Wednesday; August 2

          The other day I was reading an article from a secular media outlet about how there had been a downturn in the number of people who believed in creationism.  I don’t recall the numbers, but the essence of the article was two-fold:  fewer people (even Christians) believe in a Bible-only version of creation and, if the Christianity is going to be successful it needs to acknowledge the value of science in explaining things like creation.  My goal is not to challenge that author’s number or even debate his premise, rather I merely want to ask the question – What happened to faith?  Often, when we use the word “faith” we are referring to a system of doctrines that outline our religion, but there is another side to faith.  Faith is believing in what we cannot see and what we cannot explain using human reason.  Faith, in Christianity, is accepting God at His word whether it can verified by science and history or not.  The bottom line when it comes to worshiping an invisible and All-knowing God is that faith is vital.  The New Testament instructs us, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7)
This challenge is nothing new, even the earliest disciples tried to balance proof with faith.  About a week after Jesus was raised from the dead Thomas felt that he needed “facts” before he would accept the resurrection story.  Jesus agreed to provide proof, but also admonished, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed?  Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:29)
What do we need to believe?  There may be times when we can rely upon independent evidence, but let’s never lose sight of a need to accept God at His word.
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more