THE POWER OF FAITH

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”

At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

Acts 14:8-10

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“…we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

These words from Paul to the Corinthian church continue to inspire us today, reminding us of the special nature of faith. Where the world would ask for tangible evidence before belief happens and science encourages people to question everything before determining absolute truth, the scriptures direct Christians to simply believe, period.

Don’t make it hard. Just believe.

Paul writes this to the Hebrews:

“...faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

It was this kind of faith that we find in the lame man of Lystra. From birth, this man had been disabled, never experiencing the ability to walk. Think about that for a minute. Imagine being born crippled and you go through your whole life needing help to get from place to place. You see other people walking around with ease and wish you could do the same thing. It would have to be a very depressing place to be.

The man had been lame his whole life and I’m sure had lost hope that this would ever change. But then a couple of men came into the city, men who said they were apostles of a man named Jesus. One of the men named Paul was sharing a message about Jesus. The apostle told those gathered about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, about how God had sent Him to die and pay the penalty of sin for all mankind, and how anyone who would place their faith in Jesus would find eternal life. He talked about the power Jesus possessed and still used through people He selected to continue His work after He ascended to the heavens, a power to not only save but to drive out demons and heal the afflicted.

It had to be the latter proclamation that resonated with the lame man. He had to think to himself, “If I place my faith in this Jesus, even though I can’t see Him, I could be able to walk like everyone else.”

And so he did and it was obvious his faith was not only in his heart and mind but visible in his face and body mannerisms. We know this because Paul looked directly at the lame man and “saw that he had faith to be healed.”  The man’s faith was evident just by looking at him and this raises a question:

Do people see our faith simply by looking at us, especially in times of hardship and affliction?

The lame man had every reason to just sit and doubt, accepting that his disability would be something he would deal with until death, from cradle to grave. The world offered him no hope as there was no special cure for his condition nor medical technology or expertise to do some form of corrective surgery. By conventional standards, his situation was what it was.

But what if there was a power beyond what the world offered, a power that could make the impossible possible?

This was the prospect that the lame man was willing to entertain. And so he believed and received a miracle as Paul called out to him saying, “Stand up on your feet!”

The results were immediate as the man didn’t just stand up but jumped to his feet and immediately began to walk. He had believed in Jesus purely by faith and in turn was rewarded with the very healing he believed could happen.

Friends, through the lame man of Lystra, we see the power of faith on full display. When we’re in the midst of affliction, even if it has been for a very long time, all we need to do is keep our faith in Jesus and truly believe in our hearts that He and He alone possesses the power to meet our needs and resolve our problems.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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