Tag Archives: God

Keep the Faith – Summary

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All followers of Jesus will experience tough challenges that will tempt them to abandon what they believe.  All of us.  All followers will wonder if following Jesus is worth it, whether they have been gullible.  All of us.  Jesus promised us that following Him would be tough, painful at times and would cost some of us our lives.  The key to enduring these trials is the same thing that connected us with Jesus in the first place: Faith.   He is the Author (the Inventor and Giver) of our faith and He is the Perfecter of it.

When – not if but when – you go through these challenging times, it will serve you well to read Hebrews 11 and 12, letting the truths contained in those chapters soak into your heart and encourage you.  That is why they are there!

A friend of mine blessed my heart the other day, when he said: “Worry is the fear that God won’t get it right.  Bitterness is the belief that God got it wrong.”  Nice.  And between worry and bitterness, in the place of peace, lies faith, the faith that knows, despite circumstances that seem to deny it, that, of course God will get it right!  

Keep the Faith – Good Question

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Somebody who has been reading these posts on faith asked a good question: “What if my suffering is God punishing me?” When we are tempted to turn back from our faith, is it always because we are experiencing some kind of attack? What if God is doing it to us? Let’s sort this out.

The last post, about keeping our eye on Jesus (See “Keep the Faith – Part 5“) did not go far enough. Here’s the next line from Hebrews:

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Heb 12:3)

Much of the suffering one experiences in following Jesus, comes from opposition from sinful men. Jesus clearly said:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. (John 15:18)

But there is another Source of some of the hardship we face as followers of Jesus. Some of it comes from God. But it’s not punishment, it’s discipline. Punishment is a penalty that is due for something wrong. Jesus took the punishment for all our sins; there is no further punishment due. Discipline, on the other hand, is correction for a tendency we have formed that is wrong. Discipline shapes us and steers us in a positive direction.

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:5-6)

Discipline is given to encourage us because we are loved. True, he uses the word, punishes, in that quote from Proverbs, but does so with the meaning of working to produce good in us. This whole passage is well worth chewing over, but here is another quote from it that makes the same point:

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:10-11)

See the difference? Hope that helps. My sense is that this is a question we all ask ourselves from time to time and it is good to get the truth of it, stated clearly, right from Scripture.

Keep the Faith – Part 5

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Sneaking out of North Korea is so demanding and dangerous, it is only attempted by a tiny percentage of people.  After one leaves family and friends behind, the route involves perilous travel through China, avoiding detection at constant identity checks, tramping through thick jungles in Laos and then enduring 2 months of detention in Thailand before being allowed to apply for refugee status in South Korea.  There are so many potential obstacles, so many ways to get caught and sent back for torture and possible death, that the odds are stacked heavily against those who attempt it.  That is also why there are former escapees who serve as guides (sometimes, but not always for a fee) to show new escapees which routes and techniques are safe.  More than that, they serve as living evidence that the path to freedom is possible and definitely worth it!  Imagine how encouraging those guides must be to the confused and frightened souls who are on the run to freedom.

The author of Hebrews has been exhorting people of faith, teaching us ways to keep our faith in times of severe testing.  One of his teachings says:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus went first.  He showed us the way and how it is done.  He came back and said, “Don’t be afraid; it’s really worth it!”  He did it “for the joy set before Him.”

There is no joy in being crucified.  Crucifixion remains as one of the most painful and horrific ways to die.  The “joy set before Him” was not the cross but lay on the far side of the cross.  The “joy” was in the triumph over sin that was accomplished on the cross.

Some of you are enduring the pain of chemotherapy, scorning the “shame” of losing your hair, for the joy of being cancer-free.  Some of you are enduring the financial hardship and stress of working two or three jobs for the joy of seeing your children graduate.  Jesus invites us to “pick up our cross,” figuratively speaking, and follow Him.  He invites us to follow Him despite how tough or painful, or even shameful it may seem to be, for the joy of being “raised up on the last day” to live with Him in His new and perfect “garden.”  He said:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”  (John 14:1-4)

When they asked Him where He was going and what was the way, He said:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6)

Following Jesus is nothing less than a desperate escape from the world’s system of slavery.  Don’t be surprised or confused by how tough and scary it seems.  Keep your eye on your Guide.  He’s been there, “done that” and has returned to demonstrate that following Him is really worth it.

Keep the Faith – Part 4

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Let’s make a million bucks together; we’ll split it.  I’ll provide the idea; you do the graphics.  Let’s make a T-shirt with a picture of the screen of a GPS across it.  However, instead of the street arrow pointing to the next intersection, it points to the sandaled feet of Jesus, as He walks up the road ahead of us, leading us forward.  Then, below that picture, one word: “Recalculating!”  Nice, huh?

Hebrews 12:2, continuing with coaching tips for those who are struggling to hold on to their faith (this topic starts here), says this:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Heb 12:2)

This tip builds on the previous one, continuing the idea of living life as a marathon race.  When you are running a race, you keep the finish line in mind to motivate you in the tough moments.  There is a real sense in which Jesus is our finish line!  Think about it…

But this verse also says He is the “author and perfecter of our faith.”  What does that mean?

The word, Author, means He invented faith, He brought it into being.  Ever ride a Segway? – those two wheeled “balancy” things?  Imagine getting on the prototype, the day it was invented, by Dean Kamen.  You get on it and It feels like it is  going to fall over.  What do you do?  You look over at Dean and say, “Am I doing this right?”  Same thing with the “Author” or inventor of our faith.  You keep your eyes on Him.  “Am I doing this right?”

The word, Perfecter, means the One Who brings faith all the way to its complete, intended conclusion.  Again, that’s Jesus.  These challenges we face in this life are used by Jesus to prepare us for a life in which faith, perfect faith, is the norm!  Keep your eye on Him, because He won’t quit working on you until you get there, until your faith is perfect, lacking nothing, complete.

… He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6b)

There’s a reason that people have teams as they participate individually in sports of endurance .  You can run farther, faster and better when you are running with a teammate.  If you are alone in a race, it helps to fix your eyes on a better runner, letting his example “lead you on” and motivate you.  In the marathon of following Jesus, as we struggle to hang on to our faith, it makes all the difference to

“fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.”

There’s more to this – too much for today.  Stay tuned.

Keep the Faith – Part 3

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We’ve been tearing off chunks of Hebrews 12:1-3, chewing on advice it gives for people struggling to stay strong in faith, in the face of intense opposition.  The next morsel says this:

…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  (Heb 12:1c). 

A simple trick for keeping the faith is to treat your life as a race.  Not a sprint; you’re not going as fast as you can, but more of a marathon.  People who are running a marathon adopt a mindset that gives them increased endurance.  They expect the race to be tough – that’s the idea of it.  Runners in a race stay within the prescribed boundaries of the course, and don’t wander aimlessly.  They have a finish line in their mental sights.

Runners don’t make up their own course, they learn the course that has been set and follow it.  One of the mysterious and exciting things about following Jesus by faith is discovering what course has been “marked out for you.”  God has no problem showing the course for those who are truly interested and willing.

Remember at the end of the Boston Marathon, as exhausted runners approached the finish line?  The bombs?  Several of those runners who were able to do so, picked themselves up and made their way to the finish line.  That is a picture of the attitude being encouraged for us, as we follow Jesus.

Here’s the list so far:

  1. Remember those on our team who have set a powerful standard.
  2. Pull up your socks and tie your shoes (Get rid of anything that would hinder your progress or trip you up.)
  3. Treat your life as a marathon, with a course marked out for you.

Keep the Faith – Part 2

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We’ve been getting some complaints about the way you talk so much about Jesus.  If you want to keep your job with this firm, knock it off …”

How can you hang tough with what you believe when there is so much pressure  – tough pressure – to make you let it go?   Hebrews 12:1-3 answers that question with practical tips.  We covered the first one, about the “great cloud of witnesses,” here: “Keep the Faith – Part 1.”  

Here is how that passage continues:

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,  (Hebrews 12:1b)

Want to hang tough with faith?  Pull up your socks and tie your shoes!  Get rid of anything that will slow you down or trip you up.   

FAMU athlete Robert Hayes practices running on...

FAMU athlete Robert Hayes practices running on the track: Tallahassee, Florida (Photo credit: State Library and Archives of Florida)

 Things that slow you down (floppy socks) include anything you don’t need but have been carrying through life out of habit or laziness. In her younger years, my daughter used to want to take all of her stuffed animals with her on cross-country trips in the car.  Sometimes she would be nearly buried in the pile of fuzzy objects in the back seat of the car.  But there came a time when she realized all those toys were getting in her way.  We all have stuff like that in our lives.

It is time to take inventory and pitch a bunch of stuff.  After I retired, I spent about a month fixing up my woodshop so I could work in it again.  You wouldn’t believe all the useless crap I hauled out to the dumpster.  But now it feels good out there; I can actually see the workbench and get right to work.  You watch Olympic athletes getting ready for track events and the first thing they do is take off everything they don’t need – from jackets and sweats to jewelry – just so they can run faster.   Did you know that sailboat racers spend time scrubbing the dirt and algae off the hulls of their boats?

i don’t know what stuff you have loading you down and slowing you down in life, but you do!   When you “pull up your socks,” you become stronger and more effective.  It is easier to resist the world’s pressure.

If the “floppy socks” in your life slow you down, the sins (untied shoelaces) actually trip you up.  They stop your progress.  Picture a runner who is competing pretty well, right up there with the leaders.  As they round the final turn, he steps on an untied shoelace and loses his balance.  His legs begin to windmill wildly as he fights to stay up. But then he goes down, sprawled awkwardly on the track cinders.  He gets up, he finishes the race, but it’s not the same.  Sin works like that.

I have no idea what your “shoelaces” look like.  But you do!  “Tie ’em up!”  Don’t get tripped up.

When the world comes after your faith, tries to hold you back or knock you down, first, remember that you are a member of a great team, stretching back through history, a team that has left an indelible legacy of powerful acts of faith.  Secondly, pull up your socks and tie your shoes.  Get rid of anything that’s slowing you down or tripping you up.

Dangerous Faith

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Speaking of people who lived by strong faith, the author of Hebrews says:

Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—  (Heb 11:36b-37)

Of course, that was back in the old Bible days, right?  What challenges do we face today that test our faith?  Well, last week, 20 churches were burned to the ground.  Homes were ransacked and torched.  People were beaten and a few were killed.  Why?  They were Christians living in Egypt.  In some areas of Egypt, Christians are living as prisoners in their homes, afraid to go outside, even to get food.  Most of us cannot imagine what these people are dealing with, much less really know how we would respond if we were in their shoes.  They are facing a stark challenge to their faith.  What they choose to do, in response to these attacks, will show what they believe.   The world urges us to fight back, to get even, take revenge.  Jesus taught: 

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…  (Matthew 5:44)

Sadly, the situation in Egypt is hardly unique.  Levels of Christian persecution are higher than they ever have been.   This faith business is dangerous business.   Would you join me in praying for these brothers and sisters, asking God to strengthen their faith?

The Source of Power in Faith

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There is a commonly held, new-age idea that belief – belief in anything – in and of itself, does powerful, good things for you.  Sounds nice, but it is nonsense.  A buddy of mine believed he was a magpie (Ahh, yes — remember the 70’s?).  His belief was confusing but it was not powerful.  But there is something powerful going on when God uses faith to interact and connect to humans  (See: “Loud and Clear”).  But how is that faith any different?  Where does the power come from?  Faith is a necessary ingredient, but it doesn’t do the work.  God does.

It’s sort of like this: If I want to start using Facebook, I can’t just do it because my computer is not automatically equipped for it. First, I have to ask the folks at Facebook to send me a download of software or an “App.”  I receive it, install it, and then my computer is enabled to make that connection. Something similar goes on when God connects to people by faith.  It is a powerful something, something that is rarely explained, even by Christians.

Before any connection to God is made by faith, a “download” is necessary.  But it isn’t software God gives you, it is something alive – Someone alive –  the Holy Spirit.  God comes and lives in you, by His Holy Spirit.  Really!   It starts when someone has an “Aha!” moment of understanding that Jesus is God, Who has come to us in understandable human form (See: “One Plus Two Equals One”).  When a person crosses that threshold of faith, their natural response is to want to draw closer to God, to communicate with Him.  God connects interactively with people who believe like that.   But it isn’t the act of believing that makes the connection happen.  It’s the “download” from God, the Gift from God that powers it up. Here’s how Jesus said it.

 “If you [really believe in Me] 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.  (John 14:15b -17 – with my added clarification )

This is the key. This is how and why  faith connects us.  God gives us His Spirit and by that Spirit, He lives within us. Really!  It’s so fantastic, so unexpected, that Jesus practically stood on His head to explain it.  He said:

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  (John 14:19-20)

Jesus replied, “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.  (John 14:23)

 

This process of receiving  (downloading and installing!) the Holy Spirit is so crucial, that, after His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples to wait for the Spirit before they tried to do anything.

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…”  (Excerpts from Acts 1:4-8]

When God gives His Spirit, as a response to faith, and therefore lives in a human soul, that soul becomes alive in a powerfully new and full way.  God’s Spirit is “born” in him or her.  That is why Jesus told a religious teacher he must be “born from on above” (commonly translated as “born again” – John 3:1-3).  He said that physical birth is not enough for complete life, for truly connecting to God:

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.’  (John 3:5-7)

It starts with faith.  Faith is how we reach out to God to receive His Spirit.  But God’s Spirit makes the connection and brings the new life.  Therein is the astonishing power in faith.

What Faith is For

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The guy that picked me up hitchhiking told me to believe in Jesus so I could get cool stuff. He said, “See them ‘tahrs?’ They’s ‘wahd’ oval ‘tahrs’.” (I’m guessing he was from Alabama)  He said, “Ah prayed to Je-us-suhs for them ‘tahrs’ and he gave them to me. You should believe in Je-us-sus…” And on and on.

I wasn’t ready to believe in Jesus that day.  But even so, I could tell there was something fishy with his theology.  I remember thinking that even if Jesus had given him the wide oval tires, this guy has probably missed the point. Them ‘tahrs’ is probably worn out by now.  Is that what having faith is for –  so we can get cool stuff, or do cool stuff?  People get that idea reading things like this:

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea ’; and it would obey you.  (Luke 17:5-6)

At first it sounds like Jesus was saying if you have pure faith, even tiny pure faith then you can get or do cool stuff.  That’s the way it  supposedly works with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.  But that’s not what Jesus was implying.

If you look back in Luke, you’ll see Jesus had just taught the disciples that they should be willing to forgive someone who sins against them, apologizes but then goes and does it again – seven times in one day!  Jesus was teaching His disciples to have the faith to live by His reality, His teachings, even when they seem to be ridiculous or impossible according to the world’s notion of reality.  The world says you are a sucker to be so forgiving.  Jesus says, “Trust Me on this, it’s better to forgive.”

So their response is, “How can we increase the strength of our faith ?”  And Jesus uses an outlandish exaggeration (moving a tree with faith as small as a mustard seed) to teach them that it is not the size or strength of their faith so much as it is the Source of their faith that matters.  Faith is in God; God supplies the power to accomplish His will.

Remember, faith is given to us by God, and connects us to God. (See: “The Source of Power in Faith“) By faith, His Spirit lives within us and works to conform our thoughts and motives to His ways.  Connected with God, living in harmony with God, forgiveness extended to the repeat offender not only becomes possible but also makes sense!  Same thing if God shows you He wants a tree moved or wants  you to get a new set of ‘tahrs.’

Held by Faith

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When Jesus said to Peter,

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)

He was warning Peter about the trial to come.  But more than that, He was encouraging him, informing Peter that He would keep him safe.   Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail!

So, here’s the question: When we suffer, when we are discouraged and confused, who is responsible for making sure our faith doesn’t fail?   After all, faith is our lifeline, our means of connecting to God.  Who protects it?  Whose job is it to keep our faith strong?  Our natural inclination is to believe that we must work harder to keep our faith strong.  We have to tell ourselves to believe.  But is that true?

In Peter’s situation, Jesus prayed that his faith would not fail.   Maybe you think that Peter was more important to Jesus than you are.  Is that true?  (Hint:  What did Jesus teach about “the least of these, my brothers”? – Matthew 25:40ff)  Do you think that Jesus, the One Who promised,

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40)

… would somehow fail to pray for your faith?

And how did you get your faith?  Did you work it up?  Did you “squinch” up your face and ball your fists and hold your breath?  Or was your faith given to you by God?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

By the way, when God gives out gifts, batteries – rechargables – are included.

The toddler is going with his grandfather, down to the soda shop to get a cone of mint-chip.  As they get ready to cross Main, Grampa holds out his hand and says, “Hold onto my hand and don’t let go.”   Hand in hand, off they go, picking their way through a break in traffic.  Whose job is it to make sure the child is still holding on?

In my Father's Hand