Wow.. it has been awhile!

Blogger's block! I've had it and have it. This has been a period of recent
spiritual struggles; the kind that leave me shaking my head and asking God
to strengthen me and to not let me do slippage.

I suppose all of us go through periods of time when we waiver a bit. Mine
have mostly involved trying to take back those car keys so that I can take
charge and fix things. I have allowed worry and concerns, things we all
encounter, to be too prominent and my faith and trust in the Lord to be
pushed to the back. Now that is scary and I am not comfortable with these
little changes.

This comes with these moments when I revert back to saying and thinking
negative things about people and, indeed, negative thoughts in general. I
have been down on my knees asking the Holy Spirit to kick me in the seat
of my pants to get my mind right. At least He will have a large target!

Faith comes from God; it isn't a natural way for people to operate.  I'm
not sold, to be honest, on our ability to do anything other than depend on
His Grace to build and sustain our faith. He reaches out to us, makes Himself
known through creation and His word, then plants faith into our hearts
that allows us to trust and depend upon Him.

Well, I am very glad that the Good Shepherd knows His sheep and is
capable of using that rod to straighten them out, on occasion. I am a stubborn, 
prone to wander and not too bright sheep so I need to hear His blessed
voice and lean into Him.

I'm trying and I want to succeed in bringing glory to God; it's something
that I gladly accept His glorious help with.

Praise God! (Thank You!)


Praise

Thomas...you need doubt no more!

John 20:24²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Ah, faith!  It's very easy to talk and write about, but it isn't all that easy to have. As an
English teacher, one of the things that I stressed in research and just knowledge-searching
was the need to use primary sources. These would be sources of information that were
actually present, that actually saw or experienced events first hand. The internet is full
of sources, but primary sources are preferable even though they decrease as time
separates the event from the present.

My namesake, Thomas, was one who, despite the joy and excitement of the other
disciples, found it very hard to believe what they were telling him. How could his
Lord, who hung lifeless and seemingly defeated on a cross, suddenly have reawakened
and come to see them. No... Thomas would believe only when he was able to see,
first hand and touch with his own hands. Of course, that is exactly what transpired,
giving life to that famous expression, "My Lord and My God!"

Jesus would go on to define real faith.....
²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

That's the key; believing that which cannot be seen or touched through faith granted,
honestly, by the Holy Spirit. We, being human, want desperately to hang onto that
empirical crutch; we want to see, touch, experience before we believe. The process
of becoming less dependent is one that happened, to me, gradually. But when it
did happen, I knew that I believed. No more doubting, Thomas.

Oh the joy of knowing in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your salvation,
eliminating sin as your life force, changing you into an adopted son of God,
emancipated from the condemnation of God. The veil is torn, access is
granted all for the sake of asking Jesus into ones heart. Reconciliation from
judgment. 

How glorious is our God! 

The ever elusive ability to have Faith

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

I have been listening to Wayne Grudem's video series on the basics of the Christian
faith; it is an enjoyable overview of the terms a Christian encounters and works through.
In a recent discussion of sanctification, he mentioned a long-time Christian woman who
was terminal. When questioned about her faith that she would soon be in the presence
of Jesus, she replied that she hoped so. Wayne saw this as very sad, as an indication that
her faith was not full.

I, on the other hand, see this as very human. Faith, when one speaks of a Christian's
journey, is TRUST in God, in Jesus, in the Gospel.... I could go on. Having assurance
is something that I believe grows as we grow into more mature followers of Christ; however,
I am not willing to forget a very important characteristic of we people... we are people.

That means we carry with us a certain amount of doubt and inability to completely 
trust in something we cannot physically reach out and touch. I am not implying that
faith doesn't grow, that we do not become much more comfortable about trusting in
Jesus as we read God's word and continue our walk. I am certain that were I to be
told tomorrow that I was soon to rest, I would have many things to tie together and
would feel a certain amount of anticipation because I fully believe in the saving power
of Jesus and the grace of our God. I also, in my most honest look ahead, am sure that I
will respond honestly in a way very similar to the woman discussed above.... with HOPE,
with heartfelt joy, with excitement, with a certain amount of sadness that I will be
leaving this wonderful life God has provided for me.... and also, with a degree of
doubt.

Not doubt in Jesus!  Not doubt in God! Not doubt in the gospel message of salvation
through the work on the cross... doubt because I am a human being... incapable of
total trust and faith.

I know and believe that God will understand me because, after all, He was the one
who created me.

All praise and glory be to God the Father!

Just be careful about the size of the mountain!

Mark 11:23-24 ESV / 

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  

I read with some degree of horror, this week, about a pastor who had been in the news
before for having live snakes in his church in an attempt to prove faith.

Mark 16:17-18 records, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will … pick up snakes with their hands.” 

Turns out that there is some debate about not only what is being said, here, but also about
whether these particular verses were part of the original bible texts. For whatever the reason, this pastor and I am sure there are others, risk life and limb in an attempt to
prove faith in God. 

The Bible is the word of God; it is truth; yet, there are parts that, quite honestly, are written with symbolism and cannot, in my opinion, be taken absolutely literally. There is no
question that God did and does provide unbelievably miraculous outcomes. The
outcomes are the result of God's ability to do anything He chooses to do. This does not
encourage me to rush out and jump into a den of lions. Now I have a house-cat named
Samantha that presents some degree of danger due to her unpredictability and a set
of unforgiving claws, but she is not a lioness. I, also, am not Daniel!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, also I am not. I don't even cook on the stove without

gloves and pot holders at the ready. Again, God is not limited in any way.

But we have to be careful not to assume that all language and statements in the Bible are
literal. I don't know about you, but I am having difficulty imagining my ability to stand
before a mountain of any size, pray fervently that it can be moved, and watching it
change locations. Not even a molehill!

I can show my faith by works that provide proof that my heart is set on doing the work
of God and bring glory to Him. I, being human and pretty old, am limited by those
factors and feel no need to attempt to preform any amazing fetes designed to prove
faith; I just need to live a life that shines with the light of Jesus, as best I can.

I will leave the cool stuff to God. He isn't limited by the size of the mountain!
Praise God!

Pascal's Wager: You are going to have to have FAITH!!!

1. "God is, or He is not"
2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
3. According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.
4. You must wager. (It's not optional.)
5. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
6. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.

Well, I am going back on my word to stop at 100 blog entries, but this just bothers me! I

don't know how many of you are familiar with this "Wager" by Blaise Pascal, a 17th

century French philosopher, and I am not totally sure of its intent, but I do not like it!

All of us tend to lean toward proof; it is a human trait to want to prove that something

exists before we grant belief. Unfortunately, for people who need this type of proof, God

as an entity does not provide proof of His existence outside of belief and faith. If you

were to read R. C Sproul or listen to one of his many tapes, you would associate the

Latin term Sola Fide with this theologian. We are saved by faith alone and by grace

alone. 

Somewhere in the walk of a Christian, he or she simply must have and declare FAITH

in God and Jesus Christ. You have to be willing to allow yourself to jump off that

diving board into the water. We have the Bible, God's word spoken through the Holy

Spirit, and we have His creation which shouts His existence. But we will reach a point

where we simply have to believe and have the faith that He exists, is sovereign and

alive forever. 

Leaning on a wager, it seems to me, is not having faith; instead, it is playing things

safe. 'Well, I might as well cast my vote for God because, if I lose the wager, I have

really lost nothing!' But careful now. Playing a wager on the existence of God surely

does not translate into allowing Him into ones life, depending upon His grace

and loving-kindness. And what about Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross? Where does

a wager put ones appreciation for the atonement earned at the foot of the cross?

Don't wager on the future existence of your soul! Don't wager on your ability to

fend off the Devil by allowing yourself to make a wager on your eternal soul! 

Faith is the key. In your walk, this faith will increase and you will reach a point where

this type of philosophy seems both rediculous and very very dangerous!

Praise our God!