Making “Spirit-led” Decisions, Part 1

I thought I’d post some practical stuff Beth and I have learned about making “Spirit-led” decisions. I have to be honest and say that the majority of decisions in life fall outside of a particular biblical mandate or verse. That includes some of the biggest ones – marriage, occupation, etc. I’ve talked about the difficulty of discerning the “will” of God from a theological standpoint here and here. So, I thought I’d give some practical guidelines for making decisions in the “real” world.  Let me cover some basic aspects of decision making in this post before giving you our specific guidelines in part 2.

1. Work towards God’s decision, not your own. The “team concept” of decision making always works best in marriage (Eph. 5:21). In that model, two devoted spouses refuse to square off against each other with their own opinions. Once a spouse has taken ownership of a particular viewpoint, it’s hard to divest oneself of it without feeling that they have “lost.” Rather, they actively seek God’s answer together. Seeking God’s answer to a decision takes the personal element out of decision-making. Both spouses agree that choosing God’s answer is more important than being “right.” Once that decision is reached each spouse must choose to completely “buy in” to the answer and abandon any lingering doubts.

2. Spiritual impressions. Another issue in making “Spirit-led” decisions is the idea of needing a “spiritual impression” to confirm your decision. What’s a spiritual impression? You may have heard similar phrases like: the voice of God, an inner witness, a “check” in the spirit, having “peace” about a situation, etc. All of those phrases merely describe the belief that God can convey his intentions for our lives through prayer and discernment. What does that practically “feel” like? Well, everyone is different, but I think most people would describe it as a strong feeling that does not wane as time passes. How do you know it’s God? Well, you don’t…but it’s recurrence usually indicates that there’s something to it. In fact, the first thing I counsel people to do when they feel God is “leading” them to do something is to dismiss it. If it’s God, the impression will come back even stronger.

3. The myth of circumstances. Another common issue with making “Spirit led” decisions has to do with circumstances. Most people believe that life’s circumstances will ultimately steer you towards God’s will. That’s when they quote things about God “closing doors” and “opening windows.” But that really isn’t biblically accurate. There are plenty of times in the Bible where God asked people to do things that put them in direct opposition to others and sometimes even danger. For many people in other nations today, Christianity has been the sole cause of their social marginalization, economic hardship, ridicule, and even death. Life is often difficult simply because…well…it is. Difficulty in life and “closed doors” don’t always mean God is saying “no.” In fact, we would be worse off today if Christians throughout history had taken the path of least resistance, wouldn’t we? So, circumstances don’t always point us in the right direction – in fact, I would say they very rarely do. Circumstances in decision-making aren’t near as important as we are often led to believe.

I’ll tell you our personal guidelines for making “Spirit-led” decisions in part 2…

Exactly How Does God Discipline?

I initially posted this over a year ago.  It continues to be one of the most popular posts I’ve ever done:

I read a book a while back where the author was attempting to illustrate godly correction. He quoted Hebrews 12:6-10 (”he whom the Lord loves He chastens/disciplines”) and then made the following statement: “God does not hesitate to hurt us if this is necessary to help us become mature sons and daughters of His.” He then told a personal story of when his two year old son had foot surgery. Each night, the father had to stretch the foot as a type of physical therapy. Of course, it was tremendously painful for the son, but in the end the father said it was “worth it” – an illustration of how our heavenly Father disciplines us. The surgery was a success. At that point, I stopped reading and thought to myself, “hurt us to help us?” I just can’t agree with that. But I wasn’t sure why. So, after some serious thinking, this is my answer.

Most people assume that God’s correction is painful. And sometimes that may be the case…but I’m not really buying it. Here’s why. Godly discipline and punishment are not synonymous. And God never said that they had to be in order for his will to be done or for discipline to be effective. After all discipline means “to disciple” not “to punish.” Disciplining brings about transformation. Punishment only brings outward conformity. Hebrews 12 talks of love correcting or disciplining us, but that verse also should be taken within the entire context of the New Testament. For example, 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 (NLT) gives us another clue to the “discipline” puzzle. “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ’No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets…And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us…we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”

Paul is making a unique point often lost when answering this question. The question is not does God discipline, but how. To me, God’s discipline is radically different than the father/son illustration above. And 1 Corinthians backs me up here. First, no plan is ever more important than people – “hurt” for the sake of correction is not okay with God. Secondly, if God does use natural circumstances to correct us, they are at best a second option. God’s first and foremost choice to adjust any Christian’s perspective is the Spirit of God speaking to our spirit. That’s “how we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” That’s always God’s first choice and he doesn’t need to create painful circumstances to get our attention.

The problem with our understanding of God’s discipline is that we pass it through the grid of our own parenting – just like the author I quoted did. Plus, we often derive a spiritual lessons from our personal circumstances. And some of those circumstances are so painful that if we don’t create a “greater good” scenario from them, we can’t handle the pain. But when we teach others that God “uses” circumstances to get our attention, we are also saying that he can’t get “close” enough to tell us otherwise. To relegate contact with believers to natural circumstances assumes that God is incapable of direct contact. Or worse yet, God doesn’t want direct contact or happily uses pain for our advancement even though another, more personal route of communication exists.

Old Testament scholars sometimes talk about “controlling metaphors” in the Bible. These are ways or concepts of describing God that disclose his nature or personality that run through all of scripture. And Jesus picks these up as well. He’s not just any father, he’s the good Father. He’s not just any old shepherd, he’s the good shepherd. That’s the problem – when we hear that God is Father, we assume he is just like any other father. But he’s the good Father…and that means he does things in a way that the rest of us dad’s cannot even grasp. That’s what the verses in Hebrews 12:7-10 are attempting to show. The good Father is not doing the “best he knows how” – he’s doing way more than that, bringing correction and discipline exclusive from harm. Jesus says the same thing: “If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more…”

Let me use another less-sanitized father/child illustration in contrast to the first one. My oldest daughter just turned 5. She’s conscientious and really tries to do what  her parents ask of her. What would you think of me as a father if I had the distinct option either to “hurt her in order to make her mature” or teach her personally how to be mature…but I still chose to hurt her? What if rather than conversationally teaching her about meekness, I back-handed her hoping to achieve the same affect. Make your stomach turn, huh? Mine too. The issue is in the choice. Many people who assume God uses circumstances, do so thinking that the Spirit speaking to our spirit is really not a viable option. But if it is, then direct communication is God’s desired method of disciplining you. 1 Corinthians says it is. And that doesn’t have to involve punishment…it never should.

Just a Friendly Reminder…

Don’t forget to treat people well. There are countless reasons, histories, and emotions that inform the opinions and behaviors of those you meet on a daily basis. Always give the benefit of the doubt. What’s the harm in that?

When “Going Green” Goes Bad…

That title sounds like one of those reality shows about car chases or wild animals – “When Animals Attack!, Part 17″ or something…

I’m an eco-friendly guy to a degree. I don’t recycle everything possible or buy those cool looking light bulbs for every light in the house. But I try to recycle when the opportunity affords and practice energy and water conservation. We don’t make a huge deal of it at our house. We have recycling bins at our church office and I use those. But something happened the other day that really angered me. Claire Grace came home after preschool and began to lecture me about the plastic bottle in the trash can. She then proceeded to tell me about the inevitable destruction of all rain forests and how we needed to do something about that as a family right now! Let me remind you that CG is still 4 years of age (at least for a few more days). Four! That’s a little early to be looking for numbers on the bottom of plastics, isn’t it? So, I told her not to worry about the rain forests and recycling so much. Right now, her main job in life is to “have fun with reckless abandon.” Before you taunt me with accusations of morose parenting, let me explain my logic. You may find it commendable in the end.

Claire Grace got her urgent messages about the environment from two places: public television and preschool. Part of my response to her was to relay the often missed fact that people take various stances on the issue of the environment. Last time I checked, people have a choice to be eco-friendly. Yet, that’s not the message she was receiving. She was being indoctrinated. Come on, Sam – that’s a little harsh isn’t it? Well, look at it this way. Along with the basics of what it takes to care for the environment (something certainly worth knowing), CG was also getting a healthy dose of valuation without really asking for it. Morality was attached to the message of environmental conservation. So, she assumed that my decision to throw a plastic bottle in a standard trash can was an immoral or unethical decision. The inherently right decision would’ve been to find a recycling bin. We use this lingo all the time with secular/social/philosophical themes. After all, we need to “save” the earth, right? Yet, no one likes to point this out…mostly because we get enough righteous indignation from folks without asking for it.

Sadly, those who attach moral significance to the “right to choose ” in one agenda will completely disregard it in other scenrios. The same “choice” of individuality that was denied me by my daughter where going “green” was concerned is forced down my throat when it comes to abortion, for example. Women have a choice. And when the issue of gay marriage comes up, I’m denied that same right to choice used to support abortion when I disagree with same-sex unions. Funny, huh? I’ve never really met the “freedom of choice” police, but evidently that freedom only applies in pre-approved situations. I’m waiting for my manual to arrive in the mail so I can be up to date on which decisions have already been made for me.

I’m a minister. I believe in Jesus Christ. I also believe Christians have a responsibility to the environment.  Though I would like for you to believe in Jesus, I cannot make you. It’s your choice. It may surprise you to know that I am totally okay with that. I am constantly amazed at those who malign religion and those who want to “legislate” morality. Yet they have no qualms about applying a similar level of religious “fervor” to their own fashionable cause. All I’m asking for is the same professional courtesy I give you. Please don’t indoctrinate my daughter. She can make the choice to be “green” for herself one day.

I guess it just goes to show that we are all religious about something…

“Failing Forward” in Real Life

Christian author/speaker John Maxwell wrote a book by that title a few years back that talks about failures being the catalyst or springboard for life lessons and new starts in life. Leigh Ann preached a great sermon about that last Sunday. Beth leaned over to me mid-sermon and said, “That’s what we were talking about Friday night.”  And it was.

Beth and I sat around eating good food on our weekly date and talking about the “adventures” of life in the last five years. We have been at highs and lows at various places along the way. Looking back on the journey, we noticed some unusual things and spent the majority of our time talking about those. We have to admit that we’re in a good place now. Beth is far ahead of the curve at her job – most don’t reach her position in management for another 15-20 years. I’m feeling quite comfortable in my skin in ministry as well. The funny thing is, I suppose, that though we are content with our present state in life, we never could’ve imagined the way we got there. We have each been absolute failures (spiritually, financially, professionally, emotionally) a few times over in the last ten years. And chances are good we will be failures again at some other point in life as well.

Christians often like to look back over seasons of life – successes and failures – and talk about how God leads them through such scenarios. I don’t necessarily buy into all of that. God doesn’t orchestrate anyone’s failure for purposes of divine learning. At least I don’t think he does. However, I do think he can take you where you are and help you find a way back from points of failure. When speaking about many of life’s failures (particularly those caused by others) I have a theory: It isn’t God and it isn’t the devil that caused your pain. It is usually people acting from a place of fear and insecurity. They capitalize on the vulnerability of others as an act of self-preservation. And though God has taught me plenty in the midst of failure, I really didn’t learn anything that he hadn’t already conveyed to me prior to that. But what I did get to do was practically live it out for the first time. So I’m reluctant to say God caused it all…but I’m happy to say he rescued us each time.

 Beth and I also talked about something unusual we have noticed in seasons of failure. Often times you don’t realize how bad it is when your going through it. In the midst of failure, life still goes on. The alarm goes off. Your favorite TV series still airs. You still have to drop off your children for school. Your favorite ice cream still tastes great. Much of life doesn’t  change. I guess that makes the part that does more bearable. Somehow, the mundane activities of life – the ones you think are so unnecessary in the good times – are actually the things that stabilize your life during times of upheaval. In fact, on several occasions, we didn’t realize our depth of depression, despair, or hopelessness until later after we began to climb out from under those circumstances. Why? I’m not so sure. But I do know that people always gravitate to what is familiar to them – that includes dysfunctional environments and patterns of habitual destruction.

We concluded by talking about the fact that after a couple of rounds of failure, we weren’t so afraid of it anymore. In younger days before we had experienced failure to an extreme degree, we were more afraid of the unknown on the other side. And, yes, difficult circumstances change you. But in the end, you’re still you. In fact, anyone can springboard back to a place the world recognizes as important or “respectable” in a short amount of time. And that’s the fun of it all. While social status and reputation goes up and down, no one ever changes too much. And it’s that part underneath status and prestige and reputation – the real you- that God invites into his loving embrace.

“The God of the Living”, Part 2

I remember going to sunrise services as a kid. I hated them. But I thought God might be happier with me if I went. So I did. But it was always so cold outside. Just like this year, there was the slight chance that it would actually be warm outside. But that rain and cold snap never fails to appear and I always found myself shivering in a metal chair while it was still dark outside. Did I mention I hated sunrise services? But we don’t do sunrise services to earn points with God. At least I hope you don’t. We do them early because Jesus rose from the dead at dawn. It’s no coincidence the Jesus arose at dawn – at the beginning of a new day. For us, it represents a new way of thinking: not a powerless fight against the entrapment of sin, but the promise of renewed power and victory to overcome the destructive lifestyle of our past.

 Though sin was certainly a problem, what God really wanted to do was free us from death. And sin had to be dealt with in order to bring us life. That’s why the original word in our Bible we use for resurrection means to “awaken to life.” The resurrection isn’t an addendum to the story, like in The Passion of the Christ – it’s the story’s completion and final reality. And it meant everything to the people of Jesus’s time. At the time of Jesus there was no specific belief in the afterlife. After death, people went to some undisclosed place that the Jews called “sheol.” It literally means “world of shadows” After death? Nothing. It was a bleak view of life – Psalms 88 calls the dead the “forgotten ones.” And that’s why the resurrection was such a big deal. For Jesus’s disciples, the resurrection was the ultimate “Exodus,” releasing God’s people from the bondage of a shadowy, forgotten death.

 Even before Jesus’s birth, the prophets were writing about not only what the cross would do for humanity, but also the resurrection. Ezek. 37:12-14 says, “…you will know I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you shall live.” And Jesus even echoed this idea in Matt. 12:26-27, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Jesus said this at the end of a debate about the afterlife. His point was that abundant life was not only available after death, but it was for the present. Eternal life starts on earth and flows into every area of existence. And that’s just the beginning. At the end of life, Christians don’t die – they are “lifed” into ultimate eternity and fellowship with the God. Now you can see why the resurrection meant so much to the early Christians. The good news included freedom from an existence of shadows and nothingness.

 We miss this often in church today. It completely goes over our heads. We understand that we will live forever with God, but rarely do we understand that the resurrection gives us power for our present circumstances. As Christians, we walk in the power of Christ’s resurrection not only at death, but right now. In the midst of life’s mundane activities – “awakened” to life in the here and now. It’s the resurrection that allows us to rise above the shadows that plague our marriages, our families, our emotions, our finances, and the like.  God created us to live in the power of the resurrection right where we are – he wants to empower us to live the lives of devotion and passion that we see in the scriptures.

Okay, Sam. So, what are trying to tell us? As strange as it may seem, I want you to move past the cross today. Though the cross is very important, we were meant to live in the reality of the resurrection. As Christians, we do not merely believe the claims of Jesus, we believe the claims of Jesus as they are vindicated and declared in the resurrection. We can’t just believe in the teachings of Jesus, for if you merely believe in his moral teachings, those teachings died on the cross with the teacher. Our chance to believe in the cross exists only because he rose from the dead. And that resurrection gives us the power to live the Christian life today. That’s hard to do particularly when we are reminded to “Cling to the Old Rugged Cross” all the time. But if you’ve accepted forgiveness, now is the time that we walk out that forgiveness in abundant life. The last few chapters of the gospels don’t describe some legal transaction. They describe a power event. One that changes us from the inside out if we let it. We should all spend time kneeling at the foot of the cross. But once we’ve been there, we must get up, stand up tall, and walk in the fullness of life Jesus afforded for us in his resurrection. Not in some distant future…but today. Every year we have this opportunity. We visit the cross. But we live in the resurrection.

“The God of the Living”, Part 1

The God of the Living

Resurrection Sunday (April 12, 2009)

Romans 5:8-11, 1 Corinthians 15:14-20

Who has seen the movie The Passion of the Christ? I was really excited when that movie came out – for a couple of reasons, but there was one I kept going back to as I anticipated its release. We live in a visual world. Often times, the impact of something is dramatically increased when we can see it. And there had been re-enactments of the crucifixion before, but nothing like what this movie depicted. Finally, a movie that would visually show the brutality of the cross for all that it truly was. And as someone who had been attempting to convey that brutality through words alone in sermons, I was really looking forward to seeing it.

But there’s one catch. I have a “weak stomach.” I get queasy at the sight of too much blood. In fact I don’t watch violent movies at all – I just can’t handle it.  But I was determined to watch this movie. Well, let’s just say that turned out to be a bad idea. In a packed theater, I was crawling over people to get out by the “flogging scene” – pretty early in the movie. I made it to the end of the aisle, but I had trouble making it to the restroom due to the encroaching “blackness” in my vision. I only ran into one wall, however. I actually had an acquaintance stop me in the middle of all of this and want to catch up on life. I thought to myself, “Hey buddy! Can’t you see the color draining from my face while you talk to me?!” In the end, you’ll be happy to know the whole crisis was averted…but suffice it to say, I didn’t feel the need to go back in the theater.

I have seen parts of the movie since then, including the very end. And what strikes me about the ending is the fact that there is virtually no emphasis placed on the resurrection of Jesus at all – just a ten second shot of an empty tomb. Almost like it was an afterthought. Actually, Chris told me earlier this week that it was – there was no reference to the resurrection until a bunch of pastors screened it and told the director, “Hey, you left out the resurrection!” So they added that final scene.

Personally, that may not have bothered me a decade ago. But it does now. The difference? I discovered what it meant to be saved not by Christ’s death, but by his life. I discovered the meaning and power of the resurrection. Let’s take a quick journey through church history and I’ll explain why we don’t have much emphasis on the resurrection in Protestant Christianity today. Back in the early days of Christianity, the resurrection was central to the Christian message, even more than the cross. In the East, it continued to be central to the Eastern Orthodox tradition. But in the West, as Catholicism solidified around the 6th century, monasticism began to shift a different direction toward a cross-centered form of worship and away from the resurrection. Catholic mystics began to develop a system of holiness that focused solely on the cross. They would contemplate the events of the crucifixion for years on end, hoping to become more like Jesus. And that’s where the idea of the stigmata came from – literally “bearing the marks of the cross” in their body as a sign of extreme devotion.

 Well, when the Reformation happened, those guys were not interested in putting up with any mystical “hocus-pocus” of any sort. So even though they kept their emphasis on the cross alone, they forbid any mystical or contemplative rituals to accompany it. The message of the cross as revealed in scripture alone should be enough to make people do the right thing, they said. But there was only one problem. It didn’t work. Sure, people felt guilty when confronted with what happened on the cross…and they changed their tune for a little while, but it never really stayed with them. See, by forgetting the resurrection, the cross became some sort of “legal” acquittal of sin with little beyond it. That’s all the Reformers ever talked about. The people got the point and the resurrection became somewhat of an afterthought. The average church goer concluded, “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, let’s move on.” And that is a wonderful example of missing the entire point of the Christian life.

 John Wesley recognized this and that’s when he pulled off his “one man counter-Reformation” as the historians like to call it. He went back past the Protestant Reformation and studied the Eastern Orthodox tradition. And there he discovered the reality of the resurrection for the Christian life. He called it Christian “perfection” or the word we use today: sanctification. By that he meant the power to live the Christian life on a daily basis. And it’s one of the foundations of Methodist doctrine.

 But a lot of Christians today miss this completely (Methodists included). They treat church as a weekly spiritual “tune-up” – a spiritual powdering of the nose the straightening of the necktie. And when we leave, we’re at our “Sunday best” for God once again. So, what’s the main ingredient in that model? Guilt. If we feel bad enough for making Jesus die for our sins on the cross, then we might behave a little better. Can that approach work? Sure – it’s worked for thousands of Christians for hundreds of years…but it’s not the best option. God wants more for us than a weekly guilt trip. See, if guilt was only issue in our salvation, then the cross would have been enough, the resurrection would’ve been unnecessary, and church “pep talks” would suffice. But the cross is not the climax of the Jesus story, it it? The resurrection is. In Jesus’s day, people died on the cross all the time – but people didn’t rise from the dead all the time!

Sam’s Devotional Life

I don’t blog much on what God is “teaching” or “dealing” with me about on a personal level too much – though I hope my posts here convey a solid level of personal reflection. What I focus upon personally often has more to do with me as a dad and husband. But sometimes I just spend my time at random intervals telling God I think he’s really, really, really great.  Rather than talk about my personal devotion to God, I just try to let the grace, love, and power of the Holy Spirit inform my actions and my words.

I thought I’d make an exception this time and tell you what I plan to do for the next year (if not longer) for devotional purposes. I plan on reading all four volumes of the Philokalia (meaning “love of the beautiful”) as my devotional material.  Though I’m part of the Western Christian tradition, I must confess I really am not a fan of it. But I love the approach to God in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Sometimes my posts sound like they are outside the Western construct of, for example, sanctification or prayer. That’s because I often opt for the Orthodox view instead. I find it to be fuller and deeper than it’s Western counterpart. And for personal devotions, I hang out in that theological “neck of the woods.” That doesn’t mean I’m gonna go climb Mount Athos or anything (though Wesleyan theology is its closest Western counterpart). Neither do I really like the Chrysostom liturgy or the whole “smells and bells” service. But I sure love how the Orthodox view God, humanity, and creation, as well as their unwillingness to separate justification and sanctification. I am inspired by their ultimate quest to become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

So, that’s what I’ll be doing for a while personally. I hope to discover a thousand spiritual gems like this one from Evagrios: “If you are a theologian, you will pray truly. And if you pray truly, you are a theologian.”

If you are interested in the Orthodox Church, a good place to begin is Daniel Clendenin’s Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective. If you want to read some of the Philokalia, you may want to start with the SkyLight Illuminations Annotated Selections as an introduction.

Hey, guess what?

We’re having another baby girl…

“Healing the Desperate”, Part 3

Jesus implies that we have a role to play in healing. And this is where the theological waters get muddy for people. But let’s see if we can make some sense of it together. Jesus tells Bartimaeus that his faith has “saved” him – that word for salvation in the original language that means everything from “save the soul” to “heal the body” to “deliver from danger.” And if that’s correct, then Jesus came to heal every part of us – our whole being. And our part is simply this: to believe that healing is possible for us today. That may be unconventional – but to the desperate, conventional advice means little more than the path of least resistance. The desperate people who came to Jesus had already tried the conventional route. They were looking for something beyond that – a place of faith that we rarely go today as Christians. This morning, I want you to know that it’s okay to believe in healing. The real question is not “Why believe that God heals?” Rather, it’s “Why not believe that God heals?” Why not? It’s okay to believe. We ask him to heal other things: marriages, finances, relationships, addictions, even the brokenness of our hearts. Why not our bodies?

 We’ve been taught since we were young to think with our heads: gather evidence, weigh proofs, test methods, and think critically. In essence, we are taught to start with our head and only when the evidence allows us to do so, we can believe with the heart. But if the gospels are correct, Jesus’s way seems to be something different. He asks us to start with the heart first…that’s the nature of faith: committing your entire being to God whether you understand everything about God or not. See, Jesus never asked us to understand everything – just to trust him with the things we don’t. For me, and probably for you, that includes the possibility of physical healing.

 I am a part of one the men’s Monday night book studies. We’re just finishing a book by Steve Harper who many in Methodist circles consider a foremost authority on prayer. I read something his book that really caught my attention about the unknown areas of prayer and healing. He said this: “When I hit the wall of mystery, I have a decision to make. I can say, ‘Well, that’s it for me. I can’t live with or practice what I don’t understand.’ Or I can face that wall of mystery, build a ladder, and see as much on the other side as possible.” None of us have to fully understand healing in order to believe in it. Christians are to start with the heart and then believe with the mind. And if that involves undignified behavior, that’s okay. I agree with Cardinal John Henry Newman. When asked about charlatans, strange religious behavior, and faith healers, he said, “Taking human nature as it is, we must surely concede a little superstition as not the worst of evils, if it be the price of making sure of faith.” I think he has a point.

 Okay, so maybe you don’t want to be desperate. Maybe this whole series is a little overwhelming particularly for those who have experienced extreme loss and tragedy from disease. If you live long enough, everyone falls into that category. I certainly would never trivialize anyone’s pain, suffering, or grief by providing pat answers that have no real meaning. But maybe you can be something else: you can be determined (Thanks, Brad). Determination is merely “desperation with a plan.” Determination is realizing that faith involves possibilities that are beyond our understanding and making the decision to be open to the idea that God still heals today. It’s being willing to say, “I can’t do everything…but I’ll do what I can.” All of us have a step of faith in front of us. That step of faith for Bartimaeus was radical and totally undignified. He cried out repeatedly and flung his beggar’s cloak in the air. Yours may be merely to walk down the aisle on Holy Thursday at the healing service and ask for God to do something supernatural for you or someone you know. Who knows? He just might.