What do you believe?

Lately the Lord has had me stay focused on chapters 10 and 15 in John.  This morning, John 15:24 stood out to me.  “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both me and my Father.”  These are words spoken by Jesus.  Throughout the previous text, Jesus had been ridiculed and criticized for “doing good works.”  Now, the good works that Jesus was doing were things like, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, revealing sin in lives and releasing them to “go and sin no more.”  Jesus knew who He was.  He was God in flesh allowing the Holy Spirit to heal, give sight, etc. 

In John 15:24, it says that if he had not done these works, they would have no sin.  I find this very interesting because basically, it was the Jews / Pharisees (the religious leaders of the time) who were criticizing Jesus … to the point that they wanted to kill Him.  John 10:31-33 (Hmmm … what about that commandment, “Thou shalt not kill??)

The religious leaders of that time knew the word.  They had it memorized.  They had it down.  But, when God in the flesh stood in front of them, they didn’t know Him.  They saw the good works He did and claimed that He had a demon.  But some said, “These are not the words of a demon, can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”  John 10:21

The good works that Jesus did an does seem to be a stumbling block for us. Why is that?  Why is it so difficult for us to believe that miracles do happen … everyday … great or small. ( as seen by human eyes. It’s just as simple for God to do a “small” miracle as it is a “great miracle.”)

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Basically, Solomon is saying that history repeats itself.  It’s all been done before. Mankind will repeat the same things over and over again year after year, decade after decade, and millennia after millennia.  We shouldn’t be surprised when we see these things being repeated.  But, I believe the question is; “Do we even see when history is repeating itself … in religious leadership, in the government, in the work place, in our own little world … in ourselves?”  You see, I don’t have to look very far in my own life to see that history is repeating or has repeated itself.  I don’t have to look very far in my world, religious leadership near or far, or in the government to see that history is repeating itself. But, I have to look to God to give me eyes to see it.  And, I have to look to God to know how to make the proper changes.  History does repeat itself, but what can and should we learn from it to make changes at any and all levels?

Twenty years ago, I helped a single mom with a teenage child get her sight back from blindness due to fast growing cataracts.  God led us to an organization that took care of her issues one hundred percent!  She had lost her job due to literal blindness and was living on $350 a month.  I watched religious leaders turn their backs on her.  In fact, my pastor at that time told me that he didn’t give pearls to swine.  He really did say that! Unbelievable!! History repeating … Luke 10:25-37  Now, as I got to know this woman, she revealed to me that her dream was to have a soup kitchen for the lost and hungry.  I have to tell you, I encouraged this woman to follow her dream.  I didn’t discourage her because of her situation or what the world … or fellow Christians would consider her “status” to be in society.  That’s not for me to do.  Her dream is between her and God and it’s for her to work out with Him. 

Just recently I was out and about and saw an acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in about a year.  She asked how I was doing.  The last time she had seen me, I was in much emotional pain due to the recent announcement that my husband was divorcing me.  The divorce is now old news and I’m in a much better place … not where I want to be, but working towards it.  As I explained to her all that God had done and is doing, the countenance on her face began to change, not for the good, and physically she even backed up from me a bit … as though there was something wrong with me.  She then literally looked away and walked away from me as I was in mid sentence.  No, you see, there’s “nothing wrong with me.”  I’m simply working out God’s will for my life.  She had told me of God’s will for her life and I rejoiced with her.  I didn’t make a judgment that she was incapable of following the dreams that God has placed inside of her.  I certainly didn’t receive the same encouragement from her and I won’t let her unbelief discourage me, either.  Again, unbelief in God’s good works.

We, too easily, can know God’s word … inside and out … but, can get hung up on His good works.  If we believe that we know completely how God works things out, we are fooling ourselves, and basically, we are placing ourselves as God when or if we make a determination that someone is “incapable” of something.  That’s not our job and it doesn’t work that way.  God does what He wants, and it’s not always the way we would do it or even comprehend it.  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither  are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9

Recently, I had a gentleman tell me that it’s not possible for us to hear God’s voice.  He found it necessary to tell me four different times in about a minute that he was a religious leader and that he had never heard God’s voice.  Again, a stumbling block.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He can and will speak to us whatever way He chooses.  We must be willing to listen.  See Numbers 22:21-39

We must be very careful.  Jesus said that if He hadn’t done those good works, they would not have sinned.  I believe that is very relevant for us today.  We must not allow ourselves to get caught in unbelief because of the good works that Jesus is doing all around us, through others who are willing to allow Him to work through them.  And, when I say this, I’m in no way saying that we should believe everything that we see, hear, or experience.  We must use wisdom, which God provides.  If any of you lacks wisdom, ask of God and He will give it without reproach. James 1:5

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again; many of us in the church have become dependent upon our own experiences and, knowingly or unknowingly, decided what is or isn’t of God.  Instead of being led by the Holy Spirit, many of us are leading with worldly head knowledge instead.  By doing that, we are, knowingly or unknowingly, placing restrictions on God … placing Him in a box.  You see, if we choose not to believe, we’re literally keeping the Holy Spirit from working in all the ways that He could. You can read about how Jesus was unable to do many miracles in home town in Matthew.  “He did not do many miracles due to their lack of faith.” John 13:58  Are we, as the Church, stopping God from doing many miracles due to our lack of faith?  Do we persecute those who do have the faith to believe in God’s very creative miracles?  Do we seek to stone them with our words, simply because we choose to not believe?

Jesus went about doing good.  Acts 10:38. He had an unlimited supply of the Holy Sprit, as do we, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit like Jesus was.  John 3:34  And we, as followers of Christ and co-heirs with Him, have the same Holy Spirit.  All we need to do is simply believe.

There was a man in the Bible whose son was taken over by a demon.  He sought Jesus to heal him.  Jesus said to the man “If you believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  The man said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”  Mark 9:14-29  Jesus then cast out the demon and the boy was healed.

I believe there are many in the church who don’t even believe that casting demons out is necessary in this day and age.  This is very far from the truth.  I, myself, was a part of a group of women who cast demons out of a lovely young woman who had been greatly abused in her short twenty-one years of life.  We watched her transform from being bipolar, depressed, anxious, and on medication to a whole person, free from the demons (and medication) who had controlled her life due to situations beyond her control.  This is the healing power of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Do you believe?  Do you need help for your unbelief?  I have to tell you that in my own life, I pray that scripture often at times … especially in the past two years.  I have been in situations where I didn’t understand why certain things were happening or sometimes even what was happening.  I trusted God because I believed Him.  But, I prayed for Him to help any unbelief that I had within me, as well.  I’m very grateful for that scripture.

As the Church, the Body of Christ, we need to take our hands off of things more and allow God to work through us.  We need to ask anew for eyes to see as God sees, ears to hear clearly what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us, and help for our unbelief.  Having unbelief about certain things isn’t necessarily a bad thing because we’re human.  We need God’s help.  If we didn’t need help with unbelief from time to time, there wouldn’t be a story about in in God’s word, and we wouldn’t need God.

Ultimately, we need to see God’s good works for what they are.  We don’t need to fear them and, in turn like the Jews of Jesus’ time did, deny them.

God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8  He is in control, not us.

We really don’t want to repeat the things that the Jews of Jesus’ time did … ultimately denying the good works of God, do we?  Let’s not let history repeat itself on our watch. There are so many lost and / or hurting in the world, and the church, as well.  Let’s  take our hands off and with wisdom, embrace God’s healing and restoring powers.  Let’s choose to ask for help with any unbelief we may have so that we don’t hinder God from moving in our lives or the lives of those around us.

He is God. We are not. 

Let’s not allow unbelief to keep us form God’s best for us … keeping us from fully impacting the world around us for the advancement of God’s Kingdom!