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The Surprising Benefit of Hanging Around

                “I do believe!  Help my unbelief!”  (Mark 9:24)
                Those words, spoken to Jesus by a man who wanted his son to be healed, are some of the most universally understood words in the entire Bible.  We want to believe but doubts and fears creep in and derail us. 
                What if you were Jesus?  How would you help this man deepen his faith?  If you were like most churches, you would have given this man a book to read, a mentor to visit with or a seminar to attend.  Churches love programs! 
                But what if we change the picture from spiritual things to Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park?  What if you doubt that the geyser erupts approximately every 65 minutes?
                You could read a book about Old Faithful.  You could have a scientist explain the geology and why it works the way it does.   The best way to build your faith, though, would be to go to Yellowstone and spend a few hours watching what the geyser does.  If you hung around long enough, your disbelief would go away because you would experience it for yourself.
                When Jesus called his first group of followers, what did he do?  He did not put them in a classroom or give them a lecture.  Rather, he said, “Come follow me!” (Mark 1:17)  Jesus knew that if people walked with him day after day and watched what he did, their faith would grow.
                The early church had a word to describe this sort of hanging around.  They called it “devotion”.  “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).  They hung around the things of God and that caused something to happen.  It always does.
                At the start of this article, the father’s faith caused him to come to Jesus.  Doing so brought about the healing of his son and the erasing of his doubts as well.
                Faith grows when we hang around with God.  When we read and pray and give him some time and space to work, we start to see and believe. 
                Why not give it a try?  You are welcome to hang around here anytime.

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