Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.  “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:14-21 

Walking in the Light Together

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...1 John 1:7 NIV 

I Will Go With You

So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring. Genesis 46:1-7

Seeing this photo (below) in an online church art site Eastridge uses, I was reminded of a recent conversation in our Wednesday bible study about Corrie Ten Boom.

The prompt was a discussion of Genesis 46:1-7, in our study book on Joseph, “Finding God Faithful”.

God promised to be with Jacob wherever he was, not just where he was living, but where he was asked to move (the land of Goshen) following Joseph’s request in this scripture. We saw similarities with Jacob’s situation in that he was heading to a new land, and Corrie’s arrest and removal from her home to head to a concentration camp. The similarity: trust that God is with us wherever we are, even in the “unlikely” places.

The Hiding Place was a book, made into a movie in the 1970s. From the Amazon blurb (the book is still in print!): Corrie ten Boom was the first licensed female watchmaker in the Netherlands who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler's concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable ministers of hope in the twentieth century.

In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis. In 1944 their lives were forever altered when they were betrayed, arrested, and thrown into the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived.

Corrie was released due to a “clerical error”, but she knew that God was with her in Ravensbrück and beyond.

Two of the many quotes attributed to Corrie that fit with the Genesis passage above:

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being with us wherever we are, even if it seems far from the beauty of your creation and love. Help us to trust in you. Amen.

Donna Gustafson

The Least of These

 I was hungry and you fed me,

 I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

 I was homeless and you gave me a room,

 I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

 I was sick and you stopped to visit,

 I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 (The Message) 

In this scripture passage, Jesus tells the story of the sheep and the goats who are divided by the Son of Man. The King tells those who have been blessed by God to take their inheritance because they provided him with food, drink, shelter, clothing, and companionship when he needed it. The listeners do not believe him and ask when they provided those necessities of life. The King replies that whenever people helped one of the least of the brothers and sisters, they did it for the King. And by doing so, the righteous will have eternal life. 

Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of problems we see in our nation or community, we can take this lesson to heart and reach out to help one person. Whether it's someone we know personally or a complete stranger, our assistance can mean a great deal to the person who is in pain. Let us look around to see where we can assist someone in need, for by helping another, we are serving the King, our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the blessings you have poured down on us. Help us to remember that our inheritance awaits us in your kingdom. If we see someone who is hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick, or in prison, let us remember that what we do for any one of them, we do for our Lord.  

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2017) 

Growing a Seed or a Child

This year, the EPW (Eastridge Presbyterian Women) studied a PW Horizons Bible Study entitled Let Justice Roll Down. Lesson nine was Sustaining Creation’s Health for All.  One part of that lesson began, "sowing a seed is an act of faith. It’s not a tremendous one, but some of us who have planted seeds have seen too many fail to take the process for granted." 

Since we are worshiping as a child this summer, my mind took that idea one step further. Much like a seed, a child grows. First a healthy cry, a tender grin, then a chuckle and a reaching out for you. A love you can never forget. Then that child grows into teenager years and just as you begin to lose hope, they become adults. You may find them holding your hand now and making sure you are all right and upright. 

In the same way that you look at that growing seed with awe, you find God folding you in his arms and holding you tight as you watched that child grow into adulthood. In fact, God watches over our coming in and our going out. I hope he does for it takes more faith for me to sow that seed or plant that plant these days. I watch as each young plant becomes mature and blooms just as I watched that child become a lovely adult with God’s love. 

Standing back in awe, I worship and thank God as each child I know becomes an adult and each seed becomes a living organism, part of God’s creation. 

The following prayer was the prayer used for lesson nine. 

Prayer: God who creates and recreates, renew our vision and invigorate our souls, that we may both see and seek the world you desire for all. Help us translate hope into daily actions in the corner of the earth that we call home. Amen 

Carolyn Olsen

God Values You

If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?  And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders.  When you arrived, you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found.  In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!  Luke 15:4-7

I am fond of Jesus’ parables. The parables are wonderful stories for faith building, and especially for children. Most of the time I view the world through children and their faith development which is why I chose this Bible selection. This parable talks about a shepherd who left his 99 sheep to search for a lost one (one who strayed away). He knew that the lost one was in danger. Each sheep is of high value, just as each of us is of high value and loved by God. When the shepherd found the sheep, he carried it home. In the same way, God rejoices when any of us are lost (strayed away) and we return to God. Each one of us is to be that shepherd and minister to those that have strayed and bring them back to God. This is a challenge for you to be a shepherd.  

Prayer: Dear Lord, give me courage to be a shepherd and to share God’s love.  Amen. 

Susan Taylor (reprinted from Daily Devotional Book, November 2008)

Words from Hebrews

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Hebrews 10:23