Doubt and Faith - Cheryl Lauderdale

One of my favorite poems since High School... when I was not even a Christian.... but thankfully one who was being spiritually cared for by others!

Doubt and Faith

Cheryl Lauderdale

 Doubt sees the obstacles.   Faith sees the way.

 Doubt sees the darkest night.  Faith sees the day.

 Doubt dreads to take a step.  Faith soars on high.

Doubt asks, “Who believes?”    Faith answers, “I!”

Circle Maker Quotes - Persistence - Mark Batterson

Some Quotes from The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson:
Chapter 8 Persistence Quotient:

Success is a derivation of persistence. The bigger the dream, the harder you will have to pray. We allow our circumstances to get between God and us, instead of putting God between us and our circumstances. It is easy to give up on dreams, miracles, and promises. We lose heart, lose patience, lose faith. The only way you can fail is if you stop praying. Praying is a no-lose proposition. We do know that 100% of the prayers we Don’t pray Won’t get answered. You can give up or hang on. You can let go or pray through. You can get frustrated with God or choose to live un-offended. 

Lazarus’ sister to Jesus: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that Now God will give You whatever You ask.” Even though her brother is dead and buried, she is still holding out hope. First degree faith is preventative faith. (Jesus could have prevented the death. ) Second degree faith is resurrection faith. (Jesus can bring him back to life.) EVEN THEN you believe EVEN NOW. 

Our most powerful prayers are hyper-linked to the promises of God. It was settled on the Cross when Jesus said, “It is finished.” It wasn’t just the final installment on our sin debt; it was the down payment on all of His promises. “No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” 2 Cor 1:20. By virtue of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross, (regarding the 3,000 promises in the Bible), every one of them belongs to you. Every one of them has your name on it. Reading is the way you get through the Bible; praying His Word is how you get the Bible through you.

God's Power Flowing

While reading Psalm 29 in The Message version, I saw some very interesting concepts and promises in this praise Psalm. (I was reading this during one of the downpours of rain that had put over 3 inches of water in our rain gauge!) Toward the end, the psalmist speaks of God's throne being above the floodwaters...above and beyond the problems and difficulties of this world.

But what was stunning to me was how it continued: "Above the floodwaters is God's throne from which His power flows..." His power is FLOWING from his throne, it is not static. Now WHERE would His power be GOING, in it's FLOWING? It surely is going in every direction, and it's on the move!

The next phrase refers again to His throne "from which He rules the world". Then is the answer to my question: " God makes His people strong, God gives His people peace". We are the recipients of the flow... not just from the one-time event of the Cross, but from God's throne itself!

Think of the solar winds from our sun, and the different types of rays it gives off. Our sun is so amazingly powerful, that it operates the nature system on the entire planet. And like when God told Moses in Exodus, "You can't see my face and live", we cannot physically tolerate, in these bodies, everything our sun gives off. It is just too powerful, too potent. That's why we have sunscreen! And our atmosphere is always under discussion by environmentalists, lest we destroy it's protective nature. God lets the good stuff through from the sun, and protects us from that which is too powerful for us, in this life.

BUT, one day, we will get to bask in the fullness of the power generating and emanating from the SON!!! Until then, I'm going to be believing that the power from God's throne is on it's way to those of us who believe. It has no other purpose, or destination!!! It is powerful, and it is fine-tuned for just what we need for every moment!!