Faith

Thomas has the ignoble reputation of being "Doubting Thomas." I wonder who first gave him that epithet. Certainly, it's not in scripture, and yet it may not be without merit. It's obvious that the Lord rebuke, however gently, Thomas to failing to believe even though he didn't see. For doubting.

John 20:24-29 NKJV

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For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

Some years ago I served on a pastoral care team at a large Southern California church, where one of my primary responsibilities was biblical counseling. I never ceased to be amazed at the number of Christians who came into my office to complain of God’s unfaithfulness and unfair treatment in their lives. Financial problems? God’s provision wasn’t sufficient. Wayward children? God hadn’t led them properly. Broken marriage? God had failed to intervene.

Have you ever just needed a fresh start, a clean slate? Ever wanted to start over?

One of the many amazing aspects of following Jesus is the reality of new beginnings. No matter where we’ve been, what mistakes we’ve made, God offers each moment as an opportunity to choose a different path.

Renew doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Sometimes it’s just an update, taking stock of where you’ve been and making necessary course corrections. Six months is a good time to assess, evaluate, and renew. I want to use this week to look at my goals for the year and see where I might need to change some tactics, and I want to use it as a time to renew my commitments to those goals.

FAITH - Forsaking All I Trust Him

FAITH - Forsaking All I Take Him

FAITH - Fantastic Adventures In TrustingHim

FAITH - Fear Ain't In This House

FAITH - Finding Answers In The Heart

FAITH - For All I Trust Him

FAITH - Fact Accepted in the Heart

FAITH - For Anything I Trust Him

FAITH - For Answers I Trust Him

I'm not one who talks much about "faith" because the word comes from a Greek root that can be defined either as "faith" or "belief." And I prefer the position that A.A.'s Dr. Bob took and required of all the early AAs he helped. It really came from the Book of Hebrews:

Heb 11:6 (KJV): But without faith, it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

As of May 2010, it is six years since God set me free from the life-sucking bondage of bulimia. Through daily drawing near to Him and immersing myself in His life-giving Word, the Lord Jesus not only renewed my mind entirely, He proved Himself my dearest and most faithful Friend.

I'd like to take a short break from posting from my biblical counseling studies (although I'm finding great value in the nouthetic courses I'm taking, and wish more counselors for eating disorders had this insight) in order to just share a bit from the heart. Many of you have read my testimony of deliverance (under the June 2009 archives), but our lives are an ongoing testimony to God's grace. The story simply doesn't stop there.

"But we prayed to our God--AND posted a guard day and night to meet this threat!" Nehemiah 4:9

Some of us spend [or waste] a lot of time asking the question: “What is a Higher Power?” Still others provide nonsense definitions and characteristics of “their” “higher power.” Bill Wilson vacillated between “God” and the unusual “Higher Power” he talked about so frequently after Dr. Bob was dead. Compare these inconsistent and conflicting statements by Bill:

You can, if you wish, make A.A. itself your ‘higher power. ¹

Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. But now the words “Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works” began to carry bright promise and meaning.”²

He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:4

If your faith stops at the cross--it misses the blessing of the fullest revealing of Christ!

You need a Savior who not merely two thousand years ago went to death to redeem you--but one who also is alive to walk by your side in loving companionship.

You need a Savior who can hear your prayers, to whose feet you can creep in penitence when you have sinned, to whom you can call for help when the battle is going against you.

You need a Savior who is interested in all the affairs of your common life, and who can assist you in every time of need.