Hebrews 11:1 - Faith and Doubt

 Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

Faith and doubt—two forces we often struggle with—seem like polar opposites, but have you ever thought of them as companions? The tension between faith and doubt is a natural part of our Christian walk.

Faith, by its nature, requires a leap into the unknown. 

Faith asks us to believe in something we can't tangibly prove or understand, which often leaves us teetering on the edge of doubt.

Doubt can feel like a gust of wind threatening to knock us off balance. But what if we saw doubt not as an enemy but as an ally in our spiritual growth? Think about the disciple, Thomas, often called “Doubting Thomas.” He doubted Jesus' resurrection until he saw and touched the wounds himself. Jesus didn’t scold him; He offered His hands and side and said, “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). This didn’t weaken Thomas’ faith; it strengthened it.

John 20:28:  Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Doubt pushes us to dig deeper, ask tough questions, and seek profound answers. 

James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt." 

We aren’t called to suppress doubt but to seek wisdom through it. God often uses our questions to draw us closer. Wrestling with doubt makes our faith more authentic and deeply rooted, like gold refined in fire.

A faith that never faces doubt remains fragile. A tree that never faces strong winds might look impressive but lacks deep roots. Faith that has weathered storms of doubt stands strong and resilient. By facing doubt head-on, our faith learns to rely on God’s promises. 

Romans 5:3-4: "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." 

Faith and doubt are part of the messy journey of life, reflecting our yearning for truth and a deeper connection with God. Having doubts and seeking answers is part of growing in faith. Embrace the tension between faith and doubt. Let your questions lead you closer to God and your uncertainties drive you deeper into His word. 

Psalm 23:4: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

It’s not about having all the answers but trusting in the One who does. Faith and doubt together can lead us to a more genuine, resilient, and profound faith.

1 John 4:8 - Why Does God Love Us?

1 John 4:8

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

When you think about mankind, and think about how we are basically selfish, uncooperative, and disrespectful, you have to ask yourself the question, “Why does God love man?” This age-old question can be answered in several ways, but ultimately, it boils down to the nature of God Himself.

God’s love for mankind is a reflection of His own nature. The Apostle John told us in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. Everything He does is motivated by love. Think about that. It isn't because we have earned His love, or that we deserve His love. He loves us because He is love.

God has shown us His love from the very beginning. He created us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). By our very design, we have some inherent value and worth because of who designed us! God has invested His own personal interest in each of us and desires a relationship with each of us.

What is mind-bending is that even with our flaws and imperfections, God’s love for us is unconditional. We see that in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty – not for anything He did – but for our sins (John 3:16.) Do you really need any more evidence than that? God’s love for us isn’t based on our performance – but on His character.

Romans 5:8:  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Now, it is important to understand that God’s love is not just a warm and fuzzy feeling. God’s love is an active and transformative love. When we accept God’s love and allow it to work in our lives, it changes who we are – changes us from the inside out. We become more like Christ and are able to love others the same way God loves us.

Remember, though, God’s love for us and our love for Him is not just about feeling good; He expects us to respond to His love with reverence and obedience. God desires that we love Him deeply and respect Him, following His commands as an expression of our love and gratitude. Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). This shows that our love for God must be evident in our actions and our willingness to live according to His will.

We need to return God's love to Him, not because we have to or because He will stop loving us if we don't, but because it is the right thing to do to show our appreciation – much like a child shows love and respect for their parents. This is a natural response to the profound and selfless love that God has shown us.

1 John 5:3:  "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.".

Let us be thankful for God’s love and allow it to transform our lives so that we can love others the same way. Let us also remember to love and fear Him, showing our commitment through obedience to all of His commands, as a true expression of our appreciation and gratitude.

 

Jeremiah 31:31-34 - God's Memory

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isn't human memory fascinating? It's so crucial to our lives that without it, we couldn't even manage simple tasks like walking or swallowing. Yet, our memories have a funny way of working. Have you noticed how we're more likely to remember the bad stuff and forget the good? We often dwell on our failures and flaws, while our successes and talents slip our minds.

Let me ask you something. When you think of David from the Old Testament, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it the scandal with Bathsheba? Or do you think of David as "the man whose heart belonged to God"?

David’s story beautifully highlights the difference between human memory and God's memory. If you read 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, you'll see how God remembered David long after he had died, doing great things "for the sake of David." God clearly remembered David and acted because of those memories.

But was David perfect? No way! He committed serious sins – even murder and adultery! Yet, despite these, God consistently remembered that David’s heart was devoted to Him.

Here’s something amazing about God's memory: Jeremiah 31:31-34 talks about a new covenant where God promises, "I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." This means a time would come when God would forget every sin He forgave. The writer of Hebrews echoes this prophecy in Hebrews 10:16-17, stating that Jesus Christ fulfills it. When God forgives us through Jesus, those forgiven sins vanish from His memory.

Maybe you're thinking, "God couldn't possibly have any good memories of me. Why would He act with goodness or mercy towards me?" Even if that feels true right now, it can change. When we sincerely and humbly give our hearts to God, and allow Him to wash our sins in baptism, He forgives—and when He forgives, He forgets our wrongs.

Acts 2:38:  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Remember Hebrews 10:16-17, quoting from Jeremiah:  “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

Isn't that incredible? It's a beautiful reminder of God's amazing grace and mercy.

1 Peter 5:8 - Are You Watching For Snakes?

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

When I was 14 years old, my cousin, my uncle and I were fishing along the bank of a remote river in California. I was walking a bit up ahead of the others, and was having a great time hopping from rock to rock.

To the side of the trail, I saw a bundle of twigs on top of some rocks. It seemed out of place somehow, so I stopped to look. And – I almost didn’t see what it was! I had almost stepped on a baby snake sunning itself on a rock. It wasn’t moving, just laying there all twisted up.

I went back to find my uncle and told him that I had just found a baby snake. He teased me about being afraid of a baby, but came with me to see it. My cousin, Gary and I were ahead of him, but when my uncle saw the snake, he yelled for us to stop, then came up and pulled us backwards. Looking at me, he said, “I thought you said this was a baby snake.” (If my wits had been quicker, I would have said, “Well, it had a rattle.”) Apparently, what I thought was a baby turned out to be about 30 inches long rattlesnake!

Have you ever noticed that spiritual danger is quite often like that snake (or a lion, as Peter says). It can be right in front of us – with the power to cause us serious hurt – yet, because we do not see it, we are convinced there is no danger. It is in that ignorance we often inflict heavy, unnecessary pain on ourselves.

Think about this:  every day we are walking in the “wilderness” and we are about to step on “poisonous snakes” our eyes are untrained to see. There are so many things we need to be watchful for, and the world is trying to lull us into being complacent. But – that is how we get bitten!

In 1 Peter 1:13-21, Peter was writing to a group of Christians, who had suffered because of their relationship with Jesus Christ, and their suffering was soon to get more severe. He was basically saying, "You people need to prepare to be even more serious about your devotion to Jesus Christ."

He was warning them to not make money, physical pleasure, or things of this world the foundation of their sustaining hope, but instead to make the foundation of their hope the grace made available in Jesus Christ's resurrection.

Before we step on that poisonous snake — I think Peter's directive is very applicable to us. I believe Peter was saying, "It is time to be serious about your commitment to God. Remember who and what you were before, and who and what you are now as a Christian. You are no longer living a godless lifestyle of personal indulgence. Your new commitment is now to the holiness of God, the One who saves you through His Son. Your time as a physical creature is only for a short time — so do not let money, pleasure, popular ideas or lifestyles determine or define who you are. Only one thing should define who you are — God's grace – revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God can remake you and your life because of that grace.”

And, remember this:  your hope is not in yourself or anything you do! You cannot merit a relationship with God!

Ephesians 2:8-9:   8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Your hope is God's grace revealed in Jesus' resurrection!  Surely you obey responsibly — but your obedience is merely declaring your appreciation for God's grace!

Mark 8:34 - Are You a Disciple?

Mark 8:34 (Also Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23)

24 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Give it some thought, then answer these two questions: 

        Do you consider yourself a Christian? 

        Do you consider yourself a disciple?

Be honest, did you hesitate on that second one?

The name “Christian” only appears in the Bible three times:  Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28 AND 1 Peter 4:16.) And yet it is the most used term to describe a believer today. The most common designation found in the New Testament is “disciple.” 

Calling yourself a disciple seems a little intimidating because we seem to think that a “disciple” is one who ascribes to more than we do  -- and that is the problem!

If we are Christians -- we are disciples! 

Why is that important? Because a disciple is actually someone described in scripture, not just a concept we can define any way we choose.

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

But, to better understand what a disciple is, maybe it is best if we see how Jesus described one . . .

John 8:31

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Can we call ourselves Christians?  Yes. After all, disciples were called Christians also:

Acts 11:26 c

. . . The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

But when you do, remember that is not a title, but a description of a serious, devoted way of life!

1 Corinthians 15:33 - The Law of Entropy

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond? There are ripples for quite a while after the rock splashes. But - eventually the pond’s surface will become still again.

The second Law of Thermal Dynamics is at work here. It states that things will move toward equilibrium. This is something called entropy — an equal state of balance.

Place a cube of ice in a pot of boiling water and see what happens . . . the ice cube and the pot of water  will both change until they finally reach the temperature of the environment they are in. In fact, everything is moving toward the same temperature of the surrounding environment.

This principal of entropy reminds me of a similar spiritual principal . . . If we are left on our own, we will change to equal the “temperature” of our surroundings. Since we are in the world, we will eventually be indistinguishable. Ultimately, no one will be able to tell us apart from the rest of the world.

The world has a constant influence on us. For instance, when we hear foul language long enough, it becomes more difficult for us to not use foul language ourselves. We soon find ourselves wearing the same things as those around us, doing the same things, and having all the same things.

Think about what you value . . .

How much of what we think of as being important is dictated by the world we are in? If are constantly bombarded with worldly concepts, it is difficult not to develop the same worldly attitudes.  We must struggle against the temptation to be the same “temperature” as the world.

Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How do we keep from being the same as the world?

Well, that is easy! Every winter when it gets cold, I stand close to our fireplace. After a few minutes, I am warm and toasty. In fact, if I sit down right away, my clothes seem to burn with the heat I have collected from the fire.

It is the same idea spiritually! We just need to continually stand close and warm ourselves in the fire of God’s Word!

When something is the same temperature as our surroundings — we say it is at “room temperature.” We also call it “lukewarm.” Being room temperature as a Christian is not a good thing!

Revelation 3:14-16: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

If you are not warming yourself in the fire of God's Word—get there! 

2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:3-4: His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

John 3:16-17 - A Loophole or Lifeline?

John 3:16-17:
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you have ever been out on the ocean, maybe you have thought about how vulnerable you are out there. All that water — and no land in sight!

“Man overboard!” is not a cry to be taken lightly. A man left on his own, swimming in the middle of the ocean has absolutely no chance to survive. If he doesn’t exhaust himself from treading water, there are a host of other reasons he will not survive — from hypothermia to becoming dinner for a large sea creature.

A man overboard cannot save himself no matter how good a swimmer he might be. How he came to be overboard is of no real concern — the real concern is that he is where he is!

His only hope lies with those left on the boat! His salvation depends on someone throwing him a lifeline to hang on to and be pulled back on board. Once the rope is thrown — he has to hold on for all he is worth!

There are some among us who read John 3:16, and see it as a loophole — as if God inserted an alternative for those who obey Him to avoid suffering consequences:  if you believe, you live — if you don’t, you perish.

That truly isn’t the situation at all!  God isn’t the one condemning us — we have condemned ourselves!

A person who finds himself in this world without God and drowning in a life of sin, is exactly like the man who has fallen overboard! He is in a place where he cannot save himself, no matter how hard he tries. His hope lies somewhere outside himself.

Read John 3:16 closer.  What you will see is God recognizing that we are hopelessly drowning in sin — and He is arranging a lifeline for us! This isn’t God simply encouraging us to have faith in Him, He has arranged this lifeline because — He loves us!

Romans 5:8:  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Think you can save yourself from sin? You will eventually exhaust yourself and sink to the bottom of the hopeless abyss. Without God, we have no hope. 

Yes, God wants us to have faith in Him, but that faith is not being forced on us at the risk of punishment — we are lost already! God is throwing us this rope in hopes that before we are lost forever, we will grab on and let Him pull us back to safety!

Don’t be confused, this is not just a light-hearted belief in God… This is an active, soul-rending, life-changing belief.  If it were anything less, then even the demons would be saved.

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

God has done all He can by casting out the lifeline in the form of His Son.  Have you taken grasp of it?

Galatians 3:26-27:  So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

And — if you have grasped onto Jesus, and have been pulled to safety, are you diligently watching the waves for others sinking souls you can throw a lifeline to?

1 Peter 4:10:  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.