Scripture: And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
Observation: Jesus returns to his hometown, yet finds that people cannot relate to him as messiah. They only see the son of Mary and Joseph (the one born under sketchy circumstances). Jesus did very few miracles here, because of the unbelief of the people. As one note in my bible says, “The Holy Spirit does not force his miracles on a hostile, skeptical audience.”
Application: Hard-heartedness prevents the ministry of God. Oh, God can overcome that, to be sure. But it seems that when God finds hearts hardened to him, he leaves them be. I wonder if God wants to do something great, but passes by because of lack of faith. Do I really believe? Can that believe help me overcome doubt, grumbling, rejection? It seems that all great works are accompanied by opposition. But to those children who persevere in hope, they see God at work.
Prayer: God, help me believe you want to do something greater. Stretch my faith. I do believe; help my unbelief. I want to trust you and lead our people to expect great things from you.
Download Human Retrovirology PDF Free
5 years ago
Posts
1 comment:
Unbelief and hard hearts are definitely a challenge. The hardest text for me to understand related to this is about Pharaoh in Exodus. It is obvious that God is hardening his heart but at the same time he is held responsible for resisting God, to the point of enduring the plagues.
My sincere desire is for my heart to be open to God. And yet I am confronted on a daily basis with my lack of faith and resistance to His Spirit. Sometimes I don't feel that different than Pharaoh. On those days I want to cry out with the man in Mark 9:24, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"
Can God take my weak, limited, worn out, stretched faith and use it to do something great?
Post a Comment