The disciples were overwhelmed by the storm that raged around them. What did they do that helped them through their challenge? First, the disciples saw Jesus. John 6:19 says, “They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat” (NLT). I don’t know that they were…
Category: Belief
iBelieve: When I am in Despair
Have you ever been in a bad storm? When I was a kid, I can remember one particular night, huddled with my family around our console television trying to get weather information about the storm that raged outside. This, of course, antedated things like cable TV or doppler radar. As we watched the flickering images…
iBelieve: When I Feel Inadequate (part 3)
The disciple’s response to their present opportunity to meet significant human need was anemic and short sighted. From their own human reasoning, they “put a pencil to it” and “took inventory,” only to discover that their resources were inadequate. They were operating from an economy of scarcity. Jesus, who was always patient with their progress…
iBelieve: When I Feel Inadequate (part 2)
How should we respond to those opportunities that interrupt us? The disciple’s initial response was similar to the way many respond today. “Philip replied, ‘Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them’” (John 6:7, NLT). In today’s language, Philip would have said, “I’ve sharpened the pencil on this, and…
iBelieve: When I Feel Inadequate
Last week our nation paused to honor the memory of September 11, 2001. As part of the remembrance, the National Geographic Channel produced a special series of interviews and reflections with people who were a part of that tragic event. I watched several of the shows, and was moved by the images and the conversations…
iBelieve: When I Struggle with Habitual Sin (part 5)
Let me summarize this week’s series on chronic sin patterns with some practical advice that Paul offered in Romans 12. In verses 1-2, he wrote, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and…
iBelieve: When I Struggle with Habitual Sin (part 4)
Even though we wrestle with living in Romans 7, the promise that God offers is that “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:1-2, NLT). In…
iBelieve: When I Struggle with Habitual Sin (part 3)
The premise of the Christian life is that believers are empowered to live above the domination of sin. Through the grace of Christ, sin does not have control over our lives. We have the ability to have control over it. But there’s a problem. Even though we are free from the power that sin holds…
iBelieve: When I Struggle with Habitual Sin (part 2)
So what do we do with those pesky habitual sins? I think one has to look no further than the Book of Romans for some timely words of wisdom. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul offers the premise of the believer’s attitude toward sin. “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us…
iBelieve: When I Struggle with Habitual Sin
Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and…
