Venting … gossip’s brother

Matthew 18:15 – 17 (NIV)
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

OK … I’m going to generalize here.  So, if this angers you, I am politely asking you to get over it. 

Whenever the talk of gossip comes up, or whenever you read comic strips about gossip, it always seems to involve women.  This – by no means – mean that men are exempt from the snares of gossip.  However, this seems to be the accepted truth in what we read, see and hear in public.  It is almost as if this is a weakness that only affect women because we men are so much above that. (BALONEY!!!)

Men simply gossip in a different way than women.  It’s not gossip because it is what they DID TO US … not necessarily what they DID.  It’s called VENTING!

Have you have had anyone that just wanted to VENT to you in order to better understand what they were dealing with, or better yet, to avoid taking their anger out on someone else, or because it would do no good to go to the other person because they are an idiot.  I have been VENTED to, and I have VENTED!  Guilty!  But I know for a fact that I am not alone.

It is time we rise above.  No more venting.  That’s really all I have to say about that.  Just stop.  Read Matthew 18:15 – 17 again, meditate on it, memorize it, do whatever it takes to get that truth into your brain.  Just stop VENTING!

The weak person vents.  It is very easy to do.

The strong person goes to the brother who has offended (or seems to have offended).  It is very difficut to do.
It is a difficult life the Christian must live, but if we live it as God has instructed us to live it … it is the abundant life promised to us by Christ.

John 10:10 (NIV):
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Are you reading your Bible …

I know I struggle with being consistent when it comes to reading my Bible.  I get to feeling guilty for not reading it, then, I get it out for a while and do some good reading.  But then … I put it down again for days (and often weeks) on end.

WHY????

I put on a good Christian face most of the time.  Most of my friends would probably tell you I am a good Christian who could serve as an example from others.  As far as I’m concerned … that just makes me a pretty good actor.  I have been a Christian since I was 10, and I know how to act like a Christian.  Rather than BE the real thing, I pretend.

WHY????

I am weak and stupid.  That is why.  Weak because I cannot maintain the consistency that I would like to maintain.  Stupid because I KNOW … I REALLY KNOW … that a Christ-directed life is the best life in the world.  By not reading my Bible consistently, I might as well be hitting myself in the head with a baseball bat regularly.  It’s as if I say to myself – “reading the Bible would draw me closer to God and bring me ultimate joy … hmmm … what can I do to screw that up … don’t want any of that joy.”

What about you?  Are you reading your Bible?

I have a suggestion for you.  This is something I am going to try to do as well.  I heard it from a preacher on the radio the other day.  And no … it’s not reading the Bible all the way through in a year or anything.

I am going to read 1 John every day for 30 days.  There’s a lot to be said about repitition.  By the end of the 30 days, I ought to have a pretty good idea of what is in 1 John, and I will also probably (by the end of 30 days) realize that 30 days of reading 1 John is not enough.  That’s key.  We can read God’s Word over and over and over and there will always be more for us to learn.

I’ll close with these verses:

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

1 Peter 2:2 – 3
Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Go with God,
Donald B

Left Versus Right … What’s your motivation???

Why do we do what we do? There is an easy answer to this … and it is to be appreciated by other people – especially by those we consider family or friends! But that has to change …

Matthew 6:1 – 4 (NLT)
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

For me, this is a very familiar scripture. I have known and understood (so I thought) this scripture for most of my life. But recently, I have come to a deeper understanding of what these verses are saying. I’ll try to explain.

I want to focus on two parts in these verses (they are in bold above.) Have you ever asked yourself what “good deeds” are? Or even what “publicly” means? What about “others” … who are they? I will tell you what I think about these in a moment. But the “don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” is a little more straight forward. That just tells me to not announce what I did to someone else. Basically … keep it a secret if I am able.

Good deeds – anything you do. Leaving groceries for someone in need, helping someone change a tire, giving someone money. That list is the sort of list I would have made in the past. I have since added to this. Doing your job at work, making beds, doing yard work, setting up chairs for worship, setting up Sunday School rooms, and any thing else that is something you might do to help other people in some form or fashion.

Publicly – anything you do that someone else might notice (or that you hope they will notice.

Others – any one who is not you. People at church, spouses, family members, co-workers, strangers, etc.

I believe there is a great lesson for everyone here. We so desperately want to be appreciated by people. We aren’t necessarily looking to be glorified or exalted above others (although we struggle with this too), but we are simply wanting to know that someone else appreciates the actions we take to make their life better. But this is what God is talking about.

Some ways we let the other hand know what’s going on is in casual conversation. For example, you may be in a conversation about kids not being taught how to change a tire by their parents. And you say something like this, “The other day, I stopped for this car on the side of the road, and there was this 20 something just sitting there because they didn’t even know where the spare was. Fortunately, I was able to help them get it changed.” Now … you didn’t really brag on yourself, but you let someone else know what you did. Guess what … you have received your reward in full.

Someone at work may have done something poorly, and you went in behind them and fixed it. Someone else says, “My, so and so did a good job with this.” And you, just wanting to make sure the company doesn’t promote a dolt say, “Well, if you really knew what happened, you might not think that.” And then, you proceed to tell them the truth of the matter. You have received your reward in full.

Or your preach a sermon or teach a lesson (and pastors and teachers everywhere could affirm this one), and you ask – for the purpose of improving of course – what did you think of the message today, or did you get anything out of that lesson? You have received your reward in full.

Ultimately (and probably impossible for me … not sure about you), but I believe God’s desire is for us to do whatever we can to help our brothers and sisters in whatever way we can as an act of obedience to him. And, after we do it … I think he wants us to look for our reward from him and not the people we assisted (or those around).

With all that said (I hope it made sense) <– Funny, I just typed that without even thinking. It’s kind of like me looking for your appreciation … I believe we should look for ways to thank others for their service or the things they do. Like I said at the beginning, we all do thrive on being appreciated from others. And I think this is a thing God built into us. However, I don’t believe God intends for us to go looking for it. But I do believe God intends for us to look for ways to give it to other people. And no … by me finding a way to appreciate something you did … I am not taking your reward away that God has promised.

Maybe – if you think about it – if we put more effort into showing our appreciation for what others have done, the need to go out and seek that appreciation would dissipate.

Go with God,
Donald B

A Husband’s Responsibility

First, this post is for men.  My hope is you will find encouragement to do the hard things to make your marriage work.  Women – feel free to read.  However, this is NOT intended for you to use against your husband as a battering ram.

Here’s the skinny – if you marriage isn’t working, it’s probably your fault.

I use the word “probably” above because there are some rare (but few in my opinion) situations where this is not true.

Let’s kick this off with some scriptures.
Genesis 3:16 (NIV)
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth.  And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.

By sharing this verse, I am not trying to give you more reason to try and treat your wife as a slave … or to “put her in her place.”  If you have this attitude, then we’ve already discovered your problem.  Stop here … ask God to forgive you for your sins of treating your wife badly, then come back and finish reading.

By sharing this verse, I am pointing out a responsibility that God has placed on man.  To “rule over” our wives should not be equaled with “king of the world.”  Rather, it should point out how much God is going to hold you responsible for your wife and everything about her.  So, our role comes with a GREAT responsibility.

Check out these verses from the NT:

Ephesias 5:21, 25 – 27 (NLT)
And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 
…
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her  to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.  He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

I skipped verses 22 – 24 on purpose.  Those verses talking about the wife submitting to the husband, but your focus shouldn’t be on what she is supposed to do, but rather on what you are supposed to do.  And even if we were to discuss this, how you understand submission may be totally wrong any way.  My wife does a great job of explaining this.  Maybe she will someday, and then, I’ll point you to her post.

My reason for going here today is because of some wise counsel I received early on.  Someone was telling me about words of wisdom he had heard from some other guy about the man’s role in marriage.  Let me try to get this straight …

Man: My wife is the most irritating person in the world.  She nags at me all the time.  She’s always picking fights with me.  She doesn’t show me any respect ever.  She’s just impossible to be around.

Counselor: Why would you marry a woman like that?

Man: She wasn’t like that when I married her.

Counselor: Then, what did you do to her?

Point of this story: If we follow the guidance from Ephesians 5 above – “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church” - we will have a thousand more reasons for loving our wives today than we had when we got married.  We will be able to say, “This is not the woman I married” and be glad about it … and her too.  Because she will be EVEN MORE the woman that God wants her to be.

BOTTOM LINE:

If your marriage is rocky, if your wife is more irritating to you than you like, if it seems she is just out to make you miserable … you should probably stop trying to find her faults and get out your mirror.  If you will truly practice what is written in Ephesians 5 above, I firmly believe that over time, you will begin to see just how beautiful and lovely your wife truly is.  Your attitude affects her attitude!  Simple as that …

Practical advice:

• Stop being selfish.  Better yet, practice being selfless.
• Fix your faults.  Don’t even focus on her faults.
  If you think you don’t have faults, talk to me for a little bit, and I’ll help you find them. 
• Pray to God.  Ask him to show you your faults.  Ask him for strength.
  You will need strength as you begin to recognize and accept your role as husband.
• Read some books.  There are plenty of great ones out there.  Start with “The Five Love Languages” maybe.
• Work, work, work on your marriage.  If you want it to be good, then you will work.
• Gather godly men around you to pray for you and to hold you accountable for your actions toward your wife.

Bottom line for me is … if things aren’t good at home, it’s usually my fault.  If I find out what I am doing wrong and work on that … my marriage always seems to improve.  Go figure.

I think you will find the same thing to be true for you.

Go with God,
Donald B

Bringing the Truth into Your REAL LIFE

Have you ever experienced God? Or have you ever had some kind of mountain top experience where God showed you something that He wanted you to change in your life or gave you some mission or showed you an act that He wanted you to perform? Have you ever come to a place in your life where you simply knew what God wanted you to do? How did you respond?

My blog today comes from a devotional that I read this morning. Check out this bit from the devo:

My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chamber
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.

The last sentence is the one I want to focus on. Here’s the question I want you to answer today:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU OR HAS SHOWN YOU?

John 14:26 (NIV)
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He promised to leave us with the Holy Spirit. As we read in John 14:26, this Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. And we know what the Holy Spirit shows us or teaches us or guides us in or anything is trustworthy and excellent because the Holy Spirit is God! Therefore, as Christians we have God – the Holy Spirit – living in us and guiding us through this life!

It is this same Holy Spirit that is responsible for the experiences we have where God seems to enlighten us on what to change or how to live or what act to perform next. The problem is how we answer the question above. What are we doing with it?

What we should be doing is what Chambers says in that last sentence – Continually bring the truth out into your real life. We constantly hear God … but refuse to act on what He has shown us. WHY???? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that I don’t want to continue ignoring God.

Check this out. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” We stifle the Holy Spirit by not heeding His instruction. The problem with stifling the Holy Spirit is that soon … if we continue to ignore … we will no longer hear. Is that what you want? Do you want to be in a position where you never hear from God again? I don’t.

So … today … what do you need to be doing with what God has given you or has shown you?

Go with God,
Donald B

Good Grief … if there is such a thing

This is a great little book about dealing with grief.  Every Christian should read this book … more for the understanding of how to help someone who is grieving rather than to learn how to grieve properly.  It seems that many well-meaning Christians seem to do more damage to the grieving person than they realize by providing godly and good (or at least … so they think) advice.

Let’s look at an example.  Let’s supposed the worst thing that I can think of happens.  Let’s say one of your children die because of an accident or a sickness or something bad like that.  I know you probably don’t want to think about that … but in order to be ready to help a friend down the road, just try to work through this.  You will be experiencing grief on a large scale.  Now let’s say a Christian friend comes to try and bring you comfort.

This Christian friend says something like “remember what Romans 8:28 says … ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ … so look for the good that God is bringing.”  Now, this just may be me … but if one of my kids … passes … I ain’t looking for no good.  And I will get really irritated with anyone who tells me that there could possibly be any good from one of my children … you know.

Yes, the Bible is true.  Yes, God does work for our good.  However, there is a time for everything.  And true or not … I probably won’t give a “Gone With The Wind” expletive.

Or how about this one.  I have 6 kids.  (And no … I am not Catholic or Mormon … we just have 6 kids.)  Could you imagine someone saying to me … “Well, at least you have the other 5″ ?  People have actually said these things to other people who have lost children.  WHAT??????  As if that’s going to make it better or easier????

Up to this point, I’ve used the death of a child as my extreme example … but people will experience grief in many different areas … loss of a job – loss of a friend, parent or other loved one – find out you have some terminal disease – lose everything financially – seriously injured in an accident of some kind – and the list goes on.

So … what should you do as a Christian brother or sister? 

Here’s what I would advise.  Remember that you are not all-wise.  Remember that you have NO CLUE what this person is experiencing (most of the time).  Remember that it’s NOT YOU who is grieving.  Remember they are hurting.  Remember that they probably aren’t in the right frame of mind to receive “good” advice from us.

Simply love them.  Be there.  Listen.  Don’t talk.  Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know.  Don’t get upset if they scream at God.  Remember … God doesn’t need you to protect His name.  He’s much bigger than you are … and He can take a child of his being angry with Him (whether it’s the right thing or not).  Allow them to cry.  Allow them to wail if they need it.  JUST BE THERE.  Cry with them.  Laugh with them.  And bring up the good memories.

Let me try to end with this final discussion.  Do you know someone who has lost a loved one to death?  When you are with them … do you avoid bringing up the person’s name in fear that you may bring to the surface old hurts?  Well … STOP!!! 

One thing many griefers have said (or think) is something like this … “No one ever talks about him/her … so he/she must have not been really important to them”  or “no one really cared about him/her”.  Yes … bringing up the person in a conversation may bring more tears … but what is better is that it helps with the healing.  Grieving people love for others to remember their lost loved one.

 For instance, something happens in church or somewhere, and you might say, “If Johnny were here, he would have laughed his head off …” (Johnny being the loved one).  This is a good thing.

Closing now …

If you are asking … “Why are you writing about this?” … the answer is … “I don’t know.”  I just felt the need to get this out there.

Final suggestion …

Click on the book image above and purchase this book.  It’ll take you about 30 – 45 minutes to read … and it is well worth it.

Go with God,
Donald B

RESPONDING to God’s Guidance in Our Lives

Does God speak to you?  Have you ever felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something?  How did you respond?

For some, I am sure the answer is that you obeyed whole-heartedly!  And that is great!  But for most, I am guessing the answer is you are now feeling guilty because you are having to think about the failure again.  This I understand … and this is why I write today.

Yes, I know what it means to fail to obey God.  I know what it is to ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  However, I also know how it feels to succeed in obeying God.  I understand the joy and satisfaction that comes from positively responding to the Holy Spirit.

I have recently been reminded of how important it is to obey the Spirit’s guidance.  I want to share with you a couple of thoughts from a book that I am reading.  The book is The Life You’ve Always Wanted, by John Ortberg.  In chapter 9 – entitled The Guided Life - Ortberg is describing to the reader how we can live out our daily life and function on the spiritual level.  He states:

This gentle receptiveness, this ordering our minds on more than one level at once, is a skill that can be learned.  For instance, if we have a significant decision to make tomorrow, we can stop and ask for wisdom.  If we have some discretionary time unexpectedly open up, we can pause and ask God, “Do you have anything for me to do?”  Then we can “listen” for a moment, and if no prompting comes, we simply do what seems wisest.  Each time we greet someone tomorrow, we can inwardly ask the Spirit, “How can I respond to this person?  Do you want to speak or work through me?”

Have you ever asked God a question like that?  If so, what happened next?  Did you receive guidance as to what you should do?  If so, did you obey it?  It is this next statement from Ortberg’s book that I find striking:

Guidance only makes sense for people who are resolved to respond.

“Resolved to respond.”  That’s what I am looking for.  I am looking to be the type of person who is RESOLVED to RESPOND to God’s leading.  What that says to me is that no matter what … no matter how stupid I will look, no matter what ridicule may come, no matter what my friends think, no matter how scared I am … I will respond.  Being resolved to respond means that I plan now for how I will respond when God calls.  It means that I will decide now to recklessly say YES to God’s leading.  Are you taking the time to actively prepare your mind to whole-heartedly follow the Spirit’s leading.

Let me finish with this quote from the devotional My Utmost For His Highest – July 9th.

We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!”  The question is, “Will I believe?”  No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief.  “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).  If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like!  Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

Resolve today that you will respond to the Spirit’s guidance completely and whole-heartedly.  Demonstrate that you do indeed believe … don’t just say you believe.

James 1:22 – 25 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Go with God,
Donald B

Useless …

Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)
I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
      I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
   Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
      I will trust God for my reward.”

I came across this verse in a Men’s Devotional I use, and it really jumped out at me.  Have you ever felt as if the only thing you can do for the Kingdom of God is serve as an example of how NOT to be a Christian?  Have you ever missed opportunities to tell someone about Christ?  Have you ever quit a position at church or not taken a position at church out of fear or frustration or simple laziness … and then, felt convicted or bad about it?

Have you ever NOT … to any thing God has called you to?  Do you feel like a sinner more than you feel like a saint?

If you have answered yes to any of the above … the one thing I would say right up front is that God is active in your life!  Why?  The only way you can answer yes to the questions above is if you care the least bit about your relationship with Christ.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict.  Satan seems to only send messages of guilt when we are living for Christ.  You must be doing something right. 

 Take some time to meditate on the verse above.  Look at what it is saying.  Basically, in my eyes, I seem like a failure.  It seems like I can’t do anything right … and that I am constantly falling in my attempts to serve the Lord.  But the last part is the important part.  Stop concerning yourself with measuring how successful you are or are not.  Leave that to God.

The encouragement I get from this is that even though I do fail … my responsibility is to keep trying.  Trying is the key.  God will continue to help us.  And God will reward us.

Have you said YES to God’s offer of being saved from your sins?  If so … there is a reward for you.  Try not to focus on your faults.  Don’t let them drag you down.  Simply focus on God!

Go with God,
Donald B

Heaven anyone???

2 Corinthians 5:1 – 4 (NLT)
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.  We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.  For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.  While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

And one note about the picture … there isn’t enough money in the world to get you to heaven!  Check out my CHRISTIANITY page for more info on that.

I some times depress my wife when I share with her my desire to be in Heaven today. 

However, what I am trying to communicate is that I long for that day when everything will be perfect RATHER THAN I hate my life here on earth and what to be done with it.  Do you see the difference there?

Read verse 4 again …
While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

What about you?  Where is your heart?  What is your desire?  Do you long to be in Heaven with the Lord?  I know I do!

I love my wife!
I love my kids!
I love my extended family!
I love my church!
I have great friends!
I love serving in the Air Force!
I love playing softball!
I would like to see grand kids and such!

But compared to what awaits in Heaven, I believe I would have to be insane to want to stay here and have any more “experiences”!

The better question is “how do we avoid depression because we are NOT in the perfect Heaven yet with our perfect Lord?”

Check out verses 8 & 9 …

2 Corinthians 5:8 – 9 (NLT)
Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.  So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.

God knows what is best for me, and He has a wonderful plan for my life (John 10:10 says so.)  Part of His wonderful plan is to use me to affect the spiritual lives of other humans here on earth.  He has a plan for their lives as well.  He desires for them to understand and accept his gift of salvation so that they too can experience Heaven some day.

I avoid being depressed day in and day out by seeking to please my Heavenly Father on a daily basis!

I want to end this post with the verses from the last part of chapter 5.  We are here on this earth because God has a purpose for being here.  Eternity is a long time.  I will choose to be patient in my time here in this less than perfect, limited, physical body (with all of its pains, aches, weight issues, sickness, etc.) so that I can please my Lord and enter His eternal kingdom as a servant who has done well.

2 Corinthians 5:18 – 21 (NLT)
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Go with God,
Donald B

Faith???

What is faith?  How do we “live by faith”?  How does our faith grow?  How much faith do I need?  What puts action to our faith?

First … let’s go to the Word.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

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

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

What these verses do NOT say is faith is believing in something for which I have no proof.  I believe this is KEY to our understanding of faith because this creates a difference between blind faith and biblical faith.

Romans 1:18 – 20 (ESV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

God’s creation speaks clearly for the existence of God.  Those who argue that the world as it exists today is all a matter of chance are represented clearly in verse 18 above when it states “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.“  From these verses alone we can see that “the proof is in the pudding.”  Look around you!  Just study a tree or a flower … consider the make-up of the human body.  All of these things are evidence for the existence of a Creator.  You may say this isn’t good evidence.  My only reply back to you is that if God considers it good enough evidence (as we see He does in the verses above), then, I consider it good enough evidence.

And if you take the time to read Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands A Verdict  you will soon discover that there is more credible evidence for the existence of Jesus and for Him rising from the dead than there is for Napoleon or anything that he did.

Faith is not blind, nor is it stupid.  But it is necessary.  Because whether we like it or not, there are just some things that God has not allowed us to know or to prove.

For example – creation!  Do you know any one who was there?  Is there any scientific method that can show us that God said it and it happened.  Answer is no.  But by FAITH, we believe His Word.  And His Word said He spoke it into existence … so, we accept that by faith.

Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Faith is also essential in order to become a Christian.  We must believe that we are sinners.  We must believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins.  We must believe that his rising from the dead after being buried for 3 days was His victory over spiritual death.  We must believe that He is alive at this moment!  All of this takes faith.

Ephesians 2:8 – 9 (ESV)
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.

There may be a few answers as to WHY faith is required to be saved … but for me, understanding that God wants us to completely depend upon Him for our salvation “so that no one may boast” is an ample enough answer for me.

Now … how is faith lived out in our lives?  How do we demonstrate faith in God in our daily walk?

We have 2 great examples for what enables faith within our own lives.  There’s a lot of scripture below, but it is well worth the read:

Mark 5:21 – 42 (ESV)
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

Did you see it?  Both of these people, the woman with the bleeding issues (name not mentioned) – the outcast - and the leader named Jairus – the prominent one … both came to Jesus seeking healing.  They both had much at stake.  They were both suffering personally in their own lives.  They demonstrated faith by coming.  What drew them to want to demonstrate this faith?  This may seem rough … so read this out … but selfishness.  When all options have been exhausted, when there is no other way … we come to Jesus.  Is this bad?  I say DEFINITELY NOT!!!  After all, they both received what they were seeking.  But is it the best?

Let’s look at another scripture before I attempt to answer this one.

Matthew 8:5 – 13 (ESV)
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

What I see here as opposed to the other stories is a firm belief that Jesus could heal even before the Centurion asked.  Above, we see Jairus hoping that Jesus can heal his daughter.  We see the woman who was bleeding reach for the robe in the hopes that His power could make her well.  It’s also important to notice what they had in common.  They all CAME to Jesus!

Faith is a matter of the heart.  Whether we demonstrate faith daily in our lives before the last result or if we live out our faith as a last result, that faith must be fully realized in our hearts.  We can’t reason our way into faith?  We can’t explain what that faith is?  We must simply believe that God is who He claims to be, that He can accomplish what He claims He can accomplish, and that He is faithful to hear our prayers.

So, although there is actual proof for the man named Jesus and the things that He did in the Bible … although the creation around us is proof for the existence of God … faith is crucial in coming to Christ and in daily walking with Christ.

And the number one reason that we want to live by faith …

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

If I’ve left you wondering what faith is or how to grow your faith … that can be a good thing.  Read your Bible and find the answer.  Let me know what you think the answer is.

But I will end with this … I believe faith is grown little by little as we obey Christ in what He has called us to do on a daily basis.

Go with God,
Donald B