Experiment upon His word

Living with faith is an often spoken words phrase feels cliche when the person saying it hasn't been to hell yet.  Easy to live in faith when hell is just a possibility.  However, those that have lived there stepping out in faith is scary stuff. When you have fallen flat on your face and maybe broken some bones, getting out there again is difficult.  Lately I pondered on this scripture:

Matthew 17:19-20
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

 I can't move mountains, moving me is a real challenge some days.  I know how small a mustard seed is, about the size of a period on this page.  So my faith is less than a dot.  Heavy sigh.  I can make all sorts of excuses.  That won't change anything.  I'm working on increasing my faith.  I noticed when I pray to increase my faith my troubles seem to quadruple.  Only recently, I considered the connection that when I struggle through my challenges is when I increase my faith.  Peter didn't get out of the boat when it was calm.  He stepped out into a raging sea.  When he took his eyes off of Christ and looked at his problems he was standing on he lost his courage and started sinking.  I remind myself that Peter did get out of the boat.  

Another analogy used is experimenting upon His word.   Kind of a try it and see what happens method.  In preschool one of the yearly experiments is to place a seed in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel.  No matter which way the seed is planted the same process happens.  The seed splits, a small root heads down, and a green top heads up.  

Found a video of the process:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcz8RSYwwjk

Some days when I feel like I'm totally falling apart I remind myself of this process and Christ challenge to allow faith in his gospel grow within my heart.  

Luke 8:4-15

 4 ¶And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

 Let it swell within your heart and then you will know that it is a good seed.  Working on growing faith.