Unbelief – Guest Post

 

Today’s guest is from my friend Bill Grandi, Bill is the Lead Pastor of Owen Valley Christian Fellowship and fellow blogger at Cycleguy’s Spin. Bill is one passionate about God brother and I believe you will be bless by visiting his blog often. Enjoy his thoughts here today and please leave feedback for Bill.
Bless ya! – Jay

toughprayer

UNBELIEF

When Jay asked me to guest post, he left it open-ended. My first thought was “Sure. I can do that, but on what?” Well, I cannot tell a lie. This post was inspired by another I read recently at http://eileenknowles.com/90-trust/

It got me thinking about one of my favorite “Jesus-encounters” in the Bible. It happened after the mountain top event of the Transfiguration. Jesus and the three (Peter, James & John) come down from the mountain only to be greeted by a man distraught over the disciples’ inability to cast the demon out of his son. (You can find the story in Mark 9:14-29). The part that intrigues me is the conversation Jesus has with the father. After a question from Jesus on the duration of this problem, the father says, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus then tells the father, “If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” The father then states some words that have intrigued me for quite some time: “I believe; help my unbelief!” Then, of course, Jesus does His thing and casts the demon out of the son.

I have no trouble with Jesus’ words. In fact, I cling to them more than I can say. It is the father’s words that I have stewed over. “I believe; help my unbelief!” How can he say he believes when at the same time he asks Jesus to help his unbelief? I may be wrong in this, but here is how I have come to understand it. Let’s say we use a ruler to measure our faith; and let’s say that faith measures 5 out of 10. Could it be the father was saying, “I have faith that would put me at five. But I want a complete faith (a 10). Help my five-faith become a ten-faith.” He brings what little faith he has and gives it to Jesus, admitting an incomplete faith. Jesus takes what little faith he offers and makes it greater.

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have come to God with a Number 5 faith (sometimes even lower or higher), and watched God “grow” my faith into a more complete one. He has graciously taken what little I have to offer and honored His promise.

Have you ever had that experience? How have you understood that Scripture? I would like to hear your thoughts.

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Comments

Arny said…
I like these thoughts bill...really insightful!
To me...
I think the father meant...i believe...but maybe a small part of me is doubting...
To me...
Jesus is teaching us that maybe even having the faith of 1/2 a mustard seed is enough!!!!
it was jesus saying...even though you may have doubted just a little bit...YOU CAME TO ME!!!
you didn't stay home and cry about it...
YOU GOT UP AND WALKED OVER TO ME...
that showed me enough faith you have...even with a little doubt...
YOU CAME...
bill (cycleguy) said…
 i appreciate your thoughts Arny.  I like what you say about not staying home but coming to Him.  Thanks for the comment.
floyd said…
I don't know anyone who is completely honest that can't relate to this. So often, even while in the middle of God's miracle begin to doubt. We all have the weakness of the flesh, our senses betray us. We take what we can see, touch, smell, hear, and reason, based on what the world believes that we begin to squeeze out the very Power of God that sustains life. It's crazy, but it's reality. 

One of my favorite verses that Jesus quoted along the same lines is, (partial) "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"... That wraps it up pretty well huh? 

Thanks Bill, and thanks Jay, you two are like a one-two punch.
bill (cycleguy) said…
 Going to try to reply again Arny. I like what you wrote about he didn't stay home but walked to Jesus.  So crucial.
bill (cycleguy) said…
 Thanks Floyd for the compliment considering me in Jay's ballpark. I like your reference to Jesus' statement. 
Lindamew said…
Hi Bill,
I've wondered over this response from the boy's father when I come across it in my reading too.  It's just a thought that I have when I read Mark 9 today that the father might be saying 'I believe that you are from God, but I'm struggling with unbelief about whether my son can be set free from this evil spirit'.  Help me to believe it can happen right here and now!' 

I've heard of stories in the past of believers who can believe (or have faith) for some matters but struggle with unbelief for something else that is occuring in their own lives.   If this is so, then we should be able to find a couple of examples of this shown in the scriptures.  Right now I can't think of any possible example, other than perhaps the prophets who did astounding things during their lives and then died of a sickness or something like that. 
See you back at your blogsite tomorrow.




 
Eileen said…
Glad it inspired you, Bill.  You words definitely resonate with me.  I've often come to Him with level 5 faith too and, like you said, when we simply become willing to bring this little faith to Him, he does amazing things.  He moves mountains with our mustard seed!!
Trek23rider said…
 Thanks for your thoughts Linda.  It is possible the father was expressing those thoughts. 
Trek23rider said…
 Your post was a good one Eileen.  I am glad I read it.  I like the moves mountains picture.
Awesome thoughts, my friend.  I agree with your interpretation.  It also tells me that wrestling with unbelief is something we can be open about with God. It tells me it's okay to pray, "God, I trust you in this... but there's a side of me that doesn't, and I need your help!"
Jay Cookingham said…
Hello everybody! For some strange reason, some of Bill's comments have not been coming through. So I will copy and paste from email and comment from me but it will be Bill's "voice" you "hear". Bless you all! - Jay
Jay Cookingham said…
From Bill...

Thanks Floyd for the compliment considering me in Jay's ballpark. I like your reference to Jesus' statement.
Jay Cookingham said…
From Bill...

I like what you wrote about he didn't stay home but walked to Jesus. So crucial.
Jim F. said…
This song kept running through my head as I read the post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5J6eFCb2LA 
Trek23rider said…
 That is a good way to put it Stephen.  Thanks for the affirmation.
Dan Black said…
Faith is such an important aspect to living as a Christian. I always pray god would increase my faith. I often pray “I believe; help my unbelief!” Great post and thoughts. 
Tom said…
Thank you Bill, one of my favorite verses as well that is so reassuring. I always feel that this is true honesty. There is freedom and reliance in confessing we do not possess, even belief in Him, without Him. Blessings!
Trek23rider said…
 Thanks Dan.  May your faith be increased.
Trek23rider said…
 Honesty is so important Tom when it comes to belief.  Thanks.
Michael Kimball said…
I think you're right on track, Bill. We come to God with what faith we have and He is pleased that we have come, our steps have taken us in the only direction in which help may be found, our Father. Our belief has brought us near although our battle with doubts may yet be well underway. It depends, as you point out, on the particular matter at hand. We not only seek Father's answer to our petition, we seek the strengthening of our confidence in Him, our right knowing of Him, help against our unbelief so that we might draw ever closer and closer to the God and Father of us all.
jasonS said…
I have had the same thoughts about it, Bill. Faith and unbelief seem to be mixed and competing so many times. I wish I could say I was to a 5 but many times I feel so far below, but the amazing thing is that when we call on Him, He makes the difference no matter how great it is. He is so good! Thanks Bill.
Andreasratih said…
Icuk
Sugiarto dukung Tommy jadi juara dunia

Berita terbaru dan terkini Bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11
-
Permainan Tommy Sugiarto saat Kejuaraan Dunia Bulu tangkis di China beberapa
lalu tidak luput dari pengamatan sang ayah, Icuk Sugiarto.

Icuk, yang juga legenda bulu tangkis Indonesia menilai Tommy harus berusaha
lebih keras agar bisa mengimbangi pesaingnya seperti Lin Dan dan Lee Chong Wei.

"Tidak ada juara yang tidak melalui proses. Jujur kalau tidak berlatih
keras secara mental dan fisik, tidak akan bisa mengalahkan Lin Dan dan Chong
Wei," ujar Icuk saat ditemui di Senayan, Senin (19/8/2013).

Pada kejuaraan dunia lalu, Tommy memang harus mengakui keunggulan Lee Chong Wei
di babak perempat final. Tommy langsung kalah dua set.

Icuk pun mengaku akan terus mendukung perjuangan Tommy. Dia berharap, Tommy
bisa lebih baik dari dirinya.

"Saya harap Tommy bisa meraih medali emas nanti di Olimpiade 2016 dan
memenuhi harapan PBSI," tuturnya.





Sumber : http://www.indo11.com/
Rima Mar said…
Lazio
dibuat tak berdaya Si Nyonya Tua

Berita terbaru dan terkini Bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11
-Piala
Super Italia antara Juventus dan Lazio berlangsung di Stadio Olimpico - Roma,
Senin 19/8/2013, skor 4-0 berhasil ditorehkan klub berjuluk Si Nyonya Tua atas
Lazio. Bahkan Tiga gol tercipta dalam kurun waktu yang berdekatan.

Memasuki laga awal, Due peluang emas langsung didapat kedua tim, sepaka
Ledesma ditangkap Buffon, serangan balik cepat Juventus. Sayang eksekusi akhir
Vucinic masih melambung di atas mistar.

Juventus berupaya untuk memgendalikan permainan dengan memainkan bola dari kaki
ke kaki. Lazio beberapa kali mengancam pertahanan Juventus melalui kedua
sayap mereka, hanya saja pertahanan Bianconeri tampil disiplin di awal laga
ini.

Barulah di menit 23, Juventus membuka keunggulan! Berawal set piece bola
mati, bola liar di dalam kotak penalti berhasil dimaksimalkan oleh Pogba untuk
membobol gawang Marchetti. skor tersebut tak berubah hingga laga usai.

Pada laga kedua, Juventus semakin menggempur jantung pertahanan Lazio. Menit
52, Giorgio Chiellini menggandakan keunggulan Juventus, melalui serangan
balik kilat dengan meneruskan umpan silang Lichtsteiner. Selang dua menit
kemudian Stephan Lichtsteiner berhasil membuat gol ketiga untuk Juve. Tak
berhenti sampai disitu, menit 56, Carloz Tevez menambahnya sehingga skor
berubah 4-0, unggul Juve.

Unggul empat gol, Juventus sedikit mengurangi tekanan, hal ini coba untuk
dimaksimalkan oleh Lazio yang semakin meningkatkan intensitas serangan. Namun
sayang Tekanan lawan yang sedikit berkurang, sejauh ini belum mampu
dimanfaatkan para pemain Lazio untuk memperkecil kedudukan, hingga laga usai.



Sumber : http://www.indo11.com/
Ratih Gema said…
Rossi
terpilih sebagai rider of the day GP
Indianapolis 2013

Berita terbaru dan terkini Bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11
-Valentino
Rossi memang gagal menjadi juara di MotoGP seri Indianapolis yang berlangsung
pada Senin (19/8) dini hari WIB. Tapi, ia menjadi rider yang paling
'menghidupkan' jalannya balapa di Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS)

The
Doctor terpilih sebagai rider of the day. Sebanyak 70 persen
responden memilih Valentino Rossi sebagai bintang pada balapan tersebut.

Pembalap Repsol Honda, Marc Marquez, menempati urutan kedua.
Juara MotoGP Indianapolis itu mendapatkan suara sekitar 21 persen.

Hal yang wajar jika pembalap asal Italia itu
mendapatkan gelar tersebut. Pasalnya, sejauh ini, Rossi belum mampu menaklukkan
Indianapolis sejak latiha hingga sesi kualifikasi. Bahkan, ia gagal masuk dalam
lima besar di seluruh sesi.

Di awal balapan, Rossi terlihat tidak mampu
memacu tunggangannya lebih kencang dan diprediksi gagal meraih posisi enma
besar setelak jaraknya dengan Stefan Bradl terpaut jauh (sekitar 3,5 detik).

Namun, secara perlahan Rossi memperlihatkan
kemampuannya sebagai pembalap dunia sesaat sebelum balapan berakhir. Di saat
sebagian pembalap mulai mengurangi ritme karena bannya yang sudah aus. Rossi
masih mampu menjaga catatan waktu di kisaran 1 menit 39,5 detik per putarannya.
Bahkan, menjelang akhir balapan, peraih sembilan gelar juara dunia itu mampu
mencetak catatan waktu terbaiknya secara personal.

Dan seperti biasa, aksi Rossi yang
ditunggu-tunggu penonton selalu muncul di saat-saat yang tepat. Rossi pun
sukses menempati possi keempat dengan catata waktu 45m 12.358s.



Sumber : http://www.indo11.com/
Chhunmeng CoolCool said…
Samba staying put

Agen Bola indo11.com reported, FC Anzhi Makhachkala defender
Christopher Samba has revealed he does not expect to leave
the Anzhi-Arena this summer despite the well-documented club’s
efforts to cut their weekly-wage bill..

Earlier this month, the Dagestanskiye
transfer listed their entire squad in order to abide by UEFA Financial
Fair Play regulations.

The Russian Premier League side have already
offloaded Aleksandr Kokorin, Igor Denisov, João Carlos, Lassana
Diarra, Mbark Boussoufa and Yuri Zhirkov this summer, with
Willian expected to join Chelsea in a £30 million deal sometime this week.

In addition, Samuel Eto’o looks to be on his
way out of Dagestan, with Arsenal and Chelsea reportedly interested in the
former Barcelona and Internazionale talisman.

The club has seen better days, but Samba
insists he is going absolutely nowhere.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Samba. as reported by Indo Eleven.

Source : www.indo11.com
Chhunmeng WinWin said…
Insigne pens new deal

Agen Bola indo11.com reported, S.S.C. Napoli president Aurelio De
Laurentiis has announced Lorenzo Insigne has put pen to paper on a new
five-year deal at the Stadio San Paolo.

Insigne, a product of the Napoli youth
system, caught the eye of a host of clubs, including Sunderland, after turning
in a number of scintillating performances at the 2013 UEFA U-21
Championship in Israel this summer. as reported
by Indo Eleven.

The Italy international, 22, has already won
two international caps for his country and scored the Azzurri’sonly
goal in a 2-1 defeat to Argentina at the Stadio Olimpico earlier this
month.

“This morning I met Lorenzo Insigne and we
extended the contract for five years. Since this season Lorenzo will earn
700,000 Euros plus bonus,” said De Laurentiis via Twitter.

“I wish ‘Lorenzinho’ a great career in
Napoli.”

Source : www.indo11.com
Chhunmeng LuLu said…
Clark angered by ´unsporting´ goal

Agen Bola indo11.com reported, Birmingham City boss Lee Clark is set
to lodge a complaint following Yeovil Town’s controversial equaliser in a
League Cup tie on Tuesday.

Clark was left bemused as their Championship
rivals levelled things up at 2-2 in the last minute of their meeting at Huish
Park to send the game into extra time.

The goal came through defender Byron Webster,
who chipped into an empty net for the home side after Birmingham goalkeeper
Colin Doyle’s had kicked the ball out of play to allow team-mate Dan Burn to
receive treatment for an injury.

Webster’s decision to equalise instead of
returning the ball following the resulting throw-in prompted ugly scenes
between the two sets of players.

Yeovil manager Gary Johnson did attempt to
calm the situation somewhat, instructing his side to allow Lee Novak to score
unopposed in extra time directly after the hosts had taken a 3-2 lead through
Luke Ayling. as reported by Indo Eleven.

Birmingham went onto to progress to the next
round via a penalty shootout, but Clark is eager to see further action taken by
the game’s governing bodies.

Source : www.indo11.com
Rima Mar said…
Meski Bukan Perfoma
Terbaik Napoli, Benitez Tetap Puas

Berita terbaru dan terkini bola Soccer
dari Agen Bola Indo11 –Milan - Rafael Benitez mengakui bahwa Napoli tidak
dalam performa terbaik saat mengalahkan AC Milan 2-1 di San Siro. Meski begitu, Benitez
tetap senang dengan permainan yang diperlihatkan skuatnya.

Hasil tersebut membuatPartenopei mengukir kemenangan away pertamanya
atas Rossonerisejak yang terakhir pada April 1986 alias
27 tahun silam.

Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya –Pada pertandingan itu, Napoli mengejutkan Milan
lewat gol cepat Miguel Angel Britos dan diperbesar Gonzalo Higuain. Gol hiburan
Milan diciptakan Mario Balotelli di penghujung laga.

Kemenangan atas Milan membuat Napoli terus
membayangi AS Roma di posisi teratas klasemen dengan perolehan nilai sama, 12
poin. Plus, ini adalah kemenangan kelima beruntun tim Naples itu di seluruh
kompetisi.

Sumberhttp://
indo11.com
Ratih Gema said…
Napoli Kalahkan
Milan di San Siro

Berita terbaru dan terkini bola Soccer
dari Agen Bola Indo11 –Milan - Laju Napoli belum terbendung. Menantang AC
Milan di San Siro, Senin (23/9/2013) dinihari WIB, Partenopei berhasil merebut angka penuh setelah
memenangi laga dengan skor akhir 2-1.

Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya –Kemenangan ini membuat Napoli masih sempurna
dengan mengumpulkan 12 poin dari empat laga, dan berada di bawah AS Roma dengan
nilai yang sama.

Sementara itu, bagi Milan, kekalahan ini membuat
posisi mereka turun ke peringkat ke-11 klasemen sementara dengan perolehan
empat poin hasil empat kali bertanding.

Gol cepat Miguel Angel Britos membawa Napoli
unggul 1-0 sampai turun minum dan diperbesar oleh Gonzalo Higuain di awal babak
kedua. Mario Balotelli menciptakan gol hiburan bagi Milan di menit-menit akhir
pertandingan.

Sumberhttp://
indo11.com
Eko Dinda said…
Petkovic Sebut Lazio
Tak Layak Kalah dari Roma

Berita terbaru dan terkini bola Soccer
dari Agen Bola Indo11 –Roma - Lazio menelan kekalahan kedua musim ini kala
ditundukkan AS Roma 0-2. Karena melihat timnya tidak bermain buruk, Vladimir
Petkovic pun menyebut Lazio tak pantas kalah.

Kemenangan Roma dalam laga yang dihelat di
Stadion Olimpico, Minggu (22/9/2012) malam WIB, tersebut ditentukan lewat
gol-gol Federico Balzaretti dan Adem Ljajic.

Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya –Roma mendominasi penguasaan bola hingga 65%. I
Lupi juga
melepaskan 18 attempts (5on
target), lebih banyak dariattempts Lazio yang berjumlah 8 dan tidak ada
satu pun yang tepat sasaran.

Namun, Petkovic menilai bahwa Lazio bermain
lebih baik. Andai Biancoceleste mencetak gol lebih dulu, dia yakin ceritanya
bakal berakhir berbeda.

"Saya puas dengan cara tim bermain,"
ujar Petkovic.

Sumberhttp://
indo11.com
Ratih Gema said…
Suarez mengaku bertahan di Anfield karena
suporter

Berita terbaru dan
terkini bola Soccer dari Agen Bola Indo11 - Striker Liverpool, Luis Suarez
mengungkapkan bahwa dukungan dari suporter klub membuat dirinya yakin untuk
tetap bertahan di Anfield.

Agen Bola Indo11 Terpercaya - Suarez telah
mengutarakan niatnya untuk hengkang di bursa transfer musim panas lalu, tetapi
karena Liverpool menolak dua tawaran dari Arsenal, ia akhirnya tetap bertahan
di klub.

Setelah mengaku ia mendapatkan nasihat dari Steven Gerrard untuk masa depannya,
pemain berusia 26 tahun itu juga mengatakan bahwa fans Liverpool juga memiliki
peran untuk itu.

"Dukungan fans juga sangat penting. Saya selalu dapat berjalan di jalanan
tanpa ada masalah. Saya tidak pernah diancam atau hal seperti itu. Orang-orang
mengatakan kepada saya untuk tetap bertahan. Saya bekerja keras untuk Liverpool
dan saya selalu berterima kasih kepada klub." Jelas Suarez.

Sumber http://indo11.com

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