FAITH moves mountains...

Dear family,

What do we believe in? Honestly. Where do we give our trust? Do we trust in social security for our retirements? Do we believe, honestly believe, that our bank accounts will be strong, secure, and sufficient to supply and meet our needs when all hell breaks loose? Do we have faith in our government, our military, our families? Maybe we trust our health will be good? I dont know. But i do wonder, what do we believe in?

Do we believe Jesus when He says, "Whatever you ask for in my name; it shall be given to you?" Do we take Jesus at His word when he says, "Where two or more are gathered, in my name, i am with you?" And do we hold to Jesus' promise to "always be with you, even to the end of the age?" I ask these questions, because at the core of this weeks text, Matthew 9 second half, are stories about faith. Not the kind of faith that says, "I believe Jesus is the Savior." But. "I trust Jesus to heal my sickness, meet my every need, and guide my steps." The faith found in Matthew 9 moves mountains.

But what do we believe?

Can those outside the walls of our church accuse us of trusting Jesus to meet our needs? Balance our budget? Use us to build His Kingdom? The questions of faith are profound and deep ones, and i wonder, i have to wonder, what truly motivates us. If we are a people of faith, does our budget reflect that faith? If we are a people of faith, does our worship, our ministries, our outreach, and our educational efforts illumine that faith? If not, why not. If so, where is the fruit?

The question was raised, at Tuesday's Leadership Team meeting, are we seeing the fruit (im paraphrasing the question)? Are we experiencing the fruit of God's blessings? The overwhelming sentiment was, whether spoken or unspoken, no. No we are not experiencing the fruits of God's blessings. Which raises the question why not?

Why arent we experiencing the fruit? Faith moves mountains, and as we glean from the biblical narrative, that is a powerful truth of all who live lives of faith. Faith moves mountains. Faith grows. Faith matures. Faith evolves. Faith heals. Faith strengthens. And faith refuses to stay put; faith goes into the world making it better, more Godly, more whole. When faith communities have lived this, statistics prove that fruit becomes their byproduct.

If we have no fruit, are we living lives of faith? Are we honoring Jesus? Are we proving Him to be true? Faith moves mountains. We have plenty of mountains standing before us; we can't get over them, we cant move them, and we cant ignore them. What do we do about them? We trust in the power of Jesus to guide, direct, motivate, and move that which impedes our narrative. Faith moves mountains. Unfaith builds them. Amen.

Shalom,
jerry