Growing Our Faith

[JAGG]

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This morning I was reading The Red Sea Rules: 10 God-Given Strategies For Difficult Times by Robert J. Morgan and came across a short passage on faith building:

Here tis:

Says Morgan:
"Lord, increase our faith,
Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief"
I've often uttered these prayers, knowing that faith isn't something I can muster up at will; it must be given by God and developed according to the processes he has ordained.

He is, after all, a God who grows things.

Physically, each of us began life as a tiny speck. Its a marvelous cell, for all the characteristics of each person --- sex, eye color, shoe size, intelligence, and so forth --- are determined at fertilization by the baby's genetic code that resides in the forty-six human chromosomes in that one cell. We began microscopically, then grow. Faith is also a growing entity."
End the Morgan quote

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So? So our faith might grow.
Maybe we will find ourselves being more receptive to exercising more and more faith as the years roll along.

Back on faith:
I'm going to tell you a true story.
(I got from The Red Sea Rules)

There was once a father whose daughter (we will call her Mary) age 5, asked her father to build her a dollhouse. The father nodded and promised to build her one, then returned to reading his book. But glancing out the window, he saw Mary, arms crammed with dishes and dolls, making trip after trip until she had a large pile in the yard. He asked his wife what Mary was doing.
"Oh, you promised to build her a dollhouse, and she believes you. She's just getting ready for it."

Now with that story in mind, read this:

"People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them."
Mark 10

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"Have faith in God."__The Lord Jesus
Mark 11:22

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[Squeaky]

Faith --Increaseing It.
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 12:3
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Acts 8:20-22
20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!
21 "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Luke 17:5
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
Matt 7:2
2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Mark 4:24-25
24 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
25 "For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
3 Jn 1:2
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
James 1:22-26
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
Rom 10:8-10
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
John 14:24-26
24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 16:7-14
7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
(NKJ)

xxx Faith is a gift of God. But you can increase your faith. By finding the Holy Spirit and submitting to His teaching. Faith comes by hearing not reading. And the Holy Spirit only quotes new testament verses. But you have to read the verse first. And put it in your book of beliefs. Because the Holy Spirit can only quote the verses by bringing them to remembrance.

Weak Faith
John 20:24-28
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
(NKJ)

Strong Faith

Matt 8:6-10
6 saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."
7 And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."
8 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
9 "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
(NKJ)