December 23, 2020

Today’s reading
Mark 11:12-26

The next day after passing the fig tree that Jesus had cursed (verse 14) Peter notices that the tree is dried up and dead (verse 21.) Peter couldn’t believe it, he was astonished. He was thinking “how could this have happened so quickly” Jesus responds to his question by just simply saying “Have faith in God” (verse 22) Just think about those words from Jesus with me for a second, apply that to any circumstance or worry you have right now. Could I simply say to you as Jesus did “have faith in God.” Jesus refers to the power that our faith has, Jesus said faith in God is so powerful it can move mountains (23) and not just move mountains but do away with them all together. If Peter thought Jesus drying up and killing a fig tree was impressive, what would he have said if Jesus dug up a mountain and threw it in the sea. The authority we have as believers, says that we can speak to God about the obstacles in our life and get them to move. Let’s be clear, Jesus is not endorsing some extraordinary, or special faith, remember he told His disciples at one point that their faith had to be no larger than that of a mustard seed. It is not our faith that is great, it is the object in which we have faith that is great. You can place great faith in the tooth fairy or Santa Clause but that will leave you disappointed. If we place our faith in the God of the Bible (even if it’s a little faith) we have the ability to unlock God’s divine power into our life and our circumstances. As a believer, you have that access to the power of God on a daily basis. Think of it this way, you have electricity in your house I am assuming, that electricity does you no good unless you access that power by flipping on the light switch. Just because we have access to God’s power doesn’t mean we are utilizing it. Jesus also mentions that there is certain responsibility that falls on us as well in this passage. Responsibility to do what God has commanded us to do. One of our responsibilities is repenting of our sin, unrepentant sin blocks God’s power. He mentions the sin of unforgiveness, but you can insert any sin there and it has the same effect on God’s power in our lives. So if I could leave you with just the three simple thoughts of 1) have faith in God, 2) unleash God’s power in your life through prayer, 3) keep short accounts with God, make sure you don’t have unrepentant sins in your life that would block the power of God from working.

Frank Newsome