Mark 11:20-26 -The Withered Fig Tree

Scripture

²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Observation

I don’t want to talk about the fig tree at all, except that it is the lead-in to Jesus’ talk to the disciples about faith (they are somewhat amazed by the fact that the tree he cursed yesterday has now withered, and he simply says that faith in God can change massive situations). But what I noticed is the tense of the verb ‘receive’ in v24. We are to pray as if the deed we need to see done has already been done, and believe that that is the case – and Jesus says it will be done.

Application

I seem to need constant reminders of things like this. I often pray along the lines of “if it’s your will, God…” without necessarily claiming something in prayer that I really want to see done. I know that God knows the desires of our hearts before we verbalize them, and that his will is paramount, no matter what we pray for, but he likes to hear determination and true faith in our prayers, and releases the blessings of heaven when faith is revealed. Faith is the thing that brought miraculous healing to so many around Jesus, so we can trust him when he tells us to have faith!

Prayer

Lord, increase my faith to pray honestly, diligently and perseveringly about the things I want to see you do, and the difficult situations I want to see you changing. I trust you Father God, and want to know you better. Amen.

 

Genesis 22: Abraham & Isaac

Scripture

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

Observation

Quite a few things to say here, and a few questions. Firstly, Abraham is well known for this story as a demonstration of his faith. He had already been promised descendants that would be uncountable, and he and Sarah were both very old by the time Isaac was born. Isaac was their hope for this promise to be fulfilled, and yet he does what God asks him to within 24 hours and is willing to give up that hope if that’s what God tells him to do. And this scene that I have picked out in verse 9, must have been heartbreakingly painful. Isaac must have been crying, asking his Dad why, and Abraham carries on tying him and getting  ready to kill him, presumably crying all the time too. I certainly would have been. And why does God ask him to do this? Because as he’s God, he already knows how much faith Abraham has and what the outcome is going to be.

Application

I confess, I don’t really have a great answer to this question. My guess is to show Abraham how much faith he has himself, so that in the future when God asks him to do hard things he knows that he was willing to go through with this, and God provided, so why not trust God again. And also, it gives us a picture of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus, who dies in our place, as the ram dies in Isaac’s place. And despite all that, I still read this and ask myself, ‘Could I do that?’ Could I have that much faith and trust in God? Thankfully, he has never asked me to do something like that, but my answer at the moment is, ‘I’m not sure.’ And yet I know God’s provision in my life; even in the last 6 months I have seen him come through for me with work, with money, and both just at the right time. But I do wonder. Hmm, this isn’t the kind of thing I would usually write in the Application section, but it’s going to have to do.

Prayer

Father, thank you for your provision in all sorts of situations. Thank you that you have never asked me to sacrifice one of my own children for you! Please help me to trust and have faith in you, no matter what you ask of me, and to believe that you are all I need. Amen

 

Matthew 25-26

Scripture:

Matt 25:20-25

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”

 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”
      Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”

Observation

What was going through Judas’ mind in these days and hours? This is what I kept asking myself while reading this chapter, and this passage in particular. Before this, Judas had gone to the chief priests, just after the disciples get all angry over the waste of perfume that Jesus refers to as a beautiful thing. It’s interesting to see those two events side-by-side, as if the one had led to the other in some capacity. Was Judas becoming convinced that he had ended up following a madman? Secondly, it is interesting to note the change of language used by Judas in the passage quoted above. He refers to Jesus as ‘Rabbi’, whereas the others call him ‘Lord’. So can we derive from this that Judas respected Jesus as a teacher, but was no longer sure that he was the Messiah (if he ever had been sure of that), and so his claims of being God’s Son were blasphemous and he needed to be got rid of. It’s possible.

Application

So Judas lost faith in Jesus. Not an uncommon part of Christian life, whether we like it or not. And if our faith wanes, or we lose it completely, we have choices to make, just as Judas did. Do we carry on pretending to keep people happy, but feel an inauthentic fraud, as maybe Judas had done for some time? Do we just get out, probably hurting others along the way but not perpetuating a lie. Or do we hold on, trusting that God will reveal himself at some point in the future, and trusting that the experience of our past and the history of others is a true representation of God’s faithfulness. This, for me, is true faith – holding on and trusting when it seems like madness to do so, when all the evidence is against you, still believing that God is good and real and active and loving.

Prayer

 God, you know how personal what’s in this post has become. Please do something. I love you and I trust you!

 

1 Corinthians 11-12

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 11-12

Selected verses: “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. … In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”

Observation:

Between and around these verses Paul presents some seemingly antiquated and almost certainly culture-specific teaching about long and short hair, and covering or not covering the head for men and women. But the frame and the context in the passage is the understanding that whether male or female, we all ultimately depend on God entirely, and need to seek to follow His directions. Paul’s hierarchy is clear: God – Christ – man – woman, which presents a challenge to both men and women. How do we find our place in that chain in the most appropriate way, following God’s ultimate direction as embodied in the person above us in the chain?

Application:

For me, seeking to hear God’s voice and follow His will as a husband and father is not easy, especially when the wife I love is coming to trust less and less in the truth of God. I certainly haven’t lived up to that call faultlessly in the past, but I am absolutely committed to doing God’s will to the best of my ability. Knowing what it is would be a good place to start, and when we ‘see in part’, we have to go on our faith in Him on that score too.

Prayer:

Father, help me to seek your will more regularly for myself and my family, and increase my faith, Lord.