Stories of Faith: Seeing Is Believing?

A lot of people aren't very well acquainted with the biblical book of Numbers.  As the title suggests, there are some incidents of counting of the people contained inside.  However, there are also a number of very interesting stories included as the freed people of Israel wandered in the wilderness.

In fact, the primary reason for the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings is found in the book of Numbers.  Read through Numbers 13 and Numbers 14 and you will find that reason.  To summarize it, the people had been freed from Egypt, and God was prepared to lead them to the land that had been promised to Abraham centuries earlier.  So Moses sent 12 spies, one from each of the tribes, to go spy out the land.  They went and saw a wonderfully fruitful land, but they also noticed something else.  There were a lot of powerful people living in that land.  For 10 of the spies, this proved to be too much.  They reported back to Moses that there was no way they could claim the land, since the people already there would easily defeat their army.  They even spread word about this throughout the camp, causing the people to wonder why God had brought them out of Egypt in the first place.

Only two spies thought it was possible.  Caleb and Joshua were two men who saw the same thing as the other 10, but remembered how God had brought them out of Egypt.  The people of Israel had done nothing to rescue themselves from Egypt. God had done it all, and all the people there had been witnesses of God's mighty hand at work.  So Caleb and Joshua reported back that God would be able to give them the victory.  However, their voices were drowned out by the other 10, which then caused God to pronounce the judgement that the people's unbelief would mean that the whole current generation would not enter the promised land.  They would die in the wilderness for their lack of faith, and their children would then inherit the land.

As people of the faith of Abraham, this is also our story.  These are our ancestors of the faith, and we see a lot of them in ourselves still today.  Remember, these people had seen God's great work in freeing them from Egypt, but now, just over a year later, they didn't believe that God would truly give them the land as easily.  They doubted even though they had seen God's great miracles.  They saw only the might of their arms and that of their enemies, and pictured victory only based on human strength.

How often have we focused primarily on what we are capable of, and then given up, simply because we could not see how God could truly accomplish something great?  One of the things that I have come to believe is that we try to leave God in a no-win situation when it comes to miracles and His mighty work.  We want Him to do something of our choosing and design, and to do it now, but then, when we face obstacles and challenges that He is more than willing to give strength and guidance toward, we turn instead to our own capabilities, and then give up when we realize that we can't do them on our own.  I could give numerous examples of this, but I am sure that you can come up with your own too.

That's part of the story of faith.  Far too often, we are like the 10.  We see and hear and believe that God has done great things, but we fail to believe that He will continue to act as we move forward in life.  That causes us to give up when we really should rely upon God's strength and faithfulness, and so we end up wandering the wilderness, wondering where it all went wrong, and why God isn't doing something about our situation.

Stories: Through the Sea!

When you read through Exodus 14, you hear of the escape that the Israelites had from Egypt.  God had done great miracles, driving Pharoah to send them away, especially after the last plague, the death of the firstborn, had caused Pharoah to lose his own son.  However, this escape seemed to be short-lived.

It may have seemed to the Israelites that God wasn't all that good at giving directions.  He led them down to a place where Pharoah's army (after his change of heart) were pursuing them, and they were cut off against the Red Sea.  No place to go.  Had God led them to a dead end for a reason?

That's when God told Moses to stretch out his staff over the water, and the waters parted, and the Israelites walked across on dry ground.  Once they were through, then the waters crashed down, destroying the pursuing Egyptians, and bringing Israel to a place of freedom.

As people who are descendants of Abraham through our faith, this is a story from our history.  In a sense, God did this for our ancestors.  He saved our ancestors from slavery, and He did it all by His own mighty hand and outstretched arm.  There was no way that the Israelites could claim that they had freed themselves.  God had brought them through the water, rescuing them from slavery and death as they passed through on dry ground.

This is our story.  It's the story of our faith, as well.  God brings us out from the place of death and slavery, and the way He does so is through water.  That's what the water of Christian baptism is.  In that action of God, He rescues us from the death our sins deserve and our slavery to sin.  He brings us to new life as His Spirit is placed in us, and as we receive His promise of hope, forgiveness, and eternal life.

That's how we are connected to the story of the Israelites escaping Egypt through the Red Sea.  In a way, they were baptized in their rescue, and we are baptized in our rescue.  In both cases, it is the work of God, God making us His own, and doing so as He designs.

A Story of Beginnings

"Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them."  Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15:5-6

All stories require a starting point.  As it is said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.  So as we think about the stories of our faith (our stories!), I want to do so with the promise that the LORD God gave to Abram (Abraham).

Abram and Sarai, his wife, were elderly, beyond child-bearing years.  Yet, after telling them to leave his father's house and land, Abram moved to the land which is now Israel.  God gave Abram a great promise, that he would be the father of nations, and that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the sky and the dust of the earth.  The verse above comes from Genesis 15, where God confirms that covenant with Abram.

Our stories of faith begin, in many respects, with this story.  Yes, the story of creation, and the fall into sin, are also significant parts of our story, but this story is where we start to see that the LORD our God is one who is interested in us as people, not just a mass of humanity, but as individuals within that humanity.  God selects Abram to be the means by which His promise will come true.  God calls him by name, and changes his name, and gives him a promise that reaches out still today, to you and to me, and to all who put their faith in Jesus.

Our story begins with God's promise to Abram.  Each of us who put our faith in God and in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice are one of these offspring that God promised to Abram.  We may or may not be descended from the literal line of Abram, but we of the Christian faith are descendants of the faith of Abram, and it is that faith that God counts as righteousness.

Abram's story shows us that God takes a great deal of interest in us personally.  It also shows us that God's story involves His promise to us, and not our good in life or our inherent niceness or goodness, which makes us right in God's eyes.  God's promise came to Abram, and that same promise continues to come to us still today.  When we believe the LORD, God counts it to us as righteousness, because of Christ Jesus, God's one and only Son, who endured the cross and death to make us recipients of that promise.

Stories of Faith

In our current day and age, it seems that the idea of a person's story has become very important.  You hear about people talking about their journey of life, which is basically a way of saying that they have a story to tell about themselves.  These stories talk about the major events in their lives, as well as the events that have impacted them and made them to be the person that they are.

Stories define us.  Each of us has a unique story.  And yet, one of the things that unites us is when we have stories that have parts in common.  When two people get married, they start a story that inevitably must have chapters in common.  When a family is formed, their life together becomes the basis of their story.  Sure, the different members of the family may have different perspectives on the story, and different events will have differing impacts, but the root of the story is still the same.

As Christians, we also have a story to tell.  However, our story goes back all the way to the very beginning.  It began when there was nothing but God, and involves numerous people in a book we now know as the Bible.  As a family, children under our Father, we have these stories in common, and these stories define who we are.  They have a great deal of impact in our lives, and shape our understanding of our Father, and of how He has interacted with our family in the past, as well as His promises of what He is doing as the story of His people continues.

Over the next few weeks, I simply want to take a little time to relive some of these stories on this blog.  Some are stories that have a great deal of meaning to me.  Others may be stories that aren't all that well-known or remembered, and yet, are still included in our family stories.  And if my telling and reliving of these stories bring out thoughts or remembrances, feel free to share them as well.

Dealing with the Rain

In my last post on Friday, I mentioned that I was about to run my first ever full marathon.  I had intended to write something here for you all on Saturday, but I found that my need to let my body and mind recharge took priority over quite a few other things.  So, today, I give you a few nuggets from it.

One of the first things I should tell you is that it rained.  Not that nice, gentle rain, but a downpour.  About 5 minutes before we started, we all got drenched, and it was like that for the first 2-3 miles.  It stopped for a bit, and then, around mile 8, it started up again, lasting through around mile 17 (oh, and throw in a little pea-sized hail along with it).  Once again, it was that drenching, downpour kind of rain.

I actually found that the rain itself didn't bother me too much.  It helped keep my body from having to work so hard to keep cool.  In a way, the rain served as sweat.  This helped keep me fresh for the rest of the race, which, believe me, I needed.

Once I had finished, and as I was thinking about a nap on the couch in the early afternoon, I thought about life as a marathon, and the role of the 'rain' in life.  We have sayings, such as, when it rains, it pours.  In other words, when bad things come, they just seem to dump down on us.

And yet, I really do think that those rains serve a great purpose in life.  They give us the strength we need when life wears on.  If we didn't have those rains, we would expend unnecessary energy on things that don't really matter.  But the rain forces us to focus on what is important, and that, in turn, gives us a means of dealing with things down the road.

I needed that extra energy once I hit mile 22 or so.  There were times when it was a struggle to keep one foot moving in front of the other.  And yet, I cannot help but think that the rain saved my body quite a bit of energy that it would have spent on trying to cool me off.  That energy was needed later on in the race, and so I am thankful for that rain.

When we think about life, we recognize that 'rain' will come.  God never promised us a nice, easy, care-free life.  Instead, He prepared us for the inevitable rain that will fall.  His intention in that is that we learn that He has truly created us with a wonderful body, soul, and mind which can learn, adapt, and grow, especially when we encounter the rain.  And then, what we learn from those rainy experiences gives us wisdom to know how to better handle situations later in life.  The rain focuses us on what is important, and gives us the means of dealing with life when similar situations arise later.

What 'rain' in your life has given you strength now, as you look back on what you endured?  Where all do you see God's hand, not only in taking care of you, but in growing you to be everything He created you to be?  And just in case you recognize those times you have also failed to grow from the rain, remember that Jesus did what He did on the cross and in His resurrection just for you.

For those who are interested, I did meet both of my goals, of merely finishing the race, and of finishing in under 4 hours.  My time was 3:58:01. 

Faith and Story: Stories of Hope

Another kind of story, both in book and in movie, that we as people tend to enjoy are the ones that give us hope.  Those story lines that show someone overcoming long odds to accomplish something great seem to spark that sense within us that we can accomplish anything.  They make us feel powerful, as though any obstacle can be overcome, and that the realm of the possible grows when we focus on what all we can accomplish in life.

Why does this kind of story touch us so much?  I believe, in part, it is because we want to believe that we can overcome almost anything.  Just this morning, I was reading from one of my running magazines, reading stories of many women who have overcome cancer.  Their stories are inspiring, and seem to touch our hearts in a way that makes us think, "If they can do it, then so can I!"

Now, I have to admit that this has both its good points and its bad points.  On the good side, we have a God who has shown us that very little is actually impossible as we live in this world.  Not along the lines of overcoming gravity or aging or death, but rather, that the creativity and perseverance of the soul which are truly astounding.  Thirty years ago, who could imagine a video conference between people in 6 different parts of the world?  Yet, because someone had hope that it was possible, and persevered through the many attempt to make it possible, it is now a commonplace kind of thing.  Hope inspires.  Hope gives us a reason to live, and to achieve, and to accomplish, and to overcome.  And these are all admirable traits in us.

Yet, there is a downside to this idea of hope.  It's the idea that we can overcome anything and not have to rely upon a greater power, or upon God.  For example, it is admirable to have hope that we can battle against certain diseases and help improve people's lives in the world.  Yet, if the hope is to overcome disease and death, we are suddenly putting ourselves in the place of God.  Hope, in its proper sense, never seeks to overcome God, but instead points back to Him.  Hope, in the sense of making ourselves God, will most often not only disappoint, but lead to domination and ultimately even tyranny.

Stories of hope have their place.  They are inspiring, and they teach us that God made us to be creative, to persevere, and to strive for more.  Yet, that same hope finds its boundary when it seeks to exalt us as humans as the ones in control of our destiny.  When we find ourselves attempting to overcome barriers that God Himself has put in place, then hope starts to become misguided, and we place ourselves in danger of becoming our own god.

I love stories of hope.  I usually come away from them feeling empowered and energized.  My hope is that these stories of hope give us all that same sense, and point to God as the reason for our hope.

The Power of the Story: Redemption

Typically, Fridays are my day off of work.  I use this day away from the regular pattern of work to reconnect with myself, usually involving some time to rest my mind and body, and I will often try to do something that I find enjoyable.

This morning, I found myself finishing up a movie that I had started earlier in the week.  Many of you are likely familiar with the Peter Jackson "Lord of the Ring" movies that came out a few years ago.  I have all three extended editions, and had started "The Fellowship of the Ring" earlier this week, watching a little bit here and there.  So this morning, as I was resting and relaxing, I watched the last half hour of the movie.

There is the scene where Boromir tries to take the ring of power from Frodo, only to have Frodo escape from his grasp.  When Boromir comes to his senses, and when Pippen and Merri are threatened, he then redeems himself by fighting to the death to defend them.  When Aragorn finds him, he confesses what he did to Frodo, and, as he dies, Aragorn speaks words of comfort, showing that he is forgiven, and wishes him peace as he dies.

This theme of redemption comes up quite often in movies and books, in the world of entertainment.  It's a theme that speaks powerfully to our hearts.  I believe part of the reason for this is that we all realize that we are in need of redeeming, and want to know and believe that there is something in us worth redeeming.  Of course, in the Bible, we are told of how great of lengths God has gone to in order to redeem us, through Jesus, and the cross.  It reminds us that God sees such value in us that He chose that path willingly, knowing the pain and suffering, and yet deeming it all worthwhile for people like you and I.

The next time you watch a movie or read a story about someone redeeming themselves or being redeemed by another, I hope that it reminds you of the redeeming love of a God who would send a Savior in Jesus, to make you His very own.

Stories and Faith

I believe it was last week when I first posted a blog entry about stories and the role that they play in passing on things that we believe.  Jesus used stories to convey many points about the kingdom of heaven, and overall, the Bible contains a great many stories, all of which have the point of telling us about God's intentions and attitudes toward us as people.

Over the past few weeks, I have been incorporating an ongoing story format in the Sunday messages that I use.  They center on a family, and I put together a short story from something that happens in their lives to help teach about our faith.  Sometimes these stories are to show that we are not alone in the challenges and difficulties we may sometimes have in applying our faith to "real life", and at other times, they are to show how something of what God says really does happen or how it looks in our life.

But one thing I have realized in my attempts to do this is that you have to be sure of what the story is saying, and of what is being conveyed through the story.  When we think of the parables or stories that Jesus told, we see very precise stories with a particular point.  While the people listening to them may not have completely understood them, they did have a particular point that they were making, and many of His listeners did get that point.  And that is the key.  There was a very specific point to those stories that was being communicated.

As I go about this story series, I have realized the importance of knowing what the story needs to convey.  If I tell the story and it only serves to confuse people, then it has missed its point, and I have failed in my efforts to convey God's truth.  Who ever knew that story-telling could be such a challenging venture?  And yet, I am finding that I really enjoy it a lot!

Random Monday Thoughts

Every once in a while, I just like to toss out some random things that float around in my head.  Mostly, it's to get them out of there, so I have space for other things, but sometimes, it just helps me to put them into perspective or practice when I spend the time to write them out.  In fact, that's actually one of the major points of this blog: to help me write things out and figure them out as I think about them and consider them.

Regarding stories, I find it very creative of our God that He uses stories to convey His message so many times in the Bible.  Understandably, there will always be people who fail to get the point of the story, or who become so entranced by the story that they lose the meaning.  However, using stories to tell about who God is, what His intentions are with us as His people, and what His desires and commands are help us to see that God is more than some theological or philosophical thing, but who has direct interest and application into "real life".

I think the use of stories on the part of pastors is sorely lacking.  I've listened to and composed hundreds of messages and sermons over my lifetime, and one thing I have noticed is that, here in the Western world, we tend to have logical, progressive, point by point type messages.  Every once in a while, a story will be included, but usually, it's simply to enhance the point that is being made, rather than to be the means by which the message is conveyed.  But when we look at the Bible and the life of Jesus, we see an abundance of stories, all intended to convey a message, and with all the pitfalls and shortcomings of stories.  In fact, Jesus Himself noted that many people would miss the message of the story (parables), but it seems that many did actually catch the message.  The downfalls of stories also didn't stop Him from using them as a means of teaching.

I'm not saying that everything should suddenly become stories rather than what can come across as a theological paper delivered each Sunday.  But it does seem that the appropriate use of story could not only catch the attention of people as they listen, but can also be utilized from time to time to convey the message of God to His people and those who do not yet know Him.