Scripture: 20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” 22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” [Mark 11:20-25 NLT] There are a lot of life events that test our belief. I remember the first day of elementary school for our oldest daughter … like it was yesterday. It was such a big school and she was so little. There were so many students and teachers and she might get lost in the shuffle. She has a great experience in preschool, but would she have the same experience in elementary school? The first day we walked her into school and to her classroom. She was very excited to start school and meet her teacher and fellow kindergarteners. I think her parents were far more uncertain and maybe even emotional than she was. Okay, I know we were. It was a big day that tested my belief a little. The day I described above was one of the first among many in trusting my daughters to God’s love and care. It has been my experience in parenting, and in life, that one of the biggest requirements is belief. You must believe in yourself as a responsible parent that you have done everything you can to prepare your children for the next step in life. You must believe in the other people who invest in your kids through their school years, Sunday school years, and student ministry years. You must believe in your kids and know that they are ready for the next steps in life. Finally, you must believe in God and know that God goes with them wherever they go. All that is required is to believe. In the Scripture for today Jesus is telling Peter what is required to do the work to which Jesus is calling him. Jesus tells Peter to have faith in God and he can literally move mountains. Jesus probably knew that Peter would say something like, “I have great faith in God, Jesus!” This is why Jesus says, “All that is required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart.” In other words, Jesus tells Peter that there is more to moving mountains than just professing faith in God. In order to move the mountains of life, all that is required is to truly believe without any doubt in your heart. I can relate to this in that we are getting ready to experience another life event in a few months that will require this type of belief. Our oldest daughter will start college in August of this year. As difficult as it was to drop her off for her first day of kindergarten, I can only imagine what it will be like to drop her off for her first day of college. She will be in a different city, in a lot larger school, with a lot more students, and a lot more opportunities (both good and bad). All that is required of us as parents is to truly believe with no doubt that God will be with her every moment of every day. Today all that is required of you is to really believe and do not doubt in your heart. God is with you. God has gone before you preparing the way for you. God is with you in this very moment. God will be with you long after today is done and in the books. Believe this good news for you today. Thank God for the promise of God’s continuing presence with you every moment of the day today. You are God’s treasure and masterpiece, believe it. Believe that today will be a great opportunity to express your belief in the name of Jesus. Prayer: Holy God, may I really believe you will be with me today, no doubt. Thank you for all you have done in my life and all that you will do today. Help me to have mountain moving faith today. In the name of Jesus. Amen.