Wanda Mann Inquiring Minds

Day 8. Faith Moves God's Heart.

25/4/2013

Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”
Mark 1:41

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5

“Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” Mark 5:19

over & over we see Jesus responding to the cry of someone’s heart and their faith in His ability to answer their need. (Mark 1:41; Mark 2:5)
we come full circle, back to where these faith lessons started from: Your faith has made you well. (Mark 5:34)
our faith in God moves & excites Him into action on our behalf!
God’s love & compassion are moved deeply by our active trust in Him.

And the prayer of faith will save the sick & the Lord will raise him up.
And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:15

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. We'll talk about that tomorrow.

These are excerpts from 'Just Jesus'. Lessons from the book of Mark.

Click here for more.

Day 7. Faith Moves.

24/4/2013

Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. James 2:26

Let's continue from yesterday... faith kept walking. Jairus did not stop Jesus from going to his house and therefore did not stand in the way of God doing an incredible miracle!

Faith moves. Faith takes action. Faith touches Jesus.

As many as touched (to fasten one's self to, adhere to, cling to) Him were made well. Mark 6:56

To touch someone we must reach for them; this is an act of faith.
What does it mean to ‘touch’ God?
To touch God, brings salvation. The word ‘well’ in the Mark 6:56 is from the Greek word ‘Sozo’ meaning to be made whole, to be saved, and to be healed. God is thorough.

Faith declared. Faith came. Faith begged. Faith took Jesus home even though their little girl was dead. Faith carried the sick to Him. Faith moved. (Mark 5:6; 5:27-28; 5:40; 6:55; 7:25; 7:32)

Faith is active trust.

Day 6. Faith Believes the Unbelievable.

23/4/2013

Don't let the astonishment of what we witness drive us to fear & unbelief.

Look at Mark 5:35-36 with me:
While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

Now that's a challenge!!

The word ‘afraid’ here is the word ‘Phobeo’ and means:

to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away), to flee
to fear, be afraid
to be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm
of those startled by strange sights or occurrences
of those struck with amazement

Is it possible to be so amazed that we won't believe? You know the line, "that's too good to be true"? The only way to truly accept Jesus at His word is to go back to the point made on DAY 1 of these faith talks. We must know that God is God. We must believe that Jesus is God and is bigger and smarter than any of us will ever be.

The great thing here in this particular story is that Jairus chose to believe. They kept walking... Here's the rest of the story Mark 5:37-42.

Now, click on this link to read the following: Mark 6:2; 6:51-52; 7:37; 8:14-21

What do you see here in relation to astonishment and what effect it may have on us. Have you ever been so amazed at what you see that you did not believe it? What do you see in these examples that show you the heart of God? How many times will He continue to teach us and show us grace?

Day 5. Faith uses Words...

22/4/2013

Put your mouth where your faith is.

There is a time to be still and a time to make declaration. Faith builds in the presence of God & in the feeding of His word. But faith without action is dead. This is where we need to put our mouth where our heart is ... Say what you believe. Let your request be made known to God. (Psalm 5:3)

Mark 5:23 Jairus told Jesus that if He just came and laid His hands on his daughter she would live.
Mark 5:28 The woman said that she knew if she could only touch Jesus she would be healed.

With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Faith has great expectation and speaks with confidence & authority. (2 Corinthians 3:12)
Our words are powerful, revealing the spirit & intent of our heart. They have the potential to release life or death. (Proverbs 18:21)

John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life;
the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are spirit,
and they are life.

Day 4. Faith Listens Well.

20/4/2013

Jesus says, ‘Hear Me everyone, and understand... If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.'
Mark 7:14-16

Do you listen as well as you hear?

I've just finished watching a movie with a couple of my grandkids. Unfortunately, I cannot recall most of it because I was not really listening well. I've been laying on the couch with a bit of an achy body - fighting some bug, I guess - and therefore not paying attention all that well, dozing off mid-scene...

The movie still played. My ears heard it all. But my mind did not. I'll have to watch 'Cars 2' again with them sometime. :)

Take time to really digest what God is saying to you through His Word. Slow down, if needs be, and read those verses again until you really hear. Ask Him to open the eyes of your understanding. Let your faith be supported and fed by what you hear.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:16-17)

Day 3. Faith will Beg.

19/4/2013

I know that this may sound like a strange thought. It may even sound disrespectful to some. But desperate times often result in desperate measures. Ever been there?

Remember ... Faith is active trust. Jesus loves faith.
I don't think He's so concerned about how we release it!

To beg - entreat, pray, beseech, petition, appeal, implore, plead, urge.

There are eight times in Mark that we see someone / people / even demons imploring Jesus for help. Here are three:

Mark 5:22-23 - Jairus came and fell at His feet (worshiped) and begged Him (or, as the NLT Bible says 'pleaded fervently' with Him) to come & heal his daughter. (read whole story)

Mark 7:26 - Jesus was trying to take a break, but this woman found Him and begged Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. (read whole story)

Mark 7:32 - There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. (read whole story)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

Day 2. Faith Worships God.

19/4/2013

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. Mark 5:6

Faith worships God. Faith runs to meet Him - to safety.
Here we see this man, who is full of unclean spirits, running to Jesus and worshiping Him!! I find this to be an incredibly stunning scenario!

The guy was full (a legion) of demons
He saw God coming & ran to Him
Not only did He run to him, he bowed and worshiped Jesus
The man knew & had faith
The demons knew and shrieked - they begged and cowered for mercy
Faith worships & bows down to God's Lordship.
Faith trusts Him and runs to His safety.
Demons do not have faith in God, but they know who He is.
Jesus is moved by faith

Take Note…
It was the man bowing to Jesus, not the demons!
It is important to understand that demons know
who God is, but they will not submit to Him.
(see James 2:19)

Read it for yourself ...

Mark 5:1-20 (NKJV)
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Jesus is moved by faith!

Day 1. Faith knows God is God.

17/4/2013

For the next 14 days I will be posting excerpts about 'FAITH', taken from the book of Mark (Just Jesus). The bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Let's feed faith.

This story is amazing and builds my faith. Humanly speaking, the woman had nothing left. Her only option was God. She knew that Jesus could do it for her. All she had to do was touch Him.

Imagine this scene as you read. A multitude of people (that's a lot) pressing on Jesus, following Him, hoping for something.

Mark 5:21, 24-34
Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him ... and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Faith knows God is God.
When she heard about Jesus, she came … and touched His garment.

This woman had heard about Jesus and knew who He was:

She knew enough about Him to make the declaration that He would heal her.
She knew enough to touch Him & expect the answer.
She knew He was her true hope.

QUESTION?
How does this impact you? Is there a situation in your own life that needs to realize that God is truly the only answer to it?

Remember: Faith is active trust. It is sure of what it hopes for and feeds on the very word and presence of the living God.

Your Faith

4/4/2013

“Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Mark 5:34

What is faith?
Well, I know that the dictionary doesn’t say this, but I will venture to say that faith is a verb. It is not static. It runs to and hears and knows God; declares & acts on His purposes and links our humanity with His endless possibilities.

Faith is active trust. It is an act of the will. Jesus loves faith! In fact, He rejoiced over the faith that those who followed Him displayed. (see Luke 10:17-24) God loves faith and moves to action when He sees & hears it in action.

So much hinges on our faith. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve made it sound so mystical that it has lost its substance (Hebrews 11:1). Scripture tells us that faith can be seen, that you can hear it and be moved by it. Jesus often remarks that He was moved to act on someone’s behalf because of “their faith”. My faith is not reliant on someone else' faith. It may be encouraged & spurred on by someone else, but it will always be accountable to me.

Jesus was always mentoring, teaching and prodding His followers to learn. They would ask Him to feed the crowd and He would ask them what they had to contribute (Mark 6:37). He said that faith was like a mustard seed in Mark 4:30-32, that when it was planted it would grow into something others could benefit from. So, was faith the seed or was faith in the knowing of what the seed could become? The seed was just a seed but faith saw the potential of that tiny seed and planted it in the ground!

Faith is active trust. It is not passive, but it does not need attention. It is sure of what it hopes for and feeds on the very Word and presence of God, growing into maturity.

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