Day 279: Matt 15:28 - 18:20

It's amazing throughout these passages the many references to faith that Jesus makes. There are so many out there who seem to think that having faith means following a certain formula or knowing some sort of secret that nobody else is aware of. Faith has nothing to do with formulas or secrets, but has everything to do with the deep unshakable belief that God will do what He said no matter what. Just like we saw the disciples attempt to cast a demon out of someone by emulating what they saw Jesus do on the outside, there are many believers out there praying certain prayers or doing certain things because they thing repeating the steps someone else followed will get them the blessing they need from God. We can follow every formula in the book, but if we don't have faith that God really will meet all of our needs, we may as well have not done anything. On the other side of the same coin, God isn't just sitting around waiting for us to have faith so He can just do all of the work for us. The Bible says that faith without works is dead. We must first have faith that God will do what He said, and then through that faith, we can act according to His Word and we will see the promises fulfilled in our lives.

- Lord, help me to be more of a man of faith. I know that Your Word says that faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. So I commit to listen to Your Word and get it deep down into my heart so that my faith will grow strong and I will see the fulfillment of all of Your promises in my life! -