What Do You Believe?

Psalms 119:113-114 I hate double–minded men, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Our back yard abuts to a park. Our little park has recently become the home to 14 Northern Bobwhite Quail. The birds stop by our yard almost every day to feed on the bugs and the seeds dropped from our bird feeders. They have been a joy to watch when they come to visit. But we never quite know when the will show up.

I am beginning this series of devotionals after running into an editorial from a Non-Christian writing about what the Apostle Paul believed. The editorial professed to show, based on a very isolated verse in scripture reference, a drastically different version of "grace". On the surface, what was in the article, to the casual reader may have been accepted as sufficient in depth and theology to be taken as factual. A rebuttal article written a few days later piled scriptural reference upon scriptural reference in an attempt to dispute the conclusions offered by the author of the original author. It was very good information that was offered in the rebuttal. It was compelling in the sheer volume of the references that were given to refute the previous thinly evidenced article. Yet, the reader is left with the fundamental question. Which author is correct? This is a question we often face in our faith walk. We encounter conflicting information every day. Discerning the truth can be a challenge. Judging the validity by weighing the sheer volume (or lack of volume) of references can be misleading. So, what is a believer to do? Our two verses from Psalms 119 give us some insight. Reject the double-minded, and put our hope in the true word of God.  We can also turn to Galatians 1 for additional insight into what has happened in the past, and  how Paul counseled the church in Galatia. Galatians 1:6-9 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 

You have the faith, given to you through the Holy Spirit, to know what is the truth. Be wary of those who chose to "pervert the Gospel of Christ" and lead you astray. Prayer is a huge tool in helping to discern the truth. I encourage you to delve deeply into prayer when presented with "another gospel." And know what you believe and the basis for that belief. That way you will not be blown back and forth by the winds that seek to tear you way from your roots in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER: Father, we are like grass in the wind. We are blown about by the winds of our lost and sinful world. We are exposed to all manner of half truths and deceptions that seek to uproot us from Your love and the gift of grace in Christ Jesus. Help us to stay rooted in the only truth that matters. Help us to stay strong in Jesus against all the elements of this world that shout for us to walk away from You Father. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who with the Father and the Spirit are one God in Heaven now and forever, Amen.

A Spiritual Healing

Mark 2:7-12 "Why does this fellow talk like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that was what they were thinking in their hearts, anD he said to them,Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven; or to say 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. Have you ever had an injury that requires surgery to correct? In these instances the is a recovery phase that can involve physical therapy to regain strength and proper use of the injured area. It can be a time consuming and patience testing experience. Regaining full use of the injured area just does not happen immediately - unless there is divine intervention. Regret is a difficult emotion to process through. There are many reasons for having regrets. They can be from not having taken a different paths with our lives, or decisions made, words spoken in anger, or words not spoken to a loved one. Regret can also come from having sinned. Sin is a reality for all of us. I spite of our best efforts, we sin. We are fall into the trap. Job was acutely aware of this as evidenced in Job 7:20. And the Apostle Paul reminds us of this condition in Romans 2:23. How we handle this regret from sin matters immensely. If we fall into the pit of despair we satisfy the desires of Satan. If we think we cannot be forgiven we miss the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven. Christ died on the cross, once for all. Your sins, my sins, are forgiven and when we grasp that we are freed from regret. We can climb out of the pit of despair because Jesus has extended his hand to pull us out of that pit. He gives us the healing, a spiritual healing, to gives us the hope to move on. The chance to be a better person is given to all of us in Jesus. In Jesus we have a model for behavior, a mentor, and a savior. Let us all embrace that gift of forgiveness and move forward in freedom through Christ Jesus. Follow the directions given by Christ himself. "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." PRAYER: Almighty God, we are given the incredible Clift of forgiveness when forgiveness is not deserved. Your gift of grace is so incredible that we area easily deceived by the belief that we are unworthy of that forgiveness and fall into the pit of despair. Thank You O God for Your gift of grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Where is the line?

Mark 2:3-5 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,  carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Pocatello experienced the grand opening of a new restaurant. The owners advertised free chicken wings of a year to the first 100 people through the door. This caused something of a stir in our little town. People camped out for days in advance of the opening to ensure they were in the lucky first 100. Naturally, this caused people to drive by to look at the "campers". It was an advertising gimmick, and an interesting phenomena to observe.

Life here has been a bit busy of late. I took on a project to finish the walls in the garage. Gypsum board, tape, primer, paint were in the mix for me. I should remember to never start vast projects with half vast ideas. But the result is it looks much better. One of two bays is just about done. Paint goes on pretty quick. Then I can work on the boat. The nice part about working on the garage is I have had time to listen to K-Love radio. I think I needed that time to focus, and reflect after the business trip to Seattle. So many bad memories from my previous trips there. It was nice to visit the city and not have a trial or legal proceeding for Andy to attend. All-in-all I give Seattle two thumbs up.

Reflecting on the restaurant opening and the "campers", we just do not see people camping out to enter Church. Honestly, have you ever seen that? People waiting in line for days to enter a church is just not something we see. Yet, the message we have in the bible that is delivered everyday is so much more substantial than what is served at any restaurant. Not many seem to grasp that concept. The temporal view is grasped and the eternal view is missed. But thankfully, the friends of the paralyzed man grasped the importance of Jesus Christ. Mark 2 tells us they made a hole in the roof and lowered the paralyzed man through it because of the crowd. All this so that the paralyzed man could see Jesus. And the greatest gift given by Christ was pronouncing forgiveness upon the paralyzed man. The rest of the story is the man was healed, but more on that in the next devotional. The take away for us is to consider how important Christ is to each of us, and our family, and our friends. Are we strong enough in our faith and commitment to dig a hole in the roof of our lives to see Jesus. Are we committed enough in our worship to take that bold step. And if not, why not? Friends, ponder this, pray over this and let God work on you.

PRAYER: Father, we have built sturdy roofs in our lives that separate us from You. We construct this roof with busy little lives and activities. We seek to fill a void only You can fill with other stuff. Forgives Lord, we know not what we do. Help us to see these roofs for what they really are, a barrier to You O God. This we ask in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.