Ivor Faith

 

In Hebrews Chapter 11 we read: To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. 

Or put another way to have faith is to believe when your common sense tells you not to.

These days we hear a lot about faith. In a noisy world with too many voices and perhaps few listening, everyone seems to have faith in something or someone. It could be faith in one's own ability, faith in a close relationship such as a spouse or a friend, faith in money, power, possessions, or faith in other beliefs like the universe and the stars and planets controlling our destiny.

It isn't the strength of our faith that matters, but the object of our faith.

In the book of Kings (Chapter 18 onwards) we read that whilst Elijah worshipped God, Ahab and his followers worshipped the false god Baal.

So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel. Elijah suggested that Baal's followers as well as he would offer a sacrifice to their respective God. He said, "let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the LORD, and the one who answers by sending fire--he is God."

The prophets of Baal took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, "Answer us, Baal!" and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came.

At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself." 

The LORD sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.

When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed, "The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!"

So, how does this relate to us many years later? Do we really need fire from Heaven to make us believe in the one true living Creator God? Or is our faith, as little as it may be, enough to make us believe without proof or understanding?

"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me." John 14:6

What Jesus said about ... (series)

 

 

 

What Jesus said about ... Faith.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17: 5-6

Faith is not a commodity you can buy at the supermarket. Pity, sometimes when my faith fails me I wish I could top it up with another portion which I could buy from the stores. But what is faith exactly? Is it a feeling? An emotion? Like happiness, joy, anger, jealousy and hatred? If it was a feeling then it would be something that everyone has. For example, everyone has feelings of anger, jealousy and hatred at one time or another but they learn to control these feelings before they do great damage. 

So, if faith is not a feeling, something that comes naturally, does this imply that we must do something to have faith? We "decide" to believe in something or someone? Do we need to take some sort of action in order to have faith? Is that it?

Or is faith a gift given by God. We have faith through God's grace. But if it were so, a gift from God, then are all those people who do not have faith to blame for their unbelief and scepticism? They could claim that God did not give them faith.

Often, when people are in great difficulties, they turn to God in prayer. Even people who do not believe in God do so. It is said there are no atheists in foxholes. In the heat of battle even the most unbelieving says a prayer. Here's a thought ... prayer is an act of faith. The very fact you are praying proves that you believe Someone is listening. Otherwise you'd be talking to yourself.

Maybe that's the answer to lack of faith, or to waning faith. To pray for it.

To have faith is to believe when your common sense tells you not to.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23

Faith

 

In Hebrews Chapter 11 we read: To have Faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

Or as someone put it: To have Faith is to believe when your common sense tells you not to.

There are a lot of people who believe in God. They have Faith in Him and they have proved, to themselves at least, that He exists.

These people’s beliefs grow stronger all the time, even when they face great difficulties and tribulations in life. I’ve know people who are very ill, or have endured enormous problems, yet their Faith in God remains forever strong.

How do they do it? What makes their Faith so unyielding even through the most difficult of times? Is it a special gift from God? Or is it of their own doing?

Other people, however, although they have Faith in God, yet, when faced with a problem or a difficulty they doubt whether He will hear their cries for help. They pray that God may help them out of their particular difficulty; or that He might heal them, but still, somehow, they feel frightened. Scared that He may not answer. That somehow their illness will not be healed or their problem will not be resolved. Their doubts get the better of them.

Do these people feature less positively in God’s sight? Is He disappointed that their Faith is weak? Does He forgive their wavering and doubting?

People aren’t all the same. Some are stronger than others. Some have more Faith than weaker ones who waver.

These people have not denied God. They believe in Him, yet they are not so sure whether He will help them right now or not. They are, after all, human. With human frailties, fears and doubts.

God understands that. Whether He answers their prayers or not, He understands why they waver and He does forgive them.

In Mark 9:24 The father of the sick boy was honest enough to say to Jesus: I do have Faith, but not enough. Help me to have more.

Jesus took pity on him and healed his son.

So too will He have pity on those amongst us whose Faith wavers from time to time.

The difficult questions

 

Every so often I like to ask myself some difficult questions. Then I answer them to myself. Then I think about my answers and wonder if I answered them correctly.

OK ... do you want to play? Let's share these questions that come to mind every now and then.

If you were to die today are you sure, 100%, that you will go to Heaven?

Why? Why are you sure, or not sure?

If you are sure you'll get to Heaven what makes you so certain? Don't come up with stock phrases like because God loves me, Jesus died for me, because I am a good Christian and so on. If God asks you, and He might, "Why do you want to come into Heaven?" what will you tell Him? No fibbing now; He knows what's on your mind, "Why do you want to come into Heaven?"

Difficult questions don't you think? Why do we want to go to Heaven? Is it because we're afraid of the other place? Saying that "we love God and Jesus" are superfluous meaningless answers. 

Is loving God and Jesus in itself enough to get us into Heaven?

Or should we do something else? How can we be good Christians? Is it by what we do? By good works?

Let's face it. There is nothing we can do that God needs from us. He will not be found wanting or lacking in any way if we do not do certain things. He is omnipotent, has always been in existence as a spirit, and all knowing Creator. He does not need anything from us. No amount of prayers, lit candles, flowers, good works or anything else will make Him greater, better, richer, happier than what He already is. He does not need us in that sense of us giving Him something in order to enter Heaven. 

Good works will not earn us brownie points and a star to get us in Heaven. But ... and this bit is important ...  if we are to live like Christ and to follow His example then we will do good works. Just like He did. Every time He met someone in need He stopped and treated that individual as an important person and spent time with him and responded to his needs.

Can we honestly say we do the same every time? Every time? How about that person you met the other day and did nothing to help?

See the subtle difference? Good works will not make us enter Heaven; but if we are to copy Christ's examples we will do good works. That's what will differentiate us between the sheep and the goats when Christ judges us.

And of course we need Faith. We need to believe because we believe in honest (best we can manage) Faith; not because we're afraid of going to the other place.  

Heaven is open for everyone. But no one goes to Heaven against their will. No one is forced there.

As for the other place, God does not send people there. They choose to go there by their behaviour, attitude, stubbornness, defiance and enmity of God.     

So there you have it. Difficult questions. Why should I be the only one struggling with them? Help me out with some answers because I think being a Christian is very difficult. 

Do you find being a Christian easy going?

Why do I believe?

 

Father Ignatius' parishioners were generally pious people trying their best in life for themselves and their families. It would be fair to say that they knew the "basics" of their Christianity, having been brought up as Catholics and attended the local Catholic schools, and that they rarely engaged in deep religious conversations; preferring to rely on the guidance of their priests whenever necessary.

Every now and then, however, the priest encountered someone who got in deep philosophical or theological discussion without meaning to. 

Margaret was such a case in question. She was a young, bubbly, always happy young student attending the local University. Father Ignatius visited there once a month, on a rota with other vicars from other denominations, to meet the students and to offer help or guidance when needed. One day, she walked into his room and asked politely if she could have a word. Father Ignatius recognised her from Sunday Mass and welcomed her with a cup of coffee and biscuits.

"Father," she hesitated, "you've known me for many years and I received First Communion and Confirmation at Saint Vincent Church."

He nodded and smiled, but said nothing.

"The thing is ..." she continued, "... this is confusing. The thing is, I don't know why I believe. You see, I believe in God, Jesus His Son, and all I've been taught about our faith. I believe all that. But then I ask myself, why do I believe all this? Do I believe it because it is my belief ... if you see what I mean. I believe it to be so. Or do I believe all that because I am afraid of the consequences if I do not believe?"

She stopped suddenly as if embarrassed by what she had said. He waited a moment or two. He was about to speak when she started again, almost repeating herself.

"Why do people believe in God?" she asked, "Is it because they believe, they know God exists? Or is it because they're afraid at what would happen to them if they don't believe?"

"That's a very deep and intelligent question," he replied calmly reassuring her.

She smiled. Inwardly relieved that she had not made a fool of herself.

"Let's take this one step at a time," the priest continued, "you did not choose God. God chose you. He knew you before you were born. He guided you throughout life, when and where you were born, your up-bringing, education and so on, and at some point in your life He tapped you on the shoulder and you came to believe. For some people this is a gradual process, for others it is sudden after an event. You came to believe.

"At some point in your life you knew God exists, and Jesus is His Saviour Son. Now ... some people keep this faith throughout life, and reinforce it in time, and others drift away and lose their faith altogether. I think everyone gets the opportunity to know God in their lives; and people respond differently. Some choose not to believe at all.

"In your case, as happens to many people ... you're not alone in this, Margaret, you are doubting your very motivation to believe. You're asking whether you believe out of fear."

He stopped to judge her reaction, and she nodded. He continued, "sometimes, perhaps more often than not, such fears, such doubts, are put in our minds by the devil to confuse us and derail us away from God. The closer to God we are the harder the devil works to tempt us away.

"Of course, it is right and proper to fear the consequences of not believing in God. But there's an important distinction here. We should not fear that the consequences are that we'll go to hell ... and hell exists for sure. We should fear that by not believing we are in fact hurting God. We are rejecting His love, His creation of us and the whole universe, the sacrifice of His only Son on the Cross. That's our real fear ... the fear of hurting God, not His eventual punishment.

"God does not punish us by sending us to hell. We choose to go there by our behaviour and by not believing. His wish is that we all join Him in Paradise. His offer is open to all of us, but we should RSVP His offer. No one goes to Heaven against their wish.

"Do you remember the parable of the King who invited guests to his son's wedding?"

She nodded again and said nothing.

"The King is meant to be God, and His Son getting married is Jesus; marrying His Church here on earth - this means everyone, you and I included. We are all invited to God's Kingdom, but many don't answer the call. It seems to me that you have. You're doing well, and this is upsetting the devil!"

She smiled and said, "Thank you, Father."

"Do you pray, Margaret?" he asked gently.

"Yes Father, every now and then ..."

He smiled and said, "when you pray, ask God to help you when you have such thoughts, and thank Him for all He has done for you and is doing for you now and in the future. By all means ask Him for anything you need in life; like a child asks his parents. But don't pray to change God's will, rather pray that He might change you into a better person.

"You'd be surprised how many people want to serve God in an advisory capacity!" he concluded with a smile.

She left with a great weight taken off her shoulders; whilst he prayed for her silently.

Proclaiming one's Faith

 

Look folks, I find it difficult writing these posts without sounding preachy, holier than thou, and often repetitive. This is predominantly a Christian Blog and from time to time I feel it necessary to write something about God' Good News. In effect, this Blog is an extension, or a sequel, to a radio program I used to present called "Time For Reflections".

The fact that it is sometimes repetitive is because there's only one message from God. And it is worth repeating. If I were to change it, or add my gloss on it, then it would not be God's Good News but something else totally wrong.

If you are honest with yourself, and look back on your life, there will be at least one event or situation where God intervened for the good in your life. Think about it. There's been an occasion or more where you made a decision, or something happened, that changed the course of your life. That's when God was there for you.

No matter who you are, whether you are a Christian or not, whether you believe in God or not; the reality is that He was there for you when you needed Him most; whether you realise it or not.

It is important to remember such events because they will sustain us in future when we meet with other obstacles which may challenge or dent our Faith. It is when we are tired and weak that the devil steps in to tempt us away from God and to derail our Faith in Him. These are the times to remember past events when He saved us from dire situations.

We've all had difficult times in life. I know I've had quite a few. As well as marking them as beacons of God's loving interventions we should also use them as an opportunity to proclaim His eternal love for us in our lives. Our witness may well be the trigger for someone else to be led to believe.

Faith

 

Hello everyone. There I was the other day visiting Father Ignatius at Saint Vincent parish house. In my imagination of course.

We were enjoying a cup of hot chocolate drink and ginger marmalade on toast. I know, you'll think that chocolate and ginger marmalade don't go together but in my imagination they do and they tasted quite nice.

There we were enjoying our breakfast; Father Donald was also there and Mrs. Davenport of course. And it suddenly occurred to me that I was in the midst of great intellect and simplicity at the same time.

The two priests are very well educated and Mrs. Davenport has a way of looking at things in the most innocent way, in her own way shall we say. You know, I shall never forget the day when a young pupil doing his science homework at parish house asked her "if a person is in a vacuum can you hear him speak?" And she replied, "well, it depends whether the vacuum is switched on at the time and how much dust is in the vacuum bag".

Well that's Mrs. Davenport for you. But this led me to think, how does God deal with great intellect and simplicity? Some people in this world are very learned and indeed very clever, whereas some others are not. Does God expect more from the clever ones?

Like in the parable of the servants and the talents. Does God expect more from those that have learned theology, that have learned religion, compared to those that have not? For example, how does God deal with the way we live our Christianity and the way we live our lives?

Some people, like our friend Mrs. Davenport for instance, would perhaps go to church, say her prayers and light her candle every now and then. Something which have done many times myself. Is that enough for God I wonder?

And how about our faith? Some people have much faith; much much more faith than others. In my life I have known people who have suffered great hardships, with many illnesses and disease, and some have been in great pain, yet their faith remains ever so strong. They're an example to us all and they make me feel ever so humble and ever so small, because I stumble at the very first hurdle and fall whenever things get difficult and whenever things get hard for me. And I fall quite often believe me.

How does God view my weakness in faith? How does God view the weakness of people's faith? 

Just like the disciples, I've asked Jesus many times “please give me more faith!”

I suppose He smiled and said, “you can't handle the little faith I have given you already.”

I supposed to me it's a great comfort to look at Saint Peter and see how often he too stumbled. You remember he tried to walk on water yet lost his faith and nearly drowned. And despite being with Jesus for three years, and witnessing His divinity on earth, he still denied Him three times, and God forgave him.

I hope when we all get to meet God and see Him face-to-face He'll be forgiving and loving towards those amongst us who have little faith and who fail time and time again and keep on trying.

Thank you very much for listening. God bless you.

NOTE: Fathers Ignatius and Donald, and Mrs Davenport, are characters in my books.

Can you have faith for someone else?

 

Can you have faith for someone else?

Let's say you know someone who has walked away from God, or has never known or believed in God. And you pray and pray for them. Can you have faith on their behalf?

Tricky one this. So let's analyse it carefully.

Yes, you can have faith on their behalf. This means you have faith in God that God loves them as one of His creations, and that He dearly desires that they return to Him and spend eternity with Him.

So, by having faith on their behalf, you are actually opening a channel through which God can respond to your prayers. God listens to you and is aware of your pleas on behalf of someone else. So your prayers are answered by God creating opportunities for that person to return to God.  

But this bit is important: God creates opportunities for that individual to return to Him in response to your prayers. But God never controls that individual. He never forces that individual to return to Him. God merely shows him the way. But the final decision to return to God or not rests with that individual.

Thus it follows that yes ... you can have faith on behalf of someone else. Your faith, (sincere belief), is that God will answer your prayer by calling your friend back into the fold. Remember Christ saying that He would leave the ninety-nine sheep in search for the one that is lost? So, God will call back that lost sheep, but He will never force him back.

It is worth repeating: Through your faith you pray for another person. God hears your prayers and responds by allowing/creating opportunities for that person to return to God, or find God in their lives. God does not force that person in any way. To do so would be forcing His will, (and yours), on that person. The person must always be free to make his own decision. Your prayers and your faith are a channel and a plea to God on this person's behalf.

In my ignorance

 

Lord, in my ignorance I trust you. In my innocence I trust you.

There is so much we do not know about God. We all have our own idea or imagination of Who or what God is. But in reality, we are so far off the mark in our knowledge or beliefs.

Some see God as an omnipotent all-powerful and an all-knowing living Deity Who has created all and everything and has always existed. That much is true.

Others see Him as a King Who begrudgingly tolerates us and punishes us if we step out of line.

Whereas others see Him as partially revealing His existence and power to only a few chosen learned souls whilst the rest of us are left fumbling in the darkness of our lack of knowledge.

In reality, there is much we do not know about God.

Jesus said to Thomas, "If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him." John 14:1-12

And then Jesus says to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father ... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?" 

What Jesus is trying to explain here is that God is a Spirit. Jesus too is a Spirit who has always existed. He did not begin to exist when He was born as a baby on earth. He always existed.

Jesus and God, and the Holy Spirit are one. The Holy Trinity. Jesus is explaining here that if you have seen Him, (the Spirit incarnate), then you have seen the Father.

The disciples do not understand this until Pentecost, when they receive the Holy Spirit.

Christ's disciples and followers were fortunate in that they saw Jesus in the flesh. They witnessed His power and heard Him describe God, His Father and ours, as a loving and caring God.

But many years later, we, us, living today, mostly have the Scriptures and faith on which to base our beliefs. A few, very fortunate ones amongst us, have indeed met and known God and His Son in very real terms. Not a figure of speech; but in reality.

But for most of us, we rely on pure faith and trust in our beliefs and knowledge of God.

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and said to Thomas, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29

Whenever we have doubts and confusion, our prayer should be, "Lord, in my ignorance I trust you. In my innocence I trust you."

Hope Faith Trust

 

So ... the last few weeks have not been well in more ways than one. It started early in March. Apart from health matters other totally unconnected things happened, not of our making, to add to our problems. The road ahead is still not clear.

When bad things happen, as they will sometimes do in our lives, it is important to remember that God is still in control. He allows bad things to happen. He does not make them happen. He allows them because it suits His purposes for us.

Some believe He is testing us. But what is the point of testing us if He already knows how we will react? I believe He allows things to happen so that we remember and we learn by the way we've reacted. Also, our way of reacting may well be a good example for others to emulate.

In our trials and tribulations it is important to have hope that God will see us through. He brought us to this situation for a purpose and He will see us through it.

Also, to maintain our faith in Him. To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1) 

And to trust Him. It is not enough to say to God that we trust Him. Or to convince ourselves that we trust Him. We should act as if we trust Him. Just like a child. He does not say to his parents that he trusts them. His very behaviour and instincts are proof of that.

Where there is Faith ...

 

Mark 9:16 onwards.

I recommend you read this Bible passage as it has a lot for us to learn. Here's a summary:

There was a man with a son possessed with an evil spirit. He said to Jesus, "I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit but they could not!"

The child was brought to Jesus and having explained about his condition since childhood the man said, "If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us!" 

"If You can?" echoed Jesus. "All things are possible to him who believes!"

To which the man responds the immortal words, "I do believe; help my unbelief!"

These words were spoken as a prayer for us. How often do we get into a situation where our faith falters and we're not sure what to believe any more? There is no shame in turning to God and saying honestly, "Help me God ... I don't know what to believe!"

Jesus was impressed by the man's honesty and He healed his son.

But the story does not end there. Later, the disciples asked Jesus, "Why could we not drive out the evil spirit?" 

Jesus answered, "This kind cannot come out, except by prayer."

I think what Jesus is teaching us here is true faith. We may pray and pray, but are our prayers accompanied by faith? Do we truly believe that God will answer them positively?

Whilst the disciples of Jesus could not at the time drive out the evil spirit, later on we learn that they too performed many miracles.

In the book of Acts Chapter 3 we read that as Peter and John went into the Temple to pray they met a man at The Beautiful Gate who had been lame all his life. The beggar expected money from the two apostles. Peter turned to him and said, ‘I don’t have silver or gold. But what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth get up and walk!’ and the man was healed.

The important thing to note here is that Peter said ‘in the name of Jesus Christ get up and walk.’

It is God, through Christ, who performs miracles and not the disciples or the apostles or any of us.

Later on in Acts 5 Verse 12 we read that many miracles were performed by the apostles. Sick people lay in the streets so that Peter’s shadow would fall upon them and heal them. And indeed many were healed.

Even today, miracles happen in the name of God through Christ.

All we have to do is believe in an unbelieving world.

Where's the limit?

 

Most good parents love their children very much and want the best for them. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have children and grand-children, and no matter how old they are you continue to love them and care for them and even worry about them. This says a lot about your character and what a good person you are.

But how far would you go for your children?

In my first book, VISIONS, (ISBN-13 ‏: ‎ 978-1536976076 - AMAZON US and AMAZON UK), there's a passage where a young boy is very ill in hospital and the doctors have given up hope of survival. The parents have prayed for days and weeks and there's been no improvements in the boy's health.

Here's what the father says, "When Luke was very ill I prayed and prayed for him to get better. For days, and weeks I prayed so much that I was tired of praying. I lit candles in church, made promises to God, but to no avail. Eventually I stopped praying and lost faith in God. My feelings towards Him turned to anger and resentment. I stopped taking Communion, then I stopped coming to church altogether. I didn’t stop believing in God. No, I believed in Him al-right, but I turned my back on Him. I thought He didn’t care about me any-more."

A situation which I hope few of us have encountered in real life. I know there have been times in my life where I wondered whether God had abandoned me ... or was it me who distanced myself from Him? 

Eventually ... somehow, I came back to God.

But in the case of the distraught father in my book, he decided on another plan of action.

"I was desperate … I turned my back on Him …” mumbled the child's father, "my behaviour has been awful … as Luke got no better and was near to death … that’s when I thought of selling my soul to the devil. I’d read a story somewhere that a man had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for a happy life full of riches. So I thought I’d do the same to save my son."

The ultimate act of love. He was willing to condemn his soul for eternity in exchange for his son's earthly life.

Now let me stress straight-away that I am in no way advocating such action. I will not reveal what happens next, you'll have to read the book to find out.

The point I am making is that there are times when we pray forever and seem to have no response from God. We could also either feel or be tempted to believe that He does not exist; or we think that He has abandoned us. Even Christ on the Cross believed that God had abandoned Him. (Matthew 27:46)

The reality is that God does not abandon us. We may wander away from Him, but He is always at hand, caring ... loving ... waiting for our return into His open arms.

Anyone Up There?

 

A man named Fred was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall.

He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff.

So Fred began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.

"HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? HELP!"

He yelled for hours, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice.

"Fred, Fred. Can you hear me?"

"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!"

"I can see you, Fred. Are you all right?"

"Yes, but . . . Who are you, and where are you?"

"I am the Lord, Fred. I'm everywhere."

"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"

"That's Me."

"God, please help me! I promise if You'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve You for the rest of my life."

"Easy on the promises, Fred. Let's just get you down from there; then we can talk. Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."

"I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."

"Okay. Let go of the branch."

"What?"

"I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go."

There was a long silence. Finally Fred yelled,

"HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"

Have you ever felt like Fred?

We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can't handle it. It sounds too scary, too difficult.

We decide to look elsewhere. When He says, "Let go of the things that stand between you and Me, and trust Me with your life. It sounds pretty scary, but when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His hands."

Author Unknown

Does your faith measure up?

 

One day, a synagogue leader named Jarius, pleaded with Jesus to come and heal his daughter. 

So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse. When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up through the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she kept saying, "If only I touch His garments, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. At once Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him. Turning to the crowd, He asked, "Who touched my garments?" His disciples answered, “You can see the crowd pressing in on You, and yet You ask, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” But He kept looking around to see who had done this. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him trembling in fear, and she told Him the whole truth. “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.” (Mark 5:24 onwards)

Let us consider the actions of this woman for a moment. She had been suffering from an illness that was getting worse for a long time. She had heard about Jesus. No doubt she heard stories about His miracles and His healing many people. 

She thought ... if only ... if only I could get close enough to Him and touch Hid garments, I know I'll be healed. I don't even have to ask Him. He is so powerful, so almighty, that just touching Him will heal me. Just touching Him. Compared to all the money I spent on doctors over the years ... just touching Him.

Can you imagine the level of faith she had? To know for certain that she will be healed by Jesus just by touching Him?

Do you have that much faith when you pray to God for healing, or for some favour? Do I have that much faith?

Are we sure in our prayers that they will be heard and answered by God? How does our faith compare to that of this woman?

Notice that Jesus says, "Daughter, your faith has healed you."

Often we read that when Jesus heals someone He mentions that their faith has healed them. Does He ever say that to us? "Your faith has made your prayers answered."

Notice also that Jesus calls her "Daughter". I don't think there's any other instance where He calls someone "Son" or "Daughter".

In this case, He is reminding her, and us, that we are all children of God.

Faith

 

Father Ignatius looked out of the window and heard the electrically-motorized milk van driving down the hill as it slowly approached the Parish House. The distinctive whirring of the battery operated motor, and the clinking of the glass milk bottles rattling against each other in their crates as the vehicle started and stopped every few yards, enhanced the musical dawn chorus as the sun woke up gently from its sleep.

Clink … clink … clink … sang the milk bottles as the birds chirped merrily amongst the trees greeting a new day. Clackety clack ... clackety clack ... clackety clack ... responded an old steam train in the distance as it danced past slowly on the metal rails.

The priest came down the stairs from his office and opened the front door just as Len, the milkman, put down two pints of milk on the doorstep and collected the empty bottles left there the previous night by Mrs Davenport, the housekeeper.

“Hello Len …” he said, “please do come in … I have a list somewhere of other items which Mrs Davenport asked for. I believe she wants an extra pint of milk, some cream, butter and cheese. Come sit in the kitchen whilst I find her list!”

The milkman sat down by the warm stove in the kitchen whilst the priest searched for the list prepared by his housekeeper.

“That’s an odd poster you have here …” said the milkman pointing at the wall, “To have Faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see … What does that mean exactly?”

“Well … it means what it says I suppose. To have Faith is to be sure that things will turn out exactly as you hope they will. To believe in something without seeing it …” replied Father Ignatius, “It’s from the Bible, Hebrews Chapter 11.”

“Yeh … I guessed that much. It’s still odd though” mumbled the milkman.

“What’s odd about it?”

“Well …” Len hesitated a little, “I’m not a religious man Father, a bit above my head all this religious stuff … but it is a little difficult to believe in something blind like … without proof … without seeing it with your eyes!”

“I agree … it is more than a little difficult. Very difficult I would say. That’s why they call it Faith." replied Father Ignatius handing Len the list.

“I believe in God … I haven’t seen Him of course … but I believe He exists. And in more ways than one I have proved it to myself, or He helped in proving it to me, that He exists all right.

“Now I can never prove His existence to you …”

“I would agree with that,” laughed Len.

“I could not prove it to you …” continued the priest gently, “but God could prove His existence to you … if only you’d be willing to take the first step … to dare to believe without any proof.”

“I can’t see myself doing that Father!” said Len reading the list prepared by Mrs Davenport.

“God asks us to trust Him … and He’ll do the rest” said Father Ignatius, “let me tell you a story … have you got a few minutes?”

The milkman nodded.

“There once was a very famous tight-rope walker. You know the kind …

“He’d walked across many rivers and ravines and canyons on a rope stretched between two points; and every time he attracted great crowds who came to see him. He was always successful, of course, and kept his balance despite the weather, the high winds and other difficulties which made his act both dangerous and exciting.

“And over the years he became very rich just by walking on a rope!

“One day he decided to retire. And for his last performance he decided to cross the Niagara Falls on a tight rope.

“Well … on the day in question the whole world and his uncle was there to witness the event.”

The milkman smiled.

“Before performing his walk the tight-rope walker picked up the microphone and thanked his audience for their support over the years.

“He then asked them … ‘Do you think I’ll be successful crossing the Niagara Falls?’

“The audience cheered enthusiastically and said ‘Yes …’ in unison. After all they’d witnessed his many walks over the years.

“So the tight-rope walker continued, ‘this time however it will be a bit different … I’ll walk across on this rope but I will also push a wheelbarrow in front of me … do you think I’ll be able to do this successfully across to the other side?’

“The audience shouted again ‘Yes …’ with one voice.

“OK, said the man … ‘I need a volunteer to sit in the wheelbarrow … who will come across with me?’

“Not surprisingly … nobody volunteered … the crowd remained silent. They had seen him perform his walks many times over the years … but not one of them had the courage to go across with him.”

The milkman looked at Father Ignatius rather puzzled.

“You see Len,” continued the priest, “they did not have Faith in him, even though they had seen him walk on a rope many times.

“And that’s what God asks of us … to have Faith, even without seeing for ourselves.

“To dare to trust Him without any proof. To dare to sit in the wheelbarrow and be carried by Him.

“A little difficult you think? I say it is … it is very difficult to trust and to believe without any proof whatsoever.

“It’s very difficult indeed to have Faith … but the rewards are really worth it!

“So it’s up to you … whether you want to sit in God’s wheelbarrow or not.”

As Len went to his milk van to fetch the items on Mrs Davenport’s list, Father Ignatius brought a small booklet of St Matthew’s Gospel from his office.

“Here Len …” said the priest, “have a read of this … I hope it sets you thinking. And when you finish it … I have another booklet for you if you wish!”

MORE FATHER IGNATIUS STORIES HERE