Faith as desperation

I recently read Luke 5:16-26 again, and shared it at work at our morning devotion. 

Have you ever noticed how what you got in your personal time with God in the morning gets expanded upon once you share it, or when you go back to it? You get more added than you received previously.

The story is familiar but as people kept sharing their thoughts, what registered for me was something someone said: even where there was no space, they created a space for themselves and their friend. That's a powerful picture.

I fall in the camp of those who get tired quickly when seeking something. I'm easily worn out. Yet these friends went all the way. The large crowd did not deter them, they could have given up and gone home, they could have had a legitimate excuse, but they were determined to get help for their friend today. Their desperation for their friend was called faith, and their faith was rewarded. 

It seems counterintuitive that you would ask desperately from a loving God who calls himself our heavenly father but he requires and even commends this desperation.

Jesus even told two stories that explore this theme of desperation as faith. The story Syrophoenician woman and the story of the unjust judge.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him Hebrews 11:16 NIV

I learned that faith means coming again, and again, and again, raising the issue one more time, and not stopping until you receive what you seek. Sometimes it requires a desperate act, a kind of stubbornness on our part to demand attention to the issue we are raising. The Syrophoenician woman was not discouraged, aggravated or offended when Jesus called her a dog she would bear any insult to get that crumb which was sufficient to get the healing she wanted for her daughter. These friends were not deterred by the large crowds, they did what was unthinkable, they didn't care whose house they defaced, or the consequences. Time will come to settle those matters but right now, they needed to reach Jesus.

I fear that I am much too reasonable, much too calm, much too self-conscious to do something so daring and over the top. Something in me says, I shouldn't have to do all that. Yet there are these examples and the commendation from the Master - he saw their faith. Could it be that he is waiting to see my faith?

-ONWARD!

deliver us

Tuesday nights are one of the best times of the week for me. Its always like haih tuesday again but at the end i feel wow so blessed. 

There's sometime about the alpha program or maybe its just fellowship, studying the bible together, learning, sharing that i love. I like that there are new things or things that i know but need to be reminded. Someone once told me humans need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed and its true.

Today we went through how to resist evil. And its true just as there's a God who's all good there's also a devil who is all evil but they are not in the same level. I mean God is all powerful and supreme and soverign, in control over every affair of man and life but the devil is not so powerful. The bible actually says he's a fallen being. And he's only there to steal, kill, destroy. 

Today i learned, well was reminded that yes there is a devil and its important not to be ignorant of him but to acknowledge that he is there and is out for anyone who wants to be good and follow the ways of God. If it seems like you are being attacked constantly thats a good sign because he won't attack those that belong to him, tempt them and stuff because they belong to him ma. 

Just as it is good to acknowlege the devil that he is real just like the baju we wear is real. Its also important not to be obsessed about the devil and go into all kinds of things, like witchcraft, casting spells and stuff like that. They may seem cool especially since harry potter does it but in the end its just the destruction of the person that the devil seeks.

We as christians have been uprooted from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God where we are now called his children. And when we come to him he gives us the holy spirit so we cannot be possessed by evil spirits as long as we stay close to God and follow his ways.

One thing that i think is important as we go through life is to have an anchor, just like when silar was confused with who he was after he got the shape shifting ability denko asked him to find an anchor, something to remind him of who he really is and for denko it was a watch his dad gave him. I think its very important la to have something that will help you stand when the storms of life come. For me its a few things, and if you follow this blog you will hear me say it over and over again; God is good, he is pure good and nothing can separate us from his love and he only does what is right, he will not give us evil if the ultimate purpose is not to build us up. God is a loving God. That for me is what keeps me going when so much have been stripped away i always come to that.

~shalom~

hope

When i think of hope the first thing that comes into my mind is the obama campaign poster.

Yeah this one. But the hope i'm talking about is the one the bible. I was going to try to explain it but my bible does a better job, check this out.

"Hope"

In English, the word hope implies contingency. But Biblical "hope" is not a "hope-so hope" (ie not wishful thinking about something good happening in the future); rather, it is a "know-so hope," a confidence from God concerning his promises. It is sure because it is based on the integrity of God's Word. We will experience the reality of hope because God is "the God of hope" (ie the object and assurance of our hope, Romans 15.13).

See i told you. There's no way i could have come up with something like that. But its true. People make the mistake of thinking when we say hope, we mean hope-so. I've had this discussion before with my friend who didnt understand and i didnt really understand at the time and her point made sense but the more i think about it the more i realise they're different. If someone says i hope so means they're not sure. Say you ask someone;

You: are you going to pass your exams?

Them: hope so...

It doesn't sound confident right. Ok compare this with this.

You: are you going to pass your exams?

Them: Yes.

What do you think? Yeah i know sometimes people say things they don't mean but there are times when you write an exam and you know without a doubt its a done deal. That is the hope of a bible. Its more like faith. I have this beautiful quote about faith.

Faith never gives up. It knows that despite appearances, all is well.

(Madam Guyon)

I've been rather confused lately, i think a lot lately and there's fear in my heart. I dunno quite what it is, if its a phase or of God wants to teach me something but in my heart there is a hope that all will be well. That this season will pass and it will be spring again. 

Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/a35mmlife

~shalom~

repost: what is faith

This post was also made on my friendster blog on the 5th of October 2006. I'm posting it here for posterity sake.

This just goes with what i shared last time, it has more authority than my previous post so here it is.

"Faith is believing what you want to believe, yet cannot prove."

Sadly, many people, including some Christians, live with this definition of faith. For some it feels liberating. It means being able to believe in anything you want to. No explanation is required; indeed, no explanation can be given--it is just a matter of faith. For others, such a definition is sickening. Embracing faith means you stop thinking. As faith increases, reason and meaning eventually disappear. No explanations can be given, and none can be expected. Thus, living in faith is living in the dark.

For both groups, the problem is the same. By starting with the wrong definition of faith, they have asked the wrong question, are dealing with the wrong problem, and so have ended up with the wrong answer. Faith is not wishful thinking. It is not about believing in things that do not exist. It neither makes all things believable, nor meaning impossible.

So what is the right definition of faith? "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," writes the author of Hebrews. A few verses later faith is similarly defined as knowing that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Perhaps the best word we can use to translate the Greek word pistis (usually translated faith) is the word "trust" or "trustworthy." Suppose you tell a friend that you have faith in her. What does that mean? It means two things. First, you are sure the person you are talking to actually exists. And second, you are convinced she is trustworthy; you can believe what she says and trust in her character.

It is in this way that the writer of Hebrews talks about faith in God. Faith is knowing that God is real and that you can trust in his promises. You cannot trust someone who isn't there, nor can you rely on someone whose promises are not reliable. This is why faith is talked about as the substance of things hoped for and as the evidence of things not seen. Both words carry with them a sense of reality. Our hope is not wishful thinking. Faith does not make God real. On the contrary, faith is the response to a real God who has made Himself known to us:

"I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me" (Isaiah 45:5-6).

Ever since the Church began, the refrain has always been the same. It has never appealed for people to leap into the dark; no such invitation is found anywhere in Scripture. Instead, we are called to step into the light. The Christian gospel is not a message that revels in ignorance. It is the revelation of God in the person Christ, so that we might know there is none besides Him. The Christian is called to see things as they really are, and not as he would simply like them to be. We trust in a God who has revealed Himself. We believe because He is real.

The Christian Gospel invites you delve into reality. It commands you to be honest in your commitment to know that which is true. Is Jesus real? Who did he claim to be? Is he really alive today? Faith comes in response to knowing the answers to these questions, even as Christ is calling you near. But don't stop after the initial introductions! Just as you are able to put more trust in someone as you grow to know him, so faith increases as you grow in your relationship with Christ. There is a God who is real and true, and He is calling you unto Himself. The great joy of the Christian faith is found in the person who invites us to trust and believe.

By Michael Ramsden

~shalom~

repost: faith

This post was made on my friendster blog before i started using blogger as my main blog site on the 10th of march 2006, its about faith.

I've been thinking about faith for some time now, and this image of faith as a mustard seed is always in my mind, thats really what i want to talk about here.

The mustard seed is among the smallest you'll ever see, i've personally not seen one or if i have i don't have any memory of it. But i believe it grows into a tree like most seeds. In Matthew Jesus was explaining that even a faith level as small as a mustard seed is enough to do wonders. How much more a fully grown tree of mustard seed faith? I don't know if i'm making sense or not but i believe that there are times in our lives when we need to exercise faith and i'm sure that we came through honestly praising God because He led us through that path just to show us He's able.

I don't know why i'm writing this i guess i need to share la, but i feel we need to trust God more and allow him space to surprise and surpass our imaginations. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or even think of asking.

~shalom~