• Begging In Faith

    Psalm 88; 2 Kings 20:1–11; Mark 9:14–29

    Regardless of your views on the COVID vaccine, medical science (including vaccines) has been miraculous over the years. How medical practices have been improved is amazing (My grandfather once told me of a vaccine he received as a kid. The process was highly unsanitary.). Medical science continues to improve.

    It is possible that Hezekiah’s illness could have been healed by modern medicine. Many of the illnesses in the are quite possible to be healed. This doesn’t minimize the miracle that occurred, especially the manner in which it occurred (a prompt—almost immediate— to ).

    As our modern medicine improves, it becomes even more likely that modern folks will dismiss the stories of the Scriptures as ignorant people, who didn’t understand any science (which is true). Many contemporary people will then also attribute that same ignorance of science to Christians today. If Christians are not wise in their faith, and in their defense of it, they may contribute to the reduction of faith in those around them.

    It would be interesting to know whether considers the generation he called faithless to be more or less faithless than today’s. It would be unwise to presume that it must be today’s, as Jesus had to deal with a lot of that.

    The of the son asked for faith in the face of his unbelief. The disciples still didn’t get their own disbelief. Disbelief was all around. Disbelief is all around us.

    ※Reflection※

    • In what areas of your life is your faith currently be challenged? How are you getting prayer support for this challenge?
    • Do you think there is a difference between unbelief and faithlessness? Why or why not? If there are differences, how do you see them in your life or the lives of ?
    • What is more important for the right now, the faithlessness of the world or the faithlessness of those who themselves ? As a Christian, what does it mean to be faithless?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, help the ongoing war in our hearts and souls against unbelief and faithlessness. Amen.

  • Laying The Bread Down

    Laying The Bread Down

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:42–44; Ephesians 3:14–21; John 6:1–21 It is tempting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We can look at society and even many churches (in particular, their leaders), and just give up. There is such a struggle against the darkness and against sin, that it can be overwhelming. At the…

  • Field Placement

    Field Placement

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 4:38–41; John 4:31–38 Flour has become a no-go for many people these days. The fight against gluten and carbohydrates is quite prevalent. Much of this has to do with how much our surroundings have changed. Most of us don’t need many carbohydrates. Those whose bodies are still their primary focus for…

  • Let ‘Em Fight

    Let ‘Em Fight

    Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17 It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold…

  • Burning Call

    Burning Call

    Psalm 145:10–18; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Colossians 1:9–14 One of the issues that has come up in the last year in church-ish circles is the ordination of women. Saddleback took a bold step and ordained women which went against the predominant grain of their partner body (SBC). There was an unexpected explosion in certain circles against…