Archives For October 2017
Mustard plant and seeds
An amazing miracle:
I read a story about a man and wife who lived in Colorado (USA) many years ago. The wife became very ill and was in the hospital for a period of time. The hospital bill was very large. To make matters worse, her husband lost his job the day she came home from the hospital. It didn’t take long to use up their meager savings. They reached the point where they had no food left in the house and they had nothing but five dollars left to their name. But they knew about the law of sowing and reaping. They knew it was an iron-clad law that works, and it works every time, for every person.
“Give and it will be given unto you.” Luke 6:38 This verse is taken from the Bible, but this idea is found in many religions around the world. It is similar to the idea of karma found in Eastern religions. Isn’t it interested that this idea is agreed upon all over the world? So even if you don’t believe the Bible, you can still believe that this law is true.
They decided to give away their last five dollars. They gave it to a ministry they had heard about on TV. Not only that, they expected a miracle. They didn’t just hope for a miracle, they expected it.
Within a few days the man found a job. In fact, it was the best job he had ever had. Not only that, but her hospital bill was completely paid for in an unexpected way.
Answers to prayer
I’m sure we have all prayed for things and didn’t get what we prayed for. On the other hand, I’m sure you have prayed and received what you asked for. We often forget to thank God when he answers our prayer. If we kept a journal of our prayers and looked at the number of prayers that were granted over the years it would build our faith and our joy.
The seed
Jesus said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can tell a mountain to move and it will move. Matthew 17:20 What does that mean?
What does the mustard seed represent? A seed can be eaten or planted. The mustard seed is not good to eat, so it can only be planted. It has to be given away. If we try to keep a seed in a jar, it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t produce anything.
When a person dies they are buried in the ground. We have to take the seed and bury it in the ground. We have to give it away. A mustard seed is a tiny thing, but it grows into a very large plant. That takes time. Sometimes the most difficult part of prayer is waiting for the answer.
The man and his wife gave away something, it was like seed-faith.
The mountain
When Jesus talked about a mountain people understood what that meant. In those days, many cities were built on top of a mountain or hill. A mountain made the city strong against the attack of the enemy. A city on a hill was a stronghold. If it was an enemy city, that would be a bad stronghold.
We all have strongholds in our lives. An addiction can be a stronghold. An illness can be a stronghold. Financial difficulties might be a stronghold. Marriage problems, children going the wrong way in life and career problems are strongholds.
Jesus said speak
Jesus said speak out loud to the problem. He said you can “…say to the mountain, move, and it will move.” I have written about the power of the spoken word before in this blog. click here
When God created the earth, he spoke to cause it to come into existence. In fact, in the first words of the book of John in the Bible, it says that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. That is not an easy concept to understand. If you meditate on that it will become a little clearer. But suffice it to say that words are very important. We have to speak to the mountain in our life.
What is faith?
Faith is more than just believing something. Satan believes in God, he talks to God. But he does not have faith in God. True faith involves love.
Belief + love = faith
Answers to prayer
Many extremely successful people talk about the power of faith. Some of them are not even Christians. Henry Ford said “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way you are right.” What that means is that if you really believe you can do something and you have faith, that will give you the power you need to get it done. On the other hand, if you believe you can’t do something, you won’t even try.
If we want to be successful, we have to learn from successful people. Henry Ford was certainly successful. He did amazing things, not only in the auto industry, but in the aircraft industry also.
It is always easy to find people who tell us that we can’t do something. In fact, they are probably the ones who have not achieved great things in life. Don’t listen to people who know how to fail but don’t know how to win. Listen to the winners. Take their advice and it will help you succeed. I wrote a book about this. click here to look at the book
Never give up
Many people fail because they give up too early. Keep trying. You have never really failed until you give up. The great statesman Winston Churchill said “Never, never, never give up.” Even when it looked very bleak for Great Britain in World War 2, Churchill told his people not to give up. The Germans had almost twice as many airplanes as England, but through ingenuity and persistence, Great Britain won the battle of Britain and the war.
I have heard it said that if a person is will to work hard enough, they can get whatever they want in life. Do you agree? read more
“He who is happiest is he who is content…” ~Benjamin Franklin
Happiness (Photo credit: baejaar)
A wise man said to his friend “Every time I see you, you are running around in a hurry. What are you running after?”
The man answered read more
