Mark 9:14-29

Christ and the Demon Possessed Boy

15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.

16 And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"

17 And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;

18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."

19 And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"

20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.

21 And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.

22 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"

23 And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."

24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."

26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.

28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?"

29 And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer."

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This is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change the way that we think, and the way that we live.

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Commentary by Bob Pardue

Anything is Possible

When Jesus made this statement, you can almost hear His patience dwindling, as the father said those words; "if you can".

 

It was never a question of Christ being able to do something but throughout His ministry He performed many miracles - all because of the faith of the people. In many cases, a very small amount of faith.

Only Believe

I have heard these words uttered many times in church but I, just like many others, have always had a struggle with faith. When times are to the point of "no hope", and I don't even know what to pray for, God takes up where my faith leaves off and gives exactly what I need.

What We Want - What We Need

Notice, I didn't say that God gives us everything we want. He is not our personal banker who has a vault that opens every time we are short of cash. But, God does give us everything we need, when we need it, as He sees fit.

He knows exactly what is best for us so, next time you pray and it seems that God is not answering, or not answering in the way you thought He should, you may be right.

He has His own understanding of what is good for us and what is not. A true display of faith is when we turn it all over to God and let Him work in our lives, in His own way. Easier said than done but we can't second guess God's plan for us and how the answers to prayer will effect other people.

How Much Faith is Enough?

My "faith factor", on a scale of 1-10, ranges between 2 and 7. Pitiful, isn't it? Yes, I many times have faith the size of the mustard seed but pray that God will help me to improve. What's your faith number?

Love in Christ

- Bob

Mark 8:14-21 - Jesus Warns against Wrong Teaching