Tag: Belief

Advent Reflections: Matthew 2:4-6

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“So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. ‘In Bethlehem of Judea,’ they told him, ‘because this is what was written by the prophet: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the most difficult groups of people to minister to as a pastor are cultural Christians. These are folks who, though, they don’t harbor any real animosity toward the church, nevertheless don’t meaningfully participate. But they were generally raised in the church in some capacity. And if this was a Baptist or at least a baptistic church, they probably walked an aisle and got baptized at one point in their life. Because of this, they call themselves Christians in spite of having almost no meaningful engagement with Christ in their lives. They have all the advantages of the faith at their fingertips, but are largely clueless as to what it means. Jesus was born into this kind of a situation too. Let’s talk about why claiming belief in God and actually embracing the Gospel are two different things.

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Advent Reflections: Luke 15:1-4

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“All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While we love stories of broken people being made whole, we don’t actually love broken people. We push them to the margins of society. If they are bad enough, we ship them off to places we don’t have to see or think about. We certainly don’t do many meaningful things to pull them out of their brokenness. The season of Advent, though, is all about preparing for the arrival of God’s plan to do just that. Jesus was sent to save broken people. This idea lies right at the heart of His mission. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 10:18-21

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“But I ask, ‘Did they not hear?’ Yes, they did: ‘Their voice has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ But I ask, ‘Did Israel not understand?’ First, Moses said, ‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that lacks understanding.’ And Isaiah says boldly, ‘I was found by those who were not looking for me; I revealed myself to those who were not asking for me.’ But to Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

For the last two chapters now, Paul has been talking about Israel and their rejection of the Gospel. He has struggled with it emotionally even as he understands it experientially. But even though he understood the fact of it, he nonetheless marvels at it with his audience. Here, at the end of chapter 10, Paul begins asking some more hard questions about Israel’s rejection, God’s plans in light of it, and what this all means for non-Jewish followers of Jesus. Let’s start digging into this with him.

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Morning Musing: Romans 4:17-21

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“As it is written: ‘I have made you the father of many nations’ – in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the more incredible things about the Scriptures is, other than Jesus, it doesn’t make any of the characters into heroes. Yes, some of them are praised highly for one character trait or another, but they are all broken in some way. They all have a fatal flaw or twelve that prevents them from achieving God’s righteousness and experiencing the full goodness of His plans on their own. Abraham is most definitely included in this less-than-perfect club. But he still got some things right. Let’s talk about what Abraham got wrong, what he got right, and the example he sets for us.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 4:1-2

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“Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware that none of you be found to have fallen short. For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever missed out on something because you didn’t believe it was going to happen? Sometimes things seem just too good to be true. And often they are. But occasionally, too good is exactly how they turn out, and if we aren’t willing to grant at least a little belief (or at least slightly suspend our disbelief), we will miss out. As we move into chapter 4 today, we are going to see the author of Hebrews continuing to encourage us to not miss out on something really special because of unbelief. Check this out with me.

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