faith

Big God People Live by Faith Not Fear – VOTD.06.11.18

You have forsaken your first love. Revelation 2:4

As I try to wet people’s appetites for deeper levels of passion and relationship with Jesus, I encounter many Christians who are afraid of drawing closer to God–even among Christians who are quite knowledgeable in the Bible.

They usually come with the same concern: “But doesn’t pursuing a deeper experience with God open us up to doctrinal error?” The answer that concerns us in this meditation is: ‘How big is your God’? If we are ever going to reach out and be touched by God we’re going to have to believe in a God who is big enough to keep us safe in our pursuit of more of Him.

Doctrinally speaking, we all know that God is all-powerful–He’s stronger than the devil. But if you talk with many Christians who say they believe that, practically speaking, their devil is bigger than their God. Some, because of their fear of error, have not only shied away from seeking an experience with God for themselves, they’ve actively discouraged other Christians from pursuing God. 

After all, history shows us many deceived groups who based their beliefs on experiences even though it was in conflict with clear statements in the Bible. Under the guidance of such attitudes, fear becomes our teacher and walking by fear instead of by faith, we ironically end up equally in conflict with clear statements in the Bible that tell us to pursue God. Is this deception any less dangerous? (more…)

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Hope – VOTD.02.20.18

We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven.  Colossians 1:4,5

A couple of important points of today’s verse:

1) Our hope comes from Jesus (heaven), and that hope produces two essential Christian qualities: Faith and Love. That’s how essential hope is, and it’s why the enemy attacks hope far more often than faith or love, individually. It’s also why the enemy gets along just fine with optimism. It masks the need for faith-and-love-producing hope.

2) We need to take hold of hope: God gives hope and our hope is in Him. Hebrews tells us that “we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.” (Heb 6:18-20)

Sure, hope encourages us – it’s where we find Jesus’ strength and comfort. But hope also empowers us to seize what God has already determined to give us. Hope is the anchor which holds us to Jesus and His power. And notice this: It is hope that enters in to the mercy seat where Jesus is.

Which brings us to the difference between hope, and what often masquerades for hope: optimism. As we saw last time, hope is not some optimism trip or a mind over matter self-influence. Optimism and hope are not the same thing. The difference is this: optimism is inside of us; it rises from within us. It’s an attitude toward life that we choose, or maybe one we’re just born with or nurtured with.

However it got into us, optimism is internal, a personal disposition, part of our make-up… or not. But more to the point, if it’s something that’s just “in me,” it can fade away when life gets really tough. Or to use another image, it’s something like fuel that I have in my car’s gas tank. I can eventually run out of it. (more…)

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The Hope of Christmas – VOTD.12.19.16

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Arguably, the best-known story in the Bible is the birth of Jesus. Why? Because in a biblically illiterate society, most people have seen Charlie Brown’s Christmas special that comes on TV each year. In it, Linus quotes a large portion of Luke 2’s account of the Jesus birth. Crazy, yet it’s all part of how God has chosen to reveal Himself.

It’s been more than 30 years since I saw Charlie Browns Christmas special, but I remember it’s simple theme: Charlie Brown is discouraged by how Christmas celebration panders to the materialistic spirit of selfish and entitlement-demanding people around him. He’s given up hope, when Linus recites the words of Luke 2. The show ends with hope being restored.

Hope is a fragile thing. When life disappoints us, our hope can be replaced by feelings of discouragement and hopelessness. Hopelessness turns into cynicism and pessimism, believing there is nothing in which we can confidently hope. (more…)

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