Category Archives: Faith

When You Doubt What You Believe

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If Jesus is really the Son of God, why does He let me suffer?  Ever ask that question?  If so, you are in good company.  Even John the Baptist asked that question.  He had been called to prepare the way for Jesus and publicly identified Jesus as the Savior.  John must have imagined that he would be an important figure in Jesus’ band of brothers.  And yet, John was falsely arrested and stuck in prison.   John had doubts, and sent his disciples to double check on Jesus:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3)

Instead of answering John directly,

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”” (Matthew 11:4-6)

In effect, Jesus told John, “I cannot tell you the answer; you must evaluate the evidence and decide what you believe about Me.”  Jesus says the same thing to each of us.  Our relationship with Jesus is not about having the right answer for the quiz, it’s about what we truly believe.  Belief is not formed by someone telling us the answer.  Belief is our personal conviction about the truth of the answer.  And our belief is dynamic, it is challenged and strengthened by the ebb and flow of life.  It is normal for us to consider our doubts as we develop our belief.  Real belief is not afraid to consider doubt.  It is strengthened as we grapple with doubt.

Jesus knew that John believed.  But He also knew that suffering challenges belief.  And so, Jesus encouraged John to hang on: “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”  In effect, “Hang in there, John, hold on to your faith.  Even though suffering challenges your faith, your faith is what will lead you through this suffering.”

Here’s how Peter explained the dynamics of suffering and faith:

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NLT)

 If you are suffering and doubting, hang on; you will be blessed.  But maybe you are still wondering why Jesus left John in prison to die, or why He allows you to suffer what you are going through.  Stay tuned; we’ll take that up next…

Choose: Life or Life

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If we are honest, none of us know how we would respond to a violent assault by terrorists who challenge us to “convert or die.”  We may think we know, but we don’t really know.  People have done astonishing things when threatened with death as an alternative.  But Jesus knew that the desperate urge to preserve our physical life is driven by a distorted understanding of reality.  He said:

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

This saying of Jesus is the most quoted in the New Testament.  It is a “Truth” that sets us free, free from the death grip of physical life.  Clinging to physical life at all costs is a sure loser.  No one gets out physically alive.  Finding eternal life in Christ is a sure winner.  No one can take that away.

Here’s how Jim Elliott, a man who was murdered for following Jesus, said it:  

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

 

The Path to Freedom

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When he pushed a 2×4 into the bear trap, the huge, rusty, steel jaws of that thing snapped shut, breaking that piece of lumber like a toothpick.   Everyone in that football stadium, attending Promise Keepers, flinched from the violent sound of it.  Then a father and his son were invited up onto the stage.  The son was blindfolded while a few bear traps were placed in the middle of the stage.  The father then called to his son, telling him to listen to his instructions as he walked across the stage.  At one point, as the kid was heading right toward a trap, the father shouted, “STOP!”   He did stop.  He followed his father’s spoken instructions, eventually winding up safely in his father’s embrace.  As you can imagine, this object lesson was indelibly pressed upon us that day.

Jesus said,

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

We are blindfolded from the truth in this earthly life, deceived by our limited understanding and false assumptions.  We stumble through life, unknowingly and inevitably heading toward peril.  That is, unless we “hold to” the teaching of Jesus.  It’s not enough to hear Him say, “STOP!”  Holding to His teaching means also responding to what He says.  If we do, Jesus says, we will “know the truth and the truth will set [us] free.”   Real freedom comes to us when we carefully follow the instructions spoken to us by the One Who knows where the traps are.  Real freedom is the path that leads to the full embrace of our Father.

July 4th is the day we celebrate freedom in this country.  According to our Declaration of Independence, we believe all people have been “endowed by their Creator” with the “unalienable right”  to liberty or freedom.  Such freedom may be our right but it is not guaranteed to those who refuse to listen and respond to the Creator.  It is those who “hold to [His] teaching” who “know the truth” and are thereby set free.

Don’t Take the Fire Escape!

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You are startled awake by the loud blaring of the fire alarm.  You can already smell the smoke and you hurry from your room on an upper floor of the hotel.  Rushing down to the fire escape, you discover that it is about to be overcome by flames. So you turn around and head back the other direction.  You have to fight your way through a stampede of hotel guests who are trying to reach the fire escape.  “No!” you say, “Turn around; you will die if you keep going that way.”  Most of them don’t believe you.  Some call you an idiot for ignoring the fire escape sign.  Those few who decide to trust you, turn around and follow you in the “wrong” direction.  They live.

Jesus was in a situation like that.  He knew we were thundering toward death.  He urged us to turn around and head the “wrong” way, in order to find eternal life.  That is why so much of what He said seems up-side-down.  Like this:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  (Matthew 5:4 )

He didn’t say that those who grieve are happy.  He said they would one day be comforted and therefore are blessed.  This statement follows the previous one about realizing our spiritual poverty.  The kind of mourning Jesus was referring to was the desire to be spiritually full, spiritually rich, without being able to change one’s spiritual bankruptcy.

Jesus said people in that condition would be comforted.  He wasn’t talking about someone who would feel sorry for them and say soothing things.  He was talking about a total reversal in their spiritual bank account.  Here’s how I know:  Jesus said,

‘If ye love me, my commands keep, and I will ask the Father, and another Comforter He will give to you, that he may remain with you—to the age; the Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it doth not behold him, nor know him, and ye know him, because he doth remain with you, and shall be in you. ( John 14:15-17 Young’s’ Literal Translation)

I used that old fashioned sounding translation because they gave the literal translation of the word Jesus called the Holy Spirit – Comforter.  It is the same root word He used when He said those who mourn “will be comforted.”  The people who are spiritually bankrupt and who mourn their condition, who are unable to be good enough or spiritual enough to change it, will be comforted.  How?  They will receive the Holy Spirit, Who will “remain” (live)  in their souls forever.  This is eternal life.

Ok, but what’s all this business about “if you love me and keep my commands?”   Those are like the folks in the hotel hallway who turn around and head in the opposite direction because they trusted you.  That’s what happens when you trust and love Jesus.  You turn around, you follow, you live.

Where’s Home?

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At the Olympics this week, USA beat Russia in hockey and the Cossacks beat Pussy Riot in Sochi Square.  That second event must have been a vivid reminder to any westerner who witnessed it: You are not in Kansas, Toto; you are in Russia.  Russia is under the control of Putin.  And, Putin is not happy with Pussy Riot.  Maybe you have been comfortable in Sochi, but don’t be fooled: you don’t belong there – not if you appreciate the freedoms we protect at home.  Dennis Rodman may feel welcomed in North Korea.  But, if he made one wrong move, he would quickly discover who really controls the country that it is not his home.

When a person discovers the truth about Jesus, and turns to Him by faith, he or she turns away from the world.  They are not physically leaving the world, but are shifting their allegiance to Christ and becoming citizens of His kingdom.  They are in the world, but no longer belong to it. They experience a radical shift in understanding and in priorities.  Important motivators for the world, like seductiveness, fame or wealth, now make as much sense as Cossacks beating young girls in a punk band.  Followers of Jesus, they have become alien visitors in this world.  John reminds us:

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.  (1 John 5:19-20)

Is the whole world under Satan’s control?  You can do your own assessment.  Start with the news…  Take a trip to the Ukraine, to Venezuela, to North Korea, to Egypt, Iran or Washington DC.  Sit through a few previews of “Coming Attractions” to see what Hollywood thinks will sell.  Figure out why so many public idols have overdosed.  Is the world getting better?

Me? I’ll follow my King, my God and My Savior, Jesus.  If you are curious and want to know more, I’ll do my best to show you what I have discovered.  The nice thing is that it really is your call.

Who Holds the Chain

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Enormous, yellow fangs, dripping with slobber, and hot, angry eyes were all I saw as a German Shepherd hurtled across the lawn at me.  I was walking to my first grade class at Clinton School, just cresting the rise on South Hamilton St., when I first encountered the beast from Hell.  He almost got me; i was too scared to run.  But just before his vicious teeth clamped around my face, the chain went taut and he was yanked back off his deadly trajectory.  Stephen King couldn’t have scripted it any better.  Who would do that to little kids on their way to school?  I picture an old, twisted, asthmatic geezer, rubbing his hands and cackling with glee.  Fact is, first grade wasn’t much better, but that’s a different story…

You never knew when that dog would be out.  Every day, on my way to school, I had to convince myself that the chain would hold, that he couldn’t get me.  Eventually, I learned to really trust it.

You and I are in a similar situation with Satan.  John says:

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God [Jesus] keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.  (1 John 5:18 – my added explanation)

Read this right:  It doesn’t say a believer is never tempted and never sins, but that he or she does not continue on that course as an habitual, regular lifestyle.  It does not say we have to try hard to be good.  It says Jesus keeps us safe. The evil one cannot harm us.  Literally, he cannot fasten himself on to us.  This is not meant to scare us, but rather, to reassure us.  We are meant to be encouraged and trust Jesus to keep us safe.  From time to time Satan will come flying out and attempt to make us think we are goners.  But Jesus holds the chain.

It’s Not Fine Print

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It looked like a little country church picnic. I saw them on the far side of a park and kept my distance.  But then I heard them singing,..  Tight, exquisite, a cappella harmony, carried along by infectious, syncopated hand percussion…   “Jesus on the mainline, tell Him what you want.  Call Him up and tell Him what you want…”   I snuck over to listen, transfixed.  I’ve looked hard but never found a recording of that song that even comes close to what I heard that day.

But the lyrics might pose a question:  Is that really true?  Is “Jesus on the mainline?”  Can you just “call Him up” and “tell Him what you want?”  More to the point, will He give you what you want?

Possibly.  Check this out:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)

Aha!  You found the fine print.  “…if we ask anything according to His will…”   Maybe that sounds like a clause, buried in the text of your insurance, that says the company really won’t pay on most of your claims.  But  John is encouraging people who have begun a relationship of love with God through faith in Jesus.  He’s talking to people who are “approaching” God, getting close.

Who is your hero?  is there someone you really look up to?  Let’s suppose you got to meet him and, because you hit it off, you got to be close personal friends.  Can you imagine asking him to give you something that would hurt him or insult him?  Of course not.  It wouldn’t fit with your relationship.

John says, in our close and loving relationship with God, as we commune with Him and are transformed by His Spirit in us, we can be confident when we ask Him for anything that fits into His will.  It’s as good as done.

What’s the point of asking, you may wonder?  If it’s God’s will, what difference will it make for me to ask?  I’m not sure I know all the answers to that, but I do know one: asking and receiving deepens our relationship with God on a daily basis.

Next time you have drawn close to God in prayer, next time you are enjoying His company, let Him show you what to ask.  Go ahead and ask.  Then watch, with anticipation  – no, expectation.  And when He provides whatever it is you need, make sure to turn back to Him with a hug and a high five! Like so many other things in life, the more you practice this, the better it gets.   And every time is hair-raising, amazing.

You might just find yourself singing that song…  “Jesus on the mainline… ”  

Gimme a Scroll Bar!

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Were you surprised the government couldn’t run a website as well as Amazon does?  Not me.  The first time I filed my taxes online, I remember you had to click on a big button that said SUBMIT!  Submit, indeed…   But once I pushed the button, the screen went blank and nothing seemed to be happening.  For a long, long time.  Freaked me out, because I wasn’t sure if they got my return or not.  I wondered if I should shut off the computer and try again or if that would ruin everything.  There was no way for me to know because nobody at the IRS thought to program in a little scroll bar – you know that little green, line thingy that shows you the download progress when you order a new app or song?  it lets you know everything is okay.  Don’t panic; just wait.   That scroll bar has probably done more for mental health than psychiatry has.  It’s nice to have some real time feedback to let you know that everything is proceeding in the right way.

There is a “scroll bar” for Jesus.  Think about it:  How can you be sure, once you have put your faith in Jesus, that anything has changed?  How can you know that by believing in Jesus you really do have eternal life?   John said you can know in three ways:  First, you can know because Jesus came all the way down to where you are – all the way down to stand in the waters of baptism  (See “All the Way – Part 1″).  Secondly, you can know because Jesus went all the way to the Cross – giving His life, spending His blood – which no one would do unless it was going to work (See “All the Way – Part 2” and “What’s Love (or Justice) Got to do with It?“).

But you can know in a third way, too.  God gives us a scroll bar, too – something to let us know everything is okay – don’t panic.  God gives us real time evidence that we have been connected to Him forever.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  (1 John 5:6 )

The Spirit shows us day by day, in real time, that we are alive in Christ.  He is like a scroll bar.  Obviously, He is a lot more than just evidence that everything is working, but the fact that He testifies – continuously – is important.  We don’t need to wonder if trusting Jesus is really effective.  We don’t need to wonder if we have eternal life.  The Spirit shows us.

Here’s the rest of what John said:

For there are three that testify:  the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.   We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.   Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.   And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  (1 John 5:7-13)

That’s the truth.  It comes with a “scroll bar.”

The Difference Between Belief and Belief

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John writes:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  (1 John 5:1)

But is that really true?   Everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ is born again?  It is true, if you understand what John means by belief.  There is belief, and then there is belief.

You discover you have a cancerous tumor and go looking for a surgeon.  Turns out your neighbor’s brother is a surgeon.  Do you believe it?  Sure.  But do you decide to lie down on the operating table, undergo full anesthesia and let your neighbor’s brother open you up and cut a few things out?   Not necessarily.  But if you do, then you believe in your neighbor’s brother in a way similar to what John means by believing Jesus is the Christ.

Real belief shows.  It changes a person’s outlook and behavior, so that, instead of following the group-think of the world, he or she gets in step with God’s design and commands.  John calls that “overcoming the world,” and that is a good description of what it feels like to resist the pull of what most people do and choose to do what seems foolish by their standards.

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.  (1 John 5:2-5)

Which all fits, which all makes sense – provided you believe.

The Main Thing

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The teacher said, “Label these maps,” and I did that.  But some of the girls went overboard, trying to impress the teacher with how good they were.  So they colored their maps, too.  I’m still mad about it because it made me and my buddies look bad.  Got all the countries labeled right and I still got a lousy grade.

Pharisees in Jesus’ day colored their maps, too, so to speak.  They went overboard, keeping all the religious rules with strict detail.  Tried to impress God and made everybody else look like a putz.  Now, one of those Pharisee guys was also a head official in the Jewish ruling council.  Double toady.  But he got curious about Jesus, and went to see Him secretly, late at night.  He thought Jesus would be impressed with how good he was.  But Jesus flunked him, said he’d never make it, not the way he was.

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again [literally – “born from above“].’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  (John 3:5-8  my added note)

It’s not about how hard you try to keep the rules.  The main thing is the Spirit of God, living in your soul.  How does that happen?  The Spirit gives birth to the Spirit.  It happens when you accept Jesus’ offer of complete forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  Then He gives you the Spirit.  Alive.  Inside.   Because this is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, God and Jesus take up residence in your soul.  His words, not mine:

…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. … On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  …   “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.   (Excerpts taken from John 14:16-23 –  Read the whole thing; it’s amazing!)

Being a Christian is not about “do this” and “don’t do that.”  It’s about surrendering to Jesus and receiving His Spirit, His eternal life.  That’s the main thing.   That is why John said:

 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  (1 John 4:13-16 )

How about you?  Do you know what John said he knew?  Do you have God’s Spirit living in you?  If not, consider this:  If you believe that Jesus was telling the truth, that Jesus really is Who He said He was, and that He really can connect you to God by His Spirit, then ask Him.  Sincerely ask Him for His gift.  You will likely have a few other things you want to say as well – but those are between you and Him.  Ask Him for the Spirit.  You will be amazed…