Tag:

assurance

Bible Studies

Knowing that You Are Saved

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

KNOWING YOU ARE SAVED

Read: John 1:12-13; Romans 8:38-39; I John 5:11-15;

We can know we are saved because of the promises in the Bible about our salvation. (Hebrews 10:23)

What we think about determines how we feel and how we behave. Therefore, the first thing we need when being assured of our salvation is to think upon the promises of God in the Bible. The Bible gives us many assurances that the one who believes in Jesus is promised eternal life.

Read again the promises in John and I John listed above. How do they give you assurance that you are saved? How does Hebrews 10:23 assure you that the promise of salvation is true?

We can know we are saved because of the witness of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts.(Acts 5:32; Romans 8:15-16)

Everyone who has truly received Jesus as Savior and Lord has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. He is God’s down payment of our eternal salvation. We can know we are saved because the Spirit testifies to this in our hearts.

How does the Holy Spirit assure you that you belong to Him?

We can know we are saved because our desires are changing.

(Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3-4)

Instead of living selfishly for ourselves, the Christian’s desires begin changing so that Jesus and others start becoming more important. When we sense our desires changing like this we can take that as one sign among others that God is changing our hearts. And if God is changing our hearts, then we can know that He has saved us from our sin.

How has God changed your desires since you’ve begun to know Him? How would you like God to change you? What are you willing to do to experience that change?

FEELING THAT YOU ARE SAVED

Read: Philippians 4:8-9; Ephesians 4:23; II Corinthians 10:5 The knowledge of our salvation changes our feelings.

(Philippians 4:8-9)

Have you ever tried to pull yourself out of a bout of depression? The depressed person thinks continually about things that make him or her feel bad. But often dwelling upon good things can turn that around. So too, when we dwell upon the promises of God for salvation we can change our feelings from insecurity to security.

Put this into practice today. Look up verses in the Bible about God’s love and dwell upon them. How does this practice make you feel?

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives changes our feelings. (Galatians 5:22)

God’s Spirit is at work in you! The natural outgrowth of His work in you is a changed disposition. He naturally wants us to experience his joy. Therefore, submitting to the Holy Spirit’s work in you will change your doubts into security about His love for you.

What have you been thinking about? What does God’s Spirit want you to think about? How does God encourage you in this way?

The changing of our desires brings emotional assurance of our salvation. (Psalm 40:8)

What is your innermost heart desire? Is Jesus and the Word of God at the center of your life? When we change our desires for godly things we gain security that God is with us and will fulfill our desires for Him.

Think about the things you desire the most. Where are God and the Bible in that list? How can you rearrange your priorities so that your relationship with Jesus is the center of your life?

ACTING LIKE YOU ARE SAVED

Read: Matthew 22:37-38

Knowing and feeling we are saved changes our behavior.

(Romans 8:38-39)

Once we rest in the knowledge that God loves us and holds us in his hands our whole attitude about life will change. A full change in our lives in not possible unless what we know and feel about something works itself out in our outward expressions in the world around us.

How has knowing and feeling you are saved changed your behavior? Do you want to obey God’s commands? Do you want to share what you have experienced with others?

The Holy Spirit changes our behavior.

(John 16:7-14; II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22)

When the Living God comes to inhabit us there is no way we can come away from the experience and not be changed. The Holy Spirit changes our convictions and that works out to a change in our behaviors. When we are filled with His Spirit we will want to live a life that gives credit and glory to God.

Since becoming a Christian how has your life changed? As you look ahead in your life how do you think He will work further change in you?

Our changing desires changes our behavior

When we decided to place Jesus as the center of all of our affections we will not be able to resist the changes that will happen in our lives. Making Jesus the center of our lives changes us in remarkable and exciting ways!

Make a list of the things that are the most important to you. Where are Jesus and the Bible on that list? How can you reorder your life so that Jesus is at the center of your existence?

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Sermons

Living with Uncertainty

by Mark Batterson
written by Mark Batterson

Life is infinitely uncertain and God is infinitely complex. The net result? Doubt. We think of doubt in negative terms, but it’s a key catalyst when it comes to faith. Doubt breaks down our false narratives, false assumptions, and false beliefs. It forces us to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith by digging a little deeper. How do you deal with doubt?

doubt

 

Preached at National Community Church.

Used by permission.

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Articles

Five Hidden Results of Shame

by Christine Caine
written by Christine Caine

Shame. Shame is the fear of being unworthy, and it adversely affects our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. Shame makes us feel small, unwanted, and unloved. And if we don’t learn how to identify and overcome it, shame will ruin our lives and keep us from fulfilling our destiny.

Shame was my companion from my earliest memories, a huge part of my life and identity. My classmates teased me for my Greek heritage, I felt cultural pressures at home to abandon my passions for sports and academics for those of traditional gender roles, and as a victim of sexual abuse, I was ashamed of the horrible things that happened to me.

No matter the source, shame is a powerfully painful emotion that shackles us in the prison of our pasts, and if we aren’t careful, we will stay there—missing out on the beautiful lives created for us. That is why it is so important for us to identify and deal with areas of shame in our life.

Here are five often-hidden consequences of shame that keep us from the life of freedom we were created for:

1. Shame whispers lies to our soul. Shame lies—big time. Even today, every now and then, unless I am vigilant, shame still tries to sneak up on me at unexpected times. Others will find out you are weak, then you will lose their respect and damage your ministry. Don’t be vulnerable! Only project strength.

In order for us not to believe the lies of shame, we must be rooted deeply in the truths of our self-worth and God’s love for us. When we hear the lies, rather than believe them, we must claim God’s truth and love for ourselves, robbing shame of the power it once held in our lives.

2. Shame hinders our ability to receive God’s unconditional love. The biggest lie that shame loves to tell is that we are unworthy. Unworthy of love. Unworthy of affection. Unworthy of inclusion. Unworthy of happiness. When we hear and believe these things day in and day out, it makes it nearly impossible to comprehend that there’s a love without conditions—a love that accepts us just the way we are. But the moment you start to move toward God’s unconditional love, your healing from shame will begin.

3. Shame prompts us to toss away the good gifts we are given. Shame has a way of manifesting in the nooks and crannies of our souls, keeping us from truly using and exploring the good gifts that God has placed inside of us. If we allow shame to keep us from using our good gifts, we will never be able to fully experience the life that God created with each of us in mind.

We need to recognize our value and understand that we are a gift—an expression of who God is—and the world needs what he has deposited in us.

4. Shame keeps us from seeking help. It’s sneaky like that, growing in shadowy places until those struggling with it are too ashamed to seek help from the very shame that enslaves them. It lives within women who worship beside you at church, work in the next cubicle, attend your workout class, entertain you on TV, smile at you from magazine covers, or live next door.

The challenge is that we’ve been shackled in the dark for so long that the darkness has crippled and immobilized us, but the only way that we can be healed from our shame is to acknowledge, uncover, and hold up our wounds to the One who can help. There is freedom on the other side, but we can’t get there on our own.

5. Shame teaches us to hide. For those of us schooled in shame, hiding is our go-to coping skill to guard ourselves against the pain of disapproval or judgment, condemnation or mockery, belittlement or exposure, or worse—just fill in the blank with your unique circumstance. Enough practice and we become masters at hiding from others and eventually ourselves.

But instead of hiding, we must choose to seek. We must choose to seek God’s love, his unconditional grace and acceptance. There’s an astounding promise that comes with his love—that nothing can separate you from it—not even shame.

If I can be set free from shame through the love of Jesus, than anyone can! I want everyone to experience his miraculous love. That’s why I’ve written the book, Unashamed. That’s why I travel and teach. That’s why I help others gain freedom through the work of A21. That’s why I reach out with Propel Women.

I want people to know that they too are free to choose to get up and get moving into the beautiful future God has for them, and discover an abundance of freedom.

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Sermons

Are You Looking Forward to a New Normal?

by Steven Furtick
written by Steven Furtick

How long till we get back to normal? You keep waiting all you want. Or you can worship. You could keep resisting, or you can receive. I love what God told Moses. When the people were looking for someone to blame for Coronavirus.. We always want someone to blame. But blaming somebody doesn’t bring you into what God wants to do in your life.

www.sermonslove.com. www.elevationchurch.com.

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Articles

3 Keys to What We Are Processing Right Now

by Lysa TerKeurst
written by Lysa TerKeurst

So much of what’s on the news today truly feels like something we’d only see in a Hollywood movie — not real life.

COVID-19 has not only spread across the world at record levels, but it’s also spread across our daily realities and changed so much for so many. Because of the life-threatening potential of the virus, social distancing and canceled gatherings are necessary precautions. We want to do what’s right, so we’re listening to officials and paying extra attention to updates and news conferences.

While all of this is necessary, it’s also jarring.

It’s like life just slammed on the brakes, and we’re all still reeling from the whiplash.

Certainly, in the grand scheme of things, saving lives is most important. But there are emotions we need to be able to process in the midst of all these sudden changes. One of those is the very real feeling of disappointment. And right behind it is the worry that expressing our disappointment could make us look petty in the midst of the seriousness of this virus.

Please know processing our disappointments is not only OK … it’s emotionally and spiritually necessary. You’re not making light of someone else’s serious pain when you process your pain to gain a better perspective.

So, first, whatever you’re going through today, it’s worth taking to the Lord and asking for His help. And second, let’s give each other grace since we are all trying to navigate unexpected fears, hardships and disappointments. Social distancing doesn’t mean we distance ourselves from offering each other grace.

With that as the anthem playing in the background … let’s process what we are facing.

Within the last few weeks, I had to help a friend navigate canceling her wedding. That same day, my husband had to close the dining room of his restaurant. Other friends are trying to figure out how to make enough money to live since they’ve been told their workplace had to close. Those of us who don’t get paid when we can’t go to work are looking at scary financial realities. Schools are closed. Graduations and family gatherings are canceled. Businesses large and small are experiencing financial realities that some fear they won’t be able to overcome. Everything we thought we would be doing in this season looks vastly different than we expected, and the feelings of loss are real.

So, what do we do with those? As Christians, how do we set our minds and hearts on things above when we are staring at startling realities?

Here are some things I wrote in my journal that are helping me:

1. Frame the disappointment by remembering what you do have, so you don’t get consumed by what’s been taken.

Many of you are having to cancel or postpone important life events right now and that’s very hard. It’s incredibly emotional when you’ve dreamed and planned and invested in what you thought would be a very normal expectation.

But remember, fun has not been canceled.

Love has not been canceled.

Being good to other people has not been canceled.

Learning and growing and maturing has not been canceled.

Use this time to reframe what matters most and choose to celebrate in creative ways.

I remember telling my daughters before their weddings: Expect the unexpected and realize you can’t control the uncontrollable. But you don’t have to spin out of control with the unexpected. You bring to your wedding day what you want for your marriage. You bring the love. You bring the beauty. You bring the fun. You bring the atmosphere of joy and peace. You bring lovely to your day, and it will be amazing.

But if you bring fear and dread and epic loads of disappointment because things look different than you thought they would, you’ll fill your day with that. Your heart is much too beautiful a place for the enemy’s tactics to taint it. So don’t let him.

This may be a delay. This may be a distraction. This may even be a devastation for a season. But this is not your final destination. Remember though COVID-19 has canceled many events, it has not canceled God’s goodness. Rest in that, rejoice in that, and be so very reassured.

2. Remember who God is, and use that to bring some gratitude into your disappointment.

God is a protector: He is protecting you from something you can’t see.

God is a provider: He is providing something if only you’ll look for it. Just because His provision is different doesn’t mean it’s not good.

God is present: Even when others are absent. God does incredible things in the unseen.

God is faithful: No matter what is being taken from you right now, place it in the hands of God. Give it to Him as your sacrifice. For whatever we willingly place in the hands of God, He will redeem. Martin Luther once said, “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”

3. Disappointments often go hand in hand with fear of the future.

It can be so easy to let today’s disappointments make you expect the absolute worst for tomorrow. I’m challenging myself not to mentally run too far into an unknown future. I just have to make the most responsible decisions I can for today and place the rest in God’s hands. My job is to obey God. God’s job is everything else. Therefore, I can feel afraid, but I don’t have to live afraid.

Now is the time to feed your faith and fuel your healthy perspectives. Make the choice today what will rule in your hearts and proclaim out loud: “Disillusioning disappointments and blinding fear, you don’t get to be the boss of me … I am ruled by the peace of Christ, and I will use His Truth to frame all I see.”

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15-16).

We know everything in life seems uncertain right now. In the midst of it all, we at Proverbs 31 Ministries want to offer you some free, practical ways to stay committed to studying God’s Word. Here are several resources we’ve put together to bring hope in uncertainty during these times.

* Download the introduction and first three chapters of my book, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength when Disappointments Leave You Shattered, for FREE today.

* From Worry to Worship – a free 7-day devotional to help you find peace when you are tempted to panic, fight fear when it wages war on your heart, and practice trusting God in the midst of uncertain circumstances.

* Connecting God’s Heart to Yours: 31 Personalized Scriptures For Each Day free printable download!

www.lysaterkeurst.com. Used by permission.

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Sermons

Should I Care What You Think?

by Ryan Leak
written by Ryan Leak

In a world dominated by social media, it is easy to compare ourselves to others and to become discontent with our lives. It is also easy for us to judge others because of their lifestyles while claiming we don’t care what other people think of ours. But the truth is we care what other people think, and we struggle with the same insecurities as those around us.

Join us for the kick-off of “Honest Slogans” to learn how we can view ourselves and others in a more positive way.

Preached at Chase Oaks Church. Used by permission.

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Articles

Rest and Reassurance

by Lysa TerKeurst
written by Lysa TerKeurst

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

We all have those times we wish the voice of God would audibly speak so loudly there’s no way we could miss it: “This is the direction I want you to go.” Then we’d know whether to stay the course or head in a new direction.

Have you ever wished for this kind of certainty? I have. Most of us want to know what to do. Without that confidence, sometimes we stay in a place too long. But the greater loss happens in those times we quit too soon. Then, we can live with this nagging sense of “what if?” What if I’d persevered one more year, one more month, one more day?

Knowing when to stop and when to keep on keeping on is a crucial life lesson. One I want to learn well. Often, the more I struggle on my own, the less confident I am with the right next step. It’s exhausting!But the truth is, I don’t need to be confused or tired. There is one central place I can go for direction and rest. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus encourages us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I used to get so frustrated with this verse because I thought, I don’t want rest. I want reassurance! I’m burdened by this decision I have to make. I don’t want to mess up by missing a cue from You, God.

But the rest Jesus offers is not a spiritual sleep aid. The Greek word for this kind of rest is anapauo, which has as one of its definitions, “of calm and patient expectation.”In other words, Jesus is saying, If you come to Me, I will take your exhaustion and uncertainty and turn it into a calm expectation.

But how?

My friend Jennifer Rothschild does this enlightening exercise at some of her conferences. She tells the audience to imagine her writing two different words on a large chalkboard. She then speaks the letters as she draws the first word into the air . . . R-E-S-T.

She does the same for the second word . . . R-E-S-I-S-T.

Then she asks what is the difference? The difference is, of course, “I.”“I don’t know what to do.”“I can’t figure this out.”“I’m worn out.”“I’ve tried everything I know to do.”“I’ve given all I have to give. ”I’m familiar with these “I” statements because I’ve said them myself. We can only find anapauo rest—fresh hope—as we stop running ragged and simply take on the next assignment Jesus gives.

In verse 29 of Matthew 11, Jesus gives us the assignment: to take on His yoke and learn from Him. Ask Jesus to show you how to rest in Him. It might mean sitting quietly, asking others to join you in prayer, or clearing your calendar to read the Word. Once you’re still, take the next step. Not ten steps. Not the whole path. Not the Google map with the highlighted route. Just the next step.Complete that step with excellence and an open, humble heart. Listen and look for all Jesus wants to teach you in this next step.This is your part of the equation.

But after the assignment comes the reassurance in verse 30, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to stay connected to the One who does. Where our strength ends is the exact point where His will begins.

This is God’s part of the equation.I must do all I can do. Then trust God will do what only He can do.Should I stay? Should I go? Maybe the better question is, “God, what is the next step I’m to take today? I’m going to do my part. And trust the rest to You.

”Dear Lord, I am tired, and I can’t figure things out. Please help me see Your part in this equation. Where my strength ends is where Your will begins. Help me, Lord, to look to You for my very next step. I will wait in calm expectation.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

https://lysaterkeurst.com. Used by permission.

 

 

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Articles

30 Life-Transforming Proverbs

by Tommy Nelson
written by Tommy Nelson

Crossroads

  1. Birth: “The rich and the poor have a common bond, the Lord is the maker of them all.” (Prov. 22:2)
  2. Authority: “The eye that mocks a father and scorns a mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out…” (Prov.30:17)
  3. Chores and responsibilities: “An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.” (Prov. 20:21)
  4. Family: “Like a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.” (Prov. 27:8)
  5. Submitting to discipline: “Discipline your son while there is still hope, and do not desire his death.” (Prov. 19:18)
  6. God: When the faith becomes your own. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Prov. 1:7)
  7. School: “A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.” (Prov. 14:6)
  8. Peer pressure: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Prov. 13:20)
  9. The Bible: “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” (Prov. 29:18)
  10. True religion: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination…” (Prov. 15:8)
  11. Boys and girls: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Prov. 31:30)
  12. Mastering the body: “And he who rules his spirit, [is better] than he who captures a city.” (Prov. 16:32)
  13. The ability to relate to people: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.” (Prov. 11:30)
  14. Sensitivity to others: “Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, is he who sings songs to a troubled heart.” (Prov. 25:20)
  15. Flexibility: “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.”(Prov. 14:4)
  16. Critical thinking: “The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it. (Prov. 22:3)
  1. Anger: “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,” (Prov. 16:32)
  2. Choosing a vocation: “Train up a child in the way he should go (his way), even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6)
  3. Drugs and alcohol: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup,… at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper.” (Prov. 23:31-32)
  4. The ability to achieve short term success: “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.” (Prov. 13:4)
  5. Control of the tongue: “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing,” (Prov. 12:18)
  6. Handling of money: “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up.” (Prov. 21:20)
  7. Values: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination.” (Prov. 18:10-11)
  8. The workplace: “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.” (Prov. 22:29)
  9. Getting rich quick: “Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” (Prov. 17:24)
  10. Marriage: “It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” (Prov. 25:24) “Do not associate with a
    man     given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways…” (Prov. 22:24-25)
  11. Caring for parents: “He who assaults his father and drives his mother away is a shameful and disgraceful son.” (Prov. 19:26)
  12. Raising kids: “A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.” (Prov. 10:1)
  13. A legacy: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” (Prov. 13:22) “The memory of the righteous is blessed…” (Prov. 10:7)
  14. Grandkids: “Grandchildren are the crown of old men…” (Prov. 17:6) 
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Ask Roger

My Doubts Are Killing My Faith!

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

I’m finding that believing in the validity of Christianity is becoming more difficult.

 

How could a loving God allow so much suffering? With thousands of religions spanning the globe who are we to say, or for Jesus to say, that he is the only one who can help us find God? It just doesn’t make sense.

How could God send people to hell who’ve never had a chance to hear about Christ?

How can we believe that the six-day creation as recorded in Genesis One could ever be literally true? How are we supposed to trust in the Bible when it has demonstrable conflicts and errors?

I see some reasons why the fight surrounding gay marriage is worth the struggle. But what bothers me is that gays and lesbians actually have anatomic, structural brain differences from heterosexuals.

 

I’m asking questions that I’ve never asked before and the answers and non-answers are really bothering me. I’m not even sure exactly what I’m asking from you except that I’m really struggling with my doubts and miserable in the process. My anchor is slipping and the boat is drifting, do you see what I mean?

 

Please help me, Randy

 

Dear Randy,

 

Move over; I need a seat in your boat. We are fellow travelers looking for security and answers.

 

My faith struggles began in my early 20s. I’ll be vulnerable and say that I’ve struggled with doubts ever since.

 

I’ll not take time to reiterate my struggles with doubts — but I will share with you the truths that I turn to for peace when my faith is shaking. By the way, in Psalm 73 Asaph had his doubts about the goodness of God. Far from disqualifying him to lead worship, God gave him lots of grace. He told him to keep his own doubts quiet so as not to disturb the congregation. Then, God gave him the understanding and the time to work through his issues.

 

I continued sharing the Word of God even while I was doubting because the Word of God is powerful and life-changing. I continued pastoring because God gave me the grace and time that I needed to seek insight for answers to my questions.

 

1. DOUBTS CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST ARE NORMAL.

 

I once asked a pastor friend, “Do you ever have doubts?” He cocked his head and said, “Well, of course.  Doesn’t everybody?”

 

We don’t talk much about our doubts in the Christian church.  We talk about faith. Doubt is an “off-limits” subject.  It is like we are stained, or a traitor to the cause, if we admit to doubt.

 

Think about John the Baptist. He was the forerunner of Jesus. But when depressed and imprisoned his faith wavered. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you really the one, or should we look for another?” (Luke 7:18-23).

 

Jesus did not say, “Yes,” and settle the issue for John once and for all.  He told him to look at His works: “Tell John that blind eyes see; paralyzed limbs are restored; deaf ears here; and demons are exorcised.”

 

The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is no faith. A faith-doubt crisis is not the same as “no faith at all.”

 

I do know some who claim never to have had a single doubt about the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. In some ways that’s an easy faith.

 

I know many who have struggled to believe — and in the solution to their struggle they found their faith stronger than ever.

 

Struggles with face and doubts are normal Christianity. We come out the other side stronger than ever

 

2. DOUBTS OFTEN ARISE WHEN WE ARE DISAPPOINTED WITH JESUS.

 

Why Did John the Baptist Begin To Doubt? Because Jesus did not live up to his expectations.’”

 

Judas was disappointed with Jesus and look where it got him.

 

Many people have expectations for Jesus that He has no intentions of meeting. Their prayers are not in line with his will. Or, secret sins impair their requests.

 

Some people are disappointed about: children, jobs, sickness, finances, marriage etc.— He’s not providing the love and care they expected, and so they turn somewhere else to find help.

 

3. JESUS NEVER CRITICIZES US OR SCOLDS US FOR STRUGGLING WITH DOUBT. HE’S PULLING FOR US TO FIND VICTORY.

 

When the storm increased and the sea was entering the boat, Jesus was asleep back aft. The disciples awoke him and pleaded with him to save them. Jesus responded, “Oh, little faiths, where’s your faith?” This was not a rebuke. The term,” “little faiths”, is viewed in the Greek language as a term of endearment.

 

Jesus has a vested interest in helping those who doubt to find faith.

 

That is what He did with me. Jesus did not brand me a heretic.  He did not take away my ministry. He refused to punish me for having doubts; instead, He took steps gently to increase my faith.  He was kind to me.  I never once had the impression that He was angry with my unbelief—disappointed perhaps—but not irate. Never once did I feel betrayed or deserted.

 

I’LL SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I CALL MY “FAITH ANCHORS.”

 

FIRST, I DECIDED THAT GOD MAY WELL BE DOING THINGS ABOUT WHICH I KNEW NOTHING. THIS IS A MATTER OF HUMILITY AND GOOD SENSE.

 

The Bible makes it clear that God has mysteries that he has no intention of sharing with us in this life.

 

This makes me think of Job. For 42 chapters Job tried to get answers from God about what was going on in his life. Near the end of the book God seemed to get tired with Job for asking the same questions again and again. He rebukes him harshly: “Who in the world do you think you are that you dare to question me!?”

 

God then proceeds to challenge Job: “If you think you’re so smart then answer these questions.” God then asks Job questions about everything from the stars in the sky to the sea monsters in the ocean. Job scores “zero” on his tests.

 

I decided that it takes a lot of pride and arrogance to falter in faith when God does not acquiesce to answer our questions. By the way, when the book of Job ends God has not answered a single one of Job’s questions.

 

SECOND, GOD ACTUALLY GAVE ME A SIGN TO VALIDATE HIS REALITY.

 

I often prayed to see God’s glory which in revealed as light. I prayed that someday in church I would be like Isaiah and see God high and mighty and lifted up in glory.

 

One Sunday morning as I was preaching, God answered that prayer. A teenage boy shined a powerful flashlight in my eyes–so powerful that the light shut down my irises and I couldn’t see my notes. I told him to turn off the light, and he did.

 

Ten minutes later he shined it again. “Turn off the light!” And he did. Ten minutes later he shined it once more. I remember pointing him and saying with anger, “Turn it off, I can’t see.” And he did.

 

Immediately after the service I hurry down the aisle and confronted him about the flashlight, and he said, “I don’t have a flashlight.” I asked to frisk him and he lifted his arms. There was no flashlight. I looked under the pew and around his seat but there was no flashlight. I was so embarrassed.

 

It took me six months to realize that God had answered my prayers. He had given me a glimpse of his glory and all I could think of was a flashlight.

 

On the same weekend, six months later, God also answered some the salvation prayers of that young man which tied in with the flashlight. But that’s another story.

 

Jesus says that He seldom sends signs to bolster belief. Don’t expect one; however, if God gives one then be humbled, don’t doubt, and never get over it.

 

THIRD, I CHOSE TO PLACE MY FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION.

 

I was taking a gamble but I liked the odds.

 

I could not figure out all of my questions regarding the cosmos and quantum mechanics; however, I figured that by using the gospel stories, I could prove the facts of the resurrection.

 

With the precautions the Romans took with the size of the stone, with the seal, and with the Roman guard there is no doubt that Jesus was placed in a sealed tomb.

 

Because of the way the grave clothes were laying when Peter and John looked in the tomb, I conclude that Christ no doubt was resurrected and transitioned in spiritual form to depart his grave. He resurrected right out of his burial clothes. I decided to put my face in his promise that he cheated death and that by believing in him, I could one day cheat death, too.

 

FOURTH, I MISSED THE TIMES WE SPENT TOGETHER.

 

Over the years I felt that Jesus and I had developed a relationship of close intimacy. My doubts were trashing our relationship and cutting Him out of my life. After a while I simply missed him and the times we’d had together.

 

I missed the strength and the comfort that I received from him. “Let not your heart be troubled.” “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “My grace is sufficient for you.” “Consider the lilies”. I was tired of being stymied by my doubts and unanswered questions.

 

I decided to forgo the questions and uncertainties and return to the delight of experiencing life with him. This was a conscious choice. Spending time in his presence meant more to me than solving a host of unanswered questions.

 

FIFTH, AT SOME POINT, EVERY DOUBTER MUST MAKE A PERSONAL DECISION TO HAVE FAITH–OR NOT.

 

Faith is a cold-blooded decision to say “yes” to the things of our Lord Jesus Christ. No one else can make this decision for us. No one ever had faith without making this decision.

 

SIXTH, I DECIDED THAT IT WAS TIME TO STOP FIGHTING.

 

Fighting for answers was making me miserable. The closer you get to mortality and realize that time is running out, the more you realize that it’s stupid to throw away a lifetime of living with Christ.

 

When I was younger I couldn’t bring myself to stop looking for answers to the unanswerable. But there comes a time to stop fighting enjoy the cruise.

 

Polycarp was a pupil of the apostle John who lived from 70 to 155 A.D. He bridged the gap between the Biblical apostles and the early church fathers. Polycarp wrote numerous letters to the church at Philippi encouraging the members to remain strong in their faith and to flee materialism. Polycarp served as the bishop of the church at Smyrna.

 

Polycarp’s greatest contribution to Christianity may be his well-documented martyrdom. During a time of intense persecution Polycarp was arrested on the charge of being a Christian. Christianity was viewed as a politically dangerous cult whose rapid growth needed to be stopped. Amidst an angry mob, the Roman proconsul took pity on the gentle old man and urged Polycarp to proclaim, “Caesar is Lord”. Then, he would let him go free. Polycarp responded, “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He was burned alive at the stake.

 

Personally, I committed my life to Christ when I was seven. I love Him and He loves me. Frankly, all of my questions and doubts don’t come close to topping the investment that I have in him–and that he has made in me. I have too much at stake to turn my back on Him now.

 

Sincerely,

Roger

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Sermons

God Keeps His Big Promises

by Matt Chandler
written by Matt Chandler

God’s yes in salvation is found in Jesus Christ. God’s hearing of your prayers is found yes in Jesus Christ. God’s ability to sustain you in suffering finds its yes in Jesus Christ. Everywhere else the answer is no, not yes, which is why we cling to Jesus, pursue Jesus, preach Jesus, exalt Jesus, make much of Jesus. He is the author and the perfecter of our faith.

Preached at the Village Church, Flower Mound, Texas. Used by permission.

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Articles

Why Twitter Makes Me a Better Disciple

by Leonard Sweet
written by Leonard Sweet

Twitter now has 554,750,000 active registered users. 58 million tweets fill cyberspace every day.

I can’t imagine life without twitter. Twitter’s role in the communications revolution is obvious, whether it be used by churches or in political revolutions taking place around the world (Iran, for example). But I want to make a more personal case: Twitter makes me a better Jesus disciple, partly because twitter is my laboratory for future ministry. Here’s why.
 
1) Followership
 
Twitter only knows two categories: who are you following, and who are your followers. Twitter’s categorical imperative is one of followship, not leadership.
 
Jesus’ category is “leader.” My fundamental category is “follower.” Even when Jesus calls me up to the front of the line, I still lead “from behind.” For the last fifty years the church has made a fetish of a word that is hard to find even once in the New Testament (“leader”) and has ignored a word that is found hundreds of times (“mathetes” or “follower,” “disciple”). Twitter is a daily reminder that everything doesn’t rise and fall on leadership but on followship—-who am I following, and who is following me. The name “Christian” (“little Christ”) was given to believers in Antioch (Acts 11:26) because people saw in them the Christ they followed.
 
Paul said “follow me as I follow Christ.” In twitter’s ethic of followership, I am constantly re-framing reality in ways that are more Jesus—more grace-full, more forgiving, more loving, more humorous—-and helping my “followers” to better follow Christ. I am constantly on the prowl for things that could encourage, enrich, inspire. I want my tweets either to smile after reading one of my tweets, or to shake their head and sing, “What a Tweet We Have in Jesus.” In my ongoing battle with self-transcendence over self-absorption, twitter has helped me become more others-focused.
 
For the One who taught us to be “in” the world but not “of” the world (or “out of it” either), the question is not “Would Jesus Tweet?” but “What Would Jesus Tweet?” The twitter question of “What are you doing?” has been replaced in my mind with “What is God doing?” and “Where do I see Jesus?” and “What am I paying attention to?”
 

With a new list of followers every day, and an unlimited number of potential followers, I am also reminded daily that the most important people in my life I haven’t met yet.
 
2) Sound Bytes that Bite
 
If you can’t say it in everyday words, you probably don’t understand it yourself. And if you can’t say it in less than 140 characters, you can’t say it in a way that can connect with a Google world. The first task of a missionary is to learn the language. In a Google world there is no logos without logo.
 
In spite of all the warnings about trading in caricature and cliche, most of history’s greatest books and thinkers have distilled their thoughts into a 140 character tweet. In fact, the single killer sentence is what has changed the world.
 
No one was better at tweets than Jesus. Jesus was a master at sound bytes that bite with terseness and immediacy. In fact, he was always twittering the gospel in pithy, memorable phrases, and even expressed his gospel in The Great Tweet: “Love one another as I have loved you.” I suspect his followers would be well advised to RT (ReTweet) everything he said.
 
3) Surface
 
To say that someone is bubbling in or around the surface of a subject is not to say something nice. One of the greatest critiques of twitter is its numbing, crushing banality. Do I really need to know when you finished brushing your teeth this morning? Or what toothpaste you used? Do I really need to see a picture of your kid in the hospital with a fork through his nose with the tweet “What happens when you run holding a fork straight up?”
 
But life is not just about the depths. Life is also about the surfaces. I spend large parts of my life with academics who spend their careers exploring the depths. Many seldom come up. You come up for the air of communication and relationship, and when you spend all your time in the depths you find yourself talking only to yourself. People with highly sensitive seismographs for souls, like writers and artists, often rail against the shallowness of living and refuse to compromise and play in the spray. That’s my theory for the high incidence of suicidal behavior if not suicide among artists and poets.
 
We need a theology of the surface in tandem with our theology of the depths. As Alice in Wonderland reminds us: “All this digging deep I dislike because if you dig deep all you dig is a pit into which you may fall yourself, or a well at the bottom of which there is nothing but treacle.”1 So far from the surface replacing the depths, in looking for something to tweet about, I find myself paying attention to life in heightened ways. With twitter every day is an awakening to things that never would have registered before. Twitter gives me openings in which to dive into newly discovered depths.
 
Life is a bunch of little things. These little things add up, and twitter reminds me to be grateful for the little things and to celebrate the little and the simple. In my list of “50 Reasons Why I Love Twitter,” Reason #33 is “A place where serious people can think serious thoughts about trivial things.” Terry Tempest Williams, in her book Finding Beauty in a Broken World (2008) says: “I used to believe that truth was found only below the surface of things. . . But something changed. . . I am interested now in what my eyes can see, what my fingers can touch.”2  
 
A good soda is a subtle symmetry between froth and substance. A good life is a dance of depth and surface.
 
One of the highest compliments you can pay me? “Sweet, you do shallow well.”
 
4) Global Commons
 
This was the reason that initially convinced me to enter the twitterverse. Social media guru Aaron Linne challenged me to think of twitter like a medieval village green. If we were living a millennium ago, our lives would revolve around a village commons. In the course of a day, we would physically pass each other many times and exchange greetings: “How was your lunch?” “Who you working for now?” “What is in your hands?” Wireless technology enables those multiplicity of personal exchanges to take place today, except now it’s with people from around the world. Twitter is the new global commons.
            
Like soothsayers reading entrails, I conduct twea-leaf readings. Twitter both connects me to others and to what’s hot, what’s current, what’s the reigning gossip and styles of this new global village. There is nothing sadder than Young Turks turned into Old Geezers. And it can happen overnight. In fact, I like to think of myself as the “pastor” of this twitter parish. In the course of a day’s passings (“postings”) on the village commons, I try to find ways to encourage my “parishioners” (Barnabas blasts, I call them), and be a positive, healing energy in their lives.  
 
The question social media poses is one easily answered: are the residents of your global commons reflective of our global community? Or are they only mirrors of yourself? How many people of different races, classes, continents, and religions are part of your social universe?
 
5) Social Solitude
 
I’m a hermit at heart. Twitter is made for hermits. It enables me to shut myself off without shutting anything or anybody out. It enables me to simultaneously give myself away and never stop hiding. You might call the twitterscape one of social solitude.
 
My life is like a barbell: lots of weight on the social end, and lots of weight on solitude end with not much in between other than the handle (read long lines at airports) that connects the socialness with the solitude. Twitter now let’s me do my solitude in society; it let’s me be anonymous in groups.
 
These 5 reasons may explain why of all the social media, twitterers are the most religious. But for me, these are the 5 Ways Twitter Has Changed My Life and made me into a better follower of Jesus.
 

1. Alice in Wonderland
2.  As cited by Tom Wylie in The Bloomsbury Review, January/February 2009
3.  Beth Snyder Bulik, “What Your Favorite Social Net Says about You,” Advertising Age, 13 July 2009, 6.

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Articles

Don’t Be Afraid of Abandonment

by Lisa Bevere
written by Lisa Bevere

Do all men leave?

For the first ten years of my marriage, I struggled with the fear of abandonment. My father and my first pastor had both left their wives for younger women. Because of what I had experienced, I allowed fearful thoughts to linger unchecked in my mind. They didn’t yell; they whispered, Eventually all men leave. Don’t let them get too close. Then they can’t disappoint you. This kind of thinking caused me to even resist small displays of affection. When John hugged me, it wasn’t long before I’d start patting him so I could pull away.

One day after one of my “pat-and-pull-aways,” John asked me point blank, “How long will we have to be together before you realize I’m not going to leave you? Are you going to wait until we’re seventy?” I was stunned.

“I’ll wait as long as it takes,” he continued, “but we’re going to miss out on a lot of fun in the meantime.”

I realized I was making John pay for the disappointments I had with other men. I thought, Why should John have to pay for their shortcomings? That’s not fair. In an effort to protect myself, I am sabotaging our relationship. My fear of losing John in the future was robbing both of us in the present. I decided then that I would rather love John completely, even at the risk of losing him, than love him halfway and look back with regrets on what might have been.

Fear and distrust keep us from thriving in marriage, for fear tenaciously clings to the past while refusing to believe something better can arise in the future. If we want God to do a new thing in our marriages, we must choose to abandon fear and accept what love would forecast for our futures. Fear expects failure, while love ultimately can never fail.

Fear is a spiritual force in direct opposition to God’s love and protection in our lives. It is the opposite of love, for both love and fear operate from believe in the unseen. Love challenges us to doubt what we see and believe for what we cannot. Fear urges us to believe what is seen and doubt the unseen. When faced with the fear of failure or the hope of love, we can choose to believe one or the other, but never both. Fear displaces love; love casts out fear.

…Perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4:18–19)

Love’s ability to transform is greater than fear’s ability to ensnare. The perfect love that expels fear is only found in the experience of God’s love. Through the power of His love, we can forsake concern for self, because we know that God will faithfully tend to our needs. But if we don’t spend time in God’s presence, we cannot have an intimate knowledge of His loving nature; for His faithfulness manifests in His presence.

Without knowledge of God’s true nature, we will live in constant fear of abandonment by Him or by spouses, which is a twisted form of punishment. As we grow more and more secure in God’s love for us, we can become free from fear and offer selfless love to our spouses.

…Let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7–8)

The stronghold of fear is what causes us to say things like, “If my spouse ever cheats on me, I will never forgive him.” Such vows, which are intended to shield us in the future, keep us from embracing the power of God’s love today. We must learn to trust God to care for our hearts, even if a spouse wounds, rejects, or betrays us. God has asked us to surrender our fears to Him. Refusal to do so tells God we don’t believe He is capable of directing our lives. We cannot submit to Jesus’s lordship without surrendering our fears.

What fears are you holding on to? Dear one, let them go and watch the love of God transform you from the inside out and free you to step into your destiny. On the other side of your fear, you will discover the life you so deeply long for.

If you liked this blog post, John and I cover this and so much more in our book The Story of Marriage, on sale now. Grab yours here and get the tools you need to build the marriage of your dreams!

www.messengerinternational.com.

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