All posts tagged: Unbelief

Have Mercy On Those Who Doubt

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By Dr. Michael L. Brown It is true that, in the Bible, Jesus often rebuked people for their doubts and unbelief. But that was because they have should have known better. That was because, based on what they had witnessed and experienced, they should have faith. But at other times, He showed great mercy to those who wavered with doubt. In fact, there’s an amazing little verse in the book of Jude which calls us to “have mercy on those who doubt” (or, Jude 22). When is the last time you heard a sermon using this verse? We should show mercy, not condemnation, not criticism, not censure, not condescending correction, to those who are sincere and yet struggle with doubt. And what, exactly, is doubt? Sometimes it is an inability to believe that God will do something for us personally, as in, “I know the Bible says this, but I’m struggling to believe it will really happen to me.” At other times, it is a struggle to believe that there really is a God, or …

How to Lose it all: Have you seen the movie ‘Come Sunday’?

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Did you ever lose your faith? Yes, you did, if you are older than six. When I was a boy, I remember some other children who were told that Santa Claus was not real. I stayed out of that violent argument, but I saw their confusion and outrage. As we get older, people disappoint us, and if we are honest, we can disappoint ourselves. I formed a career goal when I was about twelve, and I saw myself as one of those people, just working on an education and waiting for an opportunity. I knew who I was, and my conviction was unshakable. Near the age of forty, I had to tell myself that it would never happen, and I had to keep the job I already had. I lost my faith. You are probably wondering; I saw myself as an archaeologist, like the ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and I thought of it first, before they made that movie. After reading all those books, and studying in so many university courses, it never happened. …

Young Norwegian boy, sick for 11 years, healed by power of prayer

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Norwegian doctors were shocked by the dramatic healing that took place in America when Adrian, now 16, was prayed for during a church meeting in 2015. Shortly after Adrian was born, he developed a mysterious illness that doctors were unable to explain. He became extremely sick whenever he ate. Because eating caused such serious symptoms, he was fed by IV for several years and during the first three years of his life, Adrian spent weeks in hospital. As a result of his illness, his muscles were weakening, and he was also experiencing epileptic seizures and a racing heart condition called tachycardia. When he was 11 years old, doctors recommended that Adrian’s Christian parents take their son on a trip. They were probably envisioning a trip to Disneyland and the California beaches, through which the family could build some memories of their son, because there was growing uncertainty on how long Adrian would live. However, Adrian’s parents had been calling out to God for their son. And part of their trip to the US, included attending …

Help my unbelief: An honest confession leads to a miracle

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A story on Charisma News about the miraculous healing of a woman who had been sick for nearly 30 years after being struck by lightening is a testament of how God wants us to be honest about our spiritual condition. As a result of a lightening strike, Caleb Hyer’s mother was in a constant battle with pain. This included severe migraines that often left her bed-ridden for weeks. To deal with the chronic pain, doctors prescribed several powerful and addictive drugs including Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Dilaudid and Percocet. Of course these heavy medications brought with them some serious side effects. Caleb Hyers was also a Southern Baptist boy and like most Southern Baptists, he believed in God, but he didn’t believe in the spiritual gifts, and he didn’t believe in divine healing. But those beliefs were challenged when he joined a mission trip to Honduras. While there, he encountered a group of Christians who believed in Divine healing and regularly prayed for the sick. One of their favorite verses spoke about believers being able to heal …

Credit: Greg Tee/Flickr/Creative Commons

Bent, but not broken

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There are people whom I can’t help because they are not able to receive or believe words of encouragement or hope spoken to them. But I was no different. Deep down I didn’t feel that I was worthy of the attention or the possible good that could happen. An underlying root of unbelief grew deep into my heart. Because of fear of what the unearthing might expose, I stubbornly stood in the way and for a long time prevented this root from being pulled up. I felt safe in the damp, dark dirt of the past. I allowed some digging and uprooting but when the tangled roots got close to the surface I shrunk back.  The light revealed too much. The fear of unearthing and acknowledging the past in order to heal can be difficult to handle. There has been too much trauma and any further emotional upheaval in the present is almost unbearable. But God wants to heal our emotional wounds. I so appreciate this verse in Isaiah that helps me take a gracious …

The Mespotamia Valley where Abraham and Sarah lived before God called them on their journey of faith: Credit: Hassan Janall U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Wikipedia

Faith through doubt: 4,000 year old marriage contract confirms story of Ishmael

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Español: La fe a través de la duda: contrato de matrimonio de 4.000 años de antigüedad confirma la historia de Ismael Though the patriarch Abraham and wife Sarah ended up in the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’ (Hebrews 11:8-11), their lives were far from a perfect display of faith. God had promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a son out of which would come a great nation (Genesis 17). Though they clung to this promise, there were times when they doubted God and took matters into their own hands. One of these moments involved Hagar, Sarah’s personal maid: Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16: 1-2 NASV) Sarah told Abraham to impregnate her slave who would serve as a surrogate and have a child that Sarah would …

A fig tree with fruit. Photo: Sean O'Sullivan/Flickr/Creative Commons

Start doubting your doubts

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George Bernard Dantzig had just received his Masters Degree in mathematics in 1937 and a short time later was accepted as a Doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of California. His Doctorate would be interrupted by World War 2 and Dantzig, who died in 2005 at age 90, would finally receive it in 1946. But one day in 1939, he was late for a Doctorate statistics class. When he arrived, his college professor, Dr. Jerzy Neyman, had written two statistical problems on the black board. Believing these were class assignments, Dantzig wrote them down and took them home. In an 1986 interview with College Mathematics Journal, he said the two questions proved quite challenging and it took him a few days to complete them. After finishing, he sheepishly approached Dr. Neyman apologizing for having taken so long. When Dantzig asked if he still wanted the assignment, the professor told him to throw it on his desk cluttered with paper. Six weeks later, on a Sunday morning at about 8 AM, while Dantzig and his …

And Jesus wondered at their unbelief. Modern-day Nazareth. Photo: Adam Jones/Flickr/Creative Commons

Has this punctured a hole in your faith?

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When we study the New Testament, one of the major themes is faith. But equally as prominent is the concept of unbelief that is a major hindrance to miracles. Unbelief basically cuts a hole in our reservoir of faith allowing it to seep away. There are many things that can cause such a rip. One of them is offense. In Mark 6, we read how Jesus had arrived at His home town, Nazareth, and on the following Saturday popped into the local synagogue where the leaders invited Jesus to teach. At this point, Jesus’ reputation was starting to grow. From the congregation’s reaction, it was clear people were aware of the reports circulating about His miracles. Now as they listened to Jesus teach, they were “astonished” by what Jesus had to say. But not everyone. Some were offended. They had been attending the synagogue faithfully for years and now “this man” a carpenter, the son of Mary, was teaching their congregation. They had been attending this synagogue for years and now this upstart was teaching …

True confessions: I was a “glory” junkie

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[by Dean Smith] It was not a shining moment in my life. The pressure had been building and finally I couldn’t take it anymore. Slowly, I got up from my desk and walked down the hall to a co-worker’s office. Stepping into his doorway, I asked him what he thought of the last issue of the publication I worked on. I thought I had cleverly worded the question so he wouldn’t think I was fishing for a compliment. I remember the awkward silence, the pained look on his face, and then the forced compliment.

Mustard Credit: yaxchibonam/Flickr/Creative Commons

A strange answer to the disciples’ plea for more faith

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Español: Una extraña respuesta a la petición de los discípulos por más fe One day, the disciples asked Jesus to “increase their faith” (Luke 17:5).  They wanted to know the tantalizing secret behind Christ’s success. The disciples had followed Jesus for a several months and saw Him do an endless array of miracles and deliverances. In comparison, they looked at their own meager exploits and concluded that Jesus was a man with great quantities of faith to perform such tremendous miracles. To the disciples it was a very simple formula: “More Faith = More Miracles.” So how did Jesus respond to this question? The Lord told the disciples if they had faith the size of a mulberry tree, they could say to this mustard seed be cast into the sea and it would obey. No, this is not a typo. True, this is not exactly what Jesus said, but this is what the disciples expected Him to say. They were anticipating some teaching on what great things they could carry out with great quantities of …