"O Ye of Little Faith!"

An aside before I talk about faith: I just figured out how to get email notifications for the blog, so I thought I'd share if anyone else is interested!

On the blog overview page, go to Settings > Mobile and Email, and then add your email under "Comment Notification Email" and/or "Email Posts To". Just FYI. Happy blogging!

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I feel like a lot of the passages/references from the past two weeks involve Jesus rebuking people - especially the disciples - for their lack of faith. But He also claims that we don't need all that much faith in the first place:

"And He said to them, 'Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, "Move..." and it shall move.'" (Matt 17:20)

So I'm kind of left wondering: how do we cultivate faith? 

It seems like we're always being told we need more of it (and if we only need a mustard-seed-sized portion of it, then maybe we need to get some at all), but how do we get more of it?

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to this fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. "

Ok, Jesus. I hear you, but that sounds like a lot of conditionals. What if I doubt sometimes? Or once in a while? How do I know I believe enough? Is there some threshold?

I was talking with a friend the other day, who has a fairly similar personality type to mine. She is currently among a group of believers who appear to be very faith-filled - all very committed to prayer and trusting in the work of the Spirit. But my friend (who is an awful lot like me), finds that when it comes to making decisions her more practical side is often very uncomfortable with the way this group functions.

So I'm left wondering (as I identify with her story as well as the disciples): what is the difference between a lack of faith and a difference in giftings? I really believe that my friend's ability to think clearly and rationally is a gifting and a way she can serve the greater body. But does that mean she has less faith than her coworkers? Does faith just "come easier" for some believers?

I guess I really only have questions on this topic, not a lot of clarity. I would love to hear what you all think in the comments if you get a chance.

"Where is your faith?"

But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?" (Lk 8:23-25)

In Jesus' band of disciples, there are multiple fishermen (at least two(?) in the twelve, and likely more in the larger group of followers). They are literally experts in their field; they know how to gauge the wind and waves, how to navigate storms, and how to - at bare minimum - keep the boat afloat when things are going south. What caught my eye is the realization that they wake Jesus not to say, "Hey Jesus, we are just keeping you in the loop here. You might have noticed that it's been a little rocky, but we are doing our best to get us safely to the other side." Rather, they wake him only in time to say, "We're going to die!!!"

If you ask my dad what the driving force is in my life (aside from Christ, I hope) he would tell you: competence and adequacy. I strive to feel competent, to feel adequate, to feel like I'm "good" at what I do. Apply it across the board... my education, my career, my relationship with God, the way I serve,  the way I do relationships, etc. I am "up" when I feel capable, competent, and adequate. I am "down" when I don't. I am one of the silly, arrogant disciples, acting often in my own pothole of competence: Crap, it's getting windy... Let's ride it out and see if it dies down. Crap, this isn't the smooth sailing I had envisioned for us... I hope the Master isn't annoyed. Crap, things still haven't turned around... but I'm not in over my head yet, I've seen this before and I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve. Crap, my efforts to fix, change, improve aren't working... but I don't want to wake the Master. Crap, I still can't get this ship settled and pretty soon I'm going to have to wake the Master... Crap, I'm officially in over my head. I'm out of ideas, and the situation is now officially unsafe. Someone go warn the Master, we're going to have to jump ship!

When they/I/we do this, they/I/we act not in faith, but in a severe lack of faith. It's only to be expected, then, that Jesus not only rebukes the wind and waves, but also his disciples (and me) for their lack of faith. Emily, it is not your own competence that keeps the ship of your life afloat. It's not your "expertise" as a nurse, a friend, a disciple, a mentor, a daughter, that keeps the waves from crashing over. (It is first and foremost my grace, but that's another story for another time...) So when you do feel the waves crashing and the wind howling, don't waste days, months, seasons striving in your own ability to calm things down. Don't wait to come to Me until the only message you have is "Master, Master, we are perishing!"... come to me much, much earlier. Acknowledge your weakness, your inability to keep things afloat; ask me to make up where you lack; and trust (have faith) that I will be to you and for you and in you all that I have promised I will be.

"Where is your faith?" Help me, Lord, to remember (and live out) that it is in You alone.

Week 2 Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I had about a few of this past week's verses (a little late I know). I had a lot of questions arise, but didn't really hear God answering them.

Matt 17:20 - the disciples unable to heal the boy with the demon
I had these two questions come to mind:

• How is my lack of faith preventing God's glory from being known (in my life and by others)? I know that God will show his glory regardless of my faith (or lack of faith), but wouldn't it be great to be used by God any time possible to display his glory?
• In what ways are you asking me to do the seemingly "impossible"?

Matt 21:21 - Fig Tree Withers "If you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but you can also say to the mountain 'Go, throw yourself into the sea' and it will be done." It seemed that doubt is explained here as something that prevents the miraculous from taking place, but we are told that in order to have authentic relationships with God, it is okay to have doubts. The question I wrestled with here is: How are we to reconcile being okay with doubts (and even encourage people to explore areas of doubt in their lives, which I think is necessary) while we are potentially missing opportunities for God to work through us?

• In the Mark 11:22 version and the commentary I read the assurance is based on God's faithfulness, not the ability of humans to banish doubt. A few quotes that the commentary had that I found helpful were "When prayer (with the Holy Spirit's guidance) is the source of faith's power and the means of its strength, God's sovereignty is its only restriction" and "faith is the unwavering trust in miraculous divine help."

Mark 4:40 - Jesus calms the storm
This one was interesting because in Mark 4:11 Jesus says to the disciples "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you" and in Mark 4:34 it says, "He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with the disciples, he explained everything." Because of the revelation that Jesus has given to them, it is strange that right after Mark talks about this moment of doubt. It seems that Jesus' question in this context is less about whether they believe Jesus can subdue the storm, but more about whether they believe Jesus is Lord.

• Sometimes I think I get caught up on whether or not God will accomplish something in particular (my own kind of doubt), but perhaps in those times God is asking me to trust that he is Lord not trust that he can do a particular thing.

Sorry for my silence... Sometimes I lose track of the actual week we're in - all I know is what days I work or have off haha!

I'll be honest: I only read once last week. Reading Scripture and spending time with the Lord has been very dry for me in the last 6 months. I usually chalk it up to the transition and change, but it's been discouraging as heck. A few weeks ago, I finally broke down and was able to process/cry through some of the difficulty of this with a few close friends. I left feeling a little lighter, less guilty, and more hopeful... but at the same time, unsure of what it would look like to try to jump into this study the following week and keep pushing when my heart doesn't feel ready to soak up or engage with the material.

Anyway, I say all this to say: 1) Please give me some grace if I don't jump in 100%. That's my heart's desire, but I'm not going to force it in this season. 2) Here was my takeaway from the week in regards to faith: I think sometimes, faith is even lived out in the understanding that my relationship with God isn't jeopardized by a lack of Bible reading, prayer, and journaling. Obviously it's enhanced by those disciplines, but I think I too often live in "if...then" fear: "If I haven't spent much time with the Lord in the last six months, then I must be doing irreparable damage to our relationship."And that just simply isn't true. My Lord is still the same Lord he was six months ago, and he still loves me the same and has the same patience and grace that he had for me six months ago. So perhaps, at least for now, the real outworking of my faith is being able to walk, work, live, and serve with an unwavering confidence in the validity and stability of my relationship with the Lord, regardless of the circumstances.

Verse List

Sorry friends... the three-day weekend threw me off!

I thought maybe it would be helpful if I posted the rest of the verses divided out into the weeks in case we ever want to work ahead:

Week 2

• Matt 16:8; 17:20; 21:21; 23:23
• Mark 2:5; 4:40; 5:34; 10:52; 11:22
• Luke 5:20

Week 3

• Luke 7:9, 50; 8:25, 48; 12:28; 17:5, 6, 19; 18:8, 42

Week 4

• Luke 22:32
• Acts 3:16 (2times); 6:5, 7, 8; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9, 22

Week 5

• Acts 14:27; 15:9; 16:5; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18
• Rom 1:5, 8, 12, 17 (3 times) - I know this is more than 10 references, but it didn't make sense to split up the last three since they are in the same verse!

Week 6

• Rom 3:3, 22, 25, 27, 28, 30 (two times), 31; Rom 4:5, 9

Week 7

• Rom 4:11, 12, 13, 14, 16 (two times), 19, 20; 5:1, 2

Week 8

• Rom 9:30, 32; 10:6, 8, 17; 11:20; 12:3, 6; 14:1, 22

Week 9

• Rom 14:23 (two times); 16:26
• 1 Cor 2:5; 12:9; 13:2; 13:13; 15:14, 17; 16:13

Week 10

• 2 Cor 1:24 (two times); 4:13; 5:7; 8:7; 10:15; 13:5
• Gal 1:23; 2:16 (two times)

Week 11

•  Gal 2:20; 3:2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22

Week 12

• Gal 3:23 (Two times), 24, 25, 26; 5:5, 6, 22; 6:10
• Eph 1:15

Week 13

• Eph 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13; 6:16, 23
• Col 1:4, 23; 2:5

Week 14

• Col 2:7, 12
• 1 Thess 1:3, 8; 3:2, 5, 6, 7, 10; 5:8

Week 15

• 2 Thess 1:3, 4, 11; 3:2
• 1 Tim 1:2, 4, 5, 14, 19 (two times)

Week 16

• 1 Tim 2:7, 15; 3:9, 13; 4:1, 6, 12; 5:8, 12; 6:10

Week 17

• 1 Tim 6:12, 21
• 2 Tim 1:5, 13; 2:18, 22; 3:8, 10, 15; 4:7

Week 18

• Titus 1:1, 4, 13; 2:2; 3:15
• Philemon 1:5, 6
• Hebrews 4:2; 6:1, 12

Week 19

•  Heb 10:22, 38; 11:1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (two times), 8

Week 20

• Heb 11:9, 11, 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27

Week 21

•  Heb 11:28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 39; 12:2; 13:7
• James 1:3, 6

Week 22

• James 2:1, 5, 14 (two times), 17, 18 (two times), 20, 22 (two times)

Week 23

•  James 2:24, 26; 5:15
• 1 Peter 1:5, 7, 9, 21; 5:9
• 2 Peter 1:1, 5

Week 24

• 1 John 5:4
• Jude 1:3, 20
• Rev 2:13, 29; 13:10, 14:12

That's all!

Take Courage - Week 1

And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, 'If I only touch the hem of His garment, I shall get well.' But Jesus, turning and seeing her said, 'Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.' And at once the woman was made well. 
[Matthew 9:22]

If I only touch the hem of His garment - I shall get well. 

I'm not gonna lie, this sentence has frustrated me a lot over the years. Sometimes I feel like I'm standing there, asking Him, "Jesus! I'm right here, I'm touching the hem of your cloak, but I'm not getting better." I feel like I'm trapped in habitual sin, and proximity to Him isn't enough.

But I realize it's not just proximity to Him that counts:

Daughter, take courage. Your faith has made you well. 

I hear that, and I want those words to be comforting, but I just find myself discouraged - my faith has not made me well.

So what does that mean then? Do I not have enough faith? Do I not want it badly enough? Am I confusing other things for the hem of His cloak? Do I really believe that an encounter with Jesus is all I really need to be healed? Not usually. Especially when it's old stuff in my life.

Jesus, what does it mean to touch the hem of your garment, now that you have gone and left us your Spirit? How do I draw near to you to find healing? I know I need to just stop striving from my own efforts and let you take over, but it's so hard to force calmness on myself.

Daughter, take courage. Your faith has made you well. It's not about touching the hem of my garment. It's about faith that I am enough. And I am enough. In the story, the woman has faith that even the smallest piece of me will be enough. And yet I offer her all of myself. The same offer is extended to you. Take all of me. I promise it's enough. 

Thanks once again to Jon Foreman for articulating my thoughts better than I can:

week 1

Sorry for typos ... i typed the majority of this on my phone.  Haha. So glad we are doing this even though I miss actually seeing you!

Deuteronomy 32:20
"... they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith." My first thought was, "Lord, do you ever feel like saying this about your church?" It seems that we often are children who do not trust or display faith. Others could see the church and wonder if, in fact, we really do have faith in a God who wants restoration for his world.

Habakkuk 2:4
Depending on the translation, the meaning could be "the righteous will live by his faith (belief)" or "the righteous will live by his faithfulness." Interesting to think about the different implications, but either way it is clear that we cannot live righteously without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and without Jesus' faith in God's sovereign plan and faithfulness to carry it out.

Matthew 6:30
In Matt 6:28 the "plants/grass" are referred to as "lilies of the field" and in v. 29 it says "not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." It is interesting that the mere survival of the lilies is not what is significant here, but it is the magnificence (or splendor) or the flowers. In the words of a commentary I read, "God lavishes on them a craftsman's care which the most ostentatious monarch can only envy." I think this verse is often used to only to show that God meets our basic needs, but the reference to lilies seems to imply that God not only supplies our basic needs, but also displays his glory in us (like imagery found throughout Isaiah).
This verse also made me realize that sometimes I don't trust God for the right things because it sometimes feels like he is not meeting what I think are my basic needs... guess I need to spend some time figuring out what God really thinks I need and what I have added or expected that God has not promised.  One example I continue to wrestle with is stability in my life... I keep really wanting it and thinking I need it, but God never really promises that to his believers.

Matthew 8:10
"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. " It almost seems like it would be expected for great faith to be found among God's people and those who walked with Jesus. However, we find it in an outsider here. This made me wonder "where/when can true faith be expected?" "Where have we found it that has been surprising? "
Also, because faith is cited as the reason for miraculous healing, it made me think about how often i believe that God can act but might not. Instead of these examples of people who believed he could and could not fathom that he would not. It's challenging because I have seen God choose not to act in the ways that people believed he would and I know his plan is superior to mine (and beyond my comprehension at times. In light of that,  what does real, humble faith look like?

Matt 8:26
I actually feel a little bad for the disciples in this story because they get so much flack for not believing... but perhaps they felt like at that print Jesus would have acted by then and since he hadn't they feared he wouldn't.  Sometimes in my own life and faith the timeline that i think God is on is not really His timeline and that can cause me to believe he has chosen not to act... convicting to think about.

Matt 9:2
The faith of the community is what brought healing. .. do I surround myself with a community of strong faith?  Do I contribute to one?

Matt 9:22
I wondered what part of the woman's faith Jesus was commending.  Was it her act of racing out to touch the garment? Was it her travel to find Jesus after heading about him?  Was it persistent prayers for healing during the 12 years ? Did she ever doubt during the 12 years that she would be healed? I am pretty sure I would have just assumed I would bleed the rest of my life and been looking for Jesus to heal something more recent or seemingly temporary. .. and he would say "oh ye of little faith"

Matt 14:31
I love that Jesus reaches out to him in spite of his lacking faith.  that grace is reassuring because I will never have perfect faith. One commentary said this which I found helpful: "Peter lacked practical confidence required from those who seek supernatural provision. "We have to be willing and practical enough to believe the seemingly impossible could be possible which is what makes faith in God so unique and tricky to talk about sometimes.

I also ended this passage thinking: how often do I believe enough to get right to the brink of
seeing God's supernatural inbreaking and get too afraid to step into it? Or believe that it will actually happen?

Matt 15:28
This woman (not a Jew) grasps that faith is not only for Jesus' sake, but is part of how he seeks to bring restoration to the world. This passage really helped crystallize Matthew's use of faith throughout his book. He shows that faith is more important than exact law following and that faith at that time was stronger outside the Jewish community than in it. This speaks to Jesus' desire to extend the kingdom.

We're really doing it!

Whoooo! We are officially bringing back the blog. AND we have one more friend to join us - one of mine and Alyssa's very dearest friends from houseboats, Emily, is going to do the Faith study with us. :)

So here's the plan.

I think what we'll do is Lissa will post ten verses from her concordance's list of faith verses every Sunday. Then during the week we will all read and study individually, and then sometime later on in the week we can all post about what we found interesting, insightful, encouraging, convicting, etc. Obviously, we're not going to be crazy legalistic about it or anything, but I think if we all aim for one post a week (ish), that'll help us keep it going.

Then the next Sunday we'll get more verses and start again!

Since Lissa already gave me the first ten, I'll just post them here now, and then she can take over for next week.

Deuteronomy 32:30
Habakkuk 2:4
Matthew 6:30, 8:10, 8:26, 9:2, 9:22, 9:29, 14:31, 15:28

Happy studying! Looking forward to fellowshipping with you all from afar!

Pearl