focus on faith

Bible and lily

Focus on Faith – Faith doesn’t mean controlling God 

I believe there are some Christians who may have a misunderstanding of what faith is. There are some that think if they have enough faith, God will do whatever they ask God to do.  So when a crisis comes up, they try to move God into action with their faith.  When an emergency comes up, they try to use faith like a rope to slip around God’s neck to force their will on God.  And when disaster comes, they try to use faith like a button they push to nudge God into action.  And when God doesn’t respond the way they expect, they become disappointed with God and feel like God has let them down.  And for some, when God isn’t doing what they think God should do, they stop praying, reading the Bible and even coming to church.  

Hands on the bible

Focus on Faith – Whose inscription is this?

Every January 1 is a challenge regarding having to remember the date has changed. Over the course of 12 months, the current year gets embedded in our brains. I would go so far as to say 11 months. . . because the first month is all about figuring out the year has changed.

bible and cross

Focus on Faith – Moved with compassion

In the Gospel account of Matthew there is recorded a story that takes place as Jesus is headed up to Jerusalem where he will be arrested, tried, and crucified. In the book of Matthew, chapter 20, verses 29-34, we find Jesus travelling the ancient route that Joshua took as he went into the Promised land some 1400 years earlier. Along the road he passes through the ancient city of Jericho and as he departs from the city, he comes upon two blind men who cried out to him from the side of the road. Having heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out loudly and according to Matthew chapter 20, verse 30, they cried out for mercy and they called him “Lord, thou Son of David.”

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – Reflections and directions for 2024

Isaiah 43:18-19 - “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” 

The world that we live in is ever-changing. Some of the challenges we are facing include climate change, wars and military conflicts, global health issues, and poverty to name a few. Each of us face our own personal challenges in life, both individually and as families.

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – “Not-So-Wise Men”

As with most popular stories, the arrival of the three wise men (or kings) at the manger on Christmas night has been a little embellished. We have a tendency to add details that aren’t actually there in the text. Details that are necessary in order to paint paintings or put on pageants or make movies. The Bible rarely gives us a script ready for reproduction. That’s why we smash Matthew’s Christmas story and Luke’s Christmas story together and put up nativity scenes with as many people (and animals) as we can get.    

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – We are called by name

Who named you? We all had someone give us our names. Maybe it was your Mom or Dad who named you or perhaps it was an aunt, uncle or grandparent. Our name is an important way that we identify ourselves. For instance, it is the first way that we introduce ourselves to someone else – my name is such and such and what’s your name. 

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – At just the Right Time…

In the 2nd chapter of Luke we find what is commonly referred to as the Christmas story.  

Luke records there the fantastic details of Christ’s birth in a manger in Bethlehem. As we ponder those details, I want us to see that what seems like the humble birth of just another baby, is in reality the hinge point of human history and part of a plan that was in the making from before the beginning of the world. A plan that moved empires to accomplish it’s purpose.

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – Too many mangers, not enough beds

Do you remember the days leading up to the birth of your first child? There are always challenges and anxieties when children are born, but especially when it’s your first. I’m reminded of this while reading the Gospel of Luke. He paints a challenging picture of the days leading up to the Savior’s birth, including traveling 90 miles with a very pregnant woman on the back of a donkey. Looking back now, we can see the glory that was present in those moments. But I believe that living through it in person was a different story. 

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – Our Greatest Gift

Charles Swindoll, Christian pastor, author and educator, once said “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” 

Focus on Faith

Focus on Faith – No room in the guest room

It’s hard to criticize the beauty of the King James Version (KJV) of the Christmas story in Luke 2. Much like the Lord’s Prayer with all its outdated language (art, Thy, trespass, Thine), there’s no updating the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Mary is Joseph’s “espoused wife, being great with child.” The shepherds were “sore afraid” when the glory of the Lord appeared. And all of it “came to pass” in those days.