Matthew 8:5-10 NLT and Matthew 8:13 NLT

Intro: Continuing with the Making Love...Last series at my church (Granger Community Church, Indiana), we are in Week 4 and continue to practice the three daily challenges: words of gratitude, acts of service and awareness of God's love for ourselves. This week, i'm adding a bit of focus to scripture that touches on our faith and belief in God. Thanks for staying with me on this journey. Again, these are just my thoughts - they're young, growing and fragile - so be kind.

Leading the service this morning was our very own lead pastor extraordinaire, Mark Beeson, who taught 5 services between two campuses in two days! My pastor is definitely on fire for God. I trust his leadership, so it's no wonder that i'm on fire, too! I love our church, the people engaged there and the things God's doing through them and through our pastor's messages. Ok, Ok, my church plug is over...

Jesus is in Capernaum. What's he doing there? And what was he doing before he arrived in Capernaum? Well, track with me to Chapter 5: Jesus "went up on a mountainside and sat down." (5:1) In your Bible, you might find the header, "The Beatitudes." Jesus started teaching the mother of all lectures! Not only that, but he covered everything: the law, murder, adultery, divorce, giving, prayer, loving your enemies, fasting, provision, judging others. The people listening to Jesus weren't just absorbing a verbal string of doctrinal lines but "when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed..." (Matt.7:28) They saw a man who spoke with real authority (Matt.7:29).

So, Jesus gets up, dusts off his robe, and heads to Capernaum where a Roman officer comes seeking that same authority. Here's where the tables turn, so to speak. Jesus says he'll go to the officer's house to heal his servant, but the officer says (essentially) "Woah! You're Jesus. Just say it and my guy is as good as healed." This time, Jesus is amazed (vs.10). The Roman officer can relate because he also has authority over others (vs.9), but his humility (vs.8) and amazing faith have brought him to Jesus, not his authority or status within society.

We all need divine assistance. No amount of prestige or impressive titles will grant us the authority to do great things. God granted Jesus to do great things when he walked the Earth. We are given the power through Christ to do great things, but only if our faith is like that of the Roman officer. As God continues to show me love, the prayer in my heart will always be to have a faith that amazes Him.