Not for the Faint of Heart

~~~ James 3:13-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Mark 9:14-29 ~~~

Let him show his works by a good life in the humility
 that comes from wisdom.

The closer we walk humbly with the Lord the greater
wisdom and power he will give.
When we are in the Spirit
 it is the Spirit that will work through us.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure,
then peaceable, gentle, compliant,
full of mercy and good fruits...

Jealousy and self -serving ambition are in opposition to the wisdom of God.
There is no spirit of competition in the Spirit.
There is, however, the need for a great deal of faith.
The wisdom of God manifests itself according to our depth of faith.

You know the saying...if you think you can then you can
and if you think you cannot then you cannot.
Which ever one holds true for you is true. 

Everything is possible to one who has faith.

Since there is nothing impossible for God we must act accordingly.
The frustrated woman in the Gospel today presented her child to be healed.

She first takes her child to the disciples.
 But they were not able to overcome the evil spirit possessing the child.

The magnitude of the evil was too great for the novice disciples.
They had the power given to them by God, but were lacking,
perhaps in their belief.
Perhaps they did not truly believe in themselves enough.
Against this evil spirit it took the powerful belief of Jesus himself.

We must focus our attention
on keeping our faith not just alive, but active.
The more we are called to rely on our faith
 the more we will come to see its inherent strength.
Faith is a gift, but it is not for the faint of heart.

We are Blessed to have the opportunity to put our faith into practice every day.
There is nothing we should take for granted,
the truth is it could all be gone in a flash.

Pray for God to increase your faith,
so that we faced with great challenges your faith
will be up to the task.
Peace.