The Word became Flesh

 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld His Glory, the Glory of the only begotten Son. " John 1:14

I suppose that this verse is the key verse in the entire Bible. JESUS is.present at the beginning as creator and now He enters the world as Savior. He returns to the world as the King. Merry Christmas.  

Some have thought that His coming meant that as a man, JESUS was no longer God. In fact, while in the world, He was limited in knowledge and power. He had to learn obedience like any son. But at no time did Christ cease to be fully God. That he was the ONLY begotten Son tells us that He alone is God, albeit clothed in human flesh. 

CHRIST in us is the hope of glory. We are like Him because He is in us, and we too learn obedience.  Indeed, greater things we do than He, as He has gone to the Father, and sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Unlike Jesus,  we are not God. But as He modeled a life wholly depending on the Father, we also are completely dependent on Him. We do what we  see Him doing. 

May this coming year our hearts be ever attuned to Him. May we do everything we see Him doing, and do nothing except that. 

Getting rid of unbelief

Matthew 17:19-21

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

To what was Jesus referring when he said, "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting". Heretofore, I had just assumed that He was referring to the demon. Like, man, this kind of devil is super tough. You want to cast him out? Put on your hard hat. Well, maybe not so much. 

Jesus tells them, "on account of your unbelief" they were not able to cast out the devil. The power of God in them is ALWAYS able to kick demons to the curb. There are no super demons that somehow avoid getting canned unless the right conditions are met. No. When Jesus tells them to go, they must scatter away like the rats that they are. 

So "this kind" is referring to the unbelief in the disciples' hearts, not the kind of devil they were dealing with. Get rid of an evil heart of unbelief, guys, and you will move mountains! This is a very personal word for me. So often, God tells me something, and my spirit resonates with it and bears witness. However, when I run it by my heart, there is doubt and unbelief. Why?

Dean Sherman, the YWAM teacher, once told me, "Start doubting your doubts". In other words, my doubts are not even my doubts, but arise from a stronghold of unbelief. When Jesus saved me, he saved every part of me. If there is unbelief, therefore, it is an imposter, a stronghold that stands up against belief and trust (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). What to do, then? Well, maybe fasting and prayer is a good idea? Methinks so. 

What is the source of Faith?

"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God"

Romans 10:17

Here's the mystery: 

Those to whom some of the greatest signs were shown, still failed in unbelief. The children of Israel walked through the Red Sea and then saw their enemies drowned. But when put to the test, they forgot what God had just done, and started complaining. So there is no connection between miracles and belief. Jesus said “Even if one rise from the dead, they will not believe “. He did rise from the dead, and sure enough, many did not believe. 

For me, belief in the existence of God is teleological: The end declares the means. However, even if one clears this hurdle and admits God must exist, that is not belief as the Bible defines it. This comes from hearing the Word of God and trusting Him.