NEWS Believing
I've been meditating a great deal on the importance of believing and how it relates to walking in love. The Lord has shown me much about this subject recently, and I want to share a few of the insights with you today.
I would like to state at the outset that believing in the Lord and His love is not optional when we walk in love. It is absolutely essential. Believing, like faith and trust, is required if we are to imitate God and walk in love.
There is a wonderful passage of Scripture from Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Mark that illustrates the importance of believing. Let's take a look at it:
"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "''If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
(Mark 9:19-29)
I just love the part of this story when Jesus says "If you can?" The Lord has such a wonderful way of dealing with unbelievers. And, of course, he didn't mince any words. He simply stated the truth:
"Everything is possible for him who believes."
Can you see the power in that statement? The light is blinding. Believing is oh so important to walking in love. If you don't believe in His love, it is impossible to walk in it. It cannot be done.
Of course, the enemy will try to do everything it can to fill your mind with doubts, questions and distractions about the Lord and His love and word to make you try to not believe. This happens all of the time with people. Some people need to have evil spirits driven out of their hearts in order to remove the impediments to believing. I will have more to say about this in a moment.
We must remember that God uses the darkness to purify our hearts. It is a cleansing process that is intimately related to the work we do with Him on the Cross. Pure hearts see God. (Matthew 5:8). God is love (1 John 4:8). Pure hearts see love. Pure hearts are capable of walking in love.
The other interesting thing about Mark 9:19-29 is the importance of delivering evil spirits out of people's hearts. The darkness in people's hearts prevents them from believing. It must be cast out. Jesus told us that certain kinds of darkness can only be cast out with prayer and fasting. There can be no doubt about the centrality of prayer and fasting in casting out certain demons.
The other thing to note about this passage of Scripture is how Jesus commanded the evil "deaf and mute spirit" to never enter the child again. It is important to state clearly when delivering evil spirits out of hearts - even the heart of a child - that we command it to go away and never return, just as the Lord instructed.
The convulsions and shrieking associated with delivering evils spirits is normal and to be expected (note: this act can scare and freak some people out who are witnessing the deliverance if they are unfamiliar with the process). These things are merely indications that the Lord's power is at work. After all, there is a battle raging in the spiritual realm, and the darkness will not go down without a struggle. But it cannot win. It will be defeated every time in the heart of a believer. The Lord is undefeated and cannot lose. Christ is preeminent.
After the evil spirit is delivered, there is a peace that can be mistaken for death ("the boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead.") The peace you observe is a sure sign that God is present. Peace is what the Lord gives us when the battle has been fought and won. It's a peace that only He can give.
I will hopefully, Lord wiling, be writing more about dealing with evil spirits and healing. I've been asking the Lord to illuminate the power of His love in these two areas. For now, I would only like to note that believing is critical to walking in love. Please remember that dealing with evil spirits is part of the purification process. It must be done. The end result of this effort is always beautiful - more light and Spiritual fruit.
May you believe in His never failing love with all of your heart, mind and soul.
Agape,
Steve
I would like to state at the outset that believing in the Lord and His love is not optional when we walk in love. It is absolutely essential. Believing, like faith and trust, is required if we are to imitate God and walk in love.
There is a wonderful passage of Scripture from Chapter 9 of the Gospel of Mark that illustrates the importance of believing. Let's take a look at it:
"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "''If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
(Mark 9:19-29)
I just love the part of this story when Jesus says "If you can?" The Lord has such a wonderful way of dealing with unbelievers. And, of course, he didn't mince any words. He simply stated the truth:
"Everything is possible for him who believes."
Can you see the power in that statement? The light is blinding. Believing is oh so important to walking in love. If you don't believe in His love, it is impossible to walk in it. It cannot be done.
Of course, the enemy will try to do everything it can to fill your mind with doubts, questions and distractions about the Lord and His love and word to make you try to not believe. This happens all of the time with people. Some people need to have evil spirits driven out of their hearts in order to remove the impediments to believing. I will have more to say about this in a moment.
We must remember that God uses the darkness to purify our hearts. It is a cleansing process that is intimately related to the work we do with Him on the Cross. Pure hearts see God. (Matthew 5:8). God is love (1 John 4:8). Pure hearts see love. Pure hearts are capable of walking in love.
The other interesting thing about Mark 9:19-29 is the importance of delivering evil spirits out of people's hearts. The darkness in people's hearts prevents them from believing. It must be cast out. Jesus told us that certain kinds of darkness can only be cast out with prayer and fasting. There can be no doubt about the centrality of prayer and fasting in casting out certain demons.
The other thing to note about this passage of Scripture is how Jesus commanded the evil "deaf and mute spirit" to never enter the child again. It is important to state clearly when delivering evil spirits out of hearts - even the heart of a child - that we command it to go away and never return, just as the Lord instructed.
The convulsions and shrieking associated with delivering evils spirits is normal and to be expected (note: this act can scare and freak some people out who are witnessing the deliverance if they are unfamiliar with the process). These things are merely indications that the Lord's power is at work. After all, there is a battle raging in the spiritual realm, and the darkness will not go down without a struggle. But it cannot win. It will be defeated every time in the heart of a believer. The Lord is undefeated and cannot lose. Christ is preeminent.
After the evil spirit is delivered, there is a peace that can be mistaken for death ("the boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead.") The peace you observe is a sure sign that God is present. Peace is what the Lord gives us when the battle has been fought and won. It's a peace that only He can give.
I will hopefully, Lord wiling, be writing more about dealing with evil spirits and healing. I've been asking the Lord to illuminate the power of His love in these two areas. For now, I would only like to note that believing is critical to walking in love. Please remember that dealing with evil spirits is part of the purification process. It must be done. The end result of this effort is always beautiful - more light and Spiritual fruit.
May you believe in His never failing love with all of your heart, mind and soul.
Agape,
Steve
posted by Steve at
10:56 AM
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