Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: faith

Faith Makes A Way

Faith, Trust

“And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:4‬

Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

There is much truth to what Bell said. So often we are faced with “closed-doors” and we give up or wait for another opportunity to go a different direction. However, as we see in today’s Bible verse, our faith can take us to a higher ground where we see new opportunities.

Mark 2:1-12 tells us of an event when 4 men brought a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed. As soon as they arrived to the house the crowd was so pressed that they could not enter through the door. Instead of giving up they carried the man up upon the roof and made an opening to lower the man down to Jesus.

It was an amazing event for the multitude of people to witness. They were all astonished when this man got up and walked away. Jesus not only healed him physically but He healed him spiritually by forgiving his sins.

These four men had such strong and courageous faith that they would not and could not give up. They were determined to get the crippled man to Jesus. They knew Jesus would do something to heal him. And He did.

But watch what happened. When they could not get through the door, they didn’t wait for another door to open. They went up to the rooftop and made a door. Their faith moved them to make a way. They got creative and got to work. Their faith moved them into action.

Is your faith strong enough to move you into action? Does your faith cause you to do courageous and extraordinary things? God does not give us faith just to sit and wait. He gives us faith that can move mountains.

Pray

Lord, give me courage to use my faith to show people Your glory. Let my faith shine today. Let my faith be noticed by You.

God-Fearing, Faithful Mothers

Trust

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”
‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭1:5‬

Today we celebrate the women who are called by the name “mom.” What a great day to honor and cherish the mothers and women who mean so much to us.

Mothers are very important and influential.  Their worth and value can never be measured monetarily.  They never get a day off nor do they take a vacation from being a mother.

Paul mentioned that Timothy had a godly grandmother and mother.  Paul honors Lois and Eunice for being the faith influencers in Timothy’s life.  Because Timothy had a godly mother and grandmother, he became a godly man.  

Timothy’s mother instilled godly convictions and doctrinal truth into him as a young man.  She didn’t wait till he was grown, she began teaching him godly character at an early age.  It’s very clear that Lois and Eunice trained their son and grandson in the ways of the Lord.

Passing on sincere faith to our children is a necessity.  Sincere faith is genuine. Sincere faith takes time and effort to pass on to others.  Many hours of prayer and teaching the Scriptures go into raising a child to be strong in their faith.  

Godly mothers take the necessary time to teach what it means to be faithful in all things.  They teach their children the purpose of having sincere faith.

There is no such thing as a perfect mom but there are many who are close to it. Our moms need to be recognized for their love and commitment to passing on their faith to us. Make time today to say something special to your mom.

Pray

Lord, thank You for our godly mothers.  We give you praise and honor for giving us such wonderful teachers of Your Word. Give us more godly women who can continue the great work.

Focussed On Jesus

Faith, Trust

So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.
Matthew‬ ‭14:29

Immediately after Jesus fed the 5,000 men, He instructed the disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side of the lake. Jesus dismissed the crowds and then went up top of a mountain to pray.

As the disciples were rowing through the night, Jesus came walking up to the boat, walking on the water.

Imagine for a moment how frightened you would be if you were in the boat that night. Jesus comes walking on the water, defying all laws of logic and science. How could it be?

Peter was so intrigued that he wanted to experience what no man has ever been able to do and walk on water. Peter fully seized the moment and truly wanted to be part of the miracle. And for a few moments, he walked on water.

Here is the point. Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. The other disciples had it in their mind that they couldn’t do it. They had doubt. Peter never doubted that he could walk on the water until he took his focus off of Jesus. And when he began to sink Jesus asked him, “why did you doubt?”

There are many things we could do in this life if we could eliminate all doubt. The reason why we can’t walk on water is because we doubt. The reason why we don’t experience great miracle moments of our own is because we have doubt.

Sin causes us to doubt. Sin poisons our minds. It produces seeds of doubt that voids our faith. Is it possible to have so much faith that we could walk on water?

If Peter would have kept his eyes on Jesus he wouldn’t have started to sink. Peter’s focus turned from Jesus back to human logic and reasoning as he saw the wind and waves. If we want to experience mighty miracles we must remove all doubt. The only way to remove doubt is to keep our focus on Jesus.

Anytime we take our focus off of Jesus we allow doubt and fear to creep into our minds. So the more we stay focused on Jesus the less doubt and fear we experience. It sounds simple but we have so many things that distract us from focusing on Him.

Pray

Lord, remove my distractions and keep me focused on You. I desire to experience Your wonderful presence. Help me to have no doubt.