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!

Not even a cameo appearance

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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.    Ephesians 2: 8-10

So many questions, aren't there! It's difficult to understand why it is that there are issues
and questions that, quite likely, will not be answered in this lifetime. Once saved, always
saved? Predestination? Sola Fide? Works? Apostasy? While a lot of these and other
issues are different, there seems to be an overlap.

I am going to take a blogger's stand on the importance or relevance of our own part
in the processes of being transformed once we establish Jesus Christ as our personal savior
and Lord. First, I believe that this very act of choosing to follow Christ is done To us, not
By us. I'm not buying that we even have a choice once God reaches out and "plucks" us
into His hands. So our very justification, assumed righteousness (0f Christ) and
salvation are, in my eyes, totally passive. We aren't involved in these life altering
changes; GOD is!

So taking the stand that we have been changed out of the very grace of God, I also
do not feel that we are "actors" in the saga of our sanctification. The very process of
being sanctified, has as its goal, the removal of all sin. It is a process that ends after our
death; a process that is on-going through the work of the Holy Spirit who is challenged
by our corporal sin abiding flesh... we simply aren't up to the task of doing the process
ourselves. To believe that we can change ourselves from within, is, as I see it, prideful
and mistaken.

Will we strive to live lives more closely resembling the Jesus we love? Yes, I believe
we will do so through our appreciation and God's support. Will others see a change
in us and surmise that we have changed?Yes, I believe we will look and live
differently: I believe we will have no choice because that will also be done To us.

Are we really weak and in need of a wonderful savior to make the changes necessary
to reach everlasting life with God? Well, that's exactly what the gospel message
shouts at us!

We are human. That's okay. We need God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to do their
saving, graceful, miraculous transition to our lives. 

Praise our Holy God!

Well Marcus Welby...Father Knows Best!

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Matt 23: 9    

You know you are getting older when you reference TV shows that aren't even played
anymore on the 'Old TV' Cable Networks! I thought of Robert Young and the rolls he
played, especially pertaining to the idea that 'father knows best.'

You remember, don't you, when your parent angered you by answering the universal
child question.."Why?" with, "Because I told you so!" Debates with parents, especially
when a child is young, are really meaningless and probably cause this type of
parental response. Obviously, there are a myriad of things that older folks know
in terms of what is best for their children. I am going to suggest that God, our
Father, knows at all times what is best for His children...us!

He knows, for example, the difference between 'What we want,' and 'What we need!'
What an important distinction. Because the Father is sovereign and in control, He may
very well choose to 'give" us something that we didn't ask for or something 'instead of'
what we asked for. Most of us would readily admit that we really don't know what is best
for us a lot of the time. How fortunate we are to have a Father who knows all things.

He knows all that we think, say and do. Not gonna sneak an obtuse, unkind or sinful
thought past this Parent, He is aware. This becomes especially important in our
daily battle against our sinful nature. We can 'use' His complete knowledge of our
nature to lean on when we feel that temptation begin to overtake us. It's a lot like
using our human parents as an excuse..."My dad will tan my hide if he catches me
doing that!" ( I know, I just dated myself, again!)

I think it's probably a natural condition to want to please our parents. We don't
want them to be upset or disappointed in us if at all possible. Well that becomes
magnified when it comes to our Heavenly Father. It's our job to glorify Him by
our actions and behavior... a full time job for sure!

So Father really does know best, and that, it seems to me, is comforting and reassuring!
We LOVE you Father God! Praise be to You, always!

By all means, please eat from that tree!

As usual, I am having some fun with the title and topic. It would be less than smart to
question anything that God does! Scripture assures us that God challenges but never
tempts; that's Satan's area of expertise! 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 6:23

So, it would be less than fair to criticize Eve or Adam for falling into Satan's trap, for
doing that which God forbade them. On one of the CD's I have listened to recently, the
speaker commented that ALL of us, we humans, would have fallen for the same guise. 
The result of that fall into temptation set in motion events that God, himself, envisioned
before the beginning of creation, events personified in the life of Jesus, the Son of God
who came into this world to free sinners into atonement with God through the cross
and resurrection.

Now having been a teacher for oh so many years, and knowing a bit about the nature of
human beings, children and adult, it may have been better, in retrospect, to not tell
those original humans what NOT to do. It's crazy how telling folks what they cannot do
seems, frequently, to result in them doing that very thing against which they have been
warned. I actually, purposely, set up situations where I "tested' the ability of my students
to avoid what I had asked them not to do. Well, they failed... miserably. I "left the lid off
the cookie jar, and they, despite my warning, went right ahead and gobbled!" "Read
the entire quiz before you answer any of the questions...!" I could go on with a bunch of
examples. Reverse psychology? No, just the habit of folks to respond when someone tells
them not to "touch the stove!"

No one knows people better than He who created them. He knows them and loves them.
He knew that we would fail the test, that sin would enter this world and leave us
helplessly unable to measure up to His Holiness. He knew that eventual judgement
would render us "undone" before His hatred of sin. He brought into existence a plan
for the ransom to be paid by the perfect, spotless, sinless Jesus Christ, His only and
beloved Son. Propitiation through the blood of Christ hanging on a tree. He wouldn't
let Abraham sacrifice his son; yet, He gave His beloved to wear the sins of all of us
so that we could be brought into the presence of God and seen as righteous.

Want to know why He is our Lord and Savior? The gospel! Praise God!

Everything Changes...well, almost everything!

James 1:17 (NASB)
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Things certainly change in our lives. I don't know about others, but I do not adapt well to
change. I am definitely a routine sort of person. 

Still remember going to the Levi store on Ohio State's campus as a freshman, and buying
30/30 jeans. That's 30" inseam and 30" waist. Well, one of those numbers is the same.
If I were to buy those jeans today, they "might" make it up to just below my kneecaps!

I once had lots of hair. Growing up in the 60's, hair was important!  I used to fuss with it
daily so that it would be cool. That certainly has changed! I knew things were changing
when a student remarked, upon looking down at my head, that he could see the state of
Ohio on the top of my head. Now I spend just as much time trying to do the comb-over!
It's a losing battle. (did I mention the hair growing where it isn't suppose to?)

Yep, things change. Styles change. Music changes. Weather changes. Friends change.
Jobs change...now days, it isn't at all odd to see folks change jobs very frequently. Some
changes are rhythmic like the ocean tides, some changes are abrupt, like the need to
move to a new home or job. Seasons change...I miss that in north Texas. Our health 
changes. Technology changes...and Fast! Dreams and expectations change. Obviously,
I could go on and on.

However, one thing never changes! GOD! He is steadfast, my rock. When He says
something, He follows up. His word is truth and does not change. He always keeps
His promises. His word is something that remains as true today as it was from the
very beginning of creation. We can thoroughly depend on our God... always.

That's comforting to me and, hopefully, to you. We can derive peace of mind and
great hope from the never-fluctuating love and righteousness of our Lord. He is sovereign,
just and permanent. He is God!

A Podiatrist's Journey

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Read some fascinating facts about our human body the other day in an e-mail. There
are 52 bones in the human foot! That is about 25% of all the bones in the human body!
So why, if you are among those like me who believe that God created us and designed
us, did He choose to put such "support" into the feet of His creation? 

Well, we are on a walk, a very important one. It is a journey designed to bring us 
eventually into the presence of God, adopted into his family through the redeeming
blood of His son, Jesus. Our walk here on earth, brief though it may be, brings us into
contact with many who do not have a relationship with Christ Jesus, so the quality
of our walk, if you will, is very very important!

It isn't necessarily an easy journey. There are ups and downs, pitfalls and temptations,
distractions and, of course, the presence of Satan, who would love to see us deviate from
the path. There is pain, sadness, disease, death (one only, please), tears, etc. These are
all things that will not be with us on that glorious day that we enter into the home
of God. So the desire to stay diligent and to persevere are strong. We have the help of
the Holy Spirit as we travel along the way.

As we walk, we have the opportunity to shine a light into the world, a light that
others may see. Our simple daily treatment of others, our countenance reflecting
our appreciation of the blessings we have been given provide to others an example that
may bring them to reach out to God or simply ask us why we shine as we do. That's
a big responsibility and one that we should gladly undertake.

So, yes, lots of bones and support in those feet! We will need them to continue this walk
we have undertaken. God always knows what He is doing. This is no surprise. In fact,
it's a wonderful realization that brings comfort and joy!