Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Mark 9
Increase Our Faith

Increase Our Faith

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Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! 

Mark 9:24  

And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith. 

Luke 17:5 

We have faith, but we are woefully aware we need more faith. We are not alone. Many before us have felt their need for their faith to increase. The man with the demon-possessed son said, ‘Help my unbelief.’ The disciples said, ‘Lord, increase our faith.’ These are two examples of many we could cite from Scripture and from personal experience. The purveyors of Christless, man-centered, guilt theology have an answer for this question of ‘how can I have an increase of faith?’ Their answer is, ‘Try harder, work harder, believe more, be more thankful, look to yourself.’ Christ’s answer is dramatically opposed to this. He told His disciples in the Upper Room, ‘without Me, you can do nothing.’ This applies to the increase of our faith. All the efforts we make will fail, if we look to ourselves. The man in our text looked to Christ. The disciples looked to Christ. They wanted their faith to increase. We want our faith to increase. If we do, we must look, not to ourselves, but to Christ. As we contemplate His Person, we believe. As we behold His work, we believe. As we draw near to Him, we believe. When He fills all our vision, we believe. Every sight of Christ increases our faith.  

Our Wise and Loving Savior, 
we rejoice that You show Yourself to us in many ways. 
We praise You that as we look to You, 
the more and more we believe. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Help My Unbelief

Help My Unbelief

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Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! 

Mark 9:24 

Who can help us with our unbelief? We are very much like the man in our text. He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ We believe. We believe God is, that He has revealed Himself in creation and in His word. We believe that Christ is the Living Word of Whom the written word speaks. We believe He is the Lord, as the man called Him. We believe He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the only way to the Father. We have faith in Him and in all He has done to fulfil the law in precept and in penalty. We believe He is the only Redeemer, Who is made to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Although we believe all these things and many more, there remains within us the unbelief that dogs us every day in our walk of faith. How often do we cry with the man, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ The lovely fact is the man went to the right person for the increase of his faith. We will not gain more faith by looking to religion, organizations, programs or within ourselves. Christ helps our unbelief. He is the One Who increases our faith. The man went to the right Person, and we have the same opportunity. With him we cry, ‘Help my unbelief! 

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You are worthy of our faith. 
We praise You that we can appeal to You 
to increase our faith. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Lord, I Believe

Lord, I Believe

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9:30 Worship Service
10900 Huron Street
Northglenn, CO

Scripture – Mark 9:14-29

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Sermon – Lord, I Believe – Tomm Tice

  1. He understood Who Christ is.
  2. He had some faith.
  3. He knew where to go to get more faith.

Westminster Shorter Catechism – Question #71

What is required in the seventh commnadment?

The seventh commandment requireth the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity, in heart, speech, and behavior.

1 Corinthians 7:2-3, 5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Worship

Jesus I Am Resting, Resting
You are My All and All
Amazing Grace
Rivers Of Living Water

Rivers Of Living Water

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Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! 

Mark 9:24 

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 

John 7:38 

Christ transforms all who believe in Him. The man with the demon-possessed son said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ In another context, at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, Christ comments about the effects of belief in Him. He says, of the person who believes in Him, ‘out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ Christ creates those rivers within those who believe in Him. As they flow out from the innermost being of the one who believes, others benefit from the water. Thus, believing in Christ does not solely benefit the one who believes, but many others. This is important for us to understand because as Christ generates in us the headwaters of these rivers, it will make us useful to others around us. Who we are in Christ becomes the foundation for how we are and the outflowing of that benefits many, at home and abroad. Christ is the perfect example of this. All His incarnation, spotless life, sacrificial death, resurrection, intercession and ultimate return, is of immeasurable benefit to others. The great multitude gathered at the Throne of the Lamb have all benefited from Christ. Many of them arrive there because they have experienced Christ through someone who lived Christ before them with rivers of living water.  

Our Glorious, Living Savior, 
we rejoice that You transform us. 
We praise You that by Your power, 
You make us useful in the lives of those around us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Lord, I Believe

Lord, I Believe

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Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! 

Mark 9:23-24 

Christ makes much of belief. In the first portion of our text, after the man with the demon-possessed son has said, ‘If you can do anything…’ Christ counters with, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ When John wrote his gospel, he stated his purpose for writing as, ‘that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.’ Paul’s statement to the Philippian jailer was, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.’ Belief in Christ is critical for salvation and for everything that follows in our relationship with Him. At no point in our experience of Christ does belief become unimportant. Every day we live and every situation of life in which we find ourselves affords us some new occasion to believe. If we rest solely upon our own ability to resolve issues, fix what is broken, right what is wrong and straighten what is crooked we will find ourselves failing at every turn. Christ can do all we cannot. Therefore we have every reason to believe in Him and in His power to resolve what we can never do on our own. With the man in the text we declare, ‘Lord, I believe.’ Faith in Christ is never misplaced. 

Our Glorious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that it is never a waste of time to believe in You. 
We praise You that You prove Yourself to us, 
over and over again. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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