Faithphobia
Originally posted on The Underground Railroad
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
Romans 8:35-39
A promise is only as good as the character of the person who makes it, and this week we learned just how fickle political promises can be when 19 Democrats went back on their promise to stand up against rabid right-wing Supreme Court nominees. How can we deal with people whose "No" means "Maybe" and whose "Yes" means "Probably not"? How can we deal with people whose word is null and void? How can we have a substantive relationship with someone whose word we cannot trust?
We can't.
But there is One whose Word stands the test of time, One whose Word is from everlasting to everlasting, One whose word creates objective reality and who breathes the breath of life into human existence. If there is no one else in whom we can place our faith, in whom we can trust, we can always trust Jesus if we submit to his will. Someone once noted that many Americans would like to have Jesus in their life, but only as a consultant - they won't yield to His authority, they won't submit to His lordship, they simply won't trust Him. Far too many Americans have bought into the lie of humanism, that mankind is the measure of all things, and far too many Americans believe that it is all about themselves. America's "rugged individualism" is more aptly called "rampant self-centeredness" - it's all about self - but Jesus came to save all of those who would receive Him, those who would believe on His name. Finding faith in a land where iron-clad contracts and prenuptial agreements are the standard operating procedure is much akin to finding a 40 year-old virgin in Vegas, yet that is exactly what we are called to do.
You see, it is truly difficult to trust people - folk are fickle, fake, and phony - but we can trust Him whose word is true, whose word is truth, who came and died that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We can trust Him because of who He is - the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He who is faithful and true, He who is wonderful, our counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Don't believe me? I don't blame you, but believe Jesus:
We are more than conquerers.
We can't.
But there is One whose Word stands the test of time, One whose Word is from everlasting to everlasting, One whose word creates objective reality and who breathes the breath of life into human existence. If there is no one else in whom we can place our faith, in whom we can trust, we can always trust Jesus if we submit to his will. Someone once noted that many Americans would like to have Jesus in their life, but only as a consultant - they won't yield to His authority, they won't submit to His lordship, they simply won't trust Him. Far too many Americans have bought into the lie of humanism, that mankind is the measure of all things, and far too many Americans believe that it is all about themselves. America's "rugged individualism" is more aptly called "rampant self-centeredness" - it's all about self - but Jesus came to save all of those who would receive Him, those who would believe on His name. Finding faith in a land where iron-clad contracts and prenuptial agreements are the standard operating procedure is much akin to finding a 40 year-old virgin in Vegas, yet that is exactly what we are called to do.
You see, it is truly difficult to trust people - folk are fickle, fake, and phony - but we can trust Him whose word is true, whose word is truth, who came and died that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We can trust Him because of who He is - the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He who is faithful and true, He who is wonderful, our counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Don't believe me? I don't blame you, but believe Jesus:
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.The choice is yours, but I'm here to tell you that once you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord: neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In all of these things - and I have had to deal with just about all of these things over the last couple months - nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are more than conquerers.
May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to overcome the lies of the world,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to overcome the lies of the world,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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