Faith vs. Unbelief

 

Monday, November 22, 2021

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:  “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”  The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him.  And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.  The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come.  It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest.  It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”  Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.  Revelation 11:15-19

I am reminded of a lesson on faith one of our seminary professors taught, illustrating it with this thought: 

There are those who say I won’t believe it until I see it.

He then put a cap on unbelief with this thought:

The fact is nobody sees it until they believe it.

Of course my professor was giving the sense of what it tells us in Scripture about having a genuine relationship with God…one that truly results in eternal life:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

The future, contained in today’s portion of Scripture in Revelation, where God finally takes back any of the enemy’s power, and begins His eternal rule, is a hard thing to wrap your mind around – given the thousands of years Satan has used planet earth for his evil playground. 

Many scoff at the idea of the end of times and God’s judgment coming.  But, to trust Scripture at all is to trust entirely.  If any of Scripture is wrong, it’s own claim to trustworthiness is false.   This is where faith’s rubber meets the tough rocks on life’s road.  Faith means trusting completely…or it’s not faith.

For You Today

Will there be a rapture, a time of Great Tribulation, and that Day of the LORD, where God separates the sheep from the goats?  Are we, indeed, accountable to our Creator, and will be held so, according to our deeds.  Will we be judged?

Faith’s answer is yes, Lord, I believe; help me (receive grace) for my unbelief.[1]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

For another post on this text see O Worship the King or Sovereign Means Sovereign

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[1] See Mark 9:24

When the Going Gets a Little Rocky

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Think back on those early days when you first learned about  Christ.  Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.  Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.  You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.  So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised.  

Hebrews 10:32-36

The writer of this message to the Hebrews[1] reminds them how difficult things were when they first came to the saving knowledge of Christ.  They found out the meaning of persecution and hardship through public humiliation, beatings, jail time, and having all their possessions confiscated by the government for following Jesus.  That’s a wee bit eye-opening for those of us who think tough times are when we’re forced to downgrade from a Mercedes to a Ford.

But the Apostle encourages them to not abandon the eternal rewards awaiting them in glory for a little bit of comfort in the here and now.  How misguided it would be, even if you must walk, to throw away your keys and title to the Rolls Royce awaiting you at the end of a little trouble on the rocky road.  Hard times are relative; a little suffering now is worth it all for the glory that never fades away.

One thing the apostle doesn’t forget in his encouragement is telling his readers how to get through the rocky times…develop patient endurance to do God’s will.  

For You Today

Patient endurance isn’t a matter of toughing-it all on your own; rather it is learning “patiently” to wait on God’s gift of what you need on the inside to continue in obedience to His will.  For any of us that is becoming as the Roman official who begged Jesus to heal his son…beginning with prayer that owns the trouble we have with faith to endure:  I believe…help me in my doubting.[2]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

For another post on this theme see I Believe in Me - Nov 23, 2018

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[1] Many scholars attribute authorship to Apostle Paul

[2] Mark 9:24

 

Finding God

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Monday, August 21, 2017

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  Jeremiah 29:13^(NLT)

Jeremiah’s message is a great comfort to those who are earnestly seeking to know God.  And especially comforting to those who still have many questions about who God is, and how you can be certain you’re finding him among all the clamoring voices in the world proclaiming they have the truth.

Have you ever felt like the Roman centurion who came to Jesus about healing his critically-ill child?  Jesus asked him if he believed, because that was important. 

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”  

Mark 9:24^(NLT)

C.S. Lewis took on many of humanity’s questions about God, because he was a brilliant thinker who wouldn’t settle for someone else’s faith; he had to struggle (as do we all) with doubt and fear that he might miss God.  Much of this comes out in his writings.

This is what we see in his children’s Narnia fantasy series.  In The Last Battle one of the characters who has been serving Tash (the enemy of the lion, Aslan, representing Jesus) comes face to face with the true king:

…in a narrow place between two rocks there came to meet me a great Lion. . . . He was more terrible than the Flaming Mountain of Lagour, and in beauty he surpassed all that is in the world even as the rose in bloom surpasses the dust of the desert.  Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honor) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him.  Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him.  But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, ‘Son, thou art welcome.’  But I said, ‘Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash.’  He answered, ‘Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me.’  Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one?  The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false.  Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him.  For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him.  Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him.  And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.  Dost thou understand, Child?  I said, Lord, thou knowest how much I understand.  But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days.  Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly.  For all find what they truly seek.”[2]

In Genesis Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers; years later when they met Joseph had the upper hand and his brothers stood trembling before him.  Joseph had Pharaoh’s authority to have them all put to death immediately.  But he said:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.  Genesis 50:20^(NLT)

They didn’t deserve that…but neither do I deserve God’s kindness.

For You Today

If you haven’t worked out the last detail of who God is, and whether you’ve got it all together how to have a relationship with him…but you’re hot after that, you’re seeking God with all you’ve got…try to relax and breathe a little in the knowledge that you will always seek, until the day you see Him face to face. 

And what a surprise and joy that will be!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy Pixabay.com

[2] The Last Battle. Copyright © 1956 by C. S. Lewis Pte., Ltd. Copyright renewed © 1984 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. A Year With Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia. Copyright © 2010 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Extracts taken from The Chronicles of Narnia. Copyright © C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1950-1956.  Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

The Secret to King David's Greatness - Part 4

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Go to VIDEO

Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.  Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money!  Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.
Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.  Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.  I long to obey your commandments!  Renew my life with your goodness.          Psalm 119:33-40 ^(NLT)

We have been looking at keys to unlocking the human heart, transforming the evil in our human nature into Godliness – turning the heart towards God’s will.  King David is our example.  We have learned that David was teachable, pro-active in his walk with God, and he had a keen sense of what constitutes real riches.

The final piece of King David’s greatness puzzle:

David trusted God and it created a 

longing for God within

Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you.  Help abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.  I long to obey your commandments!  Renew my life with your goodness.

Plugging-into greatness, or anything God wants to bring about in your life always, always, ALWAYS finally rests upon the leap of faith – a surrender to His will over your will.

David’s prayer at this point is asking for reassurance; he asked God to create faith within himself.  He trusted, yet knew he needed help to trust deeper.  David was asking like the centurion in the Gospel account who approached Jesus to heal his daughter.  Jesus told the man it was possible if he believed.  The centurion replied, I believe; help me with my doubts.[2]

This is the kind of thing that reveals the heart’s longing to be better, to love better.  It reveals the desire to be cleansed and pure within, not just the appearance of goodness that others can see.  David said, I long to obey…help me with my wandering will. 

David’s greatness was never a matter of accomplishments or physical strength, or even his popularity among the people of Israel – David’s greatness was a heart that longed to be God’s servant, and a mind that understood he was unequal to even the smallest part of that without God’s grace working on him from the inside-out!

Sometimes I look at my desk while I’m writing (like right now)

and see the incredibly disorganized mess of my workspace, and I think:  how in the world do I ever get anything done?  And then, in my visible shortcoming, what I realize is that the longing to be better, more organized and productive in God’s Kingdom simply highlights for me how unalterable is the reality that I am not only not perfect…I am woefully-inadequate to do anything for God; it is HE who is doing all things through me. 

Now, it’s hard to imagine my desk-mess could inspire confidence – but it’s the very reassurance I need; it brings renewal to my soul to know that God can work even through the disorganized, frenzied soul who is willing to trust him deeper.

For You Today

Like David, you can find the greatness God has in store for your heart and life.  It’s a matter of going a little deeper in the trust department…whatever YOUR desk looks like!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image:   By Jastrow, via Wikimedia Commons

[2] Mark 9:24^(NLT)