Passion 2019 Reading Plan Sample

“You can’t impress God, but you can amaze Him with your faith” 

-Christine Caine, Passion 2019 

Did you know it’s possible for something about you to cause Jesus to marvel? This is amazing! We see it happen twice in Scripture. 

Matthew 8:10 tells us Jesus marveled at a Roman centurion’s faith. This high-ranking officer in the mighty Roman Army sent word to Jesus that his servant was sick, and asked if Jesus would heal him. He believed that if Jesus just said the word, it would be done (Matthew 8:8). This faith -- faith that Jesus had the divine power to do anything -- floored Jesus. He said He hadn’t found a faith like that yet—even among His own people, the Jews. In fact, Scripture later tells us a contrasting story.

Mark 6:6 recounts the response to Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth. Scripture says that the residents of the town, familiar with Jesus’ childhood and past, “took offense at Him” and at the miracles He had performed across Israel. They were familiar with His power but didn’t believe it for themselves. Jesus again marveled, but this time at the people’s lack of faith. 

So Jesus can be amazed at our faith or the lack thereof. What a beautiful opportunity and a heartbreaking reality! How can it be that we can move the very heart of God with our faith? It is not by our gifts, our talents, our striving, or our power, but when we believe that God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do, things happen. God moves. It is not the perfectly curated outer life that impresses the King of Kings, but the surrendered, behind-the-scenes-life with Jesus that builds a lasting and astonishing faith. What if we believed that if Jesus just said the word, our hearts would change, our college campuses would change, and our world would change for our good and His glory? How can you move toward Him in faith today?

What if you could trust Him in the circumstance, in the unknown, in the diagnosis, in the disappointment, in the heartbreak, in the success, in the relationship, in your future, in it all? Do you trust Him enough to follow him anywhere? 

Will this be a generation be marked by an amazing faith?