‘The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”’ (Luke 17:5–6 ESV).
This passage comes right after Jesus tells the disciples to forgive someone who sins against them seven times in a single day and repents each time (Luke 17:3–4). Feeling the weight of that command, the apostles cry out, “Increase our faith!” They seem to believe that more faith is the solution to this difficult command.
But Jesus doesn’t respond by giving them more faith. Instead, He tells them that even faith as small as a mustard seed is powerful enough to uproot a deeply rooted tree and plant it in the sea—a vivid way of showing that it’s not the amount of faith that matters, but whether it’s real and rooted in God.
Forgiving someone repeatedly is one of those seemingly impossible tasks. Yet Jesus teaches that if our faith is real—even if it feels small—God can work through it to do what we cannot do ourselves.
Forgiveness doesn’t come easily to us, especially when we’re asked to extend it again and again. We often feel like we don’t have enough faith or strength to let go of the hurt or show mercy again.
But Jesus shifts our focus. The issue isn’t how much faith we have. It’s whether we’re willing to act on the faith God has already given us. When we trust Him, even with shaky hands and heavy hearts, He gives us the grace to do what seems beyond us.
We don’t need to wait until we feel ready to forgive. We can move forward, trusting God to help us release resentment and offer mercy. He will supply the strength we lack when we take Him at His word. Forgiveness is about faith, not our feelings.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we admit that forgiveness is hard. There are times when we feel like we can’t do it. But today we’re reminded that You are not asking for great faith, but just a little faith in a great God and in obeying Your Word. For we believe that You can do what we can’t. Help us act on the faith we already have. Teach us to forgive as You have forgiven us. May Your Spirit give us both the will and the power to obey. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31 ESV).
This was Abraham’s response to the rich man who while in torment in Hades begged for Lazarus to return to warn his brothers of the reality of heaven and hell. This dialogue was the conclusion to a story that Jesus told to illustrate the way people would refuse to believe in Him even after His resurrection.
The intellectual pride of the skeptic is not easily overcome. They may ask for more evidence, but refuse to be persuaded having heard it. It’s not for lack of evidence. It’s that they will not be “convinced.” Their resistance to the gospel is not so much intellectual as it is willful.
Believing in the resurrection of Jesus involves not only intellectual assent, but a submission of the will, so that we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead (See Romans 10:9). Because if Jesus is risen, then He is indeed Lord. It is that implication that human pride resists.
I have sometimes asked the skeptic, “If I could answer all your questions, would you believe?” The usual answer? “No.”
When witnessing to the one who always wants more evidence, pray that God would soften their prideful hearts, so that believing is possible.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we believe in the resurrected Jesus. By Your grace, You have given us the faith to believe. Thank You. Give us the wisdom of the Spirit to persuade others. And for those who refuse to believe, open their eyes that they might see and break their willful hearts that they might believe. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… but they did not consult the Lord” (Joshua 9:14 NLT).
The Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelite leaders and persuaded them to make a covenant with them. The leaders, fresh from a victory, examined the condition of the men’s clothes and food and believed their story. However, once again, they proceeded without counsel from God just as they had in their first encounter with Ai, which they lost miserably. They had a slow learning curve when it came to seeking counsel from God before making a decision.
We often have the same tendency. We cry out to God when we face an overwhelming challenge, but when something seems simple, we neglect godly counsel and act with human wisdom. I wonder how many disastrous decisions have been made by well-meaning people because they forgot to ask for God’s counsel? It’s the small decisions that often get us, making us say, “I got this.” When, in fact, we don’t.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are learning to bring everything to You in prayer. Forgive us when we act as if we are in control. We surrender every detail to You today. Help us to walk according to Your Spirit’s guidance and power. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Joshua, with all Israel bearing witness, called out, asking God to cause the sun and the moon to “stand still” until he defeated the Amorites. And the Lord answered his prayer. With our modern scientific knowledge, we understand the insane nature of Joshua’s request. Joshua didn’t know about gravity, the rotation of the earth, and the motion of the celestial bodies; therefore, he had no idea what a crazy request he had made. Yet, God lengthened the day as Joshua asked. From Joshua’s perspective, and from that of all Israel, the sun appeared to stand still.
Whether we try to interpret this as poetic expression, or attempt to explain the possible ways that God could’ve performed this miracle without breaking the solar system, one truth remains: Joshua’s God was a big God! Joshua actually believed that God could do anything. Joshua may not have known as much as we do about science, but he knew considerably more about God.
I doubt that we would even think to ask God to cause the sun to “stand still.” We try to make things easy on God. We don’t want Him to over-exert Himself. We ask for small things because we have a small view of God. But Joshua’s God was huge!
William Carey, known as the father of modern missions, once said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”
What does your prayer life say about your view of God?
PRAYER: Dear Father, You are God Almighty and we believe that all things are possible with You. Forgive us when we doubt Your power. Lord, we believe. Help us with our unbelief. Grow our faith that we might learn to pray kingdom come prayers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This was Abraham’s response to the rich man who while in torment in Hades begged for Lazarus to return to warn his brothers of the reality of heaven and hell. This dialogue was the conclusion to a story that Jesus told to illustrate the way people would refuse to believe in Him even after His resurrection.
The intellectual pride of the skeptic is not easily overcome. They may ask for more evidence, but refuse to be persuaded having heard it. It’s not for lack of evidence. It’s that they “will not be persuaded.” Their resistance to the gospel is not so much intellectual as it is willful.
Believing in the resurrection of Jesus involves not only intellectual assent, but a submission of the will, so that we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead (See Romans 10:9). Because if Jesus is risen, then He is indeed Lord. It is that implication that human pride resists.
I have sometimes asked the skeptic, “If I could answer all your questions, would you believe?” The usual answer? “No.”
When witnessing to the one who always wants more evidence, pray that God would soften their prideful hearts, so that believing is possible.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we believe in the resurrected Jesus. By Your grace, You have given us the faith to believe. Thank You. Give us the wisdom of the Spirit to persuade others. And for those who refuse to believe, open their eyes that they might see and break their willful hearts that they might believe. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelite leaders and persuaded them to make a covenant with them. The leaders, fresh from a victory, examined the condition of the men’s clothes and food and believed their story. However, once again, they proceeded without counsel from God just as they had in their first encounter with Ai, which they lost miserably. They had a slow learning curve when it came to seeking counsel from God before making a decision. We often have the same tendency. We cry out to God when we face an overwhelming challenge, but when something seems simple, we neglect godly counsel and act with human wisdom. I wonder how many disastrous decisions have been made by well-meaning people because they forgot to ask for God’s counsel? It’s the small decisions that often get us, making us say, “I got this.” When, in fact, we don’t.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are learning to bring everything to You in prayer. Forgive us when we act as if we are in control. We surrender every detail to You today. Help us to walk according to Your Spirit’s guidance and power. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Jesus told a story concerning the eternal destiny of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Some call this a parable, but it is no parable. A parable, according to the dictionary, “is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.” The Greek word, päräbolā’ (παραβολῇ ), literally means “to throw beside.” So, a parable is a simple story that “throws” or points to a deeper, spiritual truth. The rich man and Lazarus story does not follow this pattern. It begins and ends as a spiritual story that pulls back the curtain on our future eternal destiny and the importance of choosing to follow Jesus in this life.
So, it is not a parable. And it clearly shows that there is no purgatory. Those who believe in purgatory see it as “an intermediate state after physical death in which some of those ultimately destined for heaven must first undergo purification” (Wikipedia). Yet, Christ’s account of the afterlife shows this doctrine to be false. He says that there is a “great chasm” of separation between heaven and hades. There is no going back and forth between them. There is no second chance after death. What we choose to believe in this life, will determine our eternal destiny in the next.
Joshua, with all Israel bearing witness, called out to God that He would cause the sun and the moon to “stand still.” And the Lord answered his prayer. With our modern scientific knowledge, we understand the insane nature of Joshua’s request. Joshua didn’t know about gravity, the rotation of the earth, and the exact motion of the celestial bodies; therefore, he had no idea what a crazy request he had made. Yet, God lengthened the day as Joshua asked. From Joshua’s perspective, and from that of all Israel, the sun appeared to stand still.
Whether we try to interpret this as poetic expression, or attempt to explain the possible ways that God could’ve performed this miracle without breaking the solar system, one truth remains: Joshua’s God was a big God! Joshua actually believed that God could do anything. Joshua may not have known as much as we do about science, but he knew considerably more about God.
I doubt that we would even think to ask God to cause the sun to “stand still.” We try to make things easy on God. We don’t want Him to over-exert Himself. We ask for small things because we have a small God. But Joshua’s God was huge!
You can tell the size of your God by the size of your prayers.
The Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelite leaders and persuaded them to make a covenant with them. The leaders, fresh from a victory, examined the condition of the men’s clothes and food and believed their story. However, once again, they proceeded without counsel from God just as they had in their first encounter with Ai, which they lost miserably. They had a slow learning curve when it came to seeking counsel from God before making a decision. We often have the same tendency. We cry out to God when we face an overwhelming challenge, but when something seems simple, we neglect godly counsel and act with human wisdom. I wonder how many disastrous decisions have been made by well-meaning people because they forgot to ask for God’s counsel? It’s the small decisions that often get us, making us say, “I got this.” When, in fact, we don’t.
This was Abraham’s response to the rich man who while in torment in Hades begged for Lazarus to return to warn his brothers of the reality of heaven and hell. This dialogue was the conclusion to a story that Jesus told to illustrate the way people would continue to doubt Him even after His resurrection. The intellectual pride of the skeptic cannot be overcome with persuasion or evidence. The agnostic’s resistance to the gospel is not so much intellectual as it is willful. It’s not that they “can’t” listen to the evidence. It’s that they “won’t listen.” Believing in the resurrection of Jesus involves not only intellectual assent but a submission of the will, so that we confess Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).