Just Believe – Good Fruit
Good Fruit
Just believe sounds so simple doesn’t it but working it out for maybe you, as well as me, is at times not so simple.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believesin me will do the works I have been doing,and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.John 14:11-12
Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will do even greater things but what if the big miracles of Jesus seem out of reach to us? There are ordinary every day things that can be greater than the big miracles.
Defend the cause of the oppressed
21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”Mark 5:21-34
Good work is in the slow, in the edges. Will we believe Jesus and open our eyes, get messy and see people made whole?
Speak hope
Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” John 11:43
We are called to call out life in others just like Jesus did. We are called to do this where we’re at and where we’re going. We need to speak hope – it’s going to be ok because God is on the throne
Welcome others
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”Luke 15:2
Food is so important to Jesus, he shares many meals with his followers and sinners. Our theology is best expressed in our hospitality. We need to open our arms and extend our tables
Do I believe that God can work through us in the big miracles, the healings, the blind seeing? Yes and amen! But I also believe that if I believe in JESUS the good things He did, I can do – I can see those who need me, I can speak hope and I can welcome others.
So what one way are you going to live this out this week? Just Believe in Jesus
