INCREASE OUR FAITH
"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5 NIV) As Christians, we can relate to the apostles' desire to have a greater abundance of faith. During Jesus' ministry He often reproved them for their lack of faith because they failed to trust Him in the midst of difficult circumstances. Things haven't changed much in 2000 years. We still tend to think that we need to know what God intends for us from A to Z before we will accept that what He is doing is in our best interest. Truth is, even if He would spell things out for us, and let us know His long-term goals for us, we still would not understand or submit meekly to His workmanship. I have had the opportunity to watch various blacksmiths as they applied their craft to crude bars of iron. They first must cast the metal into a forge and heat it until it is glowing orange. While it is still hot, they place it on their anvil and beat it with a sledge hamme