FAITH BELIEVES, TRUST RESTS – Part 1 of 2

What is faith? John Patten (1824 -1907) traveled to New Hebrides (a group of islands in the Southwest Pacific) to tell the tribal people about Jesus. The islanders were cannibals and his life was in constant danger. Patten decided to work on a translation of John’s Gospel, but found that there was no word in their language for “belief” or “trust.” Nobody trusted anybody else.

Eventually, Patten hit upon the way to find the word he was looking for. One day, when his native servant came in, Patten sat back in his chair, raised both feet off the floor, and asked, “What am I doing now?” In reply, the servant used a word which means “to lean your whole weight upon.” This was the expression Patten used. Faith is leaning our whole weight upon Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross.

It all starts with God’s love for us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  [As a result of our sin,] we all deserve to “perish.” God, in His love for us, saw the mess we were in and gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for us. As a result of His death, everlasting life is offered to all who believe. 

-- Nicky Gumbel in Alpha’s “Questions of Life: A Practical Introduction to the Christian Faith”

#6324

HOLDING ON TO HOPE

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”  (Lamentations 3:21-26 NIV)

Holding on to hope is the challenge of all grief and loss experiences. Finding courage or energy to go on day after day requires hope of healing, hope for future. Holding on to hope is not always easy. Some days it requires all of our energy just to maintain our own lives. On other days, we at least want to believe that "for everything there is a purpose," as we try to find the purpose in our own experience. That requires finding ways to make meaning even out of situations that may seem so meaningless. Those are the days we really struggle to find belief in the unseen.

Many people say those days of struggle are when they lean most heavily on their faith, in order to find the inspiration and comfort they need to be able to go on. After all, Scriptures says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

There are many days, walking through that maze of healing, that require belief in God, hope, and future without seeing any proof of them. Time in prayer, reading His Word, and fellowship with believers can all help in the struggle of holding on.

Holding on to hope requires active participation. It is not a passive process. It requires holding on to faith in the future, at a time when we can barely survive the present. It means clinging to the belief that God is good and will help us when all we can see seems to say that is not true. 

-- From “A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance: Help for the Losses in Life”   

BELIEVING AND DOING

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.

Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).

They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.

This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation. If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many. If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts -- all in the name of Christ, the King -- you will attract interest.

As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit-filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe. 

-- Craig Groeschel 

GROWTH MEANS MATURITY

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  (James 2:14-17 NIV)

If we are to be mature we must get hold of a mature faith -- or better, it must get hold of us. For the immaturities of our faith will soon show themselves in immaturities in our actions and our attitudes. “The creed of today becomes the deed of tomorrow.” Nothing can be more immature than the oft-repeated statement: “It doesn’t matter what you believe just so you live right.” For belief is literally by-lief, by-life -- the thing you live by. And if your belief is wrong your life will be wrong.

Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean to say that if you have a correct belief you’ll necessarily have a correct life. That doesn’t follow. The creed, to be a creed, must be a vital rather than a verbal one. For the only thing we really believe in is the thing we believe in enough to act upon. Your deed is your creed. But it does matter what you hold as the basic assumptions of your life. If you have no staring point, you’ll have no ending point. 

-- E. Stanley Jones in “Christian Maturity”

#6122

BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS – Part 4 of 4

“Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.” (James 2:18b GNT)

Then is basic Christianity the belief that Jesus is the Son of God who came to be the Saviour of the world? No, it is not even that. To assent to Christ’s divine person, to acknowledge man’s need of salvation, and to believe in Christ’s saving work are not enough. Christianity is not just a creed; it involves action. Our intellectual belief may be beyond criticism, but we must transfer our beliefs into deeds.

What must we do, then? We must commit ourselves, heart and mind, soul and will, home and life, personally and unreservedly to Jesus Christ. We must humble ourselves before Him. We must trust Him as our Saviour and submit to Him as our Lord; and then go on to take our place as faithful members of the Church and responsible citizens in the community. 

-- John R. W. Stott in “Basic Christianity” 

#5791

 

BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS – Part 1 of 4

“[The Jailer asked Paul and Silas], ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.”  (Acts 16:30-32 NIV)

Notice that there are three parts to this key phrase in this passage: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” First we must “believe.” We have an intuitive sense of what the word “believe” means: to assert that something is true. Certainly “believe” has this meaning in this passage. However, what the Bible means by belief goes beyond cognitive affirmation. Believe also means “to put one’s trust in something or someone.” Because you hold certain facts to be true, you act on them. For example, you say you can believe that an airplane can carry you from Detroit to Los Angeles. But this is not belief in the full biblical sense until you get on the plane and trust your life to it.

Second, the passage calls upon us to believe in something quite specific. Belief as an end in itself is not being commended. We must believe in “the Lord Jesus.” We are called to believe one main thing: that the Lord Jesus, by His death, made it possible for us to be saved from our sin. 

-- Richard Peace in “Learning to Love God”

#5788

THE FOOL SAYS…

When the famous preacher, D. L. Moody, was conducting evangelistic meetings, he frequently faced hecklers. In the final service of one campaign, an usher handed him a note. It was from an atheist who had been giving Mr. Moody a great deal of trouble. The evangelist, however, supposed it was an announcement so he quieted the large audience and prepared to read it.

Opening the folded piece of paper, he found scrawled in large print only one word: "Fool!"

Moody, however, was equal to the occasion. He said, "I've just been handed a memo which contains the single word 'Fool'. This is most unusual. I've heard of those who wrote letters and forgot to sign their names, but this is the first time I've ever heard of anyone who signed his name and then forgot to write the letter!"

Taking advantage of the unique situation, Moody promptly changed his sermon text to Psalm 53, verse 1, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God!'" 

-- Source Unknown

#5590

COMMITMENT – AN ACT OF THE WILL

[A few years ago there was] a caricature of commitment in that of a haughty grande dame, looking sternly through her spectacles, saying, “My mind’s made up, don’t confuse me with facts.” In a culture in which open-mindedness is the greatest virtue, the corresponding vice is, of course, “closed-mindedness.” And this has become confused with commitment. Yet, actually, far from being closed, committed thinking is the product of intellectual vigor. Very often, the lack of commitment indicates the wishy-washiness of intellectual laziness. It is the uncommitted person who lacks the rigor and discipline to really examine, really decide, really make up his mind.

Without commitment, one can acquire knowledge. It is only through commitment that one can apply that knowledge to life and gain Solomon’s desire, an understanding heart. Far from being a retreat from reason, commitment is the most rational thing a person can do. Recognizing the brevity of life, it makes the best sense to survey the options and then make choices; to choose and exercise a set of beliefs that will pattern and give meaning to life; to choose a person with whom a lasting, deepening, and truly intimate relationship can be established; to answer to a vocation with dedication…

Commitment is an act of the will, based on both reason and faith. As such, acts of commitment mark us as most fully human.

“Choose this day whom you will serve,… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:15 NRSV) 

-- Maxine Hancock in “Re-evaluating Your Commitments: How to Strength the Permanent and Reassess the Temporary”

#5284

DEMONSTRATING TRUST

There's an old story about a real person named Charles Blondin that gets retold so much that it has turned somewhat into a legend.

Imagine a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile and spanning the breadth of Niagara Falls?  The thundering sound of the pounding water drowns out all other sounds as you watch a man step onto the rope and walk across! This stunning feat made Charles Blondin famous in the summer of 1859.  He walked 160 feet above the falls several times back and forth between Canada and the United States as huge crowds on both sides looked on with shock and awe.  Once he crossed in a sack, once on stilts, another time on a bicycle,  and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet! On July 15, Blondin walked backward across the tightrope to Canada and returned pushing a wheelbarrow.

The Blondin story is told that it was after pushing a wheelbarrow across while blindfolded that Blondin asked for some audience participation.  The crowds had watched and "Ooooohed" and "Aaaaahed!"  He had proven that he could do it; of that, there was no doubt.  But now he was asking for a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow and take a ride across the Falls with him! It is said that he asked his audience, "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?"  Of course the crowd shouted that yes, they believed! It was then that Blondin posed the question, "Who will get in the wheelbarrow?” Of course, none did.

The story of Charles Blondin paints a real life picture of what faith actually is. The crowd had watched his daring feats. They said they believed, but their actions proved they truly didn't.

It's one thing for us to say we believe in God. It's true faith, though, when we believe God and put our complete trust in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Don't worry, Jesus has carried many across to Heaven's gates. You can trust Him! 

-- Adapted from a variety of sources 

#5264

GOD’S FAMILY

“But to all who believed [Jesus] and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn -- not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”  (John 1:12-13 NLT) 

God is building a family. A permanent family. Earthly families enjoy short shelf lives. Even those that sidestep divorce are eventually divided by death. God’s family, however, will outlive the universe. “When I think of the wisdom and scope of His plan I fall on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth.” (Ephesians 3:14-15 TLB)…

Common belief identifies members of God’s family. And common affection unites them. Paul gives this relationship rule for the church: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” (Romans 12:10 NIV)… The church is God’s family.

You didn’t pick me. I didn’t pick you. You may not like me. I may not like you. But since God picked and likes us both, we are family. And we treat each other as friends. 

-- Max Lucado in “Cure for the Common Life”

#5190

ACTING ON WHAT WE BELIEVE

“Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”   (Philippians 2:12-13)

Sometimes, when God is at work in us, it can feel like we are in the dark. It can involve some heat. It can be painful. Let's look closely at how God works in us and what that process involves... It will always involve a testing of your faith, or what Dr. Henry Blackaby [in “Experiencing God”] refers to as a crisis of belief.

What do you know to be true about God? Many things will come to mind. You know He is love. You know He is faithful. You know He cares about you and that He is always aware of what you are going through.

The crisis for us occurs when we must act on the basis of what we believe. Do we believe it enough to act upon that belief when we are in the dark? When it hurts? When we do not feel like responding?

-- From Christianity Online 

#5168

THE SADDEST THING

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”  (Romans 1:21)

What use is it to us to hear it said of a man that he has thrown off the yoke, that he does not believe there is a God to watch over his actions, that he reckons himself the sole master of his behavior, and that he does not intend to give an account of it to anyone but himself?  Does he think that in that way he will have straightway persuaded us to have complete confidence in him, to look to him for consolation, for advice, and for help, in the vicissitudes of life?  Do such men think that they have delighted us by telling us that they hold our souls to be nothing but a little wind and smoke -- and by saying it in conceited and complacent tones?  Is that a thing to say blithely?  Is it not rather a thing to say sadly -- as if it were the saddest thing in the world? 

-- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) in “Pensee”

#5157

GENUINE GESTURES OF FAITH

“It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.”  (Hebrews 11:6 The Message)

Faith is the belief that God is real and that God is good.  Faith is not a mystical experience or a midnight vision or a voice in the forest… it is a choice to believe that the One who made it all hasn't left it all and that He still sends light into shadows and responds to gestures of faith…

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.  Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. 

God’s economy is upside down (or right side up and ours is upside down!). God says that the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation. The greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers. The darker the room, the greater the need for light. God’s help is near and always available, but it is only given to those who seek it. Nothing results from apathy…

Do something that reveals your faith.  For faith with no effort is no faith at all.  God will respond.  He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith.  Never. 

-- Max Lucado in “Life Lessons with Max Lucado: Book of Hebrews”

#4974

A PRAYER FOR DIFFICULT TIMES

Editor’s Note: The following prayer is an adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer for difficult times. My wife first introduced this to me over 25 years ago. On this National Day of Prayer during the Covid-19 Pandemic I thought it particularly appropriate for today’s SOUND BITES.

A PRAYER FOR DIFFICULT TIMES

Our Father, in spite of the present difficulty, You are still in heaven and the world is still ordered. May my response hallow Your Name. The coming of Your Kingdom is more important than my own difficulty -- so, may I not hinder its coming by my worry. Cause this event to be an opening up to Your will on earth, which I can see as clearly as if I were in heaven. I must recognize that You still provide the necessities of life; I have bread enough. May this event help me to recognize how important it is to secure Your forgiveness and to forgive those who have sinned against me. And may this not be an occasion for temptation to lose faith or respond as an unbeliever. Deliver me from any evil response or action in this difficulty. The overriding and all-important fact of life is that to You belongs the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and even this event is caught up in that fact. Amen.

--  John Killinger

#4838

STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE

“Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.’"  (John 20:27 NIV)

As they were looking on, so we too gaze on His wounds as He hangs. We see His blood as He dies. We see the price offered by the Redeemer, touch the scars of His resurrection. He bows His head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that He may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as He was once fixed to the cross in every part of His body for you, so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul.

-- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)


#4820

A CHANGE OF MIND AND HEART

“Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’”  (John 3:3 NIV)

We believe in conversion.  But what is it?  It is the most basic transformation in life.  It is a revolution at the heart of one's being.  It is the new birth.  It is not a natural growth but a supernatural rebirth.

For selfish persons, conversion means a basic change in the center of their commitment.  Self is dethroned; Christ is enthroned.  For those who measure success and failure in dollars and cents, the new birth means the reign of Christ and of His standards.  For those who put their highest trust in political organizations and in the might of arms, conversion means seeing in Christ the only hope of the world.  To those who are crippled by failure and despair, conversion means absolute trust in the healing ministry of the conquering Savior.  In short, we are born of the Spirit when Christ becomes the master impulse of our life.  And we enter into this new life at the moment when we take all that we know about ourselves and lay it trustfully before all that we know about Christ.

Conversion or the new birth, then, is a basic change of mind and heart.

-- Bishop Mack Stokes in “Major United Methodist Beliefs,”  published by Abingdon  Press, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.


#4794

HOLDING ON TO HOPE

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 RSV)

Hope is a necessity for real living, but especially in a wounded [or broken] moment. As Christians, we can have the hope and expectation that life will be good again. It may not be the same, but it can be good again. Hope is belief in possibility. It is not unrealistic optimism that everything will work out and things will be like they were before. It is confidence and faith that however things turnout, God will be with us, will see us through, and will bring healing.

Hope comes out of resurrection faith, the faith that no matter how bad things get, God is in the midst working with us for good. That’s what Paul was saying in Romans: “In everything God works for good…”

Hold on to your hope!

-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”


#4720

THE GOSPEL LIFE

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV)

God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost isn’t a consulting firm we bring in to give us expert advice on how to run our lives. The gospel life isn’t something we learn about and then put together with instructions from the manufacturer; it’s something we become as God does His work of creation and salvation in us and as we accustom ourselves to a life of belief and obedience and prayer. 

-- Eugene H. Peterson


#4443

BEING PRECEDES DOING

Some of Jesus’ disciples were commissioned by Him to go out and preach, teach, and heal. But before conducting their missions of mercy, these disciples learned much from their master. In their case, being preceded doing. Loving God came before serving God. And that’s the way it should be for us too.

“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said to the brothers Peter and Andrew, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Following Jesus preceded casting their nets for more followers. Discipleship preceded evangelism.  

-- Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors, in “Side by Side”


#4417

ACHIEVING WHOLENESS

Human beings have a remarkable capacity to take things that are related to each other and stick them in separate airtight compartments so they don’t rub against each other and cause them much pain.

We’re all familiar with the man who goes to church on Sunday morning, believing that he loves God and God’s creation and his fellow human beings, but who, on Monday morning, has no trouble with his company’s policy of dumping toxic waste in the local stream. He can do this because he has religion in one compartment and his business in another… It is a very comfortable way to operate, but integrity it is not.

The word integrity comes from the same root as integrate. It means to achieve wholeness, which is the opposite of compartmentalize. Compartmentalization is easy. Integrity is painful. But without it there can be no wholeness.

-- M. Scott Peck in “Further Along the Road Less Traveled”

#4149