Day 125: Our Faith in God

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."  Hebrews 10:22-23

This is a message that relates to another that James writes in his own letter, which is one of my favorites.

Faith is hard.  For a strictly logically focused mind, faith can be counter-intuitive, with there being little to no instant, tactile rewards for faith.  But, the epistle writers in the New Testament made sure to encourage all of their readers to continue in faith.  This is because faith is the most important requirement for our relationship with God to strengthen.

I like that the word faith really only occurs in two places in common English parlance: religion and relationships.  I don't think this is a coincidence at all, and I think there are many things we can learn about how to live religiously through the lens of a relationship.  In American culture, one of the most celebrated, if not the most celebrated, things in life is the romantic relationship.  I will admit that I put such an importance on romantic relationships almost immediately after coming out of the closet.  Sure, my family joked about the necessity for them, specifically so that we could have new babies in the family, but I will say that most of the emphasis has been of my own doing.  It was something that I strove for, going on countless dates, engaging in countless social meetups, and praying to God for.

Now that I am in a committed with a great boyfriend, I am learning more about myself.  There are, of course, many things I need to learn in order to have our relationship continue to grow.  However, the way that I learn about these things is by keeping up a constant communication between my boyfriend and me.  Communication is the only way I'll be able to learn anything about him.  Communication is also a great foundation for faith because it's an expression of interest in the other person.  It shows that I am willing to learn more and get even closer.  It also helps me keep my boyfriend in my mind.

Faith is much more important in our relationship with God, for God is the ultimate expression of love.  We learn so much about how to treat those around us through the ways God has transformed us.  However, we can allow for many different temptations to seize us at anytime, leading us away from our relationship with God.  Perhaps the strongest factor leading to such an overwhelming attraction to temptation is a lack of knowledge of the beloved.  When we wander around, knowing little to nothing about God, we start to find the things that we are looking for in other entities.  When we find ourselves seeking to make ourselves better, we will look for the instant gratification that comes from money rather than God.  When we look for satisfaction in our lives, we will look for self-destructive activities rather than edifying ones that we could find in God.  In other words, we lead ourselves astray from God by our desire to remain ignorant of all the good that God is.

This passage from Hebrews reminds us that we have been transformed by God in ways that only make us better.  God has cleaned us from every impurity that has infiltrated our lives.  God has promised us love, life, success, and so many other things.  And God is delivering on each of those promises every single day.  We need to be listening to God speaking to us and answering our questions rather than our own voices that lead us astray.  We need to ask God with the intent of seeking God out as opposed to just asking just for the sake of asking.  We need to make God a part of our lives so that we can continue living in a faith that is rewarding for our life.

Day 117: The Example

"For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted."  Hebrews 2:18

This is one of the greatest reasons for which I follow Jesus.

We, as humans, like to find things in common with one another.  When we need to speak to large crowds of people, one of the things people recommend is that we find something in common with all those people.  Even more poignant, how many times have you immediately responded to news with something that makes the news about you or connected in some way to you?  When somebody says, "My friend is not doing so well right now," you immediately reply with, "Oh yeah, I've had something myself."  We always want there to be a connection.

Not surprisingly, we want for the same connection to exist between us and our God.  If I may be brash, take a look at what so many artists interpret how Jesus looks.  Look at all the many depictions of Jesus in our movie screens, TV screens, pictures, ads, paintings.  Jesus was a brunette, white man, with long hair and a not too long beard!  Now, if we look to scientific evidence, there is almost no way Jesus could have looked like that.  Yet, that Jesus that shows up in our English-speaking, America-centric because he looks like your run of the mill American man, with one or two distinguishing features.  That depiction of Jesus connects us as Americans with him (although I don't quite identify, with me not being of directly European descent, but hear me out).

Depictions aside, though, we do have something universal about Jesus that transcends his Middle Eastern heritage or Hellenistic Gospel or any of the countless traditions that have risen from his ascension.  Jesus lived as a human.  Jesus felt the everyday pains that we do, the hunger, the heat, the struggle of working for long periods of time, the frustrations with friends, the human desire to survive.  On top of all that, Jesus shows us so many ways we can overcome the temptations that face us everyday.  We are not alone in our struggle, and we are being offered a helping hand.  Reach out and take it.

Day 114: God's Faithfulness

Then he told her everything in his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a holy one of God from my mother's womb.  If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like all other men."  Judges 16:17

The book of Judges is quite a depressing read.  There is a back and forth struggle with the Israelites and their faith.  It always seems that their lack of faith gets the best of them, and there are many stories throughout about what happened when they turned away from God.  Even the more 'heroic' stories are quite gruesome.  The story of Sampson is no exception.

When I read this verse, I thought that it summed up the entire story of Sampson.  He was a man set aside by his parents for God, but he always had trouble with temptations.  In the end, he fell for a woman who was trying very hard to betray him.  He gave into her out of complete desire for her.  And, when he finally renounces his dedicated state, he loses his God-given strength.

I find that this is a great metaphor on how our lives are.  If nothing else, Sampson's story shows us that we have many different challenges to face all throughout our lives, even if we set ourselves aside for God.  In fact, Sampson also shows that just because we are Christians by family association or my title doesn't mean that we are following Jesus or fearing God.

God gives us so many gifts throughout our lives, but it is up to us how we decide to use them.  Some of us will decide to improve on our gifts.  Others of us will try to hide or reject the gifts we are given.  Our rejection of gifts seems to be quite mindless, doesn't it?  I mean, if you're at your birthday party and your friends bring you different gifts, would you reject them right in front of them?  But that's what we do when we reject our own gifts from God - we show that we disapprove of them right before God's eyes.  What's worse is that we then turn away from all the good things that God has for us and head towards something that we think is good for the moment - that pretty guy, that throwaway job, those super expensive clothes.

The interesting, but hopeful, thing about Sampson's story is the sign of God's mercy.  Despite the fact that Sampson does some pretty questionable things throughout his life, he still has that godly strength throughout, right until he outright forsakes God with his own words.  And, even though it doesn't end in the best way for Sampson, God still answers his prayer right at the last moment of his life.  I pray that we will not have to wait until that moment, but it is still an example of the fact that God is always faithful to us, even if we aren't.  God wants us to do well, and God wants to bring us back to God.

Living life will involve lots of decisions, but if we take the time to pray and read the bible, then we will be able to find our way through our problems.  God is always faithful to us; let us be faithful.

Day 105: Spiritual Discipline

"But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."  1 Timothy 4:7-8

Here's an excellent metaphor for spirituality.

The two verses seem to make up two important components for spiritual discipline: self-control and practice.  If we take a step backwards to follow the physical metaphor, these two components are diet and exercise.

Dieting is a very interesting field.  I must say that in our modern times, a healthy diet is quite hard to come by.  On the one hand, everything that is being advertised is quite unhealthy, from soda and fast food ads on TV to having all of the processed snacks in eyesight at the supermarkets.  On the other hand, many diets that claim to have health benefits have absolutely no scientific backing or approval.  In fact, even studies in support of fad diets tend to be debunked and/or retracted.  Therefore, dieting consists of resisting the temptations of advertisements and the temptations of fast results.  The only solution is to go to your personal doctor and/or nutritionist to find out what is best for you.  In the same way, spiritual self-control involves quite a bit of resisting of temptations - both of things that will only harm our minds, bodies, and souls and of doctrines that claim to be able to be a quick fix to our problems.  Yet, we have our authority more easily and readily available to us than a doctor (with the long waits and exorbitant costs).  God is just a prayer away, and the word is only a book a way (or even an app!).  We have all that we need, but we need to put these things into practice.

Exercise is quite straightforward.  Do this, and that will happen.  Do cardio, and you will lose weight.  Practice strength training, and you will get stronger.  The best thing about exercise is that you can see the results.  Looking at your physical appearance, you can see when you lose some weight or gain some muscle.  When you are performing everyday tasks (such as walking up stairs or even walking around for certain periods of time) or even when meeting with a personal trainer, it becomes very clear whether you have been doing your exercise or not.  There is no lying.  The same goes for our spirituality.  If we don't put it to practice, it will be quite obvious.  If all we are doing is asking questions and not researching or praying or reading, then we will be left with the blubber of ignorance.  If we don't put the teachings of Christ into practice, we will forget them.  Words are nice, but if they take no root, they are merely noise or scribbles.

Just as a nutritionist or a doctor wants us to get healthier, the same goes for Jesus.  Jesus wants to see us become the best that we can be.  Through his teachings, Jesus shows us how to get into shape.  Until we put them to practice, they will mean nothing to us.

Day 54: God Is Faithful

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  1 Corinthians 10:13

This is one of my top five favorite verses from the bible.  Reading it in context caused the verse to have extra resonance with me.  If you can, I recommend you committing some verses to memory, at least enough so that you can come across it and speak the words before they appear on the page/screen in your reading.

This verse is very powerful because it comes at the end of a summary of the unfaithfulness of many of the Israelites during the period of time covered in the Pentateuch.  Paul even makes it a point to say that it was some of the Israelites who strayed, not all.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man

This statement can hurt a little, because it makes any situation you're in sound quite diminished.  But that's the point.  We like to bring our troubles to our neighbors, while they have just as many issues to deal with as we do.  However, this statement is also there to help us, because we can then look for how other people dealt with our problems.  We can consult our parents, grandparents, priests, teachers, friends, and so many other people.

But God is faithful

If you're struggling with a specific situation, you need to look no further than the bible.  In 1 Corinthians 10, you can find the different temptations that came about.  But, you can also see that God delivered the entire nation of Israel from destruction time and time again.  Read Exodus to see one story of deliverance.  Read Joshua for yet another story.  Read Kings and Chronicles for so many more stories of deliverance.  And, most definitely, read the gospels, any of the four: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.  You'll understand that God has been faithful to us throughout all our troubles and tests.

[God] will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape

Here is our safeguard.  Times are going to get tough, but they will never get impossible.  Even at the point of death, God is there to save our soul, and when our time comes, God is in control.  Our legacy will last as an example for all those who are struggling.  The great thing about living as Christians is that we have one great escape: the church.  We can go and refresh ourselves with prayers we pray or from those of our fellow Christians.  We can talk to many more faithful people to learn about how great God is.

That you may be able to bear it

Here is an important distinction.  It is one thing to have a way out of our problems.  The easiest way out of any problem is just by doing nothing at all.  We can stay in the comfort of our bed all day unto eternity, allowing our bodies to waste away, let away our minds, our dreams, our talents.  But that's not what God wants.  God is sending us out there into the world as sheep against wolves.  God will guide us through all the difficult parts, but it will all be for our personal growth.  This last clause implies that we weren't able to bear our challenges to begin with.  What's the only way to bear a heavy weight?  Get stronger!  God is guiding us through our difficult times so that we can become stronger beings.

During this Lent, let God guide you through your discipline, whether it's giving up sweets, reading more of the bible, saying a prayer every once in a while, or even just to step foot in church just once this season.  God is faithful, and will guide us through all of our trials.

Day 027: The Source

Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise, the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Matthew 17:11-12

In his ministry, Jesus took many opportunities to show disciples exactly who he is.  In the transfiguration, Jesus reveals himself in all his glory before three specific disciples.  They had all the information they needed, and yet they still had trouble accepting Jesus as the son of God.

Today, we are very blessed to have access to so much information. You can use so many different search engines to find answers to questions that your friends probably don't know the answers to.  You have access to so much of the world's knowledge.  But, we still prefer to pretend we know things.  We like to recycle lies.  We like to read lies as well and believe them.

In this political season, we like to buy whatever the ads are telling us.  We believe the tears that actors were paid to shed.  We indulge in the voice of a politician who is probably going to turn their back on us.  We allow for these people to make up factoids on the spot without taking the five seconds to check them out for ourselves.

If we go even deeper, we have the bible, published and bound, made cheap, so that we can all have a copy, let alone find online.  Yet, we let people tell us otherwise about it.  We like to cycle many myths that we don't understand, and we like to believe things that aren't there.  However, another issue is that we don't want to take time to learn.  Today, I came across a Greek proverb that says,

"One day does not make a wise man."

Sure, we might be able to get watered down answers in seconds so that we can keep a conversation going over lunch with friends.  But, in order to understand God, to hold onto God, we need to give God all the time we have.  We need to allow ourselves to be molded by God's hands, not by tempting human ones.  We need to go straight to the source to strengthen our faith.

The bible is long.  The church services might seem long.  The prayers might seem long.  But, we find ourselves wasting our time on our phones, playing games that get us nowhere, spending money on trinkets we might forget about before we even receive them, reading about things that don't have any substance.  We need to devote ourselves more to God, for that is the only way we will have a lasting relationship.  We need to fill ourselves with all things spiritual, so that we can see the all-encompassing glory of God.

Today's Readings:

Exodus 3-4

Psalm 21:18-32 (22:18-32)

Proverbs 10:15-16

Matthew 17:1-13

Acts 27

Words

"For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:20)
This reminds me of a popular movie technique where, well into the movie, a distraught person will have a monologue, and as soon as she's into her speech, the voice changes to her mentor from a much earlier part of the movie.  It also reminds me of how, after watching a series so much, one can quote many parts during everyday conversations at very apt times.  That is what we need to be doing as Christians.  When we live and breathe the Word of God, and when we accept the Holy Spirit, we will not be lost for words.  In another event in Jesus' life, the devil tempts Him with Bible verses, but Jesus knew the word so well that He was able to give the correct answers to every temptation.  In the same way, when people who are outspoken with just one measly verse of the Bible confront us, we must be armed with the Word of Truth.  The only solution for all of our situations is the Holy Word and the Word Incarnate, who is Jesus Christ.