Faith

I came across another quote today that not only inspired me, but made me think a great deal about myself.  Lately, I’ve been feeling as though I’ve been making progress on my Journey back to Christ.  I feel like I’m getting better.   And then I read this.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

It seems to me that I’ve gotten confused about what faith actually means.  I don’t’ know why, but I’ve been acting as though faith means a belief in God.  And this thought made me think of a bible verse that made me chuckle a little bit the first time I heard it. 

James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”

Ok, so that put me in my place real quick.  The occupants of hell have more faith than I do.   Then I started to think even more.  Of course they have more faith about God.  They’re demons.  So faith can’t just be belief. 

Then I remembered that the bible actually defines faith and shows examples of faith.  I couldn’t remember where it was (sorry mom and dad), so I googled it. 

Hebrews 11:1-6

“1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 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.”

The first verse struck me like I’d never heard it before.  Certain of what we do not see (God) AND sure of what we hope for.  So, that was a little confusing so I looked more at the examples that followed.  All of them are people that had so much faith that they were commended by God, usually after the person had done something to show their faith.  All of the examples made it seem like faith is an action.  We have to live by faith.  Not by sight.  We have to trust that God is here for us.  That reminds me of the story of Jesus walking on water.

To sum it up, Jesus walks on water and one of the disciples asks to come down from the boat.  He also walks on water a little bit and then looks around.  He sees the waves and the wind and starts to get scared and he begins to sink.  He calls out for help and Jesus catches him and says “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

This strikes me a little bit weird as well.  Growing up, we read this story and it was like “yeah, dude, what are you thinking?  Don’t doubt like that.”  But now, as an adult, it seems different.  He’s walking on a lake that may be unstable because of the weather and he gets scared.  Of course he got scared.  I would too. 

So, now I’m confused, right?  What I’ve learned so far is that I should have faith no matter what is going on around me.  Then I start thinking “man, am I doing something wrong?  Why can’t I have faith?” 

But then I started to think and it’s not like that.  That disciple that got down from the boat was Peter.  One of the most influential (in my opinion, as well as Paul) disciples there was and, in Catholicism, thought to be the very first Pope.  PETER had doubts.  And Jesus still accepted him and trusted him.  And he went on to do amazing things.  I’m not failing for doubting.  I just need him to catch me from time to time.

I’m not walking on unsettled waters or walking through the valley of death, but I’m going through things that I have to pray about.  I admit that it’s very hard for me to have that kind of faith.  I suppose it’s something I need to work on.

Change

Changing

I was looking up quotes and verses to post on my facebook for today and something led me to the book of James.  1:26-27

 

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

This passage is fairly beautiful to me.  It’s convicting, very well stated, and has a lot of points to talk about and the one that I want to talk about particularly today is in the last verse.  James says that pure religion is to visit orphans and widows in times of need and to keep myself unstained from the world.  I keyed in on the last part. 

There’s other verses that talk about not being changed by the world, and while growing up, I had learned that that meant to not give into “worldly” desires.  The big ones like drugs, fornication, etc.  the big no no’s of our society that fall in line with Christianity.  But its more than that.  In James, there is a connection made between religion, helping people in need, and being unstained by the world.  I look at that, and I think, that doesn’t make any sense.  It doesn’t flow.  My religion is to help others in need and not do the big sins?  Can’t be just that.  That doesn’t fit. 

So I looked more and found Romans 12:2.  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So I began thinking, what if being ustained by the world meant being unaffected?  What if not letting the world change me meant not becoming jaded by all the evil and horror in the world.  Then it fits.  THEN it’s like a command to help others in need perhaps even though there are so many in need that its overwhelming.  Or maybe helps others in need as much as you can, even when they don’t want it.  Or just as simple as taking the time to care about that one homeless person that we may walk by on a daily basis like its NORMAL.  Like its ok.  Then, it fits.  

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m jaded.  Sometimes I feel like I’m sick of the bad stuff of the world and I just want it all to stop.  I want to go to my house, shelter my kids, and make sure nothing happens to them.  I want to not help people that don’t help themselves.  My reaction to what happens in the world has made me selfish and untrusting.  And, to me, that’s worse than any of the big no no sins.  I’ve gotten to the point to where I don’t care anymore.  And that is directly against what my religion should be.  But I can change.

 

Buddha said that “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” And “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”

Proverbs tells us in chapter 4, verse 23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Luke Tells us that “ The good man out of the good [a]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil manout of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from [b]that which fills his heart.”

The fact that wise people spoke and/or wrote about it, makes me, again, think that it’s not easy to change or come to grips with and it’s very common problem to people.  So I started thinking “ok, it’s a common problem, they’re talking about it, therefore, I can change.”

I can change my thoughts.  I can change my heart.  Therapists have told me that if I practice enough, it will become reality.  The bible itself tells us what to focus on. 

 

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

 

I believe the bible and sayings are telling me to focus on what’s pure in the world.  Have an undefiled religion because I’m not jaded by the pain here, but uplifted by the strength that can be found if I look.  Search for the good and try to help those in need just as Jesus did. 

 

Persevere

On my facebook, I get inspirational quotes every day from different people.  I did this at the request of my wife because she said it helps keep one looking on the bright side of things.  She was right.   

I came across this quote by Bruce Lee, “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”

I thought this quote was pretty inspiring, so I looked for more like it. I found the following by Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks.

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.”

This all struck a chord with me because I think, deep down, I’m expecting to have an easy life.  I’m a decent person, why not?  But it’s not always like that.  Life has its ups and downs and often times, at least in my case, the downs are more extreme than the ups.  So why would I expect an easy life?  There are no biblical references stating that we, as people, would have an easy life.  There’s nothing saying that once Christianity is attained or accepted life would be simpler.

However, there is a great deal examples of God comforting his chosen vessels and his chosen people.  Jesus told those he was teaching (John 16:33) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  The last part, in my opinion, is where the comfort comes in. 

God has promised to be with us.  That doesn’t me he’ll smite our enemies or make us rich, but perhaps he will give us what we need.  Maybe help us find opportunities.  At least give us the mental strength to carry on.  From a non-religious stand point, the belief in something bigger than ourselves, whatever God or Diety, seems to help those that believe.  Just faith helps.  There’s a lot of faith shown in the book of Psalms.  

Psalms 46: 1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,”

Psalms 23:4  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;  your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Psalm 138:7  “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.  You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.”

A lot of trouble expressed in these verses but a lot of faith and courage as well. 

It’s funny.  I started writing this in the morning and then stopped for a while to take care of a few things and now, here I am, the next morning, finishing up.  In the span of time that I was absent, I actually went through a little hard time of my own.  Started asking the regular pouty questions in my mind.  “Why me?”  “why don’t I ever catch a break.” Then, it was like my own words from that morning coming back to me.  An easy life isn’t promised.  But he’s there with you.

This whole experience as shown me a new light on one of the most often used bible verses.  Phillipians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Up until now I’ve always taken that as merely an encouraging statement given to the Phillipian church to keep them going.  The bible is full of vague speech and metaphorical language that I just thought this was a nice metaphorical verse.  I remember when I was little thinking this was literal.  I actually prayed for the ability to fly.  Imagine my disappointment…lol.  But I look at that verse now.  And I look at psalms and I look at just things that have happened in my life and now I think I was wrong both times.  That’s not what this verse means.

The bible says a righteous man will fall down seven times and seven times get back up.  Confucius said “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”  All these verses and all these sayings mean that as long as I have my faith, I can get through anything.  Not DO anything.  Persevere.

the self

I was thinking about more proverbs that I’ve heard here and there, as well as some of the verses that I’ve read over my lifetime and began noticing a few constants.  One of them particularly that means something to me is the idea that we can master ourselves and/or be empowered by truly knowing ourselves.  It gives me hope to think that there actually is a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m not just imagining it.   The first person I think of when this topic comes to mind is the Apostle Paul.

 In 1 Cor 9:27, he wrote the following.  “No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

The previous verses elude to the need for those following Christ to train their bodies and minds like runners do to prepare for a race.  And then race with all we have, as if running for an eternal crown.

This passage makes me think that controlling myself the way I should be controlled is hard.  Paul is saying that he physically struck himself for the sake of the gospel.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t usually hit myself.  The idea that controlling myself is hard led me to look at other sources to see what they say.   And here’s what I found,

Lao Tzu said “Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.”

 Buddha said “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”   And “It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.”

A bible verse along the same vein can be found in Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.”

I think those two are the most powerful.  Controlling myself is better than taking a city.  Which leads me to believe that controlling myself is harder than taking a city or winning battles.

it seems that the general consensus is that, in order to get through life with any kind of grace, one of the things we must do is learn to control ourselves and our actions.   Our words.  I, myself, frequently need to reel myself in.  God says “Be still and know that I am the Lord.”  I never thought that actually doing that would be a difficult task.

Anxiety

I spend a lot of time, like today, worrying about what tomorrow will bring or what will happen if I make a decision.  I think it’s more than just worry. It’s an attack of obsessive “what if” questions that doesn’t seem to stop.  My father explained to me once that that is sin.  The bible says to not worry about anything.  In fact, there are sayings in several religions that talk about worry and anxiety.  But I look sometimes at scripture and then I look at the things that come up in life and I think “how in the world could I not be anxious?”  So I think of what people would have been anxious about in bible times.  And that’s even worse!  Especially the apostles and other followers that were persecuted and sometimes even put to death. 

Don’t be anxious?  Really?

Then I came across a Buddhist quote about how to live life.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” ― Gautama Buddha

It makes so much sense when it’s written out.  And then I thought, why didn’t the bible teach me this?  But it does.

Matthew 6:31-34 (AMP)

³⁴ So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

I think these two sayings are basically saying the same thing.  Live for today.  Do what you know to do today.  Tomorrow will come either way.

The bible even goes further and tells us what to do with our anxieties.

Philippians 4:6-7(NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I take this to mean that I should pray and do whatever rightful thing that I can do for a desired outcome.  I take the combined sayings and scripture to mean that, since a very wise person decided to speak about it, that anxiety is a common problem.  One that even Jesus himself suffered from.  

In the scriptures, it talks about Jesus going to pray on mount olive before his crucifixion.  

Luke 22:39-46

 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.[a]

 Its part of being human.  I shouldn't be down on myself or anyone else for having anxiety.  But I should realize that worrying will not change anything.  Just like the Dalai Lama said.

“If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.”

Im doing it wrong

On my tablet, I have a few bible apps.  One of them displays a daily verse and today's was in this passage.  

Matthew 5:14-16 NIV “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  

After reading this, I was a little taken back by what it means.  Sure, I've heared it before, I grew up in church, so it's familiar to me.  But I've never thought about what it means.  Firstly, to me, it means that my good deeds have to be so much more than a "normal" good deed that everyone else should take notice.  If I give to the poor as much as I have in the past, people would merely say "cool, good for you," but no one would say that those actions would glorify God.  I can't think of a single thing that I've done that would glorify God.  That's an incredibly good deed, right?   So then, I think for a moment and start wondering what kind of deeds are great deeds.  What did Jesus say to do?  I mean, he already told us to love eachother alot and to forgive eachother.  What else could he say?  

Mark 10:43-45 NIV "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. [45] For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  

Whoever wishes to be great in the Kingdom has to serve.  You have to be humble enough to serve others.  Chirst himself came to serve, and I should do the same.  

Matthew 5:44-48 NIV "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. "

  I am not to only love and care for my family, but for others as well.  Even those that hate me and may even want to do me harm.  I have to be a good enough person to pray for them, and pray sincerely, because I'm supposed to also love them.   I think about all these passages and I look at the way I live and how I treat people and I think, "I'm doing it wrong." My whole attitude that even wins me praise among my peers as a good father or good husband or good employee, none of it is enough.
 I'm doing it wrong.

My Arrogance

  Hello again.  
I'm here, once more, because I believe God is teaching me a lesson.  I'm learning that I have  HUGE problem with arrogance.
I'm fairly talented, and very often, I want others to take notice and I even want the praise.  I want the jobs that come with the talents and I want to get attention.  And I wonder why I'm not there yet.  After all, I'm good at the things I can do. Why can't I have the opportunity to do them?  Why don't I have the room to follow them?  Don't I deserve that?
I feel like I've been slapped down with a resounding "no".  I don't.  Talents and abilities are gifts as well as the attention that comes with them.  Not rights or obligation.  They are given, by God, and are given for a reason.
1 Peter 4:10 says "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: ¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."and Romans 12 says "³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness."  From these two passages, I get the impression that our gifts, talents, abilities are not given to us to glorify ourselves, but to bring glory to God and to help our brothers and sisters.  Not just brothers and sisters in the church sense, but brothers and sisters in the human sense.  About this particular subject, I'm being arrogant and selfish and I need to fix that.

Checking In

Hello again to all who have or will visit this blog.  I looked at it today and the analytics says there have been over 800 views.  Not bad.  Of course, I'm not going to mention when this blog started....I'll just ignore that and let myself feel good.
I wanted to check back in.  After a few mishaps with other blogs and a few mishaps in life, I'm back here, on my knees. Coming back to God because I have no where else to turn.  And as I do that, something stirs up in me and says that I shouldn't go back to God simply because I'm unhappy.  I feel as if I learned somehow that you should go to God purely because you chose to or want to, not because you need to.  
But the bible says different, doesn't it?   
In Matthew 11, Jesus says  28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  
Jesus does not give an stipulations for what you should be weary from.  There's no mention of why you are heavy laden.  He just says to go to him.  

Another example is the parable of the Prodigal Son.  Jesus tells a story of a young man, son to a Rich father and has an inheritance.  He decides one day to leave his fathers house, take his inheritance and spend it all on various less than noble things.  He comes to his senses one day after sleeping somewhere that only animals sleep and decides to go back to his father; penniless and weary.  He has a speech prepared to give to his father in hopes to win his forgiveness.  But before he can finish it, his father puts his robe one him and orders his servant to kill a calf in celebration of his son's return.   Jesus tells this story, along with other stories, after the people's reaction to him "welcoming sinners" by eating with them and talking with them.  Reaching out to them.  There was the lost coin and the lost sheep, both also portraying a person, losing and/or searching for something that they loved and rejoicing when it was returned.  He did this as to compare God to the one in the story that lost something or someone.  
If I'm to understand correctly by the association that I believe Jesus is making in these parables combined with what he said in Matthew about those that are weary.  It seems that, even though I would feel like a more noble kneeling is necessary, it's the fact that I'm kneeling that matters.  I'll need to take this revelation to heart and not be so quick to judge people.