I WANT TO BELIEVE!!!

"HELP MY UNBELIEF!" -Thomas

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 

—John 20:24-25

The resurrection of Yeshua was the BEST possible news the disciples could have received, yet not everyone was immediately on board with the story. Thomas was absent when the Lord made His group appearance on that Sunday evening, and gave a skeptic's response to the announcement that the other disciples had been with the risen Lord: “But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’”

Some have been very cruel about Thomas’ reaction. He seems kind of demanding and disrespectful. Who does he think he is? But I beg to differ, they were not prideful. I can totally relate to him.  You see, Thomas simply *wanted to believe,* and he wanted his faith to be authentic.

John 20:20 holds an important detail in Yeshua's  original appearance:

 “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.” 

Thomas was only asking for what he had missed. He was expressing a willingness to believe based upon the *same evidence* given to the other disciples around him. His request was not unreasonable. He didn’t want to doubt; he wanted to believe!

Thomas sincerely longed for what the other disciples had experienced. He was gathering the wood and getting a match—he wanted a faith ON FIRE!  He wanted to be as excited as the others.  

Thomas named the obstacle and was looking for the reasons he too could stand on authentic faith in Christ. This is the lesson: faith is set ON FIRE when you name the obstacle.

Identify the obstacle to faith in your life. I got hurt. I have a question I don’t have an answer for. I’m discouraged. I don’t honestly understand how Christianity can be true. Now bring it before the Lord: 

“God, this is the barrier between You and me.” 

Produce your strong reservations and give God an opportunity to put faith where there’s unbelief. Once you have honestly prayed this way, give God time to answer. Wait on Him.

This is not a casual challenge. 

If you have unbelief in your heart,  get on your knees every night before you go to bed and bring your barrier before God. You are expecting Him to provide an answer. Pray every day for thirty days. Fast. Hunger for God. God did not disappoint Thomas and He will not disappoint your genuine approach.  Name the obstacle before God and He will set your faith ON FIRE!   

Lord, keep me from ignoring little and big questions. I don’t want to accept any obstacles that come up between You and me. Don’t let me pretend they are not a challenge to me. 

Instead of letting unbelief undermine my faith in You, show me how they can strengthen my faith. I want to trust You with the obstacles in my life so I can see how willing You are to remove them and draw me to Yourself. 

Teach me to consistently be a Hebrews 11:6 person: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” 

In the Faith giving name of Yeshua, I pray-amen. 

[Some Personal obstacles for me are: Loving my enemies, praying for those who persecute me and blessing them, loving people by sharing with them the inevitability of their death, God's wrath and the state of their unrepentant soul...among others. This lesson is for me. Just thought I'd share it with you!] 

VENTI SOY ZEN MISTO no water. 

Robbs

MAKING GOOD OUT OF BAD

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 
—2 Corinthians 12:7

God allows bad things to happen to good people. He doesn’t "cause" them, but He doesn’t always prevent them either. God let the apostle Paul suffer a “thorn . . . in the flesh.” He explained that God allowed “a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul understood that God consented to this pain in his life for a reason. He permitted a demon “to harass,” or “buffet” (NKJV) Paul. The word “buffet” means to strike with a fist or beat. But God had a purpose: to keep the apostle from becoming proud.  Pride KILLS! 

Looking back over an extended season of harassment, Paul mentioned twice his understanding of the *specific danger* God was preventing by allowing him to experience hardship: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” 

There were privileges Paul had been given (a personal interview with Jesus on the road to Damascus, a call to take the gospel to the Gentiles, numerous miraculous events in his life, etc.) that could have fostered a prideful and arrogant attitude in him. The “thorn” made it almost impossible for Paul to feel self-important. His example contains significant lessons for us.

The world is on its course, and God doesn’t often step in and alter the ways the effects of sin visit themselves randomly upon creation. God lets trials happen to Christians just like He lets them happen to pagans, so the superiority of the life lived in God can be demonstrated. The majority of the world is choosing NOT to worship God, but a few of us, by His grace, can draw upon His promised resources to get us through.

God did not cause the horrible events in your life, but you need to embrace the fact that He allowed them. He could not make a world in which we are free and at the same time guarantee everyone would choose Him. So the world is broken and bad things happen. But God promises He will be with those who love Him. He will bring us through the fire, and we will come forth as gold.  Hold onto that. 

God is always sovereign. He is so much in control that even when Satan tries to ruin our lives, God takes the weapon Satan wants to use to destroy us and turns it into a good thing. He says, If you will lean hard on Me in the midst of this difficult time, I’ll take that thorn and make it for your good.

We all have a thorn—something the Lord has allowed into our lives that Satan meant for our destruction, but God has turned around or wants to turn around to help us grow and change.

Ask God today for the confidence to choose to trust Him with whatever tool He has chosen to use in your life. You can make that choice with His help, and reap the benefits as He brings good out of the bad.

I seriously hope this helps somebody overcome.  If it doesn't help you now, put it in your back pocket...it WILL help you soon! 

Pumpkin Spice Latte with Whip! 

Robbs

LACKING IN NOTHING?

Everything You Need

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

—James 1:2-4

One of the great pains of life is that things are not always the way we desire or want. But get this: God makes sure we have EVERYTHING we need. James 1:2-4 tells us God even gives us trials [definition: the act of testing something; trying something to find out about it; annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event]—because He knows they are (in ways we don’t always understand) exactly what we need.

That’s why James writes, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds . . . And let "steadfastness" have its "full effect," that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Now, the “count it all joy” part is the "Killa from Manilla" for many of us, because we immediately think God is telling us to smile in our difficulties or be happy when the hammer of hardship falls on our heads. 

Joy is much deeper than any superficial emotional response.  Joy is the "settled awareness" that God still has everything under control.  [Look for my next blog post Suffering & Sovereignty]. Joy can be just as real whether we have tears rolling down our cheeks or a smile on our face.

When the Scripture says God is working everything out for the (ultimate) good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), that doesn’t mean we’re going to have everything we desire.  But James 1:4 tells us our joyful steadfastness (our endurance) leads to us being “perfect,” “complete,” and “lacking in nothing.” Consider these great terms that describe what God wants to give us.

Perfect—we will have all the CHARACTER we need to HONOR God. The original term means “mature.” The process of joyful endurance produces followers of Yeshua who are spiritually grown up.  

Complete—we will have all the relationships we need to nourish and sustain us. This doesn’t mean “arrival,” but having all the pieces in place for continued growth.

Lacking in nothing—we will miss out on nothing that would give us 100 percent satisfaction in  God. 

This is about God! This is about His Glory! 

If you are perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, then you have everything you need to do everything God wants you to do. 

You can show the world the superiority of the life lived in God. You become God’s exhibit—once more it’s not about you, it’s about what God is doing in and through you to His glory. 

Those who know you best will still recognize that you are fully human and capable of various shortcomings and sins, but they will also witness the real work God is doing in your life. And they will note your joy. 

Every problem you face is allowed by God for your ultimate good. In part, that good includes your ability to discern the difference between needs and wants. 

Today if you endure, God promises to give you what you need. Ask God for joy no matter what you are facing. In a little while, in heaven, He promises to give you everything you could ever need, want and more.

Lord, I know I don’t thank You enough for the difficulties You allow in my life. And I admit it would be difficult for me to ask You for more! But I know the hardest moments of life have led to my deepest longings for You, my clearest understanding of Your ways, and my most significant steps forward in growth. 

Thank You for Your amazing patience in waiting for my thanks to flow after the fact more often than during the trial. Please continue to teach me that what I need for tomorrow and the rest of life is what You are providing through hardship today. In the life giving name of Yeshua, I pray, amen.

Happy Friday! This cuppa joe is on me! 

Robbs

GOD PONDERS

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths. 

—Proverbs 5:21

Wherever I am and whatever is happening to me right now, I am not alone. 

God sees me on the road I am walking today. He sees the steps I may need to take in the next few hours to get through a hard place. 

This proverb tells us, "a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths." 

This means God not only watches the winding of my road every day, He is also *thinking about every step and everything I must step over. WOW!  

God is *considering my next fork in the road, too—the good choices that lie ahead and the dismal, kick myself, misery-inducing ones.  (Like missing my court date and getting my privilege to drive taken away for a month!) 

When He “ponders,” my Father in heaven is reflecting on what I am going to decide. Even though He has known every detail of my life from eternity past, He is still meditating upon it as it plays out. What I say, as true for me, is true for you and THAT ought to blow our minds!!! 

"He [God] knows the way that I [you] take" (Job 23:10).

He wants me to succeed in the testing I am experiencing. [this includes character testing too people-responsibility, anger & frustration, self control, discipline, etc] 

Considering His great love for me, do I honestly think He would let me go through more than His grace can help me handle? No! 

He won’t let a hard season [of ignorance] knock me off the path of my  highest usefulness to His kingdom.  And He wants to help me make sure I don’t drive myself off that high road. He can do this because He sees it all. [Glory!]

God is near to you when your heart is broken, and saves you when your spirit is crushed (Psalm 34:18). 

God draws close to me during a hardship unlike any other time in my life. Maybe that is why the desperate times of need come. They might be the very moments God is seeking to engineer—times of turning to Him as never before. Are you drawing near to Him?

When I'm in moments of desperation and despair and I don’t know how to pray, God even knows that. 

Romans 8 tells me God’s Spirit prays for me when I don’t have words.  Like me, just start praying and sharing your heart. Thank God for knowing the way you take and thinking about every step in your life long before you take it. 

He is pondering—about you!

Lord, I admit I often move through distances in my days without giving serious thought to Your awareness of me and Your presence. Thank You for remaining engaged even when I’m not paying attention! Remind me not to take steps without acknowledging You. Teach me to trust You in all my ways and know that Your  will is the best direction, the best path.

In Yeshua's All Knowing Life Saving Name, Amen. 

*Pumpkin Spice Latte to Go! 

Robbs

WYD? JESUS.

What Are You Doing Lord?

23The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. —Hebrews 7:23-25

Scripture assures us that Yeshua Himself is praying for you and me—this minute. 

Hebrews 7:25 makes the following amazing statement: “Consequently, [Yeshua] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” 

Yeshua lives to intercede for you. He can and will completely save those who trust in Him for salvation. 

What He accomplished on the cross He continues to apply to your life as He talks to His Father about you. 

Amazing!!! 

The word "intercede" includes the sense of pleading—Yeshua is continuously and persuasively presenting you before His Father! 

Before you ever kneel down to pour out your heart to God, Yeshua has already called out to His Father on your behalf. Even before you ask, He knows from firsthand contact what you need—because He’s with you.

Much of Hebrews focuses on the uniqueness of Christ. Among His special roles is the mantle of priest that He carries out as no one else can. Throughout the history of Israel, priests were part of daily life and a crucial aspect of anyone’s relationship with God. But priests were always as human as those they served. Only Christ became the priest who could do perfectly what every other priest could only do in part.

One of the indelible pictures of Yeshua in the Gospels occurs at the end of the Last Supper. In John 17, when Yeshua offered what we call His High Priestly Prayer, we're given a good idea of how Yeshua intercedes for us. 

Not only did He pray for the disciples who were with Him, but He also prayed for us today when He called us “those who will believe in me through their word” (v.20). 

Before He returned to His Father and long before we were ever born, Yeshua was already interceding for us. Once He accomplished His mission to provide us with salvation, He took on the task of preservation, --keeping us in prayer continuously.

Here’s a challenge: If you could hear the Lord praying for you in the next room, you would not fear a thousand enemies. So right now, think of the Lord Yeshua in the next room, on His knees in front of a couch or chair. His nail-pierced hands are held out and He’s lifting you and your need to His Father. [Now immerse yourself into John 17 and read it as a personal prayer about you]. 

He knows your exact situation. He’s asking His Father to give you strength, wisdom, and patience. He knows you will crash and burn on your own, so He is praying for your faith to overcome your sins and your fears. 

Remember Yeshua's words to Peter before Peter’s biggest failure: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32). 

Yeshua doesn’t let your inevitable stumbles and falls keep Him from praying for you. So don't let your failures keep you from Him.

Because it’s an incredible assertion in Scripture that Yeshua is not only with you, but "he always lives to make intercession for [you]." 

Mondays require 2 cups of coffee. 

YOU WILL ALL FALL AWAY!

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 

Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. 

—Matthew 26:30–35

It’s never easy to hear someone predict your failure. Right after the Last Supper, Jesus said to His disciples, “You will all fall away because of me this night.” 

That’s a stunningly clear prediction. 

Who? "You will all . . ." 

What? "Fall away." 

When? It’s going to happen tonight. 

Jesus knew their proneness to wander, grow comfy or grow fearful and He knows mine and yours. 

What would have been a good response from Peter and the others? (stop and think about it seriously). 

Any one of them could have said, “Lord, I don’t want to do that! You know everything, so I have to take this very seriously. But I don’t want to fall away. How can we keep this from happening?”

You would think at least one of the disciples would have humbled himself, but none of them did!! 

In fact, “Peter answered him, ‘Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.’” 

Notice the blinding nature of overconfidence. When you are brashly optimistic about something, you are in danger of "significant" failure.   Peter couldn’t see his own instability because he was so impulsively sure of himself. 

I can easily exhibit the same problem. Scripture says, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall”

(1 Corinthians 10:12). 

The person who thinks, "I will never deny Christ, wander or struggle. I won’t fall. I can handle this."  Is the person who really is in a  precariously DANGEROUS position. 

Jesus gave Peter another chance, and He was so tender. Peter was trying so hard: "I don't care what you say. I’ll never fall away.” 

Jesus didn’t rebuke him. He wasn’t harsh or angry with him; He was firm and clear. “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, YOU (Peter) will deny me three times.” 

The Lord was saying, Not once. Not twice, Peter, but THREE TIMES! 

You say, not you? I say, you in particular. You say, never! I say, TODAY!

Now, does Peter understand it? 

Does he recognize the warning? 

Does he slap his own forehead and say, “Okay, Lord. Help me! I don’t want to fall”?

No, he ups the ante: “Peter said to him, ‘Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!’ And all the disciples said the same.” They were just following Peter’s lead—right over the cliff. 

That exchange ought to concern us regarding how we respond to God. Here’s Peter, talking bold. 

How wrong is he? 

Dead wrong. 

But how right does he think he is? Totally right. 

He thinks he’s standing for Christ, but he’s only bold in a paper bag.  [picture of the church]

He’s completely blind to his own situation. He wants to hold his ground and doesn’t see the freight train coming!

We know what happened with Peter because we can read the gospel record. But Jesus knew beforehand, just like He knows your life and mine. 

He loves us before, during, and after our failures. And as He continues to do with Peter’s denial, He can use even your lowest, weakest moments to display His glory.

Because Jesus knows everything about you; there’s no need for pretense or excuses. You can ask Him for help at any point in the trials. The earlier you turn to Him, the more often you will avoid falling. 

Every opportunity for self-reliance is also an opportunity to depend on Him. And when you do fall, remember this—He didn’t give up on Peter and He won’t give up on YOU!