Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men. And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had scooped out an opening, they let down the [thickly padded] quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay. And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven….”
Mark 2:3-5 AMP
This has been the final week of our current series—Jesus’ words on faith—here on the Seeking Him devotional blog. Each week our devotional writers have shared and reminded us about what our Lord taught on this very important subject. (If you haven’t had the opportunity to read through these wonderful devotionals, just click above on the Seeking Him button and scroll backwards. The series began on January 11th.) We have looked at these four particular records from the Gospels which are just a few examples where Jesus spoke to His disciples as He taught them the value and importance of having faith.
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In Extended Faith, Ahmee made such a great point about our faith and how it affects others.
“Not only can our faith be of use to the non-believer, but believers can help other believers, too. Our faith is not just our faith. Our faith can extend to the lives around us. And sometimes that’s what we need. We need others to believe for us and with us. This is why fellowship is important.
Faith—your faith—is for more than just you.
Share it. Use it. It has great power.“
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In From Paralyzed to Forgiven and Healed, Tina wrote about the value of godly, praying friends.
“Friends. What would we do without our friends? The man in our Scripture today would not have been able to receive his healing had his friends not put their faith into action…and been willing to get help for their friend. We are not told whether the man had been paralyzed for a long or a short time; we just know that he was paralyzed.
Do you have such love for a friend—in which you would go to that much trouble for them? If not, then we really need to look at our friend list and see who God would direct us to help.”
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In Level of Faith, Ann encouraged us to have a high level of faith.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 KJV
“If you don’t hear the Word of God you will not know what the Word has for you. These people in Mark 2, had been hearing a lot of things that Jesus did, for Jesus went about doing good. So, the news that Jesus healed people was all over their cities [Mark 1:29 – 34] and through many testimonies they had been hearing of Him healing many as well as His miraculous deeds. Their level of faith grew each day by hearing these testimonies and probably many others, too, had followed Him to another place where the miracle took place in their presence.
When you have a high level of faith you can do the extraordinary—this is what we see in our Scripture this week. Their level of faith did not allow stumblingblocks to the healing of their brother; hence, the opening on the roof.”
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In Faith and Forgiveness, Cynda focused on a fundamental truth—
“Faith is the key.
In this one verse (Mark 2:5), Jesus makes it abundantly clear what is most important. It isn’t our physical well-being, our monetary wealth, or our social status. It is the state of our soul, our spiritual well-being. Our greatest need is for salvation. One of the greatest miracles is God freeing us from the power of sin because of faith. He is the only One who can truly set us free. Four simple words—”Your sins are forgiven.” No qualifiers. Jesus doesn’t say because you are pretty you are forgiven. He doesn’t say because you are smart you are forgiven. No, all that is required is faith…faith in Jesus Christ. Just like that our sins are forgiven. Past, present, and future. Permanently erased. And sometimes, it is all because someone interceded in faith for us.”
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And in Strong Faith, Laura also wrote on the value of faith.
“Faith is one of the strongest weapons we have as humans when it comes to facing the different trials of the world. It can carry us through the toughest times and can give us joy during the good times. Faith is the best tool we have to face evil in a world that is changing before our eyes. Faith is what gives us the strength to keep on searching for answers. ”
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As always, our heart and prayer to God is that these devotionals will encourage you to seek Him and that you will be drawn closer in relationship with Him.
About coleen hayden
This has been a good study. Thank you all! I’m also thanking God for His gift of faith to each of us.
amen to that! praying for all of us…”Lord, increase our faith!” <3