Tag Archives: Faith

Belief

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As I was reading today, I read one of the texts that has always really spoken to me.  It seems like in scripture, only one thing could stop Jesus from doing what He wanted to do. The unbelief of people. Today, in Matthew’s Gospel, we read this:

But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

That passage has always stood with me for a while when I read it.  He simply did not do many things, because of their unbelief.

In life, we will have times of doubt. That’s the way that it goes. We all doubt. We all struggle. We all have those times, those moments of darkness. Those moments where our foundation is shaken. That’s part of what we all know and experience.

But, we can’t stay in the dark forever.  We can’t stay in doubt forever.  We have to believe the sun will come out, that the rain will stop, that the fire will cease.

In short, we have to believe that God is still God.

Today, do we have faith? Do we have that belief. No matter what we are going through, God is bigger.

If we believe in God, we have to believe that He can do these things.  After all, He’s God!  He’s bigger, greater, and more mighty than all!  He made all this is, both seen and unseen. He’s the creator of all!

And, He wants to do amazing things with us each today.

Today, do we believe in the power of God? Do we believe in His work? Do we believe in what He’s doing?  Even when we can’t seen. Even when we don’t understand.  God is at work.

Have faith. Believe.  Hope.  Trust.  God is at work. Today, an always.

Training

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Hello.  My name is Andy. (hello Andy). And I’ve got a problem.  I really enjoy running.  Now,while it is not a “problem” per sue, it can be a little crazy. I used to say the only way I’d run would be if Holly was chasing me.  Now, each morning before I leave for work, I try to jog at least 5K.  Yes.  That’s makes me a little off.

As I was reading one of the suggested texts today, I read something out of 1 Timothy that spoke about not just about jogging or training, but about something even more important:

Train yourself in godliness, 8 for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

As a jogger, I hate to miss a day. If I don’t jog, I feel sluggish and just don’t feel right.  Many of us today are starting different training routines – P90X or Couch to 5K, or whatever. These are all good, good things.

But, Paul reminds us today, that while these are good, there is something even better we should be doing.  We should be training out hearts and minds for Jesus Christ. We should be training ourselves in godliness. We should do doing things that strengthen our faith, and our ability to serve.

And, here’s where it can get tough. There are some days I don’t feel like jogging. But I go and make myself. And the feeling of accomplishment I get afterwards make the “making myself” worth it.

There are going to be days when we don’t feel like reading the Word. When we don’t feel like praying. When we don’t feel like serving.  When we just don’t want to.

And we have to, gasp!, make ourselves.  That’s ok. That’s part of training. That’s part of growing. That’s part of being transformed. CS Lewis once said the most powerful prayers we pray are the ones we pray when we don’t feel like praying.

Today, are we training for godliness?  Are we doing the things to help our faith grow? Are we being more faithful? Are we doing our part to allow God’s spirit to work on us?

We train daily for something much more important that a 5K. We train for the Kingdom. May we be faithful today!

God is Bigger

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One of the things in life that many of us know and experience is fear.  It’s something that as children we all know, the fear of the dark, the unknown, strangers, whatever.  We each have what is sometimes called “childlike fear.”

But, as we grow older we find that while our fears change, fear remains a constant in our lives. We, especially now, have many fears. I’ve seen in the past few years, the church become very afraid. Afraid of what’s happening the world. Of politics.  Of war. Of divisions within the church.  Of divisions within culture.

Of the economy.  Of losing our job.  Of note being able to pay our bills.  Of losing our home.  Of many, many things.

Fear is something we each have tasted recently.

And, perhaps, that’s why I found such comfort in a prayer that I read today in my morning prayers. It’s simply entitled “A Collect for Peace”

God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

I love that line – surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of our adversaries. .

Today, we all have something we fear. We all have something we dread.

Perhaps it something at work.  In our family.  In our finances.  In our personal life.  We all have something that robs our peace.

But, today, know this as well.  Whatever it is. God is bigger.  God’s defense is bigger than whatever it is you fear.

Don’t be afraid.  Trust. God is bigger. God is stronger.  God is more mighty.

Do.  Not.  Fear.  God is with you.

Today, trust in His defense.  Trust in His strength.  Trust in His might.

Know His peace, His life, His life. Do not be afraid. Trust.

And find His life.

Routine

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I’m a man of routine. I have a certain routine that I like to follow most morning before I head out the office – reading, prayer, jogging, and some time with family.  It seems to make my day go better when I do these things. I really enjoy my routines, and I really need my routines.

The last few weeks have been a little (or a lot) crazy.  We’ve had several long trips to various places.  I’ve had meetings in Jackson. I had a little thing I like to call gall bladder surgery.  It’s been something else.

And more change is coming in the coming weeks, with a new church, a new house (along with a new house payment!) and all the changes that go with it!

And so this morning, as I began again my routine, it was so great to read the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 100

1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
serve the LORD with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

I’ve read this Psalm most everyday the past few years. It’s become part of my routine. And it felt so good to read this morning.

The Lord has made us. We are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

What a comfort, knowing that no matter what happens in life, we are His. We are the sheep of His pasture.

And, in life, we need the routines of knowing these things. We need the routines of hearing these things again, and again, and again.

We need to be reminded that in a world of constant change, somethings remain the same. No matter what happens, we are the sheep of His pasture.  No mater what changes happen, we are sheep of His pasture.  No matter what unknown the future holds, we are the sheep of His pasture.

I’m so glad I had my routine of scripture and prayer this morning to remind me of that.

What routines do you have to allow you to hear His voice? What routines are there in your life that cause you to know that you are His?

We need these things. I became convicted today that no matter what happens I can’t lose my routines.

What about you?  What are the routines in your life? What do you hold to?

May we have those things in life that remind us that we are His. We are the sheep of His pasture.

Lights and Lamps

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Today in the Psalm from the morning, we see one of the more famous verses in Scripture, about Scripture.  It’s 119: 105

105 Thy word is a lantern unto my feet *
and a light unto my paths.

I remember this as a child in VBS at Johnston Chapel UMC. We’d start off every VBS day with the pledge the American Flag, the Christian Flag, and then the pledge to the Bible. This verse was one of the parts of the pledge that I can still remember from my childhood.

And many of us may remember the Amy Grant song “Thy Word” which quoted this verse as part of it.

So, many of us are very familiar with this passage. It’s one of my favorites, but it’s taken on a new meaning for me over the years.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. That sounds good, doesn’t it?  It sounds calming and reassuring.

It is. But, there is one catch to it.  Lights and lamps, they don’t always provide the most light.  In fact, if you look at the text, it says it will be light to our feet, and lamp to our path.

It will give us light for the next step.

No necessary the step 10 steps from now.

Sometimes, we just have enough light to know what the next step is. The next move is. The next action is.

We may only know what we are supposed to do today.  We may not know what we are supposed to do tomorrow. All we know is today.

It’s kind of like the manna they gathered in the Old Testament. The were only supposed to gather enough for that day, and trust in God for tomorrow.

That’s hard. We want enough manna for tomorrow. We want enough light to see 10 steps down the road.

We don’t always get it. We get manna for today. We get light for our next step.

And then, as we take that next step, we get light for the next. And the next.  And the next.

We will have all the light we need, all the direction we need. We just have to trust.

We have light for this next step.

What is your next step?  Will you take it? God will give you the light that you need.

Strength

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Today as I was reading the New Testament Reading for the day in Colossians, something really jumped out to me.  Here are verses 11-14

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We are encouraged to be strong – but not with our own strength, but with the strength that comes from God. Why? Why are we to be strong in that strength in particular? Aren’t we strong enough as it is?

The text tells us we need to be ready to endure everything with patience.  In other words, trouble is coming. Trouble is coming down the road at some point. It could be today, it could be tomorrow. It could be a year from now, a decade from now. Who knows. But, trouble. is coming.

And, Paul tell us not just to suffer through this trouble, but to endure it with patience, and even joy. Now, I can’t do that. I don’t even like waiting at a red light, much less endure troubles with patience and joy. If I’m going through something I don’t like, I want it to be over as quickly as possible.

That’s what I want.  That may not be what God wants.  God may be wanting to teach me something through a time of trial. He may be wanting to teach me dependance upon Him.  Trust of Him. Faith in Him.  To teach me that this world is not my home.  That my life is not not found in the stuff of the world.  He may be wanting to teach me many, many lessons.

But, without the patience that He longs to give me, I will miss them.  And, without His strength, I do not have that patience. Without His strength, I do not have His wisdom. Without His strength, I will not learn, I will just muddle through, whatever I’m doing.  Even the good stuff.

So, that means for us today, if things are great, then we need to be faithful. We need to be worshiping, reading scripture, and praying. We need to be connected to God and to His people. We need to be living His life. Because, trouble will be coming some day. And for us, this may be the day of preparation for that trouble that is to come.

And, if we are going through troubles, remember. Your strength is not found within you.  It is found in God. Don’t rely upon yourself, your strength, you wisdom. Trust in God.  Lean on Him.  Turn to Him. Rest in Him.

And, then you will find more strength than you ever through possible.

Today, and always, for strength, turn to the source of our strength. Turn to God.

How We Treat One Another

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Today was one of those cool days when I was reading and I noticed a theme emerge in the texts this morning. First, from Psalm 72, talking about the King:

1 Give the King your justice, O God, *
and your righteousness to the King’s son;
2 That he may rule your people righteously *
and the poor with justice.
3 That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, *
and the little hills bring righteousness.
4 He shall defend the needy among the people; *
he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

Then, from Leviticus

9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

And, finally, from 1 Thessalonians

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13 esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

What is this common theme?  What stood out?  In each of these passages, as Christians, we are called to do something. Help those less fortunate. Care for those in need. Love one another.

Basically try, as best we can, to love God and love each other.

The light of Christ within us must make a difference not just in how we live.  It must make a difference in how we treat one another.

The Christian life is not only a life of moral stands, but it is a life of love and service to God, AND to each other.

The Christian life is not a life lived in an ivory tower.  It is a life lived among each other. It is a life lived in an imperfect world with imperfect people.  It is life lived in among challenges and trials and work and worry and sweat and tears.  It is a life that is sometimes very hard.

And, it is a life that calls us not to be just “good” people, it’s a life that calls us to make the world a better place. We are called, we are commanded, to work for good.  To care for those that are weak, to give our lives for something greater than ourselves.

To live for God and live for each others.

In the end, our love for God is seen in our love for each others.  If I say I love God, but hate my brother or sister, what good have I done?

The Christian life, in the end, is so much concerned with theology or belief or opinions.  The Christian life is concerned with our love for God Almighty. And with how we treat one another.

Rest

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As I was reading the Old Testament lesson this morning, one verse just jumped out to me, from Exodus 33:

14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Just a short verse, but it says a lot to me. One of my favorite quotes is by St. Augustine, where he says, talking about our relationship with God,

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

As the father of two small children, I can assure you rest is a pretty awesome thing.  I do think, though, that many of us are restless.

We are restless with work.  With family.  With leisure.  We are anxious. We are stressed. We are worried.  We are afraid and frightened. We are angry. We are whatever. . . . .

We are not rested.  We are not resting.

Why?  Because we are seeking our rest, our comfort, our peace in places other than God. At least I tend to.  We tend to place so much worth on these other things.  Our status, our position, our reputation, our worth.

Your greatest worth comes from none of that.  You are not your job.  You are not your bank account.  You are not your position.

Today, you are a child of  God.  You are His.

Rest in that knowledge.  Rest in that truth.  Everything else, it will leave you restless. Everything else will leave you empty.

Only in God, do we find the rest than we really need.  And then, when we are well rested, we find that the rest of life is even better.

When we find our identity in God, we know our identity in everything else.  And, when we know we are His, all other things fall into place.

And even if they don’t, it’s ok. Because we are His.

Today, find your rest, no where else but in God.  Our hearts are restless until we find that rest in God.

Not Me!

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As I was reading through the scriptures for today, something from Exodus 32 really stood out to me.  It was the conversation Moses had with Arron after the golden calf.   They were talking, and this is that conversation:

21Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” 22And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. 23They said to me, ‘Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” 25When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies),26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

One of the things we see a lot in the Old Testament stories is this notion of – not me!  I didn’t do it.

Adam – did you eat the fruit?   Nope, the woman you gave me gave it to me.

Eve – did you eat the fruit?  Nope, it was the snake that made it happen.

Arron – did you let the people lose their minds?  Nope, they came to me and made me do it.

It’s a refrain I hear a lot from my two kids.  No me!  I didn’t do it!  Not me!  Not my fault!

It’s always someone else’s fault.  We see that in the Bible. We see it in our kids.  We see it in ourselves.

I know me, it’s easier for me blame others than to look within.  I don’t want to look within.  I’d rather blame you than work on me.  It’s less painful for me to lay my problems and my mistakes upon someone else than for me to look within myself and see what I need to fix.

Or rather, allow God to fix in me.

Sure, none of us are perfect. All of us fall. All of us make mistakes. That’s ok.  Instead of pretending like we are perfect, it’s better to admit our mistakes, take responsibility and work on what we can fix.

And know that even in our mistakes and failures, God’s love never, ever ends.

He doesn’t love us because of what we’ve done (or not done).  He loves us because it’s who He is.

He is love.

In spite of our mistakes.  He loves us.

Not our fault? I don’t know about that.

Being loved by God?  I do know about that. We are. Today, and each day.