The Other 167

Do You Trust?

We live our lives a lot of time like we have a false sense of who is in control. For one, we think we control a lot of things that we really don't. Second, we treat God like a last-ditch emergency option only needed if things happen to slip through our fingers somehow. Why do we do this? Do we think we know better than the All-Knowing? Do we think He can't handle it? Anytime we try to control things that we aren't built to control, we demonstrate a strong pride and a weak trust in a loving Father who has promised to take care of us.

Faith Plus Action

Reading the Bible isn't hard. It's long, and some of it can be a bit mysterious. But taking the time to read and study God's Word isn't the challenge.  Believing the Bible is true can be harder for some people. There are some pretty incredible stories in there that some people might find hard to believe. But even believing the Bible isn't enough. As Christians we are called not only to act on the Word of God, but to live our lives by it. Submit ourselves entirely to Him, to follow the commands of Christ, to trust entirely in His grace, and forsake our will for His. If you believe the words in the Bible, this shouldn't be hard. Surely if God can do all that, He can handle our lives better than we can. We never know how He will work in our lives. But what if you did? What if you knew the faith He was asking of you would take you to, and through, the hardest times of your life? Would you surrender to Him anyway? Well, Jesus did.

Cautiously Kind

The call of a Christian can be a difficult tight rope at times. We are called to be kind, but not naive. We are called to speak the truth, but to speak it with love. Sometimes the truth doesn't seem very loving, and even our best efforts to do so may not be taken that way from the person receiving it.  Our confidence in ourselves to balance this should be weak, because in ourselves we will struggle to juggle the two. But the Holy Spirit has equipped us to build up the body of Christ, so our confidence should be in Him to guide us through the challenges. When we don't know what to do, the answer is simple: Rely on Him!

Great Faith...Great Mistakes

There are a lot of things about Christianity that I believe are subtly misunderstood, even sometimes amongst well meaning believers. And that's OK; God's ways are not our ways, so it's understandable that we might not "get it" sometimes.  But one of those that I really missed for a long time was the idea that the men of great faith must have lived very righteous lives. I didn't know David had his mistress' husband killed to cover his sin. I didn't know Paul murdered the first Christians and was still the chief of sinners years after his conversion. I didn't know Peter struggled accepting Jesus' plans. And I didn't know John was so competitive! Neither David, Paul, Peter or John had a thing to do with saving me. But misunderstanding them caused me to misunderstand Jesus. I thought having a strong faith would keep me from making mistakes. But honestly, I think my stronger faith might have even made me more prone to them at times.  I didn't know Jesus was OK with His followers making mistakes. Sure, I knew He forgave all past sins, as long as you didn't make any more. Go and sin no more, right?!  But I've learned that while Jesus gives you the option and the desire to not make mistakes, He knows we won't always do it. But I've also learned that He already forgave those too, and has been working them together for good from the start.

Treasuring Christ

I confess that I have a habit of focusing on the events of Good Friday on Easter weekend. The sacrifice that Jesus paid for us is unimaginable. It's too painful to really even try to comprehend. But this morning I felt like the Lord pointed out that I shouldn't fixate on the pain He suffered. Yes, remember and acknowledge it, certainly appreciate it. But also remember that it isn't the end of the story.  Through His suffering, Jesus displayed His love for us, and made way for His power to be displayed in the resurrection. That's why He came, to demonstrate His power and His love definitively. The Cross was the means to this end, but it wasn't the central theme. I pray that His power and love are demonstrated this weekend as well! Happy Easter!