![]() Francis challenged the imams to a duel to prove which was the true religion. When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens, St. Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. We all admire the heroes of faith like St. The Mass readings for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) are Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Second Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10. Francis of Assisi and the Sultan shows us how to leave behind fear and grow in faith. He also constantly addresses his disciples with this command: Be not afraid! The story of St. Don’t worry about being made fun of at work or school for sharing the Gospel and having a Christ-like attitude that rejects sinful behaviors.Jesus calls us to have faith at least the size of a mustard seed. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to offer your talents in your church or community so that you can minister to others. Quit holding grudges, forgive, and move forward. Quit trying to fix broken relationships and let God do it for you. Go on a mission trip and let God take you out of your comfort zone and use you. Quit fighting the idea of caring for your aging parents because you aren’t sure your family can handle it. After that, however, the only way for our faith to grow is to use it. It is a faith that comes from hearing and believing the Word of God. Our initial introduction to the concept of faith is small. True faith grows when you let God be God and do what He does best-the amazing and seemingly impossible. It’s not enough to say you have faith or even believe God is God. Two: Take the opportunities God gives you to see faith in action. So… when I am asked the question of how to have more faith, the first thing I tell someone is to ask for more faith. He knew Jesus could give it, but he needed faith to believe He would. When the man asks Jesus to help his unbelief, he isn’t saying he doesn’t believe, he is asking Jesus to give him more faith. The Greek word for ‘unbelief’ is apistia. But when Jesus asked the boy’s father if he believed, he said, “I do believe help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)īefore I tell you what I think about this verse, I want to clarify what the boy’s father is saying. The disciples couldn’t do it (because of a lack of faith). One: First is the man in Mark 9 who asked the disciples to cure his son from demon possession. When I am asked the question of how to have more faith, I point people to these two things: In other words, our faith is meant to grow… a lot. Jesus uses the mustard seed to illustrate the kind of faith we need because the tiny mustard seed grows into something much, Much, MUCH bigger than its original size. ![]() It’s because God doesn’t want us to be unequally yoked.ĭo you see the difference? How to have a mustard seed kind of faith It isn’t because God was unfaithful or because you didn’t have enough faith. For example, not tithing because we don’t think we can and still have what we need to cover our expenses is a lack of faithīelieving something is not His will comes from studying the scriptures and knowing that there are simply some things God won’t do for us because He knows better.Īn example of this would be pursuing a romantic relationship with a non-Christian asking God to give you this person as your husband or wife, but the relationship doesn’t work out. This probably leads you to the question of how I know which is which.Ī lack of faith is simply not trusting God to keep His promises, believing He can do something, or believing that He wants to bless us and direct our lives. ![]() Sometimes I don’t believe God will do something that I know He is fully capable of because I am convinced it simply isn’t His will. And that, my friends, is a lack of faith. I believe with every ounce of my being that God is the one and only God, that He is the creator of the universe, and that He is almighty and all-knowing.īut… there have been plenty of times (and sadly, I’m sure there will be more) that I don’t think God will do what I know He can do. I believe with every ounce of my being that God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants. ![]() So why, then, aren’t we doing more? And why do so many of us feel God isn’t working in our lives the way we want Him to? A lack of faith or simply not God’s will? So yah, that’s pretty small, isn’t it? Yet Jesus says that if we have even that little amount of faith there is nothing we cannot do. To be more precise, it is about the size of the head of a straight pin-the kind used by seamstresses to pin a pattern to fabric. Nothing will be impossible for you.” ~Matthew 17:20-21Īs small as a mustard seed… that’s pretty small. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. He replied, “Because you have so little faith. ![]()
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