What do you believe about God?

May 9, 2010 · Filed Under faith/believe, renewing our mind, spiritual hearing · Comment 

From Alan Smith

I was thirteen years old the first time I got on a roller coaster that looped upside down. I was terrified. There were many prior failed attempts. You know what I mean. I waited in line. I made it all the way to the moment of decision and at the last minute stepped into the car and right on through. It took some serious peer pressure from some very cute thirteen year old girls to help me overcome my fear!

Why was I afraid? What was the cure? Interestingly enough, correct information did nothing to help me overcome my fear. I understood enough about physics to know it was perfectly safe to ride the Shockwave. In a science classroom, if asked to explain this, I could have said some very reasonable things about centrifugal force that would have adequately explained why there was no reason to fear. And the thing is, I really sincerely affirmed this to be fact. I was nevertheless still afraid.

There is a distinction between affirming right data and belief. Belief is much more than intellectual agreement. Belief embraces more than information. It is possible to sincerely affirm correct information and yet actually believe something completely incongruent with that data.

This can be a dangerous trap for Christians. Failing to understand the distinction between what they intellectually affirm and that which they actually believe, many mistake doctrine for belief. It is possible to sincerely embrace right doctrine and have little to no faith in operation. The doctrine of Justification by Faith can be learned, rehearsed, and vigorously defended from scripture by someone who has never heard the Judge of all Creation declare them innocent of all charges. The God who is fully present in every place can always seem distant and removed from someone who fully embraces the doctrine of God’s omnipresence and has verses from Psalm 139 ready to back it up.

What do you believe about God? I’m not asking about your doctrine or your theology. What do you really believe? Is he good? Is he near? Is he powerful? Beliefs are shaped by experience not Sunday School. The lenses through which we see reality are shaped by what we encounter. Have your experiences taught you to believe that God is good? Near? Powerful? Or do you just have right doctrine.

If you discover an incongruence between the good doctrine you’ve learned in church and from the Bible and the actual assumptions your heart makes about God based on your life experiences, then what you need is a new experience. You need to encounter God, hear his voice, experience his presence. Only this kind of revelation will produce lasting growth and change. Only this kind of experience will result in faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (spoken word) of Christ (Rom 10:17).

Am I minimizing the importance of sound doctrine? No! Bad doctrine is of no benefit whatsoever. The point is that right doctrine is simply an accurate description of reality. It explains something real. In itself doctrine is insufficient for it is simply the explanation of a thing, not the thing itself. To the degree that right doctrine leads you to pursue the reality it points to, it is helpful. But to the degree right doctrine simply becomes a collection of correct information, it is simply the Knowledge of Good, which really isn’t any better than the Knowledge of Evil. Eating fruit from either branch of that tree will kill you!

Roller coasters were not made to be studied. Get in, buckle up, and ride.

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Divine Power within us to ask

December 22, 2009 · Filed Under faith/believe, renewing our mind, spiritual hearing · 1 Comment 

This week, I’ve had some wonderful connect time with God. He was reminding me of Ephesians 3:20. We have such a limited understanding of what this scripture means, because we so often only quote the first part of it: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…”

And that’s where we stop. Sure, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.  That’s God at work, but there is a part B to this scripture, one we often forget to include when we quote this.  Here’s the full verse:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

God can do amazing things–exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think–but, he can only work “according to the power that works in us.”  That word “according to” is more of a limiting context. God can only work according to what power is at work in us.  We are the conduit, the valve of God’s power at work in the earth. Is your valve wide open for God’s power to flow through you?  Or, are you just dripping?

God deposited his power in us through Christ. Early in Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul clarifies that this same power raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and lives inside of us today. God can really do amazing things, but it’s “according to the power that is in us” already.

This week, God began to speak and show me how to tap into this power through passion, through our spiritual heart.  Here’s what he said to me:

Son, I am able to do so much in you, and it happens through you. You are a conduit of my power, according to your faith. Believe that it is there, right now, inside you. Creative power, divine power to doing all that you need to do, son. It’s there. And, because it’s there, I can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you could ask or think based upon that power inside you. So, ask, think, believe, son.

What do I ask for, Father? I’m not sure what to ask.

Son, you ask what’s on your heart, what you are passionate about, what you need?  Son, you have a new heart. I can trust your heart.  Even when your flesh is loud, screaming and very strong, I know that your heart–the real part of you–is not set on sin. It is set on righteousness, and my Holy Spirit is a seal to show that.

So ask, son. Believe. Then, watch me work in you and through you.

Encouraging words. Do you find it  hard to believe that God loves your new heart, your new spiritual heart that Jesus died to give you? It’s quite unfathomable, but it’s true. Scripture is peppered with God’s love and grace towards.

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Disconnected from God – “Where are you?”

October 9, 2009 · Filed Under accepted by God, spiritual hearing · 1 Comment 

It’s been days, maybe even weeks, since I’ve really heard God, since I’ve pressed in, dug deep, and listened to the Divine Whisper of Heaven.  It’s not that I don’t want to.  I do.  I really do.  But junk just gets in the way.  Life happens.

I’m convinced that everyday, we should walk with God, in his presence, communing constantly with him.  It was the kind of relationship that Adam and Even had before sin entered the world.  It was heaven on earth.  Daily.  Constantly.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8, 9)

What a question!  Where are you? If there’s one thing I’m hearing God say right now, it’s “Where are you?“

It’s not a harsh, condemning “WHERE ARE YOU!”  It’s a gentle, wooing whisper, “Where are you?“ Caring. Grace-filled. Loving. Fatherly.  It’s tender.  Very, very tender.

Yet, even then, I hide myself like Adam and Eve.  I cover myself with busyness, distraction, entertainment, mind-numbing activity.  Instead of pressing in, I press on.

Why?  It doesn’t make sense.  I think it’s because when God whispers his tender, “Where are you?“, the enemy screams harshly, “WHERE ARE YOU!”  The Divine Whisper is blocked out, masked, covered by the schemes of the enemy.  Yet, Jesus paid our price for sin.  We can “come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

The invitation is there, but it’s not a free invitation. A heavy price was paid for admission–the death of Jesus.  By his righteousness, we can come before God’s throne in our time of need.  The door to heaven is open, and through Christ, we can go right into the throne room.  We are “clothed in Christ”, and accepted by God because of who we are (children of God), not because of what we’ve done (sin).

Come on.  Let’s go inside.

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Hearing the truth about what God says

September 7, 2009 · Filed Under freedom, spiritual hearing · Comment 

I came across this post the other day, and it’s a great reminder for us to really consider the truth of God, and what he has to say to us.  Most of the time, we get it wrong. We struggle against the lies that are so embedded in our soul, but we have to let Truth prevail, because the Truth will set you free (John 8:32).

You say
God says

You say: It’s impossible
God says: All things are possible ( Luke 18:27)

You say: I’m too tired
God says: I will give you rest ( Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: Nobody really loves me
God says: I love you ( John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )

You say: I can’t go on
God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

You say: I can’t figure things out
God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5- 6)

You say: I can’t do it
God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

You say: I’m not able
God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: It’s not worth it
God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28 )

You say: I can’t forgive myself
God says: I forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: I can’t manage
God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

You say: I’m afraid
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear ( II Timothy 1:7)

You say: I’m always worried and frustrated
God says: Cast all your cares on me (I Peter 5:7)

You say: I’m not smart enough
God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: I feel all alone
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

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Information or Revelation

August 16, 2009 · Filed Under faith/believe, spiritual hearing · Comment 

I was hit with a pretty intense revelation the other day. It’s basically this: when God speaks, he’s not just communicating information. When God speaks, he’s often activating a new reality. He’s realizing (making real) something new when he speaks it.

For most of my journaling experience, I would journal with this notion that when God speaks, he’s only communicating information. I’ve realized now that it’s more than just information. When God speaks, he creates. He activates. He “calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17). He brings into reality something new, something alive, something with purpose when he speaks.

For example, in Genesis, God said, “Let there be life” and life was created. God said, “It is good.” And it was good. It was blessed as good.

When God needed a Savior, he sent his Word (John 1). God’s Word became flesh. When God spoke, his tangible, experiential existence came into being. We could see, taste, hear, touch, smell the Word of God. He became real.

Immediately, I must repent. I must change the way I’ve been thinking. I take time to journal and listen to God, which is not a problem. That’s a good thing. The problem is that when God speaks, I only receive his words as information, not a declaration. I need to receive what God says to me as a new reality, a newly created existence or situation. When God speaks, reality is created.

Something that was not will become when God speaks.

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