Why The "Panicking Christian"?

Like most Christians, I occasionally find myself in a borderline, all out panic about something which I already knew, but seem to have forgotten or that I only knew in my head, as opposed to my heart. And mercifully, God decides to show me what is really going on or what it is that I needed to know, before I completely lose my mind.

So the writing within is just that. It is that which God has shown and taught me while I was typically in one of those times in my life. Since the way in which He has chosen to reveal things to me tend to be fairly easy to follow and understand, I am sharing them via this format. That said, I take no glory for any of this. It is God whom has given me the ability to write, and it is He who has given me the content to write as well and He who saved me by His glorious grace in the first place.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

A Reminder...

A reminder of interest:

The One who invited children to Himself (Mark 10:14) is the same One who leveled Sodom (Gen.19:24). The One who stepped in on behalf of the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:7) is the exact same One who leveled the earth (Gen.6:17) generations past.

They are not different. They are not "new and improved". God was the same in the very beginning and in the days of the early Church, as He is today and in the eternal tomorrow. The One who led His children to freedom from Egypt, is the same One who willingly went to the cross and is the same One who calls out to you today.

He has not changed.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

3 Little Words

Questioning, doubting and unbelief.

Three words that none of us want to admit to having experienced but, in all honesty, we likely all can relate and recall more than one or two moments when each of those existed in our own lives. However, while many may choose to use those terms interchangably, they are not the same thing at all.

For instance, have you ever prayed about your unbelief?  If you have - or you find youself there now - I want to share a story told to me by an old friend.

A family member of theirs was struggling with, what they believed, to be unbelief.  They found themselves alone one day and began to pray desperately about it when the question was put to them:  "If you do not believe, then who are you talking to?". Needless to say, it ended and answered their prayer pretty quickly. The point is obviously they believed so it was not a matter of unbelief to begin with.

Questioning, whether about something Biblical, some matter of faith or understanding, calling or whatever.  Let's be honest, we have all done this one.  So is questioning the same as unbelief or doubting?  Not even close.

If you are questioning, then you are still very much interested in finding the truth.  You are digging, seeking, reading, praying, thinking, talking, etc, etc as you attempt to find the solid answer you need.  It does not matter if everyone else you know is not questioning, they are not you.  And should you find yourself questioning <whatever> do not allow yourself to start thinking that God is mad at you for doing so.  After all, Moses argued with Him about God having chosen the wrong guy, and Gideon put Him to the test (wet/dry fleece/floor) not once, but twice in a row.  God would rather we question and find the truth than settle on being half heartedly sure.

Now doubts are a different thing altogether. To have doubts does mean you believe but it also means you are not questioning.  Doubts are more like massive walls placed in the road in front of us that we cannot go around, get over or dig under - they just stop us dead in our tracks which is at least one reason why the enemy likes to use them against us as often as they do, although we are more than capable of putting them on ourselves as well.

Frequently, doubts are aimed at something which God has said, whether to us, about us or about Himself. Consider the words of the serpent to Eve:  "did God really say...".  Now if she were questioning that, she would have asked Adam and possibly double checked with God "What was it You said about that tree again and what would happen? And what does that actually mean?", but that is not what happened.  Instead, she went with the doubt and the rest is history.

Considering how ineffectual doubts can make us, they are one good reason to get a good idea about who God actually is (not necessarily who someone else says He is or who we want Him to be), who we are, and who we are to each to other from each point of view.  That does not mean doubts will never appear on the road before us, but it may mean they are not near as effective at keeping us stopped.

Should you find yourself facing doubt(s), there are a couple of things you can do to get moving again.  One, ask God to help you with your doubt.  Trust me, He knows you are having them so you are not going to shock Him when you tell Him and He has no problem helping one of His own get past a doubt.  Another thing you can do is chose to change from doubt to question. Again, do not feel bad or ashamed or less somehow because you are questioning because in the end, all questioning is a search for the truth.  Since God is Truth, then He does not mind you seeking at all.  Better to question and seek than stay stuck in the mud feeling miserable.

Remember, these things are normal - it does not make you less of a Christian nor does it make God love you less just because you question or have doubts, and if you think you may be dealing with unbelief the mere fact that it concerns you probably means you believe.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

A question pondered...

So I find myself pondering a bit as of late...

Do I seek to have God give glory to what I do or do I seek to do that which will bring Him glory?

After all, there is a fairly massive difference between the two, is there not?

One may ask, "What does it matter, so long as He is One getting the glory?", but it surely does matter.

For if I merely do <whatever> and attempt to toss God into it somewhere or in some fashion, I could so easily be doing Him a massive disservice. For that matter, I could be totally following my old nature and seeking to justify my decisions, fears, failings, biases, etc by tossing in a quick "to God be the glory" at some point. How often in history have we seen hate filled men attempt to justify themselves, their words and their actions by tossing on a quick "to God be the glory"? If these men could do such things then surely - being merely a man myself - I am capable of such.

I am not getting any younger. Each day which passes is one less day on this world and one more day closer to my going home to Him. So I find myself pondering such things and more and more, needing to know the answer to the question: "what can I do for You, Lord, that will bring You the glory You deserve?" for in my heart I know I was made for so much more than merely surviving life or "living a good life" (for there are many, many people who do not know Him who do such things as well) ...

I was made for His glory, not He for mine.