Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

 Mark 9:14-29

 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24

This morning I am taking a short side trip from my study of John to look at Mark 9:14-29 in support of my Friday morning men's Bible study group. Here the text looks at Jesus' healing of a boy with an unclean spirit (whom the disciples could not heal). Here are my observations of the text using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: Jesus is once again sought by crowds as He has been teaching and performing miracles - including healing a deaf man, a blind man (chapter 7,8) and feeding the four thousand (chapter 8).  Here, Jesus is among a crowd after the Transfiguration (vv2-13) and a father seeks to heal his son whom the disciples were not able to heal (despite how Jesus sent them out in Mark 6:7-12 and gave them authority over the unclean spirits) - see vv17-18. Jesus rebuked the crowd generally (including the disciples and the father) for their lack of faith - v19.  Jesus then specifically rebukes the boy's father who was not fully convinced Jesus could heal his son - vv22-23.  Then, Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit and the boy is healed.  In response to the disciples who questioned Jesus why they could not heal the boy,  Jesus shares that "[t]his kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer" (v29).  It seems that Jesus wants His disciples to be clear that it is not their power that is doing these miracles but the Triune God who works through them.  Yes, Jesus did give the disciples authority over unclean spirits, but that does not make them God, and they remain 100% dependent on God - we are reminded of this and in why we need to pray.    
• What do we learn from the text about people?: This is humbling and v29 reminds us to pray and always act in utter dependence on Him.  Contrast the father of the boy with the disciples as the father "cries out "I believe, help my unbelief."  This is the kind of posture and prayer Jesus seeks from us - He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit but at the same time we must "pray ceaselessly" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God that heals and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am undeserving - there are many times where my faith is weak - please help me with my unbelief.  And my sin is great...daily.  Please forgive me for my sin and help me turn from and repent of my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

 

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18

Now that I have wrapped my my study of the last four books of the Old Testament (Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), I start anew using a book that I never completed but I am now going back to - an homage to my brother in Christ and mentor Warren Snyder, who introduced me to this book - The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 2: Reasons for our Study where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• "The world is filled with the inventions of human skill and genius, but there is a vast emptiness which neither science nor art is able to fill."
• Life is full of discontent in ourselves or in the world, and Jesus shares promises of rest, the bread and drink of Life, the Light of the World, peace, power, and joy (for example see Matthew 11:28, John 6:35, and 14:27).  "Bread and water, light and rest and peace and power and joy, are these not the seven elemental blessings which make human life complete? If this man promises to give us the things which the soul most desires, it is worth while to study his method and find out, if we can, how his proffered gifts can be most speedily obtained."
•  Jesus' "supreme concern is for the rightness of heart of the individual man. This moulder of empires gives himself to the task of moulding individual men. This arch revolutionist starts his conflagrations in the individual soul. He draws one man to him, infuses into him a new spirit, sends him after one brother man, who in time goes after a third man, and this third man after a fourth, and thus does he weld a chain by means of which Caesar shall be dragged from his throne."
• In transforming lives, Jesus does not care about the "nature or nurture" theory, where a man is in his station or how he got there. He uses other men to change the character of a man. "It is by the changing of the character of a man that we change the character of other men, and by changing the character of many men we change the character of institutions and ultimately of empires and civilizations. When Jesus says, " Behold I make all things new," he lays his hand on the heart of a man....He will introduce golden ages by giving individuals a character like his own." 
• "[T]here is no more effective worker for the world's redemption than the man or woman who in high or obscure places, strives, in season and out of season, to persuade men to conform their lives to the pattern presented to us in the character of Jesus; and no one is advancing so swiftly toward the golden age as the man or woman who by prayer and daily effort endeavors to build up in mind and spirit the virtues and graces of the Man of Galilee. Here then we find the supreme mission of the Christian clergyman: it is to help men to fall in love with the character of Jesus."
• Jesus is noted as "preeminently a man of prayer" and we are encouraged not just in our study of the Character of Jesus but at all times to be in prayer.  
  

It is on this last excerpt where I seek an anchor in scripture, looking specifically at text that emphasizes our need for prayer.  John Piper and DesiringGod.com provide a great pointer here.  In this short podcast, Piper unpacks 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 and answers the question how to pray without ceasing.  Piper shares first from the text that we focus on doing good in the face of evil (not focusing on revenge), and on doing good at all times, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. He shares that the context here is that we should be doing these things at all times and in all circumstances.  He then stresses that the key themes we see in the text include a "spirit of dependence that should permeate all that we do," we should pray repeatedly and often, and that we should never give up on prayer.  Amen!

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who is SO good, and good to me. Thank You for the incredible grace You already poured out for me on the cross and for the grace You continue to pour out daily for me.  I am not deserving of this grace.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.   Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

 Isaiah 36-39

It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” Isaiah 37:4

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I start Lesson 14, looking at Day 1, which focuses on an overview of Isaiah 36-39.  OverviewBible.com describes these chapters as "Isaiah’s ministry to Hezekiah." In Isaiah 36, we see King Sennacherib of Assyria mocking God and Judah, and Sennacherib invades Judah.  In Isaiah 37, left with no choice, Hezekiah goes to Isaiah and to God for help after several attempts at self-salvation. In Isaiah 37:4, Hezekiah sends a message to Isaiah, seeking prayer and for God to intercede on behalf of Judah.  Hezekiah is appropriate with his cautious (use of the word "may") approach to God, knowing that he has previously not gone to God and God may not be inclined to help such a stiff-necked people.  God DOES want us to cry out to Him with our cares and concerns, but at the same time, He does not want a "fair-weathered" approach in the sense that we ONLY go to God when we need something.  We should acknowledge God in all times - good and bad - and that everything good we experience is from Him and without Him we would cease to exist.  Instead of going to God periodically, we should go to God "without ceasing" - see John Piper on 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me and who provides for all of my needs - every day.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.