Post by Mark on Oct 17, 2009 5:19:28 GMT -8
How does it make you feel when people don’t believe you? Do you feel 
, frustrated, annoyed, belittled, isolated, betrayed, discouraged, angry, rejected or insecure?
How do people act that makes you feel like they don’t believe you? They do whatever they want, despite your warnings or encouragement. They cut you off in the middle of conversation. They avoid you. They avoid looking at you. They don’t remember the things that you tell them. They find excuses for not being near you. It a just plain awful humiliating relationship.
How do you know when someone believes you? When you speak, you have their absolute attention. The things that you say have a direct and positive affect on the way they live and what they do. They remember the things you say and often rehearse them back to you (to make sure they’ve got it right or to encourage you that you’re so important to them). They find reasons to be near you and look for (or make) opportunities to be around when you will have something to say.
Have you ever wondered how God feels about your relationship with Him? I mean, all He wants is to know that we believe Him. And yet, every day, we (I, at least) disdain and ignore some of His most fundamental but simplest warnings and instructions. Over and over, I prove to the Most High God, the King of all Kings who has adopted me and invited me as Abba (Daddy), "I don’t believe you."
I think about the Scripture readings for today, Noah, Isaiah, Joseph and Mary. What do you suppose it was about their lives that God saw in them the potential that He could reach out to them in a way that He wouldn’t reach out to anyone else? Maybe it’s simply because, in their relationship, they already believed Him. And maybe, we cry out to God for signs and wonders, miracles and intimacy in our walk with Him to no avail because our conduct has proven to Him over and over again that it wouldn’t matter: we’re not going to believe Him anyway.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
(Matthew 21:21-22 KJV)
The word faith (believing) is often misunderstood because it has several definitions. I can "believe" something and simply mean that I am inclined toward that. I can "believe" something and simply have the information lodged up there somewhere in my cranium as a distant memory. You can speak to me from the bitterness of your soul to which I may respond, "yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure…" and you walk away thinking that I didn’t believe a single word you said.
There are three words in the Greek language that we need to understand in order to get the idea of what is faith (or believing in this context). The first word is "eido" and it has to do with intellectual understanding. The facts have been presented to me and I accept them: this is "eido". The second word is "ginosko" and my Greek teacher used to call this "the finger in the light-socket word. Based upon my personal experiences I know this information to be undeniably true. The third word is "pisteuo" and it is the word that is most translated "faith" or "believing" in the New Testament. Facts can be altered and I can buy into ideas that are erroneous. My experiences are limited in their perspective. If you don’t believe me, just grab a scientific journal from the nineteen forties. Things that were absolutely confirmed by evidences of scientific procedure (real-life experiences) have gotten thousands of people killed because they were wrong. "Pisteuo" means that regardless of what I am told, regardless of what are my personal experiences, the belief that I have in God and His Word is unshakable.
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to walk up to and say, "Hey, man, I want you to build a really big box that can float because it’s going to rain and otherwise you’re not going to survive it."
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to say, "Go ahead and marry this girl, despite what the community is likely to think, even though you know this child is not going to be yours."
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to say, "Congratulations, you’re pregnant, unmarried about to lose the relationships with everyone you’ve ever known." We read the text in Luke it says she was "troubled" and our minds eye shows her wriggling a little uncomfortably in her seat as she says, "Okay." In Greek it’s a little more dramatic. "Diataraxthai" (translated "troubled" in Luke 1:29) tells us Mary freaked out.
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. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
(Hebrews 11:6-7 KJV)
As we begin this
reading cycle, we need to responsibly ask ourselves this question: do we believe God or not? Are we willing to ride this bus that will take us fantastic but not necessarily wonderful places? Do we believe God?
, frustrated, annoyed, belittled, isolated, betrayed, discouraged, angry, rejected or insecure? How do people act that makes you feel like they don’t believe you? They do whatever they want, despite your warnings or encouragement. They cut you off in the middle of conversation. They avoid you. They avoid looking at you. They don’t remember the things that you tell them. They find excuses for not being near you. It a just plain awful humiliating relationship.
How do you know when someone believes you? When you speak, you have their absolute attention. The things that you say have a direct and positive affect on the way they live and what they do. They remember the things you say and often rehearse them back to you (to make sure they’ve got it right or to encourage you that you’re so important to them). They find reasons to be near you and look for (or make) opportunities to be around when you will have something to say.
Have you ever wondered how God feels about your relationship with Him? I mean, all He wants is to know that we believe Him. And yet, every day, we (I, at least) disdain and ignore some of His most fundamental but simplest warnings and instructions. Over and over, I prove to the Most High God, the King of all Kings who has adopted me and invited me as Abba (Daddy), "I don’t believe you."
I think about the Scripture readings for today, Noah, Isaiah, Joseph and Mary. What do you suppose it was about their lives that God saw in them the potential that He could reach out to them in a way that He wouldn’t reach out to anyone else? Maybe it’s simply because, in their relationship, they already believed Him. And maybe, we cry out to God for signs and wonders, miracles and intimacy in our walk with Him to no avail because our conduct has proven to Him over and over again that it wouldn’t matter: we’re not going to believe Him anyway.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
(Matthew 21:21-22 KJV)
The word faith (believing) is often misunderstood because it has several definitions. I can "believe" something and simply mean that I am inclined toward that. I can "believe" something and simply have the information lodged up there somewhere in my cranium as a distant memory. You can speak to me from the bitterness of your soul to which I may respond, "yeah, yeah, sure, sure, sure…" and you walk away thinking that I didn’t believe a single word you said.
There are three words in the Greek language that we need to understand in order to get the idea of what is faith (or believing in this context). The first word is "eido" and it has to do with intellectual understanding. The facts have been presented to me and I accept them: this is "eido". The second word is "ginosko" and my Greek teacher used to call this "the finger in the light-socket word. Based upon my personal experiences I know this information to be undeniably true. The third word is "pisteuo" and it is the word that is most translated "faith" or "believing" in the New Testament. Facts can be altered and I can buy into ideas that are erroneous. My experiences are limited in their perspective. If you don’t believe me, just grab a scientific journal from the nineteen forties. Things that were absolutely confirmed by evidences of scientific procedure (real-life experiences) have gotten thousands of people killed because they were wrong. "Pisteuo" means that regardless of what I am told, regardless of what are my personal experiences, the belief that I have in God and His Word is unshakable.
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to walk up to and say, "Hey, man, I want you to build a really big box that can float because it’s going to rain and otherwise you’re not going to survive it."
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to say, "Go ahead and marry this girl, despite what the community is likely to think, even though you know this child is not going to be yours."
What kind of person do you suppose it would take for God to say, "Congratulations, you’re pregnant, unmarried about to lose the relationships with everyone you’ve ever known." We read the text in Luke it says she was "troubled" and our minds eye shows her wriggling a little uncomfortably in her seat as she says, "Okay." In Greek it’s a little more dramatic. "Diataraxthai" (translated "troubled" in Luke 1:29) tells us Mary freaked out.
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. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
(Hebrews 11:6-7 KJV)
As we begin this
reading cycle, we need to responsibly ask ourselves this question: do we believe God or not? Are we willing to ride this bus that will take us fantastic but not necessarily wonderful places? Do we believe God? 
