Sure, I Believe, but…

believe

Have you ever known you should believe something, but for some reason couldn’t seem to?  You KNEW that you should believe it. In fact, you WANTED to believe it.  But you could never FEEL that you believed it.

I’ve been there.  In fact I go there more times than I care to admit.  As an occupational hazard, I use a lot of “faith talk.”  I encourage others to trust God only to see my own faith fall short from time to time.

All too often I completely identify with the man in Mark 9 who had a demon possessed son.  You can read this incredible account in Mark 9:14-29. 

Jesus’ disciples tried to cast out the demon, but turned a bad situation worse.  Then calmly Jesus told the man, “all things are possible for one who believes.”  The man replied, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

The Contradiction of Believing

The man’s response may sound like a contradiction.  But essentially it is more an honest admission that he wants to believe even more.  There is another contradiction at work in his life, one we all experience from time to time.  That is the battle between what we KNOW and what we FEEL.  Therein lies the test of our faith.

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Pitch Your Tent and Go Camping With God

tent

I’m not much for camping out.  I prefer my lumpy mattress to the hard ground.  I feel much more at east in my climate controlled bedroom than a nylon tent.  My idea of “roughing it” is a hotel with no wireless internet connection.

That being said, tents played an important role in Old Testament times.  One of my favorite cases in found in Exodus 33:7-11.  As Moses led the Hebrews through the Wilderness, they set up camp for a short time at various locations.  When they would set up camp, Moses would set up a tent far off from the camp that they called the “tent of meeting.”

Anyone who wanted to pray could get alone and meet with God.  The Bible tells them that when Moses went into the tent, the cloud representing God’s presence would engulf the tent.  When the people saw the presence of God come upon Moses and the tent, they would “rise up and worship, each at his tent door.”

Pitching Your Own Tent

I think it’s past time for you and me to have something like a tent of meeting in our lives.  We need a place to get alone with God and let Him speak to us.  

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Criticism Can Help You Grow

criticism
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Recently, I shared an article from a Christian site that raised questions about the public’s trust of my profession – pastor.  I originally shared the article on an online forum for pastors of small churches like my own.  Most reacted, as did I, with sadness and a desire to do all we can to make the situation better.  Other responses fell to the more negative side. Criticism is not easy to receive.

The responses of the forum members were varied and set me to thinking. How do I react when presented with news that I may not want to hear?

All of us hear or read critiques that challenge us personally, our behavior, and/or our thinking concerning certain issues.  How we respond to those critiques reveal our heart and could determine whether or not we grow. 

Here are a few thoughts centered around the various reactions to the post and what I think they may mean.

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Remove the Do Not Disturb Sign from Your Life

disturb“Do not disturb.”

You’ve seen the sign hanging on hotel room doors. The sign means that the occupants want themselves and/or their things left alone. Maybe the occupant needs to sleep in. Perhaps he or she has valuable items that they do not wish for others to see.

Whatever the case, the message is clear. Be quiet and stay on your side of the door!

Our Personal Do Not Disturb Sign

How often have you wanted to display a Do Not Disturb sign prominently on your chest? We prefer an undisturbed life. We want our plans to succeed, our families to grow, our businesses to profit, and our health to stay strong. If we were to get our way, nothing bad would ever come our way. No one or nothing would ever cause us heartache or disappointment.

But that is an unrealistic expectation isn’t it? All of us experience some disturbances now and then. My good friend Bobby Simpson (Higher Ground Softball) reminded me that those disturbances are not necessarily bad things. In fact, we find our faith grows better in the fertile ground of challenges and trials. (See James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes, as Bobby says, we need disturbing.

Sometimes…we need disturbing.

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How to Make Better Decisions – Part 1

How careful are you to pay attention to the ebb and flow of your life?  Our lives are not a series of unrelated circumstances and coincidences, but a carefully planned path executed by a sovereign God. One of the gravest mistakes we make is to fail to recognize the path of God’s intentional activity in our lives.

When it comes to making decisions, how often do we look back at where we’ve been, see where we are today, and ponder the path that got us there?  Mostly we base our decisions on emotions or ideas that seem logical in the immediate context, failing to recognize the trajectory on which God has set us.

God has given us the ability to seek and to understand what He calls “wisdom.”  Knowledge is gaining data and information (WHAT), understanding is seeing the causes and effects of what we know (HOW), but wisdom is the practical application of what we know and understand (WHY).

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise… – Ephesians 5:15

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. – James 1:5

Why do you do the things you do?  Because it seems right?  Feels right?  Because you want to?  He is a God of order not coincidence. Let me encourage you to view you life as an ongoing story.  God has a plot line along which He is leading your life.  Reflect on how God has worked through you in the past.  Consider the vision God has placed in your heart for the future.  Then ask God to show you how He wants to get you from point A to point B.  THAT is where God’s wisdom comes into play.

More on this in the next blog.