the centurion replied to Him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. [9] For I also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” [10] When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel. [11] I say to you that many [Gentiles] will come from east and west, and will sit down [to feast at the table, and enjoy God’s promises] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [because they accepted Me as Savior], [12] while the sons and heirs of the kingdom [the descendants of Abraham who will not recognize Me as Messiah] will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place [which is farthest removed from the kingdom] there will be weeping [in sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [in distress and anger].” [Ps 107:2, 3; Is 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11] [13] Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was restored to health at that very hour.
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].”. John 20:5amp
Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” Mark 9:23-25amp
How does God help our unbelief? He does it daily. Romans 1:20, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (We see the effects of God daily.) Everyday you wake up, that is a miracle and a blessing. If you know anything about sleep apnea, it’s when you stop breathing during your sleep more times than you’re supposed to. Notice I said more than you’re supposed to. Yes, the human body normally stops breathing during sleep at least two or three times. I learned this from my sleep doctor after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. That being said, yes, it is God who allows you to wake up everyday, that in itself is evidence of Him and His power. The sun sets and rises daily; and so does the moon. The trees and flowers grow daily. Some of you may not have a job right now or you may not get paid enough but Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:19 are happening in your life right now! That is evidence He exists because you can’t take care of yourself at this moment but God is taking care of you. God has not forgotten you! God is still blessing you! God has kept and will continue to keep His promises to you! He helps your unbelief (Mark 9:24) by showing Himself faithful to you everyday. By keeping His promises to you everyday.
2 Timothy 2:13 AMP, If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself. And, 2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. How can you not believe, when He is still in your corner even when you’re not in His?! He still takes care of you even when you stumble! Who do you think pulls you out of all of your sticky situations? Who always receives you back even when you walk away? Trust me it’s not the world, the world will leave you behind to rot and die. They could care less about you! Only God remains faithful and true!
Lastly, Matthew 18:2-4 NIV, He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This is where we need to be daily. This is where our hearts need to reside: the faith of a child. We are all children of God, so why don’t we act like children and walk in that kind of faith and belief? A child doesn’t have to see something to believe it. A child doesn’t have to see to have faith. Remember Linus in the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown? Even though he fell asleep in the pumpkin patch and “we” never see the great pumpkin, the next morning Linus still has faith in and believes the great pumpkin exists. As children of God, even though we may not see God moving in our lives, we need to have that Linus type of faith. We need to know and believe that He still is even if we can’t see it.
#prodigalpastor #faith #belief #devotional #Linus #child #greatpumpkin #unbelief
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