1.30.2007

See that mountain...I tossed it.

I am still Following my Rabbi and I am now on the last chapter of Mark before I start Luke on Thursday. I am loving it! Not only am I getting to see the teachings of our Lord, but it is also amazing to have those teachings repeated over in a different way with each book. Like the passage I am referencing in a second was in Matthew, but once I read it in Mark it seemed to jump out a little more.
So, normally I just have been going through and telling Wade what I learned that day from my gospel readings, but for some reason I read the following passage about a week ago and I can't get it off my mind. I have already described this passage to a couple of people and I feel like it is a good reminder to some others out there.
This is the passage:

Mark 11:12-14, 11:20-25
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."


Now I have two major thoughts about this verse.
1. In Christ, we have the power to do some mighty things. I think sometimes when we pray for something to happen we are afraid to ask for it with authority. I think this is a tricky subject because we do want to make sure it is God's will, but at some point you have to know that what you are asking is a holy request and through Christ we have power to make it happen. However, that being said I know I would still have doubt in my heart that I could toss a mountain so I must continue to exercise my faith.
2. Jesus added the little part at the end. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." I mean Jesus was talking about mountain tossing and then he goes back to forgiving others. This must be very important to our Lord and even if you are at a 10 on the faith scale, but have someone in your heart you haven't forgiven then you won't be able to do the mountain toss.

So, maybe this verse helped someone. I don't think I would ever need to actually hurl a mountain into the sea, but it does seem amazing to think that something I think is too big for me to do anything about can turn into something small with prayer. And that is only because of Jesus...NOT because of me.

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