Tag Archives: Trust

What is Not

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One of the things that is always most inspiring, and honestly, intimidating, to me about the saints of scripture is the amazing faith they had.  They had an ability to trust, to see, to hope, that is without a doubt, other-worldly.  Today, look at Abraham.  This is what Paul says in Romans 4

19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Think about that for a second.  How easy would it have been to give for Abraham?  How easy would it have been to say, ok, that’s enough. Check please.  I’m done.  I’m headed back to Ur.

But, he didn’t.  He still had faith. Now, we know if we go back and read his story in Genesis, we’ll see he wasn’t perfect.  He did some dumb things.  He made some bad mistakes.

There were times when struggled and had doubts.

But, we see in the end, he had faith. He trusted. He believed. He trusted.  Even when he didn’t see.  He about the faith to see what is not there. And know that it will be there.  One day.

In our lives, on the roads we walk, there will be times we doubt.  There will be times we struggle. There will be times when we are down cast.

So in those times, hold fast to your faith. Hold fast to what is good and noble and true.  Hold fast to what you believe. The doubts and trials and struggles and darkness will come.

Hold onto what is of God. What is of faith. What matters.

Don’t lose sight of what God is doing. Sometimes faith is the ability to see what is not there.  But know that it will be there.

And remember, that God is bigger than all we face.  God is bigger than our doubts, our fears, our hopes, our dreams.  God is bigger than our vision.  God is bigger than our sight. That’s why we walk by faith, not by sight.

We see with the eyes of faith.  We see not just what is there.  We see what will be there. Hope. Trust. Have faith.

God is at work. Today, and always.  Hold onto Him.

Payday

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One of my first real jobs was as a camp counselor during the summers at Twin Lakes, in Florence, MS.  I worked their two summers and some of the best times of my life there. I made friends there that I will treasure forever.

One of the things I remember most, though, about camp, was getting that my first paycheck.  Looking back now, it wasn’t much. But at the time, I thought I’d won the lottery.  I thought I was the richest man I knew.

I’d worked hard for that check. I loved my job, but I’d worked really hard. I’d earned what I had.  And, honestly, if I’d have worked that hard, and the camp had not paid me, when they promised to, I’d have been upset.  You want what’s coming to you!  What you deserve!

Sometimes, I think we tie ourselves in a knot with God.  Just like in our job, be it our first job, or our current job, we feel like we have to earn God’s love. We feel like we have to “do” something to make God love us. Just like at camp I had certain things I had to do as part of my job, as Christians, we sometimes feel like we have to “do” something to make God love us.

Forgive us.

Care for us.

And, here’s the problem. We can’t ever do things just perfect. We mess up. We fall down.  We make mistakes. We sin.  It gets ugly.

And then, because we’ve mess up, we feel like we haven’t earned that love we want.

Today in Roman’s we see Paul talk about Abraham.  He writes this:

1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

God didn’t love or accept Abraham because he was perfect.  In fact, if we look back it his story, he did some pretty dumb things.

He loved Abraham because He’s God. And that’s what He does. What God wanted from Abraham was this.  Faith.  Trust. Relationship.

We don’t have to earn God’s love. We just have to accept it.  We have have to make God love us. We just have to understand He does.

We don’t have to wait for payday.  Payday is here, today. We just have to have faith.

Today, God loves you. Believe that.  No matter where you or what you’ve done.  God loves you. Have faith. And find that love and acceptance you’ve been seeking.

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.

How to Pass a Test

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One of the things that worries me, that worries many of us, is this, how will I be ready when a test comes?

None of us look forward to tests, want tests, desire to be tested.

We all want peaceful, calm, easy lives.

That’s something we all really, really want.

But, we all also know that a time of testing and trial will come. It’s something we all face.

Today’s readings seem to fit together (to me) in a way that showed me some truth about testing that I needed to be reminded of.

First, the Psalmist in Psalm 105 talks about the faithfulness of God, and recounts all God had done. But, he says in the Psalm

17 He sent a man before them, *
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet in fetters; *
his neck they put in an iron collar.
19 Until his prediction came to pass, *
the word of the LORD tested him.

Testing will come, even for God’s people.

Just because you love God and He loves you, that doesn’t mean that testing won’t come. Don’t regard your tests as a failure. Don’t thing you’ve done anything wrong. Don’t think you’ve failed. Test come to us all.

Then, in Zechariah, the Lord says these words to His prophet:

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

The Lord has just given him a calling to go and proclaim God’s Word. But, before he does, the Lord reminds him – it’s by God’s Spirit that he will accomplish what God has for him.

That really nailed me this morning. So often I try to pass those tests on my own.  I try to beat back tests and trials and temptations on my own.

By my will.

My strength.

My might.

And, I fail.

But the Lord reminds us, not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.

The surest way to fail whatever test we face today is by relying upon our ability.  Our strength.  Our will.  We simply can’t do it alone.

How to pass a test?  The Lord.  His Spirit.  His life.  His power.  Through Him.

We will face tests, each day.  May we remember that it through Him and in Him, we can come through theses tests and cross over to new and abundant life.

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.

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.

How Could They Do That?

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One of the things that is most shocking about some of the passages in the Old Testament is this.  Really, Israelites?  You thought that was a good idea?  Really?  I mean, really?

Take for instance the Old Testament passage from today’s morning reading, Genesis 32: 1-6

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, 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.” 2 Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD.” 6 They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

Really?  You thought that this was a good idea?  I mean, where do we start with this?

First, when Moses delayed coming, they said, well, who knows where this Moses fellow went off to?

All they had to do was look up at the mountain. WHICH WAS GLOWING.  I REPEAT, WHICH WAS GLOWING.

But they didn’t.  They just said, well, he’s gone and not coming back.

And Arron, said, ok, I’ll make you a calf, sure. And then he said, he’s the god that lead you out of Egypt!

I mean, think about all they had seen with their own eyes. All they had seen God do. All they had seen God change. Save. Deliver. All they had experienced.

And in one moment, they said, nope, Moses is gone and we want golden calf!

How could they do that?

One small problem.

We do the same thing.

Maybe we haven’t seen God bring plagues against the Egyptians or part the Red Sea.  But, we’ve seen Him move. We’ve seen Him do awesome things.  We’ve seen Him change lives, including our own.  We’ve felt Him in our hearts, known Him with our souls.

So, maybe we haven’t seen what they saw. But we’ve seen a lot.

And, while we may not have melted down our jewelry and built a golden calf, we’ve done the same thing.

We’ve all put our hope in something other than God.  Our job.  Our family.  Our status.  Our wealth.  Our reputation.  Our whatever. . . .

In this text, they said the calf had led them, not God.

In our lives, we can say, these other things, they lead us, save us, take care of us.

We do not need to make that same mistake they did.

We need to trust.  Our life, our hope, our safety, our future, they all come from God.  No where else.  From God.

They didn’t always trust God.  How could they do that?

We don’t always trust God.  May we learn from their mistakes.

And today, and always, may we trust God, knowing that He is our life, our hope, our safety.  And, above all, thanks be to God, that in spite of their mistakes, He still loved them, and didn’t give up on them.

In spite of our mistakes, He still loves us. And will not give up on us.

Thanks be to God!