Re:Verse reading–Mark 9:14-29 (day five)
Billy Graham used to tell this story… An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, “I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.”
The faith of the father and disciples was weakened because of doubt, struggles, criticism, and cynicism, and hopelessness. Those kinds of circumstances stand ready to attach and weaken our faith each and every day.
The solution for stronger faith?? Feed your faith. Jesus’ admonition to the disciples in this passage- feed/strengthen faith through prayer. Do we see the need and power of prayer like Jesus? Will we daily feed our faith through honest conversation and communication with our Heavenly Father? Our faith depends on it.
People act in accordance with their faith and conviction. Everyone believes in something and that conviction determines their activities and way of life.
In general, people have faith in the way they were brought up and in the daily activities they perform. We can tell if someone has a strong faith. There is a relationship between faith and how we conduct our lives. If we still have a mental reservation, I am sure we need to focus on feeding our faith. I am convinced.