Thoughts for Life: #49 You Can Give the Command of Faith

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- You need not be a supersaint to give the command of faith. Even new Christians may be empowered to perform miracles in the name of Jesus.

I have known of new believers in India who had never seen a demonstration of Jesus' power suddenly capable of casting out demons. In a cottage prayer meeting held by one of our new church groups, when no pastor or missionary was able to be present, a Hindu neighbor heard them singing and came to the door. (Google Image, Pray boldly )

"We have visitors from out in the district," he said, " and they have a demon-possessed woman with them. Can you do anything to help us?" "Bring her in," the Christians replied instantly. "Our Jesus casts out demons."

The demon-possessed woman was brought in, the new believers cast out the demon in Jesus' name, and the Hindu group left. A month later a messenger arrived from the Hindu village about sixty miles away, requesting that the Christians send someone to teach them.

"We have never heard of a God with power like this," they said. Our evangelists responded, and many were won to Christ because of the evidence they had seen with their own eyes. On one day more that eighty new believers were baptized. I had the personal joy of dedicating the mud-walled church building that they erected for worship.

F. J. Huegel in his splendid book, The Enthroned Christian, tells of a christian boy, the son of a national pastor, who in the absence of his father cast out a demon from a person who was brought for help.

He explained he had seen his father do it, so he knew how. The demons had to obey the command of even a Christian child when he commanded in the name and authority of Jesus.

Don't let the devil convince you that you have no power or right to use the God-ordained command of faith. Huegel goes so far as to suggest that Christ's teaching on the command of faith is so clear that it should hold the same place in the life of the ordinary believer as prayer!

(Chapter 15, pp. 114-115, italics added for emphasis)

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Let's pray-

"Dear Lord, thank You for being near to me. God, thank you that when I call upon You, You hear me. Please help me wait on You and trust You even when Your answer may not be what I wanted or felt I needed. Cause me to trust You more, Lord, and be willing to draw nearer to You, both when things are hard and when life is good.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen" Elisa Pulliam

Today's Bible verses-

1 Peter 5:9 b-11 (MSG) “You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (MSG) “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”

Today's words of wisdom-

~ It seems that later on, we notice that Jesus' hand was with us as we went through some tough situation; He actually walked us through our fears. May we trust Him, like Peter, who walked on water. When he doubted and became fearful, Jesus reached out and helped him to continue to walk on top of the water. May we press through our fears, and hold onto Jesus' hand too!

Today's quote:

~ Max Lucado- "God sends his best troops to oversee your life. Imagine the president assigning his Secret Service to protect you, telling his agents to motorcade your car through traffic and safeguard you through crowds. How would you sleep if you knew D.C.’s finest guarded your door? How will you sleep knowing heaven’s finest are doing just that? You are not alone. Receive God’s lordship over your life. Heaven’s many, mighty angels watch over you."

From Come Thirsty

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#38 An Energized Intercessor

Samuel Chadwick: Have you ever heard of "Praying Hyde"? The fact that John Hyde came by the universal accord of his intimates to be called "Praying Hyde" dates back to the day when he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.