Belief & Unbelief

And Another Thing . . . Belief

Selling drugs to doctors makes for an interesting life journey. I started my career in pharmaceutical sales back in the ‘80’s before things were regulated, and also before medicine had advanced to anywhere near where it is today. I remember calling on an old country doc in eastern Indiana who told me of an “off label” use for one of my products. The drug I sold was essentially a form of Tylenol packaged in an impressive two-toned capsule and with an obscure but powerful sounding name. This was in the days before the internet, and people had no way to Google what a medicine was, so the country doc used my drug essentially as a placebo. It was benign medically, but it looked impressive and he would sell it as a “powerful, rarely used drug, which he thought would help.” He mostly used this placebo to treat patients he had diagnosed as hypochondriacs and so it probably was an appropriate therapy. He was selling hope by creating belief.

Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for one who believes.” This is both an inspiring and a troubling statement that has garnered many stipulations over the years. People have tried to minimize or make it more rationale, but one thing is definitely true. Everything is impossible if you have no belief. Belief enables hope and vision. Lack of belief leaves a person paralyzed or at least unmotivated. If you do not believe you can, you probably won’t try. Belief leads to action.

Jesus speaks this truth to a father who wants his son to be healed. The father responds by saying in Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” His statement has resonated across the ages. This is each of ours confession. Each of us is aware of the bloom of faith in our life and of the shadow of doubt which lurks around and through it. We believe in God and yet we wonder at times. We step out in faith and hope that the ground will hold. We pray believing and yet know that there is a partial wish embedded in our amens.

Fredrick Buechner once wrote,
“Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don’t have doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep.
  Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” People are wired to trust the things they see. Seen things are easy to believe in. Doubtable things are the only things that may be embraced by faith. Therefore, those who “live by faith” are always vulnerable to the questions raised by people who only believe what they see. This is why it is important to live in such a way that “sight-livers” can see the evidence of lives changed by the hope created through faith in an unseen God. 

When we believe in Jesus he begins to change us. Belief stirs and inspires action. We begin to shine. Jesus is unseen, but the actions he inspires in the hearts of the people who believe in him are not. Jesus tells us to, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”


A changed life is a great argument for God. Loving others is good one too. What we believe matters, because “everything is possible for the one who believes.”  

And that’s all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Lies of the Moment

And Another Thing . . . Lies of the Moment

It seems that we live our life in moments. And no moment yet has been the final moment. Everything is constantly in a state a change. Much of the time I feel caught in a stereophonic cacophony of positive and negative thoughts and circumstance. Optimism surrenders to pessimism and then rises again, and then surrenders, and then resurrects, and so it goes. Moments are a difficult place from which to judge life. It is difficult to know, at times, if one is winning or losing or simply treading water.

I read the story of Eli in 1 Samuel this week. His life ended in a very tragic way. His final moment was as horrific as could be imagined for a priest, filled with ominous foreshadowing. Samuel, the young boy in his care, is awakened one night by God and told that the priest and his sons had been judged and would all soon die. Later, a random holy man shows up and foretells the destruction of Eli’s family. His boys are the source of his fall from blessing. They had turned the family calling, being priests in the temple of God, into a family business and had gotten rich and fat off the sacrifices offered to God. They made a habit of profaning sacred things for their own benefit. Eli let this happen, and everything started to fall apart.

Eventually, his boys decide to carry the Ark of the Covenant, the embodiment of God’s presence among his people, into battle. They hoped it would work as a charm, to force God into blessing them in their crusade. They had manipulated the religious system to their own advantage for so long that they thought God was just another pawn in their clerical schemes. “We will carry the Ark into battle and God will be forced to make us win,” they thought. The lies they believed about God were vigorously corrected. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed in the battle along with 30,000 Israelites. The greatest tragedy, though, was that the Ark of the Covenant was captured by their enemies, the Philistines.

When Eli heard this news it made for a terrible moment. His thoughts were filled with failure and horror. God’s warnings were fulfilled in the death of his sons, and I’m sure he felt responsible. Eli had allowed his boys to make a mockery of holy things. He allowed them to take the most sacred gift Israel possessed, the Ark of God’s Presence, into a battle and now God himself was lost to the nation. The army was diminished. His sons were dead. He felt judged and rejected by his God. And the Ark of God was no longer residing with his people. This was the end of the faith. The thing that could never happen did happen. With the horror of this unthinkable circumstance swirling in his head, he fell off of his chair, broke his neck, and died. In his last moment, it seemed that all was lost.

1 Samuel  5-6 tells the story of the next moments. It turns out that the Philistines could not manipulate God any more than Eli’s sons could.  After months of dealing with tumors and rats, the Philistines had had enough and decided to send the Ark back to Israel – sort of. They created an against-all-odds-situation in which they yoked together “two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.” Then, with the cows lowing as if moving against their wills, they marched directly out of the land of the Philistines and straight home to Israel. This was an amazing moment for everyone. The Philistines were relieved and the people of God were ecstatic. God proved he was larger and more improbable than the schemes of the men on either side of the battle lines. He would not be manipulated or trifled with. His faithfulness to his people was stronger than the evil of the men who tried to ruin his name. Eli’s last thought was that he was witnessing the end of God in Israel. That was the way it looked for a moment. Eli’s story ended, but God’s story did not. 

In the next moment, the boy Samuel grows and becomes both judge and prophet and leads Israel back to God -- sort of. Then there is the moment where Israel rebels and asks for a king and a gets a lousy one. Followed by the moments where the lousy king, Saul, tries to kill the future amazing king, David. Succeeded by the moments when David presides over a glorious age of faithfulness and expansion. Continuing into the moments of his son’s reign when the temple is built and, conversely, foreign gods are reintroduced back into the kingdom. And so it goes . . .

This past week we held our second concert at the Carmel Gazebo. For many moments before the concert it looked as though rain, in contradiction to our prayers, was going to bring a halt to the whole event. Then there was the moment when the sun came out.

And that’s all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Of Slugbugs & Seeking

And Another Thing . . . Ask, Seek, Knock

When I was a kid (and as it turns out that was a long time ago), our family trips were far more primitive than those trips are today.  Our car had an AM radio, which my dad controlled.  His listening choices always seemed to be either static or boring-- and sometimes both of those together.  So, to amuse ourselves, we would play road games.  One of my favorites, though it usually ended up with someone getting in trouble, was “Slugbug.” For the uninitiated, the rules to Slugbug were pretty simple.  All the players examined the oncoming traffic looking for VW Beetles (or “Bugs”).  The first player to see one shouted “Slugbug” and hit the other player or players on the shoulder.  Of course, there was the inevitable cheating and bruising, followed by a parental halt to the whole fiasco. The interesting thing about the game though, was that once you started looking for Bugs, you found them.

Jesus said in Matt 7:7, “seek and you will find.” We tend to find the things we look for.  When playing Slugbug my brain functioned much like a computer. I saw, for the most part, two kinds of cars:Bugs and Non-Bugs.  (Corvette’s were always the exception; I always noticed them.)  Scientists tell us that the part of the brain which helps us focus on these distinctions is called the Reticular Activating System, or RAS.  Among other things, the RAS allows us to filter the data being received by our brain.  Parents sleeping in a noisy apartment can become immune to the sounds of traffic and trains, but the sound of their child crying will instantly wake them.  We are programmed to pay attention to the things we care about.

“Caring about” is the heart of the Ask, Seek, Knock passage. Jesus wants to be one of the things we care about.  He wants his voice to be a voice we have trained ourselves to listen for. “Ask” implies relationship. We ask the people who are near us and who we believe are capable and willing to help.  Jesus wants to be near us (Mt 28:20). He wants to be our help (Ps 46:1).  He wants to be asked.  James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

So, ask God for the stuff of your life. Let him become part of all that you do. Seek him. Knock on his door, just as he is knocking on yours (Rev 3:20). When you look for him, you will find him. Ask and it will be given. The “it” in this case is God. All of the things we ask for are ultimately, as Oswald Chambers puts it, to be “our utmost, for his highest.”  When we ask for God, we receive him.  When we seek him, we find him.  When we knock, we find he has beaten us to the punch and he is already knocking on the door of our heart.

Ask, Seek, Knock is a formula for a relationship with God. That relationship will change the nature of our requests. As we know him better we will begin to honestly pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

As Rich Mullins used to say, “God will give you what you ask, only if he can think of nothing better to give you.”

And that is all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Scars Mean Healing

Paul Cowan is our guest blogger this week.

And another thing . . . scars

Dave Mullins spoke Sunday about scars.  Scars can be useful as reminders of situations we have faced in our past and pain we have been through.  Scars can disfigure us and scars can change us.  Scars take us back to instances we might not want  to relive.  Yet there is a certain hope we can find in scar tissue that simple wounds do not yet provide.  Something Dave said about scars and especially the scars that grace the body of Jesus struck me as incredibly profound.  Scars mean healing.  And healing means life.

The scars that I carry on my physical body are manifestations of injuries and wounds that have healed.  The only way these wounds could heal is by my continued life.  Cut flesh fuses back together and scabs slough off to reveal healed (if not perfectly restored) skin beneath.  The mark left behind is the reminder alluded to earlier, but the skin will function again as before.  In the instance of fractured bones, the very act of healing can leave the bone stronger than it was before the break; a powerful metaphor which can be applied to ourselves as we are refined by the inevitable fires of life.

In the case of our Savior Jesus Christ, scars He chose to leave on his body represent the same healing and even more importantly, life.  Without Jesus' scars it would just be too easy to dismiss (as many continue to do to this day) the resurrection as simply a reappearance of the Lord in spirit form, and not a literal resurrection of the body.  But what would this mean for us as Christians?  Without the physical resurrection, what hope do we have for ourselves?  What hope for salvation?  What hope for a future spent in the presence of the Living God?  For without physical resurrection, what Living God would there be?  (I don't mean to imply this is the only reason for the continued presence of scars on the resurrected body of Jesus, but simply that I believe this is at least one reason.)

We have faith and hope because we have heard testimony as to the scars on Jesus' body.  Spirits do not have scars.  For spirits do not require healing.  Only a body has scars and only a body which continues to live or is born again.  That makes me place a certain value on scars that is not only more than what I would ever have thought, but frankly is not something I had every thought about in the first place.

As we have discussed before, many of us have scars.  There are physical scars from accidents with bicycles, skateboards, cars, knives, asphalt, rocks, augers, and anything else we could think of that is even remotely sharp or abrasive.  There are also emotional scars from childhood and throughout life since.  For some of us they are too numerous to mention.  And while most of us don't have open physical wounds, many of us still have deep, open, gaping holes in our spirit that have yet to heal and form their own scars.  It is such a blessing to know that our Savior, who became flesh for us, can relate to our wounds in both physical and emotional form.  He experienced both and overcame them  both.  As well, if we remain in Him, He will be faithful to help us to do the same!  (John 16:33)

And that is all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Jesus the Intercessor

And Another Thing . . . Jesus the Intercessor

I have a confession to make. I sometimes drive too fast, which is an occupational hazard for a sales rep. For more than 20 years I put nearly 50,000 miles a year on my company car. That is a lot of windshield time. Since the average driver goes about 12,000 miles annually, that’s the equivalent of four years worth of driving in just one year’s time.. When you are behind the wheel as much as I was, chances of going too fast and getting caught in the act are greatly increased.  Do I sound defensive? Well it is a sensitive subject.

On one occasion, I asked an attorney friend to represent me concerning one of my tickets. He went before the judge and told him what a nice guy I was and how I deserved to be shown mercy for my traffic transgressions. That “nice guy” argument never would have worked if I’d said those words to the court. But his description somehow made a difference and resulted in a reduction in the amount of my penalty. Even though I was sternly warned to not “transgress” again, I felt I had received mercy.  Sometimes we need someone to speak on our behalf. We need someone to plead our case.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament describes Jesus’ role as our high priest and intercessor. Hebrews 5:1-2 says, “Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.”

“Ignorant” and “going astray” are part of the human condition. No matter how much success we achieve, there are still areas where we find ourselves in the ignorant/astray category. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual matters. There is not a great deal of information available to us about the nature of nonphysical things. We all are mostly stumbling in the dark when it comes to God. This is why John says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” This light appeared and was resurrected, and, Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus, our high priest, now “lives to intercede.”

God recognized that all of us ignorant-stumbling-astray people need help. He knows that even our best attempts are still a far cry from what his justice requires. This is why Jesus steps in and intercedes on our behalf. He does not argue that Sam is a nice guy. He doesn’t mention my mission trips or evangelistic exploits. He skips right over my extensive resume as a Bible teacher. Instead he tells the Father, “I’ve got him covered. He is with me.” Hebrews 9:28 says, “. . . Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Jesus is the help I need. He represents me to God in a way that I could never represent myself.

Being nice is nowhere near enough to recommend us to God. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough, and through the mystery of our relationship to him, as described in Hebrews, we are not only granted access to God’s kingdom, but we are inspired toward “love and good deeds.” He gives us more than we can ask for . . . and then some.

And that’s all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Christ is the Invisible Image of the Visible God

We have a guest blogger this week.  Paul Cowan is the author of this week’s And Another Thing.  Enjoy

On Sunday, Sam talked to us about the oftentimes controversial subject of who Jesus is. We learned that "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). Jesus himself said to Philip, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). We learned that Jesus was there before the Creation, and it was through Him that creation came to be (Colossians 1:15-17). Therefore Jesus is not simply one god among many, but He is the one and only God. We also learned that He sacrificed Himself to make us acceptable and reconcile us to Himself (Col. 1:19-20).

But so what?  I mean, that's important, yes, but we already know that, right? Jesus died for our sins and we are forgiven and there you go. As I began to think about this more, though, it occurred to me that those of us who have been Christians for years often don't realize just how revolutionary that last part was. The God of the Universe sent His only son, Jesus, to bridge the gap that had come between us. Upon Christ's death, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple was torn in half. That meant we are no longer required to go through a priest to speak to God. We also no longer have to sacrifice an animal to atone for our own transgressions. Blood is still required, but Jesus' blood was--and continues to be--perfect and sufficient for us all through the end of time. We can now commune with God ourselves, with Jesus as our intermediary. It's all most of us have known for longer than not, but it hasn't always been this way; for humanity and for others who are new in the Faith.

Revolution is defined as "a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.” This is exactly what happened. Jesus, with His sacrifice on the cross, began a revolution that continues to this day. He overthrew sin and death and created a new social order between us and God. We are no longer simply subjects of God, but His children and coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17). Truly a game-changer. Colossians 1:13-14 says, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

For His disciples and close followers, change happened soon after the day He arose from the dead. They believed on Him and were set free. For most of us, this happened many years ago; at a church of our youth, perhaps. But for many others around the world, it happens every day. Each day people who live under the Law and the consequences pursuant to it, choose to follow Jesus and trade the Law for Grace. Each day lives change and are redeemed by a perfect Man who was faithful unto death. Each day, the death and resurrection of Jesus pays our tab now and forever.

For anyone who doesn't understand what I am talking about, I invite you to allow another to pay your debt. Jesus already took care of it; you simply need to acknowledge it and follow Him. For those who never forget or become inured to Christ's sacrifice, please share your joy and perseverance with the rest of us. Help us all to follow your example and stay fresh in Christ's gift. For those, like myself, who oftentimes become complacent and comfortable in grace, join me in awakening to a revolution that calls us to leave the sidelines and avidly play a new game. A game of life and death. A game already played and won by a perfect man who shed His blood to change the rules and give us a chance.

John 1: The Word Became Flesh

And Another Thing . . . Jesus’ Incarnation

When I was in junior high I heard, for the first time, what I later learned was a fairly well-known faith-challenging question. “Can God make a rock so large that He himself cannot lift it?”  George Carlin worked that question into a comedy routine about growing up Irish Catholic. When I first heard this attempt at a theological parlor trick, it completely disoriented me. I spent days trying to come up with what I thought would be a reasonable solution. It is, of course, a trick of logic. God is all powerful. “All” is all encompassing, so as soon as you imagine a “more,” the “more” is encompassed by the “all.” We get stuck in a logical conundrum. If there is something more than “all” then “all” is no longer “all.”

The question is an attempt to find a limit to God’s power. What it in fact reveals, however, is the limitation of our logic and language (rationalism). There is no end to God, but we can very quickly reach the end of our human ability to comprehend. All of us are two or three (or if you are really gifted perhaps five or six) questions away from, “I don’t know.” This leads us to the uncomfortable and yet inherently necessary need for mystery. Any god that we could completely understand would not be much of a god. Even with all of the incredible strides in knowledge and science of the past few centuries, much of our finite world remains unknown. When we begin to consider the nature of an infinite god, we reach the limit of our ability to understand before we have even scratched the surface. This is why the story of Jesus’ incarnation is such a surprise. God chooses to reveal His unknowable nature through His Son.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

John1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

The unknowable God reveals Himself to men by becoming a man. If this makes sense to you the first time you hear it, then you are not paying attention. The mystery of how God can become man and then go back to being God is not something that is easily understood by beings who are limited by five senses and three dimensions. We have no way to measure such mysterious spiritual interactions.

The intention of Scripture is not to make the infinite understandable by finite beings. The intention of Scripture is to reveal the motive of the infinite God towards His creation.

“For God so loved the world that gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17.

The important thing about the nature of the universe is that it was created by a God who loves. And the love of God motivates Him to action. And the action He takes is to sacrifice himself through the person of Jesus so that we, His creation, can have life, walk in light and be rescued from perishing.

Jesus is the rock created by God to justly reconcile people to Himself by His love. Jesus is the rock of our salvation, and He is greater than anything we could ask or imagine. God lifts up this rock and us and all of creation. Jesus is no parlor trick. Jesus is the infinite invading the finite and elevating all of it-- and us --to what the Bible calls glory.

And that is all I have to say about that . . . for now!