{"id":5517,"date":"2022-03-12T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=5517"},"modified":"2022-02-28T09:41:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T14:41:21","slug":"unbelief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/12\/unbelief\/","title":{"rendered":"UNBELIEF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2 minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daily Reading:<\/strong> Numbers 16:41-18:32 ESV,<\/a> Mark 16:1-20 ESV<\/a>, Psalm 55:1-23 ESV<\/a>, Proverbs 11:7 ESV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daily Verse:<\/strong> \u201cAfterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief<\/em> and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.\u201d (Mark 16:14 ESV<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

APISTIA (570): <\/strong>\u201cFaithlessness, i.e. (neg.) disbelief (want of Chr. Faith), or (pos.) unfaithfulness (disobedience).\u201d[I]<\/a>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unbelief hardens hearts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my fifties, I\u2019m beginning to understand more things in life; hindsight provides a 20\/20 vision.  The condition of our heart determines outward actions.  Because the disciples didn\u2019t believe the reports of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, their hearts became hard.  Only when Jesus appeared to them did they believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I don\u2019t blame the disciples for their unbelief.  I can\u2019t imagine the overwhelming emotions they experienced walking with Jesus to His death. Humanity limits our perspective.  Often, we can\u2019t see past our circumstances, missing God\u2019s handiwork as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impossible doesn\u2019t exist.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do I write devotionals, but I read them as well; Rick Warren\u2019s Daily Hope[i]<\/a> a staple for years.  Recently, Rick made a surprising revelation; he cut \u201cimpossible\u201d out of his dictionary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI decided that if it\u2019s not in God\u2019s dictionary, it\u2019s not going to be in mine.\u201d Rick Warren[ii]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God can do anything He wants, but God doesn\u2019t always do what we want.  Our struggle lies in reconciling God\u2019s sovereignty with human desire.  From our perspective, we think we know the solution, but God\u2019s the one with the correct answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belief means cutting impossible out of your dictionary.  Trusting God despite the world’s pain challenges us all, but we must.  If we don\u2019t have faith, we\u2019ll never experience miracles.  Hardened hearts don\u2019t believe; soft ones do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask God to soften your heart today, filling you with belief.  Experience the miracle of life as you walk through your day. Impossible doesn\u2019t exist with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[i]<\/a> Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible<\/em>. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em> (p. 34) Thomas Nelson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[i]<\/a> https:\/\/pastorrick.com\/devotional\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ii]<\/a> https:\/\/pastorrick.com\/count-on-god-to-do-the-impossible\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out my new release on Amazon<\/a>. Learn how I used prayer to control my emotions and develop healthier relationships in my life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 minute read. Daily Reading: Numbers 16:41-18:32 ESV, Mark 16:1-20 ESV, Psalm 55:1-23 ESV, Proverbs 11:7 ESV Daily Verse: \u201cAfterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.\u201d (Mark 16:14 ESV)  APISTIA… Continue reading UNBELIEF<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5517"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5522,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions\/5522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}