KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018
Chapters: Matthew 9, Luke 7
Message: Jesus Sees Your Faith
Hello My Friend,
Faith; To believe. Believe it or not, we walk by faith every day. We get up by faith, believing we are going to do the things we set out to do. We get in a vehicle by faith, believing we are going to reach our destination safely. We do our work by faith, believing we are going to complete the tasks we are assigned to do. By just these things that I mentioned, how many times has your faith been squished? You wake up sick, your vehicle stops working while driving it, you work hard on your assigned task, and still cannot get it complete? I walked out of a store last night in tears as an assistant mocked me because all I wanted was for him to sign a piece of paper stating that I was in the store working so my boss could see that I was actually there, but could not complete the task because the store could not print the price tags. You see, I put church over my job, they can mock me all they want, but my faith in Jesus cannot waver. My faith in life fails everyday, but my faith in Jesus never fails, He is who He says He is, He does what He says He will do, and He will help us overcome every thing that our faith failed us. “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” – Matthew 9:29.
“According to your faith be it unto you.” Our faith is not always consistent, one second we believe that God can move mountains, the next, a pebble, but Jesus did say that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed for mountains to be moved. It is easy to have faith in something that is right in front of our face, and yet, more often than we care to admit, it gets squished because, life has a way of doing that. It is not easy to have faith in something that we cannot see. When Jesus walked the earth in the flesh He performed miracles every day, sometimes by touching someone, sometimes just by speaking that someone would be healed, and people saw it. No matter what He did, there were always some that refused to believe He is the Son of God. One man had so much faith in Jesus that he believed He could raise his daughter from the dead. As He was walking with the man to his home someone else touched Him believing that she would be healed of her blood disease.
“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.” – Matthew 9:18-25.
“And they laughed him to scorn.” Scorn; To mock. The ones who did not believe in Jesus mocked Him, but He did not let that stop Him from touching that girl and her being brought back from the dead. The world will never believe that life does not have to end with death. I guarantee you that there were many who discredited Jesus, saying that it was not Him, but some medical miracle as so many say today, or that she was never dead to begin with. Let me tell you, the older I get the more faith I have in the unseen than I do in what is right in front of my face. However, I am not going to lose faith in my faith that, at least, something will get done the way I want or expect. Another time two blind men found Jesus, having faith that He could help them see.
“And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.” – Matthew 9:27-34.
“He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.” Really? This is absurd, but I will tell you this, there many people today that are held in bondage to some kind of deal they made with the devil himself. Yes, he will help someone out, but once he does, only by the power of God can that person escape that deal. Whenever the devil gets involved in the welfare of people you can be sure that his deals come with a hefty price. The world is full of religious people proclaiming Christ, getting huge paychecks doing it, yet sending millions of people to hell because they were never preached the Gospel to and died believing in the lie. We must believe that Jesus can do the things He says He can do in order for us to see Him work in our lives. So, what about those who died believing that Jesus would heal them? He did heal them, just took them home to Him. Remember, their bodies are just sleeping, their soul, if they are saved, is with Jesus until the day He returns and wakes them up, and gives them their new glorified bodies. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” – I Corinthians 15:52-54.
You see, when we come to God we must come to Him by faith, and there are many ways that God uses to get us to live by faith in Him. Sometimes He does use the death to enlist faith, sometimes a miracle, sometimes a tragedy, because people do respond differently to life squishing our faith in everything else. When news got around about all the amazing things that Jesus was doing, John the Baptist found out and sent some of his disciples to Jesus to see if He was the one that was, in fact doing all these things.
“And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about. And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” – Luke 7:16-19,22-26.
“But what went ye out for to see?” What were all these people following Jesus expecting to see? They knew that the Messiah would come from the linage of David, in fact, they had faith that their male child born would be the Messiah, their Saviour. Many were expecting Him to be someone wealthy, an earthly king, others expected Him to be John himself, even though he told them he was not. Yet others just saw Jesus as a great prophet, which He is, but He is much more than that. As much as Jesus exalted John, his works did not save him, he too had to believe in the Saviour, as well as did Mary who carried Him and Joseph who helped raise Him for thirty-three years, as do we all if we want to see the kingdom of God. The least, the worst sinner of all, is greater in the Kingdom of God than the most righteous person on earth. Why? Because Jesus saw their faith in Him. You see, our entire life is based on faith, and Jesus sees our faith in Him, in life itself, in everything that we do, and if we walk everyday by faith in Him, we will see Him do amazing things in our lives. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:1,3,6.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” – Matthew 9:13.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You know my heart, my thoughts, and even my actions before I do them. I know that I am who I am today because of my faith in You. I am not the same creature I was when You picked me up out of the hole I was in, and You are not done with me, I know You are doing a great work in me even though my faith in life gets squished time and time again. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me the strength that only You can give me to not only have faith, but walk every single day by faith in You. Let me be a witness and a testimony for those who are searching for You in a time when their faith is tried. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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