Faith is both a noun and a verb.
For some, it is a hat they wear to compliment their outfit and impress others.
Faith as a verb is rarely pretty and clean, it looks like stepping out of our comfort zone when God says “Go!” – regardless of the storm.
Faith in action is more than a pretty hat, it is putting on boots and moving our feet and hands even when it is inconvenient and uncomfortable.
In the U.S. many believe we are special, that God will save us from difficult trials and tribulations. What happens when we teach this? What happens to such faith when faith is tested and must become action? Will it crumble like a sand castle at the first ocean wave?
Churches all over the world are under fire for their faith – faith as a verb. There is, for them a crown in heaven. In the meantime, here we sit with homemade paper hats thinking that we are special.
when the pardons fall we know who was holding the smoking guns and who was aware of those fingerprints on the gun.
The saying “That’s like the pot calling the kettle black” is so true in politics. He who points fingers has three fingers pointing back at himself.
In the midst of smoke and mirrors many will point to the smoke as the cause rather than looking behind the mirrors at the ones diverting the focus (and money) from effective solutions.
Forgiving someone is so much easier than trusting them again. Trust takes a long time to rebuild.
Ran across this in an old journal:
When I hear people talk about end times and complaining that Jesus is talking so long to return, I remember when our children were little:
Are we there yet?
No, in 30 minutes
Are we there yet?
No, in 45 minutes.
Are we there yet?
No, in an hour.
Why is it getting longer?!
Because the more you complain, the slower I drive!
Give Glory and Honor to Jesus!
Mike and I were talking about our morning study and I said, “I know I’m preaching to the choir, but…” While encouraging one another is important, have you considered how many of us feel God has called us to preach to the choir rather than the lost…
I read yesterday about sugar addiction, social media addiction, food addiction, drama/excessive attention-seeking addiction, controlling behavior, and other aspects of codependency are also related to addiction.
I read a lot of debate in the legal field about what happens when so many things are declared an addiction. For example, if sugar is declared an addiction, warning labels have to go on all the cereal boxes or they can be sued by parents whose children are overweight. Has our definition of “addiction” gone too far? Where do we draw the line?
Not all “alleged addictions” are created equal some are definitely physical, others, well, at what point is an addiction the result of a harmful substance, and at what point is it an emotional health issue manifested as a result of environmental dysfunction or unhealthy choices or ?
I was reminded yesterday of a story I used to tell in addiction groups:
A man has a hole in his front yard, he doesn’t know it’s there and when he walks out the door he falls into it.
The next day the man knows the hole is there, walks out his front door and tries to walk around the hole, but slides into it.
The next day the man walks out his front door and tries another way around the hole, but still slides into it.
The next day the man walks out his back door, goes to town and brings back garden soil to fill the hole. He plants a garden on what was formerly his pit.
Any addiction is not just abstaining from use, it also involves change: significant lifestyle change. If you do not fill that hole with something positive, it’s easy to stumble out the front door and forget that hole is there. This is also why so many New Year’s changes/resolutions fail. We try to succeed on our own willpower rather than filling that hole.
But, isn’t addiction more than failed resolutions to live a healthy life?
Addictive behavior is hyper-focus on a particular substance: thinking about your next fix, thinking about how to keep from running out, etc, and then of course the actual (ecstatic) use of that substance.
It is an interesting study. addiction often involves a comforting ritual. In fact, I’ve seen the same behavior in drug/alcohol addicts as well as food addicts.
Isn’t the bottom line of addiction trying to fill an emptiness inside us? Even religion does not fill that hole. I love what Bonhoeffer said about moving the church away from ritual and religion and filling it with Jesus.
Something to ponder…
