Daily Devotional August 5 - What Are you Leaving On The Table?

"And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins have been forgiven thee."  Matthew 9:1-2

I want to talk about faith. There is so much to gain from the scripture. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy is whose faith was recognized. The men who were carrying the man with the palsy had faith that if they could get to Jesus, their friend would be healed. Jesus not only forgave the man with the palsy his sins, but he healed him and sent him home also.

This is one of many examples where we see a direct correlation between faith of man and action from Jesus. What is your faith capable of? I'm serious. What is your faith made of? Here's why I'm asking. If your faith is made of going to church and reading a little bit of Bible there, you faith is probably commensurate with your attendance. In today's society you need faith that can move mountains. You need faith that you can speak and the heavens move things. You need the kind of faith that can pray against terrorism and at the same time pray for the terrorist. You need the kind of faith that can do battle against the world. This world's system is designed to take everything you have and even more. You need faith to come against that mind-set and take back lost territory.

You need the kind of faith that can say to your neighbor:
"I pray in the name of Jesus that you will be healed."
"I pray that your financial situation will turn around."
"I pray that your daughter will call you and make amends."
"I pray that your son will come to Jesus."

You need the kind of faith that Jesus gives liberally to all who ask. If you don't ask you won't grow in faith. You can go to church until you die and stay stagnant if you haven't started a personal relationship with Jesus. Faith grows like a tree. The root needs to be watered. The trunk needs to be protected. The branches need to be pruned. The leaves need Son-light. The flowers need to blossom and the fruit needs to flourish and be picked and used.

Evaluate yourself. What is your faith made of? Could it be that you are leaving on the table much that could and should be yours? Learn to apply your faith and get results. God designed us this way. Having faith, and a lot of it, is the way of God for man. Don't find yourself under-faithed when you might really need a miracle. Get serious and let God fill you up. Then, you can take a few friends and someone you know who can't fend for themselves and take them to a Jesus meeting and let them down through the roof and have their sins forgiven.