Thursday, October 7, 2010

Faith....period

And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over." Mark 5: 34


But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith." Mark 5:36

These verses were part of my Bible reading today. I've read them many times before. But, today, the word faith caught my eye. As some of you know, I'm reading through the Bible in a year with P31 Bible teacher, Wendy Pope. Wendy did some digging into the word "faith". According to Strong's (4102), faith is conviction or truthfulness of God. It is assurance and belief. The first verse is about the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. In faith, she reached out and touched the hem of Jesus' robe. She believed that if only she could touch a part of Jesus, she would be healed. And, she was.


The second scripture refers to Jairus, the leader of a local synagogue, whose 12 year old daughter was about to die at home. He rushed to find Jesus so that He would heal her. By the time Jesus finally got to Jarius's home, the little girl had died. The scripture above is how Jesus responded when this daddy heard the news that they were too late. Jarius also trusted and was assured that Jesus would still heal his daughter even after death. And, He did.


Faith...it means different things to different people. Have you examined your faith lately? Does it align with the definition above? Or, are you in a different place in your walk? Are you even walking with the Lord? Sometimes, we really stray off that straight and narrow path. We have to cry out to Jesus to pull us back on the road less traveled and continue our journey with Him. I encourage you to dig into the Word and see where the word "faith" appears! You'll be reading that wonderful Book for quite some time!


In the picture above, the sweet dog in the wagon has cancer. He is weak and is not expected to live much longer. He was rescued at the local humane society. His owner brought him to our church Sunday afternoon. We had our very first blessing of the animals. She had faith that hearing the Word of God prayed upon the animals and their families would give her peace about what will soon happen. Her prayer was for her pet to not have to suffer much longer. Y'all, it was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. We had over 50 dogs, 1 cat, and 1 mouse. It was reverent----really! I've never seen anything quite like it, but I hope that we'll have it again next year.

Faith...Assurance...Belief....Conviction...Truthfulness.....are you walking in it?

Sweet Blessings,

8 comments:

Beth E. said...

Awww...that dog is so sweet!

Great post, Susan. One I definitely needed to read this day.

Hugs...

sister sheri said...

I've never heard of anything like this. Praying for God's peace in any situation... and having faith in Him... such good things!

Rhonda Schrock said...

Funny you mention it. Just this morning over coffee, the Lord drew me into Hebrews 11 for a closer look at that very thing. I haven't looked - really looked - at that passage for a long time.

What a blessing. Such treasures to uncover!

Thanks for confirming the message.

LisaShaw said...

Hi precious friend!

Miss communicating with you last week while off line but PRAYED for you.

This message (as a dog lover myself) has blessed my heart. I firmly believe in praying over our pets/fur babies.

Awesome message on FAITH Susan. One we all need to be reminded of.

Thank you for being such a beautiful presence online. Now when I visit your blog I see your precious face and hear your sweet voice from the gIRL Gathering!

Hugs and love!

Empty Nest Full Life said...

I have never seen this, but heard about it. Thanks for the reminder, FAITH.
Jackie

fsfwrwrwrwrw said...

額,結局真是令人無言額~


















Mary Singer Wick said...

Wonderful post, Susan! I needed this one as I am currently praying for (and witnessing to) those who are severely or terminally ill. While I ask for physical healing God has led me to pray more for spiritual restoration. This is a test of faith, and amazing things are happening in the midst of challenges. Bless your tender heart for sharing this message with us!

Love,
Mary

Gwen said...

Great post. Thank you for the inspiration and insight. It is great to find other Christians to pray with and support.