I am a fan of Paul and his writings not only does he have the wisdom given to him by the Holy Trinity but he always opens his letters with blessing to those that he is writing to with grace and peace. So I have adopted the same greeting to all of our readers.
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2 (NIV)
A couple of weeks ago I went to my new Texas non denominational church that I really enjoy attending. I chuckled to myself lightly as we entered the parking lot. Amongst the sea of trucks and SUV’s was one small lime colored VW beetle. Today’s sermon would be about the scripture below along with many other supporting scriptures that I did not add because I could not remember them all.
18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district. Matthew 9:18-26
To me this scripture describes people of great faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. A segment of that scripture seen below exemplifies that.
18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Matthew 9:18
A ruler of some country or kingdom approached Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and kneeled down before Him and asked that He would restore his daughter back to life. This is a perfect example of faith and trust. Here a person of authority, a ruler of people, kneels down and ask Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and ask to restore life to his daughter…impressive. Here is a man that has only heard of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and has great faith and great trust in Him to restore his daughters back to life and that all he needed to do was ask.
A woman, most likely not rich or of nobility, had such great faith and great trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior knew if she could just touch his garment she would be healed…and she was!
20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. Matthew 9:20-23
Here are two people of opposing ends of society’s spectrum that had such great faith and great trust in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior that he performed the miracles that they asked for. So when the bible says:
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
It becomes evident that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is teaching us that we should have faith because if we have faith then “nothing will be impossible for you.”.
Remember:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
God bless all that read this with His love, light, grace, mercy, and wisdom. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
P.S. My thanks for the wisdom and inspiration to Pastor Pete from the River Crossing Cowboy church.